#jay is bashful

[nyaskitten]

You ever get that feeling where like, you're perfectly fine criticizing and disliking aspects of media, but when others are way harsher with it, it just really pisses you off for no reason?

[destinysbounty]

Okay, yes, there's as lot of thought-provoking meta I could talk about in regards to how Wu's first encounter with each ninja reflects their personal motivations for being ninja - Kai wants to protect his loved ones and keep everyone safe, Cole wants to keep the promise he made to his mother, Zane wants to uphold his duties and purpose in life, and Jay is a dreamer who wants to build a better world. And yeah, that's some potentially interesting stuff that's well worth its own full essay.

BUT. Instead I wanna talk about how hilarious it is that Wu was so kind and supportive and gentle with Cole, Jay, and Zane upon first meeting them, but then with Kai they were just. Constantly sassing and insulting each other. Which is amazing. 10/10

For example. With Cole, he provided some comforting wisdom in the wake of his mother's death and his father's subsequent neglect.

And then with Jay, he gave some words of encouragement after his invention failed.

Then with Zane, he was...well, I'm not entirely sure what to call this. Imparting cryptic yet soon-to-be-relevant wisdom, I guess?

And then you have Kai. With Kai, Wu just shows up and starts pelting insults at him. Fantastic. You can't even make the argument that Kai started it because the very first thing Wu says to Kai is an insult towards his blacksmithing. He just saw this kid and was like "oh yeah time to rake this punk over the coals" and I love it.

And I guess if I wanted to get really introspective I could argue that maybe Wu was so harsh with Kai because he instantly clocked into the similarities between Kai and Morro, and treated Kai harshly in a very misguided attempt at preventing Kai from following in Morro's footsteps - BUT I honestly don't wanna get introspective right now, I just think this is kinda funny.

[boyfridged]

see, the thing is that (up until countdown at least) there’s no symmetry in jay and bruce's respective ways of grieving.

jay is perpetually trapped in the bargaining stage of grief, trying to reach out to bruce from beyond death.

bruce is way past this. he has settled into a quiet, passive type of mourning, devoid of hope for a reunion. and to stay in this state, he had to necessarily disregard jay’s true image – an image of an earnest, bright child, his son. the memory of jay has been reconstructed in his mind a thousand times and sealed in a folder labeled as “soldier” (or even just a personal failure). it's ugly. it's unfair. it's a coping mechanism.

so to me, the issue isn't that bruce wants his dead, sweet little boy back – the issue is that he barely remembers him. if he did, maybe he would be willing to take a leap of faith and search for that person in jason who came back. but he's not even trying to reconcile the image of 15yo jay with red hood – or rather, maybe the image of a volatile kid that he created in his grief fits with the red hood a bit too accurately. maybe it's a bit too convenient. it works perfectly well for his own self-preservation and sanity, to think that jason has been doomed from the beginning.

jason, on the other hand, is cursed with remembering. one of the very sparse concepts that i found interesting in rhato was when in #3 (2011) jason chose to give up on his happiest memory – skipping patrol to watch a movie with bruce. maybe it's because recalling these tender, sweet moments is what gives him hope, and motivates him to keep bargaining and trying to reconcile with bruce. and bargaining with reality is exhausting. the readers and jay know that it's a lost cause – both because neither bruce nor jay are the same people anymore, but also because, ironically, batman, the symbol of hope, doesn't have any left when it comes to getting his son back. bruce, in his grief, essentially closed the door. jay, in his grief, is banging on them.

[agent-bash]

It Doesn't Always Stay (in Vegas)

It’s an age-old story. A guy takes a trip to Las Vegas. He meets a beautiful stranger in a bar. And after that, well…what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Doesn’t it?

Hey-Yo! Hope you guys are doing well on this fine Sunday evening. Have yourselves an update. Enjoy!

