#i know all the robins have their charm and whatnot

[dandelionlinolinaline]

ok rant time, stick with me.

the reason i don’t like damian wayne is not that i don't enjoy him as a character, it is that he feels like the final nail in the coffin that is 'robin'. now what do i mean by this? dick grayson as robin is obviously fantastical. he is an interesting foil to bruce/batman, he i tragic and complex, but his backstory is very much not real. he feels like a fictional character, so it isn’t a stretch to suspend disbelief and 'buy' him being robin, so to say. the family dynamic he has with bruce is NOT like father and son (argue with the wall on this one), it's paternal, but regardless of age difference in different interpretations, it is very much an unconventional family dynamic.

now, i've never really had a major issue with jason todd as robin (maybe because he has been red hood for basically my entire lifetime), but he was the first step in a direction of a more traditional family; son, father, grandson (and older brother), which i strongly dislike. now say what you will about jason todd, but he was arguably the most 'real' of the robins (in terms of backstory). he has a much more plausible family background (not counting sheila working with the joker) and feels less like the fantasy of dick grayson and more like wish fulfilment of a poor kid (ultimately this is what i think led to his downfall at dc - they couldn’t sell the 'fantasy' of jason todd in the way they could the other robins).

tim drake is where i kinda take issue. he is the 'normal' robin, but is very clearly an 'upgrade' from jason todd. he fits into the socialite life, bruce is significantly older than him (enough to be his actual father), and dick also takes a much more active role as a 'big brother' than he did with jason. tim drake, as neither dick or jason did, seems like the successor to bruce wayne, as well as batman. he is a genius, brilliant detective, rich and well-versed in the upper echelons of society. he is a HUGE leap in the direction of this sort of 'born for the role' idea i really despise for robin.

(i will take the liberty of following dc's example and overlook stephanie brown's robin)

lastly damian. not only is he batman's biological son, he is a prodigy who has trained since birth to be the next batman and is the heir to the league of assassins (i also hate what his creation meant for talia as a character, but i'll let that rest). he is now amalgamation of this slow trajectory towards robin as an heir who is divinely 'destined' to become batman (evidenced by the fact that damian is the only robin to consistently have the surname wayne).

don’t get me wrong, i greatly enjoy damian wayne and think he has an interesting dynamic with a number of characters and has some really lovely character devlopmemt and arcs, but i hate hate hate how robin went from 'orphans make do' to 'the heir apparent to not only batman but bruce wayne' and i. idk, i just wish dc had kept more of the charm and choice that the relationship between bruce and dick.

[wriheart]

I’ll probably never write a full fanfic for Ever After High (or at least, it will in the far, far future), but since I’ve been seeing so many eah posts lately I thought I’d ✨grace✨ the internet with my rewrite ideas.

As a bit of context, if I ever were to rewrite eah, it would not be a hate rewrite. I love this series so much, so my rewrite is coming from a place where I want to see more, expand on concepts, and add my own twist to things. (A hate rewrite would be if I were to rewrite Miraculous because that show makes me want to go on a deep dive of everything wrong with it.)

Anyway welcome to part one of

🍎🐦‍⬛Wri’s Ever After High Rewrite🧺🌹

For my world of Ever After, I am taking a lot more inspiration from the original grim tales. This doesn’t mean the stories will be exactly like the originals (especially since there tend to be many variations with translations and whatnot), but I will be staying as loyal to them as I can. This means that many of the villains will not survive their story (we’ll come back to this later though ;)) and some characters will be cut, such as Farah Goodfairy (I’m sorry I know she’s so pretty but I like the original tale where Cinderella is helped by the animals). Additionally, I will be adding characters, since the original show doesn’t always give us all the characters from a story (like how they gave us multiple princesses but only two prince charmings) (I didn’t forget about Darling but from what I remember she was in the damsel in distress class so she doesn’t quite count since the school didn’t consider her getting the destiny of a prince). I’m also cutting most non-grim stories, such as Pinnochio and The Little Mermaid. (There’s a small chance I might use cut characters and just say they’re from other fairy tales. For example, I don’t want to cut Sparrow, so I’ll just say that instead of being the Son of Robin Hood he’s the son of a grimm fairytale character.) DON’T PANIC, I’M NOT CUTTING WONDERLAND. Wonderland is staying because I love the characters and world so much and I also have a great idea to make it make sense. Anyway, those are just some of my notes, let’s get into the world.

Welcome to the world of Ever After, a grand empire made up of a plethora of kingdoms whose rulers report to the highly-respected and loved Emperor Grim. Emperor Grim is said to be older than the stories themselves, and it was through his guidance that the kingdoms were founded, and their stories remembered.

There are many kingdoms in Ever After, including the Kingdom of ___, ruled by the descendants of Snow White; the Kingdom of ___, ruled by the descendants of Aurora Beauty, and the Kingdom of ___, ruled by the descendants of Cinderella. These kingdoms and their rulers report to Emperor Grim, so while they are allowed to make decisions regarding their kingdoms, these decisions must be made under Grim’s guidelines. This allows the Emperor to easily rule Ever After, as the kingdom rulers are loyal to him.

After all, they know what will happen if they stray from the path.

But more about that later.

Within each kingdom of Ever After, there is an enchanted forest. The trees in these forests are very special, as they are the birthplace of the stories. When a story is completed, a seed can be found on the last page of the storybook. A few years after all of the stories are completed, each seed is planted in its kingdom’s enchanted forest, and from the seed, a magical tree grows. The tree produces flowers that, once bloomed, reveal children within. The children are the future fairy tale generation, who will relive the stories of their kingdom.

The tree does not give birth to every character who plays a role in the story, instead, the tree only gives birth to children who are to be the main characters of their tale. For example, the trees within Snow White’s kingdom will only give birth to the next Snow White, Evil Queen and Prince Charming (and maybe the seven dwarves, I haven’t fully decided yet). The rest of the characters will be found. (More on this later.) Every story that is completed is planted within the kingdom, the children are born, and when they are old enough, they are sent off to Ever After High, where they will complete their education before signing The Storybook of Legends and fulfilling their story.

Many of the villain children do not have parents who can raise them, since upon the tale’s completion, the villain dies. These children are raised by noble families. The families were long ago granted titles by the Emperor, and have been raising the children for generations. Each kingdom has at least one or two noble families, such as the noble family who have raised The Evil Queen or the family who have raised The Big Bad Wolf.

Ever after high is a four-year school in which all of the fairy tale children are prepared to relive their stories of their predecessors. For the first three years, they go through many general classes, such as potion making for the villains and good kingdom management for the royals. Then, at the end of their third year, they sign the storybook of legends, and for their fourth year they take story-specific classes to make sure they are officially ready.

For the characters not born in the enchanted forest, Emperor Grim invites regular citizens to apply to attend Ever After High. These roles include The Huntsman and The Twelve Wise Fairies, for example. These characters must go through many tryouts to prove they are worthy of being a part of this great tradition.

When a story isn’t completed, the kingdom vanishes. A few kingdoms have vanished in the past, such as the Kingdom of the Seven Ravens (the kingdom of the seven ravens is subject to change). While on the outside these kingdoms look like they are gone, with a dark forest in their place, in reality, they are still there. Grim traps the kingdoms under a bubble that stops people from entering or leaving the kingdom, and stops those on the outside from seeing the kingdom.

This threat looks over the villain kids at Ever After High. Even though most have no interest in completing their story, there is a very real threat that they, along with their kingdoms will cease to exist if they do not comply. It isn’t until Raven Queen starts digging that she realizes that the kingdoms might not truly be gone.

————

All EAH AU Posts

[snowangeldotmp3]

Can you just…ramble about romy ronance and explain everything? I know absolutely nothing about X-men but I’m seeing the art and I know your ronance ideas are always killer so I am confused yet invested at the same time

of course anon!! i’ll have to admit this one isn’t very well thought out and all in good fun, but the idea of romy ronance is so intriguing to me

so! romy is the ship between rogue and gambit in the marvel comics. rogue and gambit are both mutants. rogue's mutant power is that she can absorb someone else's powers and memories through touch alone. she once held on too long to captain marvel (carol danvers) and permanently absorbed her powers of flight, super strength, and near invulnerability. when rogue absorbs memories and whatnot it's basically like. that person living inside her head. rogue put her first boyfriend in a coma (accidentally!!) when her mutant powers manifested. rogue is also known for calling everyone "sugar" bc shes a Southern Gal(tm) from mississippi! in the comics tho it's often written as "sugah" bc they wanna make sure people know it's a southern accent lolol

gambit's powers are related to kinetic energy manipulation. he can charge inanimate objects and essentially make them into bombs. he can also resist telepathic attacks (which is. very useful in the xmen universe.) he also has like, a hypnotic charm as part of his abilities but that's just like, a cherry on top thing. he's also cajun, and a former member of the thieves guild, but you don't need to know any of the thieves guild stuff for romy ronance

anyway. rogue and gambit have a very sweet relationship. they genuinely care for each other and they really do love each other. just so much. it's already frustrating enough for rogue to not be able to touch anyone (hence the gloves and why she often covers gambit's mouth with her hand and then kisses the back of her hand--and why she's always covered up!) and with gambit it's just a touch more frustrating bc she wants to kiss him!! but she can't!!! she has to be so careful and so methodical to ensure the fact that she does NOT make skin to skin contact with anyone--that includes just a brush of skin. like bumping into someone.

but rogue and gambit have very fun pet names for each other. gambit's favorite is "chère." my personal favorite that rogue uses is "swamp rat" (lovingly).

there's a lot of things im not going into here just because we'd literally be here all day if i continued any more rogue and gambit lore.

now onto the ronance stuff:

nancy as rogue to me makes the most sense just because. trauma. and also the meticulous attention to things. but mostly trauma (and you knowwww it's barb related, babey!)

im not gonna lie. gambit robin came to me just because robin knows french (and spanish and italian etc etc) but i got the mental image of robin calling nancy "chère" and thus, romy ronance was born. plus i've been like. neck deep in xmen stuff since i finished watching xmen '97 a few months ago (which is a phenomenal show, btw. definitely recommend) other than that i can't really explain it. ronance is just so romy coded... to me. rogue and gambit are both very like. ride or die. which is another ronance quality. and rogue specifically is like. i don't know how to explain it. but there's just a overlapping nancy quality there somewhere...

obviously i don't think nancy is exactly like rogue and i don't think robin is exactly like gambit, but there are some parts of those characters that really do just. make sense for the two.

anyway, i hope this was helpful and if you have any more questions anon, feel free to ask!!

[inairbinad]

WIP Wednesday!

Thanks for the tags @steves-strapcollection and @patchworkgargoyle 💜💜💜

Rules

In a reblog (or new post w/ rules attached), post up to five (5) filenames of your WIPs; not titles, file names.

Post a snippet from one of them. Snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. We’re posting progress here. If you haven’t made any, go make some and come back to post!

After you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. You must then write 3 sentences in that file. If the filename is one you can’t share from (for example, an event fic), write 3 sentences on it anyway, and then 3 more on another to share.

That’s it! You can invite others to join in, or just post. If you tag me in your post, I will send you an ask request!

The WIPs

Steve the botanist/florist (Steddie)

Harrington Charm 5+1 (five times Steve's charm fails him and one time it doesn't)

Eddie the witch?? (Steddie witches AU)

The Saving Chrissy One (Barb Lives!AU season four rewrite)

Have a Snippet

From The Saving Chrissy One, a little bit of budding Buckingham, and established Steddie and Barb x Nancy.

Robin didn’t have much hope for finding a love like Nancy and Barb’s or Steve and Eddie's, but Barb in particular was downright determined to find her one.

“I’m just saying you should ask Chrissy to come hang out with us sometime,” Barb said, trying for casual, but her motive was obvious. Nancy stayed quiet for now, but Robin knew it was only a matter of time before she chimed in to back her girlfriend up. “That’s a thing that girls do, Rob. It doesn’t have to be weird.”

“It’s weird when you two are in love and obviously trying to set us up,” Robin grumbled. “And even weirder when none of us have any idea if Chrissy is even into girls or if she’d run away screaming after three minutes in a room with us.”

"You do realize we can hang out with other girls without immediately being outed as lesbians, right?" Barb deadpanned, and Nancy did a poor job of covering up her snort.

Robin pointedly looked at the way Nancy was practically sitting in Barb’s lap and said, “Are you sure about that?”

"Ahem," Eddie coughed, and all of the eyes in Steve's living room swiveled towards him. "Why don't you just invite Stevie and me, and we'll be your plausible deniability? Your manly cover stories, and whatnot."

“Oh please," Nancy rolled her eyes. "The way you two moon over each other will only make it more obvious that no one here is straight."

