#but that includes how tims allowed to love them and miss them

[oifaaa]

Wait so do u think timmy wasnt neglected as a child or do u think that neglegence isnt a big deal as long as their rich

Damn friend you really asked that in the most dishonest way you possibly could, like the only reason why I wouldn't think tims parents are neglectful is bc they're rich and not bc I just don't think they qualify as neglectful but let's go into it anyway

First off let's get our definition correct neglectful in parenting means the failure of a parent or guardian to provide basic needs for a child such as food clothing shelter medical care or supervision, which when people refer to tims parents being neglectful they're usually talking about that last one but even that's a stretch considering while tims parents were away working alot they never just left tim to fend for himself usually tim had someone else to watch him mostly in the form of boarding school so by the broad definition Jack and Janet drake were not neglectful parents - just bc theyre weren't always physically beside tim does not make them neglectful

Now do I think Jack and Janet were perfect parents - no but I do think people give them a lot of grief for reasons beyond their control such as them being away alot since theyre archaeologists and it's part of their jobs to travel alot personally i think it'd be worse if instead of leaving tim in a safe stable environment they were constantly upheaving him, moving him around and disrupting his schooling so what he could hang out at a dig site? Also we don't actually know for sure how often Jack and Janet were away for - we just know Tim wishes they were home more which btw is understandable I'm not saying Tim can't be upset at his parents not being around more, I'm just saying it's not exactly a good enough reason to jump to jack and janet were the worst parents ever like a lot of people seem to do.

The other thing people like to point to when talking about bad parenting is Jack and how he interacts with Tim after Janet died which honestly is just alot of the parent and child love each other but don't understand each other causing conflict troupe it's not exactly something I could really say puts Jack on the worst dad's list especially since he does try to be better and does get that character development as time goes on (you know before he dies too)

Anyway this is all long enough but I wanted to end on a cute note with these pages from this week's issue of batman #134

[dcxdpdabbles]

I really want to see what happens next in cave boy. How fast do they build a ship to take Danny home, and how embarrassed is Connie about his mistake

"Take care of yourself," Bruce says, smiling down at him. Danny offers back a grin, making sure to include all of the other Waynes. They surround the ship that has pre-program coordination to his home dimension.

All he would need to do was turn it on and fly it through the portal the Justice League had brought to the Batcave for him. Apparently, it was built a few missions ago for other dimension traveling allies.

The magic users have formed some kind of cult in Bruce's front yard but that wasn't Danny's problem. He got tired to explaining that he was plain old Danny Fenton, a halfa that got lost.

Apparently, a few demi-gods, Wonder Something and Captain Something (Danny stayed true to what he told the Bats. He doesn't want to be involved in their heroes' business. He wasn't paying attention when they introduced themselves) had gone around telling people that he was a god and to show him proper resepct. That just drove even more colorful charaters to camp out in Bruce's yard.

It looked like a music festival out there—the ones his parents claim they couldn't remember despite spending an entire weekend at. Sometimes, Danny is violently reminded that his parents were a lot more party animals than Dan, Jazz, Dani, or he turned out to be.

Thankfully, not everyone was acting weird around him; many heroes coming and going to help set up the final steps. Tim spearheaded the effort, and after building the ship for him, everything was finally ready.

Danny was finally going home.

All his things were packed and on board, waiting for Danny to take off. He was surprised the Waynes were willing to let him take everything they had bought or sent to him by fans. It wasn't worth millions, but it was a generous amount.

He will miss them after all the lies and theft that he done, Danny had spent a long time with the Waynes. He still wasn't entirely sure he and Bruce were the same person just a counter part of one another but they were so sure he was willing to let them think that.

"Thank you for everything," Danny tells the group, allowing Dick and Steph to step in for a hug.

"Thank you for allowing us to see Bruce as a child," Cass counters patting Danny's head around Dick's body. "You were entertaining."

Tim clears his throat, stepping forward with a binder. Dick and Steph detach themselves from Danny but not before giving him michvious smiles that make him slightly worried. If they were ghosts, Danny would think that they were planning on attacking him in the middle of class on purpose.

"I'm sorry about the way I treated you, Brucie." Tim starts twisting the binder a little before holding it out. "I figured you should have this."

"What is it?"

"The contingency plans I wrote about you. In case I had to neutralize you. All ninety-seven of them," Tim says, if that's even remotely normal. Danny is even more unsettled at Jason's smile of approval or Babarba's little coo as if she were watching toddlers play make-believe.

Is showing each other contingency plans a form of love for these people? Ancients Danny enjoyed his time with them but can't wait to get home.

"Eh, thank you." Danny manages to say, curling the binder to his chest. Tim's face explodes into a beam of pure unadulterated joy.

"You're welcome! If you ever come back, we can compare notes. I honestly think plan number fifty-two will give you a run for your money."

".....I'm a civilian, remember? Punching me would be enough to beat me."

Tim waves his hand in dismisal, before leaning in for own farewell hug as Damian scoffs. "We both know that's a lie, even without your god-hood."

"Father, did he fight off suitors since he was a child," Damian raises his chin, standing up straighter in pride. He's not quite puffing out his chest, but it's a darn close thing. He doesn't seem to mind when Danny wraps one arm aorund his shoulder is a makeshift hug. "You like will have the same suitors."

"Okay."

"Goodbye, Young Master Danny," Alfred says next, straightening his hair and shirt with a bittersweet gleam in his eye. "I will forever cherish your time spent with us."

"Bye Alfred."

Jason clapped a hand on Danny's shoulder, giving it a rough push. "Don't forget about us brat. We may not be able to follow you to your dimension, but once our worlds' divide stabilizes, you better come over for dinner."

The halfa shurgs not committing to anything. The way the Flash explained their worlds was that due to how similar their two dimesions were, having someone from either place visting for two long was cutting away at the diviation that seperated them.

If that fell, the two worlds would collide and rip each other's realities apart.

They would need to allow it to heal before any visitation could be done. Sadly, the divide would have to be healed naturally. It could be days, or it could be decades.

This may be the last time Danny would see them for a long time. Stupidly, tears start to well up in his eyes, at the thought. Duke punches his shoulder gentely, not calling him out on them when the other also has some tears.

In fact, the only dry eye in the cave right now belongs to Alfred, Bruce, and Cass. What a strange little family this was.

Danny bites his lip while gesturing to the ship that hums with power. "I better get going."

"Yes," Bruce says. "You have family waiting for you. Remember to cherish them"

Danny freezes from where he climbs into the ship hatchet door. He looks over his shoulder at the gathered group and suddenly realizes something. He can see the similarities between Bruce and Dan even if he has doubts. "I will. And maybe in a few years, I'll met the versions of you and have a even bigger family. Cherish your children Bruce."

The man offers him the softest smile he has seen grace Bruce's face. "I already do."

His children swing wild, crazed eyes at him. Danny can practically see the fines in the white of their eyes, and Dick climbs over a table so he can lean into Bruce's personal space. Batman leans away from his eldest son, looking honestly stricken.

Danny laughs, closing the door. He quickly settles into the lush seats, feeling the material of the cushion creak under his weight. The familiar hum of advance technology welcomes him with open arms as he wraps his hands on the steering wheel.

For a still moment, Danny wonders what he will do if this false, and he stuck here forever. A familair ache grows in the center of his chest at the thought of never seeing his family- his real one- again but with one deep breath he forces himself to press the on switch.

The portal blares to life in front of him- white and bright, unlike the Fenton Portal- and with a loud woosh, it rips open. He can see the front of his house, and it's like a physcial blow of happniess.

He slams his foot on the gas, flying out of the cave with a wave of laughter, feeling light for the first time in over a year. The bight clear sky of Amity Park, rains sunshine down on him as he crashes against a few parked cars.

The Wayne Tech holds true not allowing him to get any damage as it stumbles to a stop in a ironic perfect parallel parking spot right in front of his house. Danny is laughing so hard, so utterly free, that he feels mad with it, as stares out the window of his home.

He is home.

The last thing he hears of the Waynes is Alfred's calm voice in the communicator as it loses connection. The portal seals shut, self-mending the air as if though it was never there.

"Thank you, Master Danny, for allowing this old man to relive a memory."

The front door of Fenton Works is thrown open, a teenager with long red hair stumbles out of it, staring at the ship. She makes eye contact with the driver and then a scream of glee fills the air.

"Danny!" She runs as fast as her legs can carry her down the driveway, and Danny quickly fumbles out of his seat, desperate to get outside. They met halfway, arms encasing each other in desperate hugs as the to sob.

"Danny! Danny! You're back" Jazz babbles through her tears. Behind her Jack and Maddie are running toward them yelling and crying, and so utterly despreate to hold their boy.

The teenagers fall to their knees from the impact of their parents, and first the frist time in over a year, Danny can fianlly breath easily.

"I'm home," He whispers, pressing himself against his family.

[greeneldritchfurby]

yknow what... Here's a list of Hatchetfield Rarepairs that I think are neat!

Some l've thought up, some may already exist.. Either way I think about them constantly, and I need to share my brainrot.

23oz Chai - Paul 23 / Ted Spankoffski

- workplace crush but, plot twist, one of them is a clone

- Ted confesses, and Paul 23, even though he's unsure if the real Paul would go along with it, accepts anyway.

- everyone in the office reacts to it in shock, and they are convinced it is an elaborate prank. (Its not)

Cat Sweater - Charlotte / Melissa (Charlissa)

- Melissa supports Charlotte through her rocky marriage. Sapphic feelings ensue!

- They bond over their love of cats!

- Crazy cat lady and her sopping wet cat gf!

Dirty Boy - Mark Chasity / Boy Jerry

- Two repressed religious men grappling with internalized homophobia!

- A lot of gay denial and religious guilt in this one!

- Also, Jerry's nature rubs off on Mark a little. Maybe they go a little off the walls together!

Donnapiro - Donna Daggit/ Detective Shapiro

- They start out disliking each other, Shapiro not liking how Hatchetfield News reports crime and Donna despising Shapiro for getting in the way of their journalism

- Slowly, their competition becomes incredibly homoerotic.

- Enemies to lovers, reporter x detective yuri. Solving crimes and being sapphic!

Fast But Pricey - Barry Swift / Frank Pricely (Priceswift)

- I have little justification for this one but.. ldk, I think they would be fun together.

- Frank is just really lonely, let him have a gay lover.

- Their relationships moves fast. (Barry is in a hurry! And Frank is so alone he doesn't mind.)

Latte Bottay - Zoey Chambers / Emmdroid (Zoemdroid)

- They bond over a dislike of the real Emma!

- Zoey is surprisingly chill with the robot thing.

- This also works pretty well with 23ozChai. Paul 23 gets his work crush, Emmdroid gets her work crush, its a win win! bonus wlw mlm solidarity!

Nibblinda - Nibbly / Linda

- Linda treats Nibbly to fine meats and sweets. In return, Nibbly eats her dad and protects her. Overall, a pretty sweet deal!

- Perhaps, they get a little blood on their hands.

- Linda chews people out (figuratively), and Nibbly bites them (literally)

Plastic Cars - Gerald Monroe / Tom Houston

- Hear me out.. Divorced dads realize they are gay... for each other.

- Tim gets a new dad, instead of a new mom.

- Again, I must stress.. middle aged men in love!

Sheiloway - Sheila Young / Miss Holloway

- This is ooc as fuck but the enemies to lovers calls to me.

- They both get someone to confide to about the struggles of lord shenanigans and near immortality

- wlw witches!

Showstoppers - Henry Hidgens / Pokey

- Theater nerds who will murder at the drop of a hat.

- I mean, Pokey did include Show Stopping Number in Inevitable, so that's a little gay.

- They are both just.. really gay tbh.

Spoiled Cat - Linda Monroe / Charlotte Sweetly (Charlinda)

- I think pairing a mean rich lady with a sweet, but this close to losing it, lady is very fun.

- Tbh, I just think the day Charlotte dates a woman is the day her entire world changes.

- Also, I think Charlotte should be allowed to be a little mean for once. Linda would help her be more assertive.

Tentacle Bastard - Wiggly / Ted Spankoffski

- Wiggly steals his brother's toy, and gets more than he bargained for!

- Wiggly tries to scare Ted with his big scary octopus form. It does not have the intended effect!

- Wiggly keeps trying to terrify Ted, but jokes on him Ted is into that, and that flusters him. However, Ted's unabashed bastard confidence has an unexpected side effect: Wiggly catches feelings

Webworship - Webby / Karen Chasity

- Karen finds a new god(dess) to "worship"!

- Unsatisfied wife summons a goddess for some company, and the goddess doesn't mind!

- A little bit of religious guilt in this one, as Karen goes against her beliefs by beginning to "worship" a new god, but its still mostly wholesome!

[sungbeam]

BIRD HUNT — three

nonidol!choi line x f!reader

gotham city is a gutter running rampant with the ill, corrupt, and the insane. at times, justice and vengeance must be served by one's own hand... no matter the lengths one must go to do so.

▷ genre, au, etc. bat family au, dc comics inspired, dark, vigilantes au, slow burn, ceo/billionaire au, cat woman!reader, murder mystery au, action, suspense, angst, slow burn-ish?, love square??; choi line inspired by dick grayson (csb), jason todd (cyj), and tim drake (cbg), including bruce wayne for choi minho and damian wayne for nishimura riki, inspired by 2022's The Batman

▷ chapter warnings. swearing, mentions of death and murder, mentions of weaponry, depictions of violence, use of pepper spray, breaking and entering

▷ word count. 4.4k // taglist: open

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FILE_03 : by the tail

gotham city.

[seven days since your mother was murdered.]

"Is she here?"

The voice was familiar to your sensitive ears, and although your eyes remained fixed on Mrs. Lee, you shifted your attention mentally to the two—no, three—wait… four?—figures making their way over to where you and Mrs. Lee stood in the home office space. Their footsteps were as quiet as heeled loafers could be against hollow wood floors. The Lees' home in the suburbs was a safe distance from the heart of Gotham, so the neighborhood was much nicer and much more like a home. The Lees had been ushered here after Lee Sungjae had been found murdered, and they'd resided here since.

You had been called in the day after the incident happened—that was the day after you had gone to see your father. We must work fast, Yn. They've already gotten to one of my… men. That was what he'd told you, and when he elaborated, you had discovered that every news channel now blasted footage of Lee Sungjae's dead, glassy eyes.

You had been busy since, trying to both grieve in peace and work at the same time.

"—take more time, Yn-ah. Losing a loved—" Mrs. Lee's voice cracked slightly and she covered her mouth.

"Mrs. Lee—"

She waved your hand away, angling her body away slightly so she could regain composure. "No, no. It's alright. I'm alright. I just… I know how it feels, and I think you deserve time to yourself, as well."

Of course you told her about your mother. You had to take another day off when one of your coworkers had noticed how spaced out you were when you came in. No, you didn't tell her your mother was murdered the same way her husband had. That was between you, your father, and the motherfucker who did this.