Read on Ao3

[minhosimthings]

Why hello there fine young sir called Park Jay Jongsoeng yes I would be delighted to marry you

[chronically-unlucky]

The only reason Jane x Carlos becomes a thing is bc they had to resolve her self esteem issues by getting a boyfriend but it couldn’t be anyone actually cool bc Jane’s “not cool” so it had to be someone dorky and obviously Doug was taken. Which leaves us with Carlos

What I’m saying is that Jane deserved to either find her own self worth (unlikely, these movies aren’t about her) or get a partner because they genuinely like her not bc they’re both dorky and awkward.

[yoinkschief]

the world is not ready for what we've been cooking

THEY ARE NOT

If they saw our convos they'd combust

And yet I feel the urge to draw and show them anyway

[miksterrr]

Sincerely, your only child.

hyper fixations rule my life.

another ninjago fic.

cross-posted on ao3

-

TW: TW: Strong language (a bunch of f-bombs, sorry) Talk about not getting a childhood, mentions of abuse and bullying, talking about abandonment, mommy issues, letting down. Extreme misako bashing. (I think that's it- uh please let me know if there's anything else! also prolly cringey and a bunch of dialogue so)

like 1.8k words i think.

“Lloyd!” Cole’s voice was heard throughout the bounty, “Your mom’s here!”

-

Today was one of those rare days where Sensei Wu let them off with just morning training. Which, in retrospect means that training will be worse tomorrow, but for now the team enjoyed the day off, all relaxing in their own ways. Zane’s reading up on new recipes to try, while Jay and Kai are playing video games. Nya’s working on upgrading the bounty even more, and Cole’s cleaning up the deck of the bounty, because well, someone had to, and surprisingly enough, he didn’t mind cleaning all that much. Meanwhile, Lloyd was laying down in his bed, just finished with his shower, and ready for a midday nap.

Lloyd immediately perked up. He jumped up from his bed and rushed out of the shared room, almost tripping over his borrowed (stolen from Nya… listen, she’s very muscular,) grey sweats in his hurry. Nonetheless, the blond made it to the deck in one piece, a grin stretching over his face. “Mom!”

“Hello, Lloyd.” Misako smiled, arms raised for a hug. Which Lloyd all but crashed into, relishing in the rare affection given by his mom. She gave him one squeeze before letting go. “How have you been, son?”

“Good!” Lloyd beamed, bouncing on the heels of his feet. “I have so many things to tell you!” It’s been a few months since Misako's last visit. During that time, the ninja defeated the usual baddie or helped out at some charity event. Nothing too big, which was surprising, in a way, but the team wasn’t taking it for granted, enjoying the easy time before the new villain of the month showed up.

Misako gave her son a tight smile, though she was glancing around the deck of the bounty, not looking at Lloyd, at all. “That’s very good, hon.” She sighs when she can’t find whatever she was looking for. “Do you know where your Uncle is? I have to talk to him about some of my findings.”

“Oh.” Lloyd murmured. He bit the inside of his cheek and crossed his arms. “I haven’t seen him since this morning.” He responded, looking down… and wow there were a lot of chips and cracks on the floor. One too many fights or training incidents.

Misako let out a breath through her nose.“Of course.” She clicks her tongue, glancing around the bounty deck one last time. “Looks like we’ll have to go find him.”

“We?”

“You said you had so much to tell me!” Misako smiled, turning towards the door that led to the underbelly of the Bounty, where most of their living space is. “You can walk and talk, right Lloyd?” It wasn’t a question. Misako started walking away before Lloyd could answer.

Lloyd stared after her for a second.“Wait- Mom!” Lloyd called, jogging to catch up with his mom, Nya’s sweats still too long for him, almost making him fall flat on his face, again.

“What is Lloyd?” Misako’s pace didn’t slow.

The blond stammered. “Uh, well… I just…” Lloyd sighs, rubbing his face, gnawing on his already cracked lips. He played with the strings of his hoodie. (the hoodie used to be cole’s.)

