#a lot about tim and dami's relationship. again

[aster-draws]

Is there anything that you wanted to include in your stories but didn’t get around to doing? Or just couldn’t figure out a way to fit in?

I really wanted to do So Much More with Tim and Jason's reconciliation/ Jason's reconciliation with the rest of the Bats in Wanted, but I just really didn't have the space in the plot ;-; I also wanted to do more with Dick's story- after the Lori chapter, he just kind of faded into the background. Obviously there was a lot of emphasis in the latter half of the fic regarding Danny, Tim, and Damian, and their relationships with each other. Like I love jason's relationship with sam and tuck in Wanted, and in order to make the plot work the smoothest, I couldn't have Jay interacting with the bats so much after i made that trio a thing. but that meant i didn't get to do everything i imagined.

As far as better halves goes- i'm still writing it, so I still have time to do everything I want with it ^^ but i'm sure sacrifices will have to be made for the Plot

[lightwing-s]

May I request hcs for batboys when their mute!fem!reader traced the words "i love u" on their backs before trying to spell the words to them?

the batboys when mute!reader writes 'i love you' on their backs

a/n: it's been a while since i last wrote one of those. thanks for the request! i had a lot of fun writing it ♡

Before you even finished writing, Dick would’ve already turned around and faced you, a beaming smile gracing his lips. He’d look at you, eyes probably watery, and wait for you to smile back at him to start plastering your face with kisses. In between each one of them a new ‘I love you’ sang aloud, ready to let the world know he reciprocated your feelings and that you too loved him, because if you couldn’t voice your love to the world, he’d do so for the two of you. Proudly!

Jason, however, would be more chill about it, but not less enthusiastic. When he realizes what you’ve done, he’d stop for a while, letting it all sink in. He’d smile to himself, the realization slowly warming your heart, before turning around to look at you. His eyes were warm, giving you a sense of comfort and certainty after you’d worried about what would be his response. Moving closer, closing the gap between you two, he’d softly whisper against your lips ‘I love you too’ before taking your breath away with a kiss.

In similar fashion, when it comes to Tim, he’d take just as long as his brother to let your words click into place. But differently, he'd ponder for a while if it was true or not. Eye to eye with you, he’d be serious while mouthing and gesturing to question ‘For real?’, something you’d reply with a simple nod of your head. Worry would flood your heart after his initial reaction, but it would all be washed out when the corners of his lips started spreading out in his face, reaching from ear to ear, in the most beautiful smile you’d ever seen. A gimmer in his eyes sparkled brighter as he’d ask ‘Can I kiss you?’ before you gladly allowed him to join your lips together, the butterflies awakened in both your bodies.

When he figured out the words you’d drawn on his back, our little Dami wouldn’t know how to react. He wouldn’t know if you meant it, if it was real or just you playing around. Was it a writing of truth or just for fun? What if he’d guess it wrong? Was it really “I love you”? Was he imagining things? Out of doubt, he would opt for not saying anything, keeping quiet until he got clarification, until he was sure what he thought was indeed true. He didn’t want to assume something and ruin your relationship. He also didn’t want to raise any expectations, afraid he’d end up getting hurt in the end. So he’d wait, he would wait until you did it again, or until you told him in any other way. Seeing your confirmation would leave him in a frenzy, blushing redder than Jason’s helmet, getting as crazy as Dick when he can’t find his cereal in the pantry. Honestly? Damian would run away, hide himself from the shame of not knowing what to do and the shyness of a love confession. And you’d laugh, because you truly loved that little dwarf and his apparent inability to comprehend your affection was just one of the reasons why.  

[002yb]

what is your favourite reverse robins dynamic?