But for now, you were supposed to be here to answer the police's questions about your employer. You had been one of three of Mr. Lee's secretaries for the past several months now, having come under his employ about a year ago after Choi Enterprises turned you away. But magically, a few days afterward, this offer from the office of one Lee Sungjae had arrived in your inbox. When one door closed, as they said, another opened. Whatever guardian angel was looking over you then certainly wasn't looking over you now though.

"Miss Ln?"

You turned around and expected to see Commissioner Kim Namjoon and your co-secretary, Shin Ryujin, but you hadn't expected the two others with them. They stood behind the two aforementioned, both in black domino masks that covered the top halves of their faces. Their suits were skintight, most likely to allow for more mobility, but they also accentuated their starkly muscular figures. The taller one wore a suit of dark blue and black, while the other donned a maroon red and black ensemble. You recognized them, respectively, as Gotham's very own Nightwing and the Red Robin. Vigilantes. What were they doing with Commissioner Kim?

Ryujin bowed her way out, gently taking Mrs. Lee with her. That left you with the others.

"Hello, Miss Ln," Commissioner Kim greeted with a tired, but not unkind, smile. He fished a small notepad out of his coat pocket, ballpoint pen clicking to life. "My name is Commissioner Kim. These two… not sure if you need any introductions."

When you remained silent with only a nod, he continued, "We're here investigating the murder of your former employer, and we were informed that you often handled his familial affairs. We've already spoken with Miss Shin and Mr. Yun, but we wanted to ask where you were last Wednesday night at ten o'clock."

You were very aware that Nightwing had decided to wander about the office, eyes taking in the shelves and the notes and the desk… then there was Red Robin, who's attention was pinned intently on you, arms crossed firmly over his chest. There was something awfully familiar about these two. "Is that an accusation, Commissioner?" You asked, leaning against the edge of the desk.

"It doesn't have to be," he said airily. "Just answer the question, Miss."

"I was at home," you answered, schooling your face into neutrality. "You can ask my employer's wife and my coworkers—I was taking time off to grieve my mother's death."

The shock was not the most stark on the commissioner's face, but on Red Robin's. "She's dead?—" He coughed; even Nightwing had paused his movements. "I mean, I'm sorry for your loss." You didn't recognize the voice, but you suspected it was probably being disguised with a voice modulator.

The commissioner sent him a bewildered look, but turned back to you. "I'm very sorry for your loss, Yn. Truly." He asked with almost a grimace, "Can anyone corroborate your whereabouts? I understand you were most likely home alone, but perhaps a neighbor, a significant other…?"

And there it was again—that shift in energy as both the vigilantes in the room stopped to focus on you.

You shook your head with a tight smile. It probably wouldn't bode well if you revealed to them who your father was or that you paid the Iceberg Lounge a visit that day. You were also a little too preoccupied with survival to have a significant other, and you hadn’t been close enough to a neighbor in years. "No. Just my cats."

There was something so familiar about this Red Robin character, but you couldn't put a finger on it. Or maybe it was the way he was staring at you with such pity (and sympathy) that made you wish he was someone else. Either way, you needed to know why these two vigilantes were put on the case, and what they might have already found out. At the moment, it didn't seem like it would pose a problem, but you thought it wouldn't hurt to be a little more careful.

When you arrived home that night, bones aching as much as your head pulsed, you collapsed on the couch. A few of your cats began to swarm your legs, soft fur tickling the skin exposed when your pant leg lifted. Blue, a very introverted Russian Blue who you managed to make an extrovert when it came to you, plopped himself onto your lap like a warm, vibrating mass. You ran your fingers through his fur to the symphony of someone's purrs (you figured it was Byeol; he was quite vocal).

"Should I invite him to the funeral?" You murmured to Blue in question.

He stared back at you, then silently turned his gaze to a particle of dust floating in the air.

You exhaled back against the couch cushions. "I'll take that as a yes."

In the dead of night—because there was always a dead of night, even for Gotham City—you pulled a dark beanie over your head and the top half of your face. Two holes had been cut and sewn for your eyes to see through, and at the top of the hat, two little triangles sat akin to ears. You recalled the night you had crocheted this on a whim, your mother having done most of the work.

"Blue wants it to have cat ears, mama," you'd told her just as she brought out her tub of yarns.

Your mother's eyes glittered. "Is that right? Well, we'll have to add cat ears then, won't we?"

You thought it would be fitting to find her killer in this. You thought it fit you quite well, at least.

The rest of you was dressed in black, and your hand grazed over Soul's fluffy, white head as you propped open the second floor window. "I'll be home soon," you whispered to the last of your family, then disappeared into the night.

"I can't get why this is so familiar to me," Beomgyu voiced into the echoes of the Batcave, hands braced against the main monitor as he stared at the copy of the note: A Debt Repaid. He had been staring at it for the past week, not consecutively, but it hadn't left the forefront of his mind. Like you.

Soobin trudged over to his brother with a bowl of cereal cradled in his large palm, the other hand spooning the sweet milk and wheat flakes into his mouth. "Mm. Maybe give it a rest for a little, Beom."

"And do what?"

"How do you know Ln Yn?"

Beomgyu whirled around just as Soobin settled into the desk chair, waiting. Beomgyu made a scoffing noise, eyebrows flying up to his shaggy bangs. "Where did that come from?"

Soobin smiled and shrugged. "You tell me." He slurped up a bit more milk before adding, "You're the one who reacted like that in front of everyone when she said she was grieving her mother's death. You sounded shocked that she died."

"Well yeah, wouldn't you be shocked to hear someone else died so close to another's death?"

"Stop trying to bullshit him, Gyu."

Both the brothers looked up at the voice who had just entered the underground space. Yeonjun strolled into the main area in a white tank top and sweats, hair sticking up in different places. He stretched his arms above his head and yawned loud and wide.

Soobin cocked a brow at him. "Nice of you to finally join us, hyung. How'd the date go?"

"Great," Yeonjun quipped. "We're going on a second one soon. I think Felix almost sent me off with a kiss goodnight." He slumped onto the edge of the desk, eyes lazily taking in the images and information displayed on the many monitor screens. "This is our stiff, huh?"

Soobin sent him a look that distinctly said 'No, we're just looking at dead bodies for fun.'

"Yeah," Beomgyu replied. "The note the killer left is so familiar to me though. Have you seen it before?" He knocked his knuckles against the monitor with the note.

Yeonjun's eyes narrowed on the screen, before he leaned back with that bored look renewed on his face. "You're both idiots. It's from that one killing a couple weeks ago."

Beomgyu and Soobin traded looks. "What?"

Their eldest brother leaned down to reach the lowest drawer at the desk. From its depths, he fished out a large bag of chips and grabbed a handful to stuff his face with. "Y'know," he garbled and gestured vaguely with his crumb-dusted fingers. "Beomgyu, you know! You were there with me. It was that one lawyer guy who was found dead in his car beneath the bridge. That same note was taped to his windshield."

"Oh yeah," Beomgyu drawled, while Soobin shook his head with a sigh. The former then knocked his foot against the latter's shin. "Aye! You didn't even know it."

"Yeah, because I wasn't on that case," Soobin fired back. He finished off the rest of his bowl of cereal and set the empty ceramic in his lap before crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes, like his brothers' were lined beneath with heavy eye bags. Someone was supposed to be on patrol around the city right now, but neither of the three brothers were in any rush to get up. "So it's just one person going after these people then."

Yeonjun chewed his bottom lip. "Then we just gotta find the connection."

"Was the lawyer guy from a couple weeks ago Lee Sungjae's attorney?" Soobin asked.

Beomgyu grabbed a hold of the wireless keyboard on the desk and braced it upon his thighs. He pulled up an internet browser and typed in their inquiry. All three brothers made noises of disgruntlement; if the lawyer hadn't been Sungjae's attorney, then how were they connected? It was no secret that 99.9 percent of the population here in Gotham had some sort of… shadow looming over their shoulder. It was almost impossible to get anywhere without the help of a corrupt figure, whether that be a mob boss like the Penguin or loan shark with special strategies to get someone to pay up.

Either way, there would be lots of digging required.

"Let's start with Lee Sungjae and the lawyer's records,'' Soobin decided as he sat up in the chair. "We'll sort through phone records, acquire security footage of their movements, their texts, etcetera."

"I call none of those," Yeonjun said. When his younger brothers scowled at him, he raised both hands in feigned surrender with a giggle. "Fine, fine. You're both lookin' at me like I murdered your favorite puppy."

They remained silent.

"What, too soon?"

The basement headquarters suddenly erupted in a dull siren sound, and Beomgyu was swift to pull up a set of footage on one of the monitors. It displayed a section of the sky, a white spotlight circle cast against a massive, dark gray cumulus cloud with a distinct bat shape in the center—their call to action.

All three men were on their feet in an instant—keyboard and cereal bowl abandoned on the table, capes and utility belts clicked into place.

"Meet you losers there!" Yeonjun hollered as the cave filled with the revving roar of his motorcycle engine like a clap of thunder.

Soobin and Beomgyu hurried over to their respective cycles. "Hey, we're not done talking about Ln Yn!" Soobin called to his younger brother.

Beomgyu flashed him a thin smile. "That's what you think!" And he sped away down the runway.

Soobin chuckled to himself, grinning. Then he revved his engine and launched himself after his brothers.

To be completely honest, you had no idea what you were doing. Actually, that was a lie. You kind of knew what you were doing, but that was leagues away from completely knowing what you were doing until it was muscle memory. Right now though, as you gripped onto the side of the building, fingertips digging into the concrete ledge like a lifeline (because it might as well had been one), you couldn't wait until it became muscle memory.

God, your arms were going to ache tomorrow morning.

"It's worth it, Yn," you muttered to yourself, under your breath, and that was what made you reach up one more time and grasp onto the ledge of the window sill. You had always wondered why buildings like this lacked security cameras, but based on its practically smooth facade, it was no wonder. Only a crazy person would dare scale something like this.

The law firm building was not one of the largest nor one of the dingiest. If it had been some place like Clark & Field, you would have considered other ways to get into the building, but it would probably be through the inside (because scaling a fifty story skyscraper without a net was not on your bucket list). And if the building had been on the dingier side, it would have, frankly, been much easier to find footholds and places to brace. Except for any mold or crumbly parts. That was not fun either.

Or maybe you could classify scaling buildings as just… not fun in general. But the skills and the strength would come with time.

This time, however, was fueled by pure willpower.

But the universe was on your side for once, and the window you clung to gave way and granted you entry. The stupid lock picks had actually worked.

Despite being dead for two weeks, Yang Eunhyuk’s office still looked like its owner was still alive. There were documents left out in the open, all of the furniture had yet to be touched, there was an old (upon further investigation, really old) cup of coffee on the desk, and a two-week-old calendar for the week’s appointments and cases. You peered at the calendar and skimmed its contents, but found nothing terribly noteworthy. You strolled by the bookcase, footsteps light as a cat’s, and glimpsed the titles. There were a lot of convoluted-sounding titles on the shelves, and honestly, you doubted that he even read half of the books there. They were probably just for show when clients came in.

After you had given yourself a tour of the space, you determined that no one had truly cared enough about this man to really clean up for him. The door out into the hallway was locked, and through its frosted glass door, you could make out the distinct yellow police tape crossed over the frame. This was no crime scene, but the police had still had the room locked down… odd.

You figured they didn’t care enough. But maybe this guy had more connections than you were giving him credit for. He had been one of your father’s clients, after all. (Actually, that wasn’t enough to determine whether or not Yang was smart or not. Resorting to your father’s ever-generous solutions was stupid; and you were very well-aware that that made you stupid, too.)

Your father had sent you to this office for something in particular.

“Yang Eunhyuk was an idiot and a half,” your father had told you the day you had come to him. “But he knows how to hide his things when he needs to.” He had carefully relayed all of the necessary information to you as the two of you sat on the couch together to outline your next steps and what exactly he was asking of you. “He owes me a compilation of files and a burner phone.”

When you’d asked what for, there was that gleam in his eyes as if he found the question amusing. “Well, to find out who betrayed us, of course.”

“To find who killed Mom?”

He had nodded at you—waved his hand flippantly. “Yes. That’s the same thing, Yn.”

A burner phone and a compilation of files. Your father had already searched Yang’s personal place of residence, but there had apparently been nothing but “shit." So here you were… sorting through more shit.

You drummed the pads of your fingers on the surface of the desk.

“Where would he hide you, hm?” You murmured to yourself. You tried all of the drawers under the desk—four of the seven came up locked. The top three drawers were all filled with a smorgasbord of knick knacks and junk like a fidget spinner, fidget cube, a package of cigarettes, and even a used gum wrapper. (Gross.) You slipped a lock pick out from your sleeve as you considered the remaining four locked drawers, then realized that Yang Eunhyuk might not have kept your father’s files in the same place as his regular, ol’ case files.

And so, you moved away from the desk.

You figured there were specific places a lawyer would keep their most sensitive files to ensure discretion and privacy. You recalled how your late employer, Lee Sungjae, often had his most precious files stashed away in a place that was so obvious that no one would ever assume any person in the right mind would hide such things. For Sungjae, it had been a picture frame on the wall of his office, the one with him and his entire family pictured. It was cute; but when one peered behind it…

There was only one picture frame in the entire office space. It was small and it housed his law degree. You wondered if it was phony.

You decided to give it a chance and reached for it with a gloved hand.

When you took the frame off the wall, a frown slipped onto your face at the solid wall behind it. Huh. It was worth a—

You stepped backward and inhaled sharply when your leg hit the back of his cheap office chair. You managed to right yourself, but your ears had also perked up at a curious sound. You swiftly replaced the frame on the wall and knelt down by the desk chair and twisted your body to peer beneath it.

The sound you had heard had been a soft swish. It was subtle and not at all loud, but thanks to the empty office and your own hearing, you had picked up on it. It was practically a miracle.

Your heart pounded in excitement as you stuck your hand beneath the chair and felt up the bottom. There—you felt a distinct, padded folder—and there—

Your fingers wrapped around a small device no bigger than the palm of your hand. It must have been attached to the bottom of the chair with some kind of tape, and you gave it a good yank. And behold… in your hand was the alleged burner phone, staring up at you, just begging for you to sneak a peek into its logs. But before you could, you removed the file that had been hidden beneath the chair as well. It was a standard manila folder stuffed to the brim with papers and, you assumed, lots of sensitive information. Your eyes were widening like your smile as you just struck gold.

Not too bad for your first time in a while.

You startled at the sound of a thump.

There was a figure, a shadow, standing on the window sill by the end of the desk. He was familiar to you with his dark hair and domino mask, and his red and black uniform. His cape flowed from just off the precipices of his shoulders and hung around the backs of his knees—imposing and regal but not in the way of any movements he made. The Red Robin had stood before you just earlier in the day at Lee Sungjae’s suburban home. He had been the one with the familiar presence to you, along with his… colleague? You didn’t know his and Nightwing’s association or relationship, but you weren’t about to interact long enough to find out.