Steve cut his eyes towards Robin's with a knowing yet unabashed look. Neither of them could deny Nancy had a point, but Eddie sure looked like he was working up the energy to try.

no-pressure tags as always: @stobinesque @spicysix @starryeyedjanai @eriquin @soulsofstarsliveinyourveins @scarcrossdlvrs and anyone else who wants to join, consider reading this your tag!

[martianbugsbunny]

OUAT Thoughts Pt.22--Episodes 2-3

I have watched through S3E3; spoilers DNI. Also, spoiler warning for anyone further behind than I am.

—These episodes have had some pretty obvious plot devices in them, such as the map needing ✨special circumstances✨ to activate, but I don’t mind. It’s yielded some insight for Emma’s character, as well as fun, deadly family adventures.

—Speaking of deadly, if Charming dies I will be very upset. Also, he’s being stupid, not telling Snow that he’s been poisoned. Sure, it saves her some worry, but in the end it doesn’t help much.

—Snow and Charming drawing their swords in unison is couple goals.

—Fake Excalibur was a pretty sword. Of course, now they’ve set the expectation that I might see the real Excalibur eventually, so they’ve gotta make that the most spectacular weapon in the universe.

—I love that Rumplestiltskin conjured an image of Belle when he wanted someone to talk to. (Although, I do wonder if Belle is in any way aware of it, like her spirit was transported to Neverland; or if it’s just a very vivid hallucination.)

—I’d like to take the fact that he’s worried about making the selfish choice as a sign that he genuinely wants to do better this time.

—That straw doll following Rump around the island is creepy as hell. No thank you.

—The parallels between Emma giving up her kid, like her parents did, and Rump abandoning his kid, like his father did, intrigue me. As depressing as these plot points are, they’re also somewhat hopeful, as both Emma and Rump are trying to do better. It’s a nice, rare appearance of ending the cycle.

—Confession time! I’ve watched most of the movies in the Netflix Christmas Movie Cinematic Universe. I watch them on repeat every Christmas. (My mom watches those with me, too.) So of course, we had a jolly moment recognizing Tinkerbelle as Queen Amber from the Christmas Prince movies.

—Tinkerbelle is definitely cute, but she’s not quite my type. Especially when she’s all grimy and whatnot in Neverland.

—Her bright green dress in the fairytale world is among the best fairy outfits, though. Seriously, the Blue Fairy’s dress is ugly as all get-out. Just disgusting.

—Henry trying to shoot Peter was outstanding. I just wish it had worked.

—I hope at some point Emma and her parents manage to patch things up, because their current situation makes me very sad for both of them. It also makes Emma a little bit hypocritical, because she seems to expect Henry to forgive her entirely, but she isn’t willing to extend forgiveness to Snow and Charming. She’s a bit oblivious at times, so I’m willing to bet she’s not even aware of that irony.

—I want to know more about Hook and Tinkerbelle’s past adventures together. Sounds fun!

—Robin Hood being a father is a dynamic I really like. He needs something to fight for, or he just seems like a rogue with no reason for existence—and also no motivation is not a good way to build a character—but usually the only reason he gets is a vendetta. And you all know, there’s more than enough vendettas to go around already. Having his introductory motivation be his family is a lovely twist on the character.

—Robin is Regina’s soulmate? Color me surprised! I will now put yet another portion of my shipping energy (which believe me, is just about limitless) into hoping they get a happy ending. Besides, then Regina would get another kid in the bargain, which would give Henry a little brother, and that’s even better!

—That weird, pale, blond Lost Boy looks like his name should be Jimmy. Don’t know why, he just does.

—Baelfire actually made it to Neverland! I am both thrilled and trembling with fear. With him now in the equation, I have to place my bets on either him or Rump dying, and since Bae recently had a deathfake, it’s probably going to be Rump.

—On the other hand, maybe now Bae will have a chance to see his father doing the right thing. The would be excellent.

—Just remembered that Rump sent his dagger off with his shadow. Boss move, honey, but also stupid. It could possibly be the cause of that whole death thing.

—Getting a bit of full-on Dark One Rumplestiltskin was a fun part of these episodes. I love any scene where he’s at his spinning wheel.

—Snow White’s vest and jacket when she’s rebelling against Regina are gorgeous. Also, I adore that her hair is messy, because she’s living in a forest and it should be.

—The dwarves being like seven overprotective, angry brothers is hilarious to me. But I appreciate that they were willing to back down when they realized that Charming wants what’s best for Snow. Overprotective becomes overbearing rather quickly, and then it’s no fun.

—How dare they give me a faint glimmer of lesbianism and then take it away? I mean, for all I know it’s a total fakeout and Mulan is in love with Philip after all, but come on!

—Her being a Merry Man is cool, though. Maybe Robin could take them to, say, Scotland or Arendelle, and Mulan could meet one of the other Disney Lesbians™?

[fatedreamsend]

The journal of Anise Greenleaf, entry #1

[Side note from Anise's player: I started this as a writing experiment waaay back near the start of the campaign as a way to try to explore Anise's character a little and give her some backstory from before the started. I hand wrote it in an actual journal because I thought it would be fun. These are scans of the first two pages.]

Transcription below the cut:

11/15/2002:

Well, Auntie gave me this as a parting gift, so I suppose I should actually use it. I've never been one for writing things down aside from spells & recipes, though I suppose it's never too late to start.

Hello, my name is Anise Greenleaf. I've just turned 20, and I am on my way to London from my home in Nottingham. My family has lived in the Sherwood Forest for many generations. Yes, that Sherwood Forest. We predate the legend of Robin Hood. I for one do not think he ever existed, personally. All I know is that bloody stupid tourists are always buggering about in Edwinstowe and getting lost in the forest. My folks are always saving them. At least they can't get into the gardens or the heart of the forest.

I'm off subject. I'm on my way to London to take over the my grandpap's old workshop. The old guy finally got old enough and sick enough to agree that he couldn't can't run it any more. He's going back out ot the farm and as the oldest grandkid I'm inheriting the old workshop from him. I can't say I'm exactly thrilled, I despise London, but having my own place is also very exciting. It's a mixed bag. London smells dreadful and it's so loud and so hard to breathe. No wonder grandpap got sick. But there are so many shops and eateries around, and I'll have my own allowance income if I can sell potions. But well, I'm on my way. I'm spending one last night in Sherwood camping before I get on a train tomorrow. I'm going to miss Sherwood so dearly. I know all of the animals and plants here, and they are so much more friendly than those in London, not to mention the people. I know all the shopkeeps in Edwindstowe, but in London I'll have to learn all new people. But I do suppose they'll have a much better selection of books in London, won't they? And then of course there is him. His family hasn't been around for a few years anyway, so I guess chances are I'll never see him again anyway, whether I'm in London or not. Or, who knows, maybe I'll run into him in London by chance. Or meet someone else. Things have been a bit difficult in America as of late, haven't they? Or so I've heard. Dreadful business with those towers and whatnot. At least I know he's safe, he doesn't live anywhere near New York. Well, unless he moved there? I don't want to think about that. Enough about him. Perhaps I'll meet a charming foreigner in London. I suppose this is as good a place as any to stop writing. Um. Cheers?

On to Entry #2

[prettytoxix]

Family video 🎬

A Steve Harrington x reader (fem) pairing!

A/n: I wrote this with no real intention of making a series but I actually think it would make a sick series so let me know your thoughts :)

Summary: y/n has crush on Steve and goes to his place of work, family video, to see him

Content: pretty much just fluff, if that. Could be a set up for a series. Blurb. Perspective changes from narrator talking about Steve and talking about y/n.

Word count: 754

My life had been nearly dull until I set my eyes upon Steve Harrington. I've seen him around school and whatnot, but he never paid any attention to me. He had always set his attention upon Nancy, but ever since he graduated things had been different.

I always see him with this girl named Robin, but things between them are nothing above platonic.

I find myself wandering into Family Video trying to get his attention. Whenever I see him I can’t help but feel this overwhelming sense of joy and warmth.

Today was different. I had always noticed that Steve’s body language changed every time I walked in. He could be doing an important task and his gaze would meet mine, he would always drop whatever it was that he was doing to help me.

I might be crazy because that seems like basic customer service, right? right?

But like I said, today was different. I walked in and he did the same thing as always. Meeting my gaze, trying to help me, but when I denied his help he went back to talk with his co-worker, Robin.

****

“Robin, what do I do?” Steve asked in regards to this girl he had grown a fondness for.

“I don’t know, dingus. Use your charm.” She says mocking him and moving her hands in the motion of fixing hair.

“Robin! I’m serious!” He’s whisper shouting now. “I think today is the day, I think I’m gonna do it.” He takes a deep breath before returning to the outer part of the store.

“Good luck, dingus!” Robin calls out to him.

****

Steve approaches me and I put all of my attention forward. Something about him feels confident and in check. He opens his mouth like he’s about to say something but then doesn’t. His eyes look down to the floor and he runs his hand through his hair.

“Is everything alright?” I ask. Not really sure what else I can say.

“yeah uh- yes. Everything is fine. I’m fine. Are you fine? I mean you are fine. But how are you?” I can see he regrets every word that left his mouth. Anyone could practically see that he’s a nervous wreck.

“I am great today. How about yourself?” I reply, trying to keep my cool.

“yeah, no. I mean yes. I am great today also…” he trails off. An awkward silence fills the air between us before he speaks again. “So I was- uh- I was thinking. Do you have any plans tonight?” His face cringes, embarrassed by this whole interaction. I instantly start to blush.

“I don’t. Do you have anything in mind?”

“Movie theater?” His confidence seemed to boost back at this point.

“I would love to. Do you want to pick me up at 7?” I ask him, trying to make it easier for him because it’s clear he was struggling with the words.

“7 is perfect.” He says.

After his reply, he goes to the back room again to revisit with his co-worker. I’m left with thousands of butterflies in my stomach. I can’t believe Steve Harrington asked me out.

****

“Robin, Robin Robin!” Steve announces, walking into the back room.

“What, what, what?” she replies. Robin looks back at Steve but still faces opposite of him.

“I did it, oh my god! I did it!” Steve exclaims excitedly. He’s still processing what just occurred. “I made a fool of myself, but I did it!”

“Wait you actually asked y/n out? I didn’t think you’d actually be able to muster the words out, dingus.”

“I know you make fun of me for my charm, but it actually worked. It actually worked!”

Steve is interrupted by a *ding* sound of the bell on the checkout desk.

****

I press the customer service bell once, then twice to get Steve’s attention. Finally, after I let the second one ring out he appears at the computer.

“I’m so sorry, will this be all today?”

“Yeah, I think so, I sorta kinda have plans to go watch a movie tonight so I don’t want to overwhelm myself with films,” I say smiling smugly.

Steve laughs nervously before handing me my receipt with the return date.

“I’ll see you at 7 then.”

“see you at 7,” I say before walking out of Family Video with the biggest grin on my face.

[vagrantblvrd]

So, uh.

How ‘bout that AU where Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark went to a boarding school or, idk, some Young Rich Kid Thing years ago and have this ~frenemies thing going on?

Because heirs to their respective empires/legacies who end up in the superhero business.

The press thinks they’re rivals/frenemies and such? Which in all honesty they should be?

But nah.

(But maybe?)

In reality they heckle the shit out of each other and stage “hostile takeovers” and whatnot because things are slow and boring, or they need to train up new people to handle serious attempts and anyway.If they manage to succeed it just means there’s a WE branch in that city or SI in this one and anyway.

It’s entertaining as hell watching the pres trying to make sense of it?

But also the superhero Thing and late night calls where it’s clear the other one Knows but coming out and admitting it would spoil the fun, but anyway, okay, anyway.

Sometimes Bruce gets packages with new gear/tech that have the Si logo on them somewhere - discreet-like, but also where Bruce knows to look. Or Tony gets a gift or someone taps JARVIS on the shoulder like psst, hey, you should take a look at this, and oh, hey, something nefarious is brewing and Tony best nip that nonsense in the bud before it blows up in his face.

Clark is convinced Bruce cannot stand this Tony Stark character? But then there’s some party or an expo and Bruce has to attend, and Clark goes (as Bruce’s ~date or in capacity as a reporter or just to fuck with Bruce for the hell of it) and is like oh.

Because to anyone who doesn’t know better it sure as hell looks like Bruce cannot stand Tony? But he’s got a real smile on his face, no horribad Brucie facade, seems glad to see him?

(And look, he doesn’t know Tony well, but he’s interviewed the man before and the smiles he sees on Tony’s face while talking to Bruce aren’t the same ones he gave Clark during that interview.)

AND THEN.

There’s the matter of Bruce’s kids and Tony’s kids and Bruce’s no, pls no, at the mere thought of them meeting?

But of course they do, because his kids are all horrible little gremlins and Tony’s got this mixed bag - Parker’s charmingly polite, but then there’s Keener and oh, God, the rest - and Bruce is like *SIGH* because the world will never be the same again???

