#so i looked up how old Bruce is in batman beyond

[oifaaa]

A few people have been asking about Terry in this au and I've got some bad news Terry is 17 years old when bruce is 80 so timeline wise Terry's not gonna be born yet to exist in this au I'm sorry to say

[zenlosingit]

Y’all know that JLU episode called “Epilogue” that was intended to be the concluding episode for the Batman Beyond show?? Where it’s revealed that Terry is Bruce’s biological son???

I have spent years believing the narrative that Terry lashed out in his anger about his discovery of being Bruce’s son- only to now just find out that the black-and-white scenes aren’t actual events that happened in the show.

They were scenarios Terry was acting out in his head about hypotheticals if he were to respond to his anger and grief about his situation. They didn’t actually happened. The proof??? Terry breaking the clock, him breaking up with Dana, didn’t fucking happen because they show the clock is still intact, show that him and Dana are still together- AND I JUST NEVER FUCKING PUT TWO AND TWO TOGETHER!!!!

[memetic-trigger-hazard]

Trope blender strikes again!

Since the formation of the Justice League Dark to deal with supernatural threats, Diana had been acting as the team's 'Superman' for lack of a better term.

It was, however, not a position she was entirely suited to, as ironically enough when engaging supernatural threats she was better suited to the same role that Batman played in the Justice League, engaging with superior training, tactics and specialised tools while also acting as battlefield tactical command.

With the lack of any other candidates however, she made do. But not for long.

Thanks to a wandering little girl, Diana had gained a new cousin and uncle who were refreshingly free of the hubris of the Greek pantheon, as well as an unexpected (and terrifying) meeting with her Grandfather who was far different from the stories, she supposed death and a few millennia would calm someone down. She was pleased however to add some paternal family members she could enjoy calm moments with.

Her Uncle was willing to help, however his backlog from the previous King in addition to the repairs and ongoing negotiations for reparations with the United States government made her feel guilt for placing further demands on him.

Her younger cousin however was more than happy to "get out of the house", her Father's comments about the expansiveness of a TARDIS castle completely ignored.

Ellie was already training with her old friend Pandora (So many happy reunions) so Diana was more than willing to take her to Themascerya for an initiation to the Sisterhood of Amazon's. Danny was ecstatic that his daughter was making friends.

Now Ellie as Banshee is JLD's front line fighter and Diana is the tactician, a dynamic duo of their own. Diana is so proud of her little cousin.

Which is why today was very..... Strange.

~

Basically the JLD have to head to the Watchtower for some threat, Ellie is super pumped because SPACE and Diana is excited to take her smol bean cousin to the Watchtower for the first time.

Batman and Co arrive and Drama TM occurs because "Holy shit that little girl looks like a Talia with blue eyes", Damian starts accusing and mouthing off, Ellie freaks because her Dad has warned her about the League of Assassins, so she freaks and bails.

Diana is explaining who Ellie is, how they're related when Uncanny Valley Danny in human form comes out of a portal in his "Royal Casual" work attire. Loose jeans,button up with vest, fluffy slippers with a coffee mug in hand. He's facing Diana, paying 0 attention to who else is there beyond "cool space station".

"Hey niece, why is my daughter running through my castle screaming about killer birds?"

"Ah, I believe she is referring to Robin being a former member of the League of Assassins." Diana replies.

Batman and the rest of the Justice League are tense, assessing this possible ally who RADIATES power and death. Anyone affected by death can feel it like static in their teeth during a lightning storm. Those who have been into the Lazarus Pits feel safe yet the overwhelming urge to KNEEL BEFORE YOUR KING.

"Well shit, someone actually escaped from the Fruit Loop Supreme? Anyone who gets away from my asshole grandfather is alright by me." Danny replies as he turns to look at the various heros, taking a sip from his mug.

"Danyal?" A faint hopeful whisper as Damian takes his mask off to look at his Brother (HOW, HOW? HE LOST HIM HE'S HERE HOW?) His dead twin somehow here and changed so much.

*Slurp*

"Well shit, didn't expect this."

This entire time Bruce's brain is making crunching noises.

It's not the extra son that's apparently God of the Afterlives. It's not the granddaughter.

Diana is his son's niece. Bruce had sex with his grand niece. Barbara is right, he needs therapy.

[astorianyxkings]

Oldest Daughter Dick™ is probably one of my favourite things ever. And it always will be and here's why:

Of course Dick loves his siblings and of course he loves that they know Bruce as the father he is. But it won't stop the jealousy he feels. And no one gets it, not even Jason. They were all raised by Bruce Wayne, he was raised by Batman.

When Dick came to live with him, Bruce had no idea how to he a father. How to handle normal kid stuff like sicknesses and school events let alone the fact he was an acrobat. He was Batman and Dick was raised to be not just his successor but the only contingency plan he had against himself.

Bruce never held his punches ("That was a good block but I still got you, didn't I?" Bruce had said, rubbing cream into the blossoming bruise on Dick's side. "I'll get you next time," Dick had promised, young eyes challenging. "You better." Bruce had grinned back.) All attacks were to remind him that he was at a disadvantage strength wise and thus needed to re-evaluate his lines of defense and offense.

Dick was raised by the paranoid-in-his-late-twenties-probably-shouldn't-be-a-dad-despite-what-Marisol-said Bat. A fun game of catch? He was dodging Batarangs. Learning to drive? It was the Batmobile and he was age 14 (and a half). School events? He was fumbling, awkward and did not want to be there (but still was because he'll be damned if his boy didn't have his support.)

And you know that's fine, Dick was fine. It wasn't Bruce's fault he didn't know how to be a proper dad, despite Alfred's parenting books and videos. And he did try, he was always there. But it just really hits a sore spot everytime he sees Bruce hold a punch before he knocks Tim out cold or when he's behind the wheel with Steph telling her what not to do. Or even when he's at school with Damian and Duke making Marjory and her cupcakes look ridiculous compared to him and his coconut crumble cakes.

It also irritates Dick beyond senseless whenever the topic of sparring with Bruce is mentioned. ("We can all beat the old man Goldie, he's ancient." Jason shrugs off and Dick wanted to scream.) The only one who even tries to sympathize with him was Cass. More than likely because she'd seen him fight as Batman The Dark Knight before seeing him fight as Bruce The Father of Six-Almost-Eight.

And it just really stings because he can't relate to being raised by Bruce the way the others can't. Bruce changed for them, not him. And maybe that kind of hurts. But maybe he's overreacting.

What he doesn't realize is he's the reason why Bruce changed. Bruce saw the hurt and anger in Dick's eyes when he fired him from Robin (Think Shifu denying Tai Lung the Dragon Warrior scroll). He knew the second he saw the betrayal in Dick's eyes after seeing Jason as Robin, that he'd have to change. (The same way Shifu should've changed for Tigress but I digress, not that fandom).

Bruce pulls his punches because he hated seeing Dick limp away from their sparring matches—despite the fire and promise of a rematch in his eyes. He teaches them how to drive regular cars before the Batmobile because the one time Dick crashed (while trying to avoid some of Poison Ivy's vines) his heart rate skyrocketed so high Clark had called him up demanding to know if he was okay. He shows up for Duke and Damian and Cass and Tim because Dick's smile whenever he saw Bruce in the parent's lounge never failed to make him melt.

Bruce stands firm on the fact that while he may have made a hero out of Dick, Dick Grayson made a father out of Bruce Wayne.

[bored-platypus]

the moon will sing (time traveling tim)

so. i saw this super awesome post by @puppetwoman17 about time traveling tim drake and got obsessed, so here's a small ficlet i wrote about it!

The thing is, Tim expects it. He’s faintly aware of the blood seeping from his stomach, staining his hands red— hands which are uselessly putting pressure on his wound. If he survives this, he doesn’t even want to think of all the weeks of pure agony and fever, brought on by the wonderful lack of his spleen and the fact that healing from wounds sucked, period.

Death isn’t surprising— he really didn’t think he would live past, what, twenty-five? Thirty? To live until beyond 50 with his lifestyle was, well. It sounded painful, anyways. And you would need to be a deeply paranoid neurotic. Like Bruce. Because as much as he respected his father and looked up to him, if Tim turned out anything like Batman, he’d probably find a bullet through his brain sooner or later.

Half because Tim was reckless and his plans were so convoluted and insane that nobody really knew what was going on either, just to confuse his opponent. The other half was, well. You can guess.

So. He’s bleeding out, the night is uncomfortably cold and the wind bites into his skin, sand grating against his back, and all Tim can think about is how much he hopes Ra’s al-Ghul doesn’t show up like a damned wraith and drag him kicking and screaming to the nearest surgery table and take out his kidneys or something. 

Tim’s also thinking about his family. And the probable inconveniences that come with his death. Like arranging his funeral and all his assets and his Nest and the fact that Tim is a very integral part of the family and Dick will probably fall apart and Bruce will mourn and brood, and, and damn it. Tim should probably revoke his thinking process or something.

—

Tim is twenty three years old when he bleeds to death alone, and nobody finds his body until three weeks later when his family has scoured the Earth and his distress signal rings, rings, but nobody sees it. His predictions about his family come true.

But that isn’t quite relevant, because Tim isn’t aware of such a thing. 

Instead, Tim closes his eyes and falls and jerks up on his bed, clutching his chest as years of memories flood his brain, too much for a mere eleven year old. It feels like his head has been cracked open and molten lava had been poured through, scorching his veins and circulation. It feels like agony of the highest level and Tim is faintly aware of the darkness creeping in, his mind too overwhelmed and overstimulated from years of memories flooding into his brain.

And so for the second time in a few minutes and a lifetime, Tim welcomes unconsciousness with open arms.

The next few hours are spent in pure agony, his body being too weak to move and his limbs too short for him to coordinate. He’s pretty sure that there’s a pool of dried blood underneath him from a nosebleed, but he’s too tired to turn around, so he just uncomfortably shifts away from it. Not for the first time, he thanks his lucky stars that his parents are neglectful, because he doesn’t even know how he would explain all of this. 

Two days later, he musters the strength to stumble out of bed, gulp down the bitter, carbon dioxide-filled water next to him and get to the kitchen. It’s April 1st, twelve years ago, Tim is eleven years old, and his family doesn’t know him yet.

Half of the terrible things that have happened to Dick haven’t happened yet. Jason hasn’t died yet. Duke is still a kid and his parents are healthy. Babs hasn’t been put into a wheelchair by the Joker.

Steph is still living with her father. Damian and Cass are being trained as assassins.

Mrs. Mac is due to come in a few hours. Tim looks at the blood-crusted covers of his bed and his crumpled clothes. 

Oh, shoot. 

So instead of researching or training, Tim spends the next hour trying to get the bedsheets off with his tiny, noodle arms, half stumbling on his feet because he’s way too damn short, and making his way to the bathroom so he can take a shower and get some of the blood off so it doesn’t stain too badly. 

It’s probably a lost cause. Not that his parents will notice or care about a missing bedsheet, but it feels wasteful to just throw it away to hide evidence of his unintentional time travel.

Two and a half hours later, Tim stumbles out of the laundry room, his bedsheets and pillow finally in the washer. He collapses on the nearest chair and scans the room for his father’s computer. 

