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dcxdpdabbles · 4 months

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DCxDP fanfic idea: Big Fish in Gotham Pond

Based off of @saphushia art found here. . I just loved the idea of Tucker not knowing his skill level because he grew up in the boonies

Tucker gets scouted by Wayne Enterprises after he fixes a kid's computer game while in Gotham visiting Danny.

See, Tucker always known he is passable at tech- one has to be when a technology theme ghost is consistently harassing one's best friend- but to be good at something in a small town like Amity Park didn't mean much .

It's a big fish in a small pound sort of deal. That's why he's never put much thought into it. If Tucker were ever to rank himself in terms of school grades, he would say his computer skills were about a C-.

B+ if it was just coding.

His parents also don't think much of his obsession with his PDA or phones. They thought he waste too many hours on them like the rest of his generation.

It didn't matter that Tucker's technology was about five or more years behind his classmates.

The Foley were hard-working people who barely scraped enough for bills. They were never below the property line, but they danced on it often enough that Tucker knew never to ask for unnecessary purchases.

For as long as he could remember, his parents have always worked long and hard hours. He never blamed them for missing so much of his childhood, in fact he was grateful that they worked so hard to keep the roof over his head, but he did miss them.

That's why Danny's house became a haven for him. He was always at the Fenton's place because the loud, wacky family was much better company than the home silence.

Tucker knew that his family's financial situation didn't change how Danny or Sam viewed him. They had his back through tick and thin just as he did for them, but as they got closer to graduation the difference between them became jarring.

Sam had easy picking of what she wanted to do and where she wanted to go. Her parents were so overjoyed that she wanted to go to a university that they didn't even argue about her wishing to major in botanical biochemistry.

She had started house hunting in Star City midway through senior year. Her parents would gift it to her as a graduation present. Sam would live there for the next eight years to finish her degree.

Danny's parents, while somewhat eccentric, were also certified geniuses. Between the two of them, they had five PHDs and were often freelancing for companies when not doing ghost research. They too could send their two kids to college States away with housing not being a issue.

Jazz went to Metropolis to study Physiology. She lived in a small apartment but was doing well off her scholarships and parent's funding. Last he heard, she had a part-time job at the Daily Planet as a research assistant to gain some independence.

Danny wanted to go to Gotham for their engineering program. He, too, had an apartment of his own, with scholarships and equal funding from his parents. He also worked at Wayne Enterprises, but he was a receptionist. He hoped that once he graduated, he could apply for their engineering program

Not Tucker. His family could only help him get into Community College near Amity. He also couldn't afford to move out so he stayed with them, picking up a part time job to help out when he could.

Tucker is a first-generation college student so even though it wasn't much, he loved to see how his parents glowed when telling others their boy was futhering his education. He wanted to do something that paid well- and after years of patching up Danny- he figured nursing would do the trick.

Tucker would do all his basics in the community College, take a break to save up some money and then move on to the bigger schools.

The day of the graduation felt bittersweet. Team Phantom was finally adults, finally starting out in the real world, but while Danny and Sam moved on to bigger and better things, Tucker knew he would be left behind in little no-where Amity Park.

He never brought it up, but he felt a small dosage of envy the last day of summer before his friends finished packing and left.

Despite both being gone, Tucker had little to no social life even though they called, texted, and emailed often. His days blurred between class, work, and home. Even then, classes were long and tedious, work often ending with one or more customers screaming in his face to try and get free food.

His parents quickly started to nag that he should find a wife as they had married young. They couldn't figure out why he didn't want the same, even though he had no social life again.

Life became dull.

Tucker's only sparks of joy were playing online with Danny and Sam - when they found the time to log in or re-coding his old tech to try and salvage it whenever it broke down.

Soon, it became apparent that Tucker was slowly lacking motivation when he started skipping classes to sleep in and started feeling anxious when he needed to clock in for shifts.

It leads to him barely getting out of bed.

He felt horrible about it, thinking his parents sacrificed so much for him only to have him throw away the opportunities they gave him, and the cycle of not being able to get out of bed would start all over again.

It was Danny who caught on, and all but begged Tucker to come to Gotham for a weekend. He even sent money over for the plane ticket.

Tucker couldn't have gotten on that plane fast enough. He arrived early on Friday since the tickets were cheaper- and Uber over to WE headquarters to pick up Danny's keys as they agreed.

That way, Tucker could sleep and rest in the apartment while Danny worked.

Danny would finish his shift and have the weekend plus Monday and Tuesday off to spend with Tucker. When he arrived, Danny was helping a school check in for a field trip, so Tucker sat down to wait.

Next to him, a kid was growling at his laptop, frankly typing and moving his fingers over the computer's touch mouse. Tucker accidentally glimpsed his screen when the kid started swearing in a different language.

It looked like a shooting game but his lag was bad. By the time the boy pressed the buttons to have his little drone move the other flying things he was chasing were flipping though the air and out of his shooting rage.

It sucked when that happened, and since he was using WE free wifi for guests, it was probably the game. The graphics were badass, though. Seemed almost real.

"Hey try updating the system" He tells the kid after seeing the boy once again lag so bad he missed his shot.

Green eyes swing to him drenched in rage. Which yeah, Tucker knows how frustrating that could be.

"Did I ask for your help!?" The boy snaps, his words lined with an upper-class accent. Made sense since he was wearing a Gotham Academy uniform like the rest of the large school group. "Why are you even looking this way, peasant?"

"No, sorry. I just noticed the lag." Tucker raised his hand, slightly amused at the peasant insult. "I thought I could fix it for you."

The boy's face spams, "You believe you have the ability?"

"Ugh sure? I can try?"

"Here. Be quick. The fate of this city's air defenses depend on it" the boy turns his lap top to him and Tucker blinks.

Okay. So fix the game. He can do that.

And he does, quickly opening the code, analyzing the control and commands , he gets it running properly in less then twenty minutes. The boy seems utterly shock but he quickly takes control of the game and shoots down all the escaping ninjas from the sky.

"Thank you." The boy says with no more tense in his shoulders. Then he closes his laptop and dissappears with the crowd of students.

Tucker thought the kid was a cute.

Danny hands him the keys not long after and he leaves.

Never was he aware of the Boy being Damian Wayne and that the game was not a game but a actual defensive drone system that was fighting off the League of Assassins.

He only finds out how important those two facts are when Danny gets a call from Tim Drake asking if he could pass along Tucker's information because the CEO wanted him on staff as soon as possible..

Both nineteen-year-olds lost their minds after getting the call, screaming at each other in ghost shrieks of glee. They called Sam to let her know- and have her lawyers look over the contact Tim Drake sent just to make sure it wasn't a big-time company trying to screw him over.

He went to an interview three days later. He faced Tim Drake, the current seventeen-year-old CEO, Leo Noir, the current head of HR, and Jessica War, the current head of computer services. They asked him many questions about himself- some of which he felt he had answered terribly- then had him take a computer test.

Tucker thought it was busy work, so he quickly breezed through it. He fixed the problem in many of the coding for various programs, adding his flare to the final product, and after thanking them for their time, went out into the lobby.

He hadn't even reached the door before Jesssica ran after him, offering him the job. Apparently, the first two problems they had him do was the busy work. Tucker had thought they were the ones to let him get comfortable with the coding program.

Like a tutorial in video games.

The other seven were actual issues; many of their latest cellphone products failed. Tucker had solved them in an hour, which had taken the actual team of coders about a month.

"Nitey one dollar and thirty-five cents an hour," Tim tells him tapping the hiring contact. "It would be eighty hours every paycheck. You can work here or at home. Full Benefits. What do you say?"

Tucker's jaw drops. "When do I start!?"

He calls his parents to tell them he will be staying in Gotham with Danny. He tries to explain what had happened but it was all so fast that he can only babble about certain parts.

They tell him not to worry about explaining because they understand how much this means to him.

His parents help pack everything for him and when he flies back for it they, offer him hugs and support. Tucker is so glad they aren't mad.

"I sort of knew it was coming," His dad laughs. "You and that Fenton boy have always been inseparable."

"I did the same thing, you know," His mom says, wiping tears from her eyes but smiling all the same. "I moved with your father states away with little to no plan when I turned twenty too. Drove your grandfather mad."

He loves them both so much. He promises to send money- disregarding their denials- and flies back to Gotham, where Danny has opened his apartment until he gets enough for his own place.

He plans on renting a house with three bedrooms, one for him, one for his office, and another for Danny, as soon as he can. He wants to pay his friend back for everything he did and Danny deserves a bigger living space.

And for once, he'll not have to worry about money!

For once, life is looking up!

(What Tucker is unaware of, is that his parents think he moved to the big city to be with his childhood best friend turned recent lover. They don't know that the money he is sending home is from his own payroll and not Danny's. They think he's a stay-at-home husband.

Tucker is also unaware that the Bats are closely watching him in case he goes rogue. They have been slowly "causally" running into him in the city and breaking into his place to check for supervillain activity.)

#dcxdpdabbles #dc x dp crossover #Big Fish in Gotham Pond au #Tucker is unaware of his skills #The Bat's are keeping a eye on him #His parents think he dropped out to be gay in Gotham'#Danny is happy for his best friend #Sam is laughing silly in Star City #Tucker in his main character era #Is Danny in love with him? Who knows

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postpendulum · 9 months

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Some deformed jumbled mess of whatever this idea is has been rattling around in my adhd riddled brain for weeks now and I'm finally forcing myself to write it down, it is barely fleshed out in the slightest (hence, "deformed") and only the main idea is in my brain right now so I'm basically making it up as I write this so, apologies.

The Fenton parents (for whatever reason) decide that Gotham is the perfect place to spend their summer vacation, and while their there through some

💫Wacky Shananagans💫

Danny ends up meeting (omg your never gonna guess this, it's so out of this world for me, who only has one dpxdc post so far and it's this ship as well, it's so wacky and wild, blow your brains out pew pew pew)

DAMIAN!!!!!!💥💥💥💥💥💥‼‼‼‼💥💥💥💥💀💀💀💀💀:O

What the what!?!?!??!?,! WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT????? I AINT MEVER DUN DIS BEFORE!!!!!!!!

Anyway basically they have a summer romance because idk mwa mwa kissy noises gay gay homosexual gay and whathajaga

And then idk I had this that that like, I saw someone say once somethen like "damn tho the most unrealistic thing about this show is that nobody at that damn school thought Danny was hot💀" and I thought like, "damn bitch that true tho." So like idk, I thought like, I'm pretty sure its psychological fact or whatever (this gonna be damn embarrassing if that isnt true tho cuss ona my possible options ideas plans whatever for college is psychology💀) that confidants makes people more attractive, so like, ig like Danny builds confidence over the summer with you know, getting a boyfriend, Damian not taking any of that whatever bullshit idk ahjaobznaja or maybe just ghost aura shit whatever idfk whatever you want.

Basically when he goes home at back to school after summer break is over people suddenly realize "oh shit wait whys he kinda hot tho," and the fuckers like randos, maybe a-listers, whoever's just a buncha people like flirting tryna shoot their shot whatever, but then Danny's just like, thinking about how much he loves his boyfriend and how much he can't wait to see him in person again and what not. I also like to think Danny probably didn't even tell anyone at school he got a boyfriend, like maybe he even forgot to tell Sam and Tucker because he was to busy being fucking lovestruck, I mean I doubt that would actually happening and it's more likely that he'd constantly be gushing to them about Damian rather then not and I actually like that idea a lot better now that I thing about it that other one was more of a funny little side thought idk. But yeah nobody knows besides like Sam Tucker and Jazz, so yeah.

On o think that's it for me I'm done good night y'all *cue mic drop*

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solar-wing · 9 months

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⚣ Safer With Me ❌

⚣❌ A/N → Yandere! Arkham!Jason Todd. Inspired by @yanderes-galore and their prompt writing for Jason. Prompts below were selected with a randomizer wheel. WARNINGS: Abduction/Kidnapping, Minor themes of Non-Con, Stalking/Obsessive Behavior, Depictions of Violence and Gun-Use

Prompt List Here! #40: "I know what's best for you, just trust me on this one." #18: "There's no use in sucking up to me now."

⚣❌ Summary → Homeless on the streets after your parents kicked you out when you came out to them, fate seemed to take mercy on you as you were taken in by Gotham's Billionaire Playboy, Bruce Wayne. But, your stay with him is not long as someone has been keeping an eye on you. An old acquaintance of your new guardian who had a plan of getting you away from the famed CEO. Why? Because you were safer with him, why else?

⚣❌ Words → 1.8k

REBLOGS and replies very appreciated, please! ❤️

⚣ ENJOY ❌

You couldn’t figure out how you ended up in this situation.

A few months before this entire mess of a night, your parents had kicked you out on the streets after coming out to them as gay. Kind of ironic knowing the other stuff they ‘tolerated’, but whatever.

So after that, you were sleeping on the streets, doing what you had to do to survive. It’s Gotham City, so you were bound to eventually run into trouble. Some guys who were clearly drunk off their asses decided to start harassing you then Batman showed up to save the day. But he barely got a punch in before you had all three of them laying on their asses in pain.

There was a reason you asked your parents for self-defense classes the moment you came to terms with your sexuality. The world was changing, but not quickly enough.

So, the Dark Knight dropped you off at the police station where coincidentally, Bruce Wayne happened to show up and offered to take you in. You’d heard about the billionaire’s ‘hobby’ of taking in kids off the street and giving them a better life, and what more pleasing way to shove the middle finger at your parents than to end up in the care of someone who seemed to actually give a fuck about you more than they ever pretended to?

Then, the tests started. You figured Bruce was testing your skills to see how well you’d be able to take care of yourself just in case another incident happened as the one Batman found you in. They continued for a while, and before Bruce got to tell you what they were actually for, it was too late.

A few months after your move-in into Wayne Manor, you started getting the feeling you were being watched. And growing up in Gotham, you always knew it was better to listen to your instincts and be wrong than not listen and still be wrong.

A week before the attack on the city from Scarecrow, you had been on your way home walking since Bruce wasn’t able to pick you up due to some ‘unforeseen circumstances’. You’d soon come to find out all of that was a diversion so Arkham Knight and his militiamen had a clear shot at nabbing you.

When you turned down a corner to an empty street, they pulled you into an alleyway and jumped you. You did your best to fight them off, but they began to overwhelm you. Somehow, you gained an upper hand though, the goons not expecting you to be as trained as you were.

Just before you could take out the last of them though, he showed up and surprised you from behind, covering your nose and mouth with a rag seeped in nitrous oxide, putting you right to sleep.

Right before you lost consciousness, you heard a modulated voice chuckle in your ear, “Don’t worry, I got you. You’re safe with me now.”

You woke up in a dark room with hands and feet tied together and a splitting headache to match the aches around your body. You looked around to see the room you were in was empty, but you could hear voices on the outside talking.

“Why do you think Knight wanted him in the first place?”

“If I had to guess, it probably got something to do with the Bat himself.”

“Hmm, maybe. Personally, I think he’s got a thing for him. Not my place to judge, but I’ve heard and seen how protective he gets of him. Did you see the way he brought him in? Not one of us was allowed to even touch him.”

You didn’t know what to make of it or how to make sense of it. Didn’t have the time to do it either since you heard footsteps approaching the door. You listened to that same modulated voice you’d heard before you passed out giving an order to open the door.

Laying back down in the position you were in before, you pretended to be still asleep.

You could hear the heavy footsteps as if whoever this was wearing the heaviest of heaviest boots in the world. The nervous feeling in your chest grew more and more the closer they sounded. Doing your best to stay still, you tried slowing your breathing down to a relaxed pace as you felt the thuds on the ground from him coming to stand next to you, feeling his entire presence standing over your body. You prepared your body figuring he may kick, slap, or even yell for you to wake up.

You did not expect to feel a gloved hand caressing your face.

“I know you’re awake.” He spoke before removing his hands and standing back up.

Opening your eyes, you saw a glowing screen mask staring down at you.

You heard their modulated voice chuckle as he watched you slowly sit back up. “You didn’t think we’d have cameras inside watching to see when you’d got up?” He stated before gesturing to the cameras around the room.

The mysterious soldier turned around to grab the only chair in the room, moving it to the middle of the room before coming back to lift you off the ground, settling you into the chair gently.

“Why am I here?”

“I know what’s best for you, just trust me on this one. You’re safer with me than with him.”

“Him? Who are you talking about?” You asked with a puzzled look coming across your face.

He didn’t immediately respond, but you could tell he was debating on something, you just didn’t know what.

“In time, you’ll find out.” He replied simply.

“What do you want?” You asked.

“Direct and to the point, huh? Knew there was something I liked about you.” He laughed, walking to stand in front of you with his arms crossed.

“Must be a lot of things from what I’ve heard. Otherwise, I don’t think I’d be sitting here.”

“Really? Well, if I were you, I’d think better than believing everything I hear.” He said, grabbing your chin a little rough, forcing you to look up at him.

You scowled at the armor-clad man before spitting at him. You watched the glob of saliva run down his mask before the hand on your chin grabbed at your neck. You clawed at his wrists to no avail as he lifted you out of the seat.

“That wasn’t very nice. Say you’re sorry, and I won’t hurt you… much.” He said, getting very close to your face to the point you could feel the electricity buzzing off the screen.

“Fuck you, asshole.” You spat at him.

He chuckled darkly, before kicking the chair you were sitting on.

“If you insist.”

He slammed you down on the ground, your breath escaping you and your vision going blurred. He kept his hand tight on your neck while the other one went down to your pants, undoing the belt and button before attempting to pull them down.

“No!” You whimpered, trying to fight back against him. He placed his body over your kicking legs, his heavyweight managing to hold them still while he now went to put his hands up your shirt. He felt all over your upper body, even stopping to pinch at your nipples a few times, before his hand went back down to your pants, sticking them down your underwear. You cried out at the feeling, trying your best to get him off you, but the dude was like a tank, and you were getting weaker with the more time he spent choking the air out of you. He started trying to push down your pants again before you both heard pounding against the door.

“Knight! Scarecrow says we gotta move!”

He held still for a moment before you felt him release you. You gasped for breath while he re-did your pants before pulling you up from the ground. Your body lay against his weak while feeling a little lightheaded from being jerked up so suddenly.

“You got lucky, this time. But, I wouldn’t try a move like that again. You won’t be leaving anytime soon

“Batman will. He’ll kick your ass.” You groaned from the soreness around your throat while panting into his chest armor.

You felt the chuckle vibrate from his chest before he bent down to lift you in a bridal hold.

“I was held captive once too, tortured even. Thought the same thing. It’s nice for a while but you’ll get over it soon enough.”

You struggled in the hold as he moved toward the door letting out a whimper from the pain your body was still in. “Please… just let me go.” You begged.

“Aww, already giving in? Cute. And smart. But, too little, too late. There’s no use in sucking up to me now.” He said, before heading out of the room to wherever.

You watched from around the corner, a gag tied over your mouth now with your hands bound in front of you as one of the militiamen held you in place. You saw Batman come around the corner and tried to scream out to warn him but was too late as Knight had jumped from the ledge he was hiding on shooting at him.

Batman managed to dodge but was quickly knocked to the ground. Before he could get up, Knight walked over and placed his foot on his chest, pinning him down to the ground.

“Oh no, no, you’re not going anywhere, old man.”

You looked in horror as Knight switched hands with the gun he was holding, pointing it down directly at the masked vigilante.

“Tri-weave, titanium coated, armor plating. Nice. Unless you know exactly…where to shoot.” He said, before placing the gun down on his lower abdomen and pulling the trigger. You flinched at the sound, watching him groan in pain before Knight moved his foot off his chest.

“You’re good, Dark Knight. Even better than I remember. It’s going to make it even more satisfying when I kill you. Oh, and, don’t worry about Barbara. I’ll take better care of her than you ever did. Y/N too, he’s mine now.” You heard him say, walking toward where you and the others were standing around the corner.

“Batman’s in the control room. Show him what happens when he messes with my city and tries to take what doesn’t belong to him.”

Knight walked toward you as the militiaman immediately released you into his embrace. He cradled you gently even as you tried to push out of his hold. When he got tired of you fighting him, he just picked you up and tossed you over his shoulder, carrying you away from the room.

“You’re better off without him anyway.”

☀️ | Jason Todd/Red Hood | ☀️

☀️ | Masterlists | ☀️

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taggingtim · 3 years

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Why I love Pre-Boot Tim Drake and why the Reboot has ruined him

I love Tim Drake. He is my favorite comic book character of all time. I’ve been really upset the past few days about what DC has been doing with him lately, and I thought it would be cathartic for me to write something up about it. (No, this isn’t a rant about Tim being bi/gay; it’s a much larger problem than that. But I’ll get to that in a bit.) Bear with me for a bit of history, first.