“Spit it out Lloyd. I don’t have that much time.” Misako huffed, glancing into every room they passed, and so far, every room has been empty. No sight of the old man. Misako’s mouth was set in a hard line. Clearly getting annoyed at both Lloyd and not being able to find Wu.

“I just thought…” Lloyd trailed off, glancing at the greying woman, he hesitated, before sighing. “Last time you were here you promised that the next time you were here- this time, you said we could spend all this time together.”

Misako paused, before groaning, pinching the bridge of her nose, “Sorry kiddo, you know how my work is, I don’t get a lot of time off.” She sighs, ruffling Lloyd’s hair. Her nose scrunching when she realized his hair was damp from a recent shower, wiping her hand off on her beige pants. “Surely, you get that.”

“I do, but-”

“Where is your Uncle?! I swear his old age is making him more elusive.” Misako interrupted.

“Mom!” Lloyd stomped his foot, the noise echoed through the cabins. Misako’s thin eyebrows furrowed. She turned to look at her son, hazel eyes hard. She gave Lloyd an expectant look. Lloyd only groaned, trying to get his words together. “I- well- ugh!”

“Lloyd, stop wasting my time. I need to find your Uncle.” Misako huffed, turning back to start looking for Wu again.

“Then stop wasting mine!”

“Lloyd!” She glared at her son, a warning.

Lloyd only scoffed. “You always only come back for Uncle Wu! Not me!”

Misako rolled her eyes. “You’re not a kid, Lloyd. You shouldn’t need your mother.” She reprimanded, crossing her arms.

“Wow.” Lloyd snorted. “Bold of you to call yourself my mother.”

“Lloyd Montgomery!” Misako nagged.

“It’s true!” Lloyd gave a low laugh, shaking his head. “You abandoned me, mom.”

Misako huffs, grabbing Lloyd’s wrist in a bruising grip and pushing him into the closest room. Lloyd yelps, stumbling. He takes a second to regain his balance before turning around to see Misako closing the door behind her. “What the hell?!”

“That is no way to talk to your mother, Lloyd.” Misako growls.

“Really?” Lloyd rolls his eyes.

“I am your mother!” Misako gapes.

“You’re really not.”

“I gave you life!” Misako retorted.

“You gave me half your DNA!” Lloyd shot back. “Nothing else. I don’t have your personality, or your style, and certainly not your morals.”

“Lloyd Montgomery-” Misako bites out, nose flaring.

“What, mom?” Lloyd asked, toneless. He was done with Misako. “You abandoned me. You left me at Darkley’s, and never looked back.”

“You know I had to! I couldn’t carry a child around with my work.”

“You just didn’t want to care for me.” Lloyd sniffed. “You aren’t worth my effort anymore, I don’t know why I miss you when all you do when I see is make me wish you were still away.”

“That is hardly fair, son.” Misako huffed, crossing her arms. She stared down at the blond, almost accusingly.

“Is it?” Lloyd scoffed. “You were once the god that kept me standing, mom. But it turns out it was just the idea of a loving mother that kept me standing, not you.”

Misako’s hazel eyes widened, mouth open and closing, as she tried to form a response. “Lloyd, honey… I-” She sighs. “I have no words.”

“Like always.” Lloyd scoffs.

“Son. I wish I could’ve taken you but-”

Lloyd rolls his eyes. “Just stop mom.” He closes his eyes, biting the inside of his cheek. “We’ve been through this, time and time again.” He huffs, trying to move towards the door. “In a few days, you’re just going to leave again with empty promises of returning and spending time with just me.”

Misako's eyes widened, moving to grab Lloyd’s wrist. “That’s hardly true- you’re being unreasonable Lloyd.”

“What’s ‘unreasonable,’ mom, is that I don’t know my own birthday!” Lloyd mocked, trying to get his wrist out of Misako’s unusually strong grip. Misako stayed silent, her eyes were wide and she was mouthing something to herself. Lloyd raised a brow, his movements stilled, coming to a realization; “Fuck mom.” He breathed. “You really have no idea, either. Do you?”

