nightwing

[flyinggrcyson]

Crawls from my hellhole of school work !! I'll be doing all the replies I owe these next few days !!

[flyinggrcyson]

ilietobatman:

Hearing Dick’s voice sent a shiver down Tim’s spine. So it had been real. Now he had some new problems to deal with. Namely, Dick telling Bruce and the others what he’d seen. He didn’t need them suddenly butting into his life right when he’d gotten the message he wasn’t one of them anymore. They had their Robin. He was just… the intel guy. When was the last time any of them called him for something other than the job? Nearly a year ago; he could probably find the exact date if he really wanted to.

But, damn it all, if Tim didn’t miss his brother. For a moment there it had felt like he was fourteen again and everything in life was manageable. But he was nineteen. And life was shit.

“You okay, Tim?” Conner asked softly. “Need any of your pills? We didn’t give you anything outside the normal stuff.”

“Are you hungry?” Cassie offered, the circle-hug breaking up around Tim. “It’s been a few hours.”

Tim blinked slowly, still trying to get his head back on straight. Everything felt… off. Bart, who knew exactly what Tim was feeling, patted his arm gently. The two shared a look and Tim took Bart’s hand, needing the anchor, as he suspected Bart did as well.

It was Raven he answered first. “Can you…” His throat was raw. He cleared it and tried again. “Can you ask him to stay?” Tim hoped that would be enough to let Dick know he’d earned the second chance he wanted.

At Tim’s request, Raven nodded and swept out of the circle. Just in time for Cassie and Conner to converge onto Tim with offers of food and medication. Leaving the teenagers in their huddle without any comment about the fact that Tim was giving his brother another chance. 

She finds Dick lingering near the plane he had taken over, and reaches out to grab his arm. “Tim wants you to stay,” he says simply, her face impassive. 

Dick’s expression was not impressive, his eyebrows raised sharply and he looked at her as though he didn’t quite believe her. “If he wants me to stay, I’ll stay. But last time we spoke he - he didn’t want anything to do with me anymore,” Dick responds defensively, as though he didn’t want to let himself believe it. He didn’t like the idea of getting his hopes of and then having them dashed. 

“Its the truth. Go and wait in his room - your pacing will make everyone nervous otherwise.” Raven assured. 

So that’s what he did. Despite not knowing if Tim would really want him there or not. But he liked Raven’s idea of being out of sight. That way Tim could come to him when he was good and ready. So he sat in the younger man’s room, his mask, gloves and boots abandoned for comfort as he sat at Tim’s bed and waited for the teen. 

Except, in the process of waiting for Tim, he falls asleep. The adrenaline for the day finally catching up with him

[flyinggrcyson]

jaydier:

“If it’d stop them from taking the children of Gotham, I’d work with Batman,” Jason says seriously over his coffee cup. He gives Dick an obvious once-over, and grins. “And you’d look so out of place trying to pretend you’re a hard-knocks criminal.” You’re just too pretty, he doesn’t add.

“So, want to head back to your place and we can plan it out? Bit more secure than a Starbucks.” No way in hell is Jason going to offer up his own safehouses. No one knows where they are, not even Batman, and Jason intends to keep it that way.

Jason’s serious response is enough to assure him that the man is going to take this seriously. He hadn’t doubted it when the mention of children came up. But it was still reassuring to hear. The once-over makes him scowl playfully. “Hey I could pull it off! But I could pull it off with a tough looking guy backing me up,” he suggests, raising an eyebrow to see if Jason likes the idea or not. 

“What, more secure than a Starbucks? Not possible.” But Dick nods and stands up, finishing the last of his drink. “I have a place in Gotham not too far, I doubt you want to go all the way to ‘haven?” He offers, taking notice of the fact that Jason doesn’t offer his own safe house. It is probably something he’d only get to see in time, if ever. He waves a friendly goodbye to the barista as they leave and makes sure Jason is following him. 