When I was a kid I loved the Batman Animated Series. I know this will lose me a lot of internet cred, but I always preferred the fourth season. In particular, I loved Tim Drake. He was fun and funny and I absolutely adored him. I used to beg my mom to take me to the mall so I could buy issues of Gotham Adventures. For my birthday one year my parents got me a subscription to the comic, and I was blown away by the idea that I could have comics MAILED to my HOUSE.

Around middle school I started collecting Marvel comics, mostly X-men stuff. I loved them, but when I started college I quit the hobby for financial reasons.

Fast forward a few years, and I felt I was financially stable enough to start buying comics again. Rather than going back to Marvel, I decided to give Batman comics a chance. I had no idea where to start, and when I found out my beloved Tim had his own comic series, I thought it was a perfect entry point into the Batman universe. I bought the complete series from a local comic shop and dove in.

Tim’s Robin series was exactly what I was looking for in a comic. He was very different from little Timmy Todd from BtAS, but I loved him. I built the rest of my comic collection around him, grabbing up every book that he was featured in, from Young Justice to Teen Titans to Batman, Detective Comics, Nightwing, Red Robin, and many others. I have random books from series like The Demon just because Tim was in them.

So why did I like Tim so much? What about this character made me so excited for more? I found in Tim something that I had never seen in a comic book before: character growth. Somehow, though he was written by many different authors over many different years, Tim managed to have a character arc that is consistent and makes sense. Sure, there were a few small bumps along the way, but on the whole Tim has always stayed true to his character, and he’s developed in a way that the big name characters, like Batman, never can.

When we’re first introduced to Tim, he’s a young teen who has been neglected by his parents growing up. He’s smart, healthy, and strong, but he lacks so much self confidence and has little sense of self worth. Tim notices Bruce’s increasing violence as he grieves for the loss of his son, and Tim knows he needs to step in and help. Batman needs a Robin.

For most characters, this would be the part where Tim put himself forward for the job. But he doesn’t. He seeks out Dick Grayson and begs him to come home instead. It’s only when Batman and Nightwing are in danger and there is literally no one else to help that Tim steps up and dons the cape. And once he does, he’s constantly plagued by self-doubt, terrified he will screw up and leave Batman worse than ever before.

From there, Tim undergoes intense training. He never begs to be in the spotlight, doesn’t push to go out on the streets before he’s ready. His goal is to help Bruce as much as possible.

Here’s where I started to fall in love with him. All that self-doubt, the constant need to be useful? That’s exactly what you would expect to see from a child whose parents had ignored and neglected him. He finally has a parental figure who sees him, who values him, and Tim does everything he can to make himself worthy in the hopes that Bruce will keep him around.

This is the first example of character consistency that we see with Tim. And it continues. When his mom dies and his dad is put in a coma, you see Tim struggle to come to terms with losing the people he loves, but never had a relationship with. Tim almost never mentions his mom after her death, because she just wasn’t present in his life. When his dad recovers and decides to stick around, Tim struggles to build a relationship with him. He’s plagued with guilt because he’s finally found the father figure he needed in Bruce, but he thinks that he’s supposed to feel that way for Jack. It’s a running undercurrent in their relationship that creates distance between them for years.

This is already so long, so I’m going to try to summarize a bit more. We get to watch Tim grow up. We see his awkward relationship with his first girlfriend, Ariana. He doesn’t know how to treat her; he’s never had the opportunity to observe a healthy relationship. But he tries so, so hard. All of Tim’s relationships are awkward, because he’s never had a model of a good one. Steph is a great match for him, because she’s very vocal about what she wants and needs, and she isn’t afraid to call Tim out when he messes up, which is exactly what Tim needs.

Big things happen to Tim. He’s stuck with Jean-Paul Valley, who slowly goes insane, leaving Tim to try to keep the city in one piece. He’s infected with the Clench, a plague that sweeps over Gotham and kills everyone it touches, and barely escapes with his life. His girlfriend is sexually assaulted, leaving him to deal with the fallout. His family moves out of Gotham, and he has to sneak back in during No Man’s Land to help. His relationship with his dad has intense ups and downs, resulting in him being sent to boarding school, punished in a variety of ways, and generally caused a lot of trouble in his life.

Then people start dying. Over the course of about a year in his life, Tim loses his girlfriend, his dad, a close friend, and his best friend, each of whom dies under tragic conditions. Tim’s grief is intense, and he is understandably traumatized by the losses. We see fundamental changes in his character. He changes his costume from something bright and cheerful to something darker that reflects his emotional state. He’s more subdued, his adventures a little more serious.

When Bruce first tries to adopt him, Tim literally creates an uncle and hires an actor to play him, just to avoid dealing with the situation. Bruce has viewed Tim as a son for years, so to him the adoption is an obvious step. For Tim, it feels like a betrayal of his father, and it takes a while before he’s ready to accept Bruce’s love, home, and a place in his family.

When Damian shows up on the scene, Tim really struggles with him, and not just because early Damian is a horrid brat who tries to kill Tim on multiple occasions. Tim has always felt the need to earn his place with Bruce, and Damian constantly throws all of Tim’s biggest fears in his face—he’s not wanted or needed now that the “real” son is here, he’s not worthy of a place in the family, he’s not good enough.

Tim tries to clone Conner, his best friend. He’s lost so many people, and he’s desperate to get them back. Conner was cloned to begin with and fully matured over a very short period of time; the technology clearly exists, so why can’t Tim use it to get his best friend back? And if he can get Conner back, why not the others he’s lost? He eventually gives up, but when he eventually gets access to a Lazarus Pit, he immediately wants to incorporate the waters into his process so he can revive his loved ones. With Dick’s help, Tim eventually decides to let it go, but it’s such a poignant moment for the character.

Then Bruce dies, and Dick takes Robin away. Tim switches to the Red Robin persona as he travels the world, alone, trying to prove that he was right. He has to deal with the trauma of losing another father, finds out that his girlfriend never died but let him hurt so much for so long. His brother and the only close friend he has left both think his grief has overwhelmed his sense and that he’s gone crazy. He’s utterly alone.

The Red Robin series is such a great culmination for Tim. He finds a place for himself as a hero, as a CEO. He gets parts of his family back—Bruce, Steph, Bart, Conner. He finally figures out who he wants to be and creates a place for himself.

This overarching character development is what I love about Tim. His many, many traumas impact his decisions, and you can clearly see how he changes over time as a result of them. I didn’t even go into his development as a leader from his early fumbling with Young Justice to his strong leadership of the Teen Titans, or how his relationships with Conner, Bart, and Cassie develop so fluidly and realistically over the years.

This is why I love Tim. Characters like Batman are static; nothing that happens to them will ever have a lasting impact, because in the end the character always returns to what they were. Tim, on the other hand, has changed and developed A LOT since his initial appearance. His growth has always been consistent and logical.

When the reboot happened, all of that character growth was lost. Tim was replaced with a jerk who betrayed his friends and cheated on his girlfriend. DC has basically retconned all of this and tried to turn Tim back into who he was, but by taking away all of the things that have happened to him over the years, Tim has lost SO MUCH.

I keep looking for my Tim in recent comics, and I just can’t find him. It breaks my heart, because I love him so much, and it feels like he’s lost to me forever. The most recent Young Justice comic series actually gave me hope; I felt like maybe, finally, someone was going to write Tim correctly. He had his primary friendships back, his relationship with Steph was developing (even if they seem to have completely dropped all the development around Steph’s decision to let Tim think she was dead). The actual book itself wasn’t fantastic, but it felt like they were headed in the right direction.

Over the last few days, I read the Batman: Urban Legends books. I actually read the Batman/Red Hood story first, which was fantastic. I was really excited to read Tim’s story (though I already knew how it ended). Jason’s character was handled so well, and he seemed to actually have some character development that will hopefully last. I anticipated the same for Tim.

But Tim’s story was awful. The plot was all over the place—kids are being kidnapped, so Tim has to join a pain cult to get them back? He’s somehow helping Oracle with computer issues while simultaneously questioning witnesses? He’s broken up with Steph, off camera, shortly after telling her how much he loves her, but Steph somehow thinks that they should have a caring relationship where Tim tells her what he’s feeling? Bernard has somehow become a good enough fighter to stand side by side with Robin? Tim STILL doesn’t have a code name? Why is everyone suddenly hounding him about what he wants to do with his life?

It’s just such a mess of a story. If it didn’t end with Tim agreeing to go on a date with Bernard, no one would ever have even mentioned it. There’s nothing particularly re-readable or enjoyable about it.

I actually liked that they brought Bernard back. I really enjoyed him in the original Robin series. It’s been a while since I read that part of the series (I’m actually working my way back through it now). I know Bernard always read as gay to me, yet somehow I felt like he was out of character in these books.

And then, the climax of the story. Tim is bi, or gay, or has at least agreed to go on a date with a boy.

If this had happened in the pre-boot, when Tim was Red Robin and had an actual character arc, I honestly wouldn’t have had an issue with it. I do think it would have needed a LOT more build up than it was given here. Tim has always been a very introspective character, and we’ve been party to so much of his internal monologue over the years. It seems very strange to me that such a huge thing just sneaks up on him out of nowhere when he’s never even thought about it before.

But more than that, this story just feels like the final death blow for the Tim I loved. The whole arc is about how Tim doesn’t know who he is or who he wants to be. What will his hero name be? Will he go to college? What is he going to do with his life? These are all great questions, and his answer to all of them is… date a boy?

Is this going to be his defining characteristic going forward? From here will we just see Tim exploring and discovering his sexuality? The Tim we have now doesn’t have a family, a team, a purpose, or even a code name. Why was this the thing that DC decided to give us? It feels like they wanted to make a gay Robin and decided it would be Tim because they didn’t know what else to do with him.

It’s stupid, but I honestly feel like I’ve spent the past few days grieving the loss of a loved one. The Tim that DC is presenting now is just not the person that I knew. Tim would never break up with Steph that abruptly for what he admits is no apparent reason. He would never say “just call me Robin, since Damian’s out of town.” Everything that I love about Tim seems to be gone, and in its place DC has given me a date with a boy.

Again, it’s not Tim being not-straight that I have an issue with. I’ve never read the character that way, but it’s something I can live with. My issue is the way it was handled. Why not make Tim an actual person first, and then explore his sexuality? Send him off to college! He’s obviously thinking about it! It’s the perfect opportunity to give him his own book. He can move to a different city, choose a new name, and DC can introduce a whole new set of characters. Figure out which parts of Tim’s backstory are still canon, and which have been dropped. Make him a person again, and then let him explore his sexuality.

I know this post is all over the place, and I don’t have time right now to go back and edit it. I just really needed an outlet for my frustration. Right now it feels like there are so many people who are so excited about Tim being bi/gay, but they don’t know anything else about him. I keep seeing people comment how DC has been “dropping hints for years!” with no evidence other than “he and Superboy were really close!” I guess I’d just really like to have some dialogue with other people who are fans of Tim, rather than fans of Tim-as-bi/gay or fans of Tim-as-straight.

Does anyone else feel this way? I’d honestly like to have a dialogue about it with other long time fans.

#Tim Drake #Red Robin #this is a long one #pre-boot vs reboot #this formatting is a little weird #Batman: Urban Legends 6 #Batman: Urban Legends 5 #Batman: Urban Legends 4

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clean-bands-dirty-stories · 4 years

Text

The Best Things ~ J.V. (part 12)

A/n: I would like to apologize for not marking warnings on each part like I should have been. I get too excited to post and skip over them on accident. I’ll do my best to add them from here on! Also, I was adding the warnings as I wrote but then they didn’t save so I tried to remember them as best I could. If I forgot anything, I sincerely apologize.

Warnings: Recounting past trauma (physical abuse, homophobia), explicit talk of death, badly handling others’ trauma, light smut (foreplay: slapping, choking, degradation, daddy kink, handcuff restraining, brat/dom dynamic, punishing, teasing, masterbation)

Word Count: 5200+

MASTERLIST

The air was so thick with tension that a knife could have cut through it. No matter how much Harley was fighting his instincts to lounge and be himself - the self Jeremiah was used to, at the very least - he felt like he had to be the self he used to be. The one Bruce was expecting. Jeremiah knew Harley was trying too hard, and Jeremiah was far too easy to read - which meant that Bruce knew too. So Harley sat there trying to behave and Bruce sat there brimming with suspicion and pain and hesitation and Jeremiah sat between the two boys, wishing this had never happened and he could just escape the two brothers who seemed seconds from either running or fighting.

Echo, as if sent from God, walked into the room with a pitcher of water. They were at Jeremiah's instead of Wayne manor as Harley had absolutely no intention of being back there or anywhere near Alfred. The butler was far too good at accepting change, which meant that the man might pick up on the fact that Harley was no longer Y/n and the whole thing would fall apart. Honestly, it seemed like so much work. Harley wasn't sure why this plan was so important but Jerome was feeding off of it so Harley did it anyway because he'd said he would. If this is where Jerome lead, Harley would follow.

"So," Echo cut into the silence as she walked around pouring drinks. "How is everyone this evening?"

Harley smiled at her, amused. She was poorly hiding a sort of awkward expression that was dashed with a little humor. She was mocking them in her head; Harley could almost hear what she was thinking. A bunch of dumb boys sitting around a table unable to swallow their pride. Idiots. "Oh you know," Harley mumbled casually, shrugging. "Indulging." He motioned to his food but his words were obviously directed at the ambiance.

"Having a good time?" Echo asked.

"Not at all," Harley immediately answered with the same casual, chipper tone. Jeremiah choked on his drink as he laughed at the exchange. The humor delivered saltiness in Harley's voice and the passive aggressive mocking in Echo's had always been an exchange that could make Jeremiah chuckle at least a little. Echo and Harley were very good at banter and it lightened the mood significantly every time they went at it. After all, it was just in good fun. Bruce seemed to relax as a smile curled everyone else's lips. "So... Harley." His lips seemed to want to reject the name.

Harley's smile dropped. Hearing Bruce call him that made him uncomfortable. Not just because he was nervous about Bruce not calling him Y/n as he had all up until this point but because he had cut Bruce out of this new life very purposefully and now... he was in it anyway. "Yes?"

Echo sighed and left the room as she sensed Harley jerk back, even with her attempt to loosen everyone up. Jeremiah focused on his food. Bruce looked at Harley but Harley did not look back, instead choosing to stare at the door Echo had gone through. "Why Harley?"

That was an easy question. "When I was in Arkham, a few of the guards used to beat the shit out of me every single day to try and convince me to be straight." Harley looked Bruce in the eye when he said this, completely calm. He had long since gotten over it. "They even put me in isolation to keep me away from people who might protect me or care about me."

"Jerome." Bruce didn't form it like a question.

Harley answered anyway. "Yes. But see this is a smaller world than everyone thought and my therapist, Harleen Quinzel, became my friend instead. She's like me, but for girls." Bruce nodded, accepting that. "They couldn't kill me without having to mark me as a loss. That and they'd have lost their punching bag. To teach me a lesson, they killed her. And then made sure the TV that was never supposed to be on the news would be on the news, on just the channel and at just the time that would allow me to see her bloody, bruised, cold, dead body strewn out for the public to see. And no one gave a single shit because no crimes in Gotham get solved unless someone important is involved. And even then- well, you know first hand."

Bruce's expression grew very dark. "I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't," Harley purred, still eating as if he was talking about the weather.

Jeremiah has stopped eating. "People are really like that?" His voice was small and his eyes moved to Bruce, his hands tightening around his silverware as if picturing Bruce's face cold and dead and staring at him through a TV. Bruce felt his eyes and looked back to Jeremiah, but the red head averted his gaze to Harley instead. "I mean, people really act like that just because of... how someone loves?"

Harley nodded, swallowing the food in his mouth. It tasted like sand but he kept eating it. It made him feel powerful to while the others in the room had forgotten their food altogether. Although... Perhaps he hadn't chewed it as well as he thought because it felt as if it had gotten stuck somewhere along the way. A thick lump had lodged for a second and a sick feeling had settled in the bottom of his stomach. He hadn't thought about that image in so long... the daily bearings and the isolation and the one ray of light he'd gotten being extinguished and displayed because he had dared to be himself and therefore allowed her to do the same. Because they were different than how most people were.

"Do you know who did it?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah." That didn't seem to be the answer Bruce was expecting. "This isn't great table conversation," Harley eased, changing the subject. "But that is why I go by Harley. Do you like it?"

Bruce shrugged. "Do you still go by Wayne?"

Internally, Harley sighed. "Harley Quinn."

At that Bruce nodded. "You're not coming back are you?"

Harley laughed dryly. "You're not very good at casual, light conversation are you Brucey?"

"Don't call me that," Bruce snapped, body going stiff.

Rolling his eyes, Harley sat back in his seat. "Why not?" It came out harsher than Harley had meant it.

Meeting hostility with hostility, Bruce got angry as well. "Because that's what Jerome called me, and after how many times he tried to kill me it's not a name I like."

"Get over it," Harley sneered. "It's just a name and we're in Gotham. Trauma is kind of a part of life here. Adapt or get trampled."

Bruce jerked back. "Get over it? Since when are you...?" He trailed off, as if hesitating, before his face set and he finished his sentence with a much harder tone. "Like Jerome."

Harley felt his knuckles turn white. "Stop saying that like it's a bad thing." "It is!" Bruce hissed.

Harley shot to his feet, dropping his silverware on the table. Jeremiah flinched but Harley didn't notice. Bruce did. "Look, Jerome is fucked up and dark and broken. He doesn't have a grip on reality or know how to human because he wasn't fucking treated like one. He killed people. He was crazy and insane and unhinged and dangerous. Yeah! You know what else he was? He was understanding and accepting. He got why people lived their lives differently than he did and didn't really judge anyone, ever. He thought they were boring and chose to live differently, sure, but he lived to make people laugh and have fun. Maybe his sense of fun was fucked up, but he genuinely just wanted people to laugh along with him for once. He didn't hide who he really was. He wasn't ashamed. He didn't shun me and shove me in a corner and try to change me. He accepted who I was. He CELEBRATED me. I'd rather be with him than at this stupid fucking dinner or anywhere near you because I'm not some poor gay boy who needs saving. I'm strong and I matter and I FINALLY love myself, and you won't ever take that away from me because you see self respect and see Jerome because no one taught you that you are more important than everyone else. I refuse to sit here and let you try and turn me into some pathetic whiny brooding mess who's never happy because my priorities are fucked up. I won't be you. That isn't my goal anymore."

The room was dead quiet. For a long time, no one said anything. The brothers just stared each other down until Bruce shook his head. "Perhaps this was a bad idea."

Jeremiah pinched the bridge of his nose. "You guys are idiots." The other two in the room looked at the red head with shock. "My brother is dead, and honest to god it's a relief that he is. He's out of my life and I'm safe from him. I never had the chance to have a real relationship with him. I used to read the newspaper about your family and think that you guys were some kind of dream. Two brothers that loved each other despite everything and parents that were like... actually good people on any level." He sighed. "Obviously I was wrong. You're too busy trying to make him how he used to be." This he directed at Bruce. "And you're too busy hurting and bottling up your emotions and pushing everyone away to let anyone care about you or see the real you." This was for Harley. Jeremiah didn't stop when both other boys went to speak though. "Just shut up and make this work because you guys are the only true family you each have left. Harley, you grew up and I have to say you wear your changes very well. You're happier and sturdier and if someone isn't happy about that then they're insane. Right, Bruce?"

The Wayne boy hesitated before giving in. "Yeah. I am happy for you. I should have started with that. I just... I'm scared for you."

"Why?" Harley demanded, exasperated.

"Because I don't want you to become Jerome. I don't want you to end up like that. I don't want you to be some criminal, when you used to be the best person I knew. You said your life goal used to be being like me? No. I wanted so much to be like you. You couldn't speak about a huge part of you, but you accepted it with the knowledge no one else ever would. I refused to even look at the fact that I'm attracted to guys until you and Jerome got together and then..." his eyes shot to Jeremiah and then back. "Things happened and- and you were always so bright and happy and free. Like a bird in flight or- something." He shook his head. "You were inspiring, Y/n. Seeing you like this... it looks like you've been broken. And I just want to bring back that light you had before. When you seemed so much happier."

"I'm not broken." Harley looked at the boy who was supposed to be his brother. The boy who used to be his best friend before one lie after another had pulled them further and further apart until they were on completely opposite sides. Secrets had torn their relationship up into so many little bits it could never be repaired. They were just too different now. "I'm not lost or struggling. I'm just not... sitting there and pretending all the bad things aren't happening. The friends I have now actually like and respect me as a person, not just because I'm Y/n Wayne. I'm myself, proudly, and I wear my experiences as a reminder of what I can endure. Things hurt less. What you see isn't some poor boy waiting to be saved. It's darkness. And maybe that scares you, because you're used to hiding your darkness. But darkness, Bruce, isn't a bad thing. Darkness is what makes us who we are. Like everything it can be used as a weapon, but Darkness itself isn't dangerous. What you do with it is."