He lets out a shaky breath. His family is generally unscarred. Jason is Robin again. Jason. The boy who Tim had held with a certain degree of, well, disdain. Thinking about it kind of makes him want to punch is past self in the face, or cringe in the way that you can only do when you think of something embarrassing you used to do. Like victim-blaming your older brother for getting beat to death while trying to find his mother. 

It wasn’t the only way he looked at Jason, but he had always thought of him as too reckless. Maybe he really did deserve the beating. Well, not that he believed that young teenagers should be beat up by young adults in Robin cosplay, but at least Tim wasn’t exactly traumatized by the experience. Better him than some other poor civilian kid Bruce could’ve adopted.

And Tim did get his revenge. By getting Jason on his private parts. But whatever. Revenge was revenge, and Tim was better than the whole crime lord setup his older brother had. In practice, anyways. 

Chewing on the ballpoint pen, he writes down the first thing on his list (in code, of course) since coming back in time.

prevent jason’s death 

Well. Now that he had a comprehensive list, Tim was down and ready to plan. 

—

A hour later, Mrs. Mac appears, none the wiser to what happened to him. Tim greets her as she walks in, and she smiles and greets him back, putting lunch in the fridge. She notices nothing wrong about how he stays sitting on the chair in the living room, and Tim says nothing about it. When she leaves, he pulls the piece of paper out of his book and the pen from his hair, scratching down some extra points.

Hmm. Maybe the Court of Owls should go early. Or perhaps that would create too much change?

Dick would have a better time in the future if they were gone, though. Tim frowns, dragging his pen back and forth in a short line on the table. 

He still needed to factor in the fact that he was an unknown to the family. The thing is, Tim loves their dysfunctional, broken family and he knows Bruce and Dick loved him back. But to be honest, it would be easier to change events if he wasn’t being scrutinized by Bruce every day. And it wasn’t like Tim had any shortage of money, with his parents still alive and his family fortune enough to cover whole lifetimes, so he wasn’t worried about his own safety.

It would be nice to go to college too. Maybe Stanford. He was smart enough to make it, and the location was close to the vigiliante community that if he so wanted to, he could probably join and watch his family from the outskirts. Last time around, Tim just couldn’t leave Gotham. Being a vigiliante was his life— he couldn’t even justify it as a temporary thing anymore. Their family had gone through so much tragedy and Gotham was still filled with crime and Tim had an obligation to keep her safe. It just… he couldn’t escape his mantle because he loved it, and Tim had a difficult time letting things go once he loved them. 

But if Tim could change things from the start, he didn’t need to be pulled back into the life. (He couldn’t have it, even if he loved it, because it was never his in the first place.) He could start anew, be a vigiliante when he was in college and far away from the family he hopefully would’ve fixed by then.

Well then. First things first, he needed to remove a factor from Jason’s death so he wouldn’t die in the first place.

—

Mrs. Mac comes by and cooks him lunch, and they eat in silence. Typically, Tim would fill the silence with chattering, glad to have someone to talk to in the empty manor.  But Tim’s mind is whirring, drawing up and discarding plans. By the time Mrs. Mac stands up and tells him she’s going to leave now, Tim has thought of three contingencies and twelve more future events he needs to address.

He mhms when Mrs. Mac prompts him to, and eventually she leaves out the front door, leaving him alone with his thoughts. It’s spring break and Tim doesn’t actually have anything to do because he’s in middle school now, so he mulls over the Jason problem for a few more hours.

It comes to him when he’s microwaving the leftovers from lunch, and Tim is pretty sure he’s a genius, or something. Sheila Haywood worked at a refugee camp in Ethiopia handling medical supplies, but she was embezzling funds from the organization she was working for. It wouldn’t be difficult for Tim to trace it and report her. By the time Jason began tracking her down, she would most likely be in prison, just for a few years and everything would hopefully blow over and the Joker wouldn’t blackmail her because she had no use to him in prison. 

It was cold, perhaps. But her life wouldn’t be over with a few years in prison, and Jason would be alive. Nothing more than they deserved.

Jason, alive. Then Damian, Cass, and Steph. He would see to his family, whole and happy. Then perhaps, in the future, when he was older and safely out of Bruce’s adoption zone, Tim could perhaps work with them. Laugh about how he never expected the Wayne family to be vigilantes, just to throw them off his trail. 

Tim allows himself this one selfish thought, because he has nothing else but the shattered remains of a future that will never come to be, and a family he left behind but still exists.

a/n:

i wrote this in two hours under an inspired haze of time travel and tim, two of my favorite things

tim is a super unreliable narrator if you haven't already noticed lmao

also if i get any characterization wrong feel free to leave some discourse or ping me on the head

but like please be gentle cause y'know constructive crit, not bashing

thanks for reading! :D

[disillusioneddanny]

Love Me Like You

Absolutely wrote this instead of going to sleep. This is based off of the song Love Like You by Rebecca Sugar for steven universe.

Damian’s heart was racing violently in his chest. He was angry, no he was beyond angry. No one was listening to him! He was twenty years old now, he wasn’t some little Robin sidekick anymore either, he was Red Bird, he had taken a different name and become his own person as a vigilante yet it didn’t seem to matter to anyone in this blasted family. All they saw him as was the demon brat, the boy who had been raised to become an assassin who had been brainwashed his entire life. 

But he wasn’t that boy any longer! He had been out of the League of Assassins for the same amount of time he had been in it. If not a little longer if one could count the fact that the ten years he was with his family he was fully cognizant and could make his own decisions, unlike the toddler he had been with the League. 

Sure, he had been moulded to be the perfect weapon, the perfect heir to the Demon’s Head but he was more than that now, he was so, so, so much more than that. 

He was a hero, he was someone that others could look upon and be inspired. He wasn’t some ruffian assassin any longer and his past shouldn’t matter in the slightest anymore. At least, it shouldn’t be thrown in his face by his own family every chance he got. 

He stormed up the steps of the Brownstone he owned with his boyfriend and let out a huff, trying to calm his racing heart before he stepped into the home.  It would be different once he was past these bricks, he would be in the company of someone who saw him completely and loved him anyways. 

He stepped through the threshold and smiled as he found his beloved passed out on the couch, curled up with a blanket wrapped around him. 

If I could begin to be, half of what you think of me. I could do about anything. 

Damian smiled at his boyfriend before he stooped down, slipping one arm underneath Danny’s legs and the other under his neck as he lifted him in the air carefully, cradling him bridal style in his arms. 

“Tried to stay up and wait for you,” the halfa mumbled, pressing his face against Damian’s chest. “Got too tired.”

“It is alright, Beloved,” Damian murmured before he pressed a kiss to Danny’s forehead. “Rest, I assume you had a busy day, my dear?”

“Justice League Dark are full of idiots who don’t know their ass from their head,” Danny mumbled as Damian opened the bedroom door. 

He let out a soft chuckle at that. He would not be surprised if his beloved lost his mind even a little bit when having to work with both that dreadful Constantine and Doctor Fate at the same time. 

“Who all were there?” Damian asked as he set Danny on the bed. The halfa whined at the loss of Damian’s warmth, making the vigilante’s heart flutter. 

When I see the way you act, wondering when I’m coming back. I could do about anything.

“Give me just a moment to change into some sleepwear and I’ll join you,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at Danny who now laid with a pillow wrapped in his arms and a pout on his face. “Now, tell me about the meeting.”

“I originally went to the Watchtower to work on one of the main engines, Supes had been saying it sounded wrong,” he said, launching into his tale but Damian was taken back to a different time, three years before when he had first met his love. 

 I could even learn how to love like you. 

Three years ago. 

Damian trailed behind his father into the main room of the Watchtower when he had noticed something out of the ordinary. There seemed to be someone floating on the outside of the ship without a space suit of any kind. 

“Batman,” he gasped out, stepping towards the man only for his steps to falter as the man-being waved at him with a wide smile. Bruce looked over curiously and smiled. 

“Oh, that’s Phantom,” he said simply. “He’s the head engineer of the Watchtower maintenance crew. Although, I have been trying to convince him to join us as an actual member for well over a month now. He refuses.”

“He looks no older than I do, how could he be the head engineer?” Damian asked, looking mystified as the being, Phantom phased through the window and gave him a dopey smile. 

“Would you believe me if I said I was just cool like that?” He asked, looking Damian up and down. “And who might you be?”

“Right, you’ve not seen him in his newest persona,” Batman said before, Damian’s eyes had to be deceiving him, his father was smiling at Phantom! “This is Red Bird.”

Damian held out a hand for Phantom. “It’s a pleasure,” he said, locking in on those eyes that reminded him of the Lazarus Pits he had grown up around. 

“Oh, I think the pleasure is all mine,” Phantom had purred, his eyes a green fire that had sucked Damian in immediately. He had never been bested so easily by someone else in all his life. 

I always thought I might be bad, now I’m sure that it’s true. 

He never did learn how Danny had managed to become the head engineer, even after three years of dating the halfa.

“And then Detective Chimp had to but in! Which why the hell do we have a fucking monkey on the team anyway! His name is fucking Bobo, Dami, Bobo!” Danny said, now fully awake as he laid starfished in their bed, the pillow now resting on his chest as he glared up at the ceiling. 

Damian chuckled and pulled his shirt over his head before he glanced at his boyfriend once more. “He is a detective, darling, quite a good one at that. I think he’s almost as good as,” Damian stopped and scowled. No, he was not going to go in that direction, he was not going to bring up his father, not when his mood was finally starting to lift and he had been distracted by his lover. 

“Oh, I know that look,” Danny said before he floated off of the bed and gave Damian a look as he cupped his face in his calloused hands. Danny’s right thumb ran along the small scar just below Damian’s left eye. Almost miniscule, no one had ever noticed it before except for Danny. It had been from his first time knife fighting as a child, his oppent had managed to get a single nick in and Damian had been punished within an inch of his life for letting someone get past his defenses. 

He had been five at the time. 

Danny had been ready to destroy all of Nanda Parbat when he had first learned how Damian had gotten the scar. No one had ever been so angry on his behalf before. Sure, his family were angry about his upbringing but not once had they ever truly considered the emotional and mental damage it had done to Damian. How he had to work so hard to be good in their eyes even after all these years.

Cause I think you’re so good, and I’m nothing like you.

“What did he say to you this time?” Danny asked, his big blue eyes curious and so very full of love. 

Damian sighed. “It doesn’t matter,” he said, stepping away to change into his pajama pants. Danny grabbed his wrist and frowned. 

“What did we talk about, Polaris?” He asked, brows now furrowed in concern. 

“My feelings matter,” Damian recited like a toddler back to his boyfriend. 

Look at you go, I just adore you. 

“Now, do you want to talk about it? Or do you want me to drop it?” Danny asked him, letting go of his wrist to instead wind their fingers together, interlocking them so that Damian could not escape his boyfriend’s grasp even if he wanted to.

Damian just smiled at him. “I do not wish to expand into the entire argument. But he told me that I will always be an assassin at heart and that I will never be more than that,” he said softly, his eyes sad as he tried his very best to not replay the argument in his head. 

I wish that I knew, what makes you think I’m so special. 