It takes about five minutes to reach Dick’s safehouse. An unassuming townhouse on the outskirts of Crime Alley and one of the older business districts of Gotham. He leads the way inside through a back alley into what looks like a normal house, though hid an arsenal of weapons and defenses. “Make yourself comfortable i’ll pull up the info I have.”

[craftchaos]

also if you’re cool with pre-established relationships/dynamics where we skip all the awkwardness of starting to roleplay with someone new and jump straight to plotting a little and tagging each other in stuff hmu

[flyinggrcyson]

jaydier:

( happy birthday !! @flyinggrcyson​ )

“Grayson, there’s somebody here for you!” One of Dick’s fellow officers leans over his desk and jerks their thumb in the direction of the front desk. “Said it was important. I don’t know what you got, looks like some sort of street informant.”

Jason would be insulted if he didn’t recognize that it was pretty close to the truth anyway. He grins at Dick’s beat blues. “Not your usual shade, huh?” he teases, slapping Dick on the shoulder and guiding him out of the precinct. “Come on, birthday boy, we’re playin’ hooky today. I’m bustin’ you out.”

Dick leans back at his desk, eyebrows furrowed together when he’s told he has a visitor. The sight of Jason makes a smile break out on his face and he turns in his chair in order to see the other better. It was rare anyone in the family came to visit him, but he was thrilled to see the other all the same. “Not really, a bit too dull for my taste,” Dick says right back.

At the hand on his shoulder he rises unthinkingly. Dick knows he can’t actually play hooky, but, well - if they thought he was following a lead what could he do? “Aw, you remembered Jay, i’m touched,” he says earnestly, nudging his shoulder against Jason’s side gently. If it wouldn’t have embarrassed the other man horribly he would have hugged him right there and then. Instead he waits until they are outside the precinct to squeeze an arm around Jason’s waist in a quick squeeze.

“So, any specific plans while you kidnap me from work?” He teases, grinning brightly up at the other man.

[flyinggrcyson]

capedfound:

❛ cuddle with me. ❜

@flyinggrcyson  ♥’d for a three - word starter !

    “ don’t have to ask me twice. ”                              He curls an arm around her waist to tug her close.

[btanselanoican]

Happy Birthday, Dick!

[btanselanoican]

Dick’s birthday used to be November… Then it turned into the first day of Spring. His Earth-16 birthday is on a December. Guess, that’s 3 times the celebration for him, then. XD

A little late but oh, well. Better late than never.

To the first Robin, protector of Blüdhaven, and everyone’s big brother.

Hope you guys like this! <3

[flyinggrcyson]

ilietobatman:

Tim knew he should push away, knew he should get up and try to fight off whatever the hell was holding him down like this. If he had his utility belt, the medicines that were in there might help. Surely something like the antidote to Fear Toxin would take the edge off here. Or it could just make it all worse. Selfishly, he stayed close to Dick – god, how long had it been since he’d last been close to Dick like this?

     “ I d i o t . ”

A hissed whisper filled the void around them. Tim flinched slightly, ducking his head closer to Dick. 

“My own head. Yeah… yeah, that makes sense.” He laughed sourly. 

     “ R e p l a c e m e n t . ”

     “ N o t  a  d r e a m . ”

     “ C a n ’ t  l e a v e . ”

     “ N e v e r  g e t t i n g  o u t . ”

“Kinda sucks in here,” Tim mumbled. “Not much better than out there though. If you think I can leave whenever I want, then there’s no danger.” As if on perfect cue, a dull beeping came from faraway in the darkness. Tim frowned; every vigilante knew that noise: the frantic pace of a heart monitor warning of a failing heartbeat. It seemed acknowledging the falsehood of what was around him now had opened a crack of perception into the real world. 