Misako stammered, grip weak. “W-well… the labor was very long, and with everything that was happening with your dad, time just got warped, and well-”

“Do I even ‘legally,’ exist, mom?” Lloyd asked, his jaw tightening as he stared down Misako. “Do I have a birth certificate, mom?”

Misako sputtered, “I uh… I’m sure… somewhere you have one.”

“Holy shit.” Lloyd whispered, breaking his mom’s grasp. His hands came up behind his head, gripping his hair. “I don’t exist.” He blinked, breathing coming out in gasps. “Well- obviously I exist, but not legally, huh?” Lloyd started pacing back and forth, a low laugh escaping him. “The government has no record of Lloyd Garmadon.” He swallowed, face going blank. “I am every criminal's dream.”

Misako let out a small giggle. “I suppose so.”

Lloyd made no sign of hearing her. His brows furrowed, his forehead creased, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to formulate his thoughts. “That’s why you left me at Darkley’s.”

“W-What… no, Lloyd, hunny. I-”

“You what mom?” Lloyd scoffed. “Everywhere else would’ve given me a birth certificate. But all Darkley needed to hear was that I was a Garmadon.” Lloyd rolled his eyes. “Uncle Wu would’ve questioned you… that’s why you never told him.”

“I was trying to save you!”

“From what?!” Lloyd cried. “I was a child! I didn’t need saving! I needed protection!”

“Stop being overdramatic.” Misako huffed. “I was saving you from-”

“From yourself?” Lloyd interrupted. “Because honestly, that makes sense, mom.” Lloyd sniffed, rubbing his face. “You hated me before you even knew me.”

“Fine.”

Lloyd turned, looking Misako up and down. “Fine?”

“I abandoned you, you’re right.” Misako nodded. “You know, babies are born with blue eyes, and then over time it changes.”

“What does that have to do with anything-”

“You were born with red eyes, Lloyd.”

Lloyd gaped. “I was kidding before.” He murmured. “About you hating me before you even knew me. I-” He licks his lips. “I was right.”

“I wouldn’t say that I hated you-” Misako tried.

“You left me because I had red eyes. Because of genetics.”

“I thought the great devour’s venom affected you too.” Misako tries to defend herself.

“I was a baby!” He growled, fists clenched at his sides.

“And I was scared.” Misako sighs.

Lloyd rolls his eyes. “I thought all parents are scared of their first child.”

“I wasn’t ready to be a single mom. Especially-”

“Especially with your job, I know.” Lloyd rolled his eyes, “Try getting better excuses, mom.”

“Son-”

“I am not your son.”

Misako rolls her eyes. “Lloyd Garmadon-”

“I’m not a Garmadon, either.” Lloyd rose a brow, challenging his mom to realize what was going on.

“L-Loyd-”

“No. If I was a Garmadon I would’ve been raised by you, mom. Or I would’ve been raised by dad.” Lloyd nods to himself, “You know who raised me, when you were too scared?” He stares his mom in the eyes, cold green meeting guilty hazel. “Kai Smith. Nya Smith. Cole Brookstone. Zane Julien. Jay Walker.” He announced each name, slow and sure, voice strong. “They raised me. They taught me that blood doesn’t mean family, mom.” He spat, ‘mom.’ “They taught me everything. They taught me how to live, mom. Where were you?”

“Kiddo-”

Lloyd shook his head, lips pursed. “I am not your kiddo. I am not a Garmadon. If anything, at all, I am a Smith-Brookstone-Julien-Walker.” The blond nodded sure of himself. “And now, I know that you aren’t worth my time.” Lloyd moves to leave, stepping past his mother.

Misako tried to grab at Lloyd’s wrist. “Lloyd, please-”

Lloyd all but side-stepped her. “I’m done.” He sounded numb, apathetic to her sadness even if he was swallowing down his own sobs. Lloyd moved to the door, hand on the handle, he pulled it open, and before he left and closed it completely, he gave his mom one last glance. “Goodbye, Misako.”