Danny’s face crumpled before he pulled Damian in for a tight hug, the shorter man pressed Damian’s face to his neck, forcing the vigilante to crouch slightly. “He’s wrong, you’re an amazing vigilante, Damian. You’ve done so much for people, for Gotham, ancients you’ve done so much for the world,” he said, combing his fingers through Damian’s hair. “You could have easily decided that this wasn’t the life for you when you left Talia, you could have decided to live as a normal kid and never get involved in any of this. But you became a vigilante anyway, and you’ve stayed a vigilante, a hero for the last ten years. Only a special kind of person could do that, Polaris,” Danny said softly, pressing a soft kiss to Damian’s damp cheek.

 He absolutely rubbed at his face, not even realizing that he had been crying.

If I could, begging to do, something that does right by you. I would do about anything. 

“Let’s get to bed,” Danny said, watching as Damian pulled away to slip his pajama bottoms on. Danny took his hand once more and led him to their large bed. He pulled the blankets back and slipped Damian in them.

Once Damian was secure underneath the blankets, Danny wrapped his arm around him and held him close. “You know, the first time I laid my eyes on you, Damian, I knew you were the one for me,” Danny whispered in his ear, his chin rested on Damian’s shoulder as the ghost spooned him, holding the vigilante close. “My core, it sung for you. It saw the good in you even then,” he whispered. 

Damian smiled. It had taken him so long to work up the nerve to ask Danny on a date. 

Three Years Earlier. 

Damian stared at the head engineer as he declined Batman’s offer once again to join the Justice League Dark, stating once again that his passion was for engineering and nothing more. Damian had walked towards him just moments later, finally working up the nerve to talk to the ghost once again. 

“Why do you need turning him down?” He asked, tilting his head to the side in curiosity. “Would you not like to use your powers to be a hero?”

Phantom had just smiled and shook his head. “Nope,” he said simply as he fasted the work belt to his waist. “Why would I do something that doesn’t make me happy?”

“For the safety of others? It is a duty, an obligation-”

“No, it isn’t,” Phantom told him. “It may be that for you, but it isn’t for me. I spent three long years trying to keep my hometown safe and I was very good at it until one day I realized it didn’t make me happy. There were others in the area who genuinely enjoyed being a hero so I let them take over. Then with all that extra time I graduated early, got my bachelor’s in engineering and now I’m working on the Watchtower as the head engineer while I get my masters. This is it for me, Redbird, it’s what makes me happy.”

Damian frowned. “But don’t you feel as though that is a waste?” He asked, trying to understand the man’s logic. 

Phantom shook his head. “Not at all. I’ve got a lot on my plate, you know? I’m the Ghost King for one, which thankfully isn’t a whole lot of work now that I’ve got a council that pretty much runs everything. I’m mostly just a figure head nowadays. And I’m just plain old Danny Phantom, the head engineer of the Justice League’s homebase. If they need me to consult with their Dark team or need my help, I’ll offer it. But I won’t go out of my way for it,” he explained. “It doesn’t bring me joy, I don’t feel a sense of pride saving the world or helping others. I just feel tired. And that’s okay.”

“I do not think I understand,” Damian said slowly. This was not something he had ever thought of. His entire life had been planned for him. First he was the heir to the Demon’s Head and then he was the heir to Batman, the only blood son. Expected to take on the mantle of Robin and fight side by side with Batman to keep the forces of evil at bay. 

And now Danny was telling him that he didn’t have to do that if it did not make him happy?

When I see the way you look, shaken by how long it took. I could do about anything. 

“Danny,” Damian said softly, turning over to face his beloved. He searched those beautiful blue eyes and let out a breath. “I do not think being RedBird brings me joy anymore.”

Danny just gave him a small smile. “That’s okay,” he whispered. “You’ve been kicking ass for ten years, that’s a long time to devote yourself to others.”

“Will you help me?” Damian asked, twining their fingers together. “Will you help me find what sparks joy for me?”

The smile Danny gave him was dazzling. “Of course, Polaris. I would be honored to help you,” he whispered. 

I could even learn how to love like you. 

Love like you. 

Love me like you. 

I hope you all enjoyed! If you want to read more of my work check out my AO3

I do not do tags for my fics. If you like what you're reading and want to see more, tell me what you liked and subscribe to the post by pressing the little bell on the top right corner. Reblogging means more than likes on tumblr as we do not have an algorithm here and it's the only way to share! More notes means I'm more likely to write more!

Check out my other tumblr posts on my pinned post!

[mintacle]

My hot take is that the same people who call Jason copaganda, pr-gunviolence or etc are from the same vein as people who blame schoolshootings on videogame violence, who blamed crime on Metal and satanism.

Instead of taking a critical look at a system within which a symptom of a problem is making itself known, you look if there is an outside influence, a kind of "virus" that you can blame for making it "sick".

DC comics are a little fucked up. That's the agreement you entered when reading them. All characters are inconsistent and sometimes in the wrong. Jason is a Bat, so at least it feels like he's maybe substantial enough to blame for the whole batclans issues, in a way that Helena Bertinelli (for example) can't be, because she is less closely tied and has less appearances. Congratulations, you have an identified patient! Jason is the problem that is rippling out and causing all these nasty and unsatisfied feelings the readers have about how crime is handled in these comics.

We see crime being fought in imperfect ways and our current cultural consciousness goes off with warning bells to identify the problem. But what you were taught was to identify what outside influence happens to be present and connecting the issue, and how to justify that all evil stems from this malignant influence. So surely if we could just remove this bad thing, we could go back to the wonderful world we knew where everything was ok.

That world never existed. The thing we are nostalgic for, is the world before we became aware of it's flaws. The problem has always been there, has always been an integrated part of this whole you used to love and admire.

But because the kind of people blaming Jason for "copaganda" do genuinely and truly come from a good place of wanting social justice (I'm saying you are good people. I disagree and think you are making a logical error, but we do care about and want the same thing. Good People) because you come here with the right intentions, you use the buzzwords of copaganda. Or gunviolence. You know from what you have heard that the issue is systematic, but you are struggling to find what that system equivalent is in DC comics. You are falling victim to the fallacy of assuming a main narrative perspective. Just as irl cops are hard to identify as the problem bc you might have to first struggle through the cognitive dissonance that your old worldview of good cops was wrong (so so wrong), you experience cognitive dissonance if trying to read comics with someone like Batman being wrong and flawed.

Looking beyond any superficial similarities to cops Jason is called out for (uses a gun, kills, enforcing his vision of justice) he really doesn't have much more similarities. He isn't a figure of authority, he lacks the nigh god-given justification to do whatever he wants whatever the outcome and is questioned at every turn. Just the sheer instances of Batman or another Bat showing up to beat Jason up and lecture him on what he does.

Extending this, he does not have the pervasive and persuasive power to shape a narrative. Jason's narrative is so far out of his hands. Which has been a core truth about him since for ever. From his maleable origin story, to his death, the years of him being gone and having No Voice Whatsoever, his resurrection in utrh showing him trying, struggling to have a voice against Bruce's story and being drowned out and denied his perspective, the inconsistency of his character after, each writer trying to shape him into something. Now cops fucking have a narrative. Their narrative is the main one we are fed. Their violence is structured and oppressive. Jason is neither a structural systemic power, nor is he oppressive of anyone. If you disagree with his violence for the sake of the moral highground of condemning killing.... Then, just, there are other media, you know.

Cop violence is systemic violence. It is violence that is "justified" to the extent it requires no justification. It is above being questioned. I am genuinely willing to hear an argument how Jason is cop-coded. But to me he is the punk resistance based "violence" that is only organized in the anarchical but organical sense of caring to protect the community that surrounds you. He doesn't approach Gotham as a paternalistic force of protection shielding it from above, but as one of them from within, showing up for the people who are suffering the way he has suffered too.

[lazycats-stuff]

here it is again

so the idea I had was that Alfred has hired a young Butler to teach the ropes for when he grows too old and they’ve developed feelings for Bruce They watching him do his gruelling work out before he goes to fight superman …feeling fear fear for him but also desire him as well then when he goes to leave in his mech suit they tell him how they feel

Okay, it has been a while since I watched the Justice League so inaccuracies are on me. Oh Bruce... And reader... Also, I hope I did it justice. And I'm sorry if this is short.

Summary: (Y/N) is going to take Alfred's place once the man is gone. What wasn't in the job description was the fact that he caught feelings for Bruce.

Warnings: one sided love, but not for long, kissing, some fluff at the end, also a little bit of angst

Bruce didn't know how to feel about the fact that a news person was going to be in the manor, more so replacing Alfred. Bruce wasn't stupid. Alfred is getting older and one day he won't be here anymore and Bruce had a mission to be on.

And that's where (Y/N) came in.

Alfred and Bruce agreed to employ the young man. The process was long and tiring. They had so many applicants and applications that they might be buried underneath them.

They spent days going through them, looking for the right applicant. They were just about to quit when (Y/N)'s application. Alfred decided to go through it and was happy to see what he found in the application.

All the places he worked at are good and he had some good recomendations. Bruce and Alfred decided to call him and set up the interview and then they will go from there.

Interview went really well. Bruce assessed the young man, wanting to see how he would handle stress of being employed for such powerful man. Also, if he was going to be let on the fact that Bruce Wayne is Batman, he needs to handle stress.

(Y/N) passed the interview with flying colors.

Of course, Alfred and Bruce went through a few more applicants, but they knew that (Y/N) was the one for this job.

And that's how (Y/N) got the job in the Manor. Alfred was pleased as to how (Y/N) was learning quickly and efficently.

" I have to say, you are doing quite well. " Alfred once praised (Y/N) and that praise coming from Alfred was the biggest thing could ever achieve.

But there was Bruce. (Y/N) noticed how he is emotionally constipated. It has brought them both into some awkward situations, but overall, they both got along.

When (Y/N) found out that Bruce Wayne is Batman, he actually passed out from the shock. Alfred and Bruce brought him back to conscienceness and made him sit down to explain everything.

To say that (Y/N) was shocked is an understatement of the year, but got over it quickly. He was allowed to go to the cave, but wasn't allowed to touch anything.

No problem for (Y/N). He didn't dare anyway.

After the problems with Superman and seeing the level of distrust amongst them both, Alfred and (Y/N) were worried beyond belief. Is Bruce the most stubborn man that he has met?

Absolutely yes.

Was he invincible?

Absolutely not.

But it was very obvious that he was trying to be. (Y/N) watched him train and it was grueling. How much he could lift, what he was foing in general... It wasn't human. But Batman is not human really.

Lets be honest, Bruce is not really human. Sure, born as a human, but none the less, what he thought about doing, fighting Superman, clearly not human.

But there was one thing that (Y/N) didn't want to go unknown.

His feelings for Bruce.

(Y/N) knew that his feelings were beyond unprofesional. He knew that the right thing would be to quit, but he knew too much and he doubted that Alfred and Bruce would let him go. One more important thing is that Bruce is straight. Straight as a line would be a correct term.

There was no way either that Bruce would get his gay awakening with him.

It was just one sided love. That's just what it was. And just one sided desire for the man.

It wasn't anything serious.

Nope.

All of those feelings boiled over when he saw Bruce ready to go, in that heavy, mech suit.

" Bruce! " (Y/N) called out, unable to contain it anymore. Now was the time.

" I want to tell you something... I love you. I know you don't return my feelings, but I needed to tell you before you go. " (Y/N) rambled on, shutting up when when he felt Bruce's gloved hands cup his face and bring his face up to his lips.

(Y/N) swore he melted into the kiss and was sad as Bruce pulled away.

