The Clock Tower

New home of graysonsflight (look for me on Ao3)- still Kay, still know too many things about the Batkids, still excited about YJ, Harry Potter, and a whole mess of YA lit. Also your friendly neighborhood English teacher - so yeah, I can help you with your homework.

[gothamsgrace]

Lost and Found

Hi there :) – there’s a lot of you who have started following me since the world shut down a little – and first of all – thank you – I don’t completely know why you’re here – but I appreciate you all the same. I’m making this post as a timeline for Lost and Found arc with the Batfamily, just in case you’re board and want to read it in order. (As an FYI – some of the stories that actually do fit in the timeline aren’t connected to it on AO3 because of reasons) My human and I update every Thursday for Metus (which is the story that actually spawned this world and we took down to completely rewrite because it deserved it.) I appreciate all the support so many of you have shown – and if this arc isn’t for you no worries – I’m still glad to have you here.

His Daughter’s Trust: (T) This one features Jim Gordon and Babs (at age 7) after her brother Jamie has broken her arm.

First Sight: (G) This is the story of how Barbara and Dick meet for the first time on the night of his parent’s death.

Bedsides – Chapter 1: Guilt: (G-T) Bruce’s prospective on the night his little Robin was beaten by Two-Face – and Leslie Thompkins doing her best.

Bedsides – Chapter 2: Promise: (G) Bruce learning how to care for his second child who has all kids of insecurities.

What Family’s For: (T-M slurs and violence) Dick is bullied in high school for a lot of things and Jason is not interested in letting that slide – not when he can defend him.

Toeing the Line - Babs is used to no one coming to her dance recitals - but a pair of Robins aim to change that. It features complicated Dick/Babs as well as Jason being a top notch little brother

Not a Date: (T): Barbara doesn’t want to date – mostly because love in her family hasn’t worked out so well. In this story Dick gets to see first hand where a lot of her anxiety comes from.

To Be Enough: (T): Dick grapples with the idea that he isn’t good enough to be Bruce’s son. (There is some UTS between Dick and Babs here - because he flirts instead of actually trying to work through emotions)

Reckless: (M – some sexual content) Dick and Barbara get a little reckless at a Gala – and Jason once again, likes to defend people who feel that they can’t stand up for themselves. Also features Bruce trying to give the talk.

Lost: (G) After losing Jason, Dick is more than a little lost and finds comfort in Barbara who has to help work him through a panic attack.

A Little While: (T) Selina Kyle knows that Bruce needs a break after losing his son – just like she knows he won’t take it.

Bedsides – Chapter 3: Reassurance: (G) Bruce does the best he can with taking care of a Tim who doesn’t understand how wanted he is.

Identifying Marks: An Arrow (G) Dick catches Wally’s new tattoo just before they leave for the mission that will change their lives forever. (while all 3 little vignettes are posted in a single chapter, for this list I have broken them up chronologically)

A Fine Line: (T) Barbara watches Dick teetering on the edge of control after losing Wally, praying she’ll be enough to tether him.

Identifying Marks: A Tiger (G) Following Wally’s death, Artemis gives into some pain and gets a tattoo of her own.

History Lesson: (M) This WIP is Bart Allen sharing the timeline he came from with Barbara. (Horribly sad - and while not essential to the overall plot line of the universe - it does add in details and shows what could have been and almost was).

Objects in Motion: (T) This story features Artemis and Barbara being there for each other and paralleled with Dick Grayson trying to loose himself continents away.(Honestly, the Dick sections of this story could be read directly after A Fine Line - but they fit here thematically)

Identifying Marks: A Bird (G): Dick decides to get an identifying mark of his own – one he chooses instead of having imposed upon him.

Home for Christmas: (G) Tim is so sure that Dick will finally be home for Christmas, Barbara can’t help but be a little hopeful herself. (I do plan to add more missed Christmases to this eventually)

Whiskey: (T) Set six months after he left home, Dick is wallowing in a bar when he runs into someone he never thought he’d see again.

Bedsides – Chapter 4: Responsibility: (G) Bruce knows that each of his protégés are different – and Stephanie deserves the best of him too.

New Wounds, Old Scars: (T) After Dick tries to wake Jason up from a nightmare the two of them have a bit of a heart to heart about the secrets they’ve been keeping.

Bedsides - Chapter 5: Choice (T) The choices Bruce makes have always impacted other people. This time it’s Barbara who suffers the consequences. But Barbara Gordon will be damned before she lets other people make decisions for her.

