Imbecamiel

Recent Fics:

Down, Downed and Drowned (DC, Batfam)

When Jason Todd was six years old, he nearly drowned. He never did learn how to swim, after that. Until it was too late. The Lazarus Pit didn’t feel like floating, like a warm bath, like a new chance at life. It felt like drowning, over and over again with no hope of rest even in death.

Breathing Space (DC, Batfam)

Batman had saved Joker's life before. More than once. He'd probably help, even if he knew. Even if he arrested Jason afterward. Even if it was the last straw. He dug in his pocket for the signal-blocking case with his free hand. They could track the comm when it was on, if they wanted to. He didn't like to take any chances when he wasn't fine with being found. Funny, when now he was just hoping they'd care enough to try.

My Life Down I Shall Lie (DC, Batfam)

“Drop the gun, Hood,” Batman ordered. “You have nothing to gain by prolonging this.” “Yeah? What if I just want to take you all down with me?” “If you wanted that, you would have fired already,” Batman countered. “Let us help you.” “Sorry, Batman, I can't afford to go to jail. I’ll take my chances on my own.” (Or: AU in which Talia sends Jason away from the League with baby Damian in his protection. It changes his reintroduction to the family just a little.)

Displacement (DC, Batfam)

“He’s dead,” Tim said, blankly. “Look at me.” Jason ducked his head to catch Tim’s eyes. “Hey, look at me. You didn’t kill him. You just shot him. No big deal, right? You’ve injured lots of people. Just part of the job. Doesn’t matter it was with a gun this time. Doesn’t change anything. I’m the one who killed him. You’re fine.”

Aftershock (DC, Batfam)

Tim woke with a desperate heave, like surfacing after a long dive. He couldn’t remember what the dream had been, this time. He didn’t need to. They were all variations on the same theme, these days.

Tourniquet (Follow-up to Displacement, DC, Batfam)

He'd been a tourniquet for an open wound, keeping Bruce from bleeding out. But the thing about tourniquets is that they’re meant to be temporary. An urgent solution for a dire problem, and one that can cause issues of its own, especially if applied too long. Anyway. Tim had been thinking about them lately. Tourniquets.

Fallback (DC, Batfam)

Time seemed to slow. A series of snapshots, separate and distinct. Jason was bringing his own gun to bear. He was fast, and on a stable surface. A sound. Not the familiar crack of a rifle. Something flying toward him. Spear gun.

Integration (DC, Batfam)

Stephanie wasn’t scared of Hood—Jason. Obviously. She was… Well. She didn’t intimidate easily. If she did, Batman’s black disapproval would’ve been enough to put her off cape work long before now.

Bargaining (DC, Batfam)

“Fortunately,” Jack snapped, “he's not your child or your problem.” “Unfortunately,” Bruce countered, “I intend to make this my problem.” (Bruce has known for a while that something should be done about The Situation with Jack and Janet Drake. Things reach a breaking point.)

Resolution (DC, Batfam)

They’d come this far by setting aside this one irreconcilable point between them, not by actually resolving it. The fact that they’d had a longer than usual stretch since Joker’s last successful escape was the only thing that had made that possible. Eventually, something would have to break, but neither of them were ready to concede to the inevitability of the other’s position. Then the alert came through. Arkham breakout.

Restoration

Jason's alive again. Legally, that is, publicly claimed by Bruce Wayne as his son and everything. Of course, there are consequences to that. Some of them are harder to deal with than others.

Goblins (DC, Batfam)

“Okay.” Tim raised his hands in surrender. “Okay, so I probably shouldn’t have pointed out how many times I’ve been left on my own for longer than this before. I still feel like you’re maybe overcompensating a little here.”

Chosen (DC, Batfam)

“His mother’s gravestone has been vandalized.” Tim frowned, baffled. “Why would anyone vandalize Catherine’s—” “Not Catherine’s. Sheila’s.” (There are things about Jason’s death that Bruce never knew. The part his mother played is one of them.)

Combustion (DC, Batfam)

Tim might’ve said things started to really go off the rails around when he got stabbed. And honestly, that sucked, yeah, but it was well within the bounds of normal-bad for a night like this. No, things started to go seriously bad when Jason’s helmet got hit by the mini-EMP device the gang of thieves had been using to try to take down the bank’s security systems. If he hadn’t lost his helmet, everything that happened afterward would’ve been so much less awful.

Variable (DC, Batfam)

Fear toxin exposure can produce wildly different results, depending on the formulation involved, the individual, the circumstances surrounding the incident. It’s difficult to predict, even knowing how a person has reacted in the past. Every situation requires its own approach, and past experience alone may not be an accurate guide. Or: Three times Tim was exposed to fear toxin, and the different ways that Bruce, Dick, and Jason handled it.

Reciprocation (DC, Batfam)

Jason frowned. “How long have you been sick?” “After lunch.” “Food poisoning doesn’t usually leave people passed out on the floor, Dick. Not after, what, a few hours? If there’s something else going on here you need to tell me, now.”