" When I come back, we are going to have a conversation about this. " Bruce announced and (Y/N) nodded.

After another brief kiss, Bruce left. (Y/N) stood there, a smile breaking out on his face. Who would have thought?

[igotanidea]

Phantom: Jason Todd x ghost!reader

part 2 to Specter

***

He would never say it outloud, not that he had to, but adjusting to living without her took much more time then it should.

When he came back, lost, confused and thrown into completely different reality when Tim replaced him in the role of Robin, when Damian joined the family, when he was apparently no longer welcomed and fitting, Y/N would have been the only familiar thing keeping him from jumping into the abyss of madness.

 And now, he had to struggle through every day with the thought of her lingering in the back of his mind, followed by two simple words that seemed to justify his every action and pushing forward.

For her.

For her, because she wouldn’t want to watch you fall into the claws of depression.

For her, since it was the only way to prove he was actually worth something and if there was something beyond the grave, Jason wanted her to be proud of him.

Oh,

To see her, just one more time. To hear her voice, her laugh, to feel the touch of her hand on his cheek, always so gentle and caring, even when he did something stupid or reckless.

His mind was turning in direct proportion to the way his body was tossing in bed unable to sleep.

He missed her terribly, only now realizing how much pain it actually brings to loose someone without hope of ever getting them back into one’s life.

Like never ever.

What it meant to get killed and to kill. Having someone’s all fate in one’s hands, playing God, deciding who was and who wasn’t to survive. And if anything it felt like a heavy burden on his shoulders. Jason never regretted getting rid of the scumbags and criminals of Gotham, cleaning the street, taking on the responsibility neither Batman nor any of his brother were ever capable of pursuing. He knew the consequences, both positive and negative. But for the first time he understood the personal emptiness coming from killing.

If only she was here.

She would probably scoff at him, act indifferent and then say something funny or mocking to diffuse the tension that would make them both laugh and feel at least a bit better about this whole vigilantism mess they got involved in as kids.

Or maybe she would be like Bruce. Rejecting him because he had changed his tactics and methods of operation? After all, he wasn’t so brutal and aggressive when he was Robin, she knew him as.

“Fuck!” he hissed, jumping of the bed, unable to have any rest “Get yourself together Todd!” standing in front of bathroom mirror he clutched the sink, almost breaking it due to the force he put into action. “She’s dead. She’s gone. Who the fuck care of what she would think!?” he looked deep into his own eyes, showing desperation, loneliness, fear and uncertainty for future. Despite not being the one to dwell on the past and overanalyze, he could almost see the little street kid he was years ago looking back at him.

“On the other side of the mirror like a fucking Alice in Wonderland” he muttered to himself, head hanging low.

At least until he noticed a shadow appearing behind his back and reflecting in the glass surface, immediately activating all his fighting instincts.

“WHO THE HELL IS HERE?! GET OUT AND SHOW YOUR FACE YOU COWARD!”

Obviously no one showed up which only spur his aggression further on.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are.” Jason muttered casually, but there was no denying his predatory tone that made the innocent words seem life threatening.  “Cause when I find you myself, I’ll make you beg for mercy…” he smirked at the plan already forming in his head as he started searching for the intruder in the whole apartment.

“Is that how you greet an old friend?” a voice, not much louder than a whisper or a rustle of a spring wind bounced off the walls, but there still wasn’t anyone inside.

“SHOW YOURSELF!”

“You know, I can’t remember you being this violent back in the days….”

“THE HELL!?”

“Calm yourself Jaybird, I kinda get what it means to be brought back from the grave.”

“What--?”

Jason’s stutters weren’t interrupted by a thunder or lightning or any other supernatural weather occurrence and yet, the familiar silhouette floating in the air, surrounded by a faint blue glow, almost stopped his heart.

“Y/N?”

“Hey Jaybrird.” She smirked as if she wasn’t a ghost appearing out of thin air. “couldn’t leave me alone even from behind the grave, huh?”

“You’re dead!” he cried out taking a step back even if all his instincts were telling him to run from forward and hold her. The rational part of his brain telling him that she clearly had no body to hold.

‘No more than you I see. How’s life, Todd?”

“Like a second chance that I’m obviously wasting not being a good boy.” He rolled his eyes, suddenly feeling the wave of happiness and familiarity stemming from her presence even in this form.

“Oh, please!” she laughed “good boys are holdovers. Haven’t you heard that girls only fall for the misfits and rebels?”

“Is that why you’re here then? Cause you missed the rebel I became?”

“I’m here because clearly your obsessive thoughts about me became so intrusive that someone up there decided I need to come back and teach you a lesson about leaving dead people in peace.”

“Y/N…” he sighed meeting her eyes, that were still the same e/c orbs he loved so much.

“I know…”

“I missed you…”

“I know…”

Guided my some crazy instinct he approached her, his hand travelling up to cup her cheek, to feel the texture of her skin, but instead meeting the cold air when his fingers permeated the ghost form of his friend/lover.

And it was so fucking depressing. Having her so close and still feeling the distance and separation deriving from the thin line separating two worlds – living and death – unable to cross them. If he knew it would work and they would meet afterlife he would reach for one of his guns and put a bullet in his head right away just to be with her, but the risk of going straight to hell and being divided forever was too great.

So he settled on satisfying his eyes with her half-lucent presence and his ears with the home-like voice.

“I’m sorry-“ she whispered

“No.” he cut her off abruptly, tears almost springing from his eyes at having her but not having her at the same time. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t there for you. I should have been. I should have listened when you told me to stay and not pursue this stupid search-“

“It was not your fault. You were a kid.”

“I should have known better.”

“Neither of us did. And being stupid is a privilege of childhood and teenagerhood.”

“Is that your way of telling me I should be rational and mature now?” Jason teased, pushing the pain away, deep inside.

“Nah.” She laughed softly and it echoed through the empty space like bells “that’s impossible! Not with all I saw you doing.”

“You- you saw?!”

‘I saw. But me calling you out on all your shit is not something why I’m here.”

“Then why are you here Y/N?”

“I have no idea…”

“Is there any way to –“

“Bring me back?”

“Yeah.”

“Straight to the point, huh? Are there anything filthy in your mind that might be the reason of this sudden urge Mr. Todd?” Y/N joked.

“You have no idea.” Something dangerous flashed In his eyes “But seriously, is there?”

“Do I look like a ghost expert?”

“You are a ghost so who better!?”

“Oh, excuse me, let me call Klaus from umbrella academy and ask his expertise.”

“What? He;s a fictional character!”

“Yes, but it’s similar level of abstraction! I have no body, I have no special skills, sorry to disappoint, so even if I was to cast a spell or something-“

“A spell!” Jason interrupted her with the widest grin.

“What?” that sudden change in attitude got her by surprise, brows furrowing in confusion.

“I know an expert on the spells.”

“Please tell me you don’t mean—”

“Oh I do mean!”

“I am not going to take Constantine advice!”

‘Too bad I didn’t ask your opinion on the matter. It’s been decided.”

“Damn, you are an asshole.”

“Yeah, asshole desperate enough to make a fool out of himself if that gets him the girl he’s into back.”

@havikspike

[your-regular-toast-enjoyer]

if ur taking request what's ur headcanon on yandere damian with cinnamon roll!reader

Yandere! Damian Wayne x Cinnamon roll! Reader

Damian Wayne x reader or Damian Wayne/reader

Yandere!Damian Wayne x reader or Yandere Damian Wayne x Reader

Word count: 2257 words

TW: GN reader, Yandere, imprisonment, adult Damian Wayne (inspired and mostly based off of Damian in Batman beyond & Injustice 2: Gods among us), obsession. Other than that, there's no s*x or anything of the like.

Damian and you probably met through one of his brothers. Maybe you were a vigilante in training and they were the ones being your mentor. Or maybe you had been an old classmate of Tim’s. Whatever it was, I can imagine they introduced the two of you. Damian wouldn’t have usually walked up to someone like you, he had diluted himself into thinking he was only interested in the sarcastic and semi-stoic type of person. Yet, when he met you, the two of you just instantly clicked, like something in Damian’s life just felt right for once. 

The green-eyed man was overwhelmed with this feeling at first, being mean to you in the beginning, to cover up for the fact that he genuinely enjoyed your presence. However, when you didn’t fight back with him and instead just asked if he was doing alright, if he wanted to talk about whatever was bothering him and if there was anything you could do to cheer him up, he suddenly felt as if it was simply wrong to ever be rude to someone like you. You were just so genuine and it almost made him burst into a million pieces, he had never met someone like you. There was certainly no one like that at the League, and most others seemed to just be out for their own gains, whenever they inquired about how he felt. It was simply a fate he had resigned to, given that he was indeed Bruce Wayne’s only blood child and thus the one who would inherit the majority of his assets. 90% of the people he interacted with were all out for his wealth and fame… but not you. No, you simply cared… for some odd reason that Damian couldn’t discern.

He would certainly remain suspicious of any underlying malignant intentions to your actions, but slowly he started to feel more comfortable in your presence. You seemed to genuinely care for him… and while entirely strange to him, he ate it up. And who could blame him? It felt nice being cared for on such a profound and thorough level. There was nothing he liked more than hearing you inquire about his safety, it made him feel like he was finally being appreciated for his personality and not just for being a wealthy socialite or for being the Robin, and a damn good fighter. 

I can imagine that the two of you would spend a lot of time together after Damian came to the revelation that you were actually great company and he started to consider you a friend. He would let you pet all of his pets, from Batcow to Jerry. Heck! He’d probably sometimes just plop Alfred the cat on your lap so that you’d be forced to stay longer with him. “Come on! Y/N! You can’t just push Alfred away! Hear how he’s purring, look at how happy he is with you! It’d be a borderline crime to disturb him!” … He would definitely guilt trip you into staying. If you’re afraid of one or even all of his pets, no problem! He’d spend hours and days slowly conditioning you to the more harmless ones like Jerry and Alfred, and if you really don’t want to be near them, he can accept that… for a while, at least. Eventually, he will force you through a slow and careful conditioning process, so that you can at least be near them without feeling threatened.

Other than being with his pets. Damian would also make you sit as a model for him, using your cinnamon-roll nature to guilt you into sitting still for anywhere between half an hour to half a day just so he can get the portrait just right. Sure, he could’ve made the portrait in half of the time he keeps you there, but he enjoys your presence and this is a good way to make you stay around him for an extended period of time, without one of his brothers or his father bothering him. 

It would take him quite a while to become yandere, and even longer to fall in love with you. He is satisfied with the amount of control over you, which your personality allows him to gain. However, when it happens, it doesn’t happen separately. It happens all at once and it comes down on both of you hard. 

Perhaps, if you’re a vigilante sidekick for one of his brothers, it happens when you’re on a mission together and you end up in mortal danger. Maybe you gave the enemy a chance for redemption, which they promptly used to attack you, or perhaps it was simply an accident which landed you with a gnarly injury. If you’re not a vigilante, but rather a civilian, maybe it was simply that you were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up on the wrong end of a rogue’s weapon, making you injured. Whatever it was, it was at this point, that Damian realised that he was deeply in love with you, that he couldn’t live without your sweet words and comforting gestures. It was, however, also at this point where the green-eyed vigilante realised that he had to become more protective to protect you.