Admittedly I'm very fond of the Dick and Jason dynamic that came about from my other reverse robin au posts, but somehow Damian and Tim edge it out (though I'm also extraordinarily fond of how I imagine dami/jay in this verse, too!) Maybe I'm a bit weak for it because this low-key could have been Dick and Jason's relationship if things were just slightly different... which just adds to my love of reverse robin au because the comparison is a bit tragic. ;U;

Damian + Tim

Where Damian recognizes that he's outgrowing his own mantle, so he seeks out his own replacement

That Damian's bleeding heart chooses Tim (intelligent, resourceful, tenacious, insufferable) is something Tim never lets Damian live down, later on in their friendship partnership

These two having been through it together. Damian being there every step of the way, too. From training Tim to take over the mantle, to his first patrols. Building up Tim's confidence and being all smug and proud when Tim comes into his own

There would be a lot of trust between them. Because Tim knows he can rely on Damian. Damian has proven this time and again by simply being there (with wicked, prideful smirks at Tim's competence, with patience and a firm hand at any setbacks; challenging him, having his back, and being bluntly honest in the face of any of Tim's insecurities that crop up). And Damian just - he chose Tim, of course that confidence goes both ways.

So yes, although Tim stops being so starry-eyed as he grows up, the respect for Damian will always be there. It's why Tim strives to become less a mentee, more a partner

Because he wants to be there for Damian, too.

That they become friends partners was only natural.

Make no mistake though, the majority of the time these two are just griping at each other, about each other

(Because as they grow up together it becomes fun for Damian to needle Tim. And of course Tim is influenced by this and taunts Damian right back. And it becomes their norm. It’s something Damian half heartedly complains about because Tim used to be ‘respectful’ what happened? And Tim scoffs because Damian happened, that’s what).

But yeah, Tim being the one to challenge Damian when it's needed. Or Tim squaring off with Bruce whenever Bruce and Damian have a rare spat

Extra Damian & Timmers + Supers

These two both have their own super besties and like hell they both haven't had those awkward encounters where they bump into one another at the Clark home in the mornings

Truth be told, ambiguous Dami/Jon and Tim/Kon because it can’t not be a thing where Damian and Tim are forever uncertain about what's going on and their respective besties claim it's platonic but the doubt is there forever hahaha

Damian and Tim needling each other about their respective supers.

Omg, random competitions on who comes running fastest when called ahhhahaha the super boys are so exasperated and in love

That aside, Damian and Tim challenging each other a lot and it's really motivating for them both. Meanwhile everyone else is concerned because they both seem kind of mean? It’s how they care though 💖

For some background on what's below this, Tim + Jason:

Because Tim never outgrows the Robin mantle, it's Damian who takes it away in true Bruce fashion

By bringing in street kid Jason and blindsiding Tim like none other

There's no ill intent behind it. It's entirely because Damian thinks so highly of Tim that he shoves him out of the proverbial nest

But Tim doesn't take it that way and it becomes their biggest fight

Because Tim accuses Damian of feeling Tim is lacking. Tim demands to know why he's being replaced. What the fuck he did wrong?

Nothing, is the answer to that. Because Tim took Robin and made them to be something even greater than what Damian left behind. The respect and care Tim put into Robin is something Damian doesn't take lightly; he's most grateful

What he's not about is Tim getting all combative and nasty though, especially when Damian is doing something for Tim

Just classic batboy miscommunications, y'know?

Anyway, because Tim lashes out, Damian ends up lashing out too. It eventually comes out that Damian doesn't want Tim getting 'complacent' in Damian's shadow and Tim shuts down on him so hard

Damian knows that Tim could be the best

Tim's insecurities run away with him and he feels entirely the opposite (like he misstepped somewhere, like Damian never saw him like an equal, that he's already replaced, etc etc)

Basically Tim leaves for the tower and leaves Damian to look after Jason, if that's what he wants so bad.

A falling out because Damian assumed and Tim is betrayed and it's sadness because even if Robin works with Batman, Tim has always been Damian's partner first and foremost.

Something something Tim turning on Jason and being the very definition of 'never meet your heroes'. Just Tim giving Jason the coldest stare, the most damning of once overs before clicking his tongue (a bad habit picked up from Damian)

Oh. Jason getting stuck with the knowledge that he's the bane of Robin's existence. And then Bruce's disappointment, too, because he seriously just comes in to work and his well-oiled machine has a cog in it that doesn't fit yet

So Jason is put in this position with a lot of pressure to be the best. So that Batman will approve of him, so that Robin will accept him, so that he doesn't disappoint Damian and make all the sacrifices he made for Jason worthless

And angst with the struggle in finding his place in a world that didn't need/want him beyond Damian's willful fancies

Damian & Tim + Jason

Damian being there when everything falls apart in Ethiopia

For whatever reason, Damian is there in Bruce's steed while Bruce is indisposed elsewhere

And Damian is caught in that same position: save the lives of countless innocent people or save the life of this boy who stole his heart

Though Bruce gives the order, Damian goes against it.