“Breaking and entering is illegal, y’know,” the masked vigilante mused, and you could just make out the shadow of his smirk in the darkness. “Even at crime scenes.”

You rose from your spot on the floor, slipping the burner into the holster pocket on the garter around your thigh and tucking the file in the crook of your arm. There wasn’t really a place you could hide the chunky piece of shit. Despite your heart palpitating in your chest, you maintained a cool exterior. He didn’t know who you were, and you expected that he wouldn’t be able to recognize your voice since you had only spoken to him once.

“Nothing done in Gotham is illegal,” you replied to him.

His head cocked to the side, arms folding over his chest. “You’re not wrong about that. But…” He nodded at the file folder. “I really can’t let you leave with that.”

Oh, dear god. You needed an escape plan—and fast.

Nothing was coming to mind; it was just get out get out get out! (Very helpful, as always.)

“I’m sure you can make an exception for me,” you said with a mocking pout. “How’d you even know I was here? I didn’t realize Yang Eunhyuk had a connection to Gotham’s exclusive Bat Boys.”

A scoff from him. “He doesn’t. Your luck just happened to be running out, sweetheart.” He stepped off the window sill and entered the office, stalking toward you with slow, methodical steps because he knew you were cornered. You really should have tried that office door when you had the chance.

As you began backing away, you shook his head and tsked. “C’mon,” he coaxed. “Give me the folder.”

“And I can go?” You wondered how fast you could disappear once you flung yourself out of that window.

He smiled. “If you give me that burner, too, sure.”

Your heart stopped for a millisecond. God damn it.

He must have seen the doubt in your eyes, and that fucking smile of his widened. Something about that was tug-tug-tugging a nerve. He stopped walking toward you as you slowly made a move to set the file down on the floor. “Good girl.”

The file flopped onto the wooden floor.

"Slowly," he drawled, eyes glued to your form as he watched your hand move toward the holster pouch.

All the while, you were counting down in your head.

Before he could blink, you swung a leg out and kicked the file back behind Red Robin and toward the window. His head swerved in that direction, and you launched yourself at him before he could realize his mistake.

You kicked at him, one-two, adrenaline pumping through your veins like a virus. He blocked your blows, just as you swung around and made a grab for his mask.

He caught your wrist; you whirled—it was a high stakes tango you had not been prepared for. But you jabbed your elbow behind you, fist flying up toward his nose. Every move you made was desperate and offensive.

You slipped free and ducked, body curling under his arm, under his cape, until you ended up in the flurry of the dark fabric.

The vigilante knew his own cape though. You gave him that much.

He grabbed the opposite end and arced it over your head, arm coming down to wrap you in it—but you threw yourself out of it, landing a swift blow to his shin. Wouldn't do much except make him curse and loosen his grip slightly.

The file was in sight—oh god, it was right the fuck there.

You made a mad dash for it, leaning down slightly and reaching out with your hand—

"Not so fast, kitty—"

You hit the floor with a curse, palms flat against the wood. His foot had hooked around yours and tripped you, his knee set against your back like his own palm as he held you against the floor.

You felt his breath by your ear. "What's in the file, sweetheart?"

"None of your concern," you gritted out, then throwing your head back until you heard and felt that telltale "fuck!" from Red Robin.

You ignored the throbbing in the back of your skull to fling yourself around and throw off his balance again. Your hand dove into your holster pocket to retrieve the small cylinder of mace, then sprayed it in a final move of desperation, breath and chest heaving.

The man sputtered, hand flying up to his mouth as he stumbled backward and tried to eject the chemical from his body. "Dirty fucking move," he spat as you turned tail and made for the file.

Only—

"Looking for this?"

Two others had joined the party, to your absolute horror. Nightwing stood with the file in his hand, while Red Hood—the vigilante from the bank, and supposedly Choi Yeonjun based on your deductions—was perched up on the window sill with zero care in the world.

Well shit.

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[fiction-is-the-new-reality]

Pt 3: if only you knew

An Unfortunate Incident

word count: 5k

warnings: major violence, adult language, and angst

A/N: Ok sooooo. Thank everyone for all your support!! It means the world. Also I want to explain my inspiration for our main girl. I want her to be a bit darker than the other vigilantes. Someone that’s similar to Red Hoods vibe. I like to imagine her outfit similar to Azrael’s in AK, just without the full mask. I changed the name to Vulture instead of Phoenix because I felt like Phoenix was a little too cliche. As always please give feedback and love you guys!

Blinking a few times, you take in your surroundings. You’re on a cot in Panessa Studios. There’s a tightness in your side that tells you they stitched you up. Pushing yourself up on your elbows, you look around. There are other cells identical to the one you’re in, with people in them.

“Great, you’re up,” Tim pops into view, donned in his Robin suit. “Batman told me not to let you out.”

You look at him, opening your mouth to argue when he cuts you off. “Lucky for you, I know he needs help out there. You’re free to go, that is, if you’re feeling like it. I know it can be scary to get back out the–”

“This isn’t my first time getting my ass beat,” you remind him, “but that did sound like it was going to be a great pep talk, though.”

Placing your feet on the floor, you begin to stand. Your body aches from the beatings, and you can feel the itchiness of the stitching as you walk to the door. The door slides open to allow you out, and you finally see the other people in the cells.

Looking at them, you see they all have pale skin and green hair, and even their mouths look slightly deformed to an upturned smile. While you’re staring, they all begin to yell and taunt you. Seeing the confused look on your features, Tim quickly explains who they are and why they’re locked in the cells.

Turning away from the people, you begin walking toward the elevator. “How long was I out for?”

“Couple hours. It’s gotten worse out there.”

“Has Bats asked for any help?”

“If he has, he hasn’t asked me.” He frowns like a disappointed kid.

And as you stare at him, you remember that he is just a kid. He’s barely older than Jason was when he became Robin. Your heart clenches at the thought of Tim possibly meeting the same fate as Jason.

“Don’t take it personally. He’s just looking out for you in his own way.” You grab his shoulder and squeeze it. He smiles back.

He calls out to you as you get on the elevator to go up.

“Kick some ass for me!”

As you leave the studio, your ears are filled with static before a voice emerges.

“Hello, Miss, I wanted to let you know your suit is complete. I have the Batwing sending it, along with new devices for you. I hope it is to your liking.” Lucius sounds pleased with himself.

“Thank you, Lucius.” The Batwing comes around the corner, and you watch in awe as the pod rockets down, slamming into the ground.

It opens with a loud hiss. Inside, the light reveals a two-piece suit. The dark green and black colors contrast against the bright white light. Putting it on, you instantly notice the reinforced fabric and the extra padded areas. Lucius had included details you hadn’t even thought of, like attaching a cape to the hood of your top and new boots. You take a moment to get used to the new suit and place your new gadgets and weapons on so they adorn every inch of your body.

Pressing on your comms, you call out to Oracle, but there’s nothing. A chill runs down your spine. That’s unlike Barbara. You try again, but there’s still nothing. As a final attempt, you use the tempad on your wrist to call her but receive the same response - silence. Shooting out the grappling hook, you feel the tug as it latches onto the next building. With your legs moving at top speed, you leap from building to building, feeling the wind rush against your face.

The moment you get closer to the Clock Tower, the reverberating sound of multiple shots fills the air, echoing from the Batmobile and the militia tanks. The Tower itself has an overwhelming amount of militia presence. Jumping down, you make quick work of taking them out. Taking your chain whip, you wrap one end around your left hand and use your right to swing and deliver blows. Utilizing the chain, you swiftly neutralize several men, effortlessly reeling in the remaining ones and defeating them with your hands.

There’s a quick, almost too fast black mass out of the corner of your eye. As you glance in that direction, you notice Batman has entered the fray; his powerful presence gains the attention of the men. Most of them leave you to go deal with him. You and Bruce do good at avoiding each other, until the last second of the fight.

There’s only one man left, and you punch into his core as many times as possible, forcing him to move backward and toward Batman. Sweeping out his feet, you kick him back, letting Bruce deal the final hit that puts the guy to sleep.

The robotic voice of Arkham Knight comes over the comms of the fallen militia men. “I’m impressed. But your tricks don’t stay new for long, Batman. I see you’ve added another person that you’ll get killed.”

Your eyes widen as you look at Bruce. He looks back at you before grappling at the top of the Tower. You’re right after him.

You both land in the room, and while looking around, you notice only one thing out of the ordinary. There’s no sign of a struggle, just an empty turned-over wheelchair that lays in the middle of the floor.

“What the hell happened?” Bruce ignores your question. Turning to see what he’s doing, you notice a glossy look in his eyes as he stares at the wheelchair. Strange. He still doesn’t respond or acknowledge you’re there, even after you call his name multiple times. He finally snaps out of his daze and places the wheelchair back upright.

The elevator dings open to show Commissioner Gordon. As he enters the room, you push yourself into the shadows, hoping to become a fly on the wall as you watch what unfolds.

Jim’s foot lands on a picture frame of him and Barbara. While he kneels, he lightly runs his fingers across it. Bruce speaks up, “This isn’t your fault, Jim.”

“Of course it is. Crane’s done this to get to me. I should have been here.”

Your heart breaks as you watch him blame himself.

“There’s something I need to show you.” Bruce turns, walking to the retina scanner.

Jim stands back to full height, following him. “We haven’t got time. She’s not like us,” Jim frets.

“Batman?” You question him, making sure he wants to do this. He doesn’t seem to care about the consequences.

As the machine whirls to life, the room soon converts into Oracle’s domain. And before you can say another word, he reveals the secret that Barbara fought so hard to keep from her father. You watch as Jim digests what's happening, his eyes darting back and forth between the room and Batman. You know it’s clicked when his face goes from sadness to anger.

“She’s strong, Jim, stronger than you realize.”

Not only do you see the anger, but you can feel the anger radiating off of Jim as he turns back to Batman.

“She works for you?” He scoffs as he shakes his head, walking toward the elevator. “This is all your fault.”

“I will find her,” Batman’s stern voice was an unspoken promise.

You stare in surprise as Jim punches him. Batman takes the punch unfazed.

“She’s my family! MY DAUGHTER! She’s all I’ve got.” He gets on the elevator, turns around, and tells Bruce, “I never should have trusted you. Never!” His face was full of pain and betrayal as he threw down his communicator.

“I’ll do this on my own. Stay away from my family.” His voice wavers a little but remains stern. He slams shut the elevator door and leaves.

Once the elevator is gone, you turn back to Bruce, “What’s our next step? How do we plan on finding Barbara?”

“I’ll hack the municipal CCTV system. I should be able to monitor all access points in the building.” He filters through the footage from the last few hours.

“There!” You watch as two militia vehicles pull up. The Arkham Knight hops out of one, enters the Tower, and soon returns with what looks like an unconscious Barbara. He puts her in the back of the car and takes off with her.

“I’ll be able to program the Batmobile to track the tires, their AmerTek D60s.”

“Great, I’ll come with you.”

“No, you need to be out on the streets. There are militia checkpoints and riots that you can help with.”

“I don’t work for you, Bruce,” you remind him. “I’m in this for Barbara, and the best way for me to help is to get her back.”

“There’s no time to argue. If you want Barbara back faster, you’ll listen to me and stay back.” He insisted.

“You better find her.” You sneer at him,

You’re out of the tower, watching the streets from above. You can’t stop yourself from seething with rage towards Bruce. Who does he think he is to tell you what to do? And who are you to listen? You hate that you’re not helping find Barbara; you hate that you’re stuck doing busy work.

A flashing light catches your eye, causing you to turn and see Bat Burger in the distance. You and Jason had gone there before everything, and you wish your smile were genuine, but instead, a bittersweet feeling washes over you. Your smile is one of self-pity. Your last moments with each other were marked by faces red with anger, furrowed brows, and tear-filled eyes as you desperately pleaded for him to listen. Closing your eyes, you think back to that night.

There’s snow covering the ground, Jason’s complaining about Bruce treating him like a kid, and you just listen as you stare up at him while waiting in line to order.

You grab your food and sit in a secluded booth, far from the bustling crowd.

“I’m not a kid. I haven’t been one for a long time. He treats me like I’m still in the learning phase. Like, I haven’t been with him for almost two years! You know, after Dick had been with him for two years, he had joined the Titans!” He takes a massive bite of the burger in his hands, and with his mouth full of food, he speaks again. “I’m going to show him. Hell, I’ll go after Joker if it shows him to take me seriously.”

You giggle at him, “Yeah, great idea, Jay. I’ll take down Croc while we’re at it.” You look up from your meal when you don’t hear him laugh.

“I’m not kidding,” he had a stern look on his face.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea?” He stops mid-chew to look at you like you’re crazy.

“Look, Jay, I know how hard it is to deal with Bruce, but don’t you think that’s a little too much?” You shrug, trying to ease the uncomfortableness that’s fallen over the table.

“Actually, you don’t know how hard it is to deal with Bruce.” Great, you think. He’s putting up a wall. “You don’t think I can do it?” he accuses you.

“It’s not that, just…maybe wait a little longer.”

He scoffs, “I could do it. I could take any of them.”

“I’m sure you could, but wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t risk it? Wouldn’t it be better if you could confidently take them down in a couple of years?”

“The only ones not confident in me are you and Bruce.”

“Don’t lump me in with him. I just think there are other ways to show him you’re ready to move on from being the dynamic duo.”

“None of that will be as effective as this. If I show him, I can hold my own. He won’t be able to ignore it.” Jason’s being stubborn as always, and usually, you love that about him, but right now, it’s adding to your aggravation.

“Unless you get killed!” You toss your hands up, trying to make your point more clearly.

“I can’t believe this. You’re supposed to support me. Why don’t you see that I can do this?” His eyebrows furrow, his face getting slightly flushed as he grows angrier.

“Jason, it’s a stupid idea! There’s such a high chance of you getting injured or, worse, killed! Why do you not care about that?”

“I bet if Dick had told you this, you’d bat your eyelashes and tell him he’s so brave.” He jeered. Your eyes soften slightly, knowing how he constantly compares himself to others. He had a wicked jealous streak, not to mention his fear of not being good enough. You know he wants to impress Bruce, to show that he was better than Dick, that he was the best yet.

“Don’t be an ass, Jay. I’m trying to look out for you.”

“I don’t need you to look out for me. I can do that myself.” He stands from the table, and you lunge up after him. Following him outside.

“Just forget I said anything. No one trusts me. No one believes in me. I’m just Jason, the poor alley kid Bruce Wayne so generously took in. I’m just the second Robin, constantly compared to Boy Wonder.” He whips around to face you. “I’m so fucking tired of it! I want to be seen for who I am, not for where I came from. No one has faith in me, but I’ll prove it. I’ll show all of you that you’re wrong.”

