#I LOVE EVIL GUN BATMAN TIM DRAKE

[casscainmainly]

Evil gun Batman Tim Drake >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Red Hood Tim Drake

[littlefankingdom]

~ Batman Detective Comics (2016)

I really like those pages, they demonstrate well how they are a family, with little touches.

First, Tim saying"the only place that ever felt like home", with a cut to the Wayne Manor. That's clear, Tim talks to Bruce about how his family manor is Tim's only home.

And then his brothers show up! They never appeared in the last issues, but suddenly, they're here. Which means that Tim and Bruce, upon realizing that Future Evil Tim is going to their home, they called them to help. Because, who is better to protect their home and Alfred than other people with connection to them? And Dick, Jason and Damian, they immediately showed up. Because that's their home, that's their grandfather, that's their future evil brother, that's their family.

[hotenemyshape]

Based on the fic 'your legacy’s not yours to see, nor is your eulogy' by @softcactus

[cuephrase]

2024 Writing Review

tagged in this by @androxys, tysm!!

number of stories posted to ao3: four- three drabbles, one one-shot and one multi-chap fic

word counted posted for last year: 37, 886!! that's so much for me, crazy (both 2022 and 2023 were around 7k, for comparison)

fandoms i wrote for: batman - all media types, babyyyy. two of the drabbles were very comic specific so i have batman (comics) and nightwing (comics) tagged. wait. lmao that was wrong, i've edited it now, was supposed to be batgirl (comics) someone help me oh my god

pairings: we've got two hits for Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, then Cassandra Cain & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Everyone, Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, and Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne

so, bc that's giving me a headache, five Dick tags, four Tim tags, four Bruce tags, four Jason tags, and one Cass tag. all but three of those are one fic tho lmao.

stories with the most kudos, bookmarks and comment threads: penance, far and away. that fic got (is getting?) so much more love than i could have imagined or hoped for. absolutely mind-blowing fr

work i’m most proud of (and why): okay so this is a tie between penance and plea for two completely opposite reasons! penance is the first multichap fic i've ever completed and that's a huge milestone for me. plea i'm really proud of bc it's only 100 words but i feel like i managed to accomplish absolutely everything i wanted to and it's sooooooo satisfying to me.

work i’m least proud of (and why): hmmmmm. maybe inventory? it was supposed to be fluff and i corrupted it. so that frustrates me when i think about it even though the finished product isn't bad.

share or describe a favorite review you received: oh gosh ummmmm. help. i really loved every comment letting me know they'd cried real tears bc i am Evil. but if i had to choose one comment, i think this one has stuck with me the most (some parts blocked out bc Spoilers)

the fic has an ending spoiler now that it's complete, but when i was posting it i hadn't totally nailed the ending down. that apprehension meant so much to me, that willingness to follow the story- i could be reading into it idk, but i really value the trust that early readers had because, quite frankly, i don't think i had earned it. i also loved that they both couldn't decide what to think about tim and that they liked it- what i was portraying is messy and complicated and i think there's a really fine line there between stuff being ooc or frustrating or exhausting or dissatisfying with that kind of thing, so it was super !!!!! to have successfully walked that line for them!

but my favorite part of this comment is easily "the power of love is truly an ugly and beautiful thing...made me appreciate life". i don't really write romances, but the power of love is one of those things i end up wrestling with thematically a lot because it's just so captivating and it's one of those things i feel like i can't ever find the words for actually, i need you to just feel it and they felt it and- yeah. just yeah. and then writing/storytelling is something i use to help me appreciate life so overall just 🥹😭🫶 x1000

a time when writing was really, really hard: after i finished penance, rip. i got psyched out by all the positive attention and couldn't write 😅. there were plenty of times this year where i just wasn't trying to write so like i guess that was hard, but being paralyzed by overthinking when i had plenty of ideas and wanted to write Sucked. it's okay, i talked to my therapist finger guns

a scene or character you wrote that surprised you: slight penance spoilers lol, but in ch 3, the dick and tim hug surprised me. not that it happened, bc i knew it was going to, but i just had the image of the scene, yk, not like. how it would truly feel to be in dick's headspace in that moment. and omg. it just attacked me. i couldn't stop crying it was so frustrating. i'd pause to collect myself, come back and just nope. the scene is actually shorter than i originally envisioned bc i physically couldn't smh

a favourite excerpt of your writing: oh gosh. um um ummmmmm i really like this bit from ch 1 of penance-

this moment was just incredibly fun for so many reasons, not least of which is that i got to break tim for the first time 😇

how did you grow as a writer last year: i learned that i can, in fact, start and finish something that isn't a one shot. idk if my writing has improved on a technical level at all? but, despite it being a bit of a one step forward, two steps back thing at times, i do think i gained some confidence in my ability to write and that'll be really nice in the long run if i can, yk. take the steps forward without going back.

how do you hope to grow this year: by writing more. i want to actually write things instead of daydreaming and maybe getting down like twenty words and then never looking at it again. at my most ambitious, i build a habit.

who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer, beta, cheerleader, etc.): oh shoot. i got so much support from so many people i almost don't know where to start. i am so beyond grateful to everyone who has supported me, and i'm going to single out @a-canceled-stamp, @canonicallyshort, and @koraesrambles for enabling the crap out of me. love you guys sm!!!! (that extends to everyone not just those three ofc!!)

anything from your real life show up in your writing last year: the grieving process haha.

any new wisdom you can share with other writers: oh gosh ummmmmm. follow your gut. forget about audience, and rules, and whatever- if you know the story you want to tell, tell that story. just get it out. it deserves to be told.

any projects you’re looking to start (or finish) this year: the sequel to penance. my jason fic, my dick fic. i don't want to get ahead of myself or anything, but i hope i've got a handful of fics to look back on next year!!

no pressure tagging @sunflowersandink, @goldenraeofsun, @fleur-de-violette, @byrambles, and @elegitre (plus everyone already tagged)!!

[stealingyourbones]

Hi! 💙💙💙 How have you been?

*gently hands you a bowl decorated with rat ribs together with a spoon made out of a mammoth's tibia*

Soooooooooooo, you know how when Joker kidnapped Tim Drake in that one movie, he planted some kind of chip that will program Tim to become the Joker when he grows up/when it becomes activated? Like, it wasn't enough he was Joker Junior? The Joker actually had a contingency for when he dies so that The Joker character never actually dies? (holy shittttt)

WHAT IF when Jason came back to Gotham, or goes to Titans Tower to beat Tim up, the ectoplasm that Jason had in him somehow tranfers to Tim when Tim tried to fight back?

AND THEN the ectoplasm activates the chip?

Instead of the chip controlling Tim to act or behave like the Joker, THE CHIP INSTEAD SIZZLES AND PHASES OUT OF TIM, AND CREATES GHOST JOKER INITIALLY MADE UP OF CORRUPTED ECTOPLASM. *EVIL CACKLING*

*ehem*

Of course, it doesn't happen in a day. It takes WEEKS for this ghost to take form, naturally migrating to Gotham and gathering all the ectoplasm it needs to purify its corrupted core, naturally, on its own, and develop its own consciousness/cognition/awareness/whatever it means to develop a sense of self.

First, it felt empty. Without an obsession. A purpose for its existence.

And then, it saw Batman. It saw Nightwing doing a quadruple somersault.