This being the first time Damian has ever done so, but he does it without regret because Jason is his

And because Damian chooses Jason, he's able to get to the warehouse in time to save him. Not from the beating, but at least from the worst of the explosion.

So torn between Jason having saved his birth mom or that not happening and Damian making the conscious decision to let her burn ooooooo >>

Anyway, Damian's actions have consequences. With Bruce. Who goes off on him so hard despite Damian bringing his son back to him. And he bears it with squared shoulders and raised chin, because he has no reason to be ashamed. Still, Bruce is his father so Damian shows him respect

Until Bruce goes off on Damian's loyalties. Bruce being so worked up and betrayed that he questions if Damian is still under the influence of the League, if he's theirs as opposed to his

Damian is no one's. Though, that might not be right. He's Robin's. Still, he bristles at the accusation. And it leads to the ugliest fight they've ever had, which leads to Damian leaving the family with the seething proclamation that he will return to the League

Something something, Tim going after Damian and trying to parse out how serious Damian is. He can't just leave, not with Jason still--

'Look after him for me.'

And Tim might hate him for this one. Because Jason is going to wake up and see how everything fell apart. He's going to see that Damian is gone and Jason will know it's his fault.

'That's unfair.'

'Do it for me anyway.'

And Tim does, even if he’s angry and abandoned and upset.

[brucewaynehater101]

Love your ideas for the death of family au! How does Damian feel about this situation and what would the other members of the batfamily think about the situation with Damian and Jason. Would they want to try to get involved with this situation? Also, kudos to Jason for dealing with birth Bruce and Talia while protecting Dami in the bad scenario.

Many kudos to Jason for somehow having the skill to outmaneuver them as briefly explained in this.

Damian, from that tiny infant moment, was taught that Jason is his brother who loves him, is there for him, and will guide him. Talia, his mother, enforces this perception. Jason is also the one who is around Damian the most in this AU. I doubt Talia is going to become a stay at home mom for Damian. She's got a lot of responsibilities, her own people to protect/command, and she needs to constantly ensure her position in the LoA is stable (this is applicable to both good mom Talia and bad person Talia).

Few aspects to establish about Damian's childhood in this AU:

Talia's frequency of in-person contact with Damian (is she traveling a lot, busy, and distant, or does she make as much time weekly to get someone time with her son)

Jason's role in the LoA (is he training, taking missions, and leaving Damian for extended periods of time)

Ra's al Ghul's feelings/behaviors towards Damian (caring grandfather or the person who wants to use Damian's body as a vessel)

Talia's attentiveness to Jason and Damian (does she notice the manipulation, the words Jason says regarding her and Bruce, and Damian's closer bond to Jason)

Jason's protection of Damian (how often does he step in, comfort, or teach)

I'm sure there's more, but that's a few to consider.

Overall, Damian trusts Jason the most. His older brother has proven time and time again that he cherishes Damian. He may feel conflicted (and Jason may be a bit not mentally well if the Talia is a bad person route), but Damian will follow Jason's lead. The older one managed to put himself as the one to listen to above Talia, LoA, and Bruce.

For the others, it depends on their relationship with Bruce. Regardless of how good Bruce is, Jason doesn't trust him. Even more, he doesn't trust him with Damian. Perhaps that could change in the distant future, but that's the starting point. If the others have a good relationship with Bruce, Jason won't trust them for a long time either.