(There’s a bunch of other stuff that happens here as well - some of it in progress)

Not Great: (G) After bad information gets Dick hurt on a mission, Jason shows his own brand of concern.

(WIP chapter 6 of Bedsides featuring Bruce and Cass)

Family Found: (G) In which Barbara comes to tell Bruce that she’d like to adopt Cass - and she is not prepared to see Bruce admit where he has made mistakes.

The Hunt: (T) Artemis Crock heads overseas to investigate this Red Hood character Barbara is sure might be Dick.

The Hunt: Unexpected Alleys: (E) This smut scene is glossed over in the original Hunt story and is not necessary to understanding the overall plot of the universe. But it’s fun.

(There are more stories that fit in here – including one in progress which shows the boys coming back to Gotham)

Green Light: (E) While not necessary for understanding the overall plot line of the universe – this story highlights how Dick Grayson likes to deal with his emotions (or not deal with them as the case may be) It features Dick/Roy and also Dick/Roy/Jade.

As a Family: (T) This story features Jason and Tim trying to work together for the first time, Babs and Jason dancing around everything that has happened, and Dick and Damian working together for the first time.

In Case of Emergency: (G) This story features Jason begrudgingly trying this whole big brother thing out with Tim.

(The Incident is a work in progress that is mentioned in Metus – but takes place about two months before)

Metus: (M) This story delves into the complex relationships of the characters as they make questionable choices in the wake of Damian’s kidnapping when Bruce is off world. It is Dick trying to prove himself and all of them trying to see where they fit into this mess of a family.

Soo... yeah. Basically, I know this is a little crazy and a little in depth, but this world just keeps adding layers of itself in my head. My human and I try really hard to make it so that each of these stories can be read interdependently, but that if you like our characterizations, you can get pick and choose what you’d like to read.

I am always happy to answer any questions - or talk to you about literally any of this.

Thank you so much for all the support you have shown us so far - it makes me want to keep working to be better and do better (and fill in the all gaps) 💛💛 Kay

[the-resurrection-3d]

The real measure of a writer is what oddly specific tropes show up constantly in their work and make you question What Happened

[whatagrump]

Apparently a lot of people get dialogue punctuation wrong despite having an otherwise solid grasp of grammar, possibly because they’re used to writing essays rather than prose. I don’t wanna be the asshole who complains about writing errors and then doesn’t offer to help, so here are the basics summarized as simply as I could manage on my phone (“dialogue tag” just refers to phrases like “he said,” “she whispered,” “they asked”):

“For most dialogue, use a comma after the sentence and don’t capitalize the next word after the quotation mark,” she said.

“But what if you’re using a question mark rather than a period?” they asked.

“When using a dialogue tag, you never capitalize the word after the quotation mark unless it’s a proper noun!” she snapped.

“When breaking up a single sentence with a dialogue tag,” she said, “use commas.”

“This is a single sentence,” she said. “Now, this is a second stand-alone sentence, so there’s no comma after ‘she said.’”

“There’s no dialogue tag after this sentence, so end it with a period rather than a comma.” She frowned, suddenly concerned that the entire post was as unasked for as it was sanctimonious.

[gothamsgrace]

What do we do when we hate the world? We make cupcakes.

[ohowacle-deactivated20211204]

Just thinking about a Barbara Gordon who adopts a baby when she is ready. She sits in her wheelchair looking at her screens. Baby wrapped in a blanket and cradled against her. The fingers of one hand scrolling up and down against a screen, searching for any signs of danger. And in the middle of reading something Babs looks down at the baby pressed against her. She stops and holds it a little closer to her. And then continues.

[ohowacle-deactivated20211204]

And when I think about the post I have about Babs being the type of kid who would just have Jim sign her papers without telling him what it is...

Like imagine her kid growing up to do the same and Jim just being like now you know how it feels

[gothamsgrace]

Well thank now I’m thinking about this too. What have you done?

[chaotic-witch-22]

[gothamsgrace]

Title: A Bag of Books Characters: Jason Todd - mentioned Batfamily. Rating: G Word Count: 464 For @batbirdies because you know - Books.

           Presents were hard. Jason hated how much he overthought gift giving. It was usually why he just didn’t do it. You could never disappoint someone when their expectations were low, right?

           But this year? This year had been longer than usual. This year, Gotham had tried to take a bite out of each of them and voice inside of him had demanded he try to give something back.