Also, though, also.

Bruce’s kids when they’re with the Titans and Tony’s on the west coast at the time, you know - convenient that - and oh, God, the horror? (The horror.)

Especially when he finds plans for iron man suits in Robin’s colors???

There are so many over the years, and when his kids outgrow Robin there are suit designs for Nightwing, and armor or Red Hood - where did Bruce think Jason got the fancy helmet from, you know? Ra’s? Talia? Pfft. Red Robin and he knows Oracle’s got a line to Tony and JARVIS and whoever else for Steph and Cass and whoever.

(Armor at the very least, if they refuse a full suit and Bruce is like *SIGH* but it’s not like he’s going to turn something like that down, you know? Tony makes the best and it’s sticking point on the business side of things at times, a good reason for that division of WE to be better, dammit, although outsiders think it’s a business thing and nothing personal at all, and anyway.)

Yes.

Tony forever trying to ~woo Bruce’s kids away because they’re all so fucking smart?

But then there’s Tim, and Tony remembers the Drakes, okay. Wondered what happened to that kid he met at some party once upon a time, heard about the everything that left young Timothy without a mother and father badlyinjured and -

Bruce.

Also, okay, also.

Sometime after the everything with Jason, and Tony being in no position to help Bruce out, but then JARVIS tells him Batman’s got himself a new sidekick and really, Bruce, really.

Got to put in more work if you’re going to do the secret identity thing because that’s obviously the Drake kid - thank god you gave him tights, but come on, man, are you serious with all this?

And then the moment Tim’s anywhere near the west coast Tony has to check in on this kid and is like *_* because he’s the perfect little sarcastic brat and oh, Bruce, where do you find these kids?

But no, don’t tell Tony he can handle only so many tragic backstories before his morning coffee and anyway, about time you old bastard.

(Because Jason and Bruce’s guilt and everything.)

But then fast forward to Tony in New York and Tim’s there for a Thing for WE and Tony >:)))))))))))))) because he’s going to steal Tim for SI, don’t think he won’t, Wayne.

And then other shenanigans, I guess?

The Avengers being all ??? at this kid in the Tower who isn’t Peter or Harley and Tony trying to sell him on an armored suit of his own - grappling hooks are so yesterday, you know? Tony’s suits are so much better, and anyway, did he mention the flying thing?

Because it is awesome, Tim, trust him.

Tim is just *eyeroll* because Tony’s not wrong, but the whole metal suit doesn’t lend itself incredibly well to the whole...terror that flaps in the night thing or whatever the Bats have going for them???

(Tony takes that as a challenge because he can so make a stealth armor, just watch him, Tim.)

But anyway.

ALSO.

Tam being like.

NO. You can’t have him, he’s a nightmare, but he’s our nightmare, and then , idk, commiserating with Pepper and/or taking notes from Pepper and Tim and Tony are like oh, no, but also oh, yes, because Pepper is terrifying and her teaching Tam her tricks can only end well.

(Not for Tim, necessarily? But you know. In general.)

And then some party or gala or whatever and Bad Guys and the Avengers show up to save Tony and whoever?

And are ??? because Tony and Tim are like “Oh, no, after you I insist,” and “No, no, this is your city after all,” and so on because manners! And also superhero politics and really, the bad guys are hilariously bad at this and no one’s in any danger from them, and anyway.

Yes.

(Also. Tony being ridiculously charmed by Damian, okay. This little >:((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( kid who clearly thinks Tony is at least three steps below slime he found on the bottom of his little batkid boot and oh, God, it’s like seeing young!Bruce before his kids ruined his life but in concentrated form and he cannot believe Bruce didn’t want the two of them to meet, Damian is a fucking delight, okay, as is Tony, and anyway. Yes.)

[writing-blog-iguess]

Do you have any headcanons about the insecurities fic you wrote about? I can't help but headcanon a lot, like:

both Harley & Ivy enjoys watching reader finishing her food, they also call her their mom since reader has been making them food since their first meet (Harley loves her egg sandwich, while Ivy was the baked potatoes bread)

Alfred always bakes matcha swiss roll with red bean paste or pastries that's easy too shallow with reader (so that she could shallow without feeling like choking and needs to drink a lot of water) whenever she stops by and keeps giving him hugs which he gladly return it everytime, the Alferd&Y/N's hug, is what everyone comments it

Dicks showing pictures he took of seven years old (a journey of Y/N's growing he calls) and then reader to all his teammates and the league as soon as he learnt the engagement's finally announce 'Look at this! Can't you imagine?! She's my little sister! This is when she seven years old! It's very heartwarming right blah blah blah... " and that's how the other superheros and older Teen Titans and Barbara knows how much Dick adore his future little sister-in-law who's s cinnamon roll

Sassy and baddass way to talk for so people won't dare mess up with her confidence (Jason help her built up, after he met her and quick into adoption of her, siblings!) Not that he would ever admit, Jason will sent glares to whoever who diss Y/N's like to children picture books (for example, The Guardians of Childhood aka inspiration of Rise of the Guardians movie) come on, his little sister had great taste in books!

Tim forbid her drinking coffee when they first met and even after (since he nearly caused a seven-years-old gone missing in the manor after the reader can't fall asleep decided to have a exploration situation) but will make it for her sometimes later after she used to it, made account for art websites she wants to register that so she can admire arts but underage back when childhoods, so he used it under his own only name (defiantly annoymus, and no, it's not illegal website) and every then and how

Makeover and dress-up with Barbara, Stephanie and Cassandra after they learnt of her (which they give Damian few lessons of 'how to treat the girl you like' with Dick who's extremely enjoy it, Jason and Tim who's enjoy the show all day), in the end, all heads to movie since it's sister bond time and apparently, the ideas of XL caramel popcorns and coke are the best choice!

Bruce pat or ruffle her hair softly everytime they met, a habit since the day he had ten years ago when she's seven, a touch of 'my daughter is growing up' feel will seldom appears in his heart

Damian from straightly ingored to slowly falls in love with reader after everytime he saw her sincere smile whenever she enjoyed Alfred's food heartily (like this, but a more faintly heartwarming one haha, at the very last pic, not sure if you could see it, so here's another link you could try out☺☺ )

Innocent, 'naive girl playing tough' charm whenever she and Damian together alone (first kiss, cuddling, hair massaging, teasing, which he finds not annoying because it's how really she is, and he enjoys keep on trailing and turn on her wildness)

How reader slowly felt left out though it didn't really occur me, just the thought of Batfam night activity and how we're isolating from each other slowly and inoccasionally when growing up just made me feel that way, you know, the feelings of it's not the same like it used to anymore😞😞

And once again, thank you so much for accepting my request at the beginning, I've been having this thought in my mind but I just couldn't write it, I'm so glad you accepted it and it's totally the way I want☺☺ (And about part 2 Talia which you accepted it too, I hope my words didn't scare you out lol... I'm too exciting that day...) Hope you have a very good day ahead, author!

Tumblr really needs to let me know when I have something in my inbox, I swear.

Of course! I loved writing it, and I’m glad you enjoyed it. No, your words didn’t scare me lol, I’m just outlining part 2 and I hope you love it just as much. With that said, and you don’t mind the wait, send in your ideas! I love reading them.

Okay, onto the headcanons! I love these! I put mine under the readmore, there's a bit;

Y/N didn’t have the best home life. Like I’m not saying abusive, just her parents neglected her a little. And it didn’t help that her whole life was planned for. So when she met Harley and Ivy, they basically went, you’re mine now no take backsies. And y/n just rolls with it, because through them, she finds out what it feels to be loved by someone who cares about you. This of course, she keeps from her parents and the day she turned eighteen, she moved out and it was a lot easier to hang out with those two.

Ever since knowing Harley and Ivy, y/n’s been slowly getting out of her shell. When she starts to hang out with Jason, she becomes more confident. She has Jason wrapped around her finger without even knowing

The girls love her, everyone loves her and Damian’s just, why

She loves cooking, and she even swaps recipes with Alfred. (even from the beginning of the whole arrangement) she became fast friends with Alfred first before everyone else.

y/n has known Damian since his first day of school. But I’m not going to lie, y/n was kind of scared Damian.

She got so offended when Tim took away her coffee when she wanted to try it. And when she became a regular coffee drinker, they would talk about different coffees they had tried and compare notes.

When the arranged marriage was first brought up in conversation, there was a lot of protests. Especially from Dick and Damian, but Bruce just shrugged saying that it was a good match. And if they don’t get married in the end, than that’s fine. Everyone was very confused but stopped bringing it up

They have theories though about the whole thing, the most popular one in the manor is that Bruce is looking for the next Robin when Damian hangs up the Robin cape to be someone else

When Bruce announced that, everyone did their own research about y/n. Everyone but Damian agreed but she must be protected, though it kind of blows up when they kind of cast her aside when she started hanging out with them at the manor, (but that’s not until later)

She and Damian have lunch together everyday at school, much to Damian’s displeasure. And he’s mean to her at the beginning, ignoring her and whatnot. She doesn’t do anything cuz she hates this setup just as much

But slowly, she starts to catch feels but keeps it to herself.

As you said, Damian takes longer to fall in love with her. And its one of those moments when she looks at peace within his family and it just hits him like ‘oh. Oh no I’m in love and I can’t tell anyone this’ and he doesn’t. So up until they confess to each other, their just pinning after each other and people who aren’t family sees that their in love but no know says anything

However, they do get more cuddly when they’re alone. Like, they don’t kiss or anything. But when they have movie nights, y/n’s curled up on the end of the couch with Damian’s head on her lap. And she’s always plays with his hair, of runs her fingers through it and Damian has discovered that it feels nice and helps him to de-stress

She knows when he’s stressed about something, so her just pats her lap and he grumbles about it but is secretly happy (they have been caught on multiple occasions by his brothers and they chooses to ignore them

She’s been so use to feeling alone, that being with people who care feels foreign to her

When she starts to feel like she’s alone again, she doesn’t see it until it’s too late

It starts off slowly, the fam is to busy with missions and saving the world that they kind of forget they she doesn’t know, and when she comes over, their not there or just brushes her off when she is. And she’s tried to talk to them, cuz she’s spend years being a part of their family but then one day it stopped.

But they just brush her off and she’s reminded about her parents so she stops pushing and then altogether stops going to the manor.

No one really realizes at first, only Alfred, and when they do, y/n had already broken off the engagement.

[choicesenthusiast]

The Nanny Affair 2, Ch. 4 AKA Consider Us Warmed

What happened this week:

Enlist the twins to help out in preparing appetizers for the housewarming party, and in return they tell you all the hot gossip from school. Being in separate classes, pranks, girls, and whatnot. Jordan watches you with heart eyes the entire time.

It’s party time, and all your classic PTA caricature parents are in attendance. Their almighty leader, who’s friends with the AWOL Sofia, tries to get a rise out of you. Work your ex-nanny charm on them to win them over. Now, I intentionally failed this little test, but like with most other choices in this book, it appears to be inconsequential.

Fuck Sam again, this time with whip cream! This sounds like a wholesale deal.

Naya is ready to make you two public. Please, anything to liven this scandal up.

Thoughts:

This chapter was so short, what the hell. And I’m more invested in the twins’ seven-year-old drama than whatever we had going on. All this chapter did for me was make me want some fucking bruschetta.

I think I figured out what’s making this book so dull, besides the usual formulaic chapter structure. The world is supposed to be freaking out over the Dalton-Russo scandal, right? But so far we’ve seen none of that. There’s really no stakes here because we don’t know the severity of the situation. All we’ve done is sit pretty with Sam, and everything’s going along swimmingly. There’s really no pressure on us or our relationship, so there’s no conflict. The obvious solution: bring back Robin and Sofia, have them stir up some crazy drama, raise the stakes. Anything to get this book going.

The return of the darkening eyes! Count: 3.

[eat0crow]

Cliche but can I request flower shop owner Marinette with gang boi Jason?

Dear sweet Anon, you have no idea how weak I am for cliche tropes. I took some liberties here seeing as Red Hood is already a sorta gang leader and just used that! I hope you like my rambly headcanons! I had so many ideas for this au that I really had to try to hold back.

Ground Zero

1) There’s a flower shop right on the edge of Jason’s territory that’s essentially become an urban legend.

No one is actually sure how exactly it’s still standing, it borders two rival gangs, Red Robin’s usual patrol route, and Jason’s terf. There have been at least three gang wars raging on the same street, yet still Miraculous stands as the one neutral spot in all of Gotham. It’s a cute shop, don’t get Jason wrong, but the only miraculous thing about it is that no one has even tried to claim it.

He brings it up once, the keyword once. Because the shop has stood as neutral ground for at least a century, and no one wants to be the one to break that streak. The shop is also cursed apparently, or at least protected by some malevolent force. The building lost a shingle once in the ’80s to a member of the False Facers, and the very next day saw Gotham PD hauling in at least two-thirds of the Black Mask’s operation.