-

Uh, if you liked it I hope you enjoyed, if you didn't well, okay. still getting the grasp on short stories again... i'm a poet, y'all understand? sorry for weird formating and all that, thanks for reading :)

[redrobin-detective]

clouds between their knees

‘Robin, anything on your end?’ Batman asked over the comm. There’d been rumors of a gang meeting tonight with multiple possible locations. Bats took the most likely one while Robin, Batgirl and Spoiler were checking out the others. Cass and Steph’s leads were busts so Kon was prepared to take a peek before grappling to B’s location. And if his grapple was a little loose and he was going a little too fast, well who could tell otherwise?

“Not yet,” Kon grunted quietly as he shimmied quickly in through the broken window and down into the warehouse. “It’s dark in here so I’m not expecting much but I’ll check just to be sure.” It would be quicker to fly or just bust down the whole wall but Batman taught him better than that over the last three years. Besides, it wasn’t just his legacy he was messing with. Unlike when he was Superboy, he was part of something bigger and had people in his corner.

“Ok, I’m in,” he gracefully landed on the dusty floor and crept forward. He flipped up the lenses of his domino to do a quick Xray sweep and Bingo! Conner grinned when he took in the scene happening below him. “Jackpot B, I got the high beams up and there’s a hidden basement. I see Black Mask and, oh man, Red Hood is out in the open. We finally got him.”

‘Do not engage without me, I’m coming on your location now. 15 minutes,’ Batman said before signing off. Kon wanted to roll his eyes, his dad was so overprotective sometimes.

‘You better bring him in. As much as I love helping Oracle, I am So tired of house arrest,’ Tim grumbled over the line.

‘He’s made vocal threats against Robin, it was necessary,’ Batman grunted. Even if he wasn’t bulletproof, he wouldn’t let Tim go out with some maniac with Robin vendetta on the loose. Tim always groaned that Kon took Robin whenever there were dangerous missions as if he was secretly hoping to get maimed and killed. Sometimes it was a full time job keeping his big brother from self destructing. 

“I won’t engage B but it’s sealed up good so I can’t see or hear much. I’m gonna get into the vents and get more intel for when you arrive,” Kon said as he quickly cased the empty warehouse before finding a space just big enough for him to wedge into. He really hoped he didn’t inherit Clark’s big shoulders because this would be impossible if he were any bigger. It was already getting harder for him and Tim to share the Robin name and pretend they were the same person.

He lightened his weight a bit as he made his way through until he had a good view of the proceedings. Looks like they were arguing over the ‘green stuff’, ugh lame, couldn’t they just say money but something caught his attention.

“Hood looked up at me,” Kon whispered thoughtfully. As soon as Kon had come into the vent, Hood’s helmet had twitched ever so slightly in his direction. Kon didn’t like to brag but he was pretty good at what he did, it would be next to impossible for some hood to clock him that far away. “Could be a coincidence or he might had infrared or motion detectors in his helmet. If he’s been this hard to track down then we should treat him with caution, we don’t what kind of gear and intel he has.”

‘Oh nice to see we were able to train that muscle in your skull,’ Tim quipped as he snacked on something over the line.

“You’re just mad you can’t lift a cruise liner over your head, Boy Wimpy,” Kon bantered back even as he started slowly backing up.

‘Robin get out of there, now,’ Batman hushed as Red Hood leisurely stood up from the table and stretched suddenly, interrupting Black Mask mid sentence. Kon froze, worried about making any noise.

“This has been fun, Maskie but I’m afraid we’ll need to negotiate the terms of your unconditional surrender to me later,” Hood said lazily. His posture was casual but he was tense underneath. “We’ve got some visitors I’ve been meaning to talk to. So why don’t you put an egg in your shoe and fuck off,” he said before pulling a machine gun from underneath the table and began firing up at the vents.