Tim may try to convince Jason to go back to Bruce. Jason would despise and loathe him for that. There's also the possibility that Tim never becomes Robin in this AU. He's not mentioned except for when he becomes Batkid (Tim presumably isn't Robin because Jason survived for that route, but he's not really mentioned in the other routes). Maybe Tim is hyping himself up to knock on Bruce's door when Jason comes back to town (this would be years of Bruce spiraling more and more until Tim couldn't ignore it). Somehow, Tim could get adopted by Jason, similar to how he does when he becomes Batkid. In that case, Jason sighs as he reluctantly let's the kid in.

Dick will face many difficulties in getting Jason to trust him. Hopefully, he has a horrid relationship with Bruce, or Jason won't talk to him for at least a year.

Anyways, Jason's definitely keeping everyone away from his kid until they prove worthy enough

[sasheneskywalker]

batfamily fic recs where the main character is asexual or aromantic

Unsteady by withthekeyisking

Dick grew up watching Bruce take countless women to bed for the sake of the mission, and to get what he needed from different people. He watched, and he learned.

And maybe he doesn't feel the same things the people around him feel, maybe he doesn't really like sex, but it doesn't really matter. Because if sex makes people happy, then why does his opinion on everything matter? It's not their fault he's broken.

M | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Dick Grayson/Various, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd

10 Things I Hate About Sex by blueyeti

Damian felt like this obsession with sex and romance was some long con being played on him by the entire school, and he was reaching an untenable level of frustration with the irrational behaviour of his supposed 'peers'.

On a Bat Family movie night, Damian finally figured out the right question to ask, to finally get answers to why all the other teenage boys at Gotham Academy were obsessed with sex.

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain, Tim Drake/Jason Todd, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Jason Todd & Damian Wayne

Nothing Personal by firefright, Skalidra

Jason's never been that interested in sex, except as a tool to help him get what he wants and a way to please the people around him. What he does enjoy, however, is the part that comes before it (especially being treated with a firm hand). Finding someone willing to understand and respect both those aspects of himself has always seemed impossible, though. That is, until Slade comes along.

M | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Jason Todd/Slade Wilson

Kerosene and Flame by Sohotthateveryonedied

Jason chews his cheek. How is he supposed to explain his sexuality to an alien whose first language is touch? Part of Kori’s culture revolves around physical intimacy, sharing oneself with another as a means of connection.

“I don’t exactly…feel things the way you do, Kori,” he starts. “You’re a very tactile person. You like skin contact and connection and…you know, sex.” He blushes just saying the word. He pushes through. “But it’s not like that for me. I don’t feel sexual attraction the way you do.” He takes a breath. “I’m asexual.”

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | Koriand'r & Jason Todd

enough by sparkycap

After trying to make his son relive his violent death in Ethiopia in hopes of bringing his other son back to life, it occurs to Bruce that he might, possibly, have made a questionable decision in his grief. Again. For once, he'd like to try to fix it before it's too late. Jason may have run away again, but he's still alive, so Bruce has to believe it's not too late. He goes to find him.

Finding him in bed with Roy Harper and Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran is an unexpected distraction

M | No Archive Warnings Apply | Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Roy Harper/Koriand'r/Jason Todd

Reciprocation (or: Sex as Violence) by Honorable_mention

Sex was a lot like violence. It was all about who held the power.

---

Or: Jason's always had a complicated relationship with sex. Despite his best efforts, it might finally be time to explore it.

M | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Roy Harper/Jason Todd, Roy Harper & Jason Todd

Hot Chocolate and Fruitcake by HermesDay

"Tim," Barbara said. "Do you know what asexual means?"

"Immaculate conception," Tim replied. "Fact: the Virgin Mary was an amoeba."

G | No Archive Warnings Apply | Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson

A Thin Line to Thaw by Terminallydepraved

The sound of a chamber sliding into place shouldn’t have been a soothing sound, but in the quiet stillness of the shitty motel room, Jason found it just that.

E | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Jason Todd/Slade Wilson

Your Name Carved in Stone by Cirth

“Think clean thoughts, Robin.”

It was an outrageously old-fashioned choice of words, and it took Damian a few moments to realise, with creeping embarrassment, what his father meant.

T | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Jonathan Kent/Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne

Think of Me by Luvo

“Any…life updates?” Bruce asks hopefully.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. Do you maybe…is there a girl?”