And, it saw Robin trying (and failing) to go on patrol despite his injuries.

This ghost quietly drifts behind them with fascination and wonder, and little bits of an obsession forming. The obsession continues to form the more this ghost watches the little Robin.

(Well, this ghost doesn't know. Even if it was formed from the chip made by OG!Joker, it did come out of little Tim Drake, who had loved the idea of Robin and what it stood for more than the Bat.)

And then, the Red Hood saw him.

"Joker," the Red Hood growls, guns ready in his hands.

Joker. Yes. That sounds right. That sounds exactly what he should be.

"Looks like being dead can't keep you from obsessing over Batman, huh?"

Batman? No. That doesn't sound right. Perhaps he's fascinated. But obsess over the Batman? No, no, no...

The ghost, Joker, tilts his head. He sees the Red Hood stiffen, and he wonders what kind of expression he's making.

"Not Batman." He giggles, and laughs, and pictures a little Robin losing every little piece of light he's supposed to represent.

Light. Robin is the light. A bright light full of laughter, stubborness, and hope.

This ghost has a small memory of this little Robin bleeding beautifully in his own blood... Still stubbornly bright no matter how much pain the little Robin was receiving...

Yes.

The Joker just knows that it was born from that beautiful pain. And he's born to destroy that beautiful light.

One day, he will. He will capture the little Robin and make that light his... Or snuff it out until he's Robin no more! Yes!

Robin grapples past the alley he and Red Hood was in. And, in a blink of an eye, the Joker turns invisible, his laughs continuously echoing even when he's left.

***

For the first time since the incident in the tower, the Red Hood appears in the Batcave, mask off and face grim.

Bruce pushes Tim behind him. Nightwing tenses where he stands. Tim wants violence vengeance to beat Jason up or kick him in the crotch waits quietly behind Bruce with narrowed eyes.

Red Hood-- Jason didn't care.

"The Joker is back."

***

Welp, this got long! 😂 But please have this! 💙💙💙I hope you're doing okay 💙 Drinking lots of water, getting lots of sleep, and eating lots of good food 💙

the movie you're referencing is Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

how many qualities does this version of Joker retain from Tim? Does he resemble the Joker or does he look like a very young Joker that looks the same age as Tim, the same way he looks relatively the same age as Tim in the BB:RotJ movie? There are so many fun ways to mess around with this prompt. Go ham y'all

[confusedguytoo]

I’m a pretty strong defender of Willow in Buffy but I do wonder if people realize that I do see her flaws.  I just think the show shouldn’t really have dealt with them

People have flaws. They don’t all get dealt with or take you over or everyone would be perfect or evil by the time they die.

It’s kind of like with Tim Drake in DC or Kitty Pryde in Marvel.

Fans joke about Future Tim constantly being Evil Gun Batman because of a bad future version of him in official canon.  There’s posts on here that call him morally grey at best.  People joke about him carrying a sticky note written by Batman to remind him of the Batffamily’s policy on murder.  The darkness is there and it’s recognized, but the current version of the character never actually succumbs to it

Similar with Kitty.  In the recent Sins of Sinister storyline, in the bad future it  was declared that stripped of her morals she was one of the cruelest mutants out there.  In the 80s villains with major plans loved the idea of corrupting her.  In the 90s they made her the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club in the Mutant X-verse.  And readers acknowledged some of it too.  X-men fanfic in the 90s made reference to it.  I remember one story where the writer had Wolverine say that if Kitty was kicked off the X-men for being to young, based on her personality and the life mutants lead she’d be back in five years acting like Emma Frost without the bleach  job(and based on timing this would have early 80s Emma) and another where instead of attacking Pete Wisdom when he sees him and Kitty kissing, Colossus realizes if Kitty didn’t want him kissing her she’d have force fed him his testicles. And then gotten angry

People see it acknowledge it, but the writers basically never intend for the bad turn to happen

[ktkat99]

Something occured to me and now I need to share.

A highly trained, highly skilled combat expert with a dark aesthetic (Batman, Avacato) is completely helpless to stop both members of his family from dying (Bruce's parents getting gunned down, Avacato's wife and son dying in childbirth) from dying and impulsively decides to adopt a young boy (Dick Greyson, Little Cato) who was also helpless to stop his family from dying. He and his adopted son team up with an upbeat, cheerful, sunshine-type man (Superman, Gary) who has the ability to cause mass destruction, but really just wants friends and family.

The adopted son loves and looks up to his father very much despite the sheer number of times he's been kidnapped or nearly killed by people trying to get to his father through him. He eventually hero worships the upbeat, cheerful sunshine-type man his father is friends with, who in turn sees the boy as a son and helps the dark, grumpy man co-parent him.

They then team up with a very determined no-nonsense woman, (Wonder Woman, Quinn) who can sometimes be goofy, teasing, and playful, who was born and raised to be a strong member of the military. She eventually grows very close to the two men and they form a team in order to save and protect earth.

The son, who is also skilled at combat, is determined to hunt down and kill the one responsible for making him an orphan (Zucco, Lord Commander), but the man ends up surviving.

They team up with a green alien who likes sweets (Martian Manhunter, Mooncake), and another green teammate who they all find a bit self-centered and annoying (Guy Gardner, Tribore).

They then take in a teenage boy (Jason Todd, Fox) who is built like a tank and had to leave behind his love of the classic arts in favor of becoming a weapon, despite the fact that all he ever wanted was a loving family. He eventually dies very tragically in front of his adopted father figure, who blames himself.

They also take in an awkward, adorable teen (Tim Drake, Ash) who starts off a bit creepy stalker-y with the first adopted son, but over time grows to be close friends with him. They are revealed to be queer, and romantically interested in an alien. They are also the one chosen to be mind puppeted by the main bad guy, and later snap and potentially turn evil.

The youngest (Damian Wayne, Quatro) is a traditional warrior who was basically born expertly waving around weapons.

I know there are other similarities, but I just had to get this out before I forgot anything. Idk, might add to it later.

[joompheart]

I am a BATMANIAC I love BATMAN this sucks because Batman is DUMB AS HELL when he should not be in fact he should be smart as a whip but then if he’s smart as a whip he wouldn’t do all the really viscerally satisfying fan service stuff!!

I have a fantasy of my ideal Batman who works really hard to play the role. He’s been in the game for years but stayed close enough to the ground figuratively speaking that almost nobody outside of Gotham thinks he’s real. He helped found the JLA but left after the first year of that organization and isn’t acknowledged in any of their records. Most of his rouges gallery are actually on okay terms with him. He’s got a middlingly sized bat-family where most everyone actually likes him.

He’s subtle. He spends most of his time doing detective stuff. 6/7ths of his time is spent on terrestrial, normal human stuff like organized crime and working to negate small scale stuff like murder and blackmail. He has to do a lot of the work himself in the rain with binoculars and directed microphones because there aren’t cameras through most of Gotham. He has a grapnel gun and reactive cape like in the Arkham games and the dark knight trilogy, but he also keeps his old fashioned manual grapple hook to swing from gargoyles across the rooftops. His Batmobile and batwing (Bat-plane?) and bat-subway rocket (like in Knightfall) and any other vehicles are made to be as quiet as possible. This doesn’t mean they’re silent, or even close to silent depending on the vehicle, but they’re as low profile as they can be.