‘Conner!’ He heard Tim and Bruce yell over the comms but Kon was too busy trying to get out as fast as he could. But the space was tight and currently being slammed full of bullets. Dozens of them bounced against his armor and skin and he thanked whoever would listen that he was out here instead of one of the others. He had almost retreated into the safer part of the vents when the whole thing collapsed on him.

He yelped and fell gracelessly onto the floor of the basement. Kon groaned for effect and pretended to curl up and nurse some injuries. He was really reaching inside his belt for smoke capsules and batarangs. Probably should leave some of the fake blood before he split, just to add to the illusion.

“Aw, the little birdie fell out of its nest,” Hood cooed, hefting the machine over one shoulder. “I thought I told you to scram, Sionis. If you’re not out of here in the next 30 seconds I’m putting holes in you, this one and I need to have a conversation.”

Kon heard the harried footsteps of Mask heading for the hills as Hood stomped forward, kicking away bits of the vent as he approached.

“I was hoping one of you brats would show tonight, especially you. I’ve almost got everything put in place so I’m finally ready to have some fun,” he said with a laugh in his voice as he slammed his boot into Kon’s gut. The boot was heavy, steel tipped and would probably have broken ribs but he didn’t really feel anything. Couldn’t say the same for Hood.

“Goddamn!” The crime lord shouted, jumping away and grabbing at his foot. “The hell is in your armor kid? How can you lug that heavy thing around?” Well Kon couldn’t always avoid getting shot so they had to make armor that was thicker, wouldn’t take damage so he could just pretend the bad guys missed. Plus he barely felt the extra weight even though it was heavier than B’s suit. “Guess I should be glad ole Brucie is taking better care of birds this time around.”

Thomas Conner Wayne tensed on the ground, his plans of escaping lost for a second. How could Hood possibly know that name? What was Kon gonna do about it?

“I’m gonna give you a present, Replacement,” Hood spat out. “A lot better than I got. I’m gonna beat the hell out of you, within an inch of your miserable, little life and then I’m gonna set the timer to blow this warehouse. I’ll give you a chance, won’t tie you up or stop you,” he leaned down close to Kon’s face, “I just wanna see if Bats really upgraded, if you’re better than the last one.” He straightened out.

“And don’t think Daddy Bat Wings is gonna come save your sorry ass, I know he was down by the docks. I made him think the meeting would be there so my crew is gonna divert him juuuust long enough for me to do what I need to. So,” there was a scraping sound, something dragging across the floor. “Shall we begin?”

Kon dove out of the way of what looked like a crowbar and crouched to his feet. He was still pretending to be injured but he needed to get out of here. Of course Hood couldn’t actually hurt him but it wouldn’t do for him to know that. They danced and dodged for a minute or two, but Hood was Good with a capital G. Kon was throwing all his skills and tools into trying to take the gangster down but it really was hard to avoid the vicious onslaught. The man got in a few hits every once in a while and Kon tried to react but he knew it wasn’t good enough and the man was suspicious.

“The hell is Bruce feeding you? Why won’t you stay down you little punk?” Hood yelled, whipping Kon hard across the face with the crowbar. He stumbled back against the table where a small box had been sitting. It knocked onto the floor and exposed something inside. Something green. Immediately, Kon’s knees buckled.

“Shit,” he groaned quietly to himself as he tried to inch away from the deadly rock but it was sapping all his energy. He’d only been exposed to Kryptonite once, at the Fortress because Bruce had insisted he knew what it felt like. But he was such a dad he only made Conner suffer a minute before he closed the box and took him home to Alfred for cookies. He didn’t think that’s how this story would end. He gagged as his stomach rolled and his lungs seized and if he could just move a little further away... Hood just stood there watching in stunned disbelief.

“Are you shitting me?” He asked quietly, stalking forward with surprising softness. Hood moved so much like a Bat, it was unnerving. “I brought that to prove to Mask that I really had stolen his shipment but it led me to an even bigger score.” He scooted the box closer to Kon who finally collapsed from the strain. “Now how did he get his hands on you, I wonder?”

