#and yes I’m sure ra’s has several in his library

[afni-fics]

In Hindsight: Chapter 5: In the Present... At Face Value

In Hindsight: Chapter 5: In the Present... At Face Value by C_R_Scott

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Tim Drake/Tam Fox, Jack Drake/Janet Drake, Janet Drake & Tim Drake, Jack Drake & Tim Drake, Lucius Fox/Tanya Fox, Tim Drake & Tam Fox

Characters: Tim Drake, Tam Fox, Janet Drake, Jack Drake, Lucius Fox, Bruce Wayne

Additional Tags: Tim Drake-centric, Family Drama, Family Secrets, Family Feels, Childhood Friends, Childhood Trauma, Childhood Memories, Childhood Sweethearts, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Good Parent Janet Drake, Bad Parent Jack Drake, no beta we die like robins, Bruce Wayne Tries to Be a Good Parent

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Story Summary: What if Tim Drake was originally raised by his maternal grandmother for the first eight years of his life due to "circumstances" involving his biological parents? What if Tim's grandmother was also the next door neighbor and occasional sitter for Lucius Fox's family?

Chapter Summary: When Tim was a child, his father Jack had told him and his mother that his beloved grandmother had passed away while she was in the hospital due to pneumonia. But eight years later, a trusted family friend is telling him something very different.

"Is that what Jack told you and your mother? He told you both your Nana was dead?"

Out of all of Bruce's Robins, past and present, Tim was proud of having the distinction of being known as the best detective out of all of them. His mind was as nimble as Nightwing was agile. He had figured out Batman's true identity at age nine. He discovered his father was lost in time when everyone else thought he was dead. He successfully routed Ra's al Ghul and prevented him from stealing Wayne Enterprises out from under the family.

Unfortunately, having such a nimble mind meant that the moment Lucius Fox's words left his mouth, Tim was already more than halfway to formulating a theory based on the statement he heard and the context of the conversation that immediately preceded it.  However, it was the horrified tone of Lucius's voice, the appalled expression he saw on the elder man's face, and something deeper in his subconscious that slammed the brakes on his thought processes and caused his brain to short circuit before it could reach the conclusion they had been barreling towards.

Tim froze. He felt his heart stutter in his chest. Outwardly, he clamped down on his composure before daring to add his voice to the air.  He took a deep breath and released it slowly. 

"I'm fine," he thought to himself. "This is all just a misunderstanding."

Everything Jack told him that awful day was burned into his memory. It was the very first death of a loved one in his life and his first experience with grief. However, it endured it. He accepted it. He moved on.

"Everything is fine."

"Of course he did," Tim said matter-of-factly with a slight tilt of his head. "Nana was sick. She passed away in the hospital. Dad told us the day he got the call."

However, Tim felt a churning start low in his stomach as he observed Lucius's reaction to his words. The sensation was faint at first, but grew slowly in intensity as he watched the man on the other side of the desk. Lucius's expression was stricken as he shook his head.  "No. Timber..." he started tentatively, as if trying to speak to a spooked animal. "That's not... Your grandmother isn't--"

"She had pneumonia," Tim interrupted with a shake of his head as he turned away from his old family friend, from the man who had been like an uncle to him once upon a time. "And she never got better." He closed his eyes as he clung to his faded memories from that horrible time so many years ago. "Mom was so depressed because we couldn't go to the funeral. She and Dad had a job in Cairo the same--"

"Timothy--"

He felt Lucius's hand settle on his shoulder. It should have been a comforting gesture, along with the elder man's gentle but firm expression of his full name. Instead, it caused of army of goosebumps to race across his skin and seemed to disconnect his brain from his voice box. Lucius waited until Tim hesitantly turned to meet and hold his gaze before continuing.

"--There was no funeral." 

The muscles beneath Lucius's hand tensed immediately. 

"It took a few months, but she recovered. She went home. She's alive."

Tim shook his head again before finally finding his voice. When he spoke, his tone was strained and brittle. 

"No. That can't be right," he said. "Dad said... He told us she died. Why would he tell us that if it wasn't true?" 

"I'm sorry Tim, but Jack lied to you and your mother."

The faded memories in Tim's mind began to crack. The aborted theory his brain had been processing earlier suddenly re-asserted itself and reached its logical conclusion. However, it was not a conclusion that Tim was in any frame of mind to accept.

Not in that moment.

"I'm sorry Lucius. I... I need to go."

Before Lucius could say anything more, Tim shrugged himself out from under the older man's hand and slipped out of the office, shutting the door quickly behind him.

As soon as he was in the relative privacy and safety of the elevator, he used his security clearance to make sure it would go straight to the garage where his car was parked without stopping on any other floor. As the elevator descended, Tim backed himself into the corner and buried his face in his hand while his mind ran a mile a minute. 

"Nana can't be alive. Dad said she died...

"But Lucius would never say something like this if it wasn't true...

"But it can't be true...

"If Nana's alive, then that mean...

"No! That makes no sense... 

"Dad wouldn't have lied to me about Nana...

"He wouldn't have lied to Mom...

"He couldn't have...

"He didn't...

Tim lifted his head from his hand and stared at hand, which was trembling slightly.

"Did he?"

   It was a little nearly ten in the morning when Bruce's cell phone started ringing, the light from the screen illuminating the nightstand that rested next to his bed in the otherwise pitch black room. A weary arm snaked its way out from beneath the thick comforter on the bed. It took several tries, but finally the hand landed on the phone and pulled it toward the head still lying on the pillow.

Bleary eyes squinted as they peered at name on the too-bright screen before reluctantly pressing the "Accept" button. 

"Yes Lucius?" Bruce mumbled, his deep voice weighed down by the bone-deep fatigue trying to drag him back into slumber.

"Is Tim at the manor?"

Bruce's brow furrowed. There was an edge of distress in his old friend's voice that managed to shove some of the lethargy out of his mind with a small spike of adrenaline. He pushed himself up into a seated position. "He shouldn't be? Last I saw him was around five am in the Cave before I went to bed. Did he not make it to the office?"

"He did," Lucius confirmed as Bruce put on his bluetooth headset so he could pull on his housecoat. "But something happened in the office that upset him, and now he won't answer my calls and the tracker in his work cell has been shut off."

It didn't take long for Bruce to leave his bedroom and go a few doors down the hall to Tim's bedroom. As he expected, the room was empty. The bed itself was still perfectly made with Alfred's usual attention to detail, but his closet door was open and there was a notable gap where one of his spare business suits was missing. His bathroom door was also ajar. Tim may not have slept at the manor, but he did shower and change there before heading to work. 

"What happened at the office?" Bruce asked as he left Tim's room and made his way downstairs to the kitchen. 

It took longer than it should have for Lucius to answer. "It's complicated."

Bruce frowned. Something was wrong. He could feel it in his bones. "One moment Lucius." He'd just entered the kitchen and zeroed in on Alfred, who was sitting at the breakfast nook sipping a cup of tea. 

The old butler was startled at the sight of the Wayne patriarch awake and out of bed before noon. "Master Bruce? What on earth--" 

"Has Tim come back from the office this morning?"

Alfred shook his head. "No. I haven't seen him since he left the manor around eight am." He set down his teacup and immediately got to his feet.

"Can you check the Cave and make sure he didn't return when no one was looking? Also, if he's not there, can you activate the tracker in his personal cell and find out where he is right now?"

"Of course sir." With a crisp nod, Alfred went to the library where the entrance to the Cave was hidden.

Finally, Bruce turned his attention back to Lucius. "I'm back, so explain. What happened at the office?"

"It actually started last night when Tim got hit with Crane's new fear toxin..." Lucius told Bruce about the encounter Tim had with Tam after crashing into her apartment, and quickly explained how Bruce's adopted son was actually the same boy who used to live next door to him for several years as he was raised by his grandmother.

Bruce absorbed the new information with confusion. "Ok... That's definitely surprising, but doesn't sound bad at all. Why would that upset Tim?"

On the other end of the phone, Bruce could hear Lucius groan in frustration. "When Tim was eight, his grandmother got sick and ended up hospitalized so he had to go back to living with his parents. Then Jack told him and his mom that his Nana had died."

"I remember. Before I adopted Tim, he told me all his grandparents had passed away, and he had no other living relatives."

"Jack lied."

Bruce's blood ran ice cold in his veins. "What?"

"Tim's grandmother never died. Her name is Susan Klein and she still lives next door to my family. I tried to tell Tim his Nana was alive, and that's when he ran off. I think he's in denial."

Bruce had to sit down as he processed this information. For years, he'd cared for Tim while his parents were out of the country, and then after his mother died and his father was in a coma. And then when Jack died, he adopted the boy he'd grown to love as his own son... But it was all under the assumption that Tim had no one else in his life. Tim had believed he had no one else.

And it was all a lie?

"Why?" Bruce asked, confused. "Why would Jack lie about that?"

Before Lucius could offer any explanation, Bruce saw Alfred emerge from the library. "Timothy is not in the Cave, but I did track his phone. Right now he's stationary in his new house in Gotham. He's logged into his workstation in the Nest." The old man's brow furrowed. "I've tried reaching out to him both by phone and computer, but he's not responding to anything."

Bruce got to his feet. "We can talk more about this later, Lucius. Tim's at his new place in the city, so I'm going to check on him now."

"I'll have Tam meet you there."

"That's not necess--"

"Do either you or Alfred have a key to the front door, and have your biometrics been programed into the house security system yet?"

Bruce and Alfred shared a glance, but said nothing, much to both of their mutual surprises.

Lucius apparently took their joint silence as a negative. "Tam was present while the theater renovations were in their early planning stages, and her biometrics were preinstalled into the security matrix while Tim was programming it. She can get you in without the Nest locking itself down." Bruce could hear the sound of Lucius's computer shutting down as well as the rustling of an overcoat being pulled on. "I'll call Tam on my way home."

"You're leaving the office?" Bruce asked as he went to his bedroom so he could change out of his nightclothes.

"This is a family emergency, and Susan has been like a grandmother to my own kids for nearly twenty-five years now. She needs to know her grandson is alive and well."

Bruce had just gotten back to his room, though he paused at the door. That feeling of ice in his veins had reasserted itself. "Did she think Tim was dead?"

In the background, Bruce could hear the sound of Lucius taking the elevator. "Honestly... we didn't know what had happened to him," Lucius admitted in a low tone. "We weren't sure exactly what Jack was capable of back then."

Once inside his bedroom, Bruce immediately began to quickly gather his clothes to change. "Please Lucius. I want to help my son, but I need more information. Tell me what you know about Tim's parents and grandmother."

Author's Notes:

At first, I was going to make this a much longer chapter. However, midway through writing it, I decided to split this chapter into two parts, with another chapter taking place in the past splitting the differences. I really hope everyone is enjoying this tale so far. If anyone has any questions or comments, please feel free to post them. I'll do my best to answer them.

#tim drake#tam fox#tim/tam#red robin#fanfiction#wip#rr: in hindsight#batfam#batfamily#lucius fox#bruce wayne

#tim drake #tam fox #tim/tam #red robin #fanfiction #wip #rr: in hindsight #batfam #batfamily #lucius fox #bruce wayne

[umbralich]

Never ending survey

RULES: Repost, do not reblog. Tag 10 blogs!