“Huh… I guess hanging out isn’t an option.” Tim rubbed his chest. He couldn’t feel anything strange but he somehow knew that was his heartbeat the medical equipment was protesting. “I’ll see you ou–”

As soon as he made the decision to leave, the void lurched around them, and Tim was suddenly blinking up at the ceiling of the Tower’s medial bay, Cassie’s hands on his chest, his lungs burning as he coughed and tried to catch his breath. Cassie stopped her compressions and brushed Tim’s hair gently away from his eyes.

“Hey, Tim; it’s okay. You’re okay,” she soothed. She removed Cyborg’s device from Tim’s head and helped him sit up, while Raven attended to Dick. Immediately, he was surrounded by Cassie, Conner, and Bart in a hug. He lifted a shaking hand to grip Conner’s arm and turned his face into the familiar red S. He was afraid to look out from the bubble his friends had created and see that Dick was that. Because if he was, that meant it had all be real. And if it had all been real, he wouldn’t be sleeping for a week. More damaging: Dick had seen weaknesses Tim never wanted anyone to know.

Everything about the inside of Tim’s head was dark and self-depricating in a way that just made him clutch tighter at the teen. He wanted to brush away all of his fears and doubts so that these lingering thoughts didn’t haunt him anymore. “Everything is going to be okay Tim, I promise.” He says with as much confidence as he can present through his voice. Dick was sure he’d be able to make everything alright for Tim.

Then the beeping started, and Dick’s own heart rate picked up in response. Out of fear.

Between on blink and the next he was no longer holding Tim, but was instead staring up at the semi-familiar ceiling of the Teen Titan’s medical bay. There were sounds off to the side of him, and Dick turns his head to see everyone crowding around Tim’s bed. But the words are soothing and warm and its enough to assure that Tim was okay. It is Rave’s familiar pale hands pulling the device off his head that gets his attention. 

“Thanks Rae, everything okay ?” He questions, sitting up and trying to see Tim through the clump of his friends. Dick couldn’t, but he could tell that Tim wasn’t trying to look for him.

“His heartbeat started to slow, but he woke up after Cassie started CPR - I think he’ll be fine,” she responds, looking between the two slowly. 

Dick nods and throws his legs over the side of the bed. “Great, i’m glad I could help. But I think I need some food and a shower. If....if anyone needs me i’ll be around for a few more hours,” Dick offers with a fake smile before he leaves the medical bay. Tim doesn’t want to see him, hadn’t wanted to see him before this. For now he was just going to make himself scarce until he was sure that Tim was going to be okay. 

After Dick had left, Raven does make her way to Tim’s side. “Dick said he’ll stay around for a few hours, but I sensed he wasn’t going to be here long.” She explains, whether it is meant to be reassuring or not is hard to know. 

[flyinggrcyson]

ilietobatman:

Tim exhaled with shaky relief upon feeling Dick’s touch again. Though, for all he knew, Dick was just another figment saying whatever it was Tim wanted to hear. But, hey, that was okay, right? Couldn’t he be allowed this tiny bit of respite in his own messed up head? Maybe not. Depression was a bitch like that. Put together with whatever had happened to him while out in the field with the Titans…

Tim leaned up against Dick. He was so tired. His head was splitting still, constantly reminding him there would be no peace in this place.

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” he mumbled in reply to Dick’s query. “S-Something’s screwing with my head. I can’t think. I just… need a minute. Gotta think…” He groaned, a low sound spread that soon cut into a whimper of pain. “If you’re real, and not some other thing from this place, then you know what’s going on. And how to make it stop.”

The familiar but long absent weight of Tim against his chest, even if only a hallucination or a dream, spread a great deal of comfort and warmth through his chest. His hands lock behind Tim’s back as he pulls the younger man close. He can’t protect him this way but it makes him feel as though he can at least. 

“I know what’s going on, I came in here to make it stop without a plan - I wasn’t going to leave you in your own head alone any longer than you had to be,” Dick explains, wondering if Tim would scold him for going his usual route of leaping without looking. So far it has worked, he had managed to coax Tim out of his child-like form and into his arms at least. “The meta you fought specializes in hallucinations, he trapped you and Bart in your own heads in some sort of hallucination.” He wishes he could have asked Bart how he got out, but he hadn’t even considered doing that. 