Bruce considered that for a long time. "That... is a good point."

Jeremiah released a breath. "So... truce?" The boys looked at each other before shrugging. Harley sat back down. Jeremiah seemed pleased. "Okay, now lets talk about something a little more pleasant."

"So you mean literally anything other than what any of us have been up to recently?" Harley sassed. Jeremiah shot him a look. "Okay fine whatever." He searched for some light conversation. "So you guys are like boyfriends now or what?"

That seemed to make Bruce and Jeremiah both blush and the air in the room cleared significantly. Harley pulled off being cheery and invested as he teased and prodded and asked questions and engaged. Things almost seemed like they used to be when Bruce and Y/n would sit with their parents and Bruce mentioned a girl and Y/n would go off about how he was going to be the best man or the world would surely end... but Harley wasn't Y/n and Jeremiah wasn't their parents. This wasn't Wayne Manor and as good of a server as Echo was, she wasn't a butler. She wasn't Alfred.

Under the light tone, Harley formed a plan. A plan he carried out as he and Bruce began to hang out more and more as time passed that night and stretched for a while. Jerome became nocturnal in favor of being awake when Harley finally returned at home. The boys would spend some time together and then sleep and then Harley would wake up and go out and spend time with Bruce and Jeremiah again. Slowly the time with the other boys began to cut into Harley's time with Jerome and both he and Harley were getting restless. They'd begun arguing about it.

"Stay in tonight," Jerome whined.

"Bruce wants me to come back to Wayne manor tonight." Harley sighed, an odd expression on his face. "I've finally earned his trust and am getting along with him - as much as it pains me. I think Jeremiah is talking to him when I'm not around, convincing him to behave and respect my boundaries. He calls me Harley and has stopped expecting me to be the person I used to be. I don't know, I think he'll be enough to convince Alfred though I might have to try a tad harder." He rubbed his forehead. "Soon I'm sure I'll be chummy with them again and that'll definitely lead to interacting with all of Bruce's friends - which will be a whole other adventure of its own."

Jerome huffed. "If you're going back to Wayne manor, won't Bruce want you to move back in?"

The thought had occurred to Harley if he was being honest. Where did he draw the line in being buddy buddy with his brother again? Where did he stop things? How far did Jerome want him to go? "Probably," Harley voiced, shrugging. There was a long pause. Jerome was more guarded than he usually was and it set Harley on edge. When the red head did speak, it was in a dangerously quiet tone. "Would you go?"

"W- would you want me to?" Harley was distracted by the way Jerome's Adam's Apple moved when he swallowed.

Jerome hummed. "So this is still about what I want?"

That made Harley defensive. "You think I'm dealing with my arrogant brother because I want to?" It had a biting edge to it.

"And what about my brother?" Jerome pushed.

Now Harley was confused. "Jerome I did all of this for you. To convince them you were dead so you'd be free to have some free time and then make your grand entrance whenever you wanted to. I did this because you asked me to." Jerome rolled his eyes. "You've been gone a lot. You come home... lighter. You enjoy your time with them."

"I'm sorry, you WANT me to come home miserable?" Harley sneered, his hands coiling into fists.

Jerome's eyes darkened. Harley realized what was happening. Before he could react, Jerome's hand shot out, fingers curling around Harley's throat. Jerome pressed his boyfriend against the closest wall, his face close and words sharp like knives. "You're getting angry again. Talking to me like that, as if I'm one of our dumb brothers or that blonde idiot Jeremiah carries around. You might have been gone for a while now, but SURELY not long enough to have forgotten to respect me."

Harley gasped, eyes fluttering closed. Jerome's grip wasn't dangerous but it could go that way if Harley wasn't careful. Jerome only ever got like this when he was frustrated. Usually when he was bored and wanted to do something other than sit around. To be fair, he was cooped up which was something he HATED to be. He hated feeling trapped. And on top of that Harley had been spending less and less time around the place. It was a miracle the redhead had behaved so long. Harley had spent more nights with Jeremiah, talking to Bruce so late into the night and fake catching up and playing nice that it was just easier for them both stay at Jeremiah's. Alfred had even gotten used to a simple text from Bruce letting the older man know where he was and that he was safe. If Bruce wasn't home by 10pm Alfred had come to expect that he wouldn't be back at all. It had become a sort of habit.

Perhaps Harley had been a tad neglectful.

He sighed, letting his guard down and releasing all the tension he'd gained from being around Bruce. Jerome didn't deserve this. "I'm sorry, you're right." Jerome didn't let up. "Oh so you shoot me puppy dog eyes and say sorry and that's supposed to be it?" Harley could feel his insides warming as Jerome grew closer, the air in the room slowly becoming infected with sexual tension. The sudden mood change was hard for Y/n to switch gears to, even though he was immediately eager. "You've forgotten who you belong to."

"I-"

Jerome's hand tightened on Harley's throat, cutting off any attempt to speak. "What was that?" Harley coughed a little as the initial shock took him off guard. His eyes fluttered but he could still breathe which is what mattered. "Come on, Harley. Come on, Y/n." Harley jerked at the name. "Is that what you want me to call you? Is that who you want to be?"

Harley wasn't dealing with that shit. His body jerked, arms wrapping around Jerome. He pulled hard, twisting to turn Jerome around so he'd have to let Harley go, or risk hurting his arm. As predicted, Jerome let go. Harley twisted their bodies with extreme force, pushing Jerome's face into the wall aggressively. "What the fuck did you call me?" He growled. The words were raw from his throat being a little sore. It made Jerome smile. "Answer me. Now." Harley let his free hand thread into Jerome's hair. He pulled, the red head squirming underneath him as it began to hurt. "I said, now."

"I called you Y/n," Jerome answered softly. His tone was half reluctance and half defiance. He didn't want to answer Harley like he'd been told to, but saying the name again did give him power.

Harley leaned back, pulling Jerome away from the wall just by his hair. He dragged him over to the bed. "Kneel. Now." Jerome was giggling as Y/n hurt him, getting off on the pain. "NOW, Valeska!" Jerome smirked, taking his precious time with following the order. When he was down, Y/n maneuvered his face into the bed. "Stay there. If you move, I will know and you will be punished. I will be back in a moment." He left Jerome there, ducking out of the bedroom to the trunk in the bathroom, shoved in the closet. He opened it, pushing around some things they'd collected in their time together. This was the stuff they used when things got more kinky. Handcuffs Jerome had gotten from cops even before he and Y/n were together. Rope from a construction sight. Some things were specifically from sex stores - stolen of course.

Ignoring most of it, Harley grabbed the handcuffs and went back into the room. He returned to see Jerome had indeed moved. In fact he was sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning back on his hands. He was smirking at Harley, a dare in his eyes. The red head seemed to be expecting Harley to lose his shit, but Harley didn't. Instead, he got very still, thinking. That seemed to actually make Jerome nervous.

Slipping the handcuffs into his back pocket, Harley slowly approached Jerome. His eyes cut into Jerome's soul, his jaw so tightly shut that Jerome shivered. "What, you think you're going to look at me and-?"

Jerome didn't get to finish his sentence. Out of nowhere, unexpectedly, Harley backhanded Jerome, causing the sitting boy's head to snap to the side. The red head was shocked, but found his stomach twisting with the familiar sensation of arousal. This wasn't like when he was a kid. Harley was calm and controlled - even his hit was direct. There was a safety in the way that Harley controlled himself. Jerome didn't fear him. It left room to enjoy what was happening. Harley gripped Jerome's jaw, bringing the red head's brown eyes around to meet his. "What did I say when I left the room, Jerome?" Harley not using a pet name in a sexual situation made Jerome shift nervously. Was Harley actually mad? "You told me not to move."

Harley released a breath, smirking as he got turned on just by getting Jerome to answer his question without being pushed. When Jerome was being bratty, he refused Harley any amount of control. So when he let up even the smallest amount, it never failed to excite Harley. "And what did you do?" Unwilling to let Harley win twice in a row, Jerome shrugged. Harley slapped him again. The red head blinked, breathing sharply outward as he felt the stinging on his face. "I moved."

A hum came from Harley as he stood, crossing his arms. "You know I had to punish you for using the wrong name, but it was going to be pretty light. Now..." Jerome shivered under that look - like Harley was trying to figure just how to kill him. "I'm going to take your clothes off Jerome. If you fight me, you'll get immediate punishment do you understand?" Jerome nodded. Harley rose an eyebrow.

"Yes, Daddy."

That seemed to please Harley. He stopped glaring at least. First Harley removed Jerome's shirt. Then he gently nudged Jerome, and the redhead followed the flow and laid back on the bed. Harley then removed his pants, and his socks one at a time. Slowly. Jerome felt himself get antsy. "Do you want something, baby?" Harley asked evenly.

"I'm fine," Jerome responded.

Unfortunately for him, his erection gave him away. "You don't want me to do... anything?" Harley asked again, pausing to look at Jerome very carefully.

The redhead looked back for a long time, a battle happening between the two men. Jerome lost. "Jesus Christ Harley, touch me."

That got Harley to smile. "Ask nicely J, or I'm going to have to punish you." Jerome went to glare but Harley reached up, threading his fingers through Jerome's hair and pulling roughly. "Listen here bitch, I'm not here to mess around. You're going to listen to me or you're going to regret it, understand?" They had come a long way since having sex in a cell and trying to keep quiet. Back then, Harley had fumbled and blushed a lot and been overwhelmed very easily. Back then, Jerome would stretch out, getting comfortable as he bossed Harley around - a true power bottom. Or, he would top, and then he'd get very soft and quiet and affectionate... Well, compared to how he usually was when he was impossible to please and degrading to an extent that had driven Harley insane.

Now adays, things were different. There was a huge power play between the two men constantly, and endlessly pushing buttons. What would often happen was that Harley would be a bit of a brat but otherwise let Jerome blow off steam, unless it was a day that Jerome desperately wanted Harley to "take hold and ruin" him. A direct quote from the ginger. On those days, Jerome did what he did best: he kept talking. He said all the things he knew would piss off Harley the most, like calling him by his old name. He would make Harley snap and then Harley would retaliate exactly how he wanted.

Not today.

"Fuck, you're such a baby," Jerome grumbled, rolling his eyes. "I'm bored with you playing daddy, I already know all your moves and we both know that you're just going to give me what I want anyways. You're a soft top, Sweetheart." He was smirking, proudly flaunting the power he usually had over Harley.

Today though, Jerome had pushed him too much. After all the shit he'd gone through with Jeremiah and Bruce, hearing Jerome call him Y/n had pushed him in a way that had sent him over the edge. And if he was being honest, he had his own frustrations. He wanted to run free as much as Jerome did and break things and scream as loudly as he wanted and sock his stupid brother in his face any time he dare even mention Jerome's name in Harley's presence. He was tired of behaving. He was tired of feeling like some toy. He was tired of being used. He was really, REALLY fucking tired of being ignored, too.

Harley's smile was dangerous. Jerome looked at him, unsure of what was going through the other boy's head. "You know, you have a little too much attitude for someone who's currently desperate for me to touch him. You want something from me? You need to learn some respect." Harley reached over, grabbing Jerome's wrist and forcing it toward the top of the bed. It happened so fast that only when Harley had used one cuff to get Jerome's right hand, and then had threaded the second cuff through the bars at the head of the bed, did Jerome react.

"HEY!"

At the outburst, Harley didn't hesitate to slap Jerome again. The redhead gasped, body shivering. He would absolutely never admit it, but this kind of aggression had always turned him on, when he was comfortable with the person. He'd wanted someone to be like this with him for ages, but not many people were willing to go far enough to please Jerome Valeska. By the way Harley was looking at him right now, this time might be different.

"I didn't give you permission to speak. Granted, I didn't tell you to shut up either so I'll be forgiving, but if you shout at me one more time you will regret it." He gripped Jerome's other wrist, cuffing that as well. Now Jerome's hands were over his head, trapped by the cuffs and the bar. "If you want to say something, I want you to address me first. I will allow you to continue then. Or I will not." Jerome hesitated, then nodded, intrigued by this side of Harley even he had not the pleasure of exploring before.

What came next surprised Jerome. Harley didn't take him right there, rough and hot. He didn't move slowly around and tease until Jerome wa a desperate mess of begs and whimpers. Harley didn't touch him at all. In fact, he moved off of the bed completely. He left the room even, returning a moment with a chair. Only then did he undo his own clothes, only lowering his pants enough to allow himself access his erection. He didn't even pull his pants off all the way! Jerome felt completely exposed, tied up and naked for viewing pleasure, when Harley was so far away and completely dressed.

To Jerome's intense frustration, Harley sat down on the chair and began stroking himself, eyes on Jerome. Harley's eyes were wide and lust blown, his tongue flicking out every once in a while to wet his lips. After a while, his eyes fluttered shut and his head tilted back just a little as a small moan came from him.

Jerome shifted. He was getting uncomfortable with how long he'd been hard without being touched, and watching Harley be like this was not helping. Jerome really liked to be involved in sexual acts. He had gotten rather pouty anytime Harley was caught masterbating, and there had been an unspoken rule that Harley didn't really restrain Jerome for stuff like this. If Harley wanted to be touched, Jerome would touch him. They both preferred it that way. This was ridiculous, and frankly rude. Jerome wasn't going to give Harley the upper hand. This was a low blow and he wasn't going to let Harley get away with it.

As Harley continued though, getting more into it and completely ignoring Jerome, it was becoming increasingly hard to keep his mouth shut. Trying to play it off like he didn't care as much as he did, Jerome finally spoke up. It had seemed an eternity for him, but it had actually only been a few seconds and Harley had to swallow his smile to not give himself away. "Okay Harley, very funny. Let me touch you. I'm sorry I called you the other name. You know I can do this better than you can. Let me out." When Harley continued to ignore Jerome, the cuffed ginger raised his voice. "LET ME OUT!"

"Why?" Harley growled, eyes finally on Jerome again. "Because you told me to? Because you asked me to?" He stood, pulling his pants up again. "I'm not your little bitch Jerome, you're mine. You want to kill someone? Fine. You want to steal or break something? Fine! But you don't call me by that name. You don't mess with me, because I'm all you got. If you want me to leave, you ask like a big kid."

Jerome's lips twitched, slowly rising into a smile. "Are you actually mad at me?"

Harley grinned. "No, not really." They both cracked up, losing it for a few extended seconds. Then Harley cut off and Jerome faded into quiet, soft chuckles as Harley began to speak. "I respect you, J. My little joker." He moved towards the bed, caressing Jerome's cheek. The ginger leaned into the touch, his eyes closing. He fed off of the contact, as if it was a drug or he was starving and the gesture fed him. Harley smiled softly. "You gotta respect me too. You don't have to piss me off to get me to break you, joker. All you have to do is ask me nicely, like a good boy. Do all the bad things you want. But not to me."

A sigh escaped Jerome, and then he finally gave in. "If I behave will you let me out? I want you to touch me. Please."

That pleased Harley. "That's what I wanted to hear." He leaned back a little, eyes scanning Jerome's exposed body. "I will let you out. And then it's time to play for real." His eyes glinted with a darkness that made Jerome jerk in expectation. Needless to say, Harley didn't disappoint.

Story Tags: @wanna-plan-world-domination

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thr-333 · 3 years

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Could you possibly do one where Mari/Mari and marine is/are the daughter/son of the joker?

I actually planned quite a lot for this after you asked but could never get my thoughts to make something comprehensive so I give up here's what I got!:

-Twins are Joker and Harleys kids born before the two split up(and so help me they will split up this story needs gay aunt Ivy)

-As you might know, these two clowns have another kid; Lucy. Harley left Lucy with her sister when she was born. In canon, she thinks Harley is her aunt but I would say in this fic she learned the truth when the twins were also dropped off.

-So the twins grew up in Gotham with their aunt and big sister knowing full well who their parents are; as such they make the responsible choice to suppress every part of themselves that resembles them and constantly dye their hair in an effort to avoid looking like them. You know healthy coping mechanisms. -

-Naturally, Marinette has brown hair with blue eyes and Marion blonde with brown eyes.

-Their personalities are a bit different from Mismatch.

-Marion is still a trickster and a trouble maker but this time around has Marinette fully involved and responsible for his shenanigans. He has a bit of a habit of talking to himself(or singing random phrases), sometimes in the third person; he hates when he does, so Marinette always tells him off. He’s always gets the impulse of dying his hair outlandish colors and will vehemently deny his favorite color is green.

- Marinette is crafty, both figuratively and literally. She’s smart, her mother is a doctor after all she can be manipulative to people that arent her(close) family to protect the ones she cares about. She has a deep-seated fear of becoming a trophy, an object to be put on display like her mother and so dresses the opposite and pushes away her love for fashion.

-They will always call each other Mari but if someone else tries they both answer its a nickname they strictly use for each other.

-In a world where Gotham exists it makes absolutely no sense that Gabriel wouldn't start his reign as Hawkmoth in Gotham(the place with the most negative emotions like geez) so that works out perfectly for the twins becoming heroes(Adrien can move to Gotham or be left in Paris to be kept safe your choice)

-Instead of the twins proving themselves by helping an old man up off the street they go a step further is beating up the thugs that try to rob him(all Fu’s set up of course). When they come home to find two mysterious boxes on their beds they make the only rational conclusion children of the joker would; it’s a bomb!

-Not wanting to get the police involved for obvious reasons they find the security footage(which gets the police involved in a different way) and start tracking down fu to see why he’s trying to kill him.

-And as you may recall at this point in canon Ladybug and Chat Noir are defeating an Akuma, well they're not here they’re off to beat up an old man so thats Batman’s job for the time being.

-The twins get caught up in the fight as civilians and are saved by Batman who immediately recognizes them(you don't think Batman has case files on all of Jokers hellspawn?) so that’s gonna be a problem later but never mind that for now~

-The twins track down Fu, who is wondering why they aren’t out fighting the Akuma. Long story short Fu comes back to the house with them and proves they aren't bombs giving them the miraculous.

-I’m a bit indecisive on the names. I thought Marinette would be Red Bug and Marion Black Cat(yes I know that names already taken I don’t care). But I thought Crimson Bug would work better because then their names would start with the same letters. Then I wanted alliteration like Black Bug and Crimson Cat but that obviously doesn't make any sense since Chats color is green not red-- then I realized it would be completely in character for them to call themselves that confusing everyone in the process so no one quite sure whos name is who(if you wanna write it go with whatever I just thought it could be funny)

-As for costumes Marinette's probably wouldn't be skin tight because deep down she really doesn't want to look like that but more practical armor or less form-fitting at least. Marion's hair turns green when he transforms something he freaks out about and Marinette's turns red(glowing or not either would look cool)

-So anyway they go off to defeat the akuma blah blah blah Batman seeing these two young untrained superheroes can only think of one thing: I have to adopt them. So that’s gonna be fun!

-Anyway they go back home trying to be sneaky and immediately get caught by Lucy: ”Don’t tell Aunty!”-- ”Oh I already know” (her names Delia by the way)

- So now the twins get a support system and a family that will look out for them unbelievable right? This support system immediately threatens Fu making sure he actually trains them and doesn't just set them loose on Gotham.