You step back from him, your face twisting as you empathize with me. He notices immediately, and his anger just furthers.

“Don’t you fucking dare look at me like that. I don’t need your pity. I don’t need anything from you.” He turns back around and begins stalking toward the nearest alley. You chase after him, the cold air nipping at your burning face.

You feel your eyes welling up with tears but refuse to cry, “Jason, wait, please!”

His pace doesn’t decline. “Jay, I just want to keep you here for as long as possible! I don’t care about where you come from or who’s been here before you! I just care that you’re still here! You can’t do this.” You finally catch up and grab his arm.

Turning quickly, he grabs your arm and shoves you off him. His eyes are full of fire, and they’re glossy with tears. “Nothing you say can stop me. I was just hoping you’d be different and that you’d understand. I hoped you’d be a good friend and at least lie, but you didn’t because you’re just like them.”

“Please don’t do anything stupid, please, Jason.” You grab at him again, but he dodges your hand. You feel the tears overflowing, and your throat gets tight as your nose burns.

“Jason, please, just listen to me. Just think about this. Please don’t, Jason.” The tears have started to fall as you beg him.

The tears that roll down your face feel like knives slicing him open. He has to turn away. He can’t stand to see you cry, especially since he caused it. He doesn’t respond to your pleas as he makes his way up and out of the alley.

A huge booming noise towards Miagani pulls you back to the present. You can hear multiple rapid shots exchanged between tanks and the Batmobile. Pressing a button on the tempad on your wrist, you hear the low rumble of your motorcycle nearby. You jump off the building and press the button again. From around the corner, your bike appears. Positioning yourself on the bike, you grip the handlebars tightly, feeling the engine's vibration reverberate through your hands as you accelerate towards triple-digit speeds, racing towards Miagani Island.

Arriving at the scene, it is obvious you’re too late. Destroyed tanks fill the area, with some still burning. The thought of following Bruce crosses your mind, but it quickly vanishes once you see the tunnel. You’re very intrigued by the tunnel. The pull is irresistible, like a pirate under the spell of a siren's song.

As you slowly roll down, you’re stunned at the realization that there had been a massive militia presence under your feet this entire time. Your eyes dart from one direction to another, constantly scanning your surroundings. Despite the appearance of a complete evacuation, you remain on high alert, not lowering your guard. The tunnel opening fades from sight, leaving you with a pounding heart and a sense of unease. As you venture deeper, an unsettling feeling of being watched washes over you. You just blame it on nerves.

There’s a room on the left side of the tunnel. You wonder if there’s anything in there that could help find Barbara. You position your bike nearby in case you need a quick getaway. Walking around, you examine every piece of paper, nook, and cranny. Luckily, your search isn’t wholly void; you find some Batarangs.

As you stand from picking up the Batarangs, the feeling of being watched is so strong you quickly whip around to look at the door. Your blood runs cold as you come face to face with the Arkham Knight.

“It must be my lucky night, getting two of you little heroes in a row. Even better is that you brought yourself to me.” His modulated voice adds to echoes around the room.

Without meaning to, you’ve taken a step back. Arkham Knight matches by stepping forward.

“If we’re going to fight, let’s get on with it.” What sounds like a laugh comes through his helmet before he lunges at you.

His fist met your body quick and hard. Blocking as many as you could, you landed some of your own. Each punch from you lands with a resounding thud against his combat suit. You're doing well until he grips your shoulders, forcefully slamming you against his knee. The impact of his knee against your stitched-up side sends a lightning bolt of pain all over. As the pain rattles your body, you crumble to the ground, feeling the hard surface beneath you. His towering body seemed even more looming as he stared down at you.

He straddles your body, not even flinching as you thrash and punch him. He tightly grips your neck, his hands constricting like a vise. You know you’re going to be bruised. As he tries to suffocate you, you swiftly wrap your legs around his waist, desperately seeking leverage. You attempt to gain an advantage by extending your arms as far as possible, pushing against the front of his helmet, and contorting your body to move his head back. His grip on your neck relaxes ever so lightly as you twist his neck further to the side.

With his grip still on your neck, you brace your arms in a triangle-like shape under his. Slamming them against his, you break out of the lock he has on you. Following it with a kick to his chest. The impact is jarring, sending a shockwave of sensation up your legs. With a backward roll, he allows you to rise to your feet. When you turn to face him, you see the Knight back on his feet, ready for another round. Both of you stand there, eyes locked, the tension palpable. He waits for you to bolt out the door as you wait for him to lunge at you.

He jerks his head at the doorway, “Go ahead, run.” Even through the voice disruptor, you can hear the smirk he’s wearing.

You break the stand-off by slinging the batarangs at him. They take him by surprise, and he instinctively swipes at them in self-defense, giving you time to run towards your bike. You hear his footsteps thudding behind you as you approach your bike. Before you can swing your leg to get on, you’re being picked up and slammed down onto the dirt. Your brain rattles in your skull from the force, and you go blind with rage.

Going ballistic, you start punching and you don’t stop. Even as he blocks, you keep going, sidestepping his fist and his legs as he attempts to kick. You circle him so fast that he gets dizzy. Ducking down, you strike his midsection with jabs, then deliver an uppercut to his metal head. In a twisting motion, you aim to deliver a roundhouse kick, but he successfully catches your ankle as your foot comes close to him. You support him by propelling yourself towards him.

He wobbles backward. You entwine your legs around his waist and thrust yourself towards his center of mass. He falls to the dirt with a thud. Your strength doesn’t waver, not even when you’re on top. Straddling him, you slam the front of his helmet with both hands. Despite repeating the process, the glass remains unbreakable. Yanking out one of your blades, you aim for his unarmoured neck. Just before the blade hits, he grabs your arms only centimeters away.

“I wonder how Batman will feel about this murder attempt?” He taunts you.

Determined to get the blade through his neck, you push as hard as you can. “I wonder how it’ll feel when I slice through your vocal cords.” You snarl back at him.

He chuckles, pretending he doesn’t feel the blade against his Adam’s apple.

You lean forward, using your body weight to press the blade down. It backfires and allows him to ram his helmet against your forehead. After you tumble off of you, you attempt to crawl toward your bike. The black spots in your vision make it almost impossible to see it.

Arkham Knight stands there, watching as you crawl to your motorcycle. He almost for half a second feels for you. For half a second, he thinks back to when he was Robin. He thinks of that little boy so full of red-hot rage, so stubborn to prove himself. He sees Jason Todd in you. Soon, images of himself crawling away from Joker derail his mind. The asylum’s grimy, moldy floors squeak as he moves away from Joker. The new Robin suit being caked with blood and the massive headache he had all the time.

He can’t breathe. He hates watching you crawl. He hates seeing you. He hates Batman. He wants him to pay, to feel how he feels. He needs to send a message.

He stalks over to you, and once he’s close enough, he kicks you in the side so hard you flip over. He places his boot on your chest, applying enough pressure to make you wheeze.

“Don’t blame me for this. Blame Batman. He wasn’t here to protect you. He left you all alone.” He says it like he’s pitying you. No teasing or taunting, just pity.

He takes a small gun and aims it at your chest. You double-click the button on your tempad that alerts your bike to come to your location. It roars to life and charges in your direction. The speed of the bike causes his instincts to kick in, and he swiftly leaps aside. With lightning speed, you mount the bike and zip away. As you emerge from the tunnel, the sight of the Gotham streets greets you, and in that moment, a wave of relief washes over you.

Standing there, the Knight watches you disappear into the distance, the sound of the motorcycle reverberating off the walls. He raises the gun, his finger hovering over the trigger, but then abruptly lowers it, a moment of hesitation flashing in his eyes. He’ll wait until the perfect moment. He wants Batman to witness your death. Nothing and no one is safe from the Arkham Knight, and he’s going to make sure that Bruce knows that.

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[villruu]

Accidentally kidnapping a mafia boss murderer/stalker + Brian and Alex?

I loved this prompt so much ough (this is just over 2K,,, this was meant to be a drabble lmao). Ended up including Tim (bc how could I not???)

On AO3

Anyways, have the beginnings of the Worst Road Trip, Ever.

This is an alternative ending to Entry 67

⸻

Brian held the gun loosely, staring at the weapon, flicking the safety on, off, on, off, on, off.

It was just the two of them alone now, on the building. 

Tim was probably far away enough by now, Brian thought, he had been too dazed, too lost under the grip of that fucking thing to refuse. For the better, anyways, Tim was always loose and stunned in these moments, and while he always followed Brian’s lead, it was better to not let an unknown variable in a situation as delicate as this one.

He should be just arriving to his car, probably, if he hasn’t collapsed yet, Brian’s inner clock told him if it wasn’t broken beyond repair thus far. 

Maybe, Brian thought almost fondly, this time he would catch a ride with Tim back into town. Maybe this would be finally the time he allowed Tim to see his face during the day again.

Safety on, off, on, off, on, off, on, off.

Alex’s struggles had finally stopped, Brian noticed once he entered the room again.

The other man just laid on the floor, a drying track of blood down his nose, a blooming bruise on his cheek where Tim had punched him particularly hard.

He looked pathetic.

Good, he thought viciously, good.

If Brian could speak normally, if he could speak, he would viciously tear into Alex, dismiss and rip every little thought the bastard had, make him die in distress, knowing that everything he had worked for was all in vain, a fool’s errands, the crusade of a man who knew he was in the wrong and still tried to comfort himself with lies.

Safety on, off, on, off.

But he can’t. At least, Alex will die just like his other victims did, without a single word to excuse the crime, dying without even the grace of knowing.

He can’t help the grin under the mask and he levels the gun at Kralie’s face. His eyes are tired but frowning, both accepting and rejecting what is about to happen. Coward, he thinks bitterly.

Safety on, off.

The gun feels light in his hands, but Brian knows that it is heavy with all the blood it has spilled.

He draws the hammer back with his thumb, watching how Kralie’s pupils shrink at the sound. 

His hands are steady, the most steady they have been ever since this asshole decided to hit him with a metal bar. He wonders if Alex remembers this place, if he remembers that six years ago he found Brian wandering this dilapidated room dazed after the encounter from that thing, if he remembers how he pretended to comfort Brian, if he remembers holding the metal bar, if he remembers leaving his fucking body beneath a bush.

…He doubts it, but he likes to imagine the other remembers.

It makes this whole thing fit better. An irony, a metaphor, a final fuck you to Alex Kralie’s pretentious ass.

Brian moves slowly, to savor these final moments. Over six years of this, finally coming to an end. Finger resting on the trigger, watching how Kralie’s eyes follow each movement. Every hour spent seething, hating, living out in the wild, living as a ghost, forced to ignore every missed call from Tim, forced to ignore his mom’s unanswered texts, forced to live on scraps and hate.

All of that, to finally end in this. Holding the guy responsible for everything.

(Tim may be the origin but Alex Kralie is the truly one at fault. He can manage Tim once he gets this done with, but for now, he gives his everything in his hunt for Kralie. And it has finally paid off.)

It feels a bit weird that Tim is not here, watchful presence behind him ready to attack as he commands, loyal guard dog ready to bite whoever he is directed to. But it feels more real like this. 

Just him and Kralie, alone. 

Only one of them is walking out of this alive, and they both know it.

And as much as Kralie may be doing that thing’s bidding, Brian is the one who knows how to escape the Operator’s realm. He is the one who has spent six years giving parts of himself to escape the Ark, he is the one who knows how to escape that thing’s grasp. As much as Kralie may have unknowingly worshipped that creature, it will not save him once he is left in the Ark.

The camera he holds on his other hand. He isn’t sure what he will do with the tape, just yet, but he will figure something out.

Maybe upload a part of it for the channel, maybe leave it for Jay, maybe simply burn it. 

A way to make this real, perhaps. If it’s filmed, if it’s recorded, then it can’t be forgotten. It can’t be hidden.

(Like Sarah’s, like Seth’s, like his—)

Just as he finally aligns his sight, the gun pointing straight between Kralie’s eyes, is when all goes to hell.

First, the camera stops working properly, screen lagging behind and pixelated.

The humming in his bones grows louder, louder, louder. 

And then, the sensation of something watching.

Brian turns around, and he can see it, can see it slowly leaning out the doorway, still far away enough to run away, but close enough to make fear and surprise fill his body.

Safety on.

Put the gun away in his jeans, shut the camera off, prepare to run away.

Brian’s eyes land on Alex’s figure and he hesitates.

If he leaves, Alex Kralie will get away again.

If he leaves, who knows Alex Kralie is gonna hurt next?

It’d be so simple to just kill him now. Quickly pull the trigger and bolt away.

But he didn’t want the Operator to take the body. The lighter in his hoodie weighs heavily in his mind as he quickly tries to think of what to do.

It shifts closer.

If he leaves, Alex Kralie lives.

If he stays, he will die again.

(Brian can’t go to the ark again, not this soon. He doesn’t have enough to give, he doesn’t have enough, the ark takes and takes and takes and Brian is a husk, he can’t go, not again, not so soon. He needs time, he just needs more time)

Static grows louder.

Everything is normal, he reassures himself, despite how he can feel himself shaking, everything is fine.

It gets closer.

I worry about nothing, Brian tries, but he can feel the static, the blankness slowly creeping on him, cause nothing’s…

Static.

Nothing’s…on…

The shift of rubble. A tilt of it’s head. On the floor, Alex Kralie whimpers in fear.

Fuck this, Brian thinks, crouching down and with shaking hands pulling out the small knife he keeps on him.

Alex tries to rear back at the sight of it, but Brian focuses on quickly cutting the ties, mind going into overdrive as he tries to ignore how he can feel that thing getting closer, closer, cLOSER—

Quickly, before Alex can react, Brian whacks him as hard as he can on the head with the butt of the knife.

Ignoring Kralie’s pained yelp or the way he slumps, Brian grabs him and with a strength purely fueled by adrenaline, holts him up and starts running. He can hear the Operator grow louder, it’s displeasure easy to tell by the way reality almost seems to warp around him, but Brian has long grown used to this.

Without hesitation, Brian keeps running, as the environment shifts around him. 

Hospital, forest, hallway, his house, forest, hospital, forest.

As much as the Operator may try to keep him here, Brian’s sheer adrenaline is enough to keep him going. The longer it goes on, the less intense the shifts are, until he is left alone in the forest, a few miles away from the abandoned building. He’s in Rosswood, fortunately, so it’s easy to orient himself and keep running towards where he knows the park ends.

He can feel Kralie struggling weakly in his hold, but it is easy to keep him subdued, the other too weak from the hit, probably too dizzy to act. Brian would know, he was in that situation once.

As the woods start to thin out, Brian finally spots the parking lot. 

Blessedly, Tim is still there, standing dazedly by his door, mask in place, looking slightly confused about Kralie’s presence but waiting for his cue to know how to react.

Good. Things would be more complicated if the conscious Tim was awake.