Which is probably exaggerated, right? None of the minor drug lords under Jason want to get into it. The Black Mask doesn’t want to get into it. (He clams up the moment Jason tells him the shop re-opened, apparently, it had closed a year after the shingle incident)

Miraculous, as well as the parking lot it sits on, is the ground zero of Gotham. No crime goes into the lot, no crime goes out. The pots are never tipped over, no one tries to steal even a single rose from the display. No one touches the cute building, even if it’s painted an obnoxious pastel pink that stands out like a sore thumb in the Gotham night. At least, as far as everyone knows—Jason is still kinda skeptical about that. Really, it’s the perfect set up for a smuggling ring.

Tim is there sometimes as Red Robin. All the time really, at least twice a week. Jason has caught him more than once staked out with a pair of binoculars in the windows. A couple of times he even catches him helping the clerk repot plants. Which, yeah, Jason’s met Tim a time or two, he doesn't make a habit of sticking around his family, but the kid never came off as the gardening type.

It’s especially funny though, to see the pictures of Red Robin in a pink apron behind the counter trending on twitter.

He’s tried to go in a handful of times, to offer the owner his protection and whatnot. But each time he tries he forgets what he’s doing before he even turns the handle. Whoever runs this place must have the best luck in the world because this shit has been happening since it was built.

You’re a wayward gang member attempting to talk to the owner, you end up forgetting what you’re doing mid-action, and only start to remember five days later. The building is damaged, so is whatever scheme you’ve been planning. Actually in the shop when you decide to talk business, nope, it’s time for the most inconvenient phone call of your life.

“Why Dick, did you have to call me? I was so close.”

“Jason, are you crying?”

“I finally made it into the door. I’ve been trying for months to get in. But no, your ass gets stuck in your suit, and suddenly it’s time to call Jason. Nope, lose my number.”

2) Apparently everyone, including the fucking demon spawn, has been to Miraculous.

They all get kind of quiet when he brings it up though, Alfred actually leaves the room. Jason may have issues with Bruce, and Dick, and Tim, and don’t even get him started on Damian, but Alfred’s always been the neutral party for them. He’s always been the one they go to, no matter what. Upsetting Alfred is a capital offense. Jason feels...shitty about it.

“Alfred used to go, and get a bouquet there every weak after you died,” Dick tells him, folding his hands together, and settling in. Tim looks uneasy, and far more awkward than usual—which is saying something. “He’d get some white lilies to put on your grave. I went with him a few times, but he hasn’t been back since. I think the shop reminds him of it. When you were...you know.”

“Oh.” Jason really feels like an asshole.

“Yeah, I can’t say I’ve been back either.” Dick rubs the back of his neck like he’s admitting to something secret. “It used to be on my patrol route, back when I was first Robin. It always used to creep me out so I'd avoid it.”

“Really, Grayson,” Damian says with the same air of condescending superiority he always has.

“Hey, back in those days it was an abandoned building. The one that the witch owned! I don’t know about you, but I don’t fuck with witches. No thank you! I like my limbs.”

Jason might actually remember something like that, it’s hard. Like all the memories from before are hard, but he thinks back to being a kid. To growing up in a scummy neighborhood, and hearing people talk about the witching house that no one was allowed near. The one spot Squatters and Junkies, no matter how desperate, wouldn’t step foot in.

“It’s not all that bad,” Tim says. “My mom remembered when it was open the first time around. Mr. Fu was really nice, he used to let her play in the pots.”

“That aside,” Dick says fixing Jason with a half-crazed look. “It re-opened like a month after you died, so yeah, I went there with Alfred a lot. Like once a month a lot. The shop has this thing. You go in, and you’re instantly wrapped up in this nostalgic warm-fuzzy-reliving-my-childhood feeling. It’s weird.”

Tim stares. “I think that’s a you problem. I go in all the time, and yeah, the shop has a nice vibe, but it’s more like a you’re-safe-here thing.”

“You’re both, as usual, utterly wrong.” Damian sniffs. “If anything, the shop feels like coming home.”

The entire table turns to stare at him with wide unbelieving eye’s. Jason can hardly believe his ears...did Damian really just say something like that. The shocked look on even Dick’s face goes a long way in saying just how much no one can believe something so well adjusted came out of the demon spawn’s mouth.

Damian’s blush is priceless, his stutter—yes it’s a stutter no matter how much he denies it—is even better. “I mean to say. It feels familiar. The shop, you walk in, even for the first time, and you feel like you’ve walked through the door hundreds of times.”

Which, huh, because. “I always thought it felt like a warning. You step one foot onto the lot, and it feels like the walls themselves are daring you to start shit.”

3) Despite the hype that's built up around Jason going in, his first visit—No, Marinette that one didn’t count I literally just turned the door handle—is really anticlimactic.

It works like this, Roy asks him to pick up flowers, because Valentine's Day is today, and Kori will know what he's doing the second he tries to make up some lame excuse. Jason will never know how the man could ever be such a bad liar. As far as Kori knows, Jason is doing a typical supply run. Which, he is doing a supply run, even if the thought of cheesy romantic comedy cliches makes him sick.

All the same, Jason takes his role as best bro seriously, even though he has doubts about being able to complete this task. If his previous 52 failures are anything to go by, Miraculous hates him. There are only so many times a man can get maimed before he comes to the conclusion that the building itself has it out for him.

The hornets were what sold him. Not the bees, the hornets.

So with the air of a man who has just been sent out to war, Jason puts on this thickest jacket, his gloves, leaves his phone behind—even if attempt 34 taught him that was a really stupid idea—and braces himself to step inside. Maybe it’s because this is the first time Jason has gone into the flower shop for actual flowers. Maybe his luck is improving. Maybe...maybe the universe is setting him up for something even worse. Either way, it’s the first time the hair on the back of his neck doesn’t stand up the moment his foot hits the floor.

The girl at the counter is cute, just around his age with the bluest eyes he’s ever seen. That says something, because Jason has met Superman. That man's eyes are literally otherworldly. But Marinette’s, Jason has a suspicion this is the Mari Tim is always talking about, her eyes look like they’re glowing.

Jason realizes he’s been standing in the doorway staring, way too hard, when Marinette, that’s what her name tags says, clears her throat. With an air of confidence—Jason is a firm believer in the inherent power of bull shitting your way to success—he walks up to the counter.

“I’m looking for a bouquet,” Her stare is piercing and Jason swears it burns all the way down to his soul. “For Valentine's day. One with roses, and all that shit.”

Marinette huffs, and points to a depressingly empty display shelf. “You, and just about everyone else. Did you place an order?”

“Did I place an..” Jason trails off under his breath. “Please tell me you have something with the name Roy Harper in your registry.”

Marinette takes a moment to glance down, to ruffle through her papers. “I’m sorry, I only have one left, and its got the last name Grayson on it.”

Jason sees his life flash devastatingly fast across his eyes. It ends with him being torn to shreds by one of Roy’s homemade bombs when he comes back empty-handed. There won’t even be enough of him left to throw in a Lazarus pit. Nope, he’ll be sidewalk chalk.

So really he feels no guilt in fleshing his most charming smile, the one that always makes the old ladies coo, and saying. “Perfect, I’m here to pick that one up.”

Marinette takes one look at him draped over the counter, and bursts out laughing. Today is not a good day for Jason’s ego. “I thought you were Roy Harper.”

“No, I’m Dick Grayson.” The words are bitter in his mouth. “But the bouquet is for my friend, and I wasn’t sure what name he put it under.”

“Oh,” Marinette says, a smirk playing across her lips. “You think I was born yesterday. Sorry hon, but you’re not an alternative pick up, and I'll need to see some ID.”

“You expect me to show ID for flowers?..... Really?”

“Yes, I expect you to show ID when you’ve given me two different names, and those flowers are worth over a hundred dollars,” Marinette bites back. “Sorry, but that’s been paid in full, and I’m not going to lose a customer.”

“Okay,” Jason says, taking two crisp bills out of his wallet. It hurts because Roy gave him a twenty, and Jason will always be a cheap bastard at heart. Nevertheless, he likes Kori, she deserves this, even if Roy, who will be begging for mercy later, does not. He has to very consciously remove his hand after sliding them over. The urge to snatch them back is strong. “Listen, I really need that fucking bouquet. I am prepared to pay you double the price Grayson paid.”

Marinette actually looks offended. “Just because everyone else in this city is okay with being bribed doesn’t mean I am. You can keep your money.”

“Everyone has a price.” Jason gives her a look. “Name it.”

“Well, I don’t,” Marinette snaps, reaching down for her phone. “You can take your money, and fuck off. Before I get Red Robin over here to flush you out.”

“And here I was, thinking this was neutral territory.”

“It is.” Marinette stiffens. “This place isn’t under Red Robin’s protection, but he’s still my friend. I won’t hesitate to get him over here.”

“How about this then. The bouquet for protection. I can get Red Hood to claim this place.”

“What part of neutral didn’t you get?” Marinette asks, leaning over the counter and getting into his space. From here, just inches apart, her eyes are iridescent. Blue light toxically dripping out of a cracked glow stick. “Miraculous doesn’t get involved in your shit. You all want to wage war on each other? You want to pedal drugs? You want to smuggle shit? That’s cool, but you keep that away from my fucking shop. Miraculous doesn't get involved, you can all kill each other outside.”

She’s kind of terrifying up close. If Jason wasn’t convinced she would disembowel him, he’d be tempted to kiss her. Consent, however, is sexy as fuck.

Jason knows when he’s fighting a losing battle. “Is there any way. Anyway in hell, that I can get my hands on those fucking flowers?”

“Yeah,” Marinette says sitting back down. “You can call Grayson, and have him give them to you. But aside from that, I’ve seen a lot of shit. Sorry buddy, but you can’t buy me or scare me into anything.”

“I’ll call the sorry bastard up right now.”

“I’m not giving you his number.”

“I don’t need you to give me his number, I have it right…” Jason trails off, suddenly he remembers leaving his phone behind.

4) Jason is a petty asshole who has learned that the secret to getting into the flower shop is to think flowers.

Listen, Jason had to make do with drugstore flowers, and Roy’s disappointed puppy eyes for a month after being kicked out on his ass. To add insult to injury, Tim tracked him down two days later, as he was mid drug bust, to tell him to stay away from Marinette.

Okay, it’s not like he hadn’t already been planning to go back, frankly, the shop is a strategic masterpiece. Half of its cred as an urban legend comes from the fact that whoever claimed it would be given an instant power-up. It’s the One Ring to rule them all. Jason has to go back, and convince Marinette that the Red Hood is the one to ally with. He has to.

So yeah he’s going to go back anyway, but now he really wants to. Because Tim, his replacement, dared him. Maybe a bigger person would back down, what with all the external forces building up around the shop, the legend, the neutrality, the many failed attempts, Tim somehow having a vested interest…well, Jason has never been the bigger person.

Not by a long shot.

The first three times he attempts to return, Marinette meets him at the door. She’s quick about flipping the sign from open to closed. Jason, the first time, had tried turning the handle, whatever magic makes that building hate him, makes it lock up the second the sign changes. It’s not Marinette, Jason watched her. Her hands never touched the lock.

The first person he complains to is Roy, of course, who actually gives him the idea. Roy is a genius sometimes. So attempt four ends with him buying a single sunflower. It’s gaudy as all hell, and also the first thing his hand touched after he spent an hour trying to get Marinette’s attention.

She apparently will only talk to him in the brief thirty seconds she spends cashing him out. Which, yeah, that’s fair.

And so it begins. Every day except Tuesday, the only day the shop is closed, Jason goes in, buys a single sunflower, and talks up the Red Hood.

Even if Miraculous never comes into his fold, this will all have been worth it just to have seen the look on Tim’s face the first time he comes in just as Jason's buying his daily flower.

There’s a small hole burned into his wallet, but Kori loves sunflowers.

Jason’s not the only regular, but he’s the most frequent, by the end of his fourth month he knows all the other regular’s sob stories, and everyone and their mother thinks he's sweet on Marinette. That may be the kind of true by this point. He’s worn her down to where she will talk to him as he browses. Even if she also complains that, “It’s pointless. I already have your sunflower set aside.”

Month six marks a distinct turning point in their relationship. He was upgraded from General-Creep to Recurring-Menace to Okay-I-Guess-We’re-Sorta-Friends-Now a while ago. Month six is the month he gains the title of Permanent-Fixture. It’s marked by him walking in and Marinette forcing an apron on him.

“I told Red Robin when he started coming by, that if he was going to hang around than he needed a reason to. So if you want to hang in Miraculous you’re going to work in Miraculous.”

“Unpaid labor is illegal.”

“No, it’s not. It’s just called volunteering.”