He takes the time and effort to preserve his myth and do his research so he really is scary when it counts. Sure “the Bat-Man” has been spotted on a couple of high profile occasions, but that was years ago. Besides, do you really believe the people who said they saw it? So when a mobster or whatever gets snatched out of an alley, it COULD have been Batman. Or it could’ve been something else. Gotham is an old, old, city build on haunted, cursed land with foundations sinking into older, more evil foundations sinking into…

Within the his circle though, there’s little pretense. The people who know that Bruce Wayne is Batman FOR SURE are:

Alfred Pennyworth, Dick Grayson (Nightwing), Jason Todd (Ressurected Red Hood), Tim Drake (Red Robin is such a dumb fucking name and it doesn’t make sense for the maximum efficiency world of the bat-family because it overlaps with Red Hood and Robin. I think of him as “Cardinal,” which I think is appropriate as a bird that kinda looks like a robin but is way more red), Damian Wayne (Robin), Cassandra Cain (Batgirl), Barbra Gordon (Oracle). Bane (of course), and bane’s inner circle of Bird, Zombie, and Trogg. Last, the Founding members of the JLA, so at least Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Flash. I haven’t settled on the other members, but it’d be 7 counting Batman. Catwoman might be on the list idk how I wanna play it. Batwoman almost certainly is, but I’m not familiar enough with her to make that call yet. At the very least she’d know quickly in the story. Idk if she’d let her lesbionic partner Renee Montoya/ Question in on it either, as I also don’t really know shit about her beyond some appearances in a supporting role as a detective.

The Riddler basically knows but is kept in check in sort of the same way he was at the end of Hush (which probably happened in some capacity in this fantasy continuity). Besides, he, and many of his fellow villains have less destructive interests these days (though they are definitely still dangerous and regularly spend time at the asylum. But the asylum has more actual asylum stuff than ever and has made progress to some extent with many of the regular patients. There’s still some mad science and unethical treatment from time to time though :]). Riddler has a lot of online stuff going on, and while he’ll still hijack the city from time to time it’s usually an effort to “raise the collective intelligence” of its citizens through high stakes games rather than just “solve my riddles so I don’t blow up a hospital for ransom Batman!!!”

Basil Carlo/ Clayface is mostly aligned with a Gotham theatre troupe now, and has earned minor local prestige for his performances and how he can take advantage of his powers to enhance them. He’ll still knock over a bank for cash or get roped into a collaborative scheme, but if anything that kinda endears him to many of the performers and techs.

Pamela Isley / Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn are deep in lesbionics and bounce around a couple cities doing ecoterrorism and animal welfare stuff. Human endangerment brings in Batman and the asylum will keep them like the rest of the gallery because that’s the only place with the specialized facilities. But they’re also generally looked upon fondly.

Dr. Victor Fries/ Mr. Freeze is doing better than ever. He actually managed to save Nora Fries but the process makes her need to stay sub-zero like him. She’s TOTALLY into it (and now bald like him). They’re now a husband and wife team doing bleeding edge research and occasional mad science with everything to do with the concept of “cold.” The have a private lab that’s partially funded by Wayne enterprises but the Fries’ never let Wayne have much influence over their work, as he frequently has moral objections and safety concerns. They do villainy but they’re also leading scientists who Batman alternately admires and values and opposes.

Waylon Jones/ Killer Croc doesn’t do much cannibalism these days. He bounces around crime families and on rare occasions subs in as a cook in mob controlled kitchens. He still enjoys villain team-up schemes, but values comfort and simple pleasures in his day to day. Croc does whatever he wants. One day he’s doing meat prep for Bane’s cookout in Gotham’s Santa Priscan enclave, the next he’s standing in as muscle for one of Penguin’s arms deals, the next he’s playing cards in Black Mask’s strip club. People know of Croc, and the people who actually spend time with him generally like him. When he’s busted he spends time in Arkham reading cookbooks abd other assorted literature, and paints. He’ll still eat a motherfucker raw though.

Batman is definitely a bat-dad now, if a little brooding and distant. He’s in just the last few years of his already ridiculously long lasting prime, and his children are already surpassing him in specific ways, like Jason being stronger and meaner and more organized (somehow lol), Dick being more agile and overall physically effective with a subtle knack for detective work, Tim and Barbra being smarter and more useful with technology by more and more as the months pass, Cassandra and Damian’s strength coming in to match their long superior fighting technique, etc. etc.Bruce is only staying ahead by being the most well rounded and experienced. Alfred is right on the cusp of retirement. Julia Pennyworth is somewhere and occasionally in touch, but sure as hell isn’t stepping in to replace her dad as “home base.”

His family all take the mission seriously (to one degree or another). Certainly more seriously than nearly anyone else in the broader JLA and “superhero community.” They all eventually, for their own reasons if not through direct training, took it to heart that their only way to stay ahead in their world is to be prepared and fight dirty. They all have their strong suits but can also preform well in all of the “bat-family” skills of fighting, stealth, and detective work. This is satisfying on its own, but I’ll admit a lot of it is hoping for a “booyah” moment when one of Batman’s kids just SMOKES some chump JLA member at whatever objective.

To wrap up (as I really ought to Jesus) the fan service stuff I was whining about at the start of the post is basically me moaning that if they really were smart and focused on efficiency and subtle work, the bat family would never all be in one place for a cool “yeah there are like 12 of us” moment outside of the Batcave or a dedicated out of costume vacation. Most of them aren’t even in Gotham except for rare visits home! Whatever. Whatever. I’ll make it happen. I’ll make the Batman who can be serious and also make silly animated series one liners and even dry jokes if my dreams someday. With a Joker who’s actually funny!! I love funny joker who does audacious schemes for money and announces them ahead of time to invite people to stop him!! I don’t care about scary joker anymore I know he was always supposed to be subtly serious and scary but I don’t care anymore I was to laugh with him!!!

[cleromancy]

I know we love Jaytim, but consider Arkham Knight Jason x Joker Jr. Tim Drake being shipped together.

gut reaction is "pass," tbh. just bc i dont usually like what writers do with jj like... hes boringk :/ any time i read a jj concept im like god this sucks im going to go watch return of the joker which didn't suck. and then i go do that

someone could make it work and a couple ideas came to mind for me that i could get behind but im not going to follow that trail of ideas my own self bc idwt put the effort in my own self bc i would simply rather it was like any other tim

like idk do evil gun batman future tim or somfing x ak jason. im not even particularly compelled by evil gun batman tim but i feel like since it *keeps fjucking happening* we should start giving them to jasons. gift wrapped if possible

[thy-valhallen]

genuinely, so funny to call the Batfam "soldiers," like bruh, the defining characteristic of ANY Robin is the physical inability to listen to orders. no Batfam member, Batman included, is capable of listening to orders-- someone tells them what to do, and you have about five minutes tops before they've either martyred themself somehow, weaseled their way out of listening through cheap loopholes in wording, or just blatantly disregarded the instructions given to them.

fuckin' "Batfam are soldiers" my ass, look at Dick "Bruce spent the first few weeks trying to make him just go to bed" Grayson, Jason "fuck you dad, I'm already on a plane to Ethiopia" Todd, and Tim "idgaf if I don't have bulletproof clothes, I'm still going to be Robin" Drake as exhibits A, B, and C against that case; if you need supporting evidence, I'll direct you to Stephanie "cool, I'm Robin! I'm also Jared, 19, and didn't read the instructions on this funky planning sheet so oops, it's war time now" Brown.

hell, the closest two I'd say there are to soldiers are the literal child soldiers raised by other people to be child soldiers who are now in their rebellious teen phase against being evil; Cass ran away from being a weapon to go do ballet in her spare time, for fuck's sake. make no mistake, Damian's the worst of them all, though, because where the others are predictable in what instructions they won't listen to, Damian will listen dutifully half the time in the field until Hubris strikes and he goes "cool, time for the twelve year old with a katana to rush the row of machine guns while dosed in fear toxin"

... i love them

I love when people refer to the Batkids as "soldiers" because, yeah, Bruce trained them hard and they're capable of working in a team, etc but soldiers are absolutely not allowed to be free thinkers. They tend to be obedient by nature. I cannot think of a fictional family that's more prone to just flying off the handle and doing their own thing than the Batfamily.