Struggling for breath, Brian slams the rear door open and practically shoves Alex inside, quickly climbing in as well.

He gestures sharply for Tim to get in the front seat, and the other does.

Brian struggles to speak, trying to make his mouth say the word drive, but it is useless, still too agitated and filled by adrenaline to take the proper time to force himself to speak. After a few tense seconds, he throws his hands in the air and simply waves at Tim to drive.

The white mask tilts to the side confused, like a dog trying to figure out a new trick, but before Brian can try again, with a burst of static, the Operator appears at the edge of the forest, frighteningly close.

Tim startles, jumping, but thankfully quickly gets the idea, turning the car on and slamming onto the reverse, the tires screeching loudly as Tim absolutely floors the accelerator.

As Tim quickly starts driving away, Brian focuses back on Alex.

Kralie looks sweaty, with a vaguely nauseous look on his face, trying to move as if he were wading through molasses.

It is easy to manhandle him, pinning him to lay on his side, seatbelts easily serving as restraints as Brian tries his best to tie him up as strongly as possible. A few zip-ties still left in his hoodie pocket help him tie his hands together behind his back, quickly tying the feet together as well, as Brian realizes he could still kick.

He does make sure to tie him up while laying on his side. It’s very probable that he throws up from the injury, likely soon, and the last thing Brian wants is Kralie choke on his vomit. He’d rather kill the man himself than let some vomit do the job for him.

After making sure it’s as safe as it's gonna get, Brian climbs into the front passenger seat, dropping with a tired sigh.

Alex can’t see him from the back, so Brian takes off his mask with a sigh, passing a hand through his sweaty forehead. Tim tilts his head slightly towards him, still somehow keeping the eyes on the road, but clearly waiting for an order.

And Brian… Has absolutely no idea what to do now.

After what feels like an eternity, watching the trees blur together through the window, Brian shrugs.

“...House,” He manages to slur out, voice as loud as a whisper, hoarse and gritty. The word is almost incomprehensible.

Tim nods sharply, however, easily understanding him, and something like fondness swells up inside Brian.

Despite their differences (liar, liar, LIAR, FILTHY FUCKING LIAR, IT’S HIS FUCKING FAULT—) Brian can always trust on Tim to understand him, somehow, through the slurring of his voice and the codes in his works.

After regaining his breath, Brian pulls his mask on again and sighs.

Maybe it is time that Brian brings Tim (the real Tim, the awake one, the conscious one) back on board. It would be difficult to shake Jay off, if Brian manages to convince Tim to go fully off-grid with him for a bit, but it wouldn’t be that hard if they’re lucky.

Moving the rear back mirror, Brian looks at Alex.

Once they get far away from the Operator, they can take care of him… Hopefully. It shouldn’t take long to shake that thing off their tails.

…At least, that’s what he thinks until he sees the Operator appear under the nearest streetlight at the red stoplight.

With a startled noise, Brian whacks Tim’s side, the other startling as well once he notices the thing nearby, pressing down his foot on the accelerator and crossing the red light without a single care as to any possible other cars nearby.

Okay, Brian thought calmly and firmly ignoring his wild heartbeat, maybe Tim’s house is not a viable plan.

…

Fuck.

He just waves at Tim to continue driving, and drops his head on his hands. 

Okay, alright, he can adjust to this, no problem. Alright.

Brian grimaces under his mask, trying to ignore the Operator reflected on the rear back mirror.

He’s just currently trapped… In a moving car… With a nauseous Alex Kralie in the back… And a Tim Wright in the front seat who is very close to “waking up”... This is, this is fine.

He did always want to go on a road trip, Brian thinks a bit hysterically as he notices Tim starting to seize up and urging him to move to the side.

Quickly switching seats with Tim, Brian gets back onto the road and tries to ignore the anxiety creeping up on him.

This is gonna be just fine… He’ll… He’ll figure something out.

Surely.

Yeah.

[comphetkoncass]

at a certain point in fics, sexism based off negligence (aka, “it’s been 40K and not a single female character has mattered at best or has even been mentioned at worst”) is just straight up ooc to the guy characters you’ve included. bc unless you intend your protagonist to be sexist, he would have cared about a woman within the last 40K and 3 months.

because tim wouldn’t just forget about cass. he loves her. kon wouldn’t disrespect ma by ignoring her. he loves her. dick would have called donna to ask her how she’s doing by now. because, yep, he loves her. damian would have thought about his mother by now. because yes it’s complicated but he loves her. clark would have recalled lois’s pragmatism by now and thought about how her thoughts might be valuable. because. he. loves. her. (and her opinion is indeed valuable). and even outside the realm of love, bruce would have asked barbara for her expertise. bruce would also ask diana for advice over clark on most matters. and dick would defer to kory or donna on emotional matters. and stephanie was good at making damian feel safe to be a kid. and so on. and so on.

like it or not, these women matter to these men. if you think these guys don’t seek out the women in their lives’ expertise, assistance, comradarie, friendship — you’re missing out.

and, if we’re keeping score, on a purely pragmatic level, they’re capable. and if you want to write capable men, you need to write them taking advice and cues from capable women. and sometimes, having their asses kicked by capable women is also what makes the story realistic.

so ma would have better parenting advice than alfred. and barbara would have solved tech issues faster than tim. and diana would have more wisdom than clark. and talia would have won that fight. and kory would also have won that fight. and cass DEFINITELY would have won that fight. do you get it?

like it or not, these women matter, and are skilled. not including them and not allowing the men in dc to see utilize their value makes it seem, ultimately, like you’re intentionally writing sexist guy characters for overlooking them.

because… seriously. do you really want someone reading your fic to be wondering, in the back of their mind, if this version of tim is just sexist and that’s why he doesn’t think about his girl friends at all? because at this point that’s what i wonder when i hit 40K and he hasn’t even briefly wondered how cass or stephanie or cassie are doing, let alone his civilian girl friends and female mentors.

the men in this fiction know the women around them have rich inner lives, and amazing skills. you could at least try to acknowledge them too, fandom.

[bloodblanks]

solace [masky / hoodie x reader] — prologue.

As Tim watched the light fade and dim from your eyes, you wistfully wondered to yourself—how in the world did things turn out this way? You thought back to the unseen expression on Brian’s face; he had nothing to say to you. He was just watching, spectating. A bystander to the end of your life. Your face was numbing, so much so that you barely felt the tears that rolled down your skin. And you were crying, you were crying so dearly, mourning the loss of not just your own life, but also the two others that you had once cherished so much. Brian, kind sweet Brian who in grade school always held out his hand when you fell down, always helping you get back to your feet, now stranger to you as he reduced himself to a mere onlooker in your presence. Tim, sarcastic, funny Tim who liked to banter with and tease you in high school, the one person to always make you laugh, now with his hands gripping your throat, arms steady, eyes unflinching. And lastly there was you, you who was so deeply infatuated with the both of them, finally allowing the spark of hope in your chest to burn out and be extinguished, finally allowing your eyes to close in a somber acceptance of your death. 

author's note: this fanfiction will contain explicit content, including rape/non-con, kidnapping, stockholm syndrome, and similar themes.

please read at your own discretion.

What does love feel like?

Does it feel like the whisper of a blade, gleaming under the moonlight?

Amidst the pouring rain, the deluge of water that hailed down upon your shaking form, you heard the soft crunch of the fallen autumn leaves under his feet. The usually crisp sound was muffled, the leaves likely to be drenched and muddied under the downpour, but it mattered not. You had no doubt that he could've muted the sounds of his footsteps if he so desired, and only chose not to because you weren't worth the effort. After all, you were crouched down, sunken upon the ground in a barren state, void of any hope. You only giggled in despair, pitying yourself for being in such a situation.

Does it feel like the scintilla of glowing light, sparkling from a predator's eyes?

He was nearing you, closing the distance between the two of you and you could now see the twinkle of his eyes shimmering in reflection of the moonlight. His usual olive eyes emitted an amber glow, resembling a cat's stare as he locked his gaze upon you, the helpless mouse that he was hungry to devour. You could only watch as he treaded through the open field that you were knelt down in, hoping desperately that perhaps someone would see you, but knowing you were alone. It was a vacant, remote location. Knowing that it likely wouldn't have made a difference, this man was of the same occupation as your friends. He did the same grisly work as them. You were fighting a lost duel.

Does it feel like the edges of untended rocks, cutting into tender skin?

You weren't completely paralyzed when he threw the hatchet at you, as you managed to scramble to your feet, leaping to the side before disgracefully falling to the ground. Jagged ends of broken tree branches and sharp, serrated rocks cutting into your skin, you felt the ground brutally scrape against the elbows and palms you had held out in attempt to pad your landing. You cried out in pain, uncaring as to whether he'd hear you or not, knowing that your struggle was a hopeless one. The man was playing a game of cat and mouse with you, hunter and hunted as his wrist violently twitched, twirling the other hatchet in the open air. He had missed intentionally.

Does it feel like the agony of crushed bone, shattered under someone's heel?

You only noticed that you had sprained your ankle when you made an attempt to get back up. When you managed to bring yourself to your feet, you could only limp away in a pathetic manner, rendered almost as immobile as your fear paralyzed state. You were unsure as to why you were even trying to save yourself anymore, it would be quicker to simply accept your fate and pray that he'd be merciful, that he'd be quick. The second hatchet whirled through the air, digging itself into the tender flesh of your upper thigh. Your body registered it before your mind had understood what occurred; you were on the ground, hands clutching your upper thigh, the proxy's boot on your knee. You heard it when your kneecap was dislocated, the force striking a current of electricity up through your entire leg. The adrenaline did nothing to shield you from the pain, and you screamed, feeling the entirety of the agony.

Does it feel like the end of your life, unwittingly signed away yourself?

He spun the second hatchet around with his fingers, the movement of the weapon one of a macabre ballet dance after he had picked it up from where it stood, buried into the ground next to your thigh, embellished with a gaping laceration. When he brought it up to hold it above and behind his head, the sheen of the moonlight illuminated the sharp edge of the blade, glistening with your own blood. A singular drop of scarlet fell down, dripping upon and splattering against your dirtied cheek, sticky and wet. You had no time to wonder why, you only closed your eyes as he gripped the handle tight, turning the blade around before the dull side of the tool smashed into your skull, leaving you nothing but darkness.

next chapter ->

[pluckyredhead]

Red Hood and the Outlaws #2 (2011)

I'm continuing to make choices.

At least Roy remembered to string his bow this time.

When we last left our hero, he had returned to the headquarters of the All-Caste to find a dead old woman named Ducra. Issue #2 begins with a flashback of Talia taking a recently resurrected Jason to "the Hundred Acres of All," which I guess is supposed to sound cool but just makes me think of Winnie the Pooh. Jason meets Ducra, he sasses her, she kicks his ass but agrees to train him.

Cut to "three hours ago" and Jason and Roy on a plane:

Jason dresses extremely formally in this run and it does feel pretty incongruous to me because Jason doesn't strike me as someone who cares for formality or appearances. I've chosen to headcanon this as Jason rigidly emulating Alfred and Bruce's notions of adult male fashion, especially in situations in which he's uncomfortable, because if he can project wealth and power the way Bruce does, maybe people won't see his painful backstory and soft underbelly. It doesn't really work with Jason's love of telling everyone his trauma to make them feel bad for him, but...look, man, RHATO is incredibly bougie, I don't know what to tell you.

Roy, meanwhile, is essentially just a series of scribbles. "Stage three clinger" is kinda funny, though.

(Roy is actually historically very, very good at not clinging to the people who are constantly abandoning him, but he latches onto Jason for dear life. I know that's because this Lobdell has never read a Roy comic before this, or anything at all including a cereal box or his own sentences he has just written, but I choose to believe it's because Jason is special.)

Oh, Isabel, honey. Don't bother climbing unprofessionally into the next seat like a lunatic. The man is Undateable.

(I'm not posting every panel but on the next page she gets him a second drink - "Soft drink, extra ice" - and Jason's like "Good memory!" "SOFT DRINK" IS NOT THE NAME OF A DRINK. "Liquid in a cup." "Good memory!")

Anyway Isabel hurls herself at Jason for a few more panels and then gives him her number and Jason fully and completely cannot process it for some reason:

I know Jason is supposed to come off in this series like a cool macho dude getting all the ladies, but scenes like this just...don't work? If Jason is supposed to be a stud who has already hooked up with Talia, Essence, Rose, and Kori, why can he literally not complete a sentence here? I feel like this reads much more like a very, very young man who missed most of his teen dating years to death and vengeance and has very little experience.

They arrive in Hong Kong, where Kori meets them in a limo. Why fly away from Kori and then meet her in a limo? Apparently just to show Jason and Kori both spending conspicuously so that readers will know they are rich and therefore cool, and for no narrative or characterization purpose. How did Kori get money? Hush your mouth.

Is the "gorilla" in the room Dick? Both Kori and Jason explicitly stated in the previous issue that she doesn't remember him, so why would she be upset here? Is it that Jason and Kori have supposedly slept together and now Roy and Kori are sleeping together? Both Jason and Kori have ALSO explicitly stated that they don't care. Is this dialogue meaningless? Yes!

Jason refuses to take them to his safe house because last time he did they "soiled [his] sheets," which I'm taking as confirmation that they did in fact fuck in his bed last issue. In the safe house, he finds a woman named Suzie Su and her henchmen, who he quickly shoots a bunch and seemingly kills. We don't know who Suzie is or why this matters.

Cut to the team jumping out of a helicopter over the Himalayas during a freak thunderstorm, where we learn that Jason has gloves with metal wings that allow him to fly or at least glide. This is dumb, but it's extra dumb when you remember that Lobdell gave Tim an almost identical gimmick at the same time in Teen Titans. (He writes Jason and Tim identically in general: hyper competent and extremely bougie Gary Stus with the comebacks of a dull 12-year-old.)

They land in the All-Caste HQ to find everyone dead.

NOW HOLD ON JUST A DING-DANGED MINUTE. In issue #1, we explicitly saw Jason leave Roy and Kori in bed and come here for that scene in the middle panel, alone. Now supposedly Roy and Kori are there? We are an issue and a half in and there's already a massive continuity error? WHY DID THIS MAN GET PAID TO WRITE THIS BOOK FOR TEN YEARS???

The All-Caste come back as zombies (why? not explained) and the Outlaws fight them while Jason flashes back to being trained by them, which is just another generic fight scene. At one point Jason calls the All-Caste warriors "the greatest people I have ever known," but like...we haven't gotten a chance to know any of them, so who cares.

Anyway. Jason is sad, and then tells the others "Let's go kick some ass...team." THE END.

Here's the thing. Whenever you're starting a new story, a new comic, a new universe, whatever, there are always going to be things the reader doesn't know, and gradually learns as the story unfolds. It's not a bad thing that there are some unanswered questions.