Jason feels his face heat. He does his best to ignore Tim, Steph, and Cass snickering as he asks, “Seriously?”

Bruce looks down. He looks back up.

“A boy?” he tries.

Jason’s fork clatters to his plate. “Dad!” he hisses.

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | Connor Hawke & Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Jason Todd

our love was built outside these walls by Shenanigans Connor Hawke loves Kyle in a clean simple way, but he can't help but think it's not enough. He can see Kyle look, can feel Kyle need more than he knows how to give. He can't find the touch, the words, to make the mess Kyle needs to be.

He asks the people he trusts for help.

E | No Archive Warnings Apply | Connor Hawke/Kyle Rayner, Roy Harper/Jason Todd, Roy Harper/Kyle Rayner/Jason Todd

we show off our different scarlet letters (trust me mine is better) by lostandlonelybirds (RUNNFROMTHEAK)

He gets called things, sometimes. Slut when Mirage tricks him. Cheater when Barbara tells others about her suspicions, her doubts and feelings. Whore when it’s a villain pissed he took out their goons and they’re aiming below the belt. Playboy by magazines, and bicycle by the younger generation because “everyone gets a ride”. They hurt the way most things do, and they each hurt in a different way because he’s broken and he’s tattered and he loves but not the way you’re meant to, because it’s not nature or an inferno or something out of a Greek myth. It’s not possession or jealousy or the need to lock it down.

It’s different. It’s not supposed to be.

M | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Dick Grayson/Other(s)

break your throne, cut your hair by dukeaubergine

Ra’s thought he could force Tim into marriage with an ancient magical artifact. He didn’t account for the magic recognizing his daughter’s protégé as a potential alternate groom.

Tim and Jason just have to survive the one-month engagement period without getting kidnapped, killed, or outed as fakers to the press. Then survive any assassins gate-crashing the wedding. Piece of cake, right?

…This might be easier if they’d actually tell the rest of the Bats what’s really going on.

E | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Tim Drake/Jason Todd, Batfamily Members & Tim Drake, Batfamily Members & Jason Todd

[cuephrase]

What are some things introduced new52 to current day that you like and think are an overall net positive for batfam continuity? (As in, it's not uncommon for me to see fan things that mainly focus on post crisis/pre flashpoint stuff but still incorporate new comic aspects, such as slightly changed family dynamics/new developments, and it's interesting for me to find out what different people think is and isn't worth keeping from what got added after the reboot)

ooooh this is a fun question!!

i was going to say i haven't read that many n52 and onwards runs, and then i realized i have actually read most of the ones i want to, i just haven't read any batman/'tec/batgirl/or duke's runs yet. (i read like...half of We Are Robin, Joker War, and i've read batman from where zdarsky come in so like have also read Gotham War.) (might read Catwoman?? not the point.)

since we're sticking strictly to net positives, i'll include something that i like, even if i have criticisms of it, but i won't get into those criticisms so we can stay positive!! (future cue, so this is kind of a lie but i swear i didn't go overboard.) i'm going to include stuff as minor as like costumes bc why not. also nothing is going to be in order of like what i like the most to what i like the least, just fyi. also, probs not definitive, knowing me i will forget something lmao

New52 Era-

tim's red robin costume. that suit is *chef's kiss* imo. i love that he has wings. i...i don't know if i necessarily want it back rn bc i am sososososo in love with his current robin costume, but i do adore the n52 red robin suit

i personally like that they went ahead and made jason less villain, more anti-hero. i think him trying to reintegrate with the batfam creates some very compelling crises

dick as Agent 37!! which...okay, no criticisms nvm. michael janin's art tho >>> okay well actually maybe sometimes i wish this was like elseworlds/black label instead of mainline but

might be a bit of a reach, but i really enjoy the first handful of arcs in n52 b&r and the relationship dynamic they established for bruce and dami

i like that tim and jason are somewhat friendly. i think it makes sense. for a lot of reasons. this is a somewhat controversial opinion, which i understand. but this is where i stand

did i like anything else from this era specifically?????????