“I’m sorry,” Kon whispered but he wasn’t talking to Hood, he was talking into the comm still plugged into his ear. “I’m sorry, I love you guys.”

“Get away from my brother!” Like some kind of angel, Kon’s blurry vision saw someone drop down from the hole in the vents and slam into Hood. He grabbed the box containing the Kryptonite and slammed it shut. Kon felt like he could breathe again. “Robin, get up. B’s delayed but I got a car outside.” It was Tim, hastily dressed in his Robin uniform and looking more mad than Kon had ever seen him.

“There’s two of you?” Hood cackled, swinging his crowbar. “Oh that’s rich, are you twins? Tell me, did he steal you from the Flashes or the Atom perhaps? you’re certainly small enough. Bad enough he replaced me once but twice over? That’s just cruel, Dad.”

“Robin, I said, get up!” Tim yelled, swinging his staff which Hood dodged. They didn’t work together often since they were playing the same role but Tim’s fighting prowess always left him in awe. And furious like he was now, he was doing a number to Hood. With the box shut, more of Kon’s strength returned until he was able to stagger to his feet. Tim was holding his own but, as Kon had discovered, the Red Hood was beast. He couldn’t do much as Tim was tossed around and slammed into the wall. His skin bruised, he bled as Hood got a knife against his throat with one hand while he unclipped his helmet with the other.

Conner had never given much thought to Jason Todd. No one really talked about him, only Tim when they snuck into each other’s rooms for sleepovers. From the way Tim described him with starry eyes, Jason had been bold but kind, sensitive and intelligent. The man before them was nothing like that, his pale face flushed with anger and his green eyes positively glowing with hate.

“Look at this,” He said gesturing to his knife covered in Tim’s blood. “You’re just as human as I am but we don’t matter, do we? We’re just pawns in his game, pawns he’ll sacrifice if he thinks it’ll give an advantage to his precious mission. That lug over there? He’s not just a pawn, he’s a knight. When B’s chewed up and spit out the rest of us, at least he’ll have his Kryptonian lapdog to keep the legacy going. I suggest you ditch the tights before you end up in the grave next to mine.”

“That’s not gonna happen,” Kon hissed, bodyslamming into Hood to get him away from Tim. He ripped the knife out of his hands and threw him roughly onto the table in the middle of the room. He laid there, not moving and Kon didn’t care right now if he was dead or not. He needed to get Tim help. Tim grabbed onto the box, holding it shut while Kon grabbed his brother and flew them out of the basement and into the smoggy Gotham sky.

XxX

“Hey, you awake?” Tim groaned and turned to look at Kon. It wasn’t unusual to have his brother at his bedside in the medical portion of the Cave. It was weird to see him on the cot next to him with the sunlamp on him. His face was still pale with a sickly green tinge to it but he seemed okay.

“Ugh why does my mouth taste like plastic?” Tim gripped, wiping clumsily at his face.

“Alf had to sedate you, your throat needed stitches and you were pretty banged up everywhere else,” Kon frowned and turned to look up at the ceiling. “You shouldn’t have gotten hurt at all.”

“No one knew Hood would be there or that there was Kryptonite in Gotham. There was literally nothing you could have done,” Jason’s crazed face sprang to mind. “No one saw that one coming.”

“I’m not gonna go easy next time,” Kon growled. “He hurt you, he wanted to do some messed up torture thing and that could’ve been you and I don’t care that he used to be a Bat. As far as I’m concerned, he ain’t anymore.” 

“It’s not as easy as that,” Clark said, coming out of nowhere looking tired himself. He was still dressed in pajamas, Bruce must’ve called him in a panic. “How’re you boys holding up?”

“Been better,” Tim said at the same time as Kon. Tim snickered at Clark’s eyeroll. He should know better by now that they were a packaged deal. “How’s Bruce taking the revelation?”

