recs and links

Bucky fills in for Steve when Steve is in space and UTTER HILARITY happens.

A really good, long Dick-becomes-Talon AU.

Each of the boys he'd had a hand in raising in this manor were as dramatic as each other. Yet Bruce still occasionally looked at his two sons as if wondering where they'd got it from, like dressing up as a bat and fighting criminals every night was a hobby that encouraged restraint.  "And how old do you think I am, Master Jason?"  "Twenty-six," Jason answered promptly, because he was far from a stupid boy and had not an ounce of shame in him. Jason sighed again. "Life is suffering, Alfred."  "And we will celebrate surviving that suffering with cake."  Jason & Alfred, before and after.

After helping out a working girl, Jason ends up teaching her some self-defense. Things snowball from there. Oh heart. With some great art, too.

It's the blizzard of the century and even Batman is snowed in, which seems like a perfect time for Dick Grayson to ask Bruce Wayne a very pointed question about his new Robin. Featuring small cameos from the Justice League. This is a nice look at Tim from Dick's POV.

Clark liked children, truly. They were fun and energetic, looked at the world with fresh eyes, and had a beautiful sense of wonder. But he didn’t have much experience with them. Catching a child falling from a tree or winking at one while flying overhead was one thing. Being responsible for a small human was something else entirely. They were so very small and so very breakable. Interacting with one felt like the first time Ma had handed him one of the barn cat’s newborn kittens. It helped that Dick seemed, all in all, a little less breakable than the average human child. While Bruce works a case in Metropolis, Dick spends the weekend with Uncle Clark. It's not without its challenges. Oh heart.

There's a mishap with time, and six Robins meet. ROBINS!

Dick and Jason have to deal with a baby. This is sweet.

"A shady ‘independent agent’ who only makes contact with an MI6 agent who’s been around since our dads were fighting over here, suddenly wants to meet you and only you, deep in German territory. And that doesn’t make you suspicious, not at all?” Steve and Bucky meet with an agent who hasn't provided intel since WWI. She's not what Steve was expecting.

This is a really sweet, funny, feelsy look at Shuri dealing with the aftermath of her father's death and the Wakandan civil war, while working on removing Bucky's triggers.

ADorable Cass & Jason bonding.

He had paper cranes and...a PS4. Somewhere. Not in the bathtub, but now that he thought about it that sounded like a fantastic idea. "But where would I put the television?" Jason asked, blinking as Cass carefully avoided the wound on his side, standing up in the tub and frowning down at him. "Little brother." She sounded very stern. "Up." "I'm comfortable here," Jason replied. Also his legs had started going numb from being folded awkwardly in the tub. It wasn't big. There was a reason it was only his second favorite safe house and it was because the tub wasn't the optimal size necessary for crane making. Crane storing. For him to sit in while making paper cranes. Jason is high on painkillers and making paper cranes. Cass is understandably concerned. This is adorable.

Bruce "I accidentally slipped and fell across the room, took out three tables and broke a desk with your body as I ACCIDENTALLY fell on you also you're going to jail” Wayne takes his young protégé down the rewarding path of revenge. When Bruce runs into a criminal he can't take down as Batman, he tries another route to bring the man to justice.

Jason infiltrates a masked gala at Wayne Manor and flirts with Dick to distract him. He gets a little more than he bargained for.

“Are you an angel too?” Oliver repeated. When Mr. Crowley answered, he seemed to have entirely too many teeth. “No.” Caroline let out a shaky breath. “Good.” This is adorable. The whole series is lovely.

Long, thoughtful, moving story about Crowley and his therapist.

A powerful English thesaurus and brainstorming tool that lets you describe what you're looking for in plain terms. It gives you hundreds of related words to choose from and lets you narrow down the list with several advanced features.

Batman has been guarding Gotham for 75 years, but its city limits weren't defined until 1998

At the top of the steps, a hand reached out to him. He let it tug him down the porch and push him against one of the stone columns. And Ronan cupped Adam's face in his gentle hands. "It's okay, Parrish. You got it? It's okay." He inhaled, let it out on a shuddering breath. Ronan moved in and laid his head on Adam's shoulder, hands sliding down his body to embrace him. Adam chuckled weakly, still sick with emotion. "How are you the well-adjusted one?" "You take that back, asshole." He wrapped his arms around Ronan and pulled him in tight, pulled them together until the tension inside him began to ease, letting the void fill with Ronan's stubborn and relentless caring. He became aware that his head was throbbing. Ronan waited for him, not moving until Adam released him. Adam and Ronan and figuring things out along the way.

The one where Jason has mono and has been avoiding the Manor and Alfred straightens him out.

Looking at the family portrait he's not in pisses Jason off. So he decides to do something about it. Oh Jason. He's such a drama queen, but at least he's aware of it?

Jason is slowly learning to deal with his family.

Two times Alfred is injured and Bruce has to deal.

When Lex drugs Bruce, Clark comes to the rescue. This is some sweet Clark & Bruce friendship fic.

“I’ll teach you how to pick locks,” he said, and then pointed at the records he’d been reading. “We keep records for Haskell,” he said. “But if you learn of anyone cheating, or snitching, you come straight to me. Not Per Haskell,” he added, almost as an afterthought. “I’ll handle it directly.” She swallowed past the nervous lump in her throat and nodded, taking in the room itself, evaluating it. It was an office, albeit it of the Barrel variety. His private quarters were separated off, and the door was closed. It was almost cozy. (Almost.) “So you want my report?” she asked and he nodded at her, tracking the distinctive bulge in her jacket sleeve. “And after that,” he said, “we’re going to get you a real knife.” Snapshots from Inej's early days with the Dregs.

Most of his family had been very Worried about Damian after Father and Kyle announced that she was with child. Grayson was worried that he would feel replaced, neglected. Drake was worried he would murder the new baby in the dead of night. this is ADORABLE.

Three lovely stories of Damian bonding first with Dick and then with Bruce.

After the Battle of New York, Natasha takes Steve shopping.

As much as Grace appreciates Frankie’s willingness to listen, she doesn’t want to talk right away. But in the days that follow, she does. She’s been giving into that invitation of Frankie’s more and more. She never shares as much as she might, but she says a lot more than she used to. And she’s pretty sure Frankie, as perpetually distracted as she is, listens far more carefully than she lets on. Lovely.

This is a delightful multifandom vid salute to the civilians and sidekicks of many, many superheroes.