He tucks his chin against the top of Tim’s head as he holds him near. “If I had to guess, whatever hallucination he trapped you in your mind latched onto and trapped yourself. But this is all a dream Tim, I think all you need to do is recognize that.” 

[lamujerarana]

…like a lightning strike. You couldn’t make it happen. It just did. 

Every second we had together was a gift.

[flyinggrcyson]

ofkerberos:

wanted: @flyinggrcyson

Finn had learned a long time ago that, if you ever got the feeling you were being watched? You probably were. Even in those weird late-to-early hours between midnight and sunrise, someone was keeping an eye on what was going on in the city. He’d been lax enough to be caught with his helmet off by one of those watchmen. The long shadow fell across him, as Finn turned to see Nightwing standing opposite him on the roof of the old trains station.

“Oh. Uh. Hey.” Finn felt naked. In the worst way.

It was a habit to keep an eye out for the other capes in the city ( even if a large number of them didn’t wear capes ) whenever he was in Gotham. When he catches sight of a vaguely familiar figure he can’t help but move towards him, which was probably not a testament to his self preservation instincts. But he hadn’t had any problems with the vigilante so far. He crouches on a on the rooftop when the man stops moving, watching him curiously. The fact that his helmet gets removed causes him to raise an eyebrow, he’s definitely not been noticed . 

When the man finally does, he grins crookedly. 

“Hey. Might want to invest in a mask under that helmet - this is a good way to get recognized you know,” Dick says, resting his cheek on his face as he looks across the distance at the other man. “I’m pretty sure superhero-ing one-oh-one is don’t reveal your identity, though I guess attractive blond guy isn’t an identity.”

[flyinggrcyson]

ilietobatman:

Tim couldn’t truly process what was going on; his head was in so much pain it felt like a dozen migraines hit him at once and all he wanted to do was curl up in a soundproof room by himself. Everything shook around them, dust falling from the cracking ceiling while paintings fell from the walls and various sounds of clatter came from each room. Tim didn’t protest the hold; he didn’t think he had the strength to push away even if he’d wanted to.

He slumped forward as Dick got them up on their feet, and would have gone straight back down to the floor if Dick hadn’t been holding him up. He tried to pay attention to what Dick was saying, tried to give himself something to focus on other than the pain.

“Raven?” He vaguely remembered her brief presence. “I didn’t know–” He stumbled, movements sloppily uncoordinated. 

“Tim.”

The teen froze, jolted to attention by the sight blocking their path in the suddenly narrow hallway. His father laid on the floor, in the exact position that would forever be burned into Tim’s mind: on his back, boomerang jutting out of his chest, blood everywhere.

“Tim, look what you’ve done. I told you not to be Robin. You did this. You did this! YOU DID THIS!”

“No!” Tim’s shout seemed to shatter the house. The floor disappeared beneath them, sending them tumbling through darkness until oppressive silence in the nothingness was all that surrounded them. 

“Dick?” Tim’s voice, though quiet, sounded too loud in the silence. “You’re real, right? Are you still there? Dick?”

The sound of a third voice makes Dick’s neck hurt with how quickly he turns to look. He knows the man lying on the floor, and the sight is horrifying to him so he can’t even imagine what Tim is feeling right now. His grip on the younger man tightens, as though that might somehow be able to help with this horrible vision. 

Tim’s should makes his ears ring, but he doesn’t let go of him. Even as the entire world around them falls apart and everything is a terrifying free fall for a moment he doesn’t let go. His eyes clench shut and his fingers grip onto the fabric of Tim’s clothing with the sort of desperation that came from having no idea what is going on. 

Yet despite the lack of floor, and the darkness - they don’t seem to be actually falling. 