5) Getting together actually takes a while.

Jason is relentless when it comes to his recruitment pitches, but he has standards for fuck's sake. No woman actually enjoys it when men flirt with them on the clock. There’s a whole power imbalance thing that makes him sick to his stomach.

Sure Marinette can take care of herself. She’s a force of nature. Jason had offered to help carry potting soil for her once. One time. That was before he saw her lift the thirty pound bag over her shoulder like an empty sack of rice. Marinette can take care of herself, she just won’t.

Jason has seen more than one scummy fuck harass her. She gets quiet….she loses her confidence, and it’s just so wrong to see a person as strong as Marinette look small. He’s not sure what about blatant flirting and bad pick up lines bothers her so much but—Marinette can never know, and they’ll never tell her that the Red Hood tracked each one of them down. Threats are beautiful things. They just make it all come together.

He is a gentleman, even after he starts working with her. While co-workers flirting with each other isn’t as bad, it’s still kind of awful. The problem is that Marinette is always working, she never leaves Miraculous. Even on her off days.

So Jason, never finds the right time to ask her out himself. All the regulars already think they’re dating. His brothers think they’re dating. Alfred, Alfred thinks they’re dating after walking into the shop one time since Jason’s resurrection. He’s thankful his brothers gave him a heads up—not. Alfred walks in to find him behind the counter with a fluffy pink apron on, even his refined British manners are tested. Jason just knows he’s laughing. He knows.

It happens like this, Jason teams up with Batman and Co. to help with a standard smuggling ring. Nothing difficult, the only reason it should have required all of them was because of the shipment size. It should have been easy. It had been easy.

That is until the Joker shows up, Jason freezes, and takes a bullet straight to the stomach.

Stomachs bleed...a lot.

He doesn’t remember much of what happened after that. Stomachs also hurt a lot, and it’s hard to think coherently when you’re in excruciating pain. Jason, blacked out shortly after Dick started putting pressure on the wound. For future reference, while stopping the bleeding might be important, it hurts like fucking hell.

Marinette is the first thing he sees when he opens his eyes. She’s hunched over herself in the plastic chair next to his bed. Someone, probably Dick or Alfred, draped a blanket over her. She looks vastly out of place, like the room itself is sucking the life out of her. The lighting makes her skin almost translucent.

The second thing he sees is the sunflowers covering every inch of the hospital room. There must have been a couple dozen, at least. It was probably closer to a hundred if not more. Despite the pain that comes with laughing, Jason can’t help himself.

His laughter alerts the nurse, who alerts his family. Apparently, they’ve all been camping out in the waiting room. Much comfier couches there. His family wakes Marinette, who turns her piercingly otherworldly eyes on him.

Marinette stays quiet through all his family’s fussing. She stays quiet even after that. All she does is stare. Jason doesn’t think she’s actually seeing him.

“I didn’t think I missed this many days,” Jason jokes, gesturing to the multitude of flowers wrapped around every available surface.

“No, you didn’t.” Marinette’s answer is curt. She’s distracted, Jason really wishes he knew what she was seeing.

“Not a fan of Hospitals?” Jason tries.

Marinette blinks. The cloudy look on her face disappearing as she shakes her head. “No, I really can’t stand them.”

“Me either.” Jason feels an intense desire to continue the conversation, if only to keep Marinette from closing up again. “You know, you didn’t have to visit me.”

“I wanted to,” Marinette says. “Your brother called, and told me what happened. I came by just after you were finishing up in surgery.”

“What about the shop?”

Jason has been working at Miraculous—volunteering because Marinette still doesn’t pay him—for months. He’s invested in the place now.

"It can be closed for a few days,” Marinette says, reaching over to take his hand. Jason lets her, he’s always hated hospitals. It's gotten worse since he came back. The comfort is welcome. “This is more important.”

Jason wants to say something, to take his shot, and ask her out. Because she’s just as important to him, but it feels wrong so, he settles with, “You’re a really good friend Marinette.”

He does his best to ignore the way the words choke him.

“I think,” Marinette starts, only to stop herself. There’s a moment of internal debate before she continues, “I think we both know we’re a little more than just friends.”

6) Jason never does claim Miraculous, it remains perfectly neutral, despite having the Bat-Family practically living out of the apartment upstairs.

“Hey, do you think now that we're dating you can convince Tim to come by out of costume?”

Jason blanks. “What?”

“Tim, do you think you can get him to stop dropping by as Red Robin so much. People are starting to think Miraculous has been claimed as part of Batman’s terf.”

Jason does the most logical thing he can think of. He buries his face in his hands, and groans. “Why did you have to figure it out?”

“Was I…not supposed to?”

“No, no you weren’t. How did you?”

“Jason, there’s only one person you hate as much as Tim, and that’s Red Robin. I’ve seen how you look at both of them. No one makes your eyes scream murder as much as he does. Not even Dick.”

“Oh God,” Jason says wiping a hand across his face. “Does that mean—”

“That I know you’re the Red Hood?” Marinette asks, cutting him off. “Hmm, I’ve known that for longer. Probably since you first started coming around consistently. At first, I thought you had like, the biggest boner for the guy, but then you seemed really into me and well, you talked him up way too much to either not have a crush on him or be him so, I connected the dots.”

[okaybutlikeimagine]

(tumblr won’t let me respond to asks directly so we’re screenshotting them till further notice  🤷)(i had the WHOLE THING typed out w/ the italics fixed into the ask and i copied it so i wouldn’t have to go through and put the italics again and then my DUMBASS SELF went to copy a fucking SHRUG EMOJI and now i have to put the italics in again. good thing i do all this stuff on a separate google doc bc i’m a moron and would have lost the whole thing just now. anyway)

Hi!!! I’m crying bc you fucking KNOW that Billy would get so fucking embarrassed!!

Bc Billy is prideful!! I’m telling you, that boy has some Leo in his chart or something bc if anyone so much as smiles at a joke at his expense, he gets defensive. And that’s not to say that he doesn’t banter back and forth with Robin, and that’s not to say that he and Steve don’t give insults that sound like endearments, and that’s not to say that he and Jonathan don’t rib each other amicably… but it’s different. Pride is a very different thing.

Bc Billy is legit like a little lion cub. (AKA every Leo i know, therefore Billy has Leo in his chart, don’t @ me) it’s an almost juvenile kind of attachment to pride. Like a baby lion cub who’s just getting their mane in but holds their head like they’ve got the biggest one in the pride, it’s a little childish (as much as he may not want to admit it).

And it’s really not Billy’s fault. That’s what he’ll tell you. That’s what he’ll tell anyone. It’s not his fault he’s a brat and he’ll shrug his shoulders and he’ll continue to be rude/bratty and for some people (Steve) it’s charming and for others (almost everyone else) it’s tolerable but for Jim…. It’s…. It’s upsetting. Jim doesn’t like to be seen as “controlling” or a “hardass” or whatever but he’s not sure how he can just ignore when Billy is being disrespectful. Even if it’s only slightly. bc like…. He feels like he needs to be a good dad and good dads make sure their kids grow up to be good people, right??? Which isn’t to say he thinks Billy is a bad person but he worries because, like every parent, his biggest fear is fucking up. He didn’t get a whole lot of practice with Sara. and after her death he couldn’t help but think of every time he slipped up. Every time his wife soothed his hair and said: “We have time to get it right.” every day that passed with Sara in the hospital where he realized she was wrong.

And i’m SO sorry for getting into that but I think that really influences how Hop parents now! The man was broken and then just…. Acquired a 12 year old. And then a 17 YEAR OLD?? Like… the man would be Confused as to how to proceed. And then THIS happens…

Bc Billy has mood swings. Billy is a teenager and also the human version of a bratty little cat that puffs his chest out and ruffles his own fur and may leave a few scratches but is ultimately harmless (esp now that he has a nice, loving family!!) and so they’re at the dinner table and the boys are talking about their grades and whatnot and Billy may be a little pouty. Because maybe Billy didn’t study as hard as he should have for his last history test. He just thinks history is so stupid. He’d rather read a book or do 100 math problems. What’s history gonna teach him?? He doesn’t need to know any more about plagues.

So he says that.

Jonathan’s talking about how well he did on his essay and Will is talking about how he did on his math test and Billy’s pushing carrots around when Joyce asks: “How’s school for you, Billy?”

“Just peachy keen.” he sneers down at his plate. Hop tuts harshly.

“Hey.” Hop chastises, only serving to make Billy’s blood boil more.

“What?”

“Calm down.”

“I’m plenty calm.” Billy snaps back, but it’s quiet. He shoves a sliced carrot in his mouth.

“Have you had any tests or anything lately?” Joyce asks calmly, in that motherly voice she always gives that makes Billy’s mind swirl a bit.

“Yup.”

“Billy-” Hop warns and it makes Billy sit straight up, but give a challenging look in Hop’s direction as he says, loudly:

“Yes, ma’am.”

Joyce stops asking, but she sends a look to Hop, who’s still caught in a staredown with Billy. Billy can’t see her look, but he wouldn’t understand it if he could, because it says: Hop, cut it out.

And the conversation shifts to significant others and then Joyce is smiling kindly at El and asking about her and Mike and maybe Hop is pouting but he’s not gonna draw attention to himself bc Joyce will just hit him like she always does when he’s pouting over their kids dating (specifically El). And Jonathan is smirking a bit into his dinner but Will is visibly uncomfortable as El gushes about Mike before complaining that he doesn’t come over enough and that she doesn’t go out enough and Billy gets irritated. Why should he and Will have to listen to this when they don’t want to??

And he mutters something, darkly. Something about Mike and El and “ungrateful little brats”.

And everyone hears. He only half means it, but they don’t really think that far.

And Hop shoots a look his way before chewing on a carrot rather aggressively.

“Somethin’ to say?”

Billy gives Hop a challenging stare, but he backs down as soon as he starts it.

“No sir.” He mutters harshly.

“Then behave.”

“How about you and Steve, sweetie?” It’s Joyce. Being sweet.

“Happy as can be.” It sounds bitter the way he says it because it is. They got in a fight today. A little one, but enough to make Billy taste something sour in his mouth when he thinks about it. He figures they’re gonna make up just fine tomorrow, no flowers or empty promises needed, just another heated conversation followed by a heated make out in the front seat of Billy’s Camaro. Maybe followed by a serious talk that’ll make Billy’s face heat up because he still can’t believe this boy has Billy wrapped around his finger so fucking tight.

“Yeah, well Officer Callahan says you and Harrington have-”

“You know his name.” Billy growls, resting his fork on the plate.

“Steve. You and Steve have been running around empty fields a lot lately.”

“And?” Billy’s vision is turning red. It’s tunneling a bit.

“And what’s that all about?”

“Don’t really wanna give you all the dirty details.” Billy shoves some meatloaf in his mouth. Hop’s looking at him like he’s a hassle and Billy’s proud of it.

“You guys shouldn’t be doing that. Someone’s gonna say something.”

“And?” Billy’s getting madder. He puts his fork down with a loud clang.

“And you’re gonna cause problems-”

“For you?” Billy seethes, leaning forward a bit, just willing Hop to say it.

“For yourselves.”

“Oh yeah?” Billy asks, leaning back in his chair, blood boiling hot. “Well what about the little twerps?”

Billy nods over to El, who makes a whining noise.

“Hey!” She calls, face pouting.

“What about them?”

"I just don't think it's very fair that it's safe for them and not us." Billy growls, gritting his teeth, eyebrows low.

"That's not true."

"It's safe for everyone else but us!" He’s mad. He’s mad bc him and Steve have argued about this before. Argued about how there’s no real point in being together if they have to hide all the time. That one time when they saw Cindy and Jason being grossly affectionate in public and Billy grabbed Steve’s ass and Steve got mad. They fought for a few days and it ended with them laying in Hansen’s big empty field, on the outskirts of town, talking in dreamy, far away voices about how one day they’d move to California bc “It’s not like this there… trust me, babe. It’ll be so much better.”

Billy’s vision tunnels more. All he sees is Hop in different shades of red. He forgets where he is. He’s livid, thinking about El and Mike and Cindy and Jason and Tommy and Carol and Nancy and Jonathan and he’s going to scream. His heart is racing with disdain.

"You know it's still dangerous for El to go out." Hop warns.

"You know that's not what I meant."

"Look... kid-"

"I'm not a fucking kid." Billy growls, leaning forward even more.

"Language!" Hop’s voice is booming and Billy’s had about enough of this. He resents being told off like a kid.

"Sorry! Excuse the fuck out of me!" He’s snarling and Hop seems about as livid as Billy feels.

"Go to your room!"

"Fine!" Billy yells, shoving his chair back and standing up, turning to Joyce for the first time all dinner and seeing her eyes full of… concern. He doesn’t know how to feel about it. Something in his chest heaves at the sight. His eyes flick over to Jonathan and then to El and then to Will…. And then his chest tightens. He looks away just as quickly.