Correlation (DC, Batfam)

“We do not hurt family.” Todd all but snarled the words, his eyes blazing. Despite that fury and the tight hold he had on Damian’s forearms, his grip was carefully controlled, not hurting yet but a firm reminder that he could. “This isn't the League, and you'd better get that through your skull fast.” “He is not my family,” Damian spat back. (Or: Damian’s arrival in their lives is rocky, but things play out differently with Jason already reintegrated into the family - and very protective of Tim.)

Counterpoint (DC, Batfam)

Damian’s early days at the Manor, as the rest of the family figures out how to adjust. (Companion piece to Correlation.)

Taken (DC, Batfam)

Tim gets kidnapped. This is fine, actually.  (Or: Jason picks Tim up from school in a particularly melodramatic style. It’s for Bruce’s own good, really. He could use the distraction. And if Jason happens to get a new car out of it in the process, well… everyone wins, right?) 

Respite (DC, Batfam)

“Father sent you to join me because you’re injured as well?” “I mean, ‘sent’ is a pretty strong word. I’d say we mutually agreed it would be better for me to spend a bit of time away from Gotham, that’s all.” (Jason and Damian are spending some R&R time at the Kent Farm. Cue misunderstandings and discussions of less than healthy coping mechanisms.)

Legerdemain (DC, Batfam)

Robin was stumbling now, struggling to keep his feet under him. Exhausted and injured both. Still ahead of the pack of men as he twisted around corner after corner in the tangle of alleyways and courtyards, but not for much longer.

Enclosed (DC, Batfam)

Damian remembered being struck by the dart. Poison, he had thought then. Apparently not. He remembered Jason, still standing protectively over him as he lay on the asphalt. A shout of rage—and pain?—as his consciousness faded. “No,” he said at last. “I recognized the insignia. It belongs to a splinter group that separated itself from the League some time ago.”

Apprehension (DC, Batfam)

Someone had to stay and do the work of Batman. Batman needed a Robin, even if that Batman was Dick now. Maybe especially because it was Dick. Tim needed to go, needed to get whatever this was out of his system, and they couldn’t let him do it alone in this state. Damian needed a sense of purpose, something to give him an assurance of his place here when it had been so rattled with Bruce's loss. It made sense, Dick and Damian in Gotham, Jason with Tim. The only reasonable solution, and none of them were happy with it.   (Or: Tim’s quest to prove Bruce is alive plays out differently when the family starts off in a better place with each other. Tim does still lose his spleen, though. That is definitely a thing that happens.)

Overflow (DC, Batfam)

It turns out, none of Bruce's kids are “too old” to come to him when they're having a bad night. Sometimes those bad nights overlap. That's not always a bad thing, in the end.

Scars and Other Memorials (DC, Batfam)

Tim and Jason find an unexpected point of connection after Tim’s stint with the League when he was looking for proof that Bruce was alive. They weren't the kind of brothers to get matching tattoos on purpose, but sometimes life has other plans.   Now with second part! In which Bruce finds out about Tim's tattoo. And a few other things.

The Tooth Fairy Cometh (DC, Batfam)

“It’s not about frickin’ money, B,” Jason grumbled, readjusting his ice pack. “Yeah, B,” Dick put in, lighthearted, teasing. Rescuing the emotional tone as usual, when he wasn’t the one who was angry with Bruce himself. “It’s not about the money. It’s Robin tradition. You can’t renege now.” “You want me to be the tooth fairy. Again. For you,” Bruce said, slowly, still looking at Jason.

Cutting Teeth (DC, Batfam)

“Huh. Just when I thought this family couldn't get any weirder.” She shook her head. “I mean, good for you, but also I'm sorry? If I'd known I would've brought you a teething ring or something for a get-well present.” “Steph…” Tim sounded pained. “Yeah, Steph, be nice to Jason,” Dick said, most of his attention still on his phone. “Teething makes him grumpy. You know how it is.”

Or: After the Pit, Jason can re-grow teeth. Sometimes this comes in handy. Doesn't mean it's pleasant.

Another Turn on the Roundabout (DC, Batfam)

The "Pit Rage" isn’t actually a side effect of Jason’s dip in the Lazarus Pit. Or… not entirely. It’s a tool that Ra’s carefully developed and deployed to targeted effect against Batman. Unfortunately, its intended results wore off too quickly, once away from his influence. This time, he plans to get it right.

Down for the Count (DC, Batfam)

“So we’re agreed that all of them are going to the hospital tonight, right?” Tim’s voice was tight with false calm.

A New Year's Eve gala turns into a hostage situation and Bruce is injured. His children are not pleased.

Alternative Means of Acquisition (DC, Batfam)

Sometimes negotiations hit a stalemate and creative solutions are necessary.

Or, Bruce Wayne arm wrestles Lex Luthor.

Hello Batman (DC, Batfam)

“I like your kitty ears.” Bruce stared at the girl blankly for a moment before reaching up to touch one of the points on the cowl. “Thanks,” he rasped, then coughed, clearing his throat. “It’s actually a bat, though. Like this.” He pushed back the edge of the cape to give her a better look at the symbol on his chestplate.

Recent Art:

Spoiler Fanart

Jason Red Hood Art

Jason and Cass art

Batman Animation

Cassandra Cain (Also available on my AO3)

Batman

Batfam Silhouettes (Masterpost with links to all the individual posts for the pieces)