With Damian’s newfound protectiveness came a certain possessiveness as well. He would sit at your side for days at the hospital, holding your hands and cooing sweet words in your ears. When anyone outside of the medical staff showed up, however, he would turn ballistic. Especially, if it was Tim or whichever other brother who had mentored you, he blamed them for your injury and vowed to never let them near you again, just in case they hurt you. He’d try to keep these outbursts away from your line of sight, but he might slip up and do it right in front of you. In which case you may or may not scold him, if you do, he’ll pretend to take it to heart, but in reality, he’s planning on how he can get rid of whoever disturbed the two of you. In Damian’s eyes, the best way to keep you safe was to keep everyone else away from you.

When you were finally signed out of the hospital, Damian would not only pay for all bills involved, but he’d also take you to his home, rather than your own. He claimed that this was the best way to let you fully recover, as he would be available 24/7, and not only that, but Alfred would be available to do all normal chores within the manor, that you would’ve usually had to deal with yourself, like cooking and cleaning. Even if you protested, Damian would manage to convince you that it was indeed the best decision… he paid for your medical bills, after all, why don’t you just let him take care of you?!

While at the manor, Damian would be with you most of the time, except for when he’s out as Robin. As a matter of fact, if you are a civilian, this will be the point where Damian reveals his secret identity to you. He’s already sure that the two of you will marry, so why wait with the big revelation, when he can simply get it out of the way now? Obviously, this knowledge would make you trust his judgement more if you weren’t aware of it before. How could you not? This is the Robin! Crime-fighter extraordinaire! Surely, he would never want anything bad to happen to you, right? Besides, he’s also Damian, a dear friend of yours. Those two combined would probably fool you into believing his good intentions for longer.

If you’re a university student, Damian would force your teachers to either film their lectures for you or teach over the internet, lockdown-style. Yeah, as a Wayne, he has that type of power, most colleges and universities are on the Wayne’s payroll, so they often feel obliged to give in to any demand coming from the family, in fear that if they oppose, they’ll lose their funding. 

As you stay at the manor, I can imagine that you’ll be sleeping in Damian’s room, on a separate bed, next to his. Thus giving him better access to nursing you back to health. It was a pretty bad injury which you received, after all. Your placing has the added advantage(… disadvantage?), of giving you a front-row seat to watching Damian slowly bring in your stuff to his room, practically moving you in without your consent. 

Damian will slowly start to drop hints about the true romantic nature of his feelings towards you. Bringing a rose, gifting you a whole bunch of stuffed toys and practically anything else he can come up with to win your favour. He’ll constantly make small contained comments about how he adores your soft personality. It will take a while for him to build up the courage to confess to you. You’re probably almost ready to go home when he drops the, “I love you more than life itself, Y/n” bomb. 

If you accept his feelings, he’ll move you in immediately… not that there was much left in your own home anymore… but still. He would be cocky and spread the news to the entire family within the hour of your “yes”, and the entire vigilante community will be aware within the day. Yeah, he likes to brag about you. Who would have ever thought he’d be able to pull someone like you? Certainly not him! It probably wouldn’t take him too long to propose and get married to you. The Al Ghuls are known for being intense romantic partners, just look at how Talia acts with Bruce! 

If you do not accept… Oh boy! Damian will chain you to his bed with a pair of handcuffs around your ankle, the other end fastened to his bed post. He’d threaten to kill your family if you reveal your newly made prisoner status to his father, brothers or Alfred, and he is most certainly not kidding. He does blame your family for your injury as well. Why didn’t they protect you better? Especially since he found himself so capable of exactly that! You will never leave that bed for more than half an hour or when you’re eating supper with the rest of the family, not until you finally accept his feelings, at which point he’ll act as if you said “yes” in the first place.

Married life with Damian as a cinnamon roll would be delightful, even though he’s a yandere. He’d protect you at all costs. Someone was rude to you? Dead. Oh! You felt hurt by something someone said, if they’re not online, they’ll be gone within the hour. If they are online, he’d take the time to comfort you to the best of his ability… which is admittedly limited… Actually, come to think of it, I actually doubt that he’d let you have access to any online forums, at least not without his supervision. He doesn’t want you to get emotionally hurt by the anonymous pricks that could lurk there, after all. Other than that, he’d do everything to channel his soft side. Cuddles? He’ll do his best not to get restless or flinch. Cooking together? You betcha! But he will be the one handling the knives, he doesn’t want you to get hurt. Movie nights? Absolutely! You get to choose the movie, as long as it’s not a scary one which might frighten you… also, he would roll you into a blanket burrito quite often, especially when watching movies… he just really likes seeing you wrapped up in layers of soft cloth, it makes him feel comforted to see you so… safe? Also! Damian would definitely make sure that you remain healthy! At least 8 hours of sleep and a healthy diet! … The biggest downside is that you will only be interacting with Damian and maybe Dick, Bruce and Alfred… maybe Jason, but definitely not Tim. Yeah, you’ll be kept away from the paparazzi as well. They’ll know that Damian is married, but to who? They have absolutely no idea. 

In conclusion… Damian will keep you safe and sound, at all costs, your personality will be mostly to blame for this mentality of his, but it is also the thing he loves the most about you. He will kill, maim and otherwise hurt anyone who tries to get between you, even his own family. No one will ever hurt you again… because no one will ever interact with you again, except a few select people. Your family will be entirely removed from your life, Damian doesn’t consider them safe. Safety becomes Damian’s prime goal concerning you, someone so sweet and genuine should never experience the hardships of life and he will make sure that you’re protected and right within his grasp 99% of the time, excluding his nightly escapades, where he trusts Alfred to keep you safe… the man was an MI6 agent in his youth, after all. The fact of your possible imprisonment will be a secret between the two of you… and possibly Dick, who would never go against Damian’s happiness, no matter who got hurt… if you ever try to tell Bruce or anyone else, Damian will do anything to keep you and I mean anything… I wouldn’t advise telling anyone. Just keep quiet and enjoy being very safe and very loved by the one and only Damian Wayne.

A/N: Yes, you can just ignore this, it's mostly for the user who sent in the request.

Thank you for this idea! I hope you like what I did with it! It was a bit rushed and short since I finished this up before school, but I've honestly never written about a cinnamon roll reader before, didn't even have one in mind, (maybe with the exception of my teen titans! reader x Yan! Damian Wayne), I always try to make my readers more of a sarcastic and savvy one, but I hope this turned out okay and that you enjoy it!

[bookwormlover10]

I need a fan fic ( or au) were Wayne family adventures Bruce decides to adopt old Dcau Bruce

You with me on this...ok so This is my pitch how it would go.

So it starts with wfa Bruce somehow ( maybe is the justice league or something else you decide) gets transported to the Dcau universe but in the beyond era. The man is obviously very confused it could be the taller and bigger Gotham or it could be the teenager with attitude calling himself batman.

Eneway he runs into the tomorrow knight and after some light confrontation Terry takes him to the bat cave were he meets the eder Bruce Wayne. After confirming things old Bruce dismissed Terry for the night

While things settle down wfa Bruce noticed that this old Bruce is lonely. This Bruce is all alone For the most part.( With expectations of course. The dog and this Terry fellow) The House looks hunted with romes are empty and dark. Alfred seems to be dead. It seems that he didn't have much sidekicks( sorry that the only way to explain the bat heros ) judging by the display case. He's pretty sure the doesn't have a Damian either. The kicker thought is when he shows a picture of his family to the older Bruce gave him a sad smile and said " that lovely but do me a favor don't mess up like I did."

Some how there is a way home with it with the beyond era justice league or the wfa Batfamily you decide. While going though the way home wfa Bruce decided 'you know what I'm taking this sad Old man with me' and surprises adoption to old Bruce. he just assumed that Terry well be fine. Yes Ace will run after his owner.

As expected old man Bruce doesn't take to kindly to the batnaping. His is pissed. His like " I'm supposed to be a warning! That wasn't a aboption call !" And like " Terry needs me! " He scolded wfa Bruce like an angry father.

I bet your wondering what the wfa Batfamily thing about this. Well one their Bruce explain his reasoning there like... Ok.... Then go along with it. They get a new grand-bat

The bat kid are ok with having a new grand-bat. But as time Bass they noticed that their new grand-bat is why more grouchy than their Bruce and some how More traumatized. I mean the old man said that dangling somebody off a roof was too soft. He looked at Alfred like hes a ghost ( maybe to him he is ) Every time Old man Bruce sees Dick and tim he always gives them a sad look with regrets and avoid them at all cost. Tim more so. Like Tim is his greatest failure.

Tim : why is he looking at me like that.

Jason: yea so

Tim: that the thing he's looking at me like...( Comes to the realization) .. like Bruce looks at you

Jason: huh !

Dick: ( is crying in a corner) at least he doesn't look at you like you hate him!

Old Bruce does try to escape and go home. Like there a Terry that needs him at home. Hes escape atemts fall though it comes to a pont stop thing " what would a Bruce do" to " what would a Terry do." And starts to make their life miserable. He starts to hack into the bat computer making their equipment act weird and pulls brakes on them. Thought he doesn't do it when he thinks that their a ligiment threat. They might have kidnapped him but he still has his morals after all these years.

Damien likes Old Bruce hes like the grandfather that Damien always wanted. He's tuff and experienced but not to mean ( still mean but not as much as he was when he first met Terry. thanks you Terry for softening the old bat up) . He gives him compliments when needed but well scold you when you do something stupid. He gives him head pats sometimes. He even has that mysterious old people candy that Jon was telling him. About. Not to mention he's has great taste in pets. ( Damien likes Ace very much.) Damien came to know this this Bruce never had a him. That fact made Damien a little sad. He always thought that there was a him with his father in every universe. He also thinks that his mother isn't with them in his universe cause every time he asks about his mother in his universe he always gives a sad smile and says " your mother was a very beautiful woman. With a good heart." The key word was was. Meaning that she was dead. He doesn't dare ask about his grandfather. The old bat does try to convince Damian to stop being Robin cause how kind get hurt. ( Cause you know trama ) Damien them mention this Terry fellow.Damian then decided that they need to keep the old man.

Old Bruce then release that these kids are traumatized and he became a little soft on the wfa Batfamily. He's everything started to open up to them. He starts telling them stories about his batman and justice league days. The bat kids are all surprise that welly West was a founding member of the justice league in his universe. He also gave wfa Bruce creeks and help him be a better batman. ( With all of the Batfamily to he honest) Tim and Jason eventually asked him to what happened to his Tim Drake. So old Bruce explained his Tim backstory and the joker jr situation. The bat boys than made the concussion that his Tim Drake is was more of a Jason Todd a Timmy todd if you will. When Tim and Jason explain both of their backstory to the old bat.

Wfa Bruce ( and Batfamily to an extent) does eventually feel gently about surprises adopting old man Bruce especially with how much he mentions Terry. Wfa Batfamily can tell that they have a father and son relationship. He said how he proud of him. He mentioned his grate battles or what Terry did for him . That wfa Batfamily can tell how much Terry means to the old bat. They know that he wasn't comply alone

Then eventually there's a knocking on the door of Wayne maner only to reveal a pisst of Dcau Tim going full Jason Todd on there ass. ( He has a gun and he's not afraid to use it ) an angry Terry mcginnis and Dcau Wally West is there cause I like him. You can also have Dcau dick Grayson there to.