OH

DUKE!!!!!!! i loooooove him very happy he was added

Rebirth Era-

the outlaws, specifically jason's relationship with bizarro. (i enjoyed artemis a lot too!! tbh, haven't read these guys outside of this run tho so zero clue how accurate these portrayals are, so grain of salt?)

the return of dick's fingerstripes!!!!!!! best part of tom taylor's run /hj

TIM'S ROBIN COSTUME AHHHHHH. i'm sorry i love that suit way too much

love damian's current robin costume, although...does he have combat boots rn still? can't remember. if he doesn't, they should give those back

damian + jon's relationship, ik it gets obliterated by the stupid age up, but super sons is still very special to me

tim being bi!! now do kon dc you cowards

alfred's death. i refuse to elaborate. i could, but i shan't (this is not alfred hate tho i swear)

i'm forgetting something rn i know it

oh yeah, i do like tim being robin again. IK. IKKKK. no, i don't think he should be robin forever. no, i don't think dami is a bad robin/shouldn't be robin.

um...i liked dick getting shot in the head. the ric era is not how i would've wanted the aftermath but

i don't want to comment on anything super recent, but i do think there's stuff going on rn that could end up being net positives

the titans being reassembled. jury's out on their location but, i do like that they're back

i'm not counting yj because they're not doing anything with them rn, but they should ugh

i think...i think that's it? there could honestly be a lot more that i'm forgetting. i hope this was interesting!! if there's anything i didn't mention that you're curious about, or something i did mention that you'd like a more in-depth answer about, please feel free to ask!! i'm curious what you consider net positives anon, you should shareeee

[trust-and-jump]

The reasons to need to write and read Reverse Robins AU

Damian having a place with his long-awaited father. A father who is not neglectful and who still can show he cares. Who can still talk to him. And a father he doesn't have to share with someone, yet. and this.

_^

Bruce having to mature in order to be a parent. And NOT having Dick Grayson as a ward. At least not now. Bruce adapting to the idea of having his own family. Bruce having to actually talk and explain things to the little creature who was raised in a VERY different environment. Bruce getting out of his head a little. Growing up a little before getting a kid. Because Bruce can't have 8-12 y o Damian being 24 y o himself, sorry.

Exploring Tim Drake's potential outside of a very weird comic character who is loved by many people on Ao3 but non-existent on it. Outside of Robin, too. Also: Tim Drake Can Do Wrong. Tim Drake Does Wrong. Letting him be an interesting character.

Letting Jason Todd be a Robin (or Shrike, or whatever Batman's partner called in different RR!AUs) he used to be before DC decided he was just an angry incompetent sidekick Who Didn't Listen and Got Himself Killed. Letting him be good again. And yes, he was good. and I absolutely adore the idea of Damian as a big brother.

Dick getting a big family of very different people who have different opinions - after a terrible loss. Dick growing up healthier than he did. Dick not jumping into vigilante life. Or at least not for long. Or at least not in SUCH YOUNG AGE, BATMAN. Dick getting a whole bunch of people who have no problem with him at all and who start to love him almost immediately. And looking after him better so he doesn't get a chance to run without pants on the Gotham streets.

Very different roles of Barbara Gordon, Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown.

How did Cassandra Cain end up in Gotham? Did No Man's Land happen? WILL it happen? Does she have a name? Who named her if not Barbara Gordon? Did she get ability to speak? Did she die like comic version? Was she a Batgirl?

STEPHANIE BROWN GETTING BETTER TREATMENT, DC!!!!! Did she become a Robin (/whatever you call it) as well? Did she get the same relationship with Damian as canon? Who is she as a young girl without canon!Bruce's and canon!Tim's bullshit? Do she and Cassandra Cain get along? Is she a Batfamily member in the AU or does she have canon-like role outside of it?

Do the Birds of Prey exist?

Exploring how Damian's Robin (/whatever you call it) would look like; and how it would affect the Bat-Clan.

Exploring the relationships between Robins (/whatever you call it) and other young heroes. Exploring the other hero families who most likely are reversed too.

The hero names. Capes. Histories.

Exploring how all of it would affect Gotham and Gotham's criminals. Rogues, too.