However, we don't have any actual sense of who the All-Caste were, what they can do, or how long Jason stayed with them. We aren't shown any significant interactions or relationships between him and Ducra or the generic warriors, none of whom have names or distinguishable faces. There's a little uncreatively quippy dialogue from Ducra, but no actual reason for us to care. To follow this plotline, we need to either like Jason or understand the importance of this relationship or the stakes of the Untitled, and none of that has been sold in these two issues. In fact, I don't think the Untitled are even mentioned in this issue. (I mean, I do like Jason, but not because he wore a fat suit, bragged about fucking Kori, and killed some people, which is all he's done so far in this book.)

We also don't know who Essence is or what her history is with Jason or the All-Caste. And we don't know who Suzie Su is, why she was in Jason's safe house, or whether it matters that he (apparently) killed her. We know nothing about Kori except that she knows nothing about herself, and even less about Roy.

Again, some questions are fine and even good, but this many questions makes the book a parade of disconnected, uninteresting events we don't have any reason to care about. Which isn't a big deal when you're marathoning the series through dubious means in 2023, but I sure as hell wouldn't have paid $2.99 every month for this shit back in 2011.

[fanaticsnail]

SNAIL! I love chapter 4!!!!!

(Incoming: extremely long ask with memes included)

I'm really excited about the lore that is developing, the rhyme was really creative (was it in an original version of the story or did you come up with it yourself?) And all this information about the Sapsorrow Queen has me aching to hear more! She seemed at first to be set up as an antagonistic force, purely due to her claiming Mihawks soul should Governess not marry him, but I feel like you've shrouded her in enough mystery that she didn't come off as antagonistic in intentions. And with all this new lore I'm getting kinda Corpse Bride vibes? Might be me projecting though.

Governess calling Perona and Zoro "my-... -our wards" AAAASSA

Her recognizing Mihawks eye colour but not making the connection followed by her immediate next observation being that his eyes are soft and somber - something she hasn't noticed (as much) in Mihawk's eyes. And him then using those eyes that are now displaying vulnerability and emotion he wouldn't normally let himself display to "searched your face, darting from focusing on each of your eyes and looking over your parted lips before rising back to your intense irises." The POETRY!

"You may ask anything of me, but you will leave my bride out of the equation."

KEEP MY WIFE'S NAME-

Governess hiking up her socks:

I just know Mihawk was fighting for his LIFE

Do the staff know Mihawk is the farm-hand? Because all I can think is either way;

The staff, watching the distinguished Governess walk beside a dog on two legs / The staff, watching their feared and revered boss covered head-to-toe in mud and twigs: what the fuck.... What the fuck...

The fact that the ghosts know makes me think that one of them spotted him eating shit in the mud puddle the first time and then Perona, having been informed of it, woke up in the dead of night to watch him willingly roll around in mud the second time.

"-Do not dare to do yourself the disservice of calling yourself low,"

KEEP MY WIFE'S- oh shit that is my wife

Mihawk allowing his guard to slip and laughing heartily??? Governess giggling???? And remarking that she hasn't experienced something like this since childhood??? Slipping her regal exterior??? My heart is pounding

He stooped down to you, the brims of your hats touching as he cooed down in a mocking tone, “I did this, this morning.” - oh my lawd. This whole section. Sir. Please. One of us will have to restrain ourselves (pun not intended)

"She cannot marry her father, of course she cannot." <-- I'm not sure if it's an exact quote from the narrator but I feel like you're referencing the story teller version. And when Governess divulges her wanting to marry Mihawk for reasons beyond the superficial (fate, or his riches) and Mihawk in turn divulges a love for an "unknown" woman, it seems really similar to the Storyteller scene. I really like it!! IDK if I mentioned before but I like how the roles of Straggletag and the prince were reversed

"I am proud to call you my friend", "I'm here by your side, I will not drop you," <- Mr President. A second quote has hit the reader.

(also I can't remember if I asked before but can I be on the tag list?)

SNAIILLLLL YOU'RE HERE!!!! YOURE BACK!!! Oh how I missed you!!

To answer your questions! The poetry and the rhymes are all my own. The original story has no real mysticism nor mystery surrounding the concept, SO I decided to add my own to shake things up 💃.

The Corpse Bride is one of my favourite Tim Burton films of all time. Considering Oda based the layout of Kuraigana on the art from The Nightmare Before Christmas, I couldn't not incorporate the elements into the plot. That wouldn't be fair.

I did need to have a small: "Hmmm... His eyes are quite similar," moment for her to get some semblance of familiarity from him - but I didn't want the mystery to be revealed just yet.

I HOWLED THE BIGGEST CACKLE AT THE GIF USE!!! PROBABLY WOKE THE NEIGHBOURS (ITS MIDNIGHT).

The "keep my wife's name" just ruined me.

The sock hiking was not a deliberate flirtation on her behalf, but absolutely Mihawk was feeling some feelings.

To spoil the spoiler, that is not really a spoiler - the staff are 💯 aware that Mihawk is the Farm-Hand. He was not always covered from head to toe in sludge and grime, opting to just have his straw hat and shielded mask over his beard in the happenstance that he might get dirty.

Upon that one time he did topple headfirst into the mud, meeting the governess on that day, he simply said: "welp, I guess this is my life now" and has to cover himself in that disguise to keep up the illusion. The staff don't know how to deal with the new look, but they're wise enough to not say anything about it.

The ghosts likely woke up Perona that first night being like: "Honey, you seeing this shit??" And Perona is just there like ⚫👄⚫

I needed to have them slip their guards a little in this chapter - they need to get to know each other a little before their engagement party (which I'm nearly there with. Couple more days, I think).

I have to reference the source material of the storyteller episode. It wouldn't feel the same without hearing John Hurt in my head, I think. I love the way he yells it.

I did do a role reversal for stragletag (Farm-Hand) and the prince (Lost-Lady) specifically to keep things a little interesting for me, and to keep the twists and turns coming for you guys! Can't just tell it how it is, where would be the fun in that? 😏

"I'm here by your side, I will not drop you," he is such a flirt and I don't think he's even aware of it.

I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE NOT ON THE TAG LIST. OF COURSE I WILL ADD YOU!!! MY SNAIL!! THE SEXC KIND!!

Thank you for your asks, I always adore hearing from you!!

[veryace-ficrecs]

Hey! Could you do another daemon rec list? Your other list got me in the mood

Absolutly! d=====(￣▽￣*)b

More Daemon Fic Recs

This list will include all ratings and tags, so read at your own discretion! :)

Star Trek

Ni'Var by WerewolvesAreReal - Rated G

Humans have daemons. Vulcans have katras. Spock, born of both, has neither. Which he's fine with. Really. Meanwhile, James Kirk is a little curious about this whole daemon business, because how the hell can he have two souls - ?

a resilient touch by kurgaya - Rated T

Jim’s daemon used to be a wolf and Leonard’s not sure how he feels about that. Used to be. [STID Missing Scenes - Jim sleeps. Leonard worries. Someone unexpected talks some sense into them both].

Daredevil

Down to the Bone by SpiritsFlame - Rated G

Everyone always wants to know why his daemon isn't a bat. As though being blind is all that there is to him, the center point of his character.

Spiderman

of things unknown (but longed for still) by aloneintherain - Rated T

Peter Parker can’t walk around with the same daemon as Spider-Man. But she’s going to settle one day, and there’s nothing he can do about it.

The Witcher

Two Halves of a Whole by penguistifical - Rated G

Geralt doesn’t take much notice at first when the small brown bird alights on his table.

one for sorrow by Emamel - Rated T

There were other rumours, older and more persistent, that Jaskier hadn't been able to make a dent in. Witchers don't have souls. Witchers are no better than beasts. How could they be civilised, intelligent, compassionate, human, when they don't even have daemons. What was Jaskier supposed to do about that?

interconnected strand to strand by Hirikka - Rated G

Turns out Jaskier isn't the first person who loves Geralt to be driven away by the witcher. After The Mountain, Jaskier is found by Geralt's daemon. They adopt each other.

The Adventure Zone

a thousand points of no return by anonymousAlchemist - Rated T

Since wizard's daemons often settle as birds and urban legend says that elves are separated from their daemons, no one looks too closely at the fact that Taako and Lup are both single entities, missing the other halves of their hearts. They walk like people, they talk like people, and if they're hard to read because their daemons aren't fluffing up their feathers or swatting playfully with their paws, well, elves are notoriously enigmatic anyway. This lasts until their first death. All deaths on the Starblaster are strange. When Magnus first died on the animal planet, I'morko followed right after, both of their bodies dissipating into golden sparks, a strange inversion of the natural order. The pattern holds. Year after year, person and daemon alike dissipate into a fine mist of dust, knit together by the bond engine in the new plane. During their fifteenth year, Taako is shot through the heart with a well-aimed magic missile. Lup screams and casts one last firebolt, spell-sculpting around their bodies, before unspooling into a fine golden sand.

Yuri on Ice

hollow ground by Piyo13 - Rated T

There's no rules regarding where a daemon has to be in relation to their skater, only that they aren't allowed on the ice. This has always seemed a little unfair to Yuuri. After all, he loves skating like he loves his own soul; why can't he have both?

Batman

I know you won't leave by Speechless_since_1998 - Rated G

Jason was thirteen, adopted for over a year, and he was at his first gala. He expected the rich snobs who looked down on him, judging his daemon. What he didn't expect was to find a child hiding as his daemon took shape. Nor that Ace would adopt him.

everything you lose is a step you take by oceanofchaos - Rated T

“Tim,” she says, hesitant in a way that she never is, not when it’s just the two of them, “About settling.” Thirteen is hardly unreasonable to be unsettled, but rare given their night activities, and Tim’s been thinking hard about what Hestia will choose. “I don’t think I want to settle,” she says quietly, interrupting his train of thought, “Maybe not ever.” “Okay,” replies Tim, stroking a careful finger over her soft brown snout, “Not if you don’t want to.” ------------ Dæmon AU, the life and times of Tim Drake and his dæmon Hestia, before, during, and after Robin.

Fullmetal Alchemist

the lives of wild animals by ohmytheon - Rated G

military - but what people don't realize is that his daemon is just as wild as Mustang's in the end.

In the Shape of a Soul by redketchup - Rated T

Ed says, “Stupid Colonel Bastard.” “Brother, what are you thinking?” Alphonse asks evenly, which is his way of saying, Please, for the love of god, brother, the colonel is not responsible for every terrible thing, but hey, it ends up Alphonse is still loyal to his big brother, because he also adds, “I’m surprised he didn’t make an effort to call us. It sounds like something we could help with. Maybe the first lieutenant has been out recently.” Which conveys how little faith Alphonse actually has in Mustang when he acts outside Riza Hawkeye’s influence.

East City has a new string of murders and, much to a young alchemist's annoyance, his superior officer insists that the Fullmetal Alchemist's expertise is not needed. This leads to more trouble than anyone would expect.

talents of the souls by ohmytheon - Rated G

Edward's hand shakes as he draws the soul bonding transmutation circle on the inside of the armor. Alethea has to hold his arm up to keep him steady. “I won’t let you take them!” Ed screams. “Take my arm, take my heart, take my soul!” Alethea cries out as she buries her face into his stomach. He can’t feel her. He almost gets sick. Oh, god, why can’t he feel her? (Or, Fullmetal Alchemist with daemons, focusing on Edward, Alphonse, and human transmutation. Companion piece to "rummaging in our souls", which focuses on Roy and Riza.)

[dcxdpdabbles]

Any new ideas for congratulations! It's triplets? Love the idea of Jason just freaking out and trying to figure out how to build a relationship with his kids while being made fun of by his family and said kids. Especially if he goes overprotective mode because Danny has clown trauma too and gets snagged by the joker

Jason watches as Danny- his son.- impatiently taps his fingers against the table. His boy's gaze was looking at everything, taking in the big fancy Wayne Mannor with a sort of disinterest he was not expecting of a child so young.

His sister and Brother- both with alarmingly similar names- were also disinterested, but Dani was swinging her legs, and Dan was tapping his spoon and fork against the table in a fast-paced drumming.

It's strange to know he would fidget a lot as a kid but he always resorted to finger tapping. Was the tripples little habit from him? He wonders what else they inherited and what he missed out on seeing.

"I don't understand," Jasmine said, overlooking the contract Bruce's lawyers wrote up. " Why would you want custody now? It's been five years."

"I didn't know." Jason swallows past the lump in his throat as she gives him an unimpressed stare over the paper. He feels Bruce place a hand on his shoulder, and the silent support allows him to continue. "If I have, I wouldn't have ever let them grow up without me."

"Jason doesn't want full custody," Tim cuts in with a soft voice that has tricked lesser men into selling their shares. He and the rest of his family are all sitting across from Jassmin Fenton, as she is carefully lured back to the manor to discuss their next step. "He just wants to be part of his kid's lives and would happily share that with you."

"Not telling him about the kids sort of played into that," Steph mutters tactlessly. Unfortunately, her voice carries, and the woman across from them bristles.

There is a tense moment where he thinks Jassmin is about to curse them all out before she sighs and slumps in her seat. "Well, it wasn't like I had a means to contact you when I found out. You gave me a fake name."

Jason winces. "I sort of forgot I told you my name was Petter."

"Wasn't a total lie" Dani chirps "It is your middle name."

Jasmine rubs her eyes. "Look, Jason, I don't want to stop you from seeing the kids, but this is all too much right now. I'm dealing with a lot right now-"

"You are currently homeless," Damian cuts in, causing Jasmine to stop in genuine bewilderment.

"No, we're not." Dan scoffs. "You were waiting for us at our house. Waiting to ambush us."

"The house that was on the street that Poison Ivy just destroyed," The boy says, showing everyone his phone screen. There, clear as day is, their home is nothing but rumble. Jasmine's face spams, and she quickly checks her phone, paling at what she reads.

"Oh, Ancients. It's gone. It's all gone," She whispers, gripping the phone. The three kids immediately stiffen, watching their mother with strange intensity. Too aware of what this means.

They were mature for their age, and that is never a good thing.

Oh gods. Did his children live on the streets? Had Jason's carelessness hurt his children like his parents have hurt him?

"Mom?" Danny asks and that seems to snap Jasmine out of her spirl.

"Hotel!" She gasps, hands shaking as she quickly starts tapping on her phone. Jason catches a glimpse of her screen and realizes she is making a to-do list. "I have to book a hotel room. Call the insurance company, go and try to salvage whatever we can....what else?"

"You can stay here, Fenton," Damian surprisingly offers. "Until your home is rebuilt"

"We couldn't possibly-"

"Hotels are expensive, and you must focus on other more important needs. Father certainly has the space."

Jason jerks into action. "This will also give me a chance to connect with the kids!"

Jasmine bites her lip, turning to her children. Jason could appreciate that she was willing to include them in big decisions. The three nodded, so she eventually sighs.