[xrawanger007]

So I was having a conversation with a bunch of Batfamily fans, and the discussion was that there are too many Batfamily characters, do you agree? Yes or No? And I was like no they aren’t a lot, it’s just DC don’t know, or have the resources to put every character in a book consistently, and if they did fans would get annoyed that it’s only Batfamily characters, which fair. And then it came down to who would you have in your Batfamily? And you only get 7 characters, and I was like, damn that is a hard choice, mainly because I had differing choices of who would be Batman, and the time period of the Batfamily, but like my current time Batfamily would be: Bruce Wayne as Batman Dick Grayson as Nightwing Barbara Gordon as Oracle Tim Drake as Red Robin Stephanie Brown as Batgirl Cassandra Cain as Black Bat Helena Wayne as Robin Now I know, what you may be thinking, ‘No Damian or Jason? Wrong’ And I would mostly agree with you. But, while I’m interested that Jason isn’t using guns or killing anymore I think it takes a big part away from him, in terms as a character, especially as Red Hood. And Damian.... while he is more popular than probably all the listed characters barring Bruce and Dick due to his exposure in media outside of comics, I argue that DC writers don’t really like him, as once one part of his character development ends he just reverts to killing and being Damian from when he was first introduced... and I wasn’t exactly fond of Damian back then. Plus, I think Jason works better as a character who died, as in he adds more to Bruce’s and Batman’s legacy as a kid who died. And Damian, I don’t know he’s Robin, but he’s also not? Well, same with Tim to be honest, although it’s more, he acts like Red Robin, kinda, but is Robin. Also, I like the fact that I picked Helena as I believe she is a character who could be great. She would be a great Robin, depending on the Batman as well, and it would mean you get a mainstream female Robin who isn’t from an alternate future or simply Robin for about 73 days and then killed off in a real shitty way, just to further a love interests downfall into self-doubt aaaand then retcon it four years later. Okay, so I’m not over War Games and Steph’s Death. But my Future State or just future Batfamily in general would be: Tim Drake as Batman Cassandra Cain as Batwoman Stephanie Brown as Nightwing Helena Wayne as Huntress Terry McGinnis as Robin And then add more characters, like their own kids or just introduce new characters, to fill the gaps that Bruce, Dick, and Babs would have left when they retire, yes retire, don’t kill any of them, or turn into... *Shudder* Ric Grayson. And I’m going to defend my Tim as Batman, as while he has always been depicted as evil if he did become Batman, except when he became Batman Beyond, I argue that’s when all his family is dead and has lost hope, but in this alternate reality he still has his older sister, Cass, his younger sister, Helena, his dad, Bruce, his brother, Dick, and long term love interest/best friend/possibly wife, Stephanie. (More than likely his love interest though, I can’t help myself) so I don’t think he would go evil, and his Robin would be an opposite to him so their dynamics and personalities wouldn’t collide.

But yeah that’s just me.  Also, my Future Justice League would look like this: Tim Drake as Batman Donna Troy as Wonder Woman Karen Starr as Superwoman M’gann M’orzz as Martian Manhunter Wally West as Flash Conner Hawke as Green Arrow Jessica Cruz as Green Lantern Koriand’r as Starfire Lorena Marquez as Aquawoman Rachel Roth as Raven Kyle Rayner as White Lantern And again, that’s just my opinion, and if you want comment your own.

[jmoriarty-221b]

Ok so I’m reading Titans Tower AUs where Jason goes ‘kill the Replacement’ straight to ‘must protecc the child’ real quick (those are the best) and I just read the part of the dialogue where Tim tells Jason that he’s been cleaning up Gotham ‘the easy way’ in reference to how the Red Hood is a killer

And now I’m thinking of this piece of dialogue in a new light because, what if Tim Meant that literally like “have you ever had to disembowel someone with just a spoon???? No, you use guns to kill people and actual knives to decapitate their heads instead, you noob. Only real killers know how to decapitate someone with a pencil and let me tell you that it’s harder than it seems”

Meanwhile Jason is all offended because did Robin, the one who follows Batman’s no kill rule, just criticize him on how he kills people instead of criticizing him for, you know, actually Killing people???

I can just imagine this conversation is going on in the kitchen of Titans Tower with Tim in his pajamas and Jason in full Red Hood gear in the doorway because this was supposed to be an ambush but now he’s actually kinda offended because of course he could kill someone with a spoon and threatens Tim again only for Tim to flip that Uno Reverse card and literally arm himself with a spoon, brandishing it in front of himself like it’s a knife, and just going like ‘bitch I’m not Robin right now so let’s go, I’ve been a little out of practice and it’s so nice of you to offer to be my next victim’ with a little creepy grin on his face and suddenly Jason feels the embodiment of the meme: *nervous laughter* “what the fuck”

Somehow, Tim manages to pry Hood’s helmet open with the goddamned spoon and hey, Jason should really buy some silverware like that and he’s half tempted to ask Tim where he bought it from, and damn who knew a spoon would be such an effective weapon and oh my god this kid is actually crazy why does he know how to use a spoon as a weapon Jason better not go out via spoon now that’s just embarrassing; at this point there would be no life threatening injuries on either one of them, though Jason did manage to cut the kid’s throat at some point and got a spoon to the shoulder for his troubles but now they’re both tired, the Pit of Green Juice is quiet in the back of Jason’s head and ok, maybe he can, begrudgingly, admit to being impressed at how well Tim can fight with a spoon but it’s mostly just concern as to why he knows how to fight with a spoon and Tim is just like ‘Look Jason, yes I know, don’t look at me like that, just, let’s call it a truce and go patch up because I don’t want to kill you but I will have no problem strangling you with your own intestines if you keep trying to kill me ok? Ok’ and at this point Jason really doesn’t think the kid’s joking all that much so he agrees to the truce between them (let’s face it, having the Big Bad Red Hood get taken out via spoon would just be so embarrassing that Jason wouldn’t find peace even in death)