Anyway that's the end of my semi-cohesive plan and here's a vague outline for the fic:

1. Becoming ladybug and chat noir setting up adoption, and school(Bruce invites them to Gotham academy to keep an eye on the jokers children)

2. First day at school setting up Artemis(and by extension young justice), and own passions, Adrien is also at this school now so Marinette falls, Jason finds out falling in love with Marion

3. Becoming friends with Artemis, convinces them to give their passions a try, Marion runs from hood, some let me adopt you stuff also Jason's spite for Cat Noir

4. Skip a bit of time a few months or so, young justice need help Artemis suggest mari and mari, Marinette has a smackdown with batman about their heritage, at odds with young justice Artemis comes to their defense. Young Justice have an ‘oh’ realization on the job when Marion sings a lullaby to a scared child, now the young justice form the mari and mari protection squad

5. Doing ladybug and cat stuff batman approaches them again this time luring them into adoption with a partnership on finding hawkmoth, Red Hood and cat fight. Marion comes back all huffy and there's a scene with Lucy this time comforting them, Marion goes out to get air runs into hood marion bristles stirring Jason to meet him as a civilian, class come to visit, at odds with lila

6. Doing well at school even made a few friends when the Paris class come to visit completely under lila’s control, lila tries to slander the twins for not worshiping her only to out herself when she tells everyone they laughed at her(the twins never laugh), Jason also drops by further discrediting her, lila tries to throw their heritage in their face but they get support openly working with heroes as civilians, this little section ends quite happily with them being sort of accepted at school and batman tolerating their existence for not attacking the person who tried to make their life miserable

7. Time skip few years out of high school now, ladybug and cat are working well with gothams vigilantes widely considered part of the batfam even if no one knows each other's identities. As mari and mari they are doing good work mainly outside of gotham. Marinette is starting a fashion boutique with a little financial help from Wayne enterprises she also does costume design for heroes and villains, villains mainly because she can't stand their current outfits. Marion quite likes his music but isn't sure how he will feel in the public eye is great friends with Jason and the skip picks up with them officially starting to go out identities unknown. They are still hesitant about their identities in civilian life Marinette starting her business under a false name and Marion cant start his because of his heritage. Jason officially has to admit they are going out to the family is met with grilling by aunt and sister, joy by harley once she tries giving them sex advice they leave, his brothers tease and both are tense about Bruces reaction but he begrudgingly accepts. Are out as ladybug and Cat still snippy with hood but it’s not as bad they are closing in on hawkmoth. Go to hang out with young justice as well they aren't well-liked in Gotham but they’re fine with that(not really)

8. NOW things can go to shit joker finally has enough of them deciding to get a hold of them but I think it should be as ladybug and chat revealing their identities to the world. The twins are terrified rightfully so. Get saved now it’s weird between hood and marion, marion feeling betrayed Jason knew who he was and knew who his father was but still decided to date him and he just can't understand why. Adrien was so scared for Marinette and now they both have to work out why. Gotham is at odds the heroes they admire are born from a villain they fear. Bats are a bit weird feeling like they were tricked while also kind of acknowledging the twins are good people

9. Harassed in their everyday life now the twins go to young justice where they get met with awe for being established independent heros, bats there are acting weird but the twins say something to shift perspective leaving to let them mull on it. Jason tries to apologise saying he doesn't see Marion like that blah blah Marion has a breakdown asking how he can be anything but a villain. Marinette's having whiplash going from loved to hated and still dealing with the trauma of seeing her father. They snap. In public a big ol scene and they get akumatised everyone sees it, it’s on tv. Hawkmoth comes out to get their miraculous the batfam can’t beat him. He’s monolouging probing at their deepest fears when they snap back to reality realizing none of it’s true every part of them has worked to be good people and they are they don't hand over their miraculous beating the akumatizaton and beating hawkmoth while akumatised.

10. They are released from the hospital a few days later, getting hesitant recognition on the streets. It's not thunderous applause but it is something. Their family comes to pick them up, Adrien is crying to Marinette about not scaring him like that(her family took him in when Gabriel was revealed). Marion gets picked up by Jason they patch things over. They get accepted into the batfam and work as ladybug and cat for everything. Marion decides to start playing music and Marinette reveals her face to her fashion brand.

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doks-aux · 3 years

Text

Yet another Arrowverse ZsaszMask headcanon dump from the priv Twitter. Some sft, many more not. A few were edited for clarity since they were originally in reply to my partner in shipping crimes over there. Content warnings under the cut.

Contents: anal sex, oral sex (fellatio), cuddling, fluff, and brief mentions of dick size, daddy kink, and crossdressing.

Arrowverse: Roman laying face down on the bed after a long day and softly groaning while Victor kneads the tension from his neck and shoulders.

Arrowverse Roman learning that he's loud in bed when he's actually enjoying himself.

He tries to be quiet, but it feels so good, and Victor just keeps encouraging him to be vocal.

Arrowverse Roman fantasizing about Victor bending him over his desk in his office.

Shyly confesses to it to Victor in bed days later because he can't stop thinking about it.

He won't risk actually doing it, but they roleplay the scenario in the office space in Roman's apartment.

I think something Arrowverse Victor likes about Roman is that he doesn't actually need Victor to take care of him. He can take care of himself and has his whole life. But he trusts Victor to do it. He wants to let Victor do it.

No one's simply wanted Victor around in a long time.

I wonder if Arrowverse Roman would be publicly out 🤔

On the one hand, he'd probably be of the opinion that's nobody's damn business, and he's from a generation that would have a lot of shame attached to that.

On the other hand, this is Gotham, where people are too distracted by the guy robbing the bank with an ice gun to really care if you're queer.

Coming out probably contributed to his divorce, so maybe he would've preferred to own it rather than have it dug up in a tabloid or more malicious rumors be spread. Hmm.

I haven't decided the size of Arrowverse Roman’s dick in numerical terms yet, but there's a reason the Victor in my AU's first instinct was to ride it and try to call him Daddy.

I decided Arrowverse ZsaszMask met because they're all at some rich asshole function, and a drunk acquaintance of Roman's thinks it's hilarious to introduce him to Victor to solve his problems. (Roman doesn't want to kill anyone. He's just divorced and sad and misses his kid.)

It's awkward and Roman wants to go back to being drunk and sad in the shadows, but Victor's so charming and observant and... attentive?

Honestly still trying to determine Victor's interest, but in the beginning it can be as simple as being horny and Roman having pretty eyes.

Maybe he tells Roman he has pretty eyes. Maybe no one's ever told him that.

When a serial killer starts flirting with you and invites you to meet him in his room and no of course not that's crazy oh wow you are getting on the elevator okay.

More baseless Arrowverse Roman headcanons! Because I deserve to have this!

I think Roman did love his wife. Not in love with her, but he probably thought he was because it was as close as he'd ever felt to it before. (He worried there was just something wrong with him, like his parents always said, something that broke when the doctor dropped him.)

And getting married was just what you did. And he liked being married. He liked the companionship, having a partner, someone to hold at night, not being alone.

He was never really into the sex, at least the act itself. The intimacy was nice, the cuddling was great, the kissing was fun. But he was never interested enough to even initiate it outside of trying to have a kid.

Not sure what the "oh fuck, i'm gay" moment is and whether it's a complete revelation or there had been hints along the way that he just didn't recognize or chose not to.

Arrowverse Victor coaxing Roman into riding him for the first time and guiding him through it.

"Don't just lie there and take it, baby, show me that you want it."

(The following tweets were in response to being asked about Arrowverse Roman’s first time bottoming for Victor.)

I haven't! Mostly because I haven't figured out the details yet. This is a significant moment for Roman, so I need to get it just right.

But what I do know is that it's their second encounter, and it's at the same hotel as their first. (I honestly don't know if Roman managed to go the rest of the weekend without seeing Victor again. He could not stop thinking about him.)

Victor's reassessed his approach since the last time and is pre-emptively smug about taking a billionaire CEO's cherry. He wants Roman to spend the next several business days thinking about his cock.

He's a romantic about it though because that's clearly what Roman's going to respond to best. He blows him first to help him relax. Roman probably doesn't last long with that.

Roman's on his back because Victor wants to see his eyes when he's inside him.

Roman's very cuddly and clingy after, and Victor kind of likes being looked to for comfort like that. He realizes he's probably gotten Roman overly attached to him already, but maybe that's not a bad thing at all.

Hmm. Arrowverse Victor cuddling with Roman after sex. Plays with Roman's hair while he takes a call for a new target. Romance.

Arrowverse Victor crooning "Hello, handsome" when he gets Roman's pants off.

I like how my response to a version of live action Roman that is more competent and intimidating than BoP's is to objectify him EVEN HARDER as a trembling little sub.

I just know in my heart of hearts that Victor needs to rail him while he's wearing a pretty little dress.

...On further consideration, all Victors should do this to all Romans, actually.

Poor Circe came back to life just to have to hear her dad getting his brains fucked out every night.

Circe waiting for him at the table one morning. "Dad, sit down. We need to have a talk about soundproofing."

Arrowverse Victor calling Roman all manner of ridiculous endearments and pet names, and Roman melting for each one.

Hmmmmm. Arrowverse Adoption AU Roman raising his four daughters and meeting Victor?

I'd have to fuck around with the ages some, but…

Or maybe he simply raised them to adulthood, and now he's empty nesting hard.

The girls trying to convince him to start dating again.

"Mary's in med school now, Dad, you're out of excuses."

Meeting Victor might happen more or less the same, and he's charmed into the bed of a handsome, attentive stranger.

Dunno if Victor would still be an assassin or what he'd do instead. The important thing is that dick changes Roman's life.

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trellanyx · 3 years

Note

your jonathan crane (who i love so very much) and numbers 1 through... oh, lets say 25 ;)

(Send me a character and a number)

Have I told you how much I love you lately, Lizard? Because I do. Oh yes I do. 😂

Word vomiting about my Jon in 3, 2, 1...

1) Something this character is truly proud of.

His work, of course. Not just the toxin, but the breadth of his knowledge, his experiments, his successes and vengeances. Jonathan is an expert in his field, and considering what he went through to get there he’s damn proud of it.

2) Who they want to please the most.

Jonathan Crane does not give a single solitary fuck about what anyone thinks of him. The only satisfaction he cares about is his own. Considering how high his standards are, that’s a big enough challenge already.

3) Who depends on them.

No one. Jon may make you think you need him if that serves his end goal, but other than that he keeps his distance. If you’re in a position where you actually depend on Jonathan Crane’s services, you’re fucked.

4) What they would do if they had one month to live.

Work feverishly to A) preserve his work and B) push it as far as it can go before his body betrays him. Jon would be pulling such long, intense hours that it’s quite possible he’d drop dead before the month was up from sheer exhaustion. If he doesn’t, then he takes his magnum opus and goes out with a hell of a bang.

5) A cherished personal belonging.

Nothing. He has things he likes more than most: a tortoiseshell watch, a spring-loaded gun, his sturdiest boots, his sharpest scythe - the whole fear gauntlet, actually, impractical as it was - but nothing he’d go as far as to say he cherishes. Everything Jon owns is expendable, and no matter how attached he might be to something, there’s nothing he wouldn’t chuck in a fire instantly if he needed to.

6) Something they lost, but would love to have back.

“Unlimited access to test subjects wrapped in a stable paycheck. Arkham’s much more fun on the other side of the straitjacket.”

7) This character’s favorite character

I give up. It’s been days. Days that this post has sat in my drafts while I tried to think of this asshole’s favorite character, and I’ve got nothing. I’ve come up with a couple of disparate headcanons involving Jon and fiction in general, but I have no answer for this one. I offer this as a placeholder: “He doesn’t have any because he’s a contrary and insufferable bastard.”

8) What kind of car they would drive.

Dark, boring, older than sin. The gas pedal is the most abused piece of equipment in South Gotham. There’s a stain on the backseat floor that Jon says is coffee, and no one is brave enough to question him. Edward refuses to be seen dead in it. One day Jon’s gonna take that as a challenge.

9) What calms them when they are upset.

It really depends on the type of distress that it is. The basic scale is this:

Drumming his nails against things, or just tapping against the nearest flat surface if his nails aren’t long enough. (Common response to most grievances.)

Stepping outside for a smoke. He goes back inside when he either feels better or runs out of cigarettes.

Pacing inside or stalking through the streets like he’s on his way to kill somebody, taking small, petty pleasure watching people jump out of his way.

Stewing in a corner with a bottle of strong alcohol.

Actually killing somebody.

10) How they deal with pain.

Grits his teeth and bears it. The first lesson he ever learned.

11) This character’s favorite piece or pieces of clothing.

As Scarecrow: His plague doctor mask, which replaced the traditional burlap after he stopped being able to feel fear.

As Jon: Custom winter gloves with longer fingers to accommodate his nails in the winter.

12) How they sleep.

I’ve talked about this before, actually! Here’s the quote:

Since he suffers from chronic insomnia and chronic I Have No Idea What Healthy Habits Look Like, Jonathan doesn’t go to bed very often. He’s more likely to pass out wherever he is - couch, desk, once on a morgue slab (don’t ask)… But when he does sleep in a bed, he tosses and turns a ridiculous amount. It’s not that he’s having nightmares (though with the way he moves, how could you tell), he just has a hard time getting comfortable. He’ll turn over at least 3-6 times before falling asleep, and he’ll keep shifting even after he does. It’s very common for Jonathan to fall asleep with three blankets and wake up with only one.

13) What kind of parent they would be.

*hysterical laughter* NO.

14) How they did in school.

He struggled with it a lot. Not because of a lack of intelligence or drive, but because:

Constant undernourishment and late night punishments made it difficult for Jon to stay awake in class. (His insomnia didn’t develop until he was in his early 20s.)

His homework was often late or mediocre because Jon did it after being beaten or kept busy with his grandmother’s laborious demands, if he was in a state to do it at all.

Jon’s glasses were almost never up to date. Constant squinting compounded by what Jon now knows were chronic migraines made class not only difficult to concentrate on, but physically painful.

Bullying. I don’t think I need to elaborate there.

Jon barely eked out a GPA high enough to get him into a local community college with the help of a scholarship targeted toward low-income families. Once his grandmother and bullies “helpfully” left the picture and Jon could focus on eliminating the obstacles above, he threw himself into his studies like a man possessed, and by the time he graduated, he’d secured himself entry to a post-baccalaureate program in Gotham. He used that as a stepping stone to med school and the rest is history.

15) What cologne or perfume they would use.

Jon doesn’t like either. His only indulgence in the smell department is almond-scented soap.

16) Their sexuality.

It varies depending on what version of him I’m playing, but it’s always either bi or gay.

17) What they’d sing at karaoke.

Something slow, creepy and mournful, probably not even on the set list, while he stares at you unblinking and makes you regret every decision in your life that helped force him onstage. You don’t ask for an encore.

18) Special talents they have.

Jon is double-jointed, a great whistler, sews all his costumes and is an adequate mechanic. See the “should be dead twelve times over” car he still drives. He’s also a better swimmer than people give him credit for, something that’s saved his life more than once.

19) When they feel safest.

In front of a fireplace. Jon can’t really explain it, nor does it make sense considering how much he hates heat in general. But there’s something about sitting in front of a fire that really relaxes him. (Don’t bother with the scarecrow/fire jokes, he’s heard them all.)

20) Household chore they hate the most.

Bathrooms.

21) Their fondest childhood memory.

“Killing them.”

22) How they spend their money.

Books, chemicals, caffeine, alcohol, weapons. And then living essentials. Maybe. Depends on how low he is on nicotine. (Jon’s spending habits are so predictable it became a running joke on campus, what did you expect.)

23) What kind of alcohol they drink.

He’s not picky, but nothing beats a finely aged whiskey. He’s also partial to Black Russians.

24) What they wish they could change about themselves.

Useful as it can be, Jon regrets the loss of his ability to feel fear. He also wishes he didn’t get migraines so often. Nothing on the personality front, though: Jon knows what he is.

25) What other people wish they could change about them.

Oh honey, there’s not enough hours in the day to list all that.

#lizard-hair #batman #jonathan crane #my headcanons #ask #i hope it was worth the wait bb #again THANK YOU #i could talk about my version of this asshole all day long

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nightcoremoon · 3 years

Text

so for the first time I saw batman: the killing joke.

...

it was okay I guess. but massively overrated. I expected some fucking masterpiece of cinema but instead it was just two unrelated short films that were more style and flash than substance.

so first off, barbara's storyline was mediocre. franz wasn't a compelling villain; just a creep, and a trust fund brat. oh wow he's a mafia kid who stole his family's fortune by hacking. if it was the falcone family I'd have cared more but it wasn't so it's just some faceless deathfodder rando. who gives a shit. the whole situation was just a vehicle to shove batman's dick into babs. which kinda fucks over bruce's character here and judging by the timeline kinda makes him a bit of a groomer, yikes. bruce and gordon have known each other since bruce was a young boy and we know that bruce is way older than babs so yeah bruce totally knew her from birth until present day, he literally utilized an active power dynamic to police her crimefighting activities, and he should have fucking known better and stopped her when she kissed him because it would (and did) compromise their professional dynamic, but hey, batdick. and at least barbara recognized that she was behaving emotionally rather than logically when it came to bruce and paris and took the high road out. that would be a serviceable standalone episode to write her on a bus in a serialization but THIS IS A MOVIE. so for a waste of an already short runtime it's like having an appetizer before your meal but instead of something like a crab cake before stuffed flounder, you get greasy onion petals that are more fried batter than onion before getting a well done cheeseburger that's just a glorified hockey puck on a sponge with a kraft single on top. the animation and vocal delivery were excellent of course, not gonna disparage that aspect, so it was well made, but the writing was just not very good. a polished turd. quantic dream must have developed it then because it feels like I watched a david cage production.

so in a 78 minute movie, five of which were the credits, we had a half hour Disney/Pixar short except those bring joy and this brought boring. also there were a lot of shots of her ass tits and underwear that were obnoxiously male-gazey and there was a token gay for the sole purpose of dangling a carrot on a stick for the queers. look kids, warner brothers and dc comics cares about the lgbts! give us money! a waste of time before the real reason why anyone came to see the movie that literally only exists to pad out the runtime to make it a feature length (even though paying a full ticket would've been a total ripoff because, again, IT WAS ONLY 78. even 9 was 81 minutes long and that had an amazing storyline so I forgave it, but 78 minutes? ugh.

also, GOTHAM RAGE??? CRINGE. SO CRINGE.

alright now for the joker segment.

*ahem*

what the fuck? that sucked! *throws tomato*

mark hamill and the joker's lines and the art and the cinematography and the choreography was all good and the plot was cohesive. I get it.

but holy shit was the writing weak as fuck.

okay so some rando breaks the J-ster out of Arkham (already unlikely but ugh whatever), he didn't turn a trick or recruit or anything, he just went to purchase a carnival. or, steal one. but wait, he DID recruit, but he went to get all of the stereotypical Circus Freak™ stereotypes. little people, fat lady, bearded lady, wolf man, strongman, diaper man (wait, what?), and the two headed woman. I guess if you don't really think about why all of them were super readily available in the outskirts between arkham and gotham [i just realized they both end with -am] then it makes enough sense. and then literally right after that HE RECRUITS SOME GUYS TO HELP HIM KIDNAP GORDON. and then strips and photographs barbara. um. ew. you can tell the writer and director were men. Alan Moore is constantly molesting women in his comics and this one trick pony should be put down already. but whatever. the plot is weak and it only gets saved by the flashback sequences.

oh.

oh no.

they're not that great.

he's a failed unfunny comedian who just wants some money to move his wife to a better house so he turns to thievery with the mob. OR YOU COULD JUST STOP GOING TO THE BAR AND BLOWING IT ALL ON BOOZE. I mean the cops knew where to find him after all so clearly he's a repeat customer (or moore is a bad plot writer who relies on convenience and shut the fuck up and don't critically analyze it). alright so he gets wrapped up in the mob to perform a heist on a playing card factory. GET IT, BECAUSE HE'S THE JOKER??? and he uses the moniker of the red hood to retain his anonymity. I expected the mobsters to be working for francisco but no the paris storyline was only cooked up screenplay for passing the runtime so why would they do something clever and interesting and make the film cohesive? that'd be really stupid to make the movie feel more like one movie and not two short films. at least when grindhouse & planet terror did it they advertised themselves as an anthology film. whatever. he falls in the vat of acid which melts the red hood to his face and I gotta say that's actually a pretty good idea to get his face white and his hair green and his lips red. I like that part. oh wait I forgot about the most important part! his wife gets shoved in the refrigerator. OH WOW THAT'S JUST SO COMPELLING AND ORIGINAL, TOTALLY NOT SOMETHING THAT ALREADY HAPPENED TO GREEN LANTERN. TWICE. although she wasn't literally shoved into a literal refrigerator like alex was. rip in frozen pieces you absolute legend of a trope namer. alright, so... so the joker is sad because his wife died. you know, the wife we saw for two minutes and knew the moment we saw her drenched in sepia she was gonna die. and she died offscreen. kyle's gf died and he was fine. gordon's wife died and he was fine. batman's parents both died and he was fine. oh boo hoo someone I love died! fuck off. I am so goddamn sick of people trying to justify their evil with "I was sad once". it's a stupid trope and it's not compelling. the only valid version is doctor doofenshmirtz' evil(er) version in the PF movie because it's hilarious that it's because of a toy train because that's the emotional depth that fridgewomen is treated with in all of these storylines. but at least batman said so. oh yeah, I almost totally forgot, batman's in this movie.

batman punches people and nonlethally takes them out. by suffocating them and letting them get stabbed and throwing them into pits of spikes and HEY WAIT A GODDAMN SECOND! okay let's just ignore that bit and hope that the little people squeezed between the gaps in the spikes and the strongman could breathe in the face mask and the two headed women had KO gas and the fat lady was fat enough that the knives only stabbed her cellulite. it wouldn't be the biggest reach one would have to make in watching this fucking disaster of a plot mess.

now I did like that it was actually batman, and by that I mean he gave a shit about the insane because he recognizes that mental illness is not a cause of dangerous or criminal behavior, just a potential exacerbating factor if it wasn't treated. yeah he brutalized mobsters and crime lords but they were mostly in self defense while gathering intel. he politely asked sal maroni and the sex workers for information and they gave it to him without violence- he manhandled maroni but only after he reached into his pocket for a cigar which could've been a gun. also batman says sex work should be decriminalized if only by not ratting them out to the cops. he was a genuinely good person in the second half of the movie. too bad it was ruined by the shitty first half that made him a borderline groomer.

joker's song was... bad. mark hamill performed his ass off but the song wasn't that good. it just tried to be willy wonka if he was a voyeuristic monster. oh yeah have the only girl character be paralyzed stripped and photographed only to give her father ManPain™. again... the fuck? joker and batman were both gross but, again. male writers. if it was a one-off I could drop a thermian argument because, alright one and done makes sense, especially 1988 standards. but it saturated and soured the entire goddamn movie because of abhorrent pacing decisions. so you're goddamn right I'm gonna bring it up twice! joker was a creep, his plan was dumb, nolan and burton and lord/miller and even ayer had better motivations. YES I AM SAYING THAT JARED LETO'S JOKER HAD BETTER WRITING THAN MARK HAMILL'S JOKER. not nearly to the level of ledger nicholson or galifanakis but hamill didn't have a lot to work with here and I maintain that his performance was amazing; honestly I like his the best out of all of them but just... not here. but I think I can cut some slack to firelord ozai and luke skywalker even if he just phoned it in here which he didn't. writing was just weak. and that's all there is to it. don't anon me and threaten to remove my bones ok?

alright so batman and joker fought and joker got the upper hand and was gonna kill him but it was a prop gun. haha. they had a heart to heart and batman tells joker that he wants to help him get better, even after joker killed robin and molested barbara and traumatized gordon and did countless other travesties, he still said he would help. but joker said no, and told a joke that was good enough to make batman laugh. and then the credits rolled.