Tagged by: @lareine-kira and @paleshadeofrose

Tagging: @hangedemperor , @istolin , @maximiloix , @trahja-tia , @eorzeasfrozenknight , @charm-in-spades , @thorcatte , @haila-wetyios , @a-sharlayan-abroad

---

BASICS.

FULL NAME: Varg Blacksoul, formerly Timur Oronir NICKNAME: Varg-Varg (given by Lareine), Stiffy and Grumpy (given by Silke) AGE:  54 BIRTHDAY:  9th sun of the 1st astral moon ETHNIC GROUP: Xaela Au Ra NATIONALITY: Othard, Ishgard LANGUAGE/S: Common, xaelic, ishgardian SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Demisexual ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Biromantic RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single and not looking for company. HOME TOWN / AREA:  Dawn Throne, Azim Steppe CURRENT HOME:  Pillars, Ishgard PROFESSION: Paladin, medic/healer at Ishgard’s service.

PHYSICAL.

HAIR: Long and silvery grey. EYES: Black with white limbal rings, small irises. FACE: Angular features, long nose, high cheekbones. LIPS: Narrow, often cracked, slightly darker than his usual skin color. COMPLEXION: Grayish purple BLEMISHES: Dark circles SCARS: Lots of scars which he keeps hidden at all times. Two thick, long ones are visible and almost go across his right eye. TATTOOS: No tattoos. HEIGHT:  210cm WEIGHT: Slightly underweight BUILD: Slender but masculine, somewhat toned. FEATURES: Black markings around eyes, and naturally thick, black claws. ALLERGIES: None USUAL HAIR STYLE: At work or formal meetings it’s combed back either completely or with some locks on his temples left loose. In more casual situations he mostly just lets it be. USUAL FACE LOOK: Calm, focused, narrowed eyes. USUAL CLOTHING:  Full, dignified heavy armor or parts of it combined with a long coat, formal robes, jodhpurs, vests, blouses and high-heeled boots.

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR/S: Imprisonment, being held or tied down, physical pain, betrayal. ASPIRATION/S: To be successful, self-sufficient and powerful until the end, to bring as many as possible wrongdoers to justice, to find an heir, and catch people still on the loose who managed to escape his revenge long ago.

POSITIVE TRAITS: He keeps his word, doesn’t leave things unfinished, is a good motivator for slackers, aims for high-quality results in everything, is reasonable and logical.

NEGATIVE TRAITS: Insensible towards most of people, logic always comes before his own or other people’s feelings, very straightforward, capable of cruelty if necessary.

TEMPERAMENT: Calm SOUL TYPE/S: Thinker ANIMALS: Gray wolf

VICE HABIT/S: Smoking. He hates it, but it’s the least harmful thing that calms his nerves down, and he’s addicted. He tries to limit it though, and use it only in worst occasions, since he doesn’t want the side effects affecting his health or work. If things get especially grim, he also has full stashes of potent liquor and intravenous sedatives.

FAITH: Science usually comes first, but he’s also spiritual in some way. It’s one of those topics he doesn’t discuss with anyone. Some of his duties include working as a cleric, so it may have something to do with Halone. Or then it doesn’t, and it’s just another job.

GHOSTS?: Has seen them with his own eyes so can’t deny their existence. AFTERLIFE?: He hopes it exists, for reasons. REINCARNATION?: It’s a possibility.

POLITICAL ALIGNMENT: Generally neutral, but on demand would choose the side of underdogs: ignoble, the poor and the sick, minors etc. Wouldn’t show his alignment publicly if it was a threat to himself. Would also pretend to be supporting the oppressor, only trying to sabotage their work at every opportunity. Even I’m not sure would he actually die for anyone else or some common cause. He has fled once to save his own hide and he could do it again. Knows main points of what’s going on and where around the world for the sake of common knowledge, but is only interested in topics that concern himself. Has been a target for racists since arriving to Ishgard as a teenager, so he despises them from the bottom of his heart.

EDUCATION LEVEL: Learned

FAMILY.

FATHER : Not relevant MOTHER :  Not relevant SIBLINGS : None that he knows of EXTENDED FAMILY: Iris Ymir (patient and protege) and Arsene Dreadeois (butler)

NAME MEANING/S:

Timur is a Turkic and Mongolic name which literally means iron. In Indonesian, timur translates to east and symbolizes hope by the rising sun.

All members of the Oronir tribe believe themselves to be direct descendants of Azim, the tribe's god of the sun.

Varg is wolf in swedish. Varg was also originally a nickname given by his friends at the Steppe. It was the only thing he kept after starting his new life in Ishgard and severing his ties with his homeland.

Blacksoul was given by his comrades in the army for being so ruthless towards enemies - both the ones on the battlefield and the ones captured.

HISTORICAL CONNECTION?: None

FAVORITES.

BOOK:  Science, mythology, swordplay, alchemy, etc. Everything that has something to do with his work or hobbies. DEITY: Halone seems to share most of his values. HOLIDAY: Doesn’t celebrate any. MONTH: September and October. There isn’t many little things in life he gets pleasure from, but fall colors is one of them. SEASON: Fall and winter. PLACE: His estate, cathedrals, libraries and forges. WEATHER: Thick fog, rain and sunshine at the same time. SOUND/S: Fire, rain and musical instruments when someone who actually knows what they’re doing plays them. SCENT/S: Herbs, iron, parchment. TASTE/S:  Whisky, tea, whatever Arsene makes. FEEL/S:  Clean clothes, heat radiating from a fireplace. ANIMAL/S:  Doesn’t like animals except for his chocobo, Mori. NUMBER: Doesn’t care about numbers. COLORS: White, black, blood red, gold, silver.

EXTRA.

TALENTS: Accuracy of a chirurgeon, skillful with swords, managing to define a goal fast in any kind of surprising situation and being very patient and stubborn at achieving it.  BAD AT: Admitting he has weaknesses, comforting people, having fun, small talk, relaxing. HOBBIES: Reading, studying, weapon maintenance, alchemy. TROPES: Antihero, tragic hero and mad scientist. Definitely could also be a villain. Depends on whom you ask.

QUOTES:

“Since you seem to be so worried of my… customers, perhaps I should take you along the next time I interrogate them. You would see with your own eyes what kind of delicate, exquisite and misunderstood individuals they are, when they spit on you, mock their victims and brag about the amount of people they have raped or murdered.”

“Today it happens. Make sure she is out of here before I return tonight. I am no longer even sure which one of them is the worse one.”

“It was a mere procedure. If procedures were considered intimate, I would be close friends with half of Ishgard by now.”

“Do tell me... If you work as much as you claim, how come you are always broke when we meet?”

“Very well. Play something for me. Let us see are you a man of your word.”

MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1 :  If you could write your character your way in their own movie, what would it be called, what style would it be filmed in, and what would it be about?          

A1 :  He’s been busy sticking his spoon into so many soups during his life that you could probably make a trilogy of his fooleries feats. The first part would tell about his early life in Azim Steppe and how he was forced to leave from there, the second part about how he found his soulmate and adapted to his new life in Ishgard, and how it all eventually ended up into a shitstorm, and the third one would be the current storyline. No clue about the name, though. The Soulforge would be perfect but too bad it’s taken.

Q2 :  What would their soundtrack/score sound like?          

A2 : Bloodborne, Dark Souls and Amnesia the Dark Descent OSTs are absolutely the closest ones you could get to Varg. Orchestral, choir, bowed string instruments, both epic and monstrous. Even if there were more peaceful pieces here and there, while listening to them you’d still have that same feeling of dread you used to have while playing the original Resident Evil and Silent Hill games and finding a safe room: you just barely escaped death but can’t stay in the safe haven forever.

Q3 : Why did you start writing this character?          

A3 : He’s quite different compared to my Forsaken shadow priestess in WoW, whom I used to RP for... two or three years? Long story short: I wanted something else for a change. I also used to have an old Forsaken death knight, who was a lot more similar to Varg, but he was more evil. He existed pretty much only for occasions when someone needed a true villain for some plot. He was funny however and I always thought it was a pity I didn’t get chances to RP him more often.

Q4 : What first attracted you to this character?          

A4 : He’s a mixture of four different OCs of mine, with a bit of his original spice ofc. One of them came into being in, uh, somewhat obscure conditions. Kept seeing him in my dreams when I was a kid, and he became one of my imaginary friends I used to have back then. And not just one of the many, but the closest one. Also generally in entertainment I couldn’t care less about Lukes and Frodos. Villains, tragic heroes and the like are my thing. They’re usually the most multilayered and interesting characters.

Q5 : Describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse.

A5 : Perfectionism. I’m similar and it sometimes drives me nuts to watch him neglecting himself while trying to achieve perfection. If I could physically talk to him I would go and slap him and be like “EAT. SLEEP. YES THE THING IS GOOD ENOUGH ALREADY. LEAVE IT.”

Q6 :  What do you have in common with your muse?          

A6 :  Well, already kind of answered this one, but wait, there’s more: insomnia, nightmares, PTSD, misanthropy and cynicism come to mind first. And booze. How could I almost forget booze? I believe I know what misery is so I’m good at RPing miserable characters and make them look as authentic as possible. *lols like Alcyone from Magic Knight Rayearth* We both also have a strong sense of justice and nonexistent sympathy for those who use others as stepping stones. Aye I know, sounds a lot like a self-insert character, but it’s not like that. It’s more like... before meeting him/the OCs he’s based on, I used to be quite a scentless and tasteless kid. Similarities and peer support attract. And I’ve also learned from him.

It’s also a lot like me and Lareine. We became friends because we had 95% of the same interests and problems but perhaps that’s why we get along so well and understand each other.

Q7 :  How does  your muse feel about  you?          

A7 :  He would probably hate and like me at the same time. Or couldn’t decide. We both like peace and quiet, doing our job well is fundamental and our basic values are pretty much the same. We would get along well if we worked in the same place. However, unlike him, I have some horrid procrastination seasons, crippling self-esteem issues, tend to put other people’s needs and opinions above my own and keep stressing about things for 7 billion souls instead of just myself. I’m suspicious of pretty much everything else except Lareine and our plushie crow Agatha, except that Agatha creeps me out sometimes as well when she takes out a knife and sits next to my bed at night, staring at me, can’t watch Hachiko without bawling my eyes out during the entire movie, love puppies and kittens and danger noodles and I’m addicted to video games. Very likely he’d kick me out as well.

Q8 :  What characters does your muse have interesting interactions with?        

A8 : Varg would never admit it to himself, but I think he gets best along with people who are a bit silly in some way, and who get on his nerves by being too carefree and doing stupid things. Lareine and Iris, when they’re behaving. Arsene, who’s kind at everyone. Currently Shaura is my favorite. Varg himself is so uptight people like them help breaking his gray routines. Also a bonus: he doesn’t see them as a threat, so that’s probably the closest he’s able to get to relaxing among other people.

Q9 :  What gives you inspiration to write your muse?        

A9 : I’m a fan of my own characters. It doesn’t feel like I would’ve created them. I saw them with my third eye or something and I’ve just written for others to read what I’ve seen. I don’t plan RPs beforehand. I just let the hound loose and let him do whatever he wants. So far I haven’t got tired of my characters’ antics and could just write more. The only obstacles are limited hours per day, necessary evils like eating and sleeping, procrastination, trying to sort out my life, and the damn FFXIV. SOMEONE PLEASE TAKE IT OUT OF MY HANDS.

Q10 : How long did this take you to complete?          

A10 : Ehh, maybe 4-5 hours.