See he has people who do care about him.

Then old man Bruce got to go home but the wfa Batfamily can still visit there grand bat in neo-Gotham

I also have a similar Idea but we're Damien kidnapped Timmy todd and Dcau dick is on the journey. Let me know if you want to here that to.

[gffa]

"Grimm" is a five-part story from Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight from 2002 and I kind of absolutely lost my mind over it because there was just so much validating everything I've always thought about these two. The premise is typical comics shenanigans, there's a Mother Grimm who is stealing street kids and abused children away to this fantastical underground carnival to let them live a whimsical life, where they're loved and cared for--which Dick falls into because he's clashing with Bruce, who is freaking out because he's worried that he's turning Dick into a mirror version of himself. The story is woven through with Alfred gently trying to push (which I've been losing my shit about here and here because this is exactly what I read comics for) both Bruce and Dick into acknowledging that they're becoming father and son--but it's clear that both of them are terrified of stepping into those roles, Bruce because he doesn't know how to raise a kid and he's afraid he's hurting more than helping, Dick because he's not sure Bruce even wants him around as Robin, much less as Dick Grayson, but you watch the way Alfred barely has to nudge them and you see them both start to lean into the idea before they get scared again and jump back into saying they're partners and friends instead. And it's so validating because it's the good stuff--Dick running away because he feels like Bruce doesn't want him, Bruce coming home to tell him that he's going to find Dick a new family because he's scared he's molding this kid into himself but he can't because Dick's already run off, but when Dick says he's going to stay with Mother Grimm, Bruce looks gut-punched like he can't actually believe Dick would leave. Meanwhile, Bruce tries to leave, but Mother Grimm secretly doses him with psychotropic drugs which send him into hallucinations about how he's dragging Dick into this violent world of his, and how he's setting him up for death, that because Bruce didn't die with his parents, now he's trying to get this kid--this kid who mirrors him in so many ways--killed instead. And it's all just so much terror at the thought of letting someone else in after their losses--Bruce because he's scared of losing more people, Dick scared because he's not sure he's wanted, and it'll take years yet for them to actually put anything into words, so instead they settle for "partners" and it might feel unsatisfying and half-assed, except honestly Dick Grayson and Alfred Pennyworth were working miracles here. There's plenty of room for other interpretations, including soft dad!Bruce who eagerly embraces the idea (and it's not too far off from this, this Bruce very clearly does want that, he's just scared and so he keeps chickening out), but this is where I live, this is why Dick Grayson is so fundamentally important to Bruce Wayne's story, that neither character is complete without the other. Bruce Wayne is a character who lost his entire world on that night he was eight years old and didn't know how to grow beyond it for so long, and how do you make a character arc like that satisfying? How do you take a character that is defined by a child's loss of his parents, that shapes everything of who he came to be, and make a satisfying conclusion?

You do it by making him a father to a child who needs him. A child who mirrors him, where they could bring out the worst in each other--and sometimes they do tend to slide into those fears getting the better of them--but instead Bruce struggles his way to being someone who openly admits that he's fallible, he makes mistakes, but he loves his kid and he is a father, that he needs to step up. I've been reading a lot of Bruce & Damian comics lately and it's been striking me how different Bruce is--he's still emotionally constipated, but he understands that he has to get in there, set boundaries, set rules, and make sure the kid knows that he's proud of them. Has to be the adult that looks past the scared kid's bravado and harsh words, to see the vulnerability underneath.

Bruce could never have done any of what he's doing with Damian currently without THIS RIGHT HERE. Without the yearning for something he doesn't know how to put into words (even when Alfred basically spells it out for him), without Dick Grayson bringing light and love into his life, without Dick being such a bright and loving child who was still scared that he wasn't wanted, so Bruce has to open up and learn to start actually saying what he means.

You don't get Bruce & Damian (or Bruce & Jason or Bruce & Tim) without Bruce & Dick first. You don't get any of that without Bruce's relationship with Dick making him put his fears into words and learning to trust his heart to this kid, step by step.

Bruce and Dick's relationship being rocky in the early days isn't a mark against how much Bruce loved that kid, but instead a sign of just how miraculous it was that Dick Grayson got him this far in the first place. Dick Grayson had to be the first, because you don't get to current day Bruce Wayne with any of his other kids without him. (Overall, this was a fairly silly comic that was very much of its era, but I thought it was a great read because it really nailed how hard it was for them to even begin to approach the idea of Bruce being a dad, he couldn't even say it at the end of all this, despite that he literally pulled the most dad move of all time by waiting in the dark for his kid to sneak back in and basically tell him he was grounded. GOD THEY ARE SO EMOTIONALLY CONSTIPATED AND IT'S SO DELICIOUSLY FUN.)

[jasontoddenthusiastt]

BFTC isn’t really a case of terrible characterization for Jason so much as it was a terrible case of victim blaming. Like yeah, some of the things Jason did were a bit extreme compared to his “better” appearances, but that’s nothing new and pretty much true of many stories that aren’t utrh or lost days. The bad parts are are also definitely exaggerated by fans.

The story isn’t centered on Jason. Of course every other character’s description of Jason would be knee-jerk dismissive and misunderstanding, since (again) the intention was to make Jason out to be the cartoony bad guy villain. But if you look past the layers of grime they added, the bare bones of his characterization are not entirely incorrect. It’s a biased story in which their intended criticisms of Jason’s morals often fell short, so to compensate they deliberately cranked up his motivations to be more extreme and unrealistic (but one which, nonetheless got Jason’s overall thoughts and goals relatively consistent with stories that portrayed him accurately).

Yes, him shooting Damian was out of character, but granted we’re all in agreement that it was a true case of “bad writing decision”, I don’t think it’s hard to look past. The only other bit people probably complain about (which felt iffy at worst) was him being “a bit enthusiastic” at times in trying to convince Dick to become another lethal Batman (you can just as easily say Jason wouldn’t have been personally invested enough to have acted in the way he did). I don’t care though because he was probably doing it for shits and giggles, and it was funny watching him push their buttons on his spare time while being excellent at his job. Same old ‘none of them deny that he’s effective, they just can’t get behind the killing’ conflict.

Looking past the fact that Jason still had a valid point, the “he’s the bad guy” plot falls apart for other obvious reasons, which happen in the 3rd issue. It’s kind of hard to focus on how much of a bitch Jason’s being when the other characters are written in an infinitely more problematic way (which ends up happening in most “hate Jason” stories). Not only did they heavily imply Jason is a victim of SA, but the way Dick/the batfamily treats Jason about this is … horrible. Arguing that this was a case of character assassination for Bruce and Dick would be more realistic than using this story to claim Jason is a Bad Person™.

Even though Bruce does have a bad track record with his perspective on victims of SA.

Hey. Maybe listen to the living person begging you to turn it off.

Geez. I wonder why he never felt safe enough to confide in Bruce or any of the rest of them. Implying that enduring what he did made him “broken beyond repair”, that he needs to be “fixed”, and saying verbatim, “you are my greatest failure”, not “I failed you greatly”. Then deciding on behalf of Jason that a bunch of people who weren’t involved in what happened to him should all know about this so they can decide what should be done. And everyone agrees with this garbage. Unbelievable.

Aka, any sort of healing he may have tried to accomplish was ruined by you lot. When exactly am I supposed to see that Jason was evil all along.

The story collapses in on itself in the third issue because where Dick is supposed to be at his prime within the arc, he just sort of rambles about how Jason was a shitty victim and then awkwardly shifts to talking about personal growth and coming to accept his own heroic destiny.

I do resent this, but not because “Jason sucks here”. Jason’s “bad portrayal” pales in comparison to the problematic mindsets given to the other characters (namely Dick) which were framed as good-natured intentions and “tough love”. As for people who describe this as “vilifying Jason to prop up Dick” … I don’t really know what to make of that.

[layla4567]

Let me take care of you

Pairing: Bruce!Wayne x Fem!Reader

Summary: You are very close to Bruce but lately he seems very distant or cutting, one day he will come to the mansion beaten and you will have to heal him.

Warnings: Not proofread, Injuries,bit of blood mention, secrets, fluff, worry/angst,

Word Count: 3k

︶꒦︶꒷︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶꒷꒦‧ ₊˚・

You hadn't known Bruce for long, but it seemed like he had been in your life from minute zero. You didn't have the pleasure of knowing him personally when he was just a child, but he grew up and met you. It was pure chance, you were late for work looking at the ground as usual and you didn't notice the people crossing in front of you until you suddenly collided with a boy with hair as dark as his clothes. He looked at you sad and apologizing profusely, you only had eyes to see and admire that beautiful serious but worried face. After that you two became good friends, you saw each other often, sometimes he invited you to his mansion. You had met his butler who soon took a liking to you. In Bruce you had found peace, a rare and pleasant serenity in contrast to the chaotic city of Gotham. And you could say that the feeling was mutual, young Wayne had found in you a light of hope, someone to cling to, it is true that he already had Alfred but he was someone already older and Bruce was afraid of losing him. Besides, what he felt for you went far beyond a simple friendship. In him he discovered a new rebirth, a soft and tender side that he never dared to show, you were his light in the middle of the darkness and he didn't want you to go out. In a city like that full of dangers, you had each other.

He had never told you about his "double life" that is, that he was Batman. When he met you and realized how important you were to him, he promised to protect you with his life. With so many villains and crimes on the loose, Bruce couldn't risk losing the only good thing he had ever had in that city of death, the only thing that gave meaning to everything. his life. You. And that's why lately he had been behaving strangely, he was still affectionate with you but you still noticed something strange and different about him.

You two had met in a park under the treetops, you were walking aimlessly admiring the vegetation, you were both arm in arm like an adorable old couple, from time to time you would rest your head on his shoulder since you were shorter than him.

"I missed these days like this". You sighed, squeezing his arm affectionately.

"Me too". He said looking at you and smiling slightly.

"You've been very busy lately, does your company demand so much of your time?"

"My company? Oh yeh, yeh, lately unemployment has umh risen its numbers…". He said, clearing his throat nervously.

You looked at him confused, was something wrong with his company? Had you said something bad? You never saw him so hesitant, he was almost always a person sure of his words. You didn't want to worry too much, he was always someone enigmatic and you loved him for that, you respected his silences and spaces. You two sat on a bench watching the people walk by, but you noticed that Bruce was serious and thoughtful, well, more than usual.

"All good?". You asked anxiously, taking his hand.

Wayne seemed to wake up with your touch, as if he had been in a trance. He looked at you surprised, meeting your worried look, he smiled, downplaying it.

"Of course, don't worry." He caressed the back of your hand with his thumb and brought your hand to his lips to kiss it tenderly.

That gesture brought the heat back to your cheeks and you smiled, sighing in relief, maybe he had just had an exhausting day, to tell the truth, your work also tired you sometimes. They continued sitting trying to bring up topics of conversation other than the insecurities of living in Gotham or the horrible crimes that were committed there. You told him about a new book you were starting to read and he listened attentively as if his life depended on it. He loved listening to you talk about things that were so mundane but that were clearly exciting to you.

"I'm just starting to read the first pages but it's already exciting! It's full of adventure and fantasy!! and the protagonist must face a mystery from his past and…"

The words came out of your mouth like an uncontrollable torrent, you gestured with your hands and your smile widened as your eyes lit up. Bruce admired your passion and charm for reading among other things, your cheeks heated by the speed at which you spoke seemed to him to be the cutest thing in the world.