...

what a completely pointless and empty ending. oh it's deep and meaningful and poignant? ok sure, I guess, movie, but you didn't earn that. shyamalan did the same thing a dozen times. that doesn't make him any less of a shit writer.

I can understand the concept of batman laughing at joker's joke, humanizing him.

I get it. I see what they tried to do. I respect it.

but this movie was massively overhyped and overrated and I expected it to be so much better than it was. but overall to me it was just another batman cartoon to throw on top of the pile. maybe it was influential to graphic novels. maybe it shaped batman into what he is today. it published right as tim burton's movie and I can respect its place in the pantheon of comic history. but sometimes things that are classic...

aren't that great.

citizen kane, casablanca, the maltese falcon, the treasure of the sierra madre, gone with the wind, singing in the rain, all of them are classic and legendary pieces of art. but they're just not that good, interesting, appealing, watchable, or FUN. they were good at the time- I mean come on we all know them today- but on going back you'd have to really appreciate the finer details to still love the movies today. and this belongs there, in the vault, to be appreciated from afar. influential if dated.

but god am I still disappointed nonetheless.

TL;DR

it was just okay. had some good ideas, had some really bad ideas, had some ugly stuff. overall mediocre. first half 5/10, second half 7/10, overall 6/10.

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amomentintimeblackcattales · 3 years

Text

A Moment in Time - Descending in The Darkness

Descend of the Darkness

Fanfiction.

Pairing - Darkseid/Batman Bruce Wayne

suspense/mysteries/police/action/adventure/space/sci-fi/lemon/explicit/pwp/romance/yaoi/gay

comic

batman/new goods/ justice league

resume:

I don't know if it was once, it was in the battle of the dark multiverse alternative versions, discover countless hidden secrets and mysteries, he returns, plans, games with the hidden beings of the multiverse, does he win, the prize? travel through the multiverse, back, in conspiracies and plots, prevent future from happening, starting to relate to Darkseid have sex with him, both have plans, the new god having his own your plans, conspiracies, manipulatives and possessives desires PWP

Chapter - 00001

During their marriage, which lasted 6 months ...

It was a period when he faced the dark world, and saw something that only the other versions would see, it changed his pragmatic mind into something more interesting to see and do ...

Bruce realized that he had trouble relating, his connection with CatWoman, he realized that it was more ... Sexual, not emotional, he had difficulties connecting, so he went to make a plan to end this situation between them .. .

Some time later...

Bruce had to save the world, sometimes he hoped that Selina was relatively well in the mansion, or looking at the cave, but that's not what he found ...

When he arrested those villains, tied towards the police station, arriving at the cave with the batmobile ...

Alfred was waiting for him.

- There's a problem, sir. - Said his faithful butler, he had just arrived from a mission to rescue Kara from Apokolips, he felt guilty, and wanted to talk to the butler, but the air of the issue, made him stop and stop his thoughts and guilt.

- What there was? - He asked.

- Selina was arrested. - Said Alfred, he realized that by the air of the word.

- Why was Selina arrested ...? - Bruce asked walking towards his old friend.

- She was stealing. - Said Alfred.

- What? - That was the worst ...

Bruce was at the police station a few hours later, he asked to enter the interrogation room, hours after she was released.

Being able to say that what the police did not do, Bruce did, without being guilty of domestic violence of aggression against women, much less feminicide, he had Amasteus by his side, making it clear that nothing he did would come out of there.

Being able to say again, that she cried with pain and he with rage.

- You don't pay attention to me. - Selina shouted.

- Women do not go out on the street for there to steal because their husbands do not pay attention. - Bruce said.

- You lost our son. He shouted.

- My body my Rules. - Said Selina.

- Not when you have a baby inside. - Bruce said.

- Since we are talking about my body my rules. - Bruce said, when he received a spit, after being slapped in the face.

- You want attention. - Bruce said roared.

- Then, I'll pay attention. - Bruce said.

Then Bruce was turning her on his knee to spank her, he just didn't do it anymore because when he took off his pants belt to hit her, which was not the drop, in the middle of Selina kicking, and trying to escape to getting punched in the face, so that, in and of itself , was the last straw.

In the end, she came out crying from there, at that moment, there was no evidence, bribing police and the justice to cover up her lack of control.

At that time, when she was caught in the act, and he didn't even think to get her out of there, the anger and betrayal were greater, in fact, he talked to Amasteus, an old lawyer from his parents' time , he helped him to cover up the beating.

In the end, no one believed her, when she shouted that she was beaten by her husband, they put it in the crime exam that the injuries were all due to falling through the roofs in the middle of the escape.

The divorce papers arrived when Selina was still awaiting trial in jail, this time, he would make sure she stayed there for at least a year ...

Reports said that Selina had a fit and almost ate the divorce papers.

He had his escapades, but he was not caught, Bruce should know that nothing between them would work, which even what Selina did, helped and gave an excuse for ending.

It was six months of an unhappy marriage in general opinion, not that it was bad in fact, but there were rumors, that the divorce was quick and fell in the mouth of the people, the media fell on them, all because Lois leaked in some way that he never came to understand.

There were those who appeared there in the middle of the trial, claiming that she was Selina's lover, from villains to pickpockets, who had occasional deals , which in the end became a circus, he was the horn, all of that, all the secrets of what she was supposed to did on your back.

All her secrets she was supposed to have been unearthed, for him and Amasteus, thankfully that Alfred traveled, practically drugged and put on a plane with a security guard to prevent him from returning before two years.

It was in general opinion, a quick marriage, unlike Selina, who was caught in the middle of a robbery, along with two more villains, was the Cat man and the calendar man .

In addition to Nocturne, who managed to escape, but were caught by Batman in his escape , which he did on the way back, when he arrived from Apokolips, when he least expected it to happen so soon.

Selina, in turn, fell between alleys, when a policeman, shot in his direction.

Without knowing it, he could have caught her, halfway to Gotham, on his way back.

Incredible as it seemed, they will testify against her, all for a witch hunt, of hooded thieves.

Decreasing their sentence, using it as if they knew the creator of the largest diamond in the world, and the jewels in the British crown, that she was the mastermind of the crime.

According to her, she should not be caught, which at that time, she wore a panther suit, to differentiate it from the Cat Woman, as if another cat suit with electric weapons was a big change, which did not prevent her from being unmasked in the Final.

Which was a good thing, it would be a problem if they remained married , he had new plans, and he could not stay married to Selina for so long if he continued like that, which he didn’t count on, when he stopped paying attention to the woman and continued with the vigilantism.

Bruce had said, by hiding his identity better than she, that somehow Selina was taken to the hospital, that's when she lost their baby.

Crime exams were done, what hurt most was the fall, it was what the exams said, to be a miscarriage, due to the fall, even though he said she should have stayed at home or expected the child born to be able to return to the supposed fight against crime, in the end ...

Selina had her secret escapades, while he faced Darkseid and returned to pick up thieves from a museum, Selina stole, all in the spirit of escapes.

At that time, Bruce made Alfred go.

- I need a year alone. - Bruce said. - Or more than two. - He said towards Alfred.

The concerned butler did not agree, he offered a coffee towards the butler, when they drank, the butler fell into his arms.

He paid the extended holiday Alfred that would be a year, not to stay there, so he could put his plans into action , actually .

On second thought, Bruce thought it best, two years, away from him , putting Alfred drugged in the direction of a private plane, in short, the old man woke up in a luxury hotel.

Seeing that next to the bed, a personal friend of Bruce who would keep an eye on Alfred and would not let him return anytime soon, so that Bruce could continue with his plans.

The poor butler called him angrily about rights and kidnappings, but Bruce was literally adamant.

What that didn't coincide with his return, doing that kind of thing to a man who had treated him like a son and was a supposed father to him, Bruce laughed and said, that life wasn't always how they wanted it.

Forcing the old butler, for a trip around the world, with everything paid for, to get to know every part of the planet earth, he would have a guide who would keep an eye on him, to leave him in peace, and with that, not stop him from doing what he had in mind ....

- Like you, you can do this to me, I did everything for you . - Said the butler on the phone.

- I don't understand, what's going on? Shouted Alfred.

- Alfred, you won't be able to return before a year, there's no use in that, I need you to stay out of Gotham. - Bruce said.

- I don't need any of that. - Said his butler.

- By the way. - Bruce said. - The cards would be blocked and monitored, for withdrawals and certain amounts, they would have to call me directly , and you can not return, before the established time.

- Damn it, boss, this is kidnapping. - Said Alfred.

Bruce needed to plan, and those plans did not include Alfred, nor his prior knowledge of what he intended to do.

- No, it is not kidnapping, I did not put you in private prison, nor did I arrest you anywhere, I am sending you to various parts of the world, you may as well enjoy your time. - Bruce said.

In Selina's case, that year, he wouldn't have to worry about her for a long time, unless she ran away.

She would be one year stuck in Black Gate, not run away, and if it did, it would be a fugitive, at that time, would have time to plan what to do as he would have neither Alfred nor Selina to disrupt.

Dick keeping away, and any of the boys, and also a plan to keep away members of the Justice League.

He would have a few weeks to plan ...

4 weeks later ...

Bruce got involved in gambling, and it was a bookmaker that no hero would enter, but with demons who would , that was just an invitation, which he accepted, it was interesting to say, that he was inspired.

Initially, he shouldn't have, but he did, it wasn't against the rules, but neither did anyone stop him from doing it.

4 weeks after the demons bet ...

Bruce was falling towards some ruins, there was an earthquake, he fell from the crater, falling towards cracks and with a part of his trunk being drilled, vertically.

He had a pointed rock, which had a vertical perforation on it, its thin point, with a thick extension, pierced from his shoulder towards a lung.

As he broke his spine with the fall, at that time, Bruce didn't know if he was going to die from the hemorrhage, or his punctured lung , or if they stayed alive on a bed .

There were several pointed rocks, close to his column, the fall itself that made him break his column, he did not move, above him, he had seen, not counting the fact of that pointed rock.

That was Superman who was on his side, a part of the tip of the pointed rock, had pierced Superman's shoulder that was on top of him.

- Bruce ... - Superman tried.

- I know you are a good person, but I don't think, I will last. - Bruce said.

- They will arrive. - Said Superman.

- Do not speak. - Bruce tried. - Stay quiet. - Bruce said.

- It's so beautiful. - Bruce said.

Superman felt the hot blood splash and spread on that floor, his body in Bruce's, feeling the blood, there was debris around them.

- I do not know. - Bruce said. - I had faith in you, that you would not do anything wrong. - Said.

- Shut up Bruce. - He requested. - I hear your heart.

- You are heavy, Kal. - Bruce said.

The vision of the man beneath him, blurred, he saw a light, he was a beautiful person, he did not know if it was a man or a woman, what mattered was that he, he was beautiful, and held out his hand,

- Come with me. - Said the voice.

- Yes, I will go with you. - Bruce said, he raised his hand from the arm that was not pierced, whose blood spread on the floor, he took the hands of this beautiful red-haired man.

- It's so beautiful. - Bruce said, you're calling me, he held out the hand that took it.

Bruce Wayne fell unconscious, when, he heard a scream, followed by a light.

Three weeks earlier.

There was a particularly loud earthquake and it was not destructive because of Superman and some Kryptonians.

Occurring on the busy streets of Metropolis, it fractured in some properties of Luthor, which in the meantime was an old building, or even what was Luthor's property, were working directly for him.

In the experts and scholars, and scientists to do studies they were sending, scholars and archaeologists, that they had in the course of research.

They discovered ruins, an old city with temples relatively intact underneath the sewers of Metropolises the whole city, had other buildings that they were researching, among these were an ancient civilization, mummifications, and old ones, prior to the year 1300.

There were tunnels that collapsed, that for more than a month or more were doing the research.

Among them was organized by Luthor, who were financing it out of pure interest, besides that there were many relics and monuments, in addition to what would be an image, statues of what would be an immense bat man.

These were three images that were interspersed with a reptile man like that of a demon or dragon, there was the shape of a man in the center and at the end a hybrid form between the three shapes, there were inscriptions, I would give money with excursions and tourism.

It all started a few weeks before ...

Many archaeologists were hired and he was directly committed to

It was not easy to be poor, and neither was aging ...

Because of Joker, he couldn't keep Batman's persona for long, spent his afternoon with a headache, and headed towards the cave, he was what he thought, going out for a drink, thinking about his retirement.

The man did not speak, if a miracle arose and he changed his mind, yes.

He needed some time, the headache really increased to the point of seeing a doctor.

It was at the end of that week, he had some tests done, the diagnosis came.

Terminal brain tumor, stage 4, there was no stage 5 ... which would be unnecessary and all a cheap emotion.

There were some investigations, which would prevent this, if he told someone they caused a commotion, which he did not need.

It wouldn't last long as a crime fighter, if he, in turn, did not see a miracle beyond the lazaro wells, or that he earned some money that would prolong his life, but let's be frank .

Bruce didn't want to prolong his life for long ... unless he could do it in a way that would have less consequences, Poços de Lazaro was out of the question.

Now, he found that it wouldn't last, he needed some time away, he wouldn't even live, his life gave what it had to give, it did its best.

Lately, he thought about sending a letter, to avoid complications, everyone there, needed a break, a sabbatical year on the cover, which wouldn't really be a year.

It would be an extra life, but he changed his mind, and simply said, when he had an urgent meeting in the watchtower gathering all the heroes there around the big table and meeting.

- I will take a gap year for myself, at the end of the month I will travel. - Said. - And if all goes well I will come back. - Bruce said.

- Today is going to be my last day in the justice league. - Bruce said. - At least for a while. - Bruce said.

- What are you going to do, bat? - He Green Arrow.

- I go on a journey of self discovery, and train again. - Said Batman.

- Will you come back later? - It was Hal.

- Not for now, I won't be going back. - Bruce said.

- I'm getting too old to fight. - Bruce said.

- Many people are appearing stronger than me. - Bruce said.

- I also don't want to go back yet, I have to enjoy it a little.

- Take a gap year. - Bruce said.

- I have to keep the bones that I still have. - Bruce said.

- I want to enjoy my old age that is coming. - Bruce said.

- I don't want to fight anymore, at least for now. - Bruce said.

- I will leave the new generation. - Bruce said.

- So, a year without you, bat. - Said Hal.

- One year. - Bruce said. - I will travel at the end of the month. - Bruce said.

As far as he knew they were projected, like holograms, and was seen on all televisions, just the back of their bodies as seen.

The Presence appeared above them, accompanied by others, like Lucifer and Neron and the others who appeared beside him at the bar, which Bruce drank, he looked around.

His images appeared like mirrors of water, above the clouds and buildings of Gotham City, Metropolises, Central City, Star City and all other super heroic cities.

Superman appeared above the skies and the Metropolis buildings and tried unsuccessfully to punch the faces of The Presence, but passed right by him.

- We didn't come here to fight. - Said Lucifer. - But to propose a deal. - Said the morning angel.

- We are here to announce to all the heroes, a way to earn money. that will be worth gold. - Said The Presence

- We propose to all heroes, they are not obliged to do if they do not want to. - Said Trigon.

- What do you think we would do that for? - Asked Superman. - Do you think we will do something for you? - Asked the man of steel.

- They will not be obliged, but if they do. - Said Trigon. - You will receive 700 billion dollars and 30 gold bars.

Two innocent heroes of sin from each of the cities, without being obliged to do so, must, if they want to kill, in two weeks, 7 innocent people. - Said Trigon.

- The villains are not worth it, you may or may not kill by spontaneous will. - Said Trigon. - Without being forced. - Said Trigon.

A sky of gold appeared above the clouds, and an immense pointed tower floating at its end a box of dollars, opening them, and revealing to everyone appearing in front of all the heroes the gold bars and dollars, and then returning to box.

- You kill if you want. - Said Trigon. - They are not obliged. - Said the demon.

- Within two weeks, you must decide whether to kill or not. - Said Trigon.

- The tower is protected, and will not be able to leave there in less than two weeks, those who try will regret it. - Said another creature.

It was announced in the news, and the internet was broadcast, broadcast on all television channel networks, and nothing else was said, moreover during the two days in a row until the end of the week.

Everyone saw and heard the story, everyone there, felt the pressure and the power ...

Yes, they said only the heroes they could kill.

Superman looked towards the sky, and seeing there around him the black tower with the gold on its tip at the top of it.

- It can not be. - Said Superman.

- Who would kill for money, a hero would not do that.

Superman called a watch tower meeting later that afternoon.

The heroes gathered in the watchtower, if that was enough, Luthor set up a demonstration and a press conference, about the danger of Superman, that even the Boy Scout would not be able to ignore a sum of money with this.

Superman saw Bruce's chair being occupied by another Batman.

- What would he gain to give money for us to kill.

- See how much we lower ourselves? - Ravena made an attempt.

- He could see us corrupt and with that, he would have innocent souls being taken to the abyss of fear. - Said Ravena.

Batman looked at everyone and said. - Corrupt. - Said. - At best.

- Why didn't he choose a villain? - Zatana asked.

- Do you really think we will make money if we kill an innocent? Asked Constantine. - If they said that anyone could kill, then in the first hour they had already killed. - Said Zatana.

- It is much better to see a hero corrupting and keeping than a villain, he has already been corrupted, and they kill for money, anyone would see, that there would be no fun in not having rules. - Said Batman.

- Then. - Said Green Arrow. - The cool thing is to see who's first. - He said.

Superman flew towards the bat cave, Bruce had already returned to the mansion, he was feeling weak, the drink and the pressure didn't go down well, if he had problems to contain Superman at his best, falling on the weak cave floor, it didn't seem like a good situation.

Bruce ignored the calls from the league, he turned off the computers, the cell phones, everything, stayed in the dark, thinking of a backup plan, in case they would literally want to kill, but he was thinking about Superman.

He alternated with wiretaps and trackers in each of his allies, Bruce supposedly spent time drinking, he actually took a laptop and followed in the footsteps with cameras scattered around the cities, following in the footsteps of each hero that each city.

Bruce ran towards the bathroom, not holding on, it was there that he heard Superman flying towards the cave, he couldn't stop vomiting, he heard more than one step, it was someone else ...

- Bruce. It was Dick, who had his hands on his shoulders.

Bruce when he finished throwing up on the toilet, he turned.

- You drank. - Said Superman. - All week.

- Still thinking about traveling? - It was a strange question asked by the man of steel.

- We are not at the end of the month yet. - Bruce said. - But I'm not well. - Said. - Something in the drink. - Bruce said.

- Hangover at best is not well. - Said Superman. - But it is not a reason for that.

- Do you intend to kill yourself from drinking so much? - Questioned Diana appearing beside them.

- What do you want here? - He asked wiping his mouth with toilet paper, and getting up, he was wearing only brown pajamas.

- I left the league, go away. - Bruce said staggering.

- I am no longer useful to the justice league. - Bruce said. - I am out.

- We thought you knew. - Said Superman accompanying him around the cave.