#final fantasy xiv #ffxiv #character info #au ra #never ending survey

[msephy]

Upbringing chap 13/13

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12

Cross-posted to AO3

And here is the last chapter! I hope you enjoyed the story. If so, please let me know ;) Any comments are welcome!

###

Earth 53 - Jason Todd

Of fucking course Bruce would like this Jason Wayne. Weren’t they palls, smiling to each other and hugging each other? Bruce. Hugging someone. Who wasn’t Dick.

And Jason was not jealous. He didn’t need Bruce’s approval, he didn’t need anything from him. He was a grown man.

It was just… unfair.

He thought about hiding in the shadows, but too late. The Doppelganger noticed him on the top of the stairs and nodded at him, indicating his presence to Bruce as well. Jason smirked. They could both go to hell.

“We will stay the night and head back home in the morning,” Bruce announced suddenly.

Jason felt himself tense all over. His smirk widened. “What, already? And here I thought you loved it here!”

Bruce seemed taken aback by the comment, but the Doppelganger understood what he meant by it, and rolled his eyes.

“If you want to hug your father, go ahead. I mean, it’s not like he’d fight you.”

“I don’t need…!”

“Sure, I can see how much you don’t need his attention. Provoking him has nothing to do with it, either. Jesus, how old are you? You still communicate like a teenager which,” he added, turning to Bruce, “by the way, you do, too.”

Bruce frowned. The attack to the Big Bad Bat softened the one to Jason himself only so much, though. Communicating like a teenager? Seriously? As if Bruce ever listened!

“It’s not because he does it that you have to do it too,” the Doppelganger concluded, still aiming his words at Bruce but echoing Jason’s a bit too well. Damnit. And damn him, too, and his perfect life, his perfect personality, his perfect Gotham!

The Doppelganger and Bruce both turned to Jason, making him realized he’d shouted that last part out loud. The Doppelganger smirked, a smirk that Jason knew only too well for seeing it in the mirror every morning.

“Ooooh, poor little Jay whose life was hard,” he jeered in Jason’s own vicious tone. “That’s why he became a bad guy, because he had a hard life.”

“Shut up,” Jason warned.

“Yes, that’s right,” the Doppelganger kept going. “A hard life, like his old da’.”

“He wasn’t even your father!” Jason exploded. “What would you know about it?”

“So? Catherine wasn’t your mother yet you loved her, didn’t you? Our paths only diverged when Alfred found out about me, back when my biological father died, and by then, I was thirteen. You know how it was, being us at thirteen.”

Jason froze. The Doppelganger smirked. “Yeah, I thought so. And yeah, apparently, for you, it only became better later. And then you died. Buhu.”

“Jason,” Bruce tried to interrupt, but the Doppelganger didn’t take any of his shit.

“No, Bruce. He’s excusing his own behavior in ways he doesn’t the behavior of others.”

“I know alright?” Jason exploded. “I fucking know that what I do doesn’t get a pass, but someone has to do it.”

“Has to? Really? Because look by the fucking window, you unbelievable moron. Look at that perfect Gotham of mine, and take a good, hard look at yours. Do you really still think that you took a better path than Batman?”

Jason felt the words like a blow. Fuck him. Fuck him. He was taking the hard decisions, someone had to help the people who didn’t have anybody, the ones Batman wouldn’t help, wouldn’t avenge, someone who would stop those who would never, otherwise, be stopped.

“Some people don’t deserve help,” Jason finally managed.

The Doppelganger shrugged. “Obviously. Take the Joker, for example. Ah, is it him who killed you?” The fucking jerk nodded, as if understanding. Jason felt livid. “Of course. He tried to push Bruce toward his most extreme, and it worked rather well, too. So I broke both his knees.”

Bruce gasped at that. He hadn’t been looking too well, either, while the Doppelganger was talking about his way of doing things, now that Jason thought about it. Did he think he’d been wrong, too? To create Batman?

“His knees? But…”

“Bruce, I like you very much, but the Bruce from this world is my brother and no one hurts my brother. Considering the life he’s living, I consider myself rather restrained. Also, don’t worry, the Joker still manages to cause havoc all the same.”

But he wouldn’t be killing any Robin. Jason’s eyes went up to the empty wall of the cave, where the card would be hanging, back in his world. Maybe that would be an acceptable solution. He craved the clown’s death but… Justice, not revenge. Or maybe a balance between both. Batman already played that game, after all, ignoring the law where it suited him.

Jason didn’t quite relax. It was too late for him, for the Red Hood to be a good guy. He’d never be Saint Jason Wayne. And their Gotham would never be this Perfect Gotham, either.

Or would it? The Doppelganger had had to start somewhere. He’d had to face the Joker, and Ra’s, and all the other fucking lunatics who were attracted by the city and, even more, by Batman. Could there still be hope on their own Earth?

Yeah, no. It wasn’t Jason’s way.

He might still like to work at the Martha Wayne Foundation, though. He’d trusted those people, back when he lived in the streets, at thirteen. Would he manage to find a compromise with Bruce? Without the two of them going at each other’s throats?

“I don’t think I can stop,” Bruce admitted out loud, in a matter-of-fact tone that sounded like defeat.

“You don’t have to,” the Doppelganger said. “Just, you know, also invest in people? I’m sure you do. You have a huge family. All of you put together…”

“We could do it,” Jason heard himself say.

Bruce looked up at him, an indefinable expression on his face. Jason glared back. “We could do it. The replacement already works for Wayne Enterprises. The demon brat and I can take care of the streets.”

Bruce frowned. Of fucking course. He wouldn’t trust them. He…

“I’ll think about it.”

What? No, wait. He was going to come up with an entirely different plan, for sure. Or Jason would do something he didn’t approve of, and they would be back to square one.

And yet. If it had even a remote chance to ever work, if Gotham could even become a better place… Fuck. That would be so worth it.

He looked at his doppelganger, and nodded. Then back at Bruce. “Tomorrow? We can go back, like, now.”

“Bruce will be sorry to miss you,” the local Jason said, but he was smiling. “I’ll pass your excuses along.”

“Yeah, right.” Jason hesitated. “Tell him that, you know. The visit wasn’t too bad. I’m glad the kid is alright.”

“Thank you, by the way,” the Doppelganger said. “You know. For saving my nephew’s life.”

Jason shrugged. “Hey. He’s family.”

He doubted he’d even manage to produce a grin as wide as Jason Wayne’s while meaning it. However, that might be a goal worth aiming for.

###

Earth 53 – Jason Wayne

The next day was quiet. Jason stayed home, spent time with the kids. He asked them both to stay home, despite it being a Friday, pretending it was because he’d missed them. He had, of course, but he mostly thought Damian could use the break.

He did miss the other Bruce, though. The jackass of other Jason… He hoped he’d do well, but he wasn’t in a hurry to see him again.

Once the kids were suitably distracted, Jason grabbed the week’s newspapers and started reading. He wasn’t supposed to work but nobody back at Wayne Enterprise would believe it if he wasn’t up to date with everything that had happened during the week.

There were a lot of different newspapers, from The Economist to the Gotham Gazette, all showing vastly different levels of analysis and opinions. It was always interesting to compare, especially putting the points of views in perspective with the average reader of each. A nice exercise.

Then his eyes stopped at the small ads, specifically at the renting section. He didn’t need a flat in Gotham center, of course; they owned several. Until now, he’d never thought about moving there. Bruce needed him at the manor.

Except he didn’t, not really. Bruce was an adult. His choice of becoming Batman – well, if he needed help, he could call. He knew Jason would always come, if he needed him. Hell, Batman spent more time in central Gotham than at the Cave.

As for Bruce, as an entity apart from Batman… He was an adult. He had his kids here. He didn’t need Jason around. Besides, if he did, going out of the manor for visiting would do him good.

And there was also another point they should discuss.

Jason put the newspaper away and got up, heading for the library. Bruce was, of course, down in the Cave. From the look of it, samples of soil needed to be analyzed, maybe in order to determine where someone had been killed before their cadaver being transported elsewhere – or maybe to determine the amount of fertility, who knew.

“Hey. Everything alright?” Jason asked.

“Mh.”

“I distracted the kids this morning, you can take the afternoon.”

“I’m busy.” Bruce winced. “But I’ll come upstairs as soon as I’m done.”

“Good.” Jason hesitated. It was uncharacteristic enough for Bruce to actually look up from his Erlenmeyer.

“Yes?” he prompted.

“I thought about something.” Jason sighed. “Don’t be upset?”

“I can’t be if you don’t tell me anything.”

“I want to take over Wayne Ent.”

That got a reaction out of Bruce. He put away the pipet he was using to pour chemicals on the soil, and straightened.

“Explain.”

“Bruce, you’re the CEO, but we both know you don’t invest yourself as much as you should. Part of that is my fault. I took over most of your responsibilities when I became COO. More than I should have.”

“Mhn.”

“But you let me. You are not interested in Wayne Ent., not the way you should be. And that’s alright. I can take care of it. I actually like it, too. But the company deserve better from its CEO.”

“I could invest myself more.”

Jason snorted. “You could. Or you could spend more time with your kids.”

“I do…!”

“I’m moving to Gotham proper,” Jason announced. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while.”

Bruce carefully didn’t say anything. Jason sighed.

“You know I love you. You’re my brother. And I love Dick, and Damian, and Alfred, and the manor will always be home. But I need some room for myself, too.” He hesitated again. “Maybe adopting my own children, someday.”

Jason didn’t talk about a relationship. He wasn’t ready to let someone close enough to him to contemplate it. Not even thinking about all the secrets and baggage.

Damnit. Jason really meant what he said, yet he couldn’t help but to feel guilty.

“Would it be alright?”

“Yes,” Bruce said abruptly. “You deserve some place. Something to yourself.”

He looked like he wanted to say more, but he’d never been good with words. It didn’t matter; Jason understood what he meant. That Jason had worked hard to get where he was and should keep going. That he’d taken care of Bruce until now, and still would, but that he had the right to have his own life.

Bruce hadn’t wanted Jason to follow him, back when he’d went training. Back then, Jason had followed only for Bruce, even though he’d loved their trip, and learning how to move, how to fight, how to think like a warrior. He’d loved meeting Talia, and other men and women as dangerous as she was. It was part of him, now.

But he wouldn’t have gone, by himself. To be a vigilante was not his path. It was part of him, he’d always relish in flying over Gotham at night, and there was no fucking way he wouldn’t have done everything to be able to protect his little brother, even though Bruce didn’t need much protecting.

Yet he should, too, follow also his own path.

“You already have some things in one of the flats, I’ll have to put to your name,” Bruce decided.

“Maybe I can come back on week-ends?” Jason snorted. “Like a student, I guess.”

“That would be nice.”

Jason smiled. Bruce did the same, offering him one of his rare smiles, faint on his lips, shining in his eyes. Jason hugged him and felt his brother’s arm close around him, keeping him close. Bruce was a great hugger.

They separated only after several minutes, both smiling still. Well, Jason, at least, was grinning. Bruce was back to looking mostly serious.

“I’ll announce the change next week, to Wayne Ent. I mean,” Jason said. “The moving can wait a couple of weeks after that.”

“Good. You only just came back.”

Jason bumped into Bruce’s side, just to feel his brother close again. “I’ve been reading the newspapers. What about you tell me what happened in the more underground parts of the city? I’ve started reading your reports while waiting for you to come back with Damian, but a summary would help.”