Once again, he hears Tim’s voice and it makes him crack his eyes open. All he can see in the darkness is the other man’s form and he reaches out for him instinctively. He doesn’t remember letting go. But apparently he had. “I’m here.” He croaks, and then clears his throat. “I’m here Tim, i’m real,” he insists, stretching and stretching until he’s able to wrap his hand around Tim’s wrist and tug him close. Both of his arms wrap around the younger man and just holds him to his chest.

“Are you okay? Has this been happening the whole time in here?” His gloved hand finds the back of Tim’s neck and grasps onto him tight and protective. 

[flyinggrcyson]

ilietobatman:

Tim sniffled again, but didn’t answer Dick’s questions about the camera. Yes, it was nice and he had a lot of things he liked to take pictures of. But his favorite was Batman and Robin; if he said that though, this man might try to take those photos away and sell them to newspapers. Tim would never sell those pictures. He had to keep them safe. If Batman found out Tim took the pictures and they got sold, he’d hate Tim. Then Tim would never get the chance to meet him.

Tim nodded at Dick’s next question. Of course he knew Batman. Batman was the best. Well, no, Robin was the best. Robin was way cooler than Batman. Robin was magic. If this man worked with Batman too he must have a little bit of magic in him somewhere as well.

“Okay.” The fear and sadness in the child seemed practically gone now, overshadowed by the joyous prospect of even the smallest chance to meet Batman and Robin. He carefully set the camera down by the door to his room and shuffled forward. The moment he took Dick’s hand, the entire house shook.

In the space of a breath, Tim aged a decade, collapsing to his knees in front of Dick. His everything hurt, but his head was aching so fiercely he could barely think straight. 

“Dick?” It took him a moment to register his brother’s presence, and another to determine it was really him. And then the panic set in. “No. N-no, you have to get out. Go. You’ll get stuck here too.”

The hand that slips into his own is small and fragile, but for only a moment. Between one breath and the next the child grows into the young man he’s familiar with. He doesn’t even care that the house feels like its shaking down around them, he tugs Tim forward and wraps his arms around him tightly to keep him close. He wasn’t going to lose the man in here. Even if it meant going down with him in the process. Dick cradles the younger man to his chest. 

“No I won’t, we’ll get out of here together Timmy,” he says firmly, wrapping his arms more comfortably around Tim and hauling them both to a standing position. The house is definitely coming down around them now, or at least from how hard it was shaking it would at any moment. That meant they needed to get a move on, and fast. 

“We need to go. Raven said she tried to come in and get you but couldn’t, so maybe now that you’re you again we can get out of here together,” he encourages, wrapping one of Tim’s arms around his shoulder so he could hold Tim to his side and walk towards the entrance. Dick wasn’t entirely certain on how to get there from where they are. But staying in one place doesn’t seem like a good idea. “Come on, together or not at all - those are our two options on getting out of here.” 

His grip on Tim’s waist and arm tighten noticeably. He’d let the other man go once before - even just inside the other’s mind he wasn’t going to make that mistake again. 

[flyinggrcyson]

capedfound:

text: down, boy.  text: well, we’re texting now, so it’s kind of hard not to.

text: you really know how to make a guy feel special babs text: can rephrase that and ask if you’ve been thinking about me at all?

[flyinggrcyson]

ilietobatman:

The child wrinkled his nose, putting together that Raven must have meant that scary lady who’d been there earlier. Tim was glad she was gone now; he was afraid she was the monster he mom always talked about, the one that ate little boys that misbehaved. But he’d been good! He was good– except for maybe all the times he snuck out to take pictures of Batman…

Tim stayed put, not moving closer to Dick, keeping within rage of dashing back into his room where he felt he was safe. He didn’t understand why anyone would come to check up on him. He had his nanny– Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen her in a long time, and his parents still weren’t home… Why was he alone? He knew why.

Because no one wanted him.

He tried so hard to be good. He did everything that everyone asked of him; he even did things for people without being asked, maybe because they didn’t know they needed it until after he’d done it for them. Yet he was never good enough.