- That was shown in all cities. - Bruce said.

Some lights were off, and the computer was drizzling with the screen, there was little lighting, the cave and the mansion were in darkness.

Bruce fell towards the chair away from the computer on a table in the corner, his head hurt, he was in a rag, there was a large travel backpack in the corner, his temple was aching.

- God ... - Bruce said. - Crap.

- I would say yes, Bruce. - Diana said.

Bruce found himself in the mirror, deep dark circles, thank goodness that Alfred died, he wouldn't see him, with a beard to do, and his hair tousled.

If anyone tried to get Batman out of his cave, Jocker had the party in Gotham, but apparently, there was no one to get him out of his grave.

- I'm tired. - Bruce said.

- We are having problems. - Diana said.

- You can have any problem whatsoever, but I left the league. - Bruce said.

- I trained, you Dick, enough to succeed me. - Bruce said.

- I will not help. - Bruce said.

- There's another Batman doing the job. - Bruce said.

- But not even a piece of advice? - Asked Superman.

Bruce looked towards Superman.

"No," he said.

- I want to be left alone. - Bruce said.

- There are so many heroes and watchmen in Gotham. - Bruce said.

- I trained most, if not all. - Bruce said. - One hour you find out what to do. - Bruce said.

They looked at each other and left the cave.

Bruce looked towards a computer, he waited a few minutes and turned on a computer, he was then on, turning on several screens and showing each of the heroes of the cities.

- Idiots. - Bruce said.

- Fools. - He said.

Within the first week that followed, almost at the end of Friday, all the heroes are included, two heroes from each super heroic city, will be able to kill seven innocents, from the first to the last, the one who kills, must be an innocent without sin.

Everyone there with nervous nerves, they were constantly irritated, there was a clock clocking the time.

Heroes, gods, villains and everyone there, saw and heard what the gods said.

- Interesting. - said Luthor. - I couldn't have done it better.

In a villain bar ...

Luthor was sitting at a table with poker cards and smoking a cigar.

Luthor watches around, he realized that they wanted heroes to kill, who was he not to help, to make Superman a villain.

- I bet Superman will succumb. - He said.

Joker, and some villains gathered at a round table to chat and play poker around them among smokers and underworld villains.

- I bet I can make Batman kill. - The crime clown said.

- Whoever gains something from this, is the hero, not us. - Said Senhor Frio, besides killing for money. - Said Cold.

- I don't see, Batman killing around, not even for money. - Said Mr Frio.

- Actually, I only see a Batman, but I don't know if this is the original. - Said Penguin.

- Even if he needed to. - Said Penguin.

- But did you notice anything, Joker? Asked Poison Ivy.

- What, dear? - Questioned the clown.

- We haven't seen him in weeks. - Said the green woman.

- You, like all of us, know that what we have here is not the original. - Said Poison.

- And you know he doesn't kill. - Said Crocodile.

- But we don't know about this new one. - Riddler said.

- He had thousands of opportunities to kill you and he didn't, and it was free. - Said Penguin. - Because he would kill an innocent, even now for money.

- Power corrupts, doesn't it? Asked The Riddler. - And greed makes you do crazy things.

- We can play a little, make them angry, enough to cause a complication and go crazy to the point of killing and discounting an innocent. - Riddler said.

- Does murder by mistake committed count? - Riddled questioned.

- Come on, see the biggest madman who caused chaos to the point of driving him crazy, would be you. - Riddler said.

- Since we're not doing anything. - Riddler said. - Why not? - Nygma asked.

- Wouldn't you do it for money? - Said. - Did you see that amount? - Two Face asked. - It is 700 billion dollars and 30 gold bars. - Said. - That leaves anyone with greed. - He said.

- What would we gain from killing him? - Asked Joker. - Besides of course seeing him kill an innocent. - Said. - Come on people, watch the circus catch on fire.

- He could share the money with us, if we found the victim. - Nygma proposed.

- Since when, would any hero share money with us? - Questioned Crocodile.

- Why not? - Nygma asked.

- Because if a person kills an innocent, since when, he would care not to kill us? - Questioned Harlequin appearing.

- What if we kidnapped a hero's ally. - Nygma proposed. - If we have any hostages. - Tried Riddler.

- He wouldn't mind a villain. - Said Harlequin. - And it would kill everyone in front of you.

- How about we have fun at least, forget that part. - Said Joker. - How about chaos for chaos. - Said Joker.

- Yes. - They said around. - Clinking glasses.

They would try to get the gold.

While the most idiotic, in every way, all to a lesser and greater degree were transformed into animals, in addition to being electrocuted, a mountain of pigs walking back while trying to get the money boxes from that pointed tower.

Among the villains began to occur bets on who would kill first.

Lois Lane was looking for a story, ignoring most hero screams and craziness.

During that week, reporters were addressing the heroes on those issues.

The heights were the crime in each of the cities, they took several hostages throughout the week, in themselves, each time they appeared and a hero appeared, the villains used children as a shield.

There were several cases of kidnappings throughout the week.

Lois Lane was covering the story of super heroes on murder innocent.

- Lois. - Perry said ahead of him in the newsroom of the daily planet.

- You are excused for the rest of the month. - Said.

- What...? - Said Lois.

- No ... - Said Lois. - No ... - He said again. - It's not right.

- It is the source of all Superman's problems, some stupid villain can use you to force him to kill an innocent. - Said.

- Don't come back here before the end of the month. - Perry said.

- Who said Superman kills? Cried Lois.

- Street informants. - Perry said. - They stole a shipment of kryptonite, and fear gas. - Perry said.

- Who said that? Asked Lois.

- Me, - said Jimmy. - I discovered a leaked informant that they stole coming to Metropolises

- Hallucinating men have done the worst. - Perry said.

- While drugged aliens, they hallucinate and kill, even if they don't want to. - Said.

- He may think you are the Apocalypse. - Perry said.

- In addition to making a story about his death, I will make a story supporting Luthor. - Perry said.

- The rules are clear, Perry, he can only willingly kill an innocent. - Lois said. - And no thanks. - Lois said.

- That's not what I heard. - Perry said. - If you stay, I will call the police and you will be escorted off the daily planet. - Said. - I will claim national security. - Perry said.

- Chief, please. - You tried Lois.

- If you prove it to me. - Perry said. - That she will not be killed by Superman. - Perry said. - Thinking that you are a super villain. - Perry proposed. - I allow. - Said your boss.

Steaming Lois went to his table, picked up his things, and headed down the street by the elevator.

Bruce, followed Lois, with his sunglasses, he bumped into her even coughing and feeling sick, almost falling, the woman almost got angry, but turned around in time when she realized that the man was feeling sick , it was a good leper disguise that , being unrecognizable.

- My God. - Lois said. - You are well? - She asked.

- I'm going to get better, sitting on the bench, a little wobbly and unstable.

She released him, when he got up, without realizing that he put a tracker on her, watching her, and then following her the next day monitoring her, and watching Diana's actions, throughout the day, and throughout the week.

Some of them bet on Batman, even if they had not seen him for a long period of time, since the previous month , they would manage to induce him to kill.

There were several press conferences that Luthor made, arguing that Superman was as fallible as anyone who would be a danger to the world, and should be jailed throughout the week until the test period is over.

Wonder Woman was about to break a villain's neck and her sword almost pierced the shoulder of an innocent man caught in an ambush and used as a shield.

Each of the heroes at some point, were caught in crossfire between villains who looked like an assault group, they appeared, took Superman, Wonder Woman seriously, they made an attack, came and went the moment they acted.

That week , Wonder Woman was restrained by Superman who was trying to prevent her from killing one of the criminals who used a hostage as a shield, in addition to bombs attached to him.

After they calmed down, Superman also lost control of the ensuing revenge and assault group.

- Do you think they would really give us money in case an innocent person dies? Barry asked.

- Even if they drop money, I wouldn't do that. - Said Superman.

- Even if it is, it is a lot of money, in addition to losing my soul, I would become rich, but my soul is very important to me, Barry. - Said Superman.

- Yes. - Barry said. - For me too. - Barry said. - But what if it were by other means, like winning the lottery, what would you do with 700 billion dollars, in addition to 30 gold bars.

- What a dream, Barry. - Diana was laughing. - It's a lot of money, really. - Diana said.

- I have no idea. - Said Superman sitting in the leisure room of the tower.

- I would at least distribute a part. - Said. - There are a lot of hungry people with no money around the world. - Said Superman.

- Scout as always. - Diana said. - It's a good idea. - Diana said.

- You wouldn't do that, with that money. - Said Superman. - If there was another way.

There was the attraction and seduction of sin itself, once, it was almost tempted, there was temptation.

All the heroes almost killed an innocent, even if it is an almost, they were attracted to a persecution.

Investigating and following heroes, he demanded his part in his body, everyone thought he was drinking, or feeling sick in the corners, but really, he didn't sleep, it had been four days.

They had constant fights, Superman, Wonder Woman, several sprinters.

His lack of sleep, he was going to five, he was taking energy and eating a lot, which he saw several heroes being cornered, and villains that were surrounding Diana.

Those bastards were doing double work for some heroes, in the matter of the sixth day, Luthor, made an appearance, and invited Bruce to go out together, the man managed to reschedule three times, four, until he could not find an excuse to avoid that find it.

They were sitting in silence in the watchtower, after a tiring day of humanitarian aid, they almost killed or left children who were kidnapped by a villain, Superman almost dropped a child towards a precipice.

- I can't continue to fight. - Said Superman.

- What there was? Diana asked.

- I need to go to the fortress. - Said Superman.

- What's going on, Kal.

- I'm not as steel as I imagine. - Said Superman.

Bruce Wayne, was following Superman, Diana, and several heroes, to a greater or lesser degree, were being tempted.

There was a fight at the end of helping some girls, they were angry, and they went to fight.

For hours, they didn't even speak.

Bruce started making excuses enough to avoid even his children, some reporters, even avoiding contact with Clark, former colleagues in the justice league.

He had deep dark circles and he didn't look well, thin, he couldn't hide, even with makeup, he was pale and bent, he had white streaks on his head .

It was strange even for him, he looked with constant expression of pain on his face, that moment, Bruce was shaking.

Well, he went to Luthor's Tower, panting, in a dark suit.

- What do you want, Luthor? - He said.

- Apparently I scare him. - Entering your room.

- The finite situation. - Bruce said.

His vision left Lex unresponsive, he looked worse, deciding that it wouldn't do to wear his makeup or anything.

- You are sick. - Luthor said looking.

- A little bit. - He said, taking a glass of wine offered, his lips were dry and blue, looking at himself in the mirror after what he felt, it was not scary.

- So your trip is for that. - said Luthor.

- Yes, I have a trip to resolve this at the end of the month. - Bruce said.

- Do you intend to return? Asked Luthor.

- I intend to come back better. - Bruce said. - It's just bad days. - He said.

- I understand. - They were heading towards Luthor's dinosaur museum, taking the elevator down with it.

- You had something to share with me, before you saw me. - Bruce said.

- That Kryptonian, and the league know? Asked Luthor.

- They just know that I'm taking a gap year. - Bruce said.

- If why, I did not say, and they did not notice.

They are coming here. - Said Luthor. - I have something to share with you. - said Luthor.

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rabbiitholes · 3 years

Text

“ He preys on fear, anger, regret. And if he gets in your mind... you're doomed.”

*some slight changes made to canon, mostly certain implications made in canon because... let’s not go there.

Biography

From a very young age, Jervis Tetch was obsessed with the works of Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, especially the Mad Tea Party chapter that portrayed the Mad Hatter. Growing up wasn’t entirely the easiest for him, though he always had the support of his beloved sister, Alice Tetch, who was only just two years younger than him. Despite the minor age difference between the siblings, Jervis took on more of a caretaker role as their parents often worked long, late hours and let the two to their own devices. Over the years, the Tetch siblings grew incredibly close to the point to point where people found it to be rather odd. Their relationship tended to differ from the more normal brother-sister bond others had, finding themselves to be rather co-dependent on one another to an unhealthy degree.

It was the norm for them, though, when their parents had more important things to take care of. Jervis would always walk her to school, drop her off and head off to his own classes. Just like clockwork, he’d pick her up after the school day and it became a cycle for the two. The siblings tended to be quieter than their other peers, though where Alice’s quietness would bring curiosity and intrigue, his would bring bullies to torment him. It didn’t help that Jervis, early on, figured out that he was gay, and it felt like things only worsened at that point. Despite the bullying, he would always keep his sister far away from it all and pretend that nothing was wrong if only to ensure she didn’t have to be bothered by it all. Reading Lewis Carroll’s work, watching the Disney version of the Alice in Wonderland movie, and having tea parties were just the activities that became their very own. It was easier to be in their own world together.

Then came the day that both of their parents were found dead after a fatal car accident and Jervis became the legal guardian for Alice through exhaustive hours dealing with the justice system and the fact that they had no other family members who could take them in. Things were fine for a while; Jervis began to work full time while he finished high school and they eased into their new lives together. At eighteen, that was when things began to take a slight turn and the first incident with Alice’s blood occurred. It was an accident, of course – but it showed the two that her blood was poisoned, could drive a person into a monstrous version of themselves, and Jervis seemed to be the only one immune to it. They kept it hidden, with no one to trust, and ensured there were precautions in place for it to never happen again.

Life went on as it did, Jervis attending the local state university in neural science and taking hypnosis classes on the side as it had caught his interest through his schooling. Eventually the time came when Alice turned eighteen and graduated from high school, ready to start her own life with a fresh start. It was during this time that Jervis, now twenty, began to experience the initial onslaught of symptoms from his Schizophrenia and began to spiral into a psychotic episode. Things started off slow, the hallucinations and delusions starting off small until something inside of completely snapped at the idea of his beloved sister leaving him after all these years together. So he did what he had to, of course. Using the hypnosis skills that he had picked up over the years, he forced Alice to stay by his side, refusing to let her go.

That only lasted so long, unfortunately. She eventually broke free of it, terrified of what her brother had done to her and what else he could be capable of, so she ran away, and Jervis was left alone in the wake of what he had done. Now completely alone for the first time in his life, he began to spiral further down until he finally sought out help to get his life back on track in an effort to get Alice back in his life. Seeking out a therapist, Jervis was officially diagnosed with Schizophrenia and was put onto antipsychotic meds to help reduce the intensity of the psychotic symptoms he suffered from, continued with intensive therapy and began to find himself on the right track. He graduated with his degree in neuroscience, found a job as a neuroscientist at Wayne Enterprises and felt firmly grounded in reality for the first time since Alice had left.

It wasn’t meant to last, unfortunately. Gotham was where his sister had wound up, and the sight of her in the city sent him reeling. Jervis began to fall apart all over again, stopped going to therapy and taking his meds and instead started his search for Alice. It was around this time that he had begun to invent circuitry that could control minds and was eventually fired from Wayne Enterprises when they found out what he was doing. No matter, though, his focus was on his own work and his sister and it wasn’t long before he was able to track her down. That possessive and obsessive nature he had tried to keep down for so long only reared its ugly head as he kidnapped her, set a plan in motion to use her poisoned blood (the Tetch virus) to infect the entire city that had stolen her away. Jim Gordon and the GCPD interfered, and in the struggle, Alice ripped herself away from Jervis in an effort to get away and ultimately fell from the second story of the warehouse and was effectively impaled through and died.

Losing his sister was the last straw, and his entire world shattered. Before, Jervis had been able to carefully conceal his madness and could integrate himself properly into society without an issue. Alice’s death shattered his reality, and he was forever plunged down the rabbit hole, lost in the Wonderland of his own making. Over the years, Jervis became a well-known villain to Batman as The Mad Hatter, joining the infamous gallery of the rogues. He yearned for chaos, wanted to watch Gotham be driven into madness after they tore his dearest sister away from his loving arms.

With current events happening in Gotham at the moment, Jervis would be considered more of a wild card than anything else. While he does side with the defiance, he has no actual loyalties or allegiance to anyone else on that side or any thought out plans for himself. Mostly, he’s just happy to add to the chaos and mayhem occurring, content to help the city destroy itself.

Abilities

Hypnotism: Jervis's main attribute is his sheer mastery over mesmerism and hypnotism. He is capable of using his hypnotic abilities on individuals without any difficulty and by using a stopwatch. His power of hypnotism has improved to the point where he can get others to do whatever he wants them to do simply by having them hear his voice.

Brainwashing: By using his hypnotic power of suggestion and a ticking stopwatch, Jervis can tap into a person's darkest side so as to implant a hidden impulse in them.

Genius level intellect

Expert tactician

Skilled marksman

Uncanny ability to understand the human mind: no one really knows, including jervis, if he was born with this ability or if he is just that skilled at reading people. sometimes hypnotism isn’t useful just on its own, and this ability gives him the capabilities to know a person’s deepest darkest desires and secrets, enabling him implant the suggestions he wishes to in a person’s mind

of course none of the hypnosis abilities will be used on anyone unless it has been plotted out ahead of time and i have been given the consent from the mun

Wanted Connections

friends: of course people that he is close to and gets along with very well. likely to have wonderland characters assigned to them

enemies: self-explanatory, but it would be fun to have some enemies for jervis and some tensions arising from that for him.

allegiance: considering he’s a bit of a wild card currerntly and doesn’t have any loyalties to anyone but himself, i think it would be fun for someone to try and get him on their side, working for them. his abilities would be very useful to have working for someone rather than against.

karma is a bitch: honestly i don’t know what else to name it, but the idea of someone kind of messing with jervis the way he does with people would be great, honestly. bit of karma for taking control of people and fucking them up. basically this would be someone playing with his heart, which he’s kept closed ever since alice’s death, and making him believe they have feelings for him when it’s just a ruse to get back at him for the things he does. a bit of a taste of his own medicine. angst and suffering

i’d very much love to have alice here too so that’s always open if anyone was interested. could be fun, and not everyone stays dead sooooo

#gothamintro #mental illness tw #death tw #violence tw #abuse tw #technically

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ellana-ravenwood · 7 years

Text

“Let me get one thing straight ! ...I’m not” - Batmom x Batboys

Summary : What if one of the batboy was gay and he was scared to tell Bruce and Batmom ?

I couldn’t choose just one batboy, so I wrote a mini-story (ended up actually being longer than I anticipated...sorry for the long read ? Each story have a different title and the name of one of the Batboy is always written so if you wanna skip some of them, and just read the one you want, it’s easier :-)) for each of them...I have no idea where this idea comes from, but I just wanted to write it. So here’s for an unplanned story that just somehow showed up today in my head, and wouldn’t leave until I wrote it. Hope you’ll like it :

You can find my masterlist here : @ella-ravenwood-archives

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Fear of what you might think - Dick Grayson

Dick Grayson was the kind of young man that never had trouble talking his way out of almost any situations. He wasn’t a shy guy, he was charming and cute, full of empathy and always had kind words for anyone in trouble.

And with you ? Well, he had been calling you “mom” since he was but an eight years old child (he will always remember the day he was scared that his actual mom be mad at him for calling that...and the hug and soothing words you gave him after, reassuring him that, of course she wouldn’t, she loved him, she would only like the best for him), and talking to you always been extra-easy.

So...This was new for him.

Never before had he been afraid to tell you something. And yet, here he was, pacing up and down the Manor, gathering the courage to finally go to see you in the Batcave (where he knew you and Bruce were), to end up avoiding the grandmother clock that would lead him to said cave...

After almost two hours of incessant pacing, finally, Alfred stopped him, and, putting a tray of tea, coffee and biscuits in his arms, said :

-Well Master Richard, if you’re that restless, could you please bring this to your parents ? I feel a bit under the weather today, and I fear that going down in the coldness of the cave will truly make me sick.

At the time, Dick didn’t really thought much of it, but now that he was looking back to it, he was 98% sure that Alfred knew, and just gave him that little push that would help him finally say what was on his heart.

His heart was beating at a hundred miles an hour as he was getting down to where you and Bruce were, taking one slow step at a time. Two steps back up, one step down. Alfred had told him to hurry before the tea and coffee would turn cold but...Why was this so difficult ?!

He knew what he was, he knew how he felt, and had known for a while now (ever since he dated all those girls, kept changing because every time something was wrong, only to discover that...Well, girls weren’t really his thing after all) so...Why was he so stressed ?

Especially since you were the most open minded and wonderful person he knew, you could be nothing but acceptive of him. And yet...And yet as he arrived to you and Bruce with the tray full of drinks and food, he found himself completely unable to utter a word.

Your husband was sitting in his desk chair, in front of the Batcomputer, you were sitting on the arm of the chair, showing him something. One of his arms was wrapped lazily around your waist, one of yours around his shoulder. Both of your free arms working the computer.