“Sure.”

They sat at the Batcomputer, side by side, their faces reflected in the dark screen. The Wayne brothers. Jason knew, suddenly without doubt, that if he saw them now, their father would be proud of them both

The End

#my fics #byme #jason wayne #jason todd #bruce wayne #upbringing #batfamily

[askweisswolf]

@glimadora-week posting late, but this one is for Day 2: Cliche Tropes. Originally started out as “sharing one bed” and instead ended up being “caught in the rain”. Eh.

I apologize that these are so late, linking these into one chapter story is taking more than I expected. FF.net here and AO3 here.

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Bright Moon hadn’t hosted a celebration of this size in a long time. Glimmer couldn’t even remember such a celebration being hosted before, probably because before now, well… there hadn’t been much to celebrate. The Rebellion hadn’t been beaten, and had continued to fight on even after Micah’s death, but by the same token they hadn’t really won after that, either. Their fight with the Horde had simply become about surviving.

But today, they had fought against the Horde and they had won. Today, for the first time in years, the Rebellion wasn’t only about surviving. Today, for the first time in years, it actually looked like they had a chance of winning. So of course, there was a celebration. Of course, a lot of people showed up for that celebration, particularly when several princesses had been involved in the battle.

And of course, the celebration had gone on for the rest of the day and quite late into the night. Bright Moon might not have hosted a celebration so large in a long time, but it had once upon a time, and so it was lucky enough to be built with just enough room to house people when they decided to sleep over for the night after a large celebration.

Unfortunately, the last celebration in Bright Moon had happened before Glimmer’s life time. So while it was built to host a large celebration, it hadn’t been expanded on since then.

And that was how Glimmer was informed that Adora had graciously offered her room for additional bedding when it came up that there would be a shortage of beds. About halfway through the explanation of how this had happened and an apology, the princess held up a hand to silence the staff member. “You spoke to Adora?” she asked.

The young man blinked. Of all of the reactions he’d expected, he… hadn’t been expecting that. “Yes,” he said uncertainly.

“How long ago did you speak with Adora?”

“Ah… a little while ago?” He wasn’t entirely sure where these questions were going, but Glimmer had a particularly intense gleam in her eyes. “I’m afraid I’m not sure how long ago it was. I apologize.”

Glimmer sighed and rubbed her eyes. “It’s okay, at least you saw her. Everyone else I’ve asked hasn’t been able to find her since Sea Hawk burst into my room to drag me out to the party.”

He didn’t know how to respond to that, so he didn’t. After a moment, Glimmer glanced back at him. “You wouldn’t have happened to see where she went at least?” It was almost painfully hopeful. “I can work with a direction. Any general direction, really.”

“… I think she went outside?” he tried. “She mentioned going to check on Swift Wind, maybe.”

“The stables! Perfect! I mean, Swift Wind hates our stables, but he likes to be there for the other horses, so… it’s a place! And I know Adora might be there! Thank you very much!”

He opened his mouth to reply—he was pretty sure he intended to say he was only doing his job and there was no need to thank him, though he did appreciate the politeness Queen Angella had managed to pass down to her daughter—but then he discovered that Glimmer was already gone, simply leaving a small cloud of pink sparkles in her wake.

He blinked a few times, then sighed and went on with his duties for the evening. Princesses were weird.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The weather outside of Bright Moon didn’t match the calming atmosphere inside the palace. As everyone inside was beginning to settle down for the night and sleep, a storm had broken out. There was no thunder and no lightning, so it wouldn’t keep everyone up during the night, but it would still be a pain to be outside in the cold and the wet. It was times like these that Glimmer was grateful for her powers, and she certainly wasn’t above abusing them to try and keep herself as dry as possible between the palace and the stables.

Hey, if she had the powers, she was going to use them. They might not have always been effective in combat, but they certainly had their moments. And at this point, she still didn’t know yet how her talk with Adora would pan out; it would be a small mercy to at least have it without being completely soaked, on top of potentially having her heart broken.

It was her own fault. She was hoping. She shouldn’t have been hoping, after the way Adora had run off, but the hope was there nonetheless. And when she hoped, the letdown always hurt worse than not hoping. But apparently her heart was horrible at listening to her head—a common and recurring problem with her, as much as she hated to admit that her mother was right in that particular regard—and she’d been nursing a minor crush on her taller friend since bringing her to the Rebellion.

A crush that, if she was being totally honest with herself, had been growing from minor to major for some time. A crush that she had largely kept to herself (venting to Bow didn’t count!) because she had eyes and she could see that whatever Adora had had in the past in the Horde with the Force Captain named Catra was now all complicated and messy. A crush that she had mostly kept quiet about (venting to Bow still didn’t count!) because Adora had been under a constant amount of stress and pressure, and she hadn’t wanted to add to it by bringing up feelings.

She’d just been trying to be a good friend. Because that was what Adora really needed, more than anything else—a good friend.

Only now they’d kissed and it’d barely been anything, really, but Glimmer was realizing now that her crush was like, super major and before she could say or do anything about it, Adora had managed to slip away and disappear. It shouldn’t have been possible with how tall she was, but somehow she’d managed it. Even going to the stable was just on the vague confirmation of a member of the castle staff, and when Glimmer finally blinked into existence inside the barn she fully expected to be met with nothing but baffled and mildly spooked horses.

What she was actually met with was a startled yelp from Adora, who jumped back from the space Glimmer suddenly occupied, tripped over her own feet in the process, and crumbled into an undignified heap into a pile of fresh hay.

Glimmer didn’t laugh. She didn’t look down at the crumbled form of her friend and snicker after an emotionally charged moment. Nope. She was the perfect picture of composure.

“You know,” Adora groaned, “it’s not nice to laugh at someone after startling them.”

Okay, maybe she laughed a little. She swallowed to compose herself and crossed her arms over her chest, lightly tapping her foot on the ground as she looked down at her taller friend. “It’s not nice to run away after kissing someone too, you know.”

It was a gentle jab, at most. Despite the uncomfortable coiling in her chest, Glimmer wasn’t actually mad; what little Adora had said about the Horde indicated that they didn’t generally do emotions, and what emotions they did allow didn’t seem to be the healthy kind of emotions. That she’d reacted this way was… well, expected, she supposed. She didn’t think the Horde actively encouraged any kind of romance. It must not have been gentle enough, since blue-gray eyes rapidly shifted between Glimmer and the stable door as Adora measured the distance she’d need to cover to get away.

Glimmer sighed and offered her hand, after a moment. “Don’t bother,” she said. “It’s pouring outside. You’d just get soaked and sick.”

“I’ve never been sick before, actually.” Adora took her hand though. Glimmer would like to say she pulled her up, but considering the natural height difference between them it was more like she gave a small tug and the blonde boosted herself up onto her feet the rest of the way.

“Bow tells me it’s unpleasant.” She let go of the blonde’s hand, and tried to tell herself that she imagined the brief flash of disappointment in her eyes. “I’m sorry, I was just having some fun. I’m not mad, Adora.”

There was a moment of silence between them, broken only by the sound of the rain outside; Glimmer could have sworn it was her imagination, but it sounded like it was coming down harder than before. Finally Adora shrugged and seemed to shrink into herself, shoving her hands behind her back. “Maybe you should be,” she murmured.

Glimmer blinked. “Why?”

“I-I mean—Glimmer, I kissed you.”

“Yeah, and I kissed you back.”

“Well, you—you did, but… wasn’t that your first kiss?”

Glimmer sputtered, cursing herself as she felt her face heat up. “H-How did you know about that?! I mean… how do you even know about first kisses being important? Do they cover it as Force Captain orientation or something?”

Adora had the decency to look sheepish. “Your castle has a huge library, and I had some free time.”

Okay so, apparently the former Horde soldier and current host of She-ra had a bit of a romantic streak. That was stupidly endearing.

Glimmer gave up the fight for composure and sighed, plopping down onto the hay and pulling her knees up to her chest as she peered out of the barn to the downpour outside. “If it helps, technically that wasn’t my first kiss.”

Adora sat down next to her tentatively. “It wasn’t?”

“Bow and I kissed when… gosh, I think we were like twelve? We were talking about it, and we wanted to see what the big deal was.” She shrugged, her eyes following the trail of rain drops. “It didn’t seem like such a big deal after we tried it.”

There was a swallow next to her; she heard her friend shift, and after a moment she felt warmth and softness pressing against her side. “And now?”

She didn’t look away from the rain. “Now I can see why it’s a big deal. I guess it depends on how much you like the person you kiss, and...” She trailed off, sighed. “I like you a lot, Adora.”

“… Are you sure about that?” It was so soft that Glimmer would have sworn she’d imagined it, if she wasn’t listening.

“… Yeah.” She rested her hands down next to her, sneaking a glance at the taller blonde. “You don’t—have to feel obligated to like me back or anything, though. I know everything’s really complicated for you right now.”

That got a quiet laugh from the other girl. “Everything’s been really complicated for me for awhile, Glimmer. You and Bow have been like, my only constants since this started.”

“I know.”

“And I know I haven’t talked about it with… anyone, really, and maybe I need to start working on that, but the Horde never like… encouraged emotions. Catra and I were sort of an odd case.”

“You don’t talk about her.”

“I don’t know how to. She’s...” Adora trailed off into silence, then sighed and dropped her forehead to her knees. “Complicated. A lot of things are complicated with me. You probably shouldn’t like me so much.”

Glimmer shrugged. “Probably. I still like you a lot regardless. You’re really sweet, and you’re stupidly noble, and you’re utterly gorgeous as either yourself or She-ra.” She made a show of tapping her finger to her lips. “Yup, I still like you a lot. I think I was doomed from the moment we met, really.”

That got another laugh out of Adora, surprised and amused. “You couldn’t stand me when we first met.”

“Clearly I changed my mind.”

“Clearly.” Adora shifted to get more comfortable on the hay, and after a moment she lowered her hands. Glimmer felt the tentative brush of Adora’s fingers against hers, and then their fingers laced together and she felt a gentle squeeze.

She tried to ignore the way that simple contact made her heart flutter. Tried, and failed miserably.

“For what it’s worth,” the blonde said finally, “I like you a lot too, Glimmer. And that was actually my first kiss.”

And they probably still needed to talk about that, sometime soon. Because to call the whole thing complicated was an understatement; Glimmer was the princess of Bright Moon, and good will or no Adora was still a former Horde soldier and the host of She-ra. There Adora’s whole past with the Horde, and her relationship with Catra. There was still a lot that needed to be settled between the two of them from here.

But for the moment, that could all be settled in the future. Glimmer was perfectly content to wait, particularly when Adora shifted and rested her head against her shoulder, closing her eyes with a small, content sigh.

And maybe she hadn’t been planning to spend her night out in the barn, caught in the rain, but Glimmer realized then that she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

#glimadora week #glimadora #Glimmer #Adora #my writing

[datetheplants]

When the sun calls us deeper inside (JoJo De La Guerra)

Part 1 of the series However We Know

People always told him that he smiled too much. He liked to pull them in for hugs. He was there when Elmer called him in the middle of the night crying. He was the one who Jack relied on to drive Crutchie to the clinic when he couldn’t. He let Anthony hang off of him like a koala when he would whine about his essays. He was the one who brought Sean Conlon food that one time he didn’t leave the library all day and Jojo was sure he was going to be soaked. He wasn’t. 