And it’s not until they’re both patched up that Jason decides it’s safe enough to ask about why Tim said that he’s not Robin right now (there’s no more spoon in Tim’s hands but he’s still on alert because the kid is just insane enough to try and bite him); and Tim’s like “uh, yeah I follow B’s moral code as Robin but I’m not particularly attached to it? Like, it’s not my moral code, whatever that is, and I’m not actually part of the family so just think of me as more of a close coworker? Anyway, I am and will always be a Drake, my family motto is literally ‘May Our Enemies Choke on Their Blood While Our Hands Remain Clean’ so you can get a picture of how I grew up, and to answer your questions, yes I have killed people, no I don’t really regret it, they were really bad people, yes i will throw hands again, no the Bats have no idea, and yes I have had to decapitate someone with just a pencil and disemboweled someone with a spoon, so yes I am actually qualified to complain about how easy you people with guns and knives have it when it comes to killing people because I would’ve loved to have had at least a pocket knife back then, hell I would’ve taken a sharp icicle but no, the only thing available was a pencil so I had to make do, also no, I really don’t want to kill you, I actually like you but please stop coming after me and we can just meet up to kill some of the more evil Rogues sometimes, we can even make it look like an accident”

Jason is just so Shooketh at this point that he will just focus on the last sentence for now because he doesn’t have the brain power to battle through that dump of information right now so he’s like ‘what would you know about setting up accidents Timbit’ cue Tim being like ‘well, it wouldn’t be all that hard to just mislabel a few chemicals in Joker’s newest hideout and have him blow himself up while trying to make a batch of Joker Gas, a sort of poetic justice when you think about it’

Basically, an AU where Tim wasn’t trained by Bruce first so he has a different moral code (whatever it is) and has been in just enough crazy situations to warrant his bizarre skills with a spoon

[daydreaming-rat-man]

I love that we as a community all know the only thing keeping Tim Drake from committing more acts of domestic terrorism is just

“I don’t want to become evil gun batman”

With the rise in panels of Tim going all unhinged 'I could kill someone' here's this

[comicchats]

So do people realize that Tim Drake was assumed dead for months while being trapped in a small enclosure the whole time or...

Because I constantly see posts about Dick's time thought dead, or Damians death, and of course Jason's death and Steph's faked death, but NEVER Tim's. Which is weird because I have FEELINGS about that. Not just that he left his family in mourning, which would be one thing, but also about how it was for Tim.

Considering he was thought dead, and as a result, out or commission for over 20 issues, I did want to talk about that. Not only did Steph get to experience how Tim felt during her 'death', we also got to see one of the few times Tim truly was desperate. (He often shows it by being even MORE determined, but here he nearly gave up.)

Which I think is funny, considering that while it's true that around the events of Batman: RIP Tim hit a low point, we have NEVER seen him nearly give up.

Here, in Batman: The Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul, Tim nearly betrayed his own ideals by considering Ra's offer to use the Lazarus pit to betray his own ideals:

But he did that out of anger, out of mourning, and it wasn't the only time.

We all know how Tim took the "death" of Bruce, but again, his actions of desparations were ACTIONS. He never gave up, and that was what made him so dangerous and unpredictable.

But his own presumed death was different, he went in thinking that he would die. He already had been planning on temporarily leaving the life. For the first time in YEARS he had allowed his education and his civilian life to go first

This was HIS plan for Gotham and he saw it working, he had hope it would be safe, but then it went wrong.

He had a choice, let them all die, let others die and not be one of them, or die himself.

The first one wasn't an option, of course he would save all lives he could. The second one did not only not lie in Tim's nature, to let others take the pain, but it would also mean he would have to mourn, again. It was a no brainer, he would rather die than lose a loved one again.

And so he sacrificed himself, thinking he would not suffer again, and to then wake up alone, then to not be found, and spending months alone getting interrogated while trying to not give any actual valuable information away...

The only reason he didn't go mad then, was tge fact that he had a goal. Getting out. And he thought he had succeeded, which allowed him to remain confident. But then, he broke out. He found out that despite his confidence, he had been wrong.

And he nearly breaks.

"I don't want to be alone anymore, Bruce"

The stress on the 'want' is what truly makes that sentence hit. He so rarely wants anything for himself. He was always trying to help others, trying to save them, trying to get them back. Yes, of course part of that was selfish, because he missed them, but still. It was always about others. But now it was about him.

And then he lost that determination. Which is what makes it hurt even more that the batman that came to his rescue wasn't Bruce, but his own evil future self. Because how could Tim interpret that as anything else than a sign that no one was coming to help, that he had to do anything himself?

The absolute horror on his face as he sees Batman using a gun amd realizes it ISN'T Bruce that starkly followed the relief of the thought that Bruce had come that had had Tim RUNNING.

And having to trust the person that he called a monster less than a minute previously, because that monster is the only person who showed up to offer... It sounds similar to the events of Red Robin, doesn't it?

And then, of course, he has to rush to save Kate from his evil future self that he because of the reality shift didn't know about before, he sees his plan of the Batmen team he had put together crumble to the ground and he finds out Batman never believed in his plan, and he finds out about the alternate dimensions and the problems with the universe and with reality, and when he and Steph start researching that, they end up not going to college, despite being admitted in some of the best universities in the country.

I firmly believe this was one of THE lowest points in Tim's life, which is saying quite a lot. But that got accenturated by how hopeful he was even hours before his 'death'.

With that in mind, is it really so strange that he snapped and started calling himself "Drake"?

[cleverbxrd]

What Were You Expecting?

WHO: Dick Grayson / @cxrcusbxrd​ , Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd / @rxdshood​ , Ra’s al Ghul MENTIONED: Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain, Talia al Ghul WORD COUNT: 4,141 LOCATION: Ra’s’ current evil hidey-hole THE BASICS:  Two Birds (and a Bat) walk into a secret League of Assassins base... TW: Comic/Action Movie Level Violence, Slight Trauma, Injury, Murderous Intent, Past Death Mention, Deus Ex Grayson

DICK: None of this was easy. Nothing about having to rescue a member of their family, their little dysfunctional clan, was remotely easy. It had taken them this long to even find out a possible place where Tim had been taken to, and even then something felt very off. Maybe it was uncharted territory, maybe it was the fact that he'd told Jason to lead the charge alone, call him over com if he couldn't find anything. The seconds were ticking away, and he wasn't keeping as strict a timer as he felt he should. Nightwing was currently on lookout duty, guarding their secretly made entryway into the compound, looking out for what he could only assume were ninja, assassins, that Ra's had employed on monitor duty. No one in or out, sounded on par. Luckily he hadn't run into anyone he needed to crack the skulls of, but even that put him on edge. It was like the Demon's Head was just waiting for them. If Steph hadn't been enough of a warning, this eerie silence while he waited for his younger brother's call... Ah Hell, Jason wasn't going to get back to him, not like this. Guy was probably looking for the source. Who could blame him? They were all reckless, very much to their own faults. If they wanted to be smart about this, though, they couldn't take the direct path to the one who started it all. Maybe a crash-course in their strategy would've been effective. Dick had to stop himself in his mental tracks. Relinquishing lead was hard, but he trusted Jason, trusted his instincts. They'd both been trained by the same guy... So why was he so damn nervous?

Maybe it was the fact that he felt someone's eyes on him in the fraction of a second he'd had a momentary panic about weather or not they were approaching this entire situation correctly (and really, who's going to say if it was right or wrong? Sometimes you have to call a shit-ton of audibles). Dick's white-lensed eyes squinted into the darkness, a hairline trigger activating infrared to see if he could really find who he was sure was watching him, watching them. It didn't take long before he reached behind his shoulders to pull the electrified escrima sticks from his back, settling into an all too familiar low defensive stance. If there was one thing he was sure of he wasn't going to take this impromptu mission any less seriously than his more 'normal', less paranoia-inducing ones. I'm getting my brother back.