He thanks Joyce quietly for dinner, mumbling it a bit but he thinks the sentiment is clear enough. He drops his plate off next to the sink and storms off to his room, slamming the door with probably too much force but everything’s on his mind and he has the right to be a brat if he wants.

It’s just that he hates just sitting here with nothing to do but think about everything. He doesn’t even have his stereo to listen to music with bc he gave his to El until she can get a new one bc hers broke and her nightmares have been bad recently. Listening to music before bed calms her down. Billy didn’t say anything about his own nightmares or his own need for music before bed. He wishes he had now that he’s laying in bed, about ready to rip his sheets to shreds bc he’s boiling. He feels like a storm but, to any outsider, he looks like a toddler- red-faced from a tantrum and fidgeting and bubbling like a shaken up soda bottle.

He’s so mad he can’t even do anything. The minutes pass in sticky but frantic moments of anger and thoughts and memories and the only thing his body will let him do is just sit there. Lay in his bed and pull at his covers and fall into thoughts and think about Hop reprimanding him like that and how awful it was and how red and angry he looked and how he sent him to his room like a kid and… and how Joyce looked so worried…. And how that same look was in Jonathan’s eyes…. And Will’s…. That same worried, concerned look. They all three have the same eyes- Lonnie be damned. Those boys share their mother’s eyes and all of the emotion that goes within them and it makes… it makes Billy mad he’s mad about it he knows he’s mad and-

And…

And he calms down a bit. Calms down enough to do what Steve told him to do when he gets angry and stressed and doesn’t know what to do with himself. Because Steve’s family is “well-traveled” and Steve knows all these weird little things from all these cool different countries.

So Billy takes out his notebook and rips a couple pieces of paper out (bc he saves the fancy paper Steve gave him for when he’s actually trying) and does some origami. Bc Steve said it’d help him to do something with his hands and this is something he can do quietly, in his room, without being destructive. ”It’ll help, I promise!”

The hardest part is making a perfect square, bc it takes too much patience and usually Billy doesn’t have that. But he’s just doing this to calm down so he eyeballs it as he cuts the paper and starts to fold what he knows, which is either a heart or a crane. Those are the only 2 things Steve has taught him that he knows off hand w/o the instructions or Steve guiding him through it.

There’s more crumpled paper on the ground than folded paper on his desk but Steve had assured him that was more than okay. It’s kind of the point, he figures. Crumpling and ripping up the paper is almost as nice as folding it to make something, and it makes actually making something feel even better when it happens.

He’s sitting there, on his 3rd heart, when there’s a small knock on the door.

“Go away.” He calls, realizing that the paper he cut isn’t a perfect square bc the corners won’t match.

“It’s Will.”

Billy pauses a bit. He goes back to folding his paper, not caring about the corners bc it’s not bad enough to start over. He doesn’t say anything.

He hears the door open.

“Do you think ‘go away’ doesn’t mean you?”

“Does it?” Will asks, voice earnest. Billy looks up to see his face matches.

Billy sighs, the harsh feeling in his chest softens a bit at the boy in his doorway. He turns back to his folding.

“What do you want? And close the door.”

“I wanted to ask if you wanna come listen to records with me.” Will says, closing the door behind him.

“I don’t think they want me out there.” Billy folds his paper with his fingernail to make it sharp. It burns his thumb a bit.

“That’s not true.” Will says, taking a few steps closer. “Mom told Hop… Dad he shouldn’t have done that.”

And that makes Billy mad. He’s not even sure why. It’s a heat in his chest and his face that feels like anger and he messes up his fold and he’s just… he’s confused and he’s red and all he can think about is Will saying “mom”. Not “my mom” just “mom” and also “dad” like he’s theirs and Billy can’t understand it still and he smashes the paper into a ball in his hand-

“I don’t need your mom defending me.” Billy says harshly, spitting the words out like he hates them, chucking the paper on the ground. He’s too aware of the way Will flinches a bit at his harshness. He takes a deep breath.

“Uh... “ Will’s fidgeting. Billy feels bad. He sighs.

“I don’t have my stereo.” Billy leans back, running a tired hand down his face. “Ask Jonathan.”

“But I wanna listen to your music.” Will says quietly and Billy believes him. Will’s been getting interested in Alice Cooper and Led Zeppelin and all of the fun bands that actually perform. Steve gifted Billy a VHS performance of Led Zeppelin and Will seemed to like the lead singer quite a bit.

“Well I don’t wanna go out there, pipsqueak.” Billy rips out another piece of paper. It’s quiet for a second, Billy eyeballing another square to cut. It’s so quiet, Billy thinks Will has left.

He thinks wrong.

“Can I still hang out with you?”

Billy puts the scissors down, exhausted, and looks up at Will.

“Alright, what’s wrong?”

Will shrugs. “Nothing. I just…. Like it in here.”

Billy’s confused, but he almost believes him for a minute.

“I don’t have music for you.”

“I can grab a book to read.” The boy’s so earnest, Billy knows he’s not gonna shake him.

So he waves him away with a nod and Will’s out and back quicker than Billy can think about how weird it is that this boy would rather sit in his room in silence than do something fun. Will’s closing the door carefully, latching it quietly and moving over to sit on the bed.

Billy has crumpled up 2 more pieces of paper before Will begins to pry.

“Are you folding things again?”

“Uh huh.”

“What’s it called, again?”

“Origami.”

“Cool.” Will scoots on his knees to the edge of the bed so he can see what Billy’s doing. “Do you need any help?”

“I’m good.” Billy mutters, unconvincingly.

“I can cut the paper for you. I’m good at making squares.”

And so Will is sitting criss cross on the bed, cutting perfect square after perfect square, while Billy sits backwards on his desk chair with his arms folding on the back rest and mind racing a mile a minute. Will’s so quiet and calm, willingly coming in here just to spend time with Billy, helping him now and… and something sick fills Billy’s chest. The only thing he can hear are his words at the dinner table.

‘Hey-uh…” His voice sounds weird to his ears and his tongue feels thick but he’s got Will’s attention now so he needs to get it out. “Sorry.”

Will’s eyebrows scrunch up. “Sorry for what?”

For being a dick? For ruining your dinner? For ruining your family?

Billy shrugs.

“I dunno. Just… not being a good example.”

“Whaddya mean?” Will asks, handing over a handful of squares before working on some more.

Billy shrugs again. “I dunno kid I just… I’m not like Jonathan. I’m not… I’m not a good example for you. It’s embarrassing.”

“What’s embarrassing?”

“Getting told off like that in front of you guys.” Billy turns back around so he can start folding again. He needs to do something w/ his hands.

“I told you, mom told him he shouldn’t have done that.”

“But he was right-”

“No, you can be upset if you’re upset. It’s fine.”

Billy falters a bit. He wonders if Will is quoting Joyce. The small boy keeps speaking.

“You’re a good example,” Will’s voice says, and he sounds so sure that Billy believes him. “You’re just a different one. You show me to stand up for what I believe and… and that it’s okay to be… to like boys…”

Billy stops folding altogether. Will’s voice gets quieter.

“You’re a good example. It’s good to let things out when you feel them.”

Billy’s mind is racing. He’s folding without thinking about it. Because the only thing he can think about is how he got accepted into this family so quickly. How Hop took him in and Joyce accepted that like she was accepting a package at the door. She took him in like he was her own son and not some bratty problem child being dumped on her. And now Hop reprimands him without his fists and Joyce chastises Hop for being too harsh even though he’s… doing his job, whatever that entails and it’s… it’s too much sometimes. It’s too much to think about but Billy knows he wouldn’t give it away for the world bc every moment like this reminds him that every passing day is a day further away from the pain he grew up surrounded by. The pain now doesn’t even compare to the pain then. This is so different bc this pain is laced with care and love.

He’s made a crane before he realizes.

“I’m glad you’re my brother.” Will’s voice sounds so far away but it crashes over Billy like a wave.

Billy nearly crushes the crane in his hand from the words. He’s so shocked at them.

He turns and gives Will the crane, not looking the boy in the eye as he gathers up the paper and the scissors from the bed.

“I don’t need any more paper. Thanks.” Billy mumbles, dumping everything on his desk.

“You’re welcome. Is this for me?”

“Yup.” Billy shoves the paper in a drawer and tosses the scissors into his pencil cup.

“Thanks!” Will’s so excited about it. Billy’s heart is fluttering.

“Wanna listen to those records now?” Billy asks, hands on his hips, fingers fidgeting bc this is a lot and he just…. He needs music now. Whatever. He realizes he shouldn’t be so scared. There’s nothing to be scared about. Will beams up at him.

“Sure!” Will gets up and rushes to the door as Billy grabs a folded heart and follows the boy out, aiming to give it to Joyce by means of apology. He thinks briefly about giving one to Hop as well, but he figures a spoken apology and a light punch on the shoulder and a promise to listen should do just fine to get the man smiling again. Bc somehow- somewhat miraculously -it always does.

[brokaw22]

Tim officially becoming the shortest batkid

Tim doesn’t care. He kind of figured that he was always going to be the shortest, even after Damian joined the family. After all, Damian has always taken after his father in various ways. This... well, this was just inevitable, so it doesn’t matter... not really.

At least, it wouldn’t matter if Damian and everyone else would just shut up about it. Tim gets it. He’s short. He always going to be short. His father never really meant anything by it, but he would often lament that Tim’s physique resembled his mother’s, so he knows that being short is simply just one more of his flaws. It’s just one more thing that makes Tim not good enough for so many people.

He’s heard all of the jokes, and appropriately groaned and rolled his eyes when necessary. He understands that he’ll always be dismissed in certain areas because of his height, but it doesn’t matter. Tim has no reason to care. His height has nothing to do with why he’s such a failure... no matter what Damian claims. No, that’s just pure, unadulterated Tim, continuing the same pattern of behavior that he always has.

He’s still Red Robin. He can still do his job, and height doesn’t mean a damn thing, especially when it works in his favor. People underestimate him. They always underestimate him. He just wishes that the people underestimating him now weren’t his family.

His train of thought nearly gets derailed as Jason wanders over to him and slings an arm over Tim’s shoulders. “So, how’s it going, shortstop?”

Tim doesn’t have the energy to groan or roll his eyes, so he merely shrugs off the offending arm and moves away from Jason. “What do you want?”

“Oh, come on, littlest bird, it’s not that bad.”

Tim sighs heavily as he slumps over his bike. He just wanted some time to himself to make some repairs to his bike and leave. “Great, so you just came to bother me, too. Alright, let’s hear it.”

Tim waits for a moment, but Jason doesn’t say anything, so he gestures for him to just get it over with. “Come on, mock away, have your fun. Lay your stupid puns and annoying nicknames on me. I must warn you, though, leprechaun, lucky charms, and Keebler elf have all pretty much been used to death today.”

Tim waits, but Jason still doesn’t say anything, so he continues. “Come on, I’m sure you’ve got something to say. I’ve already heard that the only thing I’m the height of is failure. That I may not be Robin anymore, but I’m still Robin sized. Also, I can still go on kiddy rides and pay the children’s admission price. Not to mention, Dick and Damian have definitely exhausted the ‘placing things on high, hard to get to areas’ thing. I mean, it was kind of a moot point, to begin with. I’m not Dick, by any means, but I can still climb and whatnot.”

Jason still hasn’t said anything, so Tim finally turns his attention away from his bike and glances up at him. “What? That couldn’t honestly be the end of your list, or is it that all of the good ones are taken? I’m not growing anymore, so it’s not like you don’t have my entire life to come up with something better. No need to waste all of your material in one day.”

Jason merely shakes his head as he places a hand on Tim’s shoulder. “This has been a pretty rough day for you, hasn’t it?”

Tim does his best not to crack... not to show how much all of the teasing from Dick and Damian really has gotten to him, but he just wants a damn break from... well, everything. “This is only day one. It’s just gonna get worse, isn’t it?”

“Nah, it’ll be old news soon enough.”

Tim rubs his temples and does his best to just let all of the tension go. “I’m just exhausted. It’s fine. Everything’s fine.”

Jason raises an eyebrow, clearly not believing a word of it. “Uh huh, come on, we’re leaving.”

Jason walks over towards his own bike, and Tim doesn’t hesitate to follow, though he’s certain that that’s mostly because he can hear footsteps coming down the stairs. “Where are we going?”

“I’m craving Philly cheesesteaks.” He tosses a helmet to Tim. “So, you comin’?”

Tim nods as he slides onto the back of Jason’s bike. “Sure, why not?”

Jason peels out of the cave, and Tim realizes that he’s actually smiling. It’s the first time that he has done so all day. The tension leaves his shoulders as Jason speeds away from the manor. “Thanks, Jay.”