JoJo didn’t want anyone to feel alone.

He jerked awake and realized he was gasping. His face was wet and Jojo curled in on himself. Something inside him was hurting. He could feel it. It was aching and he didn’t know why. It was there almost every night. It was there when he would lay awake after wiping his tears away. It was there until it wasn’t.

Some days he longed for something. Or was it someone? Or was it someplace? There are moments when he’d think that maybe it had something to do with why he would wake up crying and hurting in the middle of the night. He’d try to remember what he dreamed of but his fingers would just grasp at air. All he could recall was the feeling of being so alone and angry. It tore at him.

Some days he wanted to tell someone. He’d meet up with Albert and Anthony at their apartment and have their usual movie marathons. Anthony would fall asleep halfway through with his body draped across JoJo’s. Albert would turn to him and ask if he was okay. Maybe he knew something was off with him. Maybe he could see the bags under his eyes when he was not smiling so wide.

Those were the moments when JoJo just wanted to hold on to Anthony and tell Albert the growing ache inside him. He wanted to.

He didn’t.

It wasn’t until he called Albert on a Friday morning after he found out that his classes were cancelled. It took a while before the other line picked up.

“Hey, Al,” he greeted. “I’m free today and I was wondering if you and Tony are up to go to the movies? I was going to ask Jack and Davey too.”

There was scuffling from the other line and JoJo heard someone coughing.

“You okay, Albo?” he asked, worry already building inside him.

He heard more scuffling until Albert finally answered.

“Not feeling well, Jo. Have to pass. Head hurts. Can’t…”

He coughed again and it sounded bad.

“Can’t get out of bed.”

JoJo was already up on his feet, grabbing his keys and putting on his jacket. He was already out of his dorm when Albert burst into a coughing fit once more.

“I’m coming over,” he said.

There was groaning from the other line and he could hear words such as ‘don’t’, ‘sick’, ‘away’. He was pretty sure Albert was telling him not to come because he’ll get him sick. He didn’t care. Crutchie called him immortal many times because he rarely got a cold.

He got to Anthony and Albert’s apartment in 20 minutes, carrying a bag of noodles and cans of soup. He fished out the key the two has given him in case of emergencies and let himself inside. He would have thought that nobody was home if he didn’t hear retching sounds coming from the bathroom.

Albert was on the floor, bent over the toilet. He threw up again just as Jojo kneeled down next to him.

“Told you not to come,” mumbled Albert.

JoJo only rubbed his back and waited for Albert to finish. He helped him and carried his weight back to the bedroom. Jojo frowned at how hot Albert’s skin felt against his.

“You’re burning up,” he said.

Albert curled in against his pillows.

“I’m dying, JoJo.”

And it was just a joke because that was Albert. Even when he was sick, he’d clap back or say something funny. It should be funny. But it wasn’t.

JoJo could feel his chest constricting. He felt like he was suddenly carved out of his body in one swift motion. His hands shook as they grasped at the bed sheets and he could feel it again. The same ache from the many nights he lay awake on his bed, scared to go back to sleep. It was there again.

“I’m going to get you some water,” he managed to choke out before he strode out of the room.

It wasn’t until he was sitting next to a drowsy Albert after two hours that he placed a hand on his hair and threaded his fingers through the strands. It felt familiar.

“You okay, Jo?” mumbled Albert.

“I’m dying, JoJo.”

“I’m dying, JoJo.”

“I’m dying, JoJo.”

No, he wasn’t. He really wasn’t.

“You’s gonna’ be okay, Albie. I got you.”

Did he say that two hours ago?

“We’s gonna be back to our feet by morning.”

“I’m dying, JoJo.”

It kept ringing in his head over and over again.

“Hey, Jo,” croaked out Albert.

Albert held on to the hand that was in his hair. JoJo looked down at him.

“I’m gonna’ be okay,” he muttered. “Just a fever.”

He nodded.

“You okay, Jo?” Albert repeated, his thumb running over JoJo’s knuckles.

It took a moment. Maybe it took almost forever that he expected Albert to fall asleep right then and there, tired of waiting for his answer. But he could feel the body pressed against his legs. He could feel Albert’s warm hand in his.

“Do you…” he began. “I-I mean… have you ever felt like… something was taken away from you? A-And it’s just… it calls out for you everyday and you’re angry that you couldn’t do anything?”

There was silence. It stretched on.

“Yeah.”

That day, JoJo stayed with him. Anthony came home later in the evening and fussed over their sick friend. Albert flipped him off several times. It was like every other time they hung out. It was like everything was normal.

Albert was sick for two more days before he was back on his feet again. He came by JoJo’s dorm, his hat sitting backwards on his head and a warm smile on his face.

“Thanks, Jo,” he said. “For taking care of me. Tony would have been a pain in the ass and he’s not the one who is sick.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that,” chuckled JoJo.

“That drama queen already knows!”

Albert had hugged him before he left. It was just another ‘thank you’ and a habit. Everyone hugged each other but Albert had held on for a little bit longer and JoJo found he wasn’t exactly pulling away.

“It’s gonna be okay, JoJo,” said Albert.

It really wasn’t until JoJo jerked awake again from his sleep. No, he didn’t wake up from another bad dream. His phone was ringing on his nightstand. He rubbed at his eyes and fumbled across the bed. Jack was calling him. He picked up and let his head fall on his pillow.

“What?” he groaned out.

“Tonio’s in the hospital,” came Jack’s reply.

It took a few seconds before it finally sunk in. JoJo sat up and threw off his covers.

“Why?” he asked.

“Got into a fight,” answered Jack. “He was beaten up pretty badly, JoJo.”

He scrambled to get into a shirt and almost ripped his jacket from the hook.

“I’m coming,” he said.

He heard people talking from the other line.

“Are you sure, Jo?” asked Jack.

“Yes.”

He was in the hospital in just a matter of minutes. Albert had just rounded off a corner, carrying bags of snack when he saw JoJo.

“How is he?” he asked.

“Idiot already wants to go back to the bar and find the guy who beat him up,” answered Albert as they walked.

“How did he get into the fight?”

“You know him, JoJo. Half of what he says are stupid things.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that.”

“He already knows.”

And he knows that Albert is trying to make it light for him. He can see it and he could feel dread pooling inside him. He told himself that Anthony was safe. He’s alive.

Jack was in the room when they arrived and JoJo almost reeled back when he saw Anthony on the bed. He has seen him bruised because of all the stupid stunts he pulled. He has seen him with a black eye because he stood up against a bully in high school. He has seen him with a bruised lip because he fell down hard. Jojo has not seen him beaten up so badly that he internally winced when Anthony tried to grin at him. He knew it hurt.

“You’re an idiot, Tony,” he said.

“You should see the other guy,” said Anthony.

“I can’t because you didn’t put him in a hospital.”

“Shut up.”

They sat around him, careful to not make him uncomfortable or making him laugh too much because it hurt. He whined and poked fun at them. He flipped them off a couple of times with his good hand. Soon, Jack had to leave to meet up with Crutchie. Albert left to go to the cafeteria.

It was just JoJo and Anthony.

“Are you really mad at me, JoJo?” asked Anthony.

JoJo frowned. “He could have had friends, Tony. You would have been in a worse situation.”

“But I wasn’t.”

“You could have been killed, Race!”

Jojo was rarely angry, everyone knew that. He was the one who smiled too much. He was the one who gave out many hugs as he could. He was the one who tried to be there for everyone because he didn’t want any of his friends to be alone. Anthony was quiet, eyebrows furrowed. JoJo sighed and looked away.

“Race?” repeated Anthony.

He didn’t mean to say it. He didn’t even know where it came from or how it came to his mind. He didn’t know what he said and yet it rolled off his tongue like he had said it many times before.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “It just slipped out.”

And Anthony smiled at him, as softly as he could. He held out his good hand to JoJo and he took it gently.

“I’m sorry, JoJo,” he said.

It wasn’t until he was back in his bed again, exhausted from his day. It wasn’t until he closed his eyes and dreamed once more that he remembered.

Hundreds, maybe thousands of fists up in the air.

Shouts of joy.

Shouts of anger.

Tight hugs.

There were hot days when they would lounge by the port, playing cards and tackling each other. They were just boys, too young to worry about what is to come. They were just boys who had to grow up too quickly.

There were cold nights when not one of them could leave the house, or even the bed. Winter took so much from them. The world took so many valuable things from them.

JoJo had clung on to a scared Albert. He was going to be okay until he didn’t get a chance to be. He was gone before morning came.

“I’m dying, JoJo,” he had whispered.

JoJo had clung on to a scared Race. He bled out on the pavement as JoJo called for help. He was gone just as the sun was rising.

“I’m sorry, JoJo,” he had cried.

JoJo had curled in on himself on the dirty ground. He was gasping for air. His chest hurt so badly. There were explosions all around him. There were bodies falling. There were men shouting. He was scared. He was angry. The world had taken so much from them.

He was gone, alone, after morning came.

He woke up that night and he laid awake in his bed for hours. He watched as his room was slowly filled with light. He counted his every breath until he felt himself slipping away from reality again. This time, he slept dreaming of warm summers spent with a family from a long time ago.

#newsies #jojo de la guerra #racetrack higgins #albert dasilva #race higgins #jack kelly #crutchie morris #crutchie #au #modern newsies #modern au #reincarnation #angst #fanfic #newsies fanfic #newsies au #angst fic #newsies fic #death #newsies musical #fic

[estherroberts]

and nothing ever does begin like nothing ever ends

chapter eight: abscission 

fandom: ars paradoxica, his dark materials

words: 2315

rating: T

characters: esther roberts, bridget chambers, original characters

read on ao3

series masterpost

September 6, 1938

they break taboo all the time now that they’re back at school and back together. in their dorm, at clubs, in the library, and always when they go out and about. it’s reckless, thrilling, stupid, sure. but it’s also the best feeling in the world. they can’t hold hands when they walk down the street without getting hassled, but they can switch daemons with no one the wiser.

galené sits on esther’s shoulders as they walk, and sure, it’s a little odd for esther without ritsa on her wrist, but feeling this constant and electrifying surge of— whatever the fuck it is, love and protectiveness and understanding— from bridget is enough to erase that entirely. she’s pretty sure bridget’s feeling the same, from the way she keeps stealing glances and biting her lip gleefully.

esther really wants to lean over and kiss bridget’s cheek, but she settles instead for kissing lené’s wings, and bridget’s face-splitting grin makes that just as good.

when they get to the cafe, bridget lets ritsa slide along her arms and tuck her face into her elbow as galené settles into esther’s lap.

“it still feels like we’re getting away with something,” bridget tells her, shaking her head.

“well, we kind of are. did you get a chance to—“

bridget lights up. “yes! i was in the library for hours the other day while you were taking your philosophy exams, and i convinced catherine to let me have a look at the witch-lore section.”

“there’s a witch-lore section!?!” esther’s sure her shock shows on her face.

“only the librarians know it exists, and only they have access to it,” she grimaces. “and it’s not like there’s much there anyway.” she stops again, sucking air in quickly through her mouth.

sometimes the sensation of switching is still intense enough to render them silent, so esther casually asks, “you alright?” as though she isn’t buzzing wildly herself.

“mhm.”

“so did you find… anything?”

“scraps.”

the waitress comes by and takes their order, and esther feels like she’s gonna bust out of her skin the whole time. “what did they say!” she asks as soon as the they finish ordering.