"Maybe one day you can bring it so we can read it together."

Seeing how your eyes opened brighter than the sun and your cheeks turned even pinker was his most precious treasure, and it made him laugh softly. You, surprised, accompanied him with sweet giggles. When you decided that it was too cold to be outdoors, you two got up and you tenderly approached behind him and hugged him, squeezing his stomach a little to which he let out a grunt of pain. Startled, you quickly turned away, looking at him.

"What was that? Are you ok?"

His face was trying hard not to contort in pain but he had a deep frown on his face.

"It's nothing, I must have torn a muscle while exercising"

His voice seemed calm but he was holding his stomach with one hand, that alone was enough to dampen the good mood and nice moment the two of you had had. In silence they each returned to their homes.

On another occasion, Bruce disappeared for several days without showing any signs of life. You understood that he had his life and was independent, but it was worrying that you didn't hear from him for so long.

"Come on, come on answer"

You were in your apartment with the telephone in your hand and the other on your hip, moving your legs nervously. Bruce didn't even answer your calls, much less your messages. You were already thinking the worst and you didn't want to be panicked so you decided to do the only thing you could do, find out if he was in his mansion imprisoned like a mole.

You put on a hand-knit cardigan and headed out to Wayne Manor. You walked in a hurry so you arrived almost breathless at the great mansion. It was a miracle that no one had jumped you before. You knocked on the door three times and an elegantly dressed older man opened the door for you. Seeing you, a soft smile filled his lips.

"Miss Y/N, how lovely it is to see you here, tell me, can I help you with something?"

Alfred was always happy to see you hanging around Wayne Manor, many times you had even stayed over to sleep, it was a pleasure for him to serve both his master and you, you could say that you were almost like family. And if you made Bruce happy, the butler was pleased with that. But more urgent matters prevented you from noticing the warmth and kindness with which he greeted you.

"Actually, yes, there is something…Is Bruce home?"

A subtle shadow appeared on the butler's face but he quickly added

"Masterr B had to leave urgently due to work issues but I'm sure he'll be back soon"

"But I haven't seen him in days and he doesn't even answer his phone!"

You were starting to get nervous so Alfred put a warm hand on your shoulder.

"That's because he has had to move from one city to another to attend to important… matters. And you can guess that's also the reason why he hasn't used his phone, he doesn't want distractions."

"B-but..!"

"Please Miss Y/N, come in and have some tea, you can wait for him on the couch."

Almost forced, you entered the mansion with the butler's hand gently pushing you from behind to enter. Although it was not the first time you visited the building, you were always surprised by finding new details, whether it was a painting that had been moved or a new, clean carpet. The mansion exuded opulence and good taste and that always surprised you no matter how many times you had been there. You sat on the couch waiting for tea while you played with your fingers anxiously. You turned your head and looked out the window, scanning the landscape outside, hoping to see Bruce walk and return to his house. Alfred arrived with a tray on which rested a cup of tea and a sugar bowl with sugar cubes.

"I brought some chamomile tea, it's good for your nerves." He said with a knowing wink.

You thanked him with a nod, trying to smile. You cupped the cup with both hands, feeling its heat, which calmed you down a little, it was like being near a smoking fireplace, those memories made you aware. The cup was finely painted porcelain and decorated with small blue flowers and green leaves with their stems intertwining with each other. The steam from the infusion rose to your nose and warmed your cheeks.

"Are sugar cubes okay or would you prefer honey?"

"The clods are fine, thanks Alfred"

The tea seemed magical to you, it managed to calm your darkest fears and you could even say that you enjoyed your short stay in the mansion. But you still remembered why you had come there. You were about to finish your drink and put the cup on the table when a figure wearing a black coat appeared in the doorway like an apparition.

"Bruce!". You stifled a scream

Bruce was a mess, his battered face had a bruise on his eye and a cut on his forehead, his hair that had previously been combed back was now messy and fell forward a little. Hearing you distressed, Alfred arrived as soon as he could to see what was happening, of course he already imagined it, when he saw Master B standing there looking tired, his face contracted into a frown. Bruce took slow steps entering the mansion.

You covered your mouth with one hand, swallowing your tears, and ran to hug him but you did so with so much force that Bruce gave a pitiful moan, contracting his face and tensing his body slightly. Scared of hurting him more than he already was, you turned away from him.

"For the love of God, what the hell happened to you?!"

Bruce, without removing his grimace of pain, sat down heavily on the sofa near where you were. Alfred left them alone so that the two of you could talk in peace. If you needed anything, the butler knew that you could always call him.

"It's nothing Y/N, leave it at that.". Bruce said with a whimper

"Are you serious Bruce?! It's nothing?! You have a bruise and cuts on your face, what do you call that nothing?!"

The anguish of knowing that someone had hurt him made you scream in desperation, added to the fury you felt at the habit he had of minimizing everything so as not to worry you, well, it wasn't working this time.

"Please let me at least check you over."

"No, wait"

You ignored his complaints and grabbed his face softly and delicately, even so he gritted his teeth when he felt your fingers rubbing his bruise. You didn't understand what the hell he had done to end up like this, but you suspected that it wasn't because of his work issues. After checking his face you came to the conclusion that his bruise urgently needed ice and that the cut on his forehead was not that big but it needed to be cleaned or it could get infected.

"Well, I'll tell Alfred to bring the first aid kit, now will you tell me what happened to you?"

"Some thugs hit me in an alley when I was coming here…" He said avoiding eye contact.

You knew it was a lie because of how he avoided looking at you, but you didn't know how to get him to tell you the truth. You frowned and touched his arm when you felt something wet, you noticed that a part of the sleeve of his coat was slightly darker. You ordered him to take it off and when you saw his arm you gasped. He had a cut deeper than the one on his forehead and it was bleeding. You urgently called the butler who arrived quickly with the first aid kit.

"Fuck! Will you also tell me that that cut was the fault of a thug?"

"I must have cut my arm on a loose nail or glass… I don't remember"

"Sure.."

You sighed frustratedly trying to control your temper, you hated when he lied, especially in such a stupid way. A cut like that couldn't have been from a simple nail, it seemed more like it was made by a knife, you shuddered when you thought about it. You opened the first aid kit and took out everything you needed: gauze, disinfectant, cotton, etc. You took his chin with your thumb and turned his face to get a good look at the wounds. You weren't a nurse but you knew how to heal certain wounds. You wiped a cotton ball with disinfectant and Bruce tensed his jaw and closed his eyes, frowning.

"I'm trying to be delicate."

"I know". He sighed and one corner of his mouth turned up.

Luckily Alfred also brought ice so when you finished the cut on his forehead you gave him ice wrapped in a towel to put on his eye. But the worst part remained, the cut on his arm that was beginning to stain his clothes. You rolled up the sleeve of his shirt and grabbed a clean cloth soaked in clean water. When you ran it over his cut to clean the blood, he quickly removed it, complaining.

"Ouch". He growled loudly.

"Sorry, this hurts me more than it hurts you". You said sadly

"Oh really?" He said, mocking slightly with irony.

But when he saw your distressed face, he stopped smiling and extended his arm to you so you could heal him. You tried in every way to do it gently but Bruce would squirm slightly or moan and make the job more difficult. When you cleaned the wound the cloth had turned red. You put some disinfectant and bandaged the wound. Bruce, despite being hurt and bruised, looked at you with tenderness, how you took the time to heal a poor boy like him. You were so worried and focused on your task that you didn't realize he was staring at you until you raised your head, a warm smile spread across his face and it infected you, but you were still angry and that's how you let him know.

"Bruce I need to know the truth, who did this to you?"

He opened his mouth but you interrupted him again.

"And don't start with that they were thugs because you and I know that's not true.". You warned him

He looked into your eyes, getting lost in your long-lashed gaze while he thought about what he was going to say. You looked at him worriedly, waiting for an answer, a real one this time. He sighed and lowered his head and spoke in a low voice.

"Y/N I can't really tell you what I did today because it would put you in danger and I don't want that. When I met you I swore to myself that nothing bad would happen to you and that I would protect you no matter what, well if I tell you the truth that I could break my promise and I don't want to see you hurt."

You looked at him stunned by his words, now with more reason you wanted to know what was happening but you didn't want to risk someone hurting you…or killing you. Suddenly you couldn't help but think of terrible things that Bruce could be involved in, as if he read your thoughts, he said.

"I'm not involved in any shady business if that's what you want to know. What I do is something more complex than a mafia, but it's not bad at all, I assure you."

Bruce saw that this was confusing you even more and he could even glimpse a hint of fear that he wasn't sure if it was because of him or because of what he was doing. He quickly took your hand and caressed it.

"I understand that this is all confusing but you must trust me please. I assure you that I would not do anything to hurt you, in fact it is just the opposite."

Bruce gave you pleading looks and he sounded so hopeless that his silences spoke for themselves, he begged you to believe him. You pursed your lips thoughtfully and then placed a hand on his uninjured cheek and caressed it carefully.

"Bruce… I trust you, and I really want to believe you… but, it hurts me to see you hurt like this."

You sighed and he nodded, closing his eyes, feeling the warmth of your hand bring him back to life.

"It's okay, I know you know how to defend yourself. But I ask you for the love of God that whatever you're doing, don't get too involved. I don't want to find out one day through the mouths of others that you're in a hospital or…-"

Your words got stuck in your throat, stifling a sob and he hugged you. You buried your head in the crook of his neck and breathed in his perfume, that seemed to calm you down. It was ironic how Bruce being so hurt could still comfort you even though it should be the other way around. You slowly broke away from the hug.

"By the way, thank you for healing me and being so nice to me."

You smiled maternally

"Of course I had to take care of you and it was a pleasure."

Alfred, who was actually in the kitchen listening to everything like a gossip, approached with stealthy steps and proclaimed

"Oh no, I think I should watch my back or Miss Y/n will take my job.". He said mockingly playfully

The three of them laughed in relief, feeling the tension dissipate. If your life depended on it, you would take care of young Wayne every day of your life without once complaining. Bruce smiled at you even though the bruise still hurt and his face contracted a little into a grimace, you gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and he invited you to stay the night if you liked, you nodded delightedly, maybe that way you could keep an eye on him even closer.

[kimberly-spirits13]

A Good Time to Call the Experts: Justice League Dark PT. 1

IT’S SERIES TIME AGAIN 🥳

Pairing: Batman x reader

Word Count: 2,201

Warnings: Mentions of that mother jumping off the roof in the movie (not graphic), creepy shadow, mentions of the various crimes commited in the movie (running people over, killing the family, trying to yeet your baby from a building NOT IN DETAIL)

Summary: Growing up, you were experienced with magic and the forces beyond the mortal realm. You’d always been close to them, you and Bruce knowing exactly how far it goes beyond the known world. Despite there being a quietness for a long time, a magical force is disrupting the balance of peace again, meaning that you’d be disrupted again. Following a series of gruesome crimes around the world, and an encounter with a messenger acrobat from beyond, you and Bruce decide that it’s time to call in more of the experts.