“Don’t mention it.”

The End

[goblinconceivable]

A runup

Gots to write it out if I want to start.  Overly long, rambly, and not worth reading, merely worth writing, and I always do so in a technically public forum.

Right.  So.  What bugged me about Hook’s treatment is that all aspects of his character devolved to being Emma’s devoted lover.  It was treacle, pure treacle.  And unlike Snow and Charming, who drew strength from each other, and did everything as a united front, HookedSwan was lopsided.  Emma is the Savior, the tip of an arrow with her loved ones behind her.  And while her loved ones were interwoven with each other, in history and present, interrelationships growing and strengthening over time, Hook’s wide history with various characters didn’t evolve.

Yes, he fought and adventured along with the rest.  But he never felt part of a team.  He didn’t have many moments with other characters, not in a deep sense, it was always ‘for Emma.”  Which has it’s place in fanfiction, but that’s the problem: canon should not be fanfiction, especially with an ensemble cast.

Enter Regina.  Though in fairness it’s Regina I adore, and Hook is just a pretty and interesting character to match her with.  But while Emma may open her love to someone (I never understood her love for Hook, except that he gave his ship up for her?  Why does she love -him- apart from his love for her?), I think her true match is Baelfire.  They are the ones who found each other, as is the case with True Love.  

The best argument for Hook is that Emma may be a princess, but grew up in the Real World, and in the Real World love is something we often fight to create and keep, not a predestined fact.  But, again, aside from fulfilling that, I don’t get the relationship.  Not when Emma’s side of things is fueled by the urge to protect the love she has, without having fought to get it, as it was handed to her.

So compare to Regina.  Who, frankly, is better at loving.  Snide of me.  But she’s a whip, fighting for everything, even if she goes about it the wrong way.  She’s constantly disappointed but keeps trying, keeps fighting, without prophecy on her side.  When she’s offered anything - second chances from the Charmings being the most notable, she fights against it, against herself oftentimes, and it’s that struggle that is interesting.

So how would the story have played out if Hook’s random devotion focused on Regina instead?  And... Why not?  She’s strong, she’s a fighter, she’s “special” in terms of magic, she’s broken.  But her darkness matches, surpasses his own, and that’s where canon failed.  They kept reintroducing Hooks dark past, his own darkness, but as something to leave in the past, not he’s found light.  But as a lengthy and successful storyline noted with Regina, it’s not leaving the past behind but embracing our past selves, dark as they might be, which allows us to find peace and move forwards.

There is a nod to this, when Regina stepped in when Hook was the Dark One.  It may have been love for Emma that kept pulling at him, but it was Regina’s understanding of the heart of his issues that cut to the core, and guess what?  It wasn’t about romantic love, it was familial.  It was fundamental.  It was about Who He Is, and who anyone is is much more than a romantic entanglement.  Charming and Snow know that about each other, accept and foster that. Emma just keeps saying he’s changed.

And he has.  Regina has,  But their worth is lodged in who they were, as much as who they evolved into being.  Regina knows that, which makes HookedQueen a more organic love story.  I love dynamics where the female is further along, wiser, stronger.  I loved Robin, and loved that he was further along, had never been as dark, but was accepting of her past and understood.  They would have been happy.  But Regina’s story is to lose light, that’s the unfortunate canon, and drawing from that, ultimately her story of love is a story of Loves.  

Daniel and Robin became a part of her, a part of her story.  Her strength is to find more than one True Love, because her strength is when she fights to love again after loss.  That is reality.  That is the true Real World.

Hook is the same.  Assuming he and Milah were true love he learned to love again.  Though frankly, I don’t think they were, or when they found Milah in Purgtory she would have been less disinterested in him - she was dismissive when Rumple indicated her unfinished business had to do with Hook.  If it was true love she’d have been jumping to find him.

Break for assessment: Emma and Hook were True Love because Canon said they were, and there’s no getting around that, except by going around that.  Though hmm, there IS.  They weren’t confirmed as True Love for a while, and even then there’s wiggle room in how True Love isn’t just between Lovers, and a Savior Superpower could be True Love in general, all love being true and whatnot.  But anyway.

Regina and Hook.  Hook resisted instantly falling for Emma because of his belief in Milah, which by that time had been corrupted by his love for vengence.  Regina resiste Robin for the same reasons.  So, happily, they resist each other.  Equality, that, levels the playing field.  But Hook caved with Emma, as he would with Regina, which sets up a similar dynamic, which was, let’s face it, lovely to see because a pining Pirate is a very handsom pirate.  But Regina doesn’t want a doting follower, she wants an equal, or rather someone stronger in some ways, weaker in others.  She needs to be loved first to allow her to lower walls and let herself love.  

She would question blind devotion, fight it as a weakness, and that’s where it’s interesting.  It’s not just a denial of real affection for Hook, not just a wall put up, but a deep questioning of Why.  And that’s interesting.  A journey internal and external (yay plot) that justifes how two hearts twisted into darkness find each other once they’ve begun to untwist themselves.  Regina began long before, Hook’s heart started to go out with Bae, if not before, in both cases a child acting catalyst.

Regina fought for her relationships with the rest of the characters, and they fought for her.  She’s the inroad for Hook to actually get the same, which is how his character needs to develop into something independant yet a part of the whole crew.  He is a pirate, she is a queen.  Why are they not called PirateQueen or QueenPirate?  HookedQueen makes it sound like he caught her by the tip of steel.

Anyway, I didn’t get as far as I hoped, progress made picking apart what didn’t work with the Emma/Hook dynamic, and inroads to what dynamic would work for me with Regina and Hook.  Another shot at research and some pen to paper time would be worthwhile.  And, as I was so lately reminded, a oneshot is a good place to start to begin working things out.  I mostly bypassed that with Rory/Logan because I half wrote some things before finding a clear story to complete, but they were dark in a lighter way, different fandom and genre and all.  But this will take some work, epic always does.

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #375

Top Ten Games That Could be Films

Well. Sonic. That’s a thing, yeah? The last couple of weeks, when not consumed with Avengers-related news and emotions, have seen people on t’net talking about Sonic, and his weird human legs and nice set of teeth. It’s certainly an odd design, although I sympathise with the creatives involved, even the executives who (I’m presuming) were the driving force behind Sonic’s movie look, okaying what the artists and animators were producing and steering them towards something that, I’m sure, they thought would sell. It’s a tough business and, to paraphrase William Goldman, nobody really knows that much when you think about it.

Among the many think-pieces that have sprung up, however, there is one point I disagree with: that it’s pointless to adapt a game into a movie at all. Certainly there should be no attempt to “legitimise” a gaming property with a film adaptation; games are great and will always be great, as games. But there are games with an iconography, storyline, or set of characters that could translate into movies. As it happens, Sonic the Hedgehog is one such game. He’s instantly familiar both to old farts like myself who remember the nineties, and also to the young folk who will be the film’s target audience. As it happens, I think the rough plot of the film – Sonic and Robotnik enter the “real world” – is probably the best storyline to tell, rather than adapting the game’s plot; it gives us a recognisable world, allows for some A-list casting (Jim Carrey as Robotnik, James Marsden as Sonic’s human pal), and following on from the likes of Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Smurfs, Christopher Robin, et al, the notion of CGI characters interacting with humans is a familiar movie trope, so much so that it’s practically a sub-genre of kids’ films (and can end up getting lampooned in adult-oriented films such as Paul or Ted).

No, I think a much worse decision is to try to adapt a game’s plot; to straight-up cart it across from console to movie screen (or, if you’re watching it on DVD, from, er, Xbox to Xbox, I guess). The first generation of game adaptations were especially guilty of this, often trying to graft a more realistic plotline, with character motivations and whatnot, onto games where “story” should really be read as “objective”: Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Super Mario Bros, Doom, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Whilst some of those films still retain a goofy charm (I will go to bat for Street Fighter being an absolute camp delight), they’re not good, not really. Far better, in my opinion, to take an existing world, one with deep and familiar iconography, and tell stories within it: sort of what the Sonic movie is doing, which we can almost assume is in continuity with the previous games. The best example of this, I think, is Halo; there have been a number of shorts and TV series based on the Halo games, set in the same world, often serving as prequels to the games themselves. And whilst they rarely go beyond a spot of pulpy fun, they do feel of a part with the games themselves. What they don’t do is re-tell the story of the games, and in that, they succeed where other game adaptations have fallen down.

There are examples of games with strong storylines that could be adapted, I think, but they would need care and attention, and should avoid being straight-up ports of the games. Use the storylines, if strong enough, but feel free to chop and change to make it work on film.

Another thing that some games have going for them, that makes them difficult to translate into movies, is that they’re really just film adaptations anyway. I think this is why the Doom and Tomb Raider movies have been less successful than perhaps you’d think; Doom is a sci-fi horror film, not too far away from Aliens (and especially quite close, even though it pre-dated it, to Event Horizon); Tomb Raider is basically Indiana Jones with a woman. The same is true for Red Dead Redemption, which I’m sure has Hollywood types arranging meetings as we speak; it’s a blockbuster, a game with instant name-recognition, a built-in audience, and strong iconography. The problem is that iconography is adapted from dozens of Westerns from The Searchers to Unforgiven to Deadwood to Bone Tomahawk. Quite frankly, we’ve seen that before.

Anyway: here are ten games (or game franchises, I suppose) that I think could stand to be adapted. Some of them are strong stories, some of them are great worlds. Hollywood, feel free to get in touch.

The Secret of Monkey Island (1990): despite banging on about adapting worlds not stories, Monkey Island has a story worth adapting. Sure, it needs adapting, but it has characters, a beginning, middle, and end, and a world that could be seen on the big screen. Pirates of the Caribbean probably stole a bit of its thunder, but that franchise looks like it’s sinking at the moment (no pun intended), so doing a much wackier, almost ZAZ-style take on the pirate movie could be really good fun. My advice would be to put Guybrush and Elaine together for much of the narrative and give them some screwball dialogue.

Command and Conquer (1995): hear me out… the C&C games have a seam of mythology richer than a source of Tiberium, and could lend themselves to a sci-fi war epic. There are characters in there worth adapting – well, Kane, at least – and whilst the risk of it turning into a GI JOE movie is great, if they keep their tongue slightly in their cheek it could be a really good, fun action movie that harks back to ‘80s genre classics. I mean, the C&C cut-scenes are famously hammy, and whilst I don’t think they should quite dial it up to eleven, maybe keeping it a good seven or eight would be good fun. Also: Red Alert, which arguably is funnier (and funner, if that’s a word), but at the moment “comedy Russian bad guys” isn’t quite so benign a concept.

The Legend of Zelda (1986): either as an animation or live-action, I could definitely see a Zelda movie working. For a start, every game is sort of a reboot, a brand new story but still set in the same world as tropes, characters, and events repeat themselves. That means you could tell a story right from the start, drawing on the best plot elements and pieces of iconography from across multiple Zelda games, but it could still be in-continuity with the game series itself. A sprawling fantasy epic but skewing younger than the likes of Lord of the Rings, it could be an absolute winner. Like Monkey Island, I’d keep Link and Zelda together for much of the narrative, however.

Mass Effect (2007): this one might be cheating a bit, because I think there actually is a film in the works (I mean, there’s probably a film in the works for half of these games…). Also it might be cheating a bit because in this case, I don’t think you’d adapt it into a film, but rather a TV series. I’d adapt the story, roughly, but give it a direct narrative thrust. I think if it was a film you’d have to cut too much; it’d feel too propulsive, and risk becoming just another sci-fi action movie. But a series – maybe a 12-episode Netflix affair or something, with a big budget – could allow room to linger, to have the odd episode go off on a tangent to explore the Geth or Rachni or whatever. I’d also look at both men and women for the lead, and cast whoever was best, in a nod to the gender choices of the game itself.

Fable (2004): this is one where I think it’s the world rather than the plot that’s worth adapting: a fun, almost Python-esque version of a fictional fairy-tale Britain. A new recruit to the Hero Academy who is trying to prove themselves whilst also battling Jack of Blades. I’d keep the humour and the bawdy tone, and add in characters from across the Fable series, making it much more of an ensemble. Arguably it’s the gameplay and the emergent storytelling that’s part of Fable’s charm, but I do really think there’s enough there to hang an adult comedy fantasy film on.

Duke Nukem 3D (1996): this is one that could go very badly, but I still think there’s potential. Duke Nukem as a character is a boor, an oaf, a misogynistic pig, a relic of a bygone age worth forgetting. Whilst I think exploring this character in a contemporary setting would be more interesting in a game (especially as you could explore the twenty-year-old gameplay differences, too), you could use Duke as an avatar of the ‘80s, almost, to critique action cinema of years gone by. A washed-up sexist dinosaur who has to be pulled out of retirement, I’d cast an older actor with some comedy chops but also a solid physical pedigree: maybe even Arnie?! You’d have to be careful that if you had a redemption arc for him you didn’t end up justifying the crassness of the original game, however.