"I know you're out there," He finally called out, the weapons crackling to life with charged light, just barely illuminating the small area that he stood his ground. "Show yourself!"

BRUCE: The boys were doing what the boys did, ignore his orders and get themselves into trouble. It was an old song and dance by now, one he had hoped they already knew the steps to, though he supposed that their urgency, their panic, blinded them to the inevitability of it all. 

Did they truly think they would go on a rescue mission without him finding out? That he would really allow them to charge headfirst into Ra’s hands without him having a say in it? He didn’t know if that reflected poorly on him or proved that as grown as they were his sons were all still boys in the end. 

Bruce perched atop the roof, his brow furrowed underneath his cowl as his planted device hummed, an EMP knocking out the motion sensors throughout the grounds before the bat took a running leap to glide closer to his target, Dick. 

He landed with a dull thud, his jaw clenched as he stood to his full height. 

“You’re jumpy,” Bruce said simply, his attention turning to the ‘Thwip’ of two guards being lifted and secured behind Dick’s back, “and sloppy. I was under the impression you two were conducting a stealth mission.”

DICK: Ah. Shit.

Hi dad. Er, second dad. The dad that didn't bother to adopt him officially until he'd been well past Ward status.

Still, the familiar sight of a bat-eared cowl did nothing to prevent the squinted lenses from narrowing further, the stance he'd taken relaxing only a fraction. He was still on edge, still on high alert. Bruce was good, as he always was, and caught him off guard. Sloppy.

He didn't need to be told twice, less-than-happy flashbacks of hours on hours of training popping in and out of subconsious memory... this wasn't the time to be reminiscing on weather or not you actually wanted to give the old man the argument of a lifetime. 

"It was," Nightwing sighed, absently twirling one of the lightened sticks in his hand. "But something tells me it's a bit hard to be stealthy against literal ninja." Assassins, same difference. Squaring his blue-lined shoulders, the former sidekick faced his mentor with a grimace. "How the hell did you find us, Bruce?"

BRUCE: Bruce fought the urge to roll his eyes at Dick's tense posture. He was glad he was on guard, they always had to be in these situations, but a bigger part of him wanted to scold him for following Jason into this suicide mission without backup, without him. 

Tim was his ward, his robin, his son. He needed to be here. 

For more reason than one, given the boys lack of forethought. 

He simply hummed in acknowledgement. He could dissect their plan at a later date. Tonight was about getting their boy back. 

"There are trackers imbedded into the fabric of your suit." He answered plainly. Dick didn't need to know about the trackers he had on Jason, nor the ones he had in the very sticks he held in his hands. A bat needed some secrets, after all.

"Come on, there are guards to the north that we need to clear out for our escape route."

DICK: Maybe it was the fact that he'd been on edge ever since Tim had gone missing without a trace. Maybe it was years of pent up aggression that he'd never fully let himself come to term with. Maybe it was the fact that he was still being treated like a sidekick. There were reasons Dick had made the jump to Bludhaven, then New York; He had to get out of The Shadow. Easier said than done, apparently

"Track-?" The hushed word fell short as his eyes suddenly went wide, looking down at the no-doubt invisibly weaved nanotech. God damnit, Bruce. "... You..." Seething, he hissed through clenched teeth instead of finding the right word. Of course he would've slipped up on that minor detail in his blind rage, the sudden need he had to bring his brother out here and bring Ra's to justice. No doubt, he was getting a full mission report after this, as if it wasn't his own, Jason's own, mission to carry out. 

Still... Having one of the best in the biz probably wasn't the worst thing in the world. With the Batman, this mission could take less time than he was sure it would've taken them. Hell, he hadn't heard the signal yet. With a bit of time, he was sure he'd hear that familiar tweet. He really hoped so anyway. 