“He sat here through your treatments but as soon as he heard you both were okay he buried himself in his work. I,” Clark paused. “I think he’ll need you again to get him through this, Tim. You saw how he was when Jason died. This won’t be pretty. Conner, we’d heard a large shipment of Kryptonite had been stolen but we didn’t think it had come through Gotham. We’ll be keeping tabs trying to track it down and out of enemy hands.”

“Appreciate that,” Kon groaned, “that sucked ass.”

“It might help to get out of the city for a bit,” Clark suggested cautiously and got Tim’s hackles up. “Bruce has the best sunlamps money can buy but it’s nothing like the real thing. Ma would love to take you for a week or two, to get your strength up. Or you could stay with Lois and I in Metropolis.”

“Thanks but my family is here and they need me,” Kon said shortly, rolling over to face away from Clark. Tim glared hard at the Super until he had the sense to back off.

“Right, of course, I’ll let you two rest and if you need me I’ll um...” He shuffled off, presumably to try and get B out of his own head. Tim huffed away his aggression.

Years ago, Clark hadn’t wanted the responsibility of taking Conner full time but now suddenly he was around all the time. He’d heard from B that Clark wasn’t happy with the current arrangement. He was upset that Kon was adopted while Tim was still living with his dad, that Kon took up Robin alongside Tim, upset that he hasn’t been Superboy in years and doesn’t use his powers while in costume. He’d had his chance to make a family, a legacy with Conner but now he was Tim’s brother and he’d open that Kryptonite box on the man if he tried to take Kon away.

“Kon-”

“I’m fine, Tim,” Conner said sharply. “Look, I’m not going anywhere especially not when all this is going down. I may be a Super in blood but I’m a Bat in every way that counts.” He turned and scooted over so they were face to face and whispered quietly so Clark couldn’t hear. “So how’re we gonna stop Jay before it tears Bruce apart?”

“I have some ideas,” Tim grinned. It ached that it had come to this, his idol rising from the grave to become a criminal. But Conner had become his brother over the days, months and years of training and school and stupid shenanigans. No one, not even Robin could come between them because they were Robin. Stronger together than they were alone. That’s what it meant to be a Bat. 

[sch-nn]

he’s shy guys

[ifyourereadingthisblinktwice]

every time i see how few jay centered fics there are on ao3 i’m like. i should finish writing mine. and then i remember i suck at writing

[boyfridged]

there's such a lack of nuance in the discussion (and even dc writing nowadays) of bruce's relationship with his children btw. the dichotomy that has arisen – between the takes that 1. bruce is abusive and has always treated his children as soldiers and 2. all of bruce's children would be doomed without him & becoming sidekicks was the only way for them, is so reductive for all characters involved and the story itself. i really miss the 80s conceptualisation of the dynamics at play wherein bruce loves dick and jason dearly and sees himself in them but this love blends with his commitment to the mission, meaning that the children are dragged into it. vigilantism is both what binds them so closely and what causes conflict. bruce can compartmentalize everything in his life, but not his family.

[agent-bash]

It Doesn't Always Stay (In Vegas)

It's an age-old story. A guy takes a trip to Las Vegas. He meets a beautiful stranger in a bar. And after that, well…what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Doesn't it?

Hey all! I hope your December is off to a good start. Have a chapter to cap off your weekend. Enjoy!

Read on Ao3

[hydesjackiespuddinpop]

Being a Jay Kelso stan is so exhausting istg

[causalityparadoxes]

Honestly at this point i don't trust any youtuber with dr who

Only ppl with good opinons on dr who are my mutuals actually

[authorgirl0131]

After Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos pulled that stunt during coronation, Uma took Hadie, Diego, and Jade into her crew to protect them. She might not like their relatives but she doesn't think they deserve to die for what they didn't do.

(And it wasn't like their dumb relatives were going to. Jade and Diego didn't so much as a get a letter.)