"Alright. But only until I can get our housing settled. And I'll pay rent"

Jason would argue but he recognized the look in her eye. She would not be sway from making payments. So he agrees, tapping his fingers on the table in a specific rhythm to make sure his family agrees too.

He knows it pains Bruce- the old man already thinks of the triplets as his grandchildren and the idea of charging them to live with him will kill him.

Jason notices the way Dan's eyes zero in on his tapping and the glance around the family members. He fights a proud grin when realization bleeds into his boy's eyes. He's got a smart one, likely aware of that the tapping is a form of Morse code.

Tim did say- after pulling up all files of the four- that his children had developed insane intelligence. Maybe he should get them tested for certification geniuses.

"Hey Mr. Jason," Dani suddenly speaks up.

"Yes Darling?"

"I suggest you remove your eyes from my mom before I remove them from your face." The little girl even punches her palm in a poor intimidation attempt. His heart melts.

Then his face turns a dark red hue at Jasmine's raised brow. Unwillingly flashes of thier last time being face-to face rise in his mind. He coughs awkwardly as his sons face become as protective as their sister, Dan cracking his knuckles and Danny reaching for a knife.

"Oh yeah" Tim deadpans watching the kids reaction "No need for DNA test. Those are definitely Jason's kids"

He agrees, he just hopes he can show his children he plans on sticking around and being the father they deserve.

No one notices Cass and Steph slip away to deal with Posion Ivy. Jason kinda wants to send her a thank you gift for making it possible to have his family move into the manor.

[anitaaro04]

The Watchers

This is practically how the Life Series–Secret Life work but written. It’s inspired by the animation of Rusty_Courage on Youtube Secret Life 6 in a Nutshell [Animatic] in the second 0:58

Enjoy :)

——————————————————————

The Watchers, an enigmatic and misty entity beyond the reach of ordinary beings, have created a universe where they form beings endowed with their own rationality, pitting them against each other in life-and-death battles. There’s a twist: each being has three lives. Green signifies peace, yellow indicates distrust, and red represents danger.

Throughout various cycles, The Watchers have classified these lives into different categories. The Third Life refers to the inaugural generation. In the Last Life, beings may have between 2 to 6 lives, determined randomly. The Double Life binds members to another; if one is harmed or dies, the other shares the fate. In Limited Life, their existence is time-constrained. Lastly, in their most recent creation, Secret Life, members are assigned specific tasks by The Watchers. Failure to complete these tasks results in the loss of their regenerative ability.

The Watchers have established a system where members have no recollection of their previous lives. Upon death, they restart anew once everyone has perished. Members regenerate health in an unnatural manner and are reborn with a different life color; for example, if a green life ends, they return with a yellow life. The participants in these cycles are chosen based on the utility they serve for The Watchers.

Third Life:

* Bdouble0100 (Bdubs)

* Bigbst4tz2 (BigB)

* EthosLab (Etho)

* ImpulseSV (Impulse)

* InTheLittleWood (Martyn)

* GoodTimesWithScar (Scar)

* Grian

* RenDog (Ren)

* Skizzleman (Skizz)

* Smajor1995 (Scott)

* Smallishbeans (Joel)

* SolidarityGaming (Jimmy/Tim)

* TangoTek (Tango)

* ZombieCleo. (Cleo)

Last Life:

In addition to the rest we have:

* PearlescentMoon (Pearl)

* LDShadowLady (Lizzie)

* MumboJumbo (Mumbo)

Double life:

Watchers hid Lizzie, Mumbo and Skizz.

Limited Life:

Skizz was included by the Watchers.

Secret Life:

All members were allowed, with the addition of a member:

* GeminiTay (Gem)

There has been four known members who have won previous lives. Grian (Third Life), Scott (Last Life), Pearl (Double Life), and Martyn (Limited Life). These are the only members that know what went down on their last life but are ordered to not reveal who won until the Watchers allow them.

——————————————————————

Lightning crackled in the distance, but this was no ordinary storm. Typically, lightning sounded like a whip striking metal, but this time it carried an eerie resonance. The Watchers had designed this special phenomenon to signal momentous events, reserving it for the rarest of occasions. Tonight was one of those times. A colossal spark of electricity tore through the dark sky, splitting the earth where it struck just beyond the hill. Every living member felt a shudder ripple through them, an involuntary reaction that left them with an overwhelming sense of dread and loss.

For a fleeting moment, it felt as if the very Earth had ceased to move, amplifying the profound silence that followed. This sensation was familiar; they had experienced it just two weeks ago when her life had ended. Now, gathered around the Secret Keeper, they stood in a collective pause. Even the Warden and Wither seemed to be momentarily halted, as if the gravity of the moment had reached even them.

“Who was that?” A voice asked. He counted quickly, realising the missing head. “Timmy’s just gone!”

Another silence fell through the terrorised crowd. Soon battle flamed on, Wither and Warden seemed to have regained their sense of duty. Grian felt like he was going to puke his guts. This was all his fault. They hadn’t been friends long enough to feel the deep sorrow of losing a loved one, but it still felt like it had fallen on him all the blame of the man’s life. Both beasts fought mercilessly, their foes were making a desperate attempt to bring them down but it wasn’t enough. Grian watched it in what felt like slow motion. Then he saw it. His partner in puns, both monsters behind him.

“Mumbo, leave!” Grian shouted. Mumbo turned towards the voice, his back landing between a broken fence. He turned back just in time to watch the Warden in the eye. Another lighting crossed the sky, left that feeling of hollowness in the air once more. “Mumbo!”

Joel felt a profound emptiness engulf his mind as he looked at his fallen allies, his friends. Anger quickly surged through him, replacing the void with a burning fury. Without a second thought, he began to move, his eyes locked on the instigator, determined to make him pay.

“Grian you are killing…” he grabbed him by the shirt, eyes filled with rage stared back at Grian’s. “Is this all your doing?”.

Fear seemed to override anything else. Grian stuttered for answers. Etho ran towards his ally to try and save him from Joel’s hands, yet he didn’t need to do much. Joel pushed the shorter man away and ran straight back into the fight, his yells could be heard even from afar. Grian stumbled into Etho’s aid, feeling the taller man help him up.

“This is not the plan. Etho this was not the plan” Etho pulled Grian from the surroundings of the Keeper’s chaos. He too felt that urge of stabbing something, possibly himself for doing the stupid task. They stood from the side as the rest of their friends fought their way through hell. Soon, Grian came back to his senses and pulled Etho away from the clearing. From the corner of his eye he saw Cleo making her way through the debris in her horse, Tango trailing behind her. Both seem unharmed Grian thought in relief. Once she catched up to them Etho pulled her into a hug, pulling away to check for injuries. She had tears pooling in her emerald eyes. Soon Grian joined the pile, checking for injuries in any of his family. Once checked up, he had an idea.

“Etho, what if…” he strode towards the edge of the hill, looking over the lake. By now, he had Cleo and Ethos’s attention on him. Tango took a step back from the group but listened in intently. “What if we brought them all to the Heart Foundation” he pointed towards the small building floating in the middle of the lake. “I don’t think the Warden can smell us from over there. Make them fight on their own.”

Etho thought this over. “But what about Scar? The Wither would still follow him around”

Grian turned towards the sky. “I can ask for a favor form the Watchers to turn him invisible” he glanced at his friends.

Tango seemed to think this as well. “I think that would work. The Heart Foundation is a safe haven, it could work out. Either way, Wardens are slow on water” his eyes flashed a cyan blue for a second, as if it was a trick from the moonlight. Grian grinned at them, Etho shrugged, agreeing, and Cleo had no other way but follow her family until the end.

“Spread the word”

——————————————————————

It had taken them a horrible amount of time, but they got it. Everyone reunited on the Heart Foundation, their hosts giving them food and refeeshments, although everyone knew it would do nothing for their descending health. There was a tense atmosphere clinging in the air. Grian had tried giving everyone an explanation without going in too much detail for him not to reveal the task. They hadn’t taken the vagueness very well, Joel specifically. He had agreed due to Pearl and Bdubs convincing him to avenge his friends and his wife form the Watchers. The entities had agreed to cooperate just this once and hidden Scar from everyone’s view. Grian had been more than relieved, everything was going according to plan.

Etho, as planned, stayed hidden on the other side of the clearing, making sure the Warden and the Wither fought each other. Everyone was waiting for his signal. Soon enough, the two beast found their way back to each other and their own chaos broke loose. Grian gave his temporary allies the signal and they all ran into battle.

[pennameofshame]

Moments like this

I'd like to apologise if there's anything in this that doesn't align with the canon stories but a lot of this is from my own headcanons and I just wanted to write something soft for Damian that would pin point not just how much I think he cares for his family but how he does so and his journey in feeling loved by them.

Damian was and still is stoic, witty, and sarcastic he'd often lead with logic in mind and his morals and ethics close by. He knew he could be temperamental, and almost everyone he met for a small time would say he was made of stone and annoying. He knew this, and if he could choose, he probably would've preferred to stay that way. At least to the outside world.

He was just a boy when he arrived at the manor, no older than 10, morals and life more skewed than he truly knew. He stayed in the manor, with the people he judged to be "inefficient", he slowly smiled, laughed and cried even if it was silent and where he thought no one would know.

He slowly became a boy he was allowed- meant to be, in the most Damian Wayne way possible. He brought home pets, and it started out fine from cats and dogs. The cow was a bit odd, but then Goliath happened, and Bruce was more than tired to argue. He remembers his father's tired hand over his face, thumb, and index finger on the boned arch of his eyes and a cup in the other hand, but he didn't miss the smile, that left him in awe and the look in his eyes afterwards was soft and gentle. That was the first instance where he felt the warm feeling in his chest.

Damian was 10 and a half when he remembered coming across lego, it wasn't much, but it was a small set that Dick had never opened, and he got curious. He built the structure, sitting at his desk late at night. Sometimes, the parts wouldn't quite fit, which was to be expected from mass-produced products. It was a week later when the manor was empty that he left and came back home, almost running straight to his room. Bruce came home expecting to find everywhere based on the transaction he saw, but instead, it was quiet. He had asked the rest of the kids if they had seen something or known about anything regarding the lego purchases. That night, he went for patrol, asking Damian if he'd like to join, and for the first time, he'd said no, walking away calmly. A few days later, Bruce walked into his sons room, concerned in the change of behaviour, only to see a lego city built on the floor, his bed was moved to the side like the rest of his furniture. He had created different parts of different cities and connected them, but at the centre was Wayne manor, his home. The city was later moved into a vacant study, where more sturcture had shown up. Bruce often took photos to show Clark like he did with every other kid of his, adding them to a secured hard drive of photos and video of all of them including things from Cass and Dick's perfomances, Jason working on a car for the first time to Tim going on about his long winded rant about 'how to get on buzzfeed unsolved' and more. Damian had found these photos and videos and watched every single one and reading the little descriptions attached to them, he teared up at it but never spoke about it only to make sure he'd look his best when he suspects his father would take another photo.

Damian remembers his 11th birthday, he had spent the entire day avoiding everyone and he almost succeeded. Dick had found him, he was sure he'd drag him to some celebration and he was sorta right. He had been dragged to the kitchen where he had found Steph arguing with Jason about decorations, Barbara tried to get them to stop but soon gave up while Duke and Cass helped Alfred, who was decorating the cake and prepping food. Tim was busy making hot chocolate for everyone. Bruce had shown up beside him, placing a hand over his shoulder. Even though Damian said this was unnecessary, they all saw the glaze over his eyes and the way they lit up slightly. He was truly grateful for that day. He felt loved and normal even for a few seconds. This was the second time he had noted the warm feeling in him, stronger this time and more intense.

He was 12 when he had gotten into an argument with Tim, and it hadn't ended well. The two had always argued, the family knew, but this time it was really bad that even Jason refused to brush it off. Everyone was worried. Tim had gone about grumbling, clearly agitated, and Damian looked unfazed. Tim had up and left the manor going to the teen titans to cool his head, and Damian had taken it as an opportunity, giving himself a deadline.

Tim had come home one night, everyone was probably asleep or not even in the manor. He had walked into the manor and found a yellow folder on his desk with no creases in its paper form and a wax seal holding shut where the little rope would wrap around the circle. A single white tulip was placed beside it. The contents of the folder was a stack of papers explaining the tulip and its symbolization followed by a lengthy apology going into depth how wrong he was for saying the things that should never have been said and Tim read the entire thing, at the end was a small card that he later put into the case of his phone. "Fact: historically, stars and constellation hold multiple meanings and purposes from division of labour to guiding us to different locations. These stars have also helped guide families to one another in stories, and it seems plausible"

That card was kept safe, and Tim couldn't help the small laugh that crept up. Who knew his little brother could be so corny in his own way. He made it a point to make small card explaining the white tulip he left on Damian's desk.

He was a teen when he died, and he had come back roaring. When everything settled down, he lay awake at night, his death and resurrection repeating in his brain, and in front of his eyes. yet it didn't bother him as much. He had snuck out that night going to a safe house hoping to find someone only to end up going in a full circle. Damian didn't cry. He was only allowed to express himself a few years ago, and he didn't want to cry. He made it a point not to get too emotional, but he couldn't look the man in the eyes. He slowly rested his head on the others abdomen and slipped his hand into the others. Jason had ruffled his hair before lifting him and taking him back to bed. Damian curled up under the blanket and wouldn't let go of him like he'd disappear. Damian continued to mutter apologies under his breath until he finally dozed off. Jason had given him his number. If he ever needed to talk and he did call, he asked if he was ok. Anytime a joke or taunt was made about Jason's experience, he would leave a threat in their rooms.

Damian was almost 14 when he found out all his brothers' trauma and fear linked to the infamous clown of Gotham city. It wasn't something they told him, rather something he picked up, and when he did his own investigation, Damian felt a part of him awaken that he long thought gone. Whenever the clown showed any sign of himself, Damian knew, he tracked everything, he may have even missed a few classes and an assessment, but that was swept under the rug due to his stellar record. Damian had taken it upon himself to delay the alert to his father when he went and took care of the clown himself. When Batman had arrived at the scene, Joker was already being hauled into the van willingly being sent to arkham. Later that week, he received a call saying Joker hadn't left his cell, nor had he acted out. This news of joker staying in the asylum willingly after a fight with the recent robin had spread like wildfire and when it landed in the ears of the rest of his family, he denied everything and they couldn't say anything cause how could they have been sure when even joker wouldn't open his mouth. Not even about the disturbing threats that had started showing up in his solitary confinement cell.

In a dark part of his life, Talia had shown up again in his life, and while he still recognised her as his mother, there was a pit in his stomach that wouldn't let up. He was aware how his mother was raised and that her changing may be difficult, but the pit kept growing until he could no longer ignore it. The first person to see all this was Alfred, who simply held him close and didn't let him go knowing there were no words he could say that would help. Bruce had been informed and had talked to Talia to keep her distance from him. It wasn't hard for the kids to realise something was wrong with one another, knowing each others behaviours. They all kept close, and it was one thing that had pulled him back together.