           He balanced the stack of books in his arms carefully before dumping them all into a backpack. There was Warrior Cats for Damian, and Treasure Island for Tim. A new retelling of Robin hood for Dick, and Jane Austen’s Emma for Stephanie. For Cass, Jason had found an old beaten copy of the Grimm Brother’s Fairy Tales to show her just a little bit of magic, and for Babs he found a copy of A Little Princess because he’d heard her trying to describe it to Cass one night, saying it was one her father had started reading to her when she was a kid, but it had gotten lost in a move. He knew Alfred would love the old English Tea cookbook Jason had found by accident, because Alfred had always loved anything Jason found for him. And Bruce? Jason gripped at the last book uneasily. He had spent hours combing through the store, looking for something anything that called Bruce’s name, but the man had always been hard, preferring facts and figures to fantasy worlds.

           Finally, just as he’d been about to leave, Jason had spied a red leather bound book of Shakespeare’s Henriad plays. The four of them, Richard II; Henry IV, Part 1; Henry IV, Part 2; and Henry V all bound together, three crowns embossed in gold. Suddenly, Jason was a kid again, Bruce having him memorize and recite Shakespeare to help with his memory, to help with his patience, to give him a little taste of what it would have been like to have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. And Jason had loved every second of it, devouring the complex phrases and tasting the power and knowledge on his tongue. He bought the book without a second thought.

           With a sigh of both unspoken anxiety and resignation, Jason dropped the book into his bag. Either Bruce would like it, or he wouldn’t. It was the same for the rest of them. Hosting his bag over a shoulder, Jason made his way out the front door of his apartment, still not sure if he’d be handing each of them their books individually, or if he’d break into each of their rooms and leave it on their beds. Despite the sudden desire to do something nice, Jason figured he still had to keep them all on their toes.

[pragnificent]

Reblog if you are a fic writer who welcomes moodboards, playlists, remixes, art and any other type of gift based on your stories.

[gothamsgrace]

Am I writing what I’m supposed to and finishing the WIP that’s sitting on it’s last chapter? No

Did I write some fluffy Dick/Babs with a tiny smidgen of angst but it’s happy because I need happiness right now? Yes.

Here - have a story born of the realization that Barbara’s birthstone is the blue sapphire - which is the color of Dick’s eyes.

Title: Blue Rating: T Characters: Dick/Babs AO3: LINK

           If they handed out Olympic medals for fidgeting, Barbara was pretty sure Dick would have been one of the most highly decorated. She side-eyed him carefully, trying to see if there was a reason he’d changed position in his chair for the millionth time. Not that he really needed a reason; Dick was always moving. He was shifting shining sunlight, melting his way through the stillness that always seemed to settle over her.

            “You okay?” she asked, after she had watched him open and close his mouth at least three times without saying anything.

            He jumped like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. “Who me?”

            “Dick, we’re the only ones here,” Barbara pointed out, her hand gesturing to the empty room. They were alone in the manor’s library, textbooks piled up on the table between them. Every twenty minutes or so, Alfred would pop in, sometimes just walking by, other times offering fresh baked cookies or hot chocolate. He had outright refused to make them coffee; indifferent to their pleas, he said that at sixteen, they should not be drinking coffee after 4 PM, no matter what they had planned for nightly activities. Alfred’s diligence was the only reason Barbara’s dad still let her go to the manor for homework after school.

            “Well, I was thinking,” the boy beside her said, the left side of his mouth starting to turn up in the type of smile that made her heart beat just a little bit faster. “Your birthday is in what? Two weeks?”

            Twelve days. Her birthday was in twelve days, something he knew very well, because he had been more excited for it than she was.

            “And?” she asked, eyebrow raised.

            “And I was thinking maybe I wanted to give you your birthday present now.”

            Barbara sighed, dropping her head to the table. “Dick Grayson, we talked about this!”

            “You talked,” he corrected. “I listened. And I still think I should get to give it to you now.”

            “No!”

            “Babs,” he laughed. “I think you’re being over dramatic.” Dick leaned over to pull her up off the table. His smirk now a full blown smile, his blue eyes dancing.

            “It’s twelve days, Dick,” she reminded him. “If I can wait twelve days for it to be my birthday you can wait to give me a present. I don’t see what the big deal is anyway.” He knew she didn’t like birthdays, didn’t like it when the attention was unavoidably centered on her and yet in the last six years they had been friends and whatever they were now, Dick Grayson had always insisted on making a big deal of her birthday.

            “I’m gonna do it,” he whispered, going full gremlin mode. Before Barbara could stop him, Dick was out of his chair and flying down the hallway towards his room.