As Dick approached, your attention was attracted to him and, not finishing the sentence you were saying, you smiled at him and said :

-But see the sewer system isn’t...Oh hey Dickie. How’s it going ?

He doesn’t respond, but you’re not too worried about it. Sometimes, those kids just smile past you and go do their own things. But what actually worries you though, is the way his hands are shaking as he gives you the tray. Coffee and tea are splattered all over, and the tray is now a pool of caffeine.

With eyes full of worries you settle the tray somewhere behind you, without really registering it, and you take your son’s face in your hands, and look intently at him, as if trying to detect any sickness or something like that.

Bruce turns his head toward you and his son, and the curious look he gave you quickly turned worried too.

-Are you ok Dick ? You’re so pale !

You turn your son’s head all around in your hands, to see if he’s injured in anyway...but when you don’t find anything, you release his face and say :

-Yes. Your father’s right, did you catch a cold last night ? It was rather chilly and you..

-No. No it’s nothing of the like. I’m...i’m...I’m fine.

You don’t believe him. Of course you don’t believe him. You know him, and he’s clearly not fine. He trembling and seem genuinely scared. Scared ? Not quite, more like...Stressed.

Drops of sweat slowly fall down his forehead and he averts yours and Bruce’s gaze. He even takes a few steps back as you two stand up, worries making your heart tighten.

-You know what guys ? I feel like...yeah I might be a bit sick. I think...I think I’m gonna lay down or something and...

You approach him once more, and place your hand on each side of his face, forcing his head down so you can look at him in the eyes.

-What is it Dick ? You know you can tell us anything right ?

His forehead somehow comes to rest on yours naturally, and...he starts to slowly break down. He feels ridiculous, as tears run freely on his cheeks.

But as always, and ever since you and Bruce took him in, your arms around him make him feel better, make him feel like he could do anything, as as he feels Bruce’s hand on his back, feels his presence right there, next to you and him, he whimpers :

-I’m gay...

You pull away from him so suddenly that he fears you might take what he just said the wrong way and...But you’re laughing now.

-I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Dickie, but...I thought this was something bad, I thought something was really wrong with you and...this is a nervous laughter. I’m just so relieved you’re ok.

Dicks, confused, looks at his father, who just looks at him back, a fond smile on his face. Your husband says :

-You don’t have to put yourself in such a state for that my son, you’re gay and so what ? Who cares ? I certainly don’t. It doesn’t make you any less my boy, and if you expected me to stop loving you because of this, then you’re an idiot. It doesn’t matter Dick, it really doesn’t.

Your laughter finally subsiding you say :

-Of course it doesn’t ! And seeing the way you were so nervous about telling us, I wished you would have done it sooner. I can’t even imagine what you went through, the thought you must have had.

Feeling the tears coming back to his eyes, Dick is barely able to whisper :

-I...I thought you might think..I was afraid you’d...I...I...

-Don’t be afraid anymore little bird. I love you, and this will never change. We both love you, and oh man I’m so relieved that this what made you so sick. I love you Dick. I love you.

But there, faced with his parents’ full acceptance, hell, his parents “we really don’t care as long as you’re happy” reaction...He doesn’t know what to say. And so he falls in their arms, and them wrapping their own arms around him, sheltering him from any harm, protecting him and assuring him your eternal love...Well, he just felt safe. Loved. And he truly was.

Because it really didn’t matter wether he was gay or not.

Fear of not being loved by you anymore - Jason Todd

Jason knew that one day, he would have to tell you. He knew that, giving how close you two were, he’d just have to confess everything to you.

But whenever he thought the time was right...he just couldn’t do it. He couldn’t risk it. He never heard you talk ill of anyone but..What if him being in love with a man bothered you ? Worst, disgusted you ?

Oh because in love he was alright, and though he tried to fight it, there was nothing he could actually do about it. He pushed him away. Tried to hurt his feelings whenever he could. Beat the crap out of him on more than one occasions but...it seemed that Jason Todd just always came back to Roy Harper. Somehow. And when they first kissed...

Yes. He was in love. Only, it wasn’t with a woman and...Well, Jason felt like he already had so much flaws, maybe one more was going to be too much for you and his dad to handle ?

He knew he eventually had to tell you, especially since it was getting very serious with Roy but...later. Not now. Right now, he’d rather kiss him like there was no tomorrow. Passionately. Damn good make-out session.

They were in the League’s watchtower and the fact that they could be discovered any moment was thrilling. Only, Jason was doing it because he was sure his parents weren’t here for now, too busy in Gotham, and...

The doors of the room they were in burst open, and appears suddenly...Jason’s mom and dad. Doing exactly what him and Roy were doing a few seconds ago.

Bruce closes the door with his foot, without even opening his eyes, too wrapped around you, too focus on your every move, every single little touch, and your body flushed against his.

They bumped into a table, not even noticing their son and his (boy)friend in the back of the room (thanks god, Jason thought..that meant they didn’t see him kissing Roy), and as the mighty Batman put his hands behind your thighs to hoist you on the table, and your hands slowly undo his utility belt...Your son clear his throat, and his father finally opens his eyes, and reluctantly lets go off you. He helps you get back up on your feet and with a smile to them both, not embarrassed in the least, you say, extremely cheerfully :

-Hey Jay, hey Roy. How’s it going ?

Roy is blushing like crazy, and gives Jason a look. He makes up an excuse, that Oliver needs him or something, though it’s obvious it’s total bullshit, and leaves, looking at Jason...and your son understands what his boyfriend wants. “Tell them”, his eyes say.

Unfortunately for him, you were even more observant than your husband, and you caught “the look”, immediately understanding something was going on. You just didn’t know what.

And boom, now you’re worried, because what Jason tells you everything so if he doesn’t want to speak...it must be something bad. You push your husband, who was still standing in between your legs, away from you and approach your son. He takes a step back, and your hurt drops. What is going on ?

-Wh...What is it Jay ?

No. No this isn’t how it’s suppose to happen. He’s not ready...HE’S NOT READY ! He looks around the room, panicked, as if to find an escape...and that starts to worry his father too, who comes closer, but doesn’t dare to get too close as his son keep walking backward away from the both of you.

-Jason...

The way you say that, weakly and as if your heart was starting to break, your voice cracking...He hates that. He hates to see you hurt. And he hates that, once more, he’s the cause of you feeling bad...And so he says :

-I’m sorry. I’m so sorry mom !

What was he sorry for ? You look at him intently, ready to hear the worst of the worst. You know that a while back, he had some trouble with being resurrected and discovering you and Bruce didn’t kill the Joker, you know he killed a lot of people, thinking it was the right thing to do..until finally he understood you guys. And the way he looks at you now..You decide that, no matter what he says, you’ll love him all the same. And will help him. Bruce’s hand in yours is proof that he’ll stay too.

-I’m so sorry ! I really tried not to be...not to be like that. Not to add another flaw to my character ! I tried to be like any other guys, like Dick, Tim and Damian. I tried to be worthy of your love...I’m sorry...I’m so sorry...

He falls in a chair nearby and takes his head in his hands. You approach him slowly, hoping he won’t try to run away, and Bruce follows you closely.

You go down on your knee and, a hand under his chin, you ask him :

-Jason, what’s wrong ? Please, tell us ? Can we help ?

-I...I’m sorry...I just want you to love me, that’s all...

-I do love you. We do love you. Nothing that you’ve done will ever change that.

There’s so much convictions in your words, that his heart starts to calm down, and when he looks up at his dad, he only sees worries in his eyes and...Finally, he gathers all the courage in his being and says :

-It’s not about what I’ve done but...What I am.

You look a bit confused and he adds :

-...I’m gay.

Your first reaction is to hit lightly his thigh, and he’s afraid it’s because you disapprove when..you take him in your arms, and with a voice full of feelings you say :

-Oh my lovely little boy, it’s ok. This doesn’t change anything, I will always love you. And it’s certainly not because you’re gay, and probably dating Roy that it’ll change. He’s a lovely young man by the way.

You pull away from his slightly stunned self (how the hell do you know he’s dating Roy anyway ?!) and continue :

-This isn’t a flaw Jason, and I forbid you to ever think so again, understand ? You being gay, it’s just how you are. It’s not a “flaw of character”, it’s not a bad thing, and it tears my heart apart to think that you see what you are as something that needs to be fixed. You’re not broken Jason. And I love you. I will always love you. Besides, I think you and Roy make an extremely cute couple.

Jason cannot help the smile creeping on his face, and the happy tears starting to well up in his eyes. With a slightly shaky voice, he says :

-Ha thanks. Yes. Roy is a great man...Hell I tried to not fall for him though. I tried really hard. He got issues. And I thought I already had enough trouble as it was...But I couldn’t stay away haha.

His father’s hand squeezing his shoulder brings his attention to him. With a smile, his dad that had been silent until now says :

-Oh I know too well what you’re talking about my son. Believe me I tried to resist your mother for months, but it was impossible. I tried to push her away because I was afraid to put her in danger, and because I was the one with issues. Because I was afraid to ruin her life but...I always seemed to come back to her. I guess that’s what true love is.

Hearing his dad comparing his relationship with his boyfriend to his own relationship with him...well, it made Jason happier than ever. It meant that he really truly didn’t see any problem with all this. That he didn’t see him in another light, that his point of view of him didn’t change.

Even better, he was basically saying that he believed in the love he has for Roy. That it was...that it was....Jason’s heart almost burt out in happiness. For his father to acknowledge everything like that, in the most natural way ever. Yes. It was everything he had dreamed, but didn’t dare to hope for.

Your smiles, the both of you, the love for him shining in your eyes. That’s was all he needed. For the rest of his life though, you’d make sure he didn’t think he was a “flaw”, that he was worthless, and you would call him “silly” whenever you’d talk about the day he finally came out to you and Bruce.

Fear of Rejection - Tim Drake.

Clutching a piece of paper in his hands, Tim finally decides to just go ahead and ask you. And though to some people it might just have been a boy asking his mother to go to a stupid summer camp...to him it meant everything.

You’re in the kitchen, baking a cake for his birthday and...he knows it has to be today. And that special day for him could turn either perfect, or be the worst ever. But it has to be today. He doesn’t really know why, he just feels it.

He arrives, enters gingerly and...Your face lighten up when you see him. He hopes to every higher forces he can think of that you won’t decide to reject him, that you won’t decide to stop being his mother and kick him out, because he’s pretty sure he cannot live without that particular way your face always seem to brighten when you see him, one of his brothers, Alfred or Bruce.

-Hey birthday boy, how’s it going ?

“How’s it going ?”, she must have asked this a thousand times, but never had it been more important than now. He come close to you, and you would have ruffle his hair if they weren’t full of cake dough. You smile some more at him, and he smiles shyly back, placing the piece of paper he had on the kitchen counter, and taking a few steps back.

You look at him curiously as he says :

-Can I...can I go to this camp ?

You look down at the paper and...your eyes widen. What the...Well, you always kinda suspected it, but never dared to ask in case this wasn’t true but...

You look back at him, and he looks away.

-Tim, what’s this ?

-You guess...

-No, tell me please.

-I...I...You...I’m...

You decide to help him, and say :

-Is it something about your...personality ?

-I...yes...kind of...I...I can’t say it...

Seeing him so afraid, jumping from one foot to the other, stressed more than ever...oh, you can’t force him to tell you, and you say :

-Are you..are you gay ?

He nods, and looks right at you in the eyes, to see what’s your reaction. And what he sees surprises him. You’re not angry. You’re not sad. You’re not rejecting him, it doesn’t seem like you’re going to yell at him and kick him out of the house...You just smile knowingly, and go back to baking his birthday cake. With a voice lighter than ever, you say :

-Of course you can go to this camp.

Tim doesn’t know what he's feeling right now. You act as if nothing just happened, as if it was just a normal conversation...Was this your way of dealing with the fact that he was gay ? Like, were you ignoring that on purpose ? And just act as if he never said anything ?

This was worst than rejection, and he wished he hadn’t say anything.

Because the thought that the person he loved the most would just ignore what he was in order to still going on normally was just too painful. And as he realized that you probably didn’t make a big deal out of it because you were acting as if it just simply never happened, as if your son wasn’t gay and...

His father comes in the room just as he feels tears welling up in his eyes, and Bruce freezes as he sees his son about to cry. With a voice full of worries he asks :

-Is something wrong Tim ? Are you ok ?

He wouldn’t ever say it to anyone else. He won’t ever say it again. He jumps toward the kitchen counter and grabs the paper that was advertising that camp he so desperately wanted to go, to hide what he is to his father...He didn’t want his dad to act like every thing was normal either...

The way he grabbed the paper made you jump, and you turn to see your son looking as if he was close to a nervous breakdown and...What the hell happened ? You thought that you reacting as if him being gay wasn’t such a big deal was the best way to react. To show him you fully accepted him and it didn’t matter but...

-Tim ? What is it ?

His father insists, and you can see your son is tempted to run away...And so you grab his shoulder, understanding what indeed is wrong.

-Hey hey hey, it’s ok. I’m sorry you misunderstood me my boy. I didn’t mean to make you feel as if I was ignoring your feelings..no, I wanted...I waned to act as if it was totally fine, not a big deal. Besides, I always had a suspicion about it, just didn't wanna ask in case I was wrong...i just want you to be happy that’s all. And though I’m afraid because there’s people out there that will want to harm you just because of what you are...it’s ok. This doesn’t change anything, and I love you. Hey I’m baking a cake for you, I rarely bake for people.

Bruce is totally confused as he sees his son lunging toward you and wrapping his arms around you in a tight hug.

-I thought you were rejecting me and what I was...

-Oh my, I’d be a terrible mother if I did. Of course not. I’m sorry I made you think that...

-It’s ok. I love you mom.

-I love you too.

-So, what’s that camp ?

-It’s a camp organized by that little club I’ve gone too those past five months. A youth club for LGBTQ+ people. Kind of a...support group.

-...And you’ve gone alone?

-Yes.

-Oh Tim, you just should have told me a long time ago.

Bruce doesn’t hear everything you two say and, more confused than ever as to what’s going on, he says :

-Hum...any of you care to explain ?

Tim, taking a deep breath, looks at his dad right in the eyes and says :

-I am gay.

Bruce stares at him back, and a small and genuine smile installs itself on his face :

-I know. I also know about the club you’ve been going, and the camp you wanna go to. I take it your mother said yes ?

-You...You know ?

-Of course I do. I care about you, and I’m the greatest detective ever, I pick up on things you know.

-And...it doesn’t change things ? Between us ?

-Why would it my boy ? No. No it doesn’t. Just like you mother said, I’m sure, I love you. And this doesn’t matter at all.

-So I can go to the camp ?

-Yes. And bring back a cute boyfriend.

Bruce takes a bottle of milk in the fridge and drinks from it when...his son hits him full force with his hug. There’s milk everywhere. But Bruce couldn’t care less, because he knew his son felt accepted just as he was, didn’t feel rejected and...It’s all he needed really.

Fear of being wrong in the head - Damian Wayne

Being thirteen was confusing.

Your body was starting to change, your opinions were becoming more detailed, and you started to be interested in romantic relationship.

Damian never really gave much thoughts to all of that, at least not until...not until his hand brushed over Jon’s, and his fingers lingered a bit longer there. Not until his friend blushed and awkwardly walked away, bumping in things as he was slowly leaving. Not until...

But this was wrong right ?

He wasn’t suppose to feel an attraction for his best friend. He was a guy. And...Damian was a guy too. So...They should be attracted to girls right ? They should blush when girls touched their hand accidentally ? When girls would look at them and smile ?

This wasn’t normal right ? He wasn’t normal ?

He really, REALLY didn’t need that. After all, he already had so much on his plate. He already felt so unfit to this world.

He never felt like he had his place anywhere.

At school, kids had different interests than him, and anyway were treating him differently just because he was Wayne. Feeling normal was so difficult.

Being in this little “normality” circle everyone was in was just impossible, though he tried, oh God he tried...But it never worked. He would always ruin everything with his short temper and such. Something was wrong with him. He knew it. And those strange feelings he sometimes had for his male best friend...it wasn’t normal either ! And it was so damn confusing !

He hated being confused. For a guy who was often the smartest person in the room, it was difficult to accept to not understand his own feelings...

He craved to feel like any other boys sometimes. It just seemed like their life was so much easier.

Sometimes, he’d look at other boys his age and would be envious of how easy things to be for them. No pressure about the safety of people at night, no pressure from the expectations his father had, no nightmares because of his troubled past, no...

You entering the living room he was sitting in brought him back to reality. You turned on the light and...

-Oh my God Damian you scared me. Please, don't take that habit after your father, someday I’m gonna die of a heart attack with you guys always sitting in the dark...what the Hell is that even about anyway...

Your son smiles at you against his own will, unable to resist as you clutch your shirt where your heart is over dramatically. You smile back, and you’re about to leave and go on with your business when...

-Mom, do you think I’m weird ?

You turn around and look at him curiously, wondering if he’s serious and...oh yes, he means business. His eye brows are creased, just like his father’s when he’s being the most serious of seriousness.

-...Why do you ask ?

-It’s just...sometimes I feel...I feel like I’m not right in the head ?

You instantly think about his past, when he was forced to murder people, and trained by the most dangerous assassins organization of the world to be a living weapon...but something in his tone tells you that it’s not what he means.

You come close to him, and seat next to him in the couch. You fold your legs under you, and turn to look at his face, and say :

-There’s nothing wrong about you Damian. Nothing. You have had a different life than most kids your age, yes, and you still do. You have an...unusual way of living. But there’s nothing wrong with you.

-Are you sure ?

-Certain. Why do you think you’re not “right in the head” ?

-Well because...because...recently I’ve been...feeling things for someone and...

-Aaaaah. First crush !

You smile at him, and the way he blushes confirms what you think. You ruffle his hair and say :

-There’s nothing wrong with feeling the things you feel honey ! It’s totally normal ! Do you think me and your father are weird because we’re in love ?

-...No but...it’s not the same.

-Well, you’re not exactly in love yet right ? You just like her, and it’s totally fine. Oh man let me tell you about all the crushes I’ve had before your dad...Wait, actually, no, I won’t tell you anything, you’re a snitch, you’d tell him everything and then he’ll be jealous but still act like “the Batman is never jealous” and it’ll be frustrating. All you gotta know is, what you feel is normal my boy.

-Him.

-Mm ?

-I...I’m not in love indeed but...I like...him. Jon. It’s a...him.

You don’t seem to register what he says for a second and when you do your smile is a sad one and his heart tighten. Oh. So he isn’t normal. And you clearly wish your son wouldn’t be so damn...Wrong in the head.

But then, you confuse him by taking him in your arms, and you say :

-Oh my baby, there’s nothing wrong with that. Don’t you ever think this. You’re not...Oh my god I don’t even know how to say this.

-Well I do.

Bruce. How long has he been there ? God only knows, but apparently, he heard your conversation. He comes to seat next to Damian too, and, throwing an arm around his shoulder, he says :

-I could explains to you how it has been recently discovers than what you feel is totally natural, that it’s something that is there since you’re born, something in your brain that is slightly different from other people, but completely natural. Nothing wrong. I could cite multiple articles and famous doctors talking about it, and refers to every single scientific biologic component of what makes you feel things for Jon...And I know you would make sense of it. You’re a smart boy. But instead, I’m going to talk with my heart, with my guts.

Damian holds his breath. He had never seen his father discuss his feelings this long. He knows that he must tell you things because you always seem so happy around him, and he heard a few sweet sentences but...he so rarely speaks about what he actually feels, that this is important.

-Puberty is a confusing time. Things change, in your body and mind. And you start to develop feelings toward others, romantic ones.

How ? How can his dad know exactly what he’s thinking ?

-And though usually people will assume you like girl, because you’re a boy...You liking boys doesn’t mean you’re not normal. It doesn’t mean you’re wrong. Some people will tell you that. They’ll make you feel like your less than nothing because of who you chose to love and...unfortunately I won’t always be here to protect you from said people but...know this : I will always love you, and people who think your love is unnatural are the one that are wrong in the head. They are the one that have problems. Not you. And...I’m running out of things to say.

You take his turn :

-Damian, my baby boy...don’t ever feel different or left out because you like guys. And...let me tell you a secret ok ? I never told anyone, but your father of course. Let me get one thing straight...I’m not.

Damian raises his eyebrows in surprise, and with a small smile, you continue :

-I’m a “pansexual”, I like...everyone. Every “kind” of person. And in my life, I heard it all ; “you’re just confused”, “it’s just a phase”, “you’re not pan because it doesn’t exist, you’re either lesbian, straight or bi”, “you don’t know what you’re talking about”, “you’re too young to be sure”, “you’re going to Hell” etc etc and...What I want to make sure you understand is : their opinion do not matter. You’re the only one that knows how you feel. And if anyone thinks you’re wrong ? Well out of your life they go. They’re just toxic people. Because anyone who wouldn’t accept such a wonderful boy such as you would be crazy. So you like boys ? And ? I had the biggest crush on Wonder Woman for the longest time ! And nothing was wrong with that ! Just like nothing is wrong that you got a crush on Jon ! Besides, if he grows up like his father, well, good choice my boy.