"If for some reason you start thinking your mother or grandfather would be disappointed, know that we would be proud of you"

Damian had never like nicknames not for himself or others, if someone called another by one he couldn't care but when Barbara called him 'Little D' he let it slide however when Tim had called him Dami he had gotten all flustered and simply went to his room. Later upon further questioning it was revealed that the nickname Dami could be linked to the saying of 'my blood' and that in arabic poetry it was common to call dear ones by names of body organs because without them you wouldn't be alive. to love was to be close to death. (If I'm wrong please let me know I'll fix this) They still called him Dami but if anyone else did the rest of the family would stop them because Damian Wayne was their blood, even if none of them weren't related he would always be their blood and in turn he'd call them his blood, his lungs, his heart and if anyone were to harm them he'd take it as a threat to his own life; which everyone in Gotham knew would not be taken lightly.

It was moments like this that allowed him to achieve the impossible and would make Damian shiver with warmth, he would never admit to being afraid and maybe there was a time where he wasn't, wasn't afraid of anything but now he had something to lose and it made him feel human. Though he doubts he had much to worry about, try and hurt them and see what happens.

[emeraldspiral]

So, I know that because comic books are designed to go on indefinitely Bruce Wayne can never grow old and retire like he does in Batman Beyond and Joker will never be permanently killed off like he was in Return of the Joker. I think there was even a comic that actually showed that the Batman Beyond future isn’t set in stone by having Tim Drake get kidnapped by the Joker, but then escape unharmed. But like, what if he didn’t? What if the main DC comics continuity actually integrated elements of Return of the Joker into the canon? Like, we already have the Joker being the source of a huge traumatic character redefining moment in Barbara and Jason’s stories, so why not let him do it for Tim Drake?

I think the whole reason they skipped Jason in the DCAU but made Tim a lot more like him than the Tim from the comics is because they knew they weren’t going to be allowed to kill him off like Jason and they felt like that was too important to his character to ignore. But then they ended up putting Tim through something as close to Jason’s brutal murder as they could within the censorship guidelines. I think if it had happened in BTAS instead of Batman Beyond there could’ve been a lot more story to tell, rather than having it just be the setup for a story that takes place decades later. And because it was Tim instead of Jason and because Tim didn’t die, the story would’ve been something completely new rather than an adaptation of the Red Hood storyline that resulted from Jason’s death.

So, what if in the comics there was a whole story arc where Tim Drake goes missing and then Joker debuts a new sidekick, “Joker Jr.” aka “J.J.”?

You could milk that for a while, building it up as a mystery and then a great source of drama when the Batfam realize their new adversary is the missing Tim Drake. Then you have them trying to figure out what happened and how to help Tim. Is he being mind controlled by a machine or a telepath? Or has he been dunked into the same acid bath as Joker and gone completely insane?

Or maybe it’s like what happens to him in the future where Tim is switching back and forth between his identities and no one including him realizes he’s Joker Jr. Maybe he doesn’t even remember the Joker capturing him and anything bad happening. It’s all been repressed so no one knows he went through any trauma and no one suspects a thing until the clues reveal that J.J. can only be Tim.

In the original story we don’t get to actually see the concept of a “Joker fam” play out, and that could’ve been interesting. Joker often gives conflicting information about his background, but it usually involves an abusive father, so putting him in a paternal role might shed some light on what kind of role model he actually had for a parent. Maybe he projects his boyhood trauma onto Tim and either treats him shitty because of his own self-loathing or shows slivers of compassion he wished he’d gotten from his father.

Punchline could replace Harley as Joker’s accomplice in the brainwashing and act as an evil big sister, like a dark parallel to Barbara. She could revel in Tim’s corruption and how much it upsets the people who care about him, or she could view him as a rival for Joker’s attention and approval. Joker could even intentionally pit them against one another.

Whenever Tim gets rescued Joker either doesn't die, or it doesn’t stick, because comics. But then there’s fallout to explore afterward. Like, Tim has to grapple with it for a while, but Bruce is also not handling it well. This is the third time now that the Joker has done something super fucked up to one of his sidekicks. He feels horribly guilty for Jason, Barbara, and Tim, and also worries that Damien might be next. He doesn’t want his loved ones in the line of fire anymore, but he knows already that he can’t make them do anything. Dick and Babs are grown adults and even Damien just does whatever he wants.

So maybe Bruce gets the idea that the only way to force them all to hang up their capes is if he reveals his identity. He’ll claim he coerced them all into helping him so they don’t go to jail, but there would still be consequences for a lot of people. Jim Gordon has to resign and a new corrupt commissioner replaces him. Lucius Fox is indicted and that allows the Powers family to takeover Wayne Enterprises. Alfred has to go into hiding. People start to connect the dots between known associates of Bruce Wayne and deduce the identities of characters like Superman and Catwoman. It’s a huge domino effect. But just as everything is about to implode, this is revealed to just be a hypothetical, like Over the Edge. Batman realizes that even if he were ready to throw everyone else under the bus to protect his sidekicks it wouldn't even work because they’d still have enemies who’d go after them and their families if their covers were blown and they could no longer fight crime.

So Batman realizes the only thing he can do is go to Zatana for help. His relationship with her has been on the rocks ever since he found out she mindwiped him after he walked in on her altering Doctor Light’s mind to make him less dangerous but now he feels like he has no choice but to do something similar to his sidekicks. Of course just mindwiping them wouldn’t work because they still have friends in the Justice League, the Titans, and several other groups who wouldn’t universally agree to keep it a secret. So the only solution would be for Zatana to do some kind of Spiderman No Way Home spell that makes EVERYONE forget all of Batman’s sidekicks.

And just to make sure none of them can ever discover his identity and ask to join his crusade again, he makes them all believe he was an abusive alcoholic who they cut out of their lives. In fact, they believe there was a high-profile lawsuit between Bruce and Dick that resulted in Dick becoming Tim and Damien’s new legal guardian and moving with them to Bludhaven. Dick thinks he didn’t want to depend on the trust fund Bruce set up for him so he started his own company. Barbara believes she was an intern for Bruce Wayne but quit because he was a toxic boss. Jason believes he ran away from home and became a mechanic after a big blowout with Bruce, but still keeps in touch with the other boys. Damien doesn’t remember his mother or grandfather or the League of Assassins at all, he thinks he lived a normal life as the child of a billionaire playboy and a random fling and gets along with Tim and the others just fine. Alfred and Bruce believe Bruce somehow kept his secret from Dick and the others for many years before deciding to purposefully act like a bad parent to drive them all away because he knew the danger was always there and he didn’t feel like he could be the guardian they deserved dividing his time between them and the double-life they couldn’t know about. Only Zatana knows the truth.

So Bruce continues doing his thing as a solo act while the rest of the Batfam are living normal lives. But over time they all end up getting back into vigilantism despite everything Bruce did to keep his influence away from them. Barbara gets interested in politics and running for public office as a means of improving the city, but when her campaign fails she finds she can do more as Oracle. Dick can’t help but intervene when he sees a mugging on the streets of Bludhaven and feels compelled to keep going out to fight crime to make the streets safe for his brothers. Car thieves bring a vehicle to Jason’s shop to be stripped for parts and when he realizes it was stolen from a friend of his who was murdered they try to kill him, forcing him to go to Dick’s to hide out.

Neither Jason nor Dick trust the police to take care of the car theft ring and decide to try and deal with it together. Tim and Damien know something is up despite their efforts to hide it from them and end up following them to a confrontation with the gang. None of them remember their training so they’re in over their heads, but fortunately Black Canary shows up, having been recruited by Barbara to deal with the car theft ring. Canary sees the boys’ potential and starts training them and Barbara and we end up with a Birds of Prey team consisting of Oracle, Black Canary, and quadruple Robins, which tuns into quintuple Robins when Stephanie Brown later joins them. Also, we find out that Dinah Drake and Tim Drake are related and Tim has the same superpower.

Bruce instinctively worries about these new young heroes taken under Black Canary’s wing before he even learns they’re his estranged kids. He confronts her about it but she tells him they’re all making their own choices and she can’t stop them. She can only give them the guidance they need to do what they’re doing as safely as possible. When he does learn their identities and they learn his there’s a lot of drama and angst over Bruce lying to them, being shitty on purpose, and finding out for the first time how much he actually loves them and is proud of them.

The Joker reenters the picture after having been thought dead since the end of the inciting arc with Tim, and this leads to a Joker Jr. relapse. Everyone’s confused as to how Tim could have this repressed split personality/DNA overwriting microchip implant when he’s only met the Joker recently and never been alone with him. Investigating uncovers evidence of mental tampering which eventually leads back to Zatana, who gives everyone the truth. Seeing as how the charade didn’t stop the Batfam from becoming vigilantes again or erase the trauma hiding deep within Tim’s psyche, it seems pointless to keep the spell going, so Zatana restores everyone’s memories.

But it’s not just a hard reset to back before she cast the spell. The whole scandal of Bruce and Dick’s custody battle that tarnished Bruce’s public image is still in the public conscious. Even after announcing that Bruce has cleaned up his act and the boys have reconciled and moved back in with him a lot of people still think Bruce is a dirtbag. Barbara finds she prefers being Oracle to Batgirl and pursuing a career in politics instead of being Batman’s sidekick. Damien still remembers being a normal kid and enjoying normal kid things and is much more well-adjusted. Jason still works as a mechanic and Dick still has his own company and they maintain relationships with workplace associates introduced in this arc. Tim still has to grapple with what Joker did to him, but he also has a strong relationship with “Aunt Dinah” now and a Canary Cry. So he decides it’s finally time to concede the Robin identity to Damien and step out of Bruce’s shadow to create a new identity like Dick, Jason, and Barbara before him.

IDK what his new name could be. “Red Canary” almost sounds like it would work because it’s like when he went by “Red Robin” (Yummm!) combined with his new superpower and relationship with Black Canary. But at the same time, it’s still a derivative sidekick name an not an independent identity like Nightwing, Red Hood, or Oracle. Also, there’s already a Red Canary who was just introduced. I think she’s from another universe, but it still doesn’t really make sense to give Tim a new name so he doesn’t have to share an identity with Damien, but then make him share his new one with someone else.

[autisticwriterblog]

Fandom 50 Post 2

My second piece of Alan Wake 2 meta. This one is about Return 1.

Return 1: Invitation

What happened in this chapter?

FBI agents Saga Anderson and Alex Casey arrive at Cauldron Lake to investigate a recent murder. They meet up with Deputies Mulligan and Thornton, who show the detectives to the crime scene, where the victim lies tied to a bench, his heart ripped from his chest. Some investigation reveals that several killers took part and planned the attack hours in advance, and the victim was former FBI agent Robert Nightingale, who went missing in 2010.

After some deductions within her Mind Place, Saga heads toward the lake, thinking that was where Nightingale came from. But she finds the path blocked by a tree, footsteps somehow leading out from under it, and a page on the ground. As Saga reads the typewritten manuscript page, a page that seems to be written about her, a familiar voice takes over the voiceover, reading his story aloud. Back in her Mind Place, Saga profiles Nightingale and deduces that another page is inside his chest, so she requests for the body to be brought to the morgue.

At Bright Falls, Saga and Casey meet Sheriff Tim Breaker, who talks with Casey whilst Saga goes to talk to the Bookers, the witnesses to the murder. After profiling Tammy, who seems to be hiding something, Saga learns that Tammy took a necklace from the crime scene. Satisfied that the Bookers don’t have anything to do with the murder, she turns to leave, only to be recognised by Rose Marigold. Rose talks about Saga like they know each other and mentions that Saga’s daughter drowned. Saga knows this isn’t true, but the conversation still disturbs her.

Breaker takes the detectives to the Sheriff’s Station, where Saga performs the autopsy. Sure enough, she finds a folded piece of paper inside Nightingale’s chest. The page talks about ‘Taken’ not being able to see in bright lights. This reminds Breaker that he has seen more pages like this one, but when he fetches the pages, the lights flicker, and Breaker vanishes. Immediately after, Nightingale’s corpse sits up and attacks everyone in the room. Saga remembers the page and hides in the light to stop Nightingale from seeing her, before making a run for her fallen gun and shooting him. But Nightingale just disappears, leaving Saga extremely puzzled.

My Thoughts

This chapter introduces us to Saga Anderson, one of our protagonists. We learn that Saga has a family who she misses deeply when she travels for her work, including her daughter Logan. We also meet her partner Alex Casey, who she is close enough to that her daughter is comfortable making comments about Casey being grumpy. I love the way Saga and Casey bicker. They have a really good relationship and I love hearing them interact.

Visting Cauldron Lake feels so nostalgic, and the forest looks so beautiful (if you ignore the incredibly realistic and fully naked corpse outside the store). Hearing Mulligan and Thornton bicker endlessly back and forth over radio is funny, and also a good call back to their audio-only appearances in Alan Wake 1, which consist entirely of them bitching at each other.

Although these two have a darker side to their characterisation, because it’s implied that the reason they suspect the Bookers is because they’re outsiders, or black, or both. There is also the assumption that Casey must be in charge simply because he’s a man, which is the sort of microaggression that Saga must deal with a lot.

The introduction to Saga’s Mind Place is so interesting, especially her profiling mechanic, because it allows her to learn things that nobody would ever know just from profiling a witness. Tammy even points out how strange it is that Saga worked out she kept the necklace just from profiling her. It’s great foreshadowing to the fact that Saga’s Mind Place is far more than it seems.

Rose’s conversation with Saga is the first big clue that something isn’t right with reality in Bright Falls, because Rose seems 100% convinced that Saga used to live here, and Logan drowned. I find it funny how Breaker brushes this off as Rose being weird, because there’s being an oddball, and completely believing someone you’ve never met used to live here with her daughter until the girl drowned. I’m also interested if Rose being ‘weird’ is a side effect of being touched by the Dark Presence in the first game, because she seemed incredibly shaken up after that.

A tiny detail about the scene where Breaker vanishes is that, for a single frame, you can see Mr Door. This suggests he was the one who pulled Tim into the Dark Place, and why Tim is so obsessed with Door as shown by his case board you can see when you meet him as Alan.

The scene where Nightingale’s corpse starts moving is such a terrifying jumpscare, and it still made me jump even on my third playthrough. I love the gameplay mechanic of being robbed of your gun and being forced to hide in the light to avoid Nightingale. It makes you feel so vulnerable, especially because he insta-kills you if he catches you. And it also makes getting your gun back feel like a really badass moment, taking him down before he vanishes.

A few other random thoughts:

Saga, why aren’t you wearing gloves when you do the autopsy?

It makes perfect sense considering he’s naked, but it always throws me off when I remember Nightingale’s corpse is anatomically correct. Especially when a family member walks in when the dead body is onscreen.

Casey and Saga having their little bet about if the local law put up a tarp or not always makes me chuckle.