            “Ms. Gordon?” Alfred questioned from the doorway, clearly having just witnessed Dick’s sprint.

            “He’s getting my birthday present,” she mumbled, resigned.

            “Ah,” Alfred chuckled softly. “He really is quite proud of himself.”

            “Because it’s perfect, Al,” Dick announced, strolling back into the room with his hands behind his back.

            “As you have said Master Richard. Repeatedly.” The wink Alfred sent her as he turned from the room did nothing to quell the butterflies now cavorting through her stomach.

            “What did you do, Boy Wonder?”

            “C’mon Babs,” Dick laughed, moving until he was standing in front of her, still bouncing on the balls of his feet. “You know I switched over to a new name.”

            Barbara closed her eyes. She still had a hard time seeing him as Nightwing, as a boy who grew to be just tall enough that if she wanted to kiss him, she would have to stand on her toes. The blue of his new emblem exploded behind her closed lids. It really did suit him – so close to the color of eyes he hid behind a domino mask.

            “You still with me?” he teased, his fingers trailing against her cheek.

            “I’m here,” she sighed, smiling a little despite herself. “So what did you get me?”

            “Oh so now you want it?” His laughter filled her, warming the shadows of birthday’s past when she had sat alone at the kitchen table, her dad at work, or even earlier ones where her mother would have an episode all because baby Barbara had asked if there would be cake.

            She leaned into him, pushing the memories aside. “I could still wait. Can you?”

            Dick shook his head, pulling her over to sit on the couch by the fire, their homework long forgotten.

            “I know green’s your favorite color, but…” He pressed a flat square box into her hands, the barest hint of nervousness creeping onto his face in the form of a blush.

            Carefully, she pulled back the wrapping paper, loving it all the more for its messiness; a clear indication Dick had done it himself. And just for a second, with the smooth gray colored box in her hands, she could feel Dick Grayson go completely still. Inside, resting against a silk pillow, were a pair of sapphire stud earrings, the all too familiar blue of them shimmering in the sunlight still filtering in through the window.

            “Dick,” she whispered, once she realized she could breathe again. She looked up, her eyes locking with his, the same shade of blue sparking back just as brightly as the earrings.

            “You like them?” he asked, anxious as he reached out to touch her hand, his foot tapping out his own version of Morse Code against the couch.

            “Of course I do but – ”

            “No,” he stopped her. “Don’t tell me they’re too expensive or anything like that. I know – I know – you don’t think you get to have things like this, Babs. But you do. You’re smart and funny and one of the most aggressively kind people I know.”

            Barbara could feel tears beginning to prik at her eyes, the walls inside her shifting and shaking like they always seemed to do when he looked at her like he was now. Like she was special, important, worth putting first.

            “Thank you,” she sighed, moving to wrap her arms around him, cheek buried in his neck to try and hide the tears. The words couldn’t do justice to the warmth that filled her, but it was what she could manage, and by the way he tightened around her, he knew it too. And it was enough.

            Green may have been her favorite color but Barbara was pretty sure she was falling in love with blue.

[petals42]

people who comment on fics just to say that they are re-reading and still cried/felt emotions/loved it are the greatest people on earth and should be given a thousand dollars. 

[ink-shaming]

based on this

[vassquerade]

Casual Reading - Jason Todd (Red Hood)

It was meant to be a sketch but ended up being a colored lined doodle :’>

[gothamsgrace]

I told my 20 blank screens today that trying to teach like this was soul crushing and depressing because I couldn’t gauge any of their reactions and that it was really difficult to have any kind of meaningful discussion because they wouldn’t talk. In case anyone is wondering, being open and vulnerable was also met with blank screens. And “Can you repeat the question?” when I went back to teaching to the abyss and took to calling on them by name to answer. If they replied at all.

[fairybookaunt]

Here’s the reading challenge that I’m going to be following this year! While my over all goal is 55 books - my plan is to hit all of these thirty categories at least once. Feel free to play along!

[gothamsgrace]

Hey humans, I don't know if all of you know that I'm an English teacher - but I am and I read a lot of books. I just created a new blog to talk about the books I read this year - and share the challenge I created. Feel free to follow - play along or just smile at me and go “Oh that’s nice, Kay.”

[sagano-moss]

The Mandalorian S2Chapter13

[kitbats]

Did someone say fire?

Aka my AU where Dickie was an ACAB firefighter in the 90’s.

[s-mscott]

10/31/20 — might finish this one later