"Fine," Nightwing huffed, semi-reluctantly dropping his head. "You'd better be prepared. This creep's been waiting for this for ages."

~~~

JASON: There was something unnerving about any and all League bases to Jason. It made his skin crawl and feel the urge to turn tail and run as fast as he could away. A child turned into a weapon, blood staining hands that couldn't be washed away now. Some for people deserving of it, some for those perhaps that didn't, but it was too late to try to attempt to feel remorse now. If he even did at all. It was apart of him now, a way of life he had come to accept and wasn't something he shied away from. Memories from this part of his life were broken at best, flashes of memories he could vaguely recall. Hands around the throat of someone he had been ordered to kill, the offense unclear, but the order firm, the anxiety bubbling up. Too intimate, too much, too close. Finishing the job and resolutely deciding silently from then on killing from a distance was mandatory. Maybe there was some psychology behind Jason's decision to choose guns as his primary choice of a weapon, but that wasn't something he ever really wanted to get into. 

For now, Jason had to push away the anxiety and insistent jagged memories to push forward, steel himself to do what he came to do. Save Tim, bring Tim home. Dick had told him to lead the charge, be the leader for once. Jason hadn't really known what to do with that other than take the reigns and push forward, take the information they knew and act. It had been long enough, far too long, and they were getting their little brother back. 

Things were quiet. Too quiet. It only added to the anxiety that stayed firmly building in Jason's chest he refused to show, thankful for the helmet that hid any and all facial expressions that might slip through the ever so diligent Bat training. Winding halls and diverting from any potential hiccups. Naturally, a few heads were knocked together, silencer on his gun as he shot to take incapacitate—not kill. No matter how much he wanted to put the bullet through the assassins' eyes rather than a knee. 

Inching further along, Jason got to where he intended. Not Tim, no. Ra's al Ghul. "Love what you've done with the place, Ra's. A lot more spooky chic than you had before. I'm sure Talia would hate it." The younger man hummed, a few quick shots sending the remaining assassins in the room sprawling out on the floor. "Don't worry, nothing a few surgeries can't do to fix them right up. Or do you prefer to put them down? Memory's a bit spotty from when I was here last time." He sneered under the helmet, gun trained on the man in question now—though silently he was unsure if this was a genius plan or completely idiotic. Probably the latter. 

"My brother. I want him back. I'm not leaving without him."

RA’S: Ra's was no fool. He hadn't expected the Bat clan to simply roll over and accept that Timothy was out of their reach now. Many of Bruce Wayne's children had ended up under Ra's care over the years, before or after meeting the billionaire: Jason, Damian, Stephanie, Cassandra. 

One would think that eventually, Bruce would get better at keeping them out of his hands. But getting to Tim had been easy. 

Keeping him was bound to be a bit trickier, so Ra's had called in some reinforcements. One could never be too careful. Loading the board visibly wouldn't be much of a deterrent but would show his hand, so instead Ra's had kept the halls of this hideaway under their normal guard--at least, as far as could be seen. Timothy was locked away deeper into the complex , accompanied by a handful of men under orders to put a bullet in the boy's head before letting him be taken back. 

He'd never professed not to be possessive. 

Jason came charging into the chamber where Ra's was waiting, and the ancient assassin didn't even blink as his men dropped with groans around him. Nor was he particularly bothered by having a gun leveled at his face. 

"Well, since you're asking--yes, I would prefer you aim for their heads in the future. Saves me the work," Ra's answered calmly, taking a step in Jason's direction. The man's demand earned an amused scoff. "Ah. Well, then, I'm afraid you won't be leaving. Timothy will be staying with me. You're welcome to request visits." Ra's smiled, icily. "I do so miss having you around, al'ahmar. You were very entertaining." Ra's reached up to his own throat, unclasping his cape and laying it over a chaise in passing. 

"Now, where is your father? I do prefer dealing with the one in charge. Smoothes the process. And I know they didn't trust you to run it, not their little stray bird."

Ra's smirked. "Did Grayson tell you, by the way? That you and dear Timothy have a new shared experience?"

JASON: Jason always could feel the oncomings of his pit rage. It had taken a good few years to be able to do just that. At first, it was uncontrollable. He lashed out at so many of the men that worked for Talia and destroyed a hotel room once in a fit of rage upon finding out he had been replaced. Now his said replacement was someone he considered his little brother and wouldn't be leaving without. If he wouldn't be leaving then so be it. As long as Tim left. 

Jason snarled under the helmet and could feel the haze creeping forward in his head, if his eyes were visible he was sure they'd flash an even more eery shade of green than they had been changed to from the pit effects. Every word that left Ra's mouth only fueled and poked at the fire. "He's not my father," a reflect, venom dripping from the four words. "You get me. No big bat or other birds to play babysitter. I don't do so well without supervision, I hear." 

Jason didn't see red. No, he saw green, and in an instant he surged forward and whipped the gun across the older man's face. He shoved it back into his thigh holster as his other gloved hand closed around Ra's throat. He wanted his blood to paint the walls, to see him choke on his own blood and die slowly. The urge to do what he could to finish him clawed at his chest violently. "I'll kill you! I'll fucking watch you choke on your blood and step on your throat to make it even more agonizing. To put you in a fucking body bag would be a goddamn dream come true!"

RA'S: Jason was so very easy to get under the skin of. He had died scared and angry and came back scared and angrier, the former beaten out until all that was left was rage. Ra's knew better than anyone else on Earth what the Pit could do to the mind, the way its haze could seep through the mind and obscure all but the urge to tear people apart. He'd had centuries to adjust. 

Jason had not--he was a constantly ticking time bomb. And Ra's enjoyed prodding at him to set him off. "Oh, my. You still hold a grudge about being replaced, and yet you're here to retrieve your replacement. Interesting choice. But then, you never were the bright one."

It was, of course, the mention of what he'd done to Timothy that set the man off fully, and even Ra's had to concede that Jason was fast. The blow to the face stung, but Jason shoved his gun away as quickly as it'd come out, opting for more up-close fighting. 

Poor choice. 

Ra's let the man tighten his grip, brought both arms up between them so his forearms were against the man's shoulders, and then hooked his leg around Jason's and pushed, sending them both to the ground. 

He snapped an arm up to deliver a sharp elbow to the chin, and then used the momentum to snap the same arm back against the one with the grip on his throat, hitting the crook of Jason's elbow to loosen his hold. 

"You know better than to think you can beat me, let alone kill me, al'ahmar. But I won't deny the pleasure of a fight if that's what you insist on--it'd bring me no greater pleasure than to have Bruce Wayne know that I took you from him again. One more dip in the Pit, and maybe the madness doesn't stay back." His own eyes flared with that poisonous shade of green. 

"You won't kill me, even if you could. He'd be dead before you ever got your hands on him."

JASON: Jason's head jerked up and he tasted blood immediately, likely from biting down on his tongue. The minor pain was nothing compared to the burn that was spreading through him as he fell into his Pit induced rage. His arm buckled, fingers loosening around Ra's' throat. That only served to piss him off further. He was literally rolling in the dirt with Ra's al Ghul. His life was a joke, but whatever the cost. He'd get Tim out of this. Even if he didn't—

"I didn't know you were in the business of making balloon animals now, al Ghul. You're taking credit for a clown's handiwork. Do you prefer Boo Boo the Fool or Chuckles?" Jason spat out through the voice modulator of his helmet, bringing a knee up to connect with any body part he could reach, gain some traction. Maybe he wasn't the best at hand to hand combat compared to the other birds, but he wasn't bad at it by any means. He also had size on his side, more muscles and height than the others did to use to his advantage.

The hand that loosened from Ra's throat snapped up to shove palm up at his nose hard and fast, disorient him any way he could. "Maybe I won't, but I do know I'll make it hurt like hell before you can even think to get your grubby paws on him again. Where do you prefer your stab wounds? You know what? I'll surprise you!" In the scuffle of their bodies, Jason whipped his knife out of his belt and slashed at his torso.

RA'S: A clown?  Really.  Ra's felt his anger ratchet up another notch at the mockery, hissing out between his teeth as Jason's knee collided with his ribs.  The younger man wasn't much for technique, but he was strongly built, and even stronger when the Pit started pressing its way forward.  Ra's could take blows from your average man with barely a shrug, but Jason, despite not being particularly skilled as Grayson and Damian were, could land some stinging blows.

"He put you down the first time," Ra's grunted, just barely managing to avoid the blow at his nose, "but I'll be happy to do it the second go round.  But I took you from Bruce in the ways that matter, didn't I?  Seeing you dead was one thing, seeing you a killer was another.  Does he still look at you like you're someone else?"

Jason's threats were nothing.  What was pain to a man who'd lived as many lifetimes as Ra's, who'd been hurt and killed and brought back more times than he cared to count?  Ra's would always come back.  Jason Todd would die and stay dead the next time he went down.  Jason grabbed at a knife, swiped at his side, and the blade sliced through cloth and skin like it was so much paper, even as Ra's started to roll off the man.  The ancient assassin snarled, and drew a dagger of his own as he got to his feet, ignoring the crimson that started to paint the side of his robes.  His own eyes were the same poisonous green as Jason's now, the Pit rearing to the forefront at the drawing of blood.  "The only one who can set your brother free is me, Todd.  My men will end his life before you get a foot through the door if I don't give the order.  And you think you can make me?  You're even stupider than I gave you credit for."

