chaos defined

this man, this man took out loans to provide for someone who he supposedly hates, to make sure he’s got something to come home to without pausing for a second to think about the consequences this will have down the line for himself

and to me his excuse that he ‘did it for everyone’ is a load of bs and they both know it but niall doesn’t push on it because that would break the rules of their ‘game’, and what if that chance is too much to handle for them?

thing is, ruben wants to be the provider in every sense of the word so badly, and something in him specifically pulls him to be there for niall, something that’s been there since the first time he walked by his side and got a front row seat to niall being bullied and instead of standing up for himself he just took it

I think that might’ve set in motion something uncontrollable in ruben, maybe to do with his own trauma from childhood, he was too young and scared and weak to stand up for himself and the people meant to protect him, to save him, just stood by and let it happen

now this boy with big brown eyes and the skittishness and carefulness of a deer enters his life and he’s being hurt, from what ruben sees he’s being hurt regularly and yet he does nothing about it, and he won’t either that much is clear and it pisses ruben off

pisses him off because he’s big! he’s a teen! he’s practically an adult and doesn’t have the balls to take a stand for himself and so what ruben is just supposed to watch that happen?

watch this beautiful, conflicted, smart, insecure, pathetic, gorgeous, confused boy who seems genuinely interested in getting to know ruben get hurt? absolutely not, so he does what he wishes someone did for him back then and thus the cycle begins

niall’s fear of what he might’ve done to gus also gives away to a sense of admiration for ruben, of gratefulness and relief that ruben reads between the lines and from there on out he needs more of it, so he does what he can to get it until it isn’t enough and he needs more, always more and the fire between them grows and grows and he knows the inferno will kill him but I think he actually welcomes it, wants it even, but what’s more important than him wanting it is that niall has to want it too

they need to do it together, to burn together because that’s all ruben thinks about and it’s all that makes sense for him that niall should be thinking about too

And we're here again... except this time whump!!

All these fics are whump-focused, meaning all of them will come with some TWs. I'm not going to list them here, but they should all have their various TWs listed in the tags. Make sure to take care of yourselves!!

All of these are complete unless stated otherwise!! ^^

a promise built on glass by jumpinginmuddypuddles

Jason has healing powers and these are useful to Roman Sionis. Then Robin is thrown into his cell and the two of them become literally insufferable. The epitome of Dick looking at baby Jason, looking at Bruce, and going "can we keep him?" With a good amount of whump sprinkled on top. This one is pretty chill. Very soft whump.

2. The Seven Layer Dip From Hell series by OberonBronze

Jason gets feartoxined and decides that kidnapping Tim and trapping him in his apartment with him (to... take care of him, I think) is the best course of action. This does NOT go well for either of them.

The way Jason and Tim's relationship is written in this one is SO good it's on point. It's messy and destructive and neither of them are perfect. I love it very much. The whump is immaculate.

3. Hanging By a Thread by Arwriter

I reread this one ALL THE TIME because the whump is just MWAH! Perfect!

Very quick rescue fic where Dick has been missing for a few days and Jason stumbles across him. Poor Dick. Caretaker Jason is always peak. Idk what else to say about it. Really good short whump oneshot.

4. empty series by mikkal

Jason whump. He gets captured by Evil Guys and the evil guys torture him with fear toxin and adrenaline and force him into dog fights, essentially. The actual fic is about his family saving him and then taking care of him as he recovers. It's very cute. I love how brutal the whump is, and then how soft the comfort is. It's great!! So well written!!

5. of precautions and habits, only some are conscious by Pure_Night_Fury

Fics that explore Bruce's more Flawed Side are always interesting, and I LOVE this one SO much. Basically Bruce and Dick are fighting in front of Jason, Tim, and Damian. Bruce moves wrong and Jason, purely on instinct, pulls a gun on him in defense of Dick.

Jason being protective of Dick ALWAYS gets me, but there's just something about this fic that really hits it RIGHT. Just mwah. The combination of Jason's protectiveness, Tim and Damian's confusion, and Bruce's complete shock is just so effective. And it's wonderfully written, of course.

6. Blue series by Marshmallow_____Pillow

(This author also drew fanart for one of my fics once, which I am NOT biased by at all, but if they're reading this then thank you so much I love you <3)

Arkhamverse Jason gets saved by a Dick Grayson who has been trained by Slade. Wonderful blend of horrific whump (as would be expected by Arkhamverse) and soft comfort from Dick taking care of his little brother. God I love this series.

Okay full disclosure, the next recs are all by the same author because, as I said in my FMA post and my other Batman post, this author NEVER misses. These are all ongoing series at time of posting, but the author does update consistently!

7. I.C.U. series by WakingNightmares

Dick tries to take his own life, forgetting that Jason was listed as his emergency contact.

The rest of the series is the two of them working through this. Jason forces Dick to move in with him and the two of them work together to unpack all their problems and get Dick to a better place. Every part of this series is excellent. Just... so well written.

It's heavy, of course. Mind the tags!

8. Cover Your Hands With Your Eyes Closed series by WakingNightmares

When they were young foster kids, Dick, Jason, and Tim all ended up in Jack Napier's house, where he kept them locked in his basement for several years before they finally escaped.

This series deals almost entirely with the aftermath of what happened, with some brief flashbacks. It's set 10 years after they escaped and all of them have moved on with their lives, and have a bunch of new problems to deal with as a result of the horrors they experienced.

Truly this author NEVER misses. The portrayal of trauma is on point, and the sibling relationship and the way that it's both benefited and hurt all three of them is perfect. Specifically the JayRoy in this series is IMMACULATE!! Maybe my favorite JayRoy fic(s) I've ever read.

9. I've Given Every Piece of Me (And I'm Breathing) series by WakingNightmares

Again, this one is HEAVY, so mind the tags.

Batman is a serial killer who has, over the years, kidnapped several children for a variety of purposes. Dick, after ten years of torture, finally escapes with his little brothers and goes to the Justice League for help, thinking that they'll execute him as Batman's accomplice, Robin.

Just... wow. Everything about this series is VERY well thought out, and SO well handled and implemented and I just love it. I love how dark and horrific it feels. I love how Conner and Roy are written. I love how Dick is written. I love how Damian is written. I just love everything about it. IT'S SO PEAK!!

This fic also made me go down a "serial killer Batman + forced accomplice Robin" rabbit hole lmao. There's more of those than you would think.

Again this author NEVER misses so yeah. All their other whump fics are an implied recommendation lmao

That's everything for this post!! I'll probably make a "misc fandoms" one too at some point.

Again, if yall have any recommendations based on these, let me know!! I'm always looking for more fics to read.

No fandom would be complete without its fanfic. We can’t not mention it—not least because of the sheer volume of it on Tumblr: You created over 1 million posts tagged #fanfic, which garnered over 40 million notes.

So, here’s to the fic writers who sustain us all through the lulls between seasons and in the aftermath of the big movie moments. And a special shout-out to those fic writers so committed, that they’re writing their OTP or rarepair long—sometimes for decades—after their show has been canceled. We…won’t be sharing any of that here, but we see you, and your vast numbers certainly became incredibly apparent when we got engaged to Ao3. We love your commitment to your craft <3