The day that you came to the manor, back from the escapades that had taken you away from Gotham as a child, Bruce didn’t ask many questions as to what happened to you and where you went. He was more concerned that you were turned up with a bleeding forehead and some wild story about killing some leader. When Alfred had stitched up your wounds and given you tea to calm your nerves you had explained everything in detail.

You were taken by your parents who, apparently, were not really your parents but rather recruiters for a youth program specializing in training powerful girls. Your parents had sold you off to them for a sum of money before you were one years old and this couple took you as their own. A short time before Bruce’s parents were killed, they swept you off to some foreign pocket dimension, away from everything that you had ever known to be trained for the sole purpose of becoming an agent for the organization.

Eventually, when you were old enough, you finally had the advantage of being more powerful than the leaders there. You had taken your revenge on the leaders, killed them off, set free those that were captive to them, and escaped from the world you had been stuck in for so many years. When you had arrived to the mortal realm once again, the only place you knew you could go was back to Gotham.

When you woke up tangled in the bedsheets Bruce was already stirring from sleep. Usually when you woke up around this time of year rain sprinkled the windows of the manor. This morning was no different. As dim beams of sunlight seeped through the cracked curtains, you could feel Bruce move closer to you, if that was possible.

“G’morning” His voice was soft but still audible.

“Morning.” You laughed softly and ran your fingers through his hair.

Bruce grabbed at your sides and pulled you closer, laying his body on yours, crushing you for a few minutes. He found it amusing that you tried to hide the fact that you were laboring to breathe for the moment.

“B, you know that no-kill policy you’ve got?” You squeezed out.

“Mhm.”

“Well I think you’re about to break that.” Finally you pushed him off you just enough so that you weren’t struggling.

He let out a laugh and moved himself to be situated at your chest instead of covering your entire frame. There was a lasting silence and contentment between you two which lasted for what seemed like a long time. The only thing that interrupted it was a buzz notification that sounded from your phone. It read “League meeting at 10”.

“I’m pretty sure if we stay like this for much longer, the two of us are going to be very late.” You said looking over at your alarm clock.

It was only 8am, but considering that you two were not morning people, you needed to get moving.

“I’m pretty sure that we could just stay here for another hour. Can’t you just use some wavy finger magic and get us ready really fast?” He mused.

“Wavy finger magic?“ You raised a brow, “Here I thought you weren’t one to willingly use “wavy finger magic.””

“Only if it means another hour with you.” Bruce didn’t move off of you but instead laid there like a statue.

“Fairly positive that if we stayed in bed for another hour, Alfred would come in banging pots and pans together.” You sighed squirming under him.

That earned another chuckle from Bruce who eventually after some prodding, got up off you to start getting ready for the day. Bruce had gotten into the shower and you were busy washing your face when you noticed a strange shadow at the end of the bathroom. There was no light that would have caused the ill-placed shadow to appear there and you were sure that you had never seen one here before.

You stared at it, face wash still bubbling around your hairline from the contact it had with the water. The spray of water was loud enough in the other part of the bathroom that Bruce would never hear you muttering to it.

“Now I suppose you’re not a normal figment of the light are you?” You said rubbing the face wash out of your hair with a wet wash cloth. There was a slight shift in the shadow, “Well I hope you didn’t come here for a show this morning.”

You to raised your hand at it casting a light spell. The shadow ran itself wild convulsing and falling over itself on the marble floor. You saw the darkness drain from the spot that it was previously laid, knowing that the light you produced caused it to disintegrate. You wouldn’t mention the appearance of it to Bruce yet. It always put him in a bad mood when something was suspected to be amiss with magic. You also wanted to ignore the fact that it was in your bathroom for the time being.

When Bruce had finally gotten out of the shower you had already gotten yourself pulled together for the meeting. The only thing that the two of you needed was to pull on your suits and down a cup of coffee or two. The two of you headed downstairs where you were greeted by Alfred with the desired cups of coffee and a breakfast that made your mouth water.

“I don’t suppose that this meeting will last all day?” Alfred asked cordially.

“It’s not supposed to.” Bruce replied still scanning over the morning news, “We’re only going to review footage of the recent crime wave. Some of the Leaguers think the crimes are connected to each other.”

“Well I’d certainly hope it’s a quick fix.” Alfred looked at the two of you, “I’ve heard the family who has adopted the child from the other evening has been having a splendid time taking care of the child. It seems he will be alright.”

“That’s good news to hear.” You added, “The coroner is investigating the wellness of the woman before the incident. He thinks that there was possibly a mental disorder leading to the cause of the suicide.”

Bruce didn’t say anything, and instead continued staring at the news. You knew it wasn’t a good night for him. That night, you were working on the other side of the town because of the recent spark in crime. The two of you figured it would be better to spread out and cut down the area needing to be patrolled. When you got the call from him of what happened you rushed to his location to make sure everything was alright. Bruce didn’t let the baby go but to take off his cape to wrap the baby up. That time you were the only one allowed to hold the child. You knew he was thinking back to that night in the alley and his cause for possessiveness over the baby was because of his experience.

“I think it’s best that we get suited up.” He finally chimed in, “We should be leaving here in the next fifteen minutes or so.”

Bruce stood up and took your mug to the sink where he ran water in it and placed the cups into the dishwasher like Alfred had ingrained in him as a boy. With the look of satisfaction Alfred walked the two of you to the entrance of the cave, saying his goodbye.

You waited as the elevator stopped lowering and stepped out when the door opened. Bruce was beginning to start his brooding mood and you simply couldn’t have that so early in the morning.

“I heard Diana broke a sword against the training dummy during demonstrations yesterday.” You said throwing on your boots after getting dressed.

“Clark said she was more shocked than the interns watching.” Bruce responded.

“Well yeah, I’d think so considering that we’ve used those training dummies for so long without breaking weapons over them.” You chuckled, “She must have just used one with a metal deformity.”

The two of you finished getting ready and started for the Zeta tube in the cave. It was near the computers but far enough away that if there was an intruder, action could be taken to subdue them before they got too close. Bruce was sure of this when they were being installed. When the two of you beamed into the watch tower, there was a group of interns sitting around working on analytics together over coffee and tea. They looked surprised seeing the Batman and yourself walking in. It wasn’t that you two weren’t here often enough, there’s just always an aura of intimidation when you two walk in a room. That didn’t mean that they didn’t like you two though.

“Morning guys.” You said, “How’s it going?”

“Good, we’re just working on those stats for the energy of the tower.” The woman with glasses and long blonde hair chimed in, “I think most of the leaguers are here minus Flash.”

You nodded, “He’s always pushing it.”

You and Bruce walked into the meeting room where Wonder Woman, Superman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, and Shazam were situated. Like the worker had said, Flash wasn’t yet there. You two took your seats and listened to the chatter for a moment. Clark and Diana greeted the two of you and Martian Manhunter floated near to run a data configuration over with you. Before the meeting was meant to start, Flash came zipping in with a smile and an excuse that his alarm didn’t go off in time. The punchline was that he wasn’t late.

“So, I’m sure that everyone has heard of the recent crime spike.” Diana started, “Every crime that has happened so far has been in a similar nature. This is the footage of the crimes.”

Everyone sat quietly looking over the videos. Images of a woman running over civilians with her car, a man being detained by the FBI after passing out, the woman from Gotham jumping to her death, and other similar videos were played. You glanced over at Bruce you then did the same for you. It was as if you were talking to each other with simple looks. He was telling you that there was definitely something going on but he was sure the League didn’t have the right answer. The chime of the computer sounded off as the video paused on the woman running over innocents with her car.

Superman stepped up out of the side of the projection, “These crimes were committed by law abiding citizens.”

Diana did the same as the screen faded to blue, “They all claimed to have seen nightmare visions before hand.”

Lantern chimed in from his seat, “Any idea of what’s causing it?”

Superman looked at him, “No idea.” This gained a sigh of annoyance from the Lantern.

“The one week I fill in for Jordan, and it couldn’t be some hairy ass monster?” Lantern looked down at the table earning a smirk from Flash.

“The same pattern is repeating around the world. So, there could be an overriding factor. Perhaps a paranormal element?” Diana pressed the control switch on the remote that displayed a world map with red dots representing the sites of the crimes.

“Are you talking about magic?” Bruce asked.

Diana turned to face you two, “We’ve come up against magic before Batman. Circe, Trigon Felix Foust. Y/N is the most powerful magic user we have here.”

“Even Shazam’s powers are based in magic.” Clark chimed in before looking at you, “With as much as you’ve seen, can you rule it out?”

You looked dead on at Clark, “The criminally insane don’t need magic as an excuse.” You stood up from your chair getting ready to leave, “I recommend spending more time on the streets instead of flying over them.”

With that, you started walking out of the room. You heard the squeaking of the chair Bruce was sitting in and the footsteps following, indicating that he was trailing closely behind. You heard Lantern say something as the doors were closing but didn’t spare a glance backwards. Instead, you started for the Zeta tubes again.

“I think we need to call Constantine. Zatanna would be a good addition too.” You said, “There’s dark magic at hand. The kind that the league isn’t familiar enough with. Even Diana would be dead weight on cases like this.”

Bruce looked over at you as you were explaining, “You’re sure these cases are related somehow with it?”

“Almost certain. There’s shadows lingering around the manor again. Sign that something’s amiss beyond the mortal plane. Besides, what massive group of strangers are all going to coordinate the exact same response to the crimes committed. It seems extremely telling of something beyond insanity.”

“You just didn’t want the League asking digging deeper into it.”

“Not at all.” You said as the two of you walked inside the Zeta tubes.

Maybe it wasn’t being entirely honest about the situation. With your experience though, you knew that this wasn’t something the league needed to handle.

[robotnik-mun]

You know what’s something I wonder about from time to time?

How Bruce Wayne’s trajectory over the years must have looked to the public in the DCAU.

Like, WE the audience knows what’s up with Bruce just in general- we know that his public persona is a facade, and by the time of Beyond he’s dealing with a lifetime’s worth of disappointments and alienation from his loved ones, as well as losing many of the people important to him in life. So, for us it makes perfect sense that he’s a scowling, anti-social and frankly scary old man by this point in his life.

But then I think about how, as far as the public knows, THIS is who Bruce Wayne was to the people of Gotham in his younger years.

Strictly limited to the DCAU, Bruce Wayne is a jet setting and friendly, if slightly airheaded man. He’s honestly rather understated compared to a lot of depictions of Batman’s ‘billionaire playboy’ schtick, but all the same the difference between how he was then compared to ‘now’ would look like night and day for Gothamites. This is the same Bruce Wayne who volunteers at a homeless shelter and adopted orphaned children on at least two separate occasions after all.

I always wonder about the way Gotham’s citizens perceived the changes in Bruce’s personality as he started giving less and less of a crap about disguising how he actually is. Like, imagine getting used to this guy being the Richest Himbo in the city, and then flash forward to the present where in all public appearances he’s clearly a fiercely intelligent, intimidating man who looks like he’s never smiled once in all his life. How jarring must that have been for the older generations of Gotham or any of the younger set who happened upon pictures or footage of him in the old days?

Especially since he now acts more like you’d expect from a man who personally witnessed his parents being gunned down at a young age...

Again, We The Viewer know exactly what’s going on, but the average DCAU denizen does not. And it fascinates me to think about now and then, cuz imagine the kind of speculation this sort of thing would cause in Real Life?

Food for thought, I suppose.