“it’s not what's normally thought of as a common practice, but there are several records of consensual switching occurring throughout history. it’s clearly not as taboo as everyone thinks it is, especially if we have proof that witches are keeping record of it.”

esther can tell there's something else there that she's not saying, so she sits forward in her chair.

"all those cases, though? one time incidences. no one else that i could find switched with the same frequency or for such extended periods."

"so...” this time, it’s esther who gets momentarily lost in the overwhelming feeling of her daemon safely tucked into her girlfriend’s arms. she takes a long breath, letting it wash over her. “so, what you’re saying is, we’re special.”

“no shit. i mean, obviously we need more data in order to reach any kind of solid conclusion—"

"as any good philosopher knows."

"uh huh. but it sure seems like we're outliers."

the waitress brings them their drinks and for a short while, they can only sip quietly, smirking at each other every once and awhile.

esther grabs bridget’s hand and squeezes twice, and bridget does the same back.

December 16, 1938

“JEAN AND RUDJURO ARE ON THE MARCH!” one of the girls from myrielle hall runs down and knocks on each door, starting a wave of ruckus that spreads throughout the dorm.

from their pushed-together bed in their room toward the end of the hall, esther groans.

“room inspection? the RA is coming?” bridget asks, rubbing her eyes.

“uh huh.”

“fuck me.”

“we don’t have time.”

bridget whacks esther gently and rolls off the bed onto the floor. “we have… so much to do.”

“so let’s get cracking!” esther hops to the ground and starts stripping the bed. “come on!!”

“mmmmmph.” bridget gets up slowly. “toss me the sheets.”

esther hurls them across the room and they smack bridget in the face. “wake up!!”

bridget giggles and picks them up, galené gathering up the pieces that drag. they toss them into their closet, and pull out the two sets of twin sheets. in revenge, and mostly to prove she's awake now, bridget throws one of them back at esther, who catches them deftly. somehow, she has already dragged her half of the bed back to the wall and is making it.

the sounds of jean walker’s room inspection outside grow closer. her power walk and gila monster daemon have been putting the fear of god into the hearts of myrielle hall girls for the last few years, and today is no different. the other girls in the hall are more worried about hiding illicit substances or organizing their stuff, but bridget and esther are doing their best to make their room look as normal and heterosexual as possible.

ritsa is trying to separate their desks by herself but, without limbs, is having a bit of trouble. “go help.” bridget gestures her own daemon in that direction, and starts making her own half of the bed. she looks over at esther, and smiles. “hey, ettie.”

“hey, bridge?” esther’s bed is made and she’s taken pity on the daemons, separating the desks herself.

bridget finishes making her bed and comes over to the desk to organize her side. “ever think about, ykno, separating our shit the night before a room inspection?”

esther looks up at her and grins. “now, my love, what fun would that be?”

bridget picks up ritsa and lets her coil around her wrist as she turns to grab the picture of the them with the two gay guys they’d met in a bar. after she hangs it up, she turns back to see esther grinning at their newly straightened room. actually, maybe she’s grinning at her daemon on bridget's wrist. yeah, it's definitely that.

bridget kisses ritsa gently just as jean walker throws the door open. immediately, bridget tucks her arms behind her back and esther slides into her desk chair, carefully keeping her own hands under the table and away from lené’s back.

“how’d we do, miss walker?” bridget asks, holding her breath as she waits for an answer.

jean squints at every inch of the room, taking a tentative step toward the cracked open closet before deciding better of it. “looks good. up to standard. but it’s hasty. be better prepared next quarter.” she stops again and looks at bridget, then at esther. "hands out, ladies."

reluctantly, bridget pulls her hands from behind her back, and esther pulls hers out from under the desk.

jean studies bridget's arms carefully and turns to esther. "miss roberts, isn't ritsa your daemon?"

"no, miss walker." she holds out her arms, and lené flies right into them. "galené is my daemon."

jean whips her gaze to bridget, trying to gauge her reaction.

bridget shrugs, doing her best to disguise the shiver that just ran down her spine, an involuntary reaction to the most intense confirmation of esther's love that there is.

"if you say so." jean leaves, shuts the door, and esther pulls galené closer to her, cackling.

bridget grins and lifts ritsa back to her face for a nuzzle.

May 31, 1939

"i think she’s bigger than this, lené.”

"bigger than us? than the school? the city?"

if a bee could look concerned, this one certainly does.

bridget sighs. "i don't know. all of it? she's just—“

"brilliant? powerful? destined for greatness?"

"yeah."

"we're so screwed."

bridget laughs a little, her eyes wild. "the snake isn't much better is she?"

"no," lené settles into bridget's lap and cuddles up. "you know, she’s so quiet cuz she's always plotting world domination or salvation. i can never figure out which one it is with them."

"i hope the latter." bridget takes a deep breath, which turn into a long sigh. "the truth is, lee, esther’s going to leave us and never look back. i can feel it in my bones."

"sometimes i think you're crazy for thinking that. but other times, it's like. she forgets a date, or she disappears for a few hours and comes back with a whole research paper written and edited. or she's sworn she's found a new method of observing Dust, for fuck's sake, on a day where she promised she'd do laundry."

"yep. i don’t— i feel like... was this happening the whole time? and we just didn't see it? or is this neglect as recent as it feels?"

"i don't know."

“what are we gonna do about that little philosopher of atomcraft, huh?”

suddenly, the door swings open and the aforementioned philosopher comes flying in. "I PASSED!" she crashes into bridget and lené and hugs both of them tight.

"you goon," bridget laughs, and she can feel her worries sliding off like the whipped topping off a pudding. "i told you it would be fine!"

"i can't believe our late night study sessions really did pay off."

"they always do! and hey, it can't be that hard to write an essay when your brain is the size of your ego," bridget smiles, kissing the top of ritsa's head and then, delicately, the inside of her girlfriend's wrist.

esther's eyes roll back in her head and bridget can't tell if she's exasperated or aroused. when esther pulls her closer by the waistband of her skirt and tells her she's being an idiot, she decides it's both.

November 26, 1950

esther can’t stop thinking— no, feeling, it’s definitely a feeling, that she should be holding galené. her arms ache in a sort of tender, sort of heavy, sort of way and she has to hold herself back from reaching out and pulling her ex’s daemon to her chest. she missed them. and, looking over at bridget, who hasn’t stopped rubbing her wrist, esther wonders if she feels this ache too.

there’s been a lull in the conversation, enough for her to say, “it’s weird.” she’s trying to laugh and nearly chokes instead, “we’re—“

“we’re sort of pretending this is okay.” bridget offers her a sad smile.

“i’m certainly not okay.”

“i’m not exactly okay either.”

esther hesitates. “i wish— i mean, i don’t think you trust me enough to— i don’t want to assume. but it’s not like we can just pick up where we left off, and the last time we saw each other…” her head still feels fuzzy, and even though she’s been mostly okay with conversations, she’s having trouble finding this one’s thread now. but what she's talking about is them holding each other’s daemons again, and she hopes bridget understands that.

“no, you’re right!” this time, it’s bridget who fails to laugh. “i don’t trust you. but i miss you, god, i miss you.” bridget studies her for a moment, and shakes her head. “i wish we could…” she lifts up her arm, grabbing tightly to the place on her wrist where ritsa used to curl, “but i think it'd be too painful.”

esther pushes herself up in the bed that looks like a hospital bed but isn’t, and holds out a hand. “probably.”

bridget lets down her arm and entwines her fingers with esther’s while lené, still buzzing, always buzzing, lands softly on the bedrail. she squeezes her hand, but just once, so esther knows she’s still upset. it’s not an ‘i love you’ but it’s half of one.

“you’re a fool,” the bee tells the snake.

ritsa, curled up on esther’s lap, flicks her tongue, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

esther, however, nods. “hubris is… a bitch.”

this earns her a genuine chuckle from bridget. “ettie, please do try not to get yourself entangled in situations like this.”

“says the girl who agreed to work at my top secret and extremely dangerous organization.”

“hey, who else is going to keep you out of trouble?”

esther swallows, trying to push down the guilt that rises painfully in her throat. she has it on good authority that bridget barely left her side when she was in the coma, and, on top of that, she's visited every day since esther woke up. “you really don’t want to do that. give up your life for me.”

“excuse you, miss hubris! i have a responsibility to the sanctity of this alliance, which is to prevent the corruption of an institution with too much power, and maybe save a few lives in the process!”

“good luck with that,” esther attempts a smile and get hit with a wave of dizziness. “whoah.”

“are you alright?” bridget’s expression changes from jovial to concerned so quickly it breaks esther’s heart. “is there anything i can do?”

“i’m okay. thank you, bridget.”

ritsa slithers down esther’s arm and curls up on her wrist. it’s as good a signal to esther as any that they’re done here.

“you sure?” bridget pulls her hand back gently and clasps it with her other in her lap, but her eyes never let go of esther’s.

“yeah. i think i need to rest, though. catch you later?” it’s a lie. she won’t be able to rest anytime soon. she’s too busy thinking about how she’ll never be capable of returning all she owes her ex-girlfriend.

“you bet.” bridget and her daemon slip out of the room, each throwing one glance back as they go.

without galené’s buzzing, it’s completely silent in the room, and esther is left staring up at the ceiling. “ritsa?”

“yeah?” the small, pink snake shifts around to look at esther.

“they love us so much.”

“they do.”

“i can't—” esther’s voice breaks and she pulls ritsa up to her face. “i can't. i can't love her,” she swallows, “like that. or maybe at all, i don't know. i'm letting her down.”

“yeah,” ritsa tells her softly, “you are.”

#ars paradoxica #his dark materials #ars hdm crossover #my writing

[vampykitty-kun]

Hi! I'm really interested in reading comics/graphic novels about or featuring the Batkids, and you seem like you know about that kind of thing (or at least more than I do, although it's a low bar), so do you think you could give me some suggestions to get started with? Also, I've seen some DC stuff at the library with "Death of the Family" on it but some is Batman and some is Batgirl and I think I saw a Teen Titans one and are they all connected or something? I'm confused. Thanks!

Yes! I do know quite a bit about comicsin the BatFam area, I just unfortunately can’t recommend anythingthat came out in the last 2 years as I’ve not read it. But 1989-2015I can give LOTS of recommendations.

For the most part any title can be astandalone, but titles do unfortunately get wrapped up in companywide events at times. But if you read the GN rather than theindividual comics they try and keep events to their own combo storybooks and character titles to their own.

This is such a huge list that I’mputting it under the cut so you click to read it instead of everyonegetting spammed with a HUGE list of things…

Here is what I’d recommend:

-Jason Todd as Robin II (Later known asRed Hood): It seems as though the majority of Jason writers presentday neglected to actually read his original issues, because they basetheir knowledge and opinion of him on what readers in the 80’sTHOUGHT of him, and unfortunately at the time many people hatedJason. Much of the hate was for a Robin in general as at the timeplenty of people thought Bruce should be on his own. No Batgirl (seethe Killing Joke) and no Robin. So the hate was for the role ingeneral. And then you had Robin fans that hated him just because theydidn’t want anyone trying to replace Dick’s role even though Dick hadmoved on to Nightwing. Jason as Robin issues are Batman #408-428, andNew Teen Titans Vol2 #19-21, 24, 28-31. I’m sure there were issues ofDetective Comics, but I have no idea which. In recent years much ofthese issues are in GNs but some of the issues are not, so you mayhave to look those up individually to read online or buy them instores with older issues. These GN are- Batman: Second Chances(Batman Issues #402-403, 408-416, and Annual #11), Batman Ten NightsOf The Beast (Batman Issues #417-420), DC Comics Classics Library:Batman- A Death In The Family, Hard Cover (Batman Issues #426-429,440-442, New Teen Titans Vol2 #60-61). this edition of “A Death InThe Family” contains both the death of Jason and the introductionof Tim, which was a story focused around Jason. So it’s a 2-for-1deal. There’s also a GN called Batman: The Cult and Jason’s the Robinwith Bruce in that story as well though I’m not sure where to placethat in the chronology.