JASON: The younger man was entirely too thrilled in seeing the old man get irritated by his poking and prodding. Jason knew one of his assets was his ability to piss people off purely by speaking. Maybe it was reckless to get the already rage filled man angry, but it was his job after all. He was only doing what he was supposed to, lead the charge. If that had some consequences...oh well. At least they'd be getting Tim back. He wasn't leaving until they did.

The words had Jason biting his tongue, the blow landing as he was sure it was intended. He practically snarled. "What can I say? I've always been the black sheep of the family. Even before the whole 'Jason, this isn't the way!' shtick he was on." He pushed himself to his feet and flipped his knife in his hand, letting out a pleased chuckle to see the red staining the assassin's robes. "I'm sure you can get that out with a little scrubbing. Nothing a little elbow grease can't do. You do know how to do that, right? Manual labor?" Even with the helmet, he was visibly bored. He was angry, but then again, he was always angry. He was good at putting a front, lying was easy, especially for a bat. Might as well poke and prod some more while he was at it. 

The stupid remark made Jason's jaw tic and he only laughed. "I didn't need to make you do anything, al Ghul. I just had to distract you." There was a pause and Jason let out a Robin call, the signal to Dick. The signal all Robins knew. "How's it feel being played by someone you think is stupid?" He sneered and immediately pushed forward, slashing out with his knife once more.

RA'S: The jab seemed to land as intended, judging by the moment of silence that preceded the sharp-toned reply lobbed his way. It had never been hard to get under Jason's skin, and it certainly wasn't hard now that the Pit ran through his veins. 

Unfortunately, that same Pit had amped up Jason's speed, too. Ra's glowered at the taunts. "Don't you condescend to me, boy. You know nothing of work." Ra's took a step closer, feinted for a stab at the man's side before swiping for his throat beneath the helmet. 

I just had to distract you. Ra's eyes narrowed for a moment before he recognized what the call was, and then he sneered, retreating back as his gaze flicked around the room for evidence of the imminent arrival of the rest of the little flock. "Needed a babysitter after all, did we, Todd? Wise of them not to trust you to manage this yourself. Now why don't you go run along while I deal with the grown ups, hm?"

DICK:  "Who're you calling grown up?" 

The quip was too easy to let loose, even though every bone in his body refused to add any humor behind it. The blue bird stood just behind Jason, hidden partially in the shadows while he approached the apparently on-going fight. He was putting a stop to that, stopping the recklessness of his younger brother... From doing exactly what he would be doing too. "You're pretty twisted if you think both of us wouldn't come for Tim, Ra's." Not to mention the big bad Bat doing all the hard work in the background. Granted, he'd upped security tenfold for this kind of invasion. Clearly, they didn't keep quiet about their invasion. That would be something they'd be scolded for later... Well, himself, mostly. Just one look out of the corner of his eye looked like Jason would be laid up in Alfred's infirmary for a bit... And he didn't even want to think about how bad Tim had it.

"Don't even think about following me," Dick sneered, the white lenses of his mask thinning in his hard squint, moving to hook an arm quickly around the back of Jason's shoulders, attempting to not topple over from the sudden transfer of weight. He was hit that was for sure now. He didn't have time to assess, but they needed to get back to Gotham stat. The glowing stick in one hand, he tapped the non-electrified end against his hip, two black marbles bouncing onto the floor. Without looking down, the vigilante placed his heel on top of the two, drawing his teeth back in a final animalistic sneer. "And don't fuck with my family." 

Just the barest transfer of weight had the two spheres busting open under his foot, thick smoke filling the area where the two Robins once stood. Dick was sure this was one of the oldest 'ninja' tricks in the book, that they'd be easily tracked, but that would have to wait for worrying later. It took adrenaline and effort, but he was running with the intent to save. This time, he wouldn't be stopped.

No Robins left behind, he thought, breaching through to the rendezvous point, nearly letting tears loose when he saw the other retrieved bird being hoisted into transport. Never again.

[maychorian]

Batfamily Primer

Because I switched so quickly from writing tons of Voltron fics to now being obsessed with Batfam, I have a lot of followers who have no idea what Batfamily content is and how to get into it. Someone asked me for something like an essential reading list, so I’m going to do my best to provide that.

We’re staying away from the reboots, here. I don’t care for them. Also this list is geared toward helping people who like my writing to get enough Batfamily background to enjoy my current fic, Year of Fallen Angels.

Also, keep in mind that this is just my opinion, man. I like these comics, but they may not be for everyone. If you start reading Batman and associated comics and find they are too bloody or gory or dark or horrific for you, this fandom may not be for you. And that’s okay. 

I’ll put asterisks next to the ones I consider essential for understanding these characters and their relationships, but I’ll have other comics as well that I also think are good. These are all linked to a place where you can read them online. Use an adblocker. Explanations for my choices will be under the read more.

* Batman: Dark Victory (Starting in issue 8.) 

Batgirl/Robin: Year One

Batman: The Killing Joke

* Batman: A Death in the Family

* Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying - Batman #440, New Titans #60, Batman #441, New Titans #61, Batman #442 

Robin: Reborn 

Robin: The Joker's Wild 

Batman: Legacy

* Batman: The Mark of Cain - Batman #567, Detective Comics #734

Batman: Hush

* Batman: Under the Red Hood 

* Batman: Batman and Son

Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul 

Red Robin

So, Batman’s origin story has been told tons of times in tons of ways. You probably know the story of the kid, little Bruce Wayne, who was leaving a theater and walking through an alley, only to watch his parents gunned down in front of his eyes. He never got over that. Like, ever. And he decided to dress up like a bat to scare the criminal element in his city and try to save as many innocents as possible. So far so good.

There are LOTS of comics you can read to get that origin, but I’m gonna go ahead and put Batman: Dark Victory on this particular list. You can skip to Issue #8 to see where Dick Grayson comes in, the original angry bird.

If you like bitty Dickie, there are plenty more adventures you can follow with him. Year One is a great exploration of him, and you can also see Barbara Gordon’s origin as Batgirl in that volume.

The Killing Joke is not essential for understanding the content I reblog and create, but it’s an essential piece of Batman lore that really should be on any list like this. It explains why Barbara is in a wheelchair and also gives us even more reason to hate the Joker, as if we need it.

Next, Jason Todd. Jason was a street kid who Bruce caught trying to steal the wheels off the Batmobile in Crime Alley, the same place Bruce’s parents were murdered. Bruce took a shine to the kid and took him in, but Jason had issues. Sadly, he never got a chance to deal with them, not in this life, anyway. His death is difficult to read, but essential for understanding future character dynamics and problems. Suffice to say that Bruce never got over this, not really.

Next, the origin of Tim Drake in A Lonely Place of Dying. Definitely essential to understand Tim’s motivations for becoming Robin, as well as the mindset of Bruce and Dick and how affected they still are by Jason’s loss. I’m including Tim’s first two mini-series as optional reading because I just love him so much, and also Batman: Legacy because it’s an excellent example of the dynamic between Bruce, Dick, and Tim as they worked together to fight crime and save the world.

Cassandra’s origin is very short, just two issues. It falls in the middle of a much longer arc called No Man’s Land, in which Gotham is cut off from the rest of the country after an earthquake, and Batman and his associates struggle to protect the innocent and suppress the evil. It’s kind of a post-apocalyptic story, and I remember loving it when I read it twenty years ago, but I haven’t had a chance to re-read it recently. Cass’s origin story is still good, though.

Hush is not essential, but it’s just a good overall introduction to the world of Batman, all of his allies and associates, and it has a good story, to boot. Also includes the first reappearance of Jason Todd. You could just read that, without reading anything else on this list, and still have a pretty good understanding of most these characters.

Under the Red Hood is long, but it’s really, really important. It’s not really among my favorites because there’s no Tim, but it’s still essential.

Batman and Son is the introduction of Damian. Which is really, really rough. For something a little more fun with him, but maybe not as essential, I recommend the Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul. That arc also deals, a little bit, with some of the losses Tim Drake has suffered, and has one of the best hugs between Dick and Tim in all of comics.

Finally, if you’re reading this list to have the background to enjoy Year of Fallen Angels, I also recommend you read at the least the first twelve issues or so of Red Robin. It’s tough going, especially at first, but it’s important.

And that’s it! Again, this is a very basic primer and doesn’t even touch on a lot of things that happen in the Batfam history. I didn’t even try to explain Stephanie Brown. But if you at least read the asterisked items, you’ll have a pretty good understanding of what you’re getting into with this fandom and if you’re interested in reading more. I hope this helps.