Tim shifted his weight, fingers clutching the delicate camera a little tighter. His eyes welled with tears but he desperately tried not to cry. Big boys didn’t cry. And he had to be a big boy; he was on his own.

“I–” He sniffled, struggling to keep his voice steady. “I’m waiting. Everybody’s gone… They didn’t like me. Mom says if I-I’m lost to stay put so someone can find me. S-so I’m waiting.”

His expression just got more and more pinched as he watched the way the little boy’s expression and body language shifts at his question. That was either the right question to ask, or the absolute wrong one. Dick wasn’t sure just yet. 

The way Tim clutches at the camera draws his eye, and he stares at it for a moment. “That’s a nice camera you have there, do you like to take photos? What’s your favorite thing to take a picture of?” Dick questions, his voice going cheerful and conversational for the moment. It looks like Tim might start to cry, and the last thing he wants is for the other start crying when he doesn’t feel like he can comfort him properly. 

“Your mom was right to tell you that, but that’s why i’m here Tim - I come here to find you,” Dick explains gently, and he eases forward slightly. Not enough to close a large distance, but just to slowly start to eat it up. “Do you know how Batman is Tim?” He questions, smiling softly and indulgently at the child. “I work with him and i’m here to make sure that you are safe and to take you to your family.” Dick wants to just scoop Tim up and walk him out the door - but he can’t guarantee that will get them anywhere. 

“Don’t you want to get out of here? It must be lonely being in this house all by yourself,” he offers, stretching out one gloved hand and offering it to the little boy. 

[flyinggrcyson]

ilietobatman:

The halls of Drake manor quieted at Dick’s presence, and Tim noticed the sound of footsteps immediately. The child kept himself hidden, not knowing who it was that was walking the halls. It could be his parents home– home at last– but they would have called out. He stayed quiet and out of the way until he heard the voice, a man, a stranger. It was foreign and yet somehow familiar. Tim stood up and shuffled toward the room of his door; in his hands he clutched his clunky camera as if it was the world’s greatest defense. Because of course it was. It was his lucky charm when he went out to capture pictures of the elusive Batman and Robin. 

His bedroom door creaked open and he peeked out. The man he saw wasn’t Batman but he kind of looked like Batman, just in blue, and without the cape. Was he a good guy or a bad guy? Tim didn’t know. He ducked back into his room. He had options: stay hidden, play the game, or try to run away. Or… he could face the black-and-blue man head on. Yeah. He was brave. He could do that.

“You’re not supposed to be in here,” the little boy declared, stepping out into the hallway, camera held close to his chest. “This is my house. You didn’t knock. Are you a robber? The safe is in my mom and dad’s room. You can have it.”

It seems to take a while after he calls out to get any response, but the sound of a door opening is unmistakable. He turns his body towards it and his expression melts with relief at the sight of Tim - or well, Tim a good number of years ago. But he would know that face anywhere, even if it was rounder and with a few inches of babyfat to hide the adult features that are underneath. 

“I’m sorry for not knocking, but i’m not a robber - my friend Raven let me in because she couldn’t find you,” Dick explains careful and he slowly moves into a crouching position. He wants to make himself seem smaller, less threatening. If he knew how he’d try and make himself look like he was twelve and Robin again - an age and look that Tim might relate too or even recognize. Then again, bringing up Robin might not be the best idea. 

“I’m not here for money or anything, I’m here to check up on you,” Dick says gently, smilingly at Tim as he leans forward on the ball of his feet. “A lot of people are worried about you and thought I’d be best to come and check up on you.” He hates the idea that even Tim’s subconscious is in this big, large house all by himself. It gives him an odd feeling that he can’t shake or name. “Why are you here all alone Tim?”

He considers moving closer, but for now Dick stays a few feet away trying to coax Tim into feeling a bit more relaxed around him.

[indraa-deactivated20231110]

you’ll never know if you can fly unless you take the risk of falling.