-Tim as Robin III (Later known as RedRobin): Tim had an excellent run as Robin. He had 3 mini-seriesbefore he had an entire run of his own that spanned 183 main issues,not counting team ups or annuals. All while also appearing in theother Batman, Nightwing, and Batgirl titles. Plenty of issues werecompany wide tie-in issues but the rest were all put into their ownGNs. Robin: A Hero Reborn (Batman #455-457, Robin Mini-series1 #1-5),Robin: Tragedy & Triumph (Detective Comics #618-621, RobinMini-series2 #1-4), Robin Mini-series3: Cry Of the Huntress #1-6 isnot in a GN that I know of, then the rest of his main run in FlyingSolo, Unmasked!, Fresh Blood, To Kill a Bird, Days of Fire andMadness, The Virtual Cell, Wanted, Teenage Wasteland, The BigLeagues, Violent Tendencies, and Search for a Hero.

Likewise…

-Dick as Nightwing in his solo title(Vol2): 153 issues not counting team ups or annuals. Like with Robinmany of these issues are tied in with company wide events, and therest are in their own GNs. I recommend the 2014-present editions asthey have a bit more in them, better paper/graphics, and are wayeasier to find, but they haven’t remade all of them yet. Nightwing:Blüdhaven, Nightwing: Rough Justice, Nightwing: False Starts,Nightwing: Love and Bullets, Nightwing: The Hunt For Oracle are thenew editions. Continuing from there the older editions are:Nightwing: Big Guns, Nightwing: On the Razor’s Edge, Nightwing: YearOne, Nightwing: Mobbed Up, Nightwing: Renegade, Nightwing: Brothersin Blood, Nightwing: Love and War, Nightwing: The Lost Year,Nightwing: Freefall.

-Batman Knightfall: One of the classicBatman stories, in which the main bad is the villain Bane, whoseriously injures Bruce. This story spans three GNs: Broken Bat, WhoRules The Night, and Knightsend

-Batman Cataclysm: Another classic. Amassive earthquake hits Gotham and decimates the city. This can befound in one GN, thought look for what I think is the 2012 edition ofthe book not the one one as they included a lot of previous cut storyin the newer edition.

-Batman No Man’s Land: FollowsCataclysm. Essentially Gotham is covered in rubble and a massiveterritory war breaks out between BatFam, GSPD, and several separategroups of Gotham’s baddies. It spans 4 super thick GNs in the 2012newer edition (don’t bother with the older editions) but also has areally enjoyable novelization if you would prefer to read it inwritten format!

-Batman Hush: Essentially Bruce vs Hushand sometimes Clayface, and a story that unintentionally set up JuddWinick to bring Jason back to life lol…one GN in more recenteditions but was previously 2 smaller GNs. I do not know if there isa difference but generally larger book versions have a bit extra inthem.

-Batman Under the Red Hood: Jasonreturns as the Red Hood, sending Bruce on an emotional rollercoaster, while Joker and Black Mask end up roped in. Lots of peopleinvolved. Like Hush this come in one or two book format. I have thesingle book format. This story was adapted into an animated movie,one that also takes a few moments from “A Death In The Family”,but the beginning part was highly modified to make it a stand alonefilm, so several key details are removed. I do recommend watching themovie, but after reading both “A Death In The Family” and thecomic version of “Under The Red Hood”, so you get the fullexperience.

-Batman War Crimes, War Drums, and WarGames (WG is three GNs long): this connects into both Robin and RedHood. This is unfortunately where Stephanie (Spoiler, brief Robin IV,Batgirl) “dies” and there’s a massive war against Black mask.It’s five GNs total.

I pretty much have to recommend anyBatman Titled GN that comes after that as it goes more into Hush,Damian comes in and there’s a lot of plot to cover there, Bruce“dies” and the mantle is picked up by Dick, and it was a heck ofride until the reboot happened.

Outside of main Batman titles aroundthat time I have to HIGHLY recommend the following:-Batmanand Robin: Basically Dick and Damian’s team-up book series. Itspanned three GN with Morrison, and one after him totaling four. Wealso got more Jason here, and his sorta Batgirl type sidekickSasha/Scarlet. Admittedly it was weird because Morrison thought itwould be fun to give Jason red hair (something the main version ofJason never had, but had in issues for another version of Jason thatwas scrapped before any issues I mentioned in this post) and bulk himup. But if you can gt around that the actual plot on the Jason endwasn’t too bad and had some gems. But the Dick and Damian interactionand banter is the treasure here.

-Batman Streets Of Gotham: Again moreof Dick and Damian as Batman and Robin. But here we get Thomas Elliot(Hush) who surgically had his face changed to look like Bruce, and hefill Bruce’s public role under very close watch. We also get Damian’slittle friend Colin Wilkes (Abuse) who ends up close to him. He turnsinto a giant bulky rage man good guy :)

-Red Robin: Tim’s new solo series thatstarted after Damian took up being Robin and Dick went from Nightwingto being Batman. It’s 4 GNs long and was amazing. I can’t stress thatenough. I still mourn it ending. You get Tim on his own, you get himgoing up against/working with/outsmarting/impressing Ra’s al Ghul.You get Prudence Wood, one of Ra’s assassins that ends up liking andworking with Tim. You get Tam Fox, and Stephanie, and Conner Kent.

-Batgirl Vol3 (Stephanie Brown asBatgirl): Stephanie came back from faking her death, took back upSpoiler, only for Tim to demand she stop being Spoiler. He shouldhave been more specific, and she DOES drop Spoiler but then becomesBatgirl with previous Batgirl’s (Casandra) blessing lol. Spanned 24issues in three GNs but they are hard to find. Obviously there isCasandra’s run as Batgirl but i’ve never actually read it so I findit wrong of me to suggest it before I have so it’s up to you if youwant to hunt those down as well. But Casandra’s run was 73 issuesVol-1 (7 GN) sand 6 issues Vol-2 (which is in a single GN)

-Teen Titans Vol3 (Tim, Conner, Bart,etc) spans twelve GNs and had its ups and downs, but if you’re a teamfan this is a good series to read.

-Catwoman: A few different runs, andsome stand alone books. They’re all good pre-reboot. Read them ifyou’re a Catwoman fan :)

Now as far as books NOT in the main runof pre-reboot comics I also REALLY need to recommend the following:

Batman Year One: Bruce’s first year asBatman. Also Gordon’s first year on the job. One GN. Awesome and alsoadapted into an animated movie.

-Robin Year One & Batgirl Year One:These come in separate books or both in one big book. The Robin inmention is Dick and the Batgirl is Barbara. Both are fantasticstories.

-Huntress Year One: Huntress’ originstory. This is the Huntress that is NOT Bruce’s daughter from anotherEarth, this is the Mob associated one that was also featured in theTV series Arrow.

Superboy / Robin World’s Finest Three:two tiny GNs that tell the story of Tim and Conner’s first meeting.They end up going against Metallo and Poison Ivy.

JLA: World Without Grown-ups: This is astory spanning again two tiny GNs. Where Tim (Robin), Conner(Superboy), and Bart (Impulse, later known as Kid Flash) team up whensuddenly all the adults are in one dimension and all the underagepeople are in another.

Red Hood: The Lost Days: the story ofwhat happened between Jason’s resurrection and when he came back toGotham in Under The Red Hood. It’s one GN.

There are also some alternate universe stories that came out pre-reboot called Elseworld’s stories. Here are some good ones:

Batman:Brotherhood of the Bat: Alternate Universe what-if type story. Thisstory is if Talia had joined Bruce in Gotham and abandoned her fatherRa’s and his ways. The story is centered around their son, TallantWayne. This was an AU created before Damian entered the comics andthus one of many stories where Bruce and Talia’s son had a differentname. Bruce is dead and Tallant has to face his grandfather. This wasone thin GN but did have a sequel…

Batman: League ofBatmen: takes place after the above and spans two GNs to finish thestory.

Thrillkiller Batgirl & Robin: 3 issue AU where Barbara and Dick are the first vigilantes in Gotham in the 1960′s and go up against a FEMALE Joker. Bruce is a legit Detective. Every bit of this story is PAINTED and it’s amazing. It is followed up by a sequel.

Thrillkiller ‘62: Takes place where the above left off. But now Bruce is Batman alongside ‘Batgirl’. I won’t spoil the events of the above to give goo detail here lol.

Superman: Speeding Bullets: AU where Baby Kal-El crashes into Earth, where he is discovered by Thomas and Martha Wayne. The couple decide to adopt Kal-El, and name him Bruce. Fuses the two characters together. Thomas and Martha still die. “Bruce” becomes a flying Batman and later Superman.Batman: The Dark Knight Returns: Pretty much the most popular and longest AU that DC did. Spans 1 thick GN or multiple tiny ones. Not the greatest of art/setup but still good. Think of this as an AU Future Fic taking place after Jason died and Bruce retired instead of Tim coming along. Then he comes out of retirement to be a total badass. I do NOT however recommend any of the sequels or prequels because they are just BAD. This was adapted into TWO animated films which I honestly think I recommend more than the GNs due to the art.Post Reboot we hit the New 52. It had its up and downs. Nothing BatFam was particularly terrible but very little was amazing. personally the first 4-6 volumes of GNs for any given series was worth a read but not necessarily a buy. I read all the BatFam titles and the only ones that were MEH for me were Catwoman and Teen Titans. Red Hood and the Outlaws wasn’t for everyone, but I personally enjoyed it other than some details like Jason suddenly having magic??? and Kori having some personality issues but I was glas she wasn’t ditzy if that makes sense, and I really loved her character design even if I wish she at least had a touch more clothing on (once she was in a space suit and it was amazing). Suicide Squad isn’t technically BatFam but it had Harley in it in the New 52 and it was amazing even if I hated her visual re-design. Talon was a branch off of a Batman story line, and a specific character got his own title that spanned 2 GNs and was enjoyable.

Past that any Gns involving Batman The Animated Series are great, so are the Young Justice GNs.

I also have a huge love for the Batman Beyond show and Comics, but after the reboot they messed that up too.

#BatFam

[raptorginger]

Chemistry & Conservation: Chapter 12 - Confluence, or Business as Usual

The beginning of the term passed fairly smoothly for Rey, in spite of her worry.  Her students were engaged and interested in what she had to say despite the class’ late hour, and she found the practice of teaching them quite enjoyable.  They watched her with rapt attention as she demonstrated various conservation techniques and different the chemical interactions they might encounter in a conservation lab.

After her first class ended at 8:00pm, she’d headed back to her office and was slightly surprised to see Ren standing there.  The Chemistry offices were typically deserted at this hour.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, secretly pleased to see him.  She hadn’t asked him to come by after her class, trying to seem nonchalant, but she was hoping he’d see through it and come anyway.