What the hell is going on with Duke Thomas???? I honestly have no idea how I would put him into my AU... but he's also part of Rebirth if I'm not mistaken? so I actually don't have too. He is a wonderful character (HE IS SO COOL. SO. COOL.) and my lack of imagination has nothing to do with me loving or hating him.

Talia al Ghul.

Talia al Ghul.

Talia al Ghul.

Changing events without changing what you like about it.

also I don't care about Ra's al Ghul BUT Batman Chronicles #8 make me think about him a lot.

inspired by @msfcatlover's AUs. And some others. And mine, too.

[thelextheluthor]

I have a sort of love/hate relationship with Titans (the series on HBO Max) because:

On one hand I could literally not imagine anyone better to play any of these characters like Brenton Thwaites is peak Dick energy and Curran Walters makes baby asshole Jason look easy and Iain Glen is perfect Bruce material and Joshua Orpin gives off Superman vibes and also manages to make Conner feel young and inexperienced etc. There's also a good dynamic between most of the characters and they help each other out and they showing that they're people. They're people with problems and secrets and struggles, sure, but they're people. And they care. About each other. About the world. And the series shows that.

But. It also frustrates me to no end. Incoming huge rant, btw.

(warning- lots of spoilers for the show, mostly season 3 cuz that's where I have most of my beef with, and also i haven't watched s4)

Usually because of little -mostly Batman related- things that aren't really noticable to people not really into DC but are there nonetheless like: Dick is not his fucking legal name. It's Richard. No it's not going to say Dick on legal documents. I'm talking mostly about the episode where he got fucking arrested and they pulled up his file (and showed his passport to I think). Also his middle name is fucking John, people, not that hard to look up. (I'm pretty sure they do the same thing with Jason and make his middle name something completely random, but I'm sure in most if not all canons it's Peter). Just. Richard John Grayson. It's not that hard 🙄🤚 Nobody who is either not close to him or has no sense of boundaries will call him Dick. His (adoptive) father is Bruce MF Wayne. Richard, Mr. Grayson, Mr. Grayson-Wayne, whatever that canon is making his last name, that is what they will call him out of RESPECT, if not to him, to the one name everyone in Gotham knows.

Bruce's age is another thing. I have absolutely nothing against Iain Glen, pretty amazing Bruce, but your telling me Bruce is how old? Iain is 61. Like. I'm pretty sure he adopts Dick in his 20's. It's not him being an experienced adult. He's still young. So he WILL screw up. As a person and as a parent. Same thing for the young Dick flashbacks, like, an eight year old from a circus definitely would not know how to drive a car. I do love how he started off on the path of vengeance, because as a "darker" show, Titans is meant to highlight those parts of him hidden by traffic light colors and puns, but one of his things is that he's pretty much the age Bruce was when his parents died. The kid in the show was no younger than 13 in his earliest flashbacks (again, same with Jason and Tim. These kids showed up looking like high school graduates, which, sure, is young to be starting a life of crime-fighting, but you gotta remember that Jason died at 15 in the comics, and Tim never even graduated).

Another thing is, I really do want the show to introduce Damian, but I doubt that this version of Bruce would be able to raise a kid ever again, probably doesn't trust himself enough to, plus he's like in his 50's so either he had Dami really late or he -like the rest of the bat-fam so far- is really aged up when he starts his whole Robin thing, which also kinda worries me because Tim barely got introduced in the 3rd season and I think he will be Robin in the 4th, so I heavily doubt we'll get murder baby 10 year old-ish Damian. And while being young isn't all Damian is, it's a little crucial to his story because you see an adult who was trained to be a killer and you see them as dangerous, sure, but an adult. Actually seeing, witnessing a child being a murder weapon, knowing that that is all their childhood was, that is pretty twisted.

Also I feel like Dick's whole "prison arc" schtick just wasn't him because dude's whole thing was "adopting strays" and he just up and left a whole ass kid in charge of a tower and a comatose patient & got himself thrown into prison on purpose. Nuh uh. If there's one thing that separated Dick and Bruce personality-wise, I think it's that Dick is the one who helps and loves people from the bottom of his heart. Bruce does love people, but he doesn't know communication or where to draw the line