recs and links

Steve has no idea why these kids want to hang out with him so much. Really lovely post-season 2 slice of life story about Steve and his friendship with the kids.

John and Mary Grayson die; Dick becomes Robin. This is everything that happens in between, a/k/a, how Gotham City ripped one family and identity from Dick and gave him another. I enjoyed this a lot! ♥Dick♥ And the sequel, https://archiveofourown.org/works/15055505 Grounded, in which Dick is grounded and sent to Smallville for a week and hijinks ensue.

There are reports of shadowy forces and a copycat Batman in Colorado. Batgirl is sent to investigate, and in the process discovers a new friend, a co-dependent study group, and a place that rivals Arkham Asylum for sheer lunacy. This was fun!

link to export DW one month at a time

the bats have a sex pollen release form. because of course they do. hilarity ensues.

Tony Stark saves the world. He dies minutes later. Peter comes back from the battle to a world that’s changed three times over: first with the Snap and his death, the next with the Reverse Snap that ends the Blip, and one more change, courtesy of an accidental thought during the Reverse Snap: the unification of two separate universes into one. This last results in a physically larger planet, and several new cities, fully formed and inhabited, popping into existence around the world. Gotham City. Metropolis, Keystone City. A few others. Peter takes this news the only way he can: he accepts it and moves on. So he does. Peter is still reeling from the war against Thanos, but he keeps pushing forward. The realities of this new world find him later, when he visits Metropolis with J. Jonah Jameson for a conference. Spidey meets Superman. Oh heart.

NYMag on the life and death of Natasha Romanoff. GROSS SOBBING

The first thing Margaret notices about the new nurse--Diana--is how quiet she is.

Presented by The Prancing Pony Podcast

No one besides a select few knew that Dick tried to solve the cases the people of the upper city were too busy to care about. Cases that dealt with the lower classes, the current addicts, the bitcoin debtors, the cyborg traders. Cases like this one. A fun cyberpunk AU.

Can the FAA make Superman go to flight school? This and other questions. Ahahaha, oh Clark.

and here and no need to wave when what we hear in our dreams we discover in our hands an edge of lace

Lovely moment of kindness for Cass when she needed it, pre-Gotham.

What was he going to say, that he was holding on to some idea of manhood that didn’t even stem from his own people? He was down for revolution, not the petty shit of rebellion: he liked most of his father’s traditions just fine. He just wasn’t pinning a corsage on his chest, marking him out as T’Challa’s new boytoy. AU where Erik comes to Wakanda as T'Challa's betrothed. Great character voices.

The staff at Gotham Cemetery are not paid enough to deal with this. Fun outsider POV on Jason's return.

"Cats?" Peter B. asks. "No, there's nothing in my universe about cats and Spider-Man. Looks like you're special once again, Miles. Invisibility camo, venom shock, now kitty-whispering? Congrats!" Spider-Man helps everyone. Brooklyn's cats seem determined to take advantage of that fact. Adorable!

Cass and Damian have a moment of bonding. Oh heart. #precious assassin babies

"I especially liked when you referred to us as a family bound by destiny and love." "It was the booze talking. In the light of day, you're all still deplorable." SIBLINGS!

Five times the Robins grieved one another and one time they didn't. Exactly what it says on the tin. #forever crying over robins dot tumblr dot com

A study of why Bruce couldn’t kill the Joker, what would happen if someone else could – and how you move on from the aftermath. Really compelling read.

Gotham loses its Robin and Bruce Wayne loses a son. Tim finds one of these too tragic to bear. In his quest to make sure Bruce Wayne lives to see the next year, he strikes upon the perfect solution: another son. Oh Tim.

When a mysterious villain targets the Robins, forcing them together, Dick is bound and determined to keep his brothers safe no matter the cost. Unfortunately for him, so are they. Really good casefile + family feelings story.

The first winter after Dick leaves Batman and Gotham behind, the heat breaks in his apartment. Oh heart.

Red Hood's been running Robin's Nest, a secret youth shelter in Gotham, since he came out of his murdery craze. He wants it to be a place to stay, no questions asked, with a hot meal provided if you stick around for breakfast. The kids of Gotham deserve that much. Enter Stephanie, whose new name isn't the only secret she's keeping. I enjoyed this! ♥Steph♥

Sixteen years after the world didn't end for the last time, Max Mayfield showed up on Steve’s doorstep and said, “You gonna walk me down the aisle in May or what?” Or, it’s 2002 and Steve Harrington attends a wedding, a funeral, and a birth. This is a really lovely, melancholy yet hopeful AU in which the Party gathers to celebrate and grieve together over the years.

For this gala, however, he almost hopes they forget him again, because tonight Tim has a plan. They're at Wayne Manor, and Tim is going to find the Batcave. Tiny Tim finds the Batcave.

Jason and Damian have a conversation about the meaning of family. Oh my heart.

An utterly hilarious and entertaining outsider POV on the Waynes, the Batfamily and Gotham, from a CPS case worker who gets called in to help Tim, who is apparently living with the Red Hood.

A magician removes all traces of the Lazarus Pit from Jason's blood, making Jason worry that its effects will all come undone. Oh Jason.

Five times Jack Drake didn't answer his phone. And one time he did, but it was already too late. Exactly what it says on the tin. Oh Tim.