Damian chuckles, of a genuine little cute laugh that is so rare to hear from him. And Bruce...Oh Bruce “I’m never jealous” Wayne doesn’t look quite please, but both you and your son knows it’s because you mentioned a crush on Diana, and that Clark was attractive.

You kiss your boy’s cheek and tell him, from the bottom of your heart :

-if you ever feel like you don’t fit in, or like you’re not normal...please come see me, and I’ll kick your ass, knock some sense in your head to tell you that you’re totally fine. Don’t try me cause I will. And if I have to, I’ll repeat it forever.

Unable to control himself, Damian jumps in your arms, wrapping his little body around yours, and you melt in his adorable little embrace (though it’s not that little anymore actually, that kid starts to get tall...you’re pretty sure he’ll be taller than his giant of a father one day).

Bruce is a sucker for this kind of display of affection, a total sucker, though he’ll never admit it, and he wraps his arms around you and his son, sandwiching Damian in the middle of you two...which is perfect.

Yes. Being thirteen is a very confusing time...but with parents like you and Bruce, Damian knows he’ll always have the answers to his questions, and that no matter what, you’ll always have his back.

************

Little did he know that miles away, in a house located in Metropolis’ suburbs, his best friend, and the guy he had a crush on, was having the exact same conversation with his father and mother, and they all came to the same conclusion. Though, Clark gave a warning to his son, Damian was a Wayne, he had tons of issues and...Lois hitting her husband on the head shut him up.

_____________________________

I tried to make different stories for each of them but I feel like I failed and kinda repeated myself...what do you think ? Any feedbacks is welcome. Even if it’s ones about how bad this is..Thanks in advance, and thanks for reading. I hope it didn’t suck too bad...

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justgotham · 7 years

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This past weekend gave us the third annual edition of Brooklyn, NY's Flame Con, an LGBT-themed comic convention where you can attend some cool panels, ogle some amazing cosplay, and--most relevant to my own particular experience--spend more money than you probably should on the show floor. There's also a quiet "AFK Lounge" where you can step away from the hubub, something that I personally think all cons *coughNYCCcough* should invest in.

But it wasn't just buying art prints when you have no more wallspace, why in God's name do I do this to myself? Ahem. Saturday night saw actor Robin Lord Taylor, who plays Oswald Cobblebot/The Penguin on Fox's Gotham, put in an appearance to talk about LGBT representation, the Penguin's relationship with Ed Nygma/The Riddler... and even to drop a few vague hints about season four, premiering on September 21.

For those who haven’t been watching Gotham—and seriously, I get it, we’re in the era of Peak TV and there are 492 shows to catch up on at any given time, but Gotham is a damn fun show to binge watch while you’re doing laundry, and I thoroughly recommend it—their version of Oswald Cobblepot is a queer man, who in season 3 realized his love for friend-turned-enemy Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith). To quote Taylor, it’s less “love” than “[Oswald’s] ideas of what love are”—a somewhat warped idea of romance brought about by decades of bullying, friendlessness, and just generally being an awful human being. (Hello, supervillain!)

“They had not told me when they started the show” that Oswald was queer, Taylor told moderator Kevin Gilligan, board member of Geeks OUT. “We didn’t really discuss his sexuality beyond the fact that he was somewhat divorced from it because of the bullying and experiences he had as a child.”

When the writers told Taylor and Smith about the romance storyline, it was Taylor’s decision not to “go back and write some sort of history with this character and say he always had these feelings. I’m treating this as though he’s opening his eyes. The first person he sees is his mother, and then his father. The only people that he ever loved.”—played by Carol Kane and Paul Reubens. Bow down. After the two of them, “the first person that ever shows him any sort of respect, and someone that he is equally challenged by, was the Riddler. And who also, you know, was kind to him. And that’s the first time he experienced that, outside of his parents. So obviously, for Oswald, because he’s a very manipulative and stunted person, he’s going to glom right on to that. And that’s going to be where we start with these romantic feelings.”

Taylor is careful not to label Oswald’s sexuality, noting that “I would be ascribing labels to someone who’s… coming from a place of such darkness and manipulation and abuse. And I don’t want to ascribe any of that to anyone who’s part of the larger LGBTQIA community… .This character is not an example of any sort of queer experience that anyone in the world should have or really should look up to, because again, he is a very tortured, manipulative, conniving person… He gloms only Edward because, obviously, he wants someone who understands him and also [who] he feels safe with. But his way of dealing with that is to kill Edward’s girlfriend! You know what I mean?” (RIP Isabella - you looked exactly like Kristen Kringle, and it was weird. Are we going to get into that,Gotham writers, or nah?) “This is the person that we’re dealing with here. I want to be sure that context is constantly understood when you see him go forward, especially his relationships with Edward and other people that are coming in season four.” Speaking of season four, Oswald’s taking the lesson that Nygma taught him—that loves makes you vulnerable—and running with it. Taylor admits, though, that as a philosophy “you can’t sustain that… Somebody’s going to come into his path that is going to change his idea of how he should behave and how he should act. That happens in this season.”

So… probably no lovey-dovey endings for Os and Ed, then. No worries. That’s what fanfic is for.

Other season four tidbits: Lee Thompkins (geek royalty Morena Baccarin) is “going to go through a major change this year and really break out of [being] the romantic foil of Jim [Gordon, played by Ben McKenzie] to become her own presence in Gotham City… She’s a badass bitch.” And Poison Ivy, played now by Maggie Geha, will be the Luke Skywalker to Oswald’s Yoda in the world of organized crime. “She wants to have her own agency and be in control of herself… She doesn’t have any interest in being a good person, being a righteous person. She’s like, ‘Yeah, show me the nasty stuff. Show me how to get things done the way you do them.’”

Finally, Taylor spoke about LGBT representation on Gotham in a more general sense, noting that—for all Gotham City is an awful dystopia in many ways—there are other ways “in which it is actually a utopia. In our show, never ever once in Gotham City is anyone discounted because of their race or their sexuality.” (Oswald isn’t the only queer characters on the show, Barbara Kean [Erin Richards] and Tabitha Galavan [Jessica Lucas] having engaged in an on-again-off-again relationship of their own. Renee Montoya [Victoria Cartagena] was a character in season one but hasn’t been heard from in years.) “In that way, Gotham City is almost exemplary. It’s a place where horrible, horrible shit happens, but fundamentally every human being is treated equal.”

If everyone in Gotham City’s OK with the wide, varied spectrum of human sexuality, the same cannot be said of people in our world. Though Taylor affirms that most of the comic book community is very accepting, he nurses a particular irritation for those who reacted negatively to his character’s sexuality on some hella specious grounds. Monologue presented in its entirety:

“People would be like, ‘I love you. I love your character. I just hate that they made the Penguin gay, not because I don’t like gay people, but because it’s not canon.’ And I’d be like: “Fuck you.” It’s not canon?! OK, excuse me! You’re watching our fucking show. When ever did Bruce Wayne and Catwoman hang out when they were tweens? You have a problem with that? No? Oh, OK. Did you have a problem when the Joker killed Batman’s parents in the first Tim Burton movie? Oh, no, you didn’t? Both of these are not canon issues. What’s the outlier here? Oh, it’s a queer storyline. OK, thank you so much, really glad to know that you’re homophobic. Actually, I am glad to know that. I like to know when people are homophobic and they’re completely missing the mark and are completely blind to their own prejudice. ‘It’s not because I don’t like gay people. It’s because it’s not canon.’ Are you kidding me with this canon shit?”

Can I get that printed on a t-shirt?

#Gotham #Oswald Cobblepot #Robin Lord Taylor

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charaie · 7 years

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#SanversWeek day 7 bonus fic: soulmates AU.

Reposting this because for some reason it didn’t show up in the tags (again).

Since a lot of people on both tumblr and ao3 requested a part two from Maggie’s perspective, here it is. Does this still count as a fic for #SanversWeek @queercapwriting? Yes? Yes.

You can read this seperately, but it makes more sense to read both parts in order. Part one can be found here: tumblr - ao3.

Thanks to @bruisedcaffeinatedbitch for the quick beta and for being awesome.

Warning: mentions of homophobia (not a lot though and only at the beginning, it turns fluffy real quick).

Read on ao3.

For most of her life, Maggie Sawyer doesn’t believe in soulmates. This may or may not have something to do with the fact that by the time she’s celebrating her eighteenth birthday, living with an aunt after being kicked out by her father for being gay, having lost her entire childhood and all of her friends, not once in her life have words appeared on her skin. Everyone, including her parents, tells her it’s because she’s a lesbian and therefor sinful, a disgrace, so she doesn’t get a soulmate.

“Your love isn’t real anyway, so why would you get one?” a random guy from her history class asks her once during a party at some other guy’s house. It’s a few minutes past ten and she’s checking herself for marks in the full-length mirror in the hallway. She turns around to find him smirking at her, his eyes sweeping up and down her body as if he’s deciding whether or not she’s worthy of being looked at, whether or not she’s worthy of… other things, and it takes all of her self-control not to tackle him to the ground right then and there. If she did that she’d be the one in trouble, not him, so why bother.

She tries to tell herself that they’re all wrong, that she is not. But since no words come and since there is no one to tell her otherwise, she believes them.

That is until she gets a scholarship and leaves Bluesprings, Nebraska for what it is, packing the only few things she still has and moving to a college in Indianapolis. There she meets another gay person for the first time in her life and to Maggie’s utter surprise, he has a soulmate. And it’s a guy.

From that moment on she starts to have hope again. Maybe gay people do get soulmates, maybe she has one, too. No words come, though. Every single night, just after ten, she checks. But every single night there’s nothing there.

She still dates in college. Nothing serious, just flings. Every time a girl asks for a second date, or a first one after they’ve slept together, she explains that she’s waiting for her soulmate to come along (because she has to have one, right?), and every time they ask her who it is or what she’s like, she makes something up, because she simply has no idea.

For twenty-two years nothing happens. For twenty-two years she’s skeptical towards the whole idea of soulmates, towards love, not sure if it’s for her, if she even wants it anymore. But then, one night, just two days before her 23rd birthday, the words are there.

It’s the middle of the night and she heads to the bathroom of her one-person dorm room to brush her teeth, all sleepy and weary and exhausted. Kathy – or was it Kelly? Sam? She doesn’t remember – remains asleep in her bed as she opens the door, stepping inside and grabbing her toothbrush. When she looks at herself in the mirror she doesn’t see it at first. But when her eyes shift to a spot just above her right collarbone, she freezes.

For about 3.8 seconds she stares at herself, before snapping out of it and practically climbing on top of the sink to get a closer look.

They’re small, and kind of squiggly, but they’re there, clear and prominent.

“Oh, my God,” she screams, and then she starts to cry, running her fingers over them, time and time again, because yes, she has a soulmate, and no, she’s not alone.

They were wrong, they were all wrong.

A few moments later Kathy – or Kelly, or Sam, what is her name, goddamnit – comes running into the bathroom carrying a baseball bat, still half-asleep and confused as hell, asking what is going on, did someone break in? but all Maggie can do is cry and run her fingers over her shoulder and even though this means Maggie belongs to someone else, not her, she celebrates with her, at two in the morning, in a tiny bathroom of a dorm in Indianapolis.

The first words are That’s stupid and Maggie has never been happier because her girl has attitude. She doesn’t sleep that night, and the next day all she can think about is her, and who she is and what she’s like – she can finally answer those questions with well, she’s got attitude, God, she’s so happy – and she spends the entire day being nervous and fidgety, eager to find out what words will appear on her skin that night.

She counts down the hours until the clock strikes ten and when it does she sees them again; words, so many words.

In vivo whole blood is assumed to be an incompressible Newtonian fluid, however, this assumption fails when considering forward flow within arterioles.

She smiles – God, she really cannot stop smiling – and shakes her head.

“Nerd.”

It continues. Every night she waits, and every night there’s words, and every night she smiles and goes to bed all giddy and happy and already so in love. Even when it’s simple stuff like Can you pass me the milk? or Twenty-five minutes is not that long! or God, I can’t believe you sometimes.

She learns things about her, a lot of things, during her last years of college, during the police academy, during her time in the field as a rookie and later as a detective. She has a sister, for example, named Kara (Kara, you’re my sister, and I love you, no matter what), her relationship with her mother is complicated (She has always come down hard on me for not protecting you), she works for a secret government organization called the DEO that Maggie knew was real (We’re the DEO, we don’t exist), and she is fiercely protective of the people she cares about (I got you and I will bring you back safe, sir and Either I come back with my sister, or I don’t come back at all).

And eventually, she learns her name.

I’m Alex, by the way.

It’s as if the words are spoken directly to her, as if she’s introducing herself, and even though Maggie knows she isn’t, it sends chills down her spine nonetheless the first time she reads them. She runs the name over in her head a million times before saying it out loud to herself, and once she does it sounds almost surreal.

She tries to find girls named Alex, that have a sister named Kara, but however much she searches and asks around, she’s unable to find anything (which makes sense since she’s a secret agent and all – how cool is that, by the way?).

But that changes when she’s twenty-six and decides to move from Gotham to National City to become a part of the NCPD’s Science Division. During her third week on the job the president is attacked, and just when she’s started to analyze the crime scene a tall and drop-dead gorgeous federal agent walks up to her, all cocky and with attitude, introducing herself as Alex Danvers, and Maggie has to physically fight herself from actually squealing and jumping into this woman’s arms, because is this her? This has to be her. Oh, my God, what if it’s her?

The rest of the day goes by way too slowly for Maggie’s liking, but when the clock finally passes ten, all of her suspicions and hopes and dreams are confirmed because her shoulder reads I think I met her today.

#sanversweek #day7 #supergirl #sanvers #soulmates au #my writing

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otakunoculture · 5 years

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By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Fan Expo Vancouver made the shift from November to March and the change was certainly noticeable. Most industry observers believe they want to challenge Emerald City Comic Con, which takes place two weeks later, and others were hard pressed in which show to support. Next year’s event will be held February 15-17 giving room for all events to share the busy late Winter schedule. One thing that I learned is with some of the exclusives, especially the comic books, are simply reprinted material from previous year’s offerings. A lot of people were asking every time I passed by the merchandise table, and not every member of the staff knew. Though they have slightly different covers, the content is the same.

Unconfirmed reports suggest lower than usual attendance on Saturday. I found navigating through the crowds easy and welcomed the smaller crowds. The event had a steady flow of people throughout the day. I liked the new layout. There were a larger food court area and the main stage was visible upon entry. Those who wanted to be at the big celebrity Q&As did not have to walk far. Two smaller stages were positioned at opposite ends, making noise levels reasonable, but one did have to compete against the main. The types of panels offered ranged from mostly meetups to sketch-duels. Very little industry material existed and I was very thankful for the information from Conor McCreery (Kill Shakespeare) offered for those interested in working in the comic book industry.

It’s tough to beat the year Kevin Smith was here. Vancouver fans loved him. The 2016 show had more panels than I can remember and it did take up parts of the main and the second floor. Not only did it have more corporate exhibitors but also it was in the East Building.

Lightsabers ahoy!

Missing this year was Sony Entertainment, Warner Brothers Entertainment and LEGO. An unofficial rep (A London Drugs employee) said when there’s no new product to exhibit, it’s not likely any company will have a convention presence. I miss LEGO and understand why they are no longer a presence. They have Ninjago as their primary exclusive product to carry this brand forward. All others are tied to subcontracts with Disney or elsewhere.

At least Beat Saber had the spotlight on the PS4. Confirmed are three expansion music packs. No dates were given for this release.

The spotlight panels were the main draw and it was standing room only when Billy Dee Williams hit the stage. He could not say anything about his coming appearance in Star Wars: Episode 9. So he chatted about his other work instead and how nobody can replace that suave demeanour when he is Lando Calrissian. He talked a bit about his role as Two-Face in Tim Burton’s Batman, but in what I particularly enjoyed is in the fact no other voice over talent can recreate what he has done in the animated and video game front. From Freemaker Adventures to Detours (this dead project received renewed interest last year), he is Lando! When at home, he can be heard singing to many a Jazz classic, and sadly, no album is being considered.

Overjoyed is hardly the word here to describe George Takei.

On Saturday, George Takei took command and took the time to thank everyone who was there late morning. He talked about his upcoming role in AMC’s supernaturally charged show, The Terror. The next season is very close to him as it deals with World War 2 and the American treatment of Japanese-Americans. He was brought on as a consultant to the series and the producers saw more and offered him a role. The panel would later cover his other work and was Q&A for the latter half. He revealed next season will broadcast late Summer 2019.

Meeting Sean Pertwee!

From Fox TV’s series, Gotham, some information was offered in what’s coming. It was mostly fun banter between young Bruce and Alfred (David Mazouz and Sean Pertwee). To see the two interact when out of set shows how close this family has become. I got to chat with Sean afterwards about his other work. With most of his family performers, he never thought of being the son of Jon (Doctor Who) as anything bigger until he was in school. Plus, I knew I had to get a selfie for my journals.

One takeaway from the panel is when Pertwee mentioned a movie in the Gotham-verse is in development. Nerdy Curiosities confirmed this with a live tweet. No details can be offered as it would mean Batman hushing him for good.

The love for DreamWorks Voltron Legendary Defender made up for what I missed last year at Emerald City. The panel was a Q&A with Josh Keaton and Kimberly Brooks. They talked about what the series meant to them, and the excellent writing in making their characters special. Sadly, any recording was prohibited and I have to go by memory in what was said during their panel. A lot was said about how the writing is miles ahead of other shows made this animation special. The fact Shiro is gay puts this show light years ahead for its support of LGBTQ.

Allura’s sacrifice was certainly needed and a lot of time was spent discussing this. No plans exist for continuing side stories or anything, which was my question to them. I doubt these cats are willing to be put down. Brooks would love for it to happen and Keaton is pessimistic. Show creators have a start and end in mind than to stretch it out. For these two, their next stop is at the Calgary Expo. The good news is that the entire team will be at Fan Expo Canada in late August.

Kimberly Brooks (left) and Josh Keaton (right)

Meeting Brooks was particularly special for me since I am just as much of a Scooby-Doo fan as Voltron. She confirmed that she and fellow Hex Girls co-stars Jennifer Hale and Jane Wiedlin would love to have their own spinoff show. But that’s ultimately up to Warner Brothers Animation to decide. I developed a fondness for their bubblegum style music, and believe they can solve mysteries too! She teased at the band’s return in a new Scooby-Doo project and is pumped at the fact that DC Super Hero Girls is continuing as a television series. All the regulars from the web series are back, and Lauren Faust is showrunning. The show just started broadcasting, and for fans who wanted to meet more strong female role models, this show offered to Disney enthusiasts a chance to meet actresses Linda Larkin (Alladin) and Paige O’Hara (Beauty and the Beast).

I sense Fan Expo Vancouver will continue bringing in positive role models for all to meet. To see families in attendance is telling Informa Exhibitions (the parent company) to keep it up! While this west coast show had a few downs throughout the years with certain companies dropping out, I feel they will find its niche by year ten. Back when this show started in 2012, by Hobby Star Marketing (1) instead of Informa, the excitement was lukewarm. This event was hit hard when Rue Morgue announced they will no longer be part of the show.

To see this event bring talents from productions locally filmed is helping make this show different from others. Vancouver, BC is a hotbed of many a production, ranging from The CW Network‘s nerd block to many a work from Bardel Entertainment. With The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Riverdale having a strong following, a lot of people were present. With Arrow recently announced as being the last season, perhaps some of the cast will migrate over to these other shows as momentum for the next crossover, Crisis of Infinite Earths, builds.

Only time will tell on what’s to will happen in the Arrowverse. Continuing the trend from previous years is a visit from a performer who appeared on Stargate SG-1, Atlantis or Universe. This series did a lot to define this city in the world of pop culture fandom. Last year had Joe Flanigan, Jason Momoa and Alaina Huffman. This year had Teryl Rothery. Could an SG-1 reunion be in store for Fan Expo Vancouver? This downtown-based convention is affordable (Sorry Gatecon, but you’re just too expensive) and I would love to see this happen.

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2019 #FanExpoVan #FXV2019 Report, Takeaways & What's Next for this Show? I offer few teases from the #scoobydoo and #gotham front & show love to @joshkaton and @kimberlydbrooks! I share thoughts in where I think the show is headed. By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest) Fan Expo Vancouver made the shift from November to March and the change was certainly noticeable. 1,438 more words

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