Another World (1991): this is one where it’s the world and the style that’s the key, although there’s a vague enough story there to adapt. A scientist is transported to, literally, another world, and has to survive, ending up joining a slave rebellion. The game is all funky graphics and cool gameplay (by 1991 standards, at least), but with the right director you could transfer that brilliantly to the screen, and it allows enough room to explore the psychological effects on Lester Chaykin. One of the things I really like about the game, is that unlike other human-transported-to-alien-world storylines, Lester is way out of his depth; he’s not a superhero, not a revolutionary. He is battered by the elements, hunted by animals, imprisoned, beaten, and ultimately (spoiler alert) saved by one of the aliens. You’d have to keep this element of the game to avoid it feeling like too much of a cliché.

BioShock (2007): this one might be a bit more conventional, and risk being another Doom-style adaptation of a game, trying to follow a story that’s more about gameplay than literary flourish. But there is something there, I think; for one, there’s the steampunk aesthetic of a decaying underwater 1940s utopia, all art-deco and brass, the outside world rushing in and laying waste to such finery. There’s the philosophical discussion at the heart of BioShock, giving filmmakers something interesting to hang it all on. There’s the horror element: the creepy Little Sisters, the shock-horror Splicers, the terrifying Big Daddies. Finally, there’s the twist, which – I’m gonna be honest here – would not work anywhere near as well in a film, but all the same, it’s a twist. It is, perhaps, the most vanilla of the options I’ve laid out here, but I’d still like to see it.

Jet Set Willy (1984): there are quite a few relatively obscure (compared to, say, God of War) 1980s games that could make good films. The first Maniac Miner; Skool Daze; Dizzy. But I’ve plumped for the surrealism of Jet Set Willy. Picture it: cast someone who broke through in the ‘80s – Pierce Brosnan, Richard E. Grant, Adrian Edmondson – and get someone like Danny Boyle or Edgar Wright to direct. The tale of a drunken gone-to-seed former celebrity who starts out trying to clean himself up after one party too many – possibly in some vain attempt at a comeback – only for the film to just get crazier and crazier as he ventures deeper into his bizarre stately home, discovering hidden treasures, secret rooms, occult shenanigans, and much more. Is it “real”? Is he losing his mind? A freakish, twisty, deeply surreal black comedy ensues. It’d probably make no money but be a cult classic!

Worms (1995): most of these I’ve imagined as being live-action, often big-budget affairs; Hollywood blockbusters. But who’s to say we can’t adapt a game into a cartoon? Certainly, it’s been done before, and with degrees of success: obviously on TV, but there’s also the Angry Birds movie, which I’ve not seen and which doesn’t strike me as being overly impressive, but which was clearly a big enough deal to warrant a sequel. There’s an animated Mario movie in the works, animated Pokémon has been a staple for twenty years, and there are those who’d argue that animation was a better route for Sonic, too. So why not apply that logic to Worms, a great British success story? There could be different clans of Worms warring over a piece of land (perhaps a garden that, from their view, is an epic battlefield); that would allow the different Worm voices to come into play. But something means they have to unite for a common cause. Inject it with a dose of British humour, a splash of surrealism, and a some satirical social commentary, and you’re onto a winner.

There you are. Seemingly-obvious suggestions like Metal Gear, Gears of War, or Half-Life I have quietly shifted to one side, and other adventure games with good stories (Grim Fandango, Thimbleweed Park, Life is Strange) I sort of feel had their box ticked by Monkey Island. But somewhere in this list I’m convinced there’s at least one great, great film. In the meantime, I’m off to see Detective Pikachu. Who knows? Perhaps that will be the film that breaks videogaming’s cinematic duck (or at least Psyduck).

[chronicbatfictioner]

Theater of the Soul - Chapter 19

Fortunately, in spite of his sudden hysterics, Dr Nelson did not deem a need for Jason to be sedated again.

Jason cried and cried into Bruce's arm, telling them the horror story of how he was brought to a small hospital right after the accident, had his legs merely splinted, and then brought to Napier's house somewhere at the outskirts of Los Angeles. Then he was given a shot, and then he didn't remember anything else. The next thing he knew was that he was crawling across asphalt and there were kids. He remembered Danny and Ellie when Tim showed him their photos, but he didn't know their names. He just said that they looked out for him, and he looked out for them. He was able to walk only a little while before meeting Danny and Ellie.

He could not remember much, just that the photo of red-breasted robin in his jacket kept him feeling like he could get home, someday. That someone would look for him. His head felt cloudy the whole time, and he could not think of what else to do; thus figured out that he was being thrown back to the streets. He knew he had to try to survive, somehow, in a strange city with strange people. He didn't remember wanting to try to figure out how to go home; his head was too clouded and painful to figure out things.

He did remember everything from the time he had met Danny and Ellie, and that they had brought him food. Sometimes there would be people who would try to harass them, and Jason would fight for them. He might be only sixteen, just a few years older than Danny. But he was tall and big enough to fight off three people at once - which he had, at one point.

Food, fortunately, was easy to come by. Unlike Gotham, Los Angeles' population apparently liked to throw away perfectly good food. He remembered that one time, Danny came back to them with a whole large black plastic bag filled with donuts. It might have been a little less fluffy than fresh donuts, but they gorged happily, set aside a dozen for the rest of the day, and shared the loot with the rest of the people around them. There were many homeless like them, some with kids, some with pets; and they all mind their own group's business. But no one would turn down free food.

Tim had left the room a little while later, when Alfred came to pick him up and Dick drove him home. The next day, when Tim returned to visit him, Jason again patted the space on his bed.

"I saw your eyes back then and suddenly thought of-- wanted to go home." Jason said. "Thanks for finding me, Birdie."

"I had to," Tim admitted. "The only option if I didn't find you is that you were... not alive. And I can't... that'll ruin Bruce." and me, said the voice in his head.

Jason was quiet for a moment. "Babs told me you'd found me by kind of referring back to the things I've told you back then." he smiled wryly, "at least that means you'd listened."

"Well, you're a good storyteller." Tim grinned back. "We've all missed you, you know."

Jason was glaring at him, a little blankly, making Tim's heart beat a little faster with worry. He snapped his fingers in front of Jason's face. "Hey, you okay?"

Jason blinked, annoyedly. "Yeah, I was just thinking." he said. "The robin. I could remember it being... safe, y'know? Even in the worst times, it... it kept me 'safe', I think..." he shrugged. "You remember when you took the photo?"

"Yeah, sure. Robinson's park. We were making your portfolio and headshots." Tim smiled. "I still haven't given it to you."

Jason smiled ruefully. "I'd offer to pay. But I think I'm broke now..." he said. "We... I should've known he was a con... The gigs he'd gotten me were... crap, and that's just me being nice." Jason inhaled and exhaled loudly. "I hope somebody would take a spade to his damn head and club him to death."

Tim stilled. No one had told Jason that Napier was dead, yet. He'd had another psychotherapy session with Dr Nelson yesterday, and another one this morning. In true, cheeky, Jason form, Jason stated that he has no secrets, and the sessions can take place with whoever present listening along. Yesterday was Bruce; and this morning, Alfred was there.

Tim just thought that Jason simply did not want to be alone. In a way, neither did Tim. He knew what it's like to be alone and lonely, and although there are still times he preferred to be alone; Tim already knew that he would never be lonely with the plethora of people looking out for him.

They chatted and played the video games that Tim had brought along. Jason wanted to know how Tim's school was doing, and there was a little pang of jealousy in his voice when he realized that he'd missed two whole years of school - while Tim would be graduating. Tim was more surprised when Jason apologized for missing Tim's birthday. Birthdays. Plural.

"I'd intended to at least send you a postcard." he said. "Thought if I'd made it big in LA, I'd even send you a plane ticket."

"You can still get me a postcard for this year's birthday." Tim told him.

"Oh yeah, I totally intend to give you something. Fifteen eh, Timmy?" there was a tinge of sadness in his voice. "You going to get your Learner's Permit and all? I'll probably get you a keychain or something." Jason's voice still sounded cheery, but Tim could catch the strain in it.

"How about..." he turned to face Jason. "You get better. By my birthday, I expect you to be in a wheelchair already and get there. And on my sixteenth birthday, you can be my 'accompanying adult' for the permit's test. I'll be starting the lessons after my birthday, anyway. Once you graduated to crutches, I may even allow you in the backseat." he explained, only partly joking.

Jason replied, "Little birdie, I'mma demand them to put me on wheelchairs tomorrow, what makes you think I'll wait a week?"

"There's this thing called infection that could be serious, you know." Tim deadpanned.

"I've weathered bugs and germs from the streets of LA. I'm practically invincible."

"We're in Gotham."

"Oh snap," Jason quipped. "bugs and germs here have horns, don't they? And like, mainline the devil or something?"

"I'd say so, yes." Tim replied, straight-faced. "So no, you're not getting to wheelchairs tomorrow."

"Day after, then." Jason nodded decidedly.

"Nooo...! Wait until Dr Cross give the all-clear!"

"Tim, buddy, it's my body. I know it best."

"Jay, buddy, Dr Cross has literally see the insides of your body, under your skin, to your bones. I think he knows you better." They were on a glare-off standstill for a few seconds, until Tim put his trump card on the table. "I'mma tell Alfred." he delivered.

Jason groaned in dismay. "Nooo...! You traitor!"

"Then wait until Dr Cross okay-ed you for wheelchair and physiotherapy!" Tim replied, almost smugly.

Jason huffed. "Fine... although I think he'll let me on a wheelchair, anyway, within a few days..."

Tim rolled his eyes. In spite of all of his arguments, he knew that Jason was right. If Jason would try to charm Dr Cross, he could probably get away with practically anything he wanted.

A little voice in his head said that if Jason would be charged with Napier's murder, there would be a massive chance that Jason could charm the juries and whatnot. Like Bruce, Jason definitely know how to capitalize on his good looks.

He shook his head lightly, mentally erasing the idea that Jason had been at fault for anything. No matter what. Jason could not be blamed. Must not be blamed. Of all the things Jason has experienced, being viewed as a murderer must not be one of it. His mind was starting to figure out ways to blame Napier's death on other, unrelated issues. Good thing that Tim could actually think better while his hands were doing something else, because Jason seemed insistent on beating him on the video game they resumed.

His eyes felt swollen, dry and he knew that they would be red. He had wept for a good long time, feeling like such an idiot. Bruce kept telling him that it was all alright, that he wasn't at fault for running off with Napier and ended up like this.

A whole damn year was missing from his life. There were birthdays he'd missed, not just his own. There were memories missing, replaced with blurry memories of his life on the streets.

He looked at Tim, still stoically standing - metaphorically, that is, because Tim was basically snuggling right next to him. He'd tried to thank Tim a number of times for not giving up on him, and Tim would just brush him off; as if it was just another day of life for him. Jason simply could not fathom what could happen to him if he'd not been discovered by Tim. On the streets, definitely. Amnesiac and catatonic, totally.

He was just relieved that he had not resorted to violence like the 'crazies'. There were plenty of those in Gotham's homeless community when he was little. The sane ones would always warn his little 10-year-old self and steered him away from the crazies; those with untreated mental problems or substance problems who would not care if those around them were as down-and-out as they were and demand to be given whatever it is they wanted by using violence.

Jason was realistic. He knew that the longer he was on the street with questionable mental health, he would have ended up just like those 'crazies'. Tim had assured him that he hadn't, and that the only acts of violence he had done were of the protective kind. But he still has the nagging feeling that Tim was not telling him the whole truth. 

And now Tim was snuggling next to him, seemingly half asleep as the marathoning of the series he'd suggested still running on TV. When he moved, and Tim didn't even blink, he knew that Tim was already asleep with his eyes not-closed properly. He draw up the blanket and smoothed some hair from Tim's forehead, and placed a chaste kiss.

Whatever would happen, he knew that this boy will forever be in his foremost priority. Anyone thinking of hurting him would absolutely regret it. Even if it means he would never get on stage again. Whatever Tim wanted, Jason decided, Tim will get. And Jason would be on the forefront to help and cheer him on.

Right now, though, he shall need to get his physical strength back, especially on his legs. He started mapping out the possible exercises that he could do without aggravating his lower legs, to present to the doctors. He remembered Bruce's words of "figure out the pros and cons, all possible questions and arguments, all roads and pathways; until you can eat, breathe, and sleep the character as if you were born as it."

Fine, it might have been a suggestion on how to understand a character. But that doesn't mean it cannot be applied on everything else. So he started a note on the tablet that Barbara had given him earlier, and listed down a good number of exercises he could do on his own. Physiotherapy be damned. He shall get up on his feet and/or be as mobile as possible as soon as possible.