“I wanted to see how your class went,” Ren replied, playing along.  “You’re practically glowing, so I assume it went well?”

Unable to hold back her pleasure at having nailed her first day teaching any longer, Rey leapt at Ren, his arms reacting quickly to catch her, as she squealed “Yes!”

He held her tight and gave her a little spin before setting her back down on her feet and planting a kiss on the top of her head.  “I knew you’d do great.”

Rey flashed him a brilliant smile before heading into her office to collect her things.  As she pulled her door shut, she asked, “How was your day?”

Ren shrugged.  “Fine.  Got some work done.  Bossed the team around.  You know, the usual.”  Ren wasn’t teaching a class this term, so he was able to spend most of his time in the lab working on his catalyst with his team of RAs.

As they walked, Rey slipped her hand into his, interlacing their fingers together.  Ren smiled.  Pushing the ‘DOWN’ button on the elevator, Ren turned to Rey and asked, “Hungry?”

In response, Rey’s stomach let out an audible growl.   Her class was on Tuesdays from 5:00pm to 8:00pm, which left her little time to eat a proper dinner.  Rey nodded enthusiastically, “Very!”

After the elevator doors closed, Ren bent down and captured Rey’s mouth with a deep kiss, pulling her close.  His free hand came up and cupped her warm cheek as his tongue coaxed Rey’s mouth open.  He kissed her until the elevator stopped at the ground floor, releasing her only when the doors slid open.

“Maz’s?” Ren asked casually, as if he hadn’t just spent the last thirty seconds ravishing her mouth.

Rey could only nod, leaning into his side, wrapping her arm around his waist as they headed out of the building onto the dark, quiet street.

***

It was a few weeks before Rey’s boss at the Conservation Lab, Doctor Amilyn Holdo, was back from her trip.  She had been granted access to the secretive archives of the old Corellian Empire in order to assess the archive’s preservation needs.  It had taken her quite a distance away with limited communication for the entire summer.  

Rey had been working on a small painting from the Plagueis collection when Holdo called her in to her office.  It was a spacious if sparse room.  Holdo wasn’t one for unnecessary clutter.  Original blueprints for the University and libraries were hung in modern glass frames on the walls, and a modern desk stood proudly off to the left.  A few mid century modern chairs were around a small table in the corner.   At the table, Holdo sat across from an older man, a document resting on a piece of acid free board between them.  Rey recognized the man immediately - Luke Skywalker, Head of the History Department.  He was distinguished looking, with trimmed grey hair and a matching neat beard.  His shoulders carried a slight slump, the result of years of bending over old documents, examining them for the tiniest details.  His blue eyes were still bright though.  Both of them looked up when Rey walked in.  

“Rey,” Holdo greeted her warmly, holding out her arms.  

Rey came forward and grasped Holdo’s hands.  After a brief lean-in, Holdo released her hands and gestured toward the document sitting on the table.  Rey could see now it was the charter that she’d asked Doctor Skywalker to examine several weeks ago.  The one she suspected was a forgery.

“I’ll cut right to it,” Holdo began.  “Doctor Skywalker agrees with your assessment of this document.”

Taking the cue, Luke said, “Yes, partially, anyway.  I believe the actual document is original, and that dating will confirm that, but someone has indeed tampered with it.”

Rey sighed with something resembling relief.  

“The seal has clear signs of having been heat manipulated, as you suspected.  And, as you noted, some lettering has been changed.”

“Right,” said Holdo, taking back the conversational ball.  “I am giving you permission to take samples of the ink on this document and run chemical and dating tests on them, to determine their composition and age.  Having examined the document myself, I believe the lettering alterations and the seal manipulation were done at a later date, and that testing the ink will reveal this.  There isn’t much we can do chemical-wise on the seal.  I want extensive photographs taken of this document.”

Rey nodded, eager to get to work.

“Rey,” Holdo said, her tone and expression deadly serious, “I don’t need to tell you how sensitive this information is.  You are not to discuss this outside of this lab.  Doctor Skywalker has agreed to this condition as well.  The head of special collections is aware that there is an issue with this document, but he isn’t aware of the specifics.”

“Understood, Doctor Holdo,” Rey replied.

“Excellent.  After your testing has been completed and the results are in, we’ll decide how best to proceed.”

“Agreed, Doctor Holdo,” Rey said, nodding her assent.

“Alright then.  Get to it, my dear.”

Rey said goodbye to Doctor Skywalker and turned to begin collecting the supplies she’d need to take her samples.  It was going to be an interesting day.

***

Taking the samples from the document had taken most of the day.  Rey then spent about half an hour carefully packing the test tubes containing the ink samples into a padded travel case to take to the Chemistry Lab.  As she snapped the case shut and headed out, she groaned inwardly.  She’d have to ask Hux for use of the Lab’s resources for her tests.  Hux wasn’t so petty as to outright refuse her, but she knew he’d be difficult about it.  Rey sighed and steeled herself.  All he could do was delay her by saying there was a queue, and she’d just have to wait until it was her turn; the tests would get done.  Rey was by nature impatient, but she had to hand it to Hux, he’d helped her fix that, on purpose or not.

Fifteen minutes later, Rey was standing in front of Hux’s secretary.  She sighed as the woman told her Hux was in a meeting.  

“You can wait though,” she said sympathetically.  “He shouldn’t be too much longer.”

Rey gave her a smile, “Thanks, I’ll do that.”  Rey took a seat, holding the case carefully in her lap.  

It was about five minutes before Hux’s door cracked open.  Hux’s posh British voice filtered out.  “Excellent, excellent.  Thank you, Magister Snoke.”

Rey straightened in her seat.  She’d never seen the Magister in person.  The door opened wider and a aged man, tall, completely bald, imposing, sauntered out.  He carried an intricately carved ebony cane, although he didn’t seem to be leaning on it for support; it appeared to be more for decoration than function.  He wore a smart black suit and shirt and a gold tie.  His skin was mottled, and he had a mass of scar tissue on his skull, above his right eye.  He wore a massive gold ring on his right hand.  It bore the Plagueis seal.

Snoke paid Rey no mind as he passed her.  Rey hadn’t realized it, but she’d been holding her breath.  She exhaled quietly as she held her case tighter.  She glanced at Hux’s door again and had to stifle her surprise as Ren walked out next.  

He looked grumpy as he walked out; obviously he hadn’t wanted to be in whatever that meeting was.  Hux was all smiles as he clapped Ren on the back as he walked out.  Ren winced, but Hux couldn’t see his face.  His eyes found Rey’s and his expression brightened marginally.  He nodded cordially to her.  “Doctor Jinn, what a pleasure to see you.”

They’d agreed to maintain an air of professionalism around their colleagues.  Some were beginning to suspect that there might be more to it than that, Ren’s RAs had a tendency to gossip, but Hux was none the wiser.

“Doctor Solo,” Rey said quietly when he passed.  Ren surreptitiously ran his fingers along her arm.  Rey shivered.  She was going over to his place tonight, she remembered.  Her stomach flipped in anticipation.

Hux was talking to his secretary when Rey stood and cleared her throat.  “Doctor Hux, may I have a moment?”

Hux sighed, “Only a moment, Doctor Jinn.”

“Thank you, Sir.”  She followed him into his office.  As Rey passed the secretary, the woman gave her a knowing wink.

Keeping the door ajar, Hux said to Rey, “Luckily you’ve caught me in a good mood.  I’m sure you saw Magister Snoke just now.”  His chest puffed out proudly.  Rey stifled a snicker.

“Yes,” Rey replied, schooling her features into a face of seriousness.  “I’m sure you were quite honored to receive him.”

“Indeed, Doctor Jinn.  He came to discuss further funding of our department’s work.”

“Is that why Doctor Solo was here as well?” Rey asked.

“More or less.  As you know, Doctor Solo is a visiting researcher.  His position with the University is subject to change depending on their whim.  Magister Snoke wants him here and that’s what the meeting was about.  Magister Snoke wants to fund a position, specifically for Doctor Solo to continue his research without worry that the University might drop him.”

Rey kept her expression neutral, but internally wondered why Ren looked so angry coming out of the meeting if it had all been about funding a position for him.

“It would be a boon to the University,” Hux continued.  “I’m sure the Board of Regents will agree.”

Rey nodded in agreement, “They would certainly be foolish to disagree.”

Hux smiled at her, glad she was agreeing with him for once.  “So, what can I do for you, Doctor Jinn?”

“Well, I was hoping to run some chemical tests on a few ink samples, Doctor Hux.”

Hux waved his hands, “Of course of course,” he said amiably.  “There is a queue right now for that kind of thing, but you’re more than welcome to store your samples in the climate controlled secure room until it’s your turn.  I think there’s only three groups ahead of you, Doctor Jinn.”  He passed her a slip of paper with his approval signature to attach to her request.

Rey decided not to push her luck.  “Thank you so much, Doctor Hux.  I’ll be on my way.”  She headed out of his office, flipping his secretary a wave as she passed.  

She took the elevator down to the main floor where the Chemistry Lab was.  She punched in the code to enter the Lab’s vestibule type room, dropping most of her things off in a locker before donning the required protective equipment.  She punched in another code and entered the Lab, heading toward the back where the secure room was located.  Rey moved quickly past the different stations, each one in the midst of performing some task or experiment.  Huddled figures, clothed in lab coats and sporting protective goggles, masks, and gloves were busy writing notes, stoppering test tubes, or typing at the computer stations along the wall.  A few waved in greeting, and Rey would wave back.

Reaching the store room, Rey typed in a third code.  The door hissed open, and Rey moved quickly inside before the door hissed back shut.  She set her case down on the available table and began filling out the necessary paperwork for her request and place in the queue.  

Finishing that, she set her case in one of the empty glass compartments that lined the opposite wall and slipped her paperwork into the hanging slot in front of it.  Punching in the code again, she made her way back out into the Lab and through the gauntlet of keypads.  

She was struggling with her bag when Ren’s voice behind her made her jump.

He laughed, “It’s just me.”

“You scared me!” Rey exclaimed.

“Obviously,” Ren replied teasingly.  “What are you up to down here?”

“Dropping off some ink samples that I have to test when my turn’s up,” Rey replied.

“Oh, from the document that’s a forgery?” Ren asked.

“Shh! You’re not supposed to know that,” Rey hissed.

“Why not?” Ren whispered, leaning forward to hear her better.

“My boss doesn’t want other people to know, so pretend you weren’t there and that you know nothing,” Rey whispered urgently.

“Nothing about what?” Ren asked, all innocently, as he straightened.

“Exactly,” Rey replied, smiling up at him. “Heading in?”

“Yeah.  Have to check on something the team found.”

“What was that meeting about earlier?”

Ren’s eyes darkened, a slight frown crossing his face.  “I’ll tell you later.”

Rey looked up at him, worry written in her expression.  “Ok,” she said gently.

Ren’s face softened.  He looked around quickly before he grabbed her arm and pulled her into a quick embrace.  Rey rose on her toes and kissed him briefly before he let go.

“See you tonight,” Ren said seductively as he punched in the code.

Rey blushed as she hurried away, feeling his eyes on her until she was out of sight.

#reylo #reylo fanfic #fanfiction #modern au #reylo modern au #university au #professor/professor #rey #ben solo #ben x rey #multipart #chem & con #the secret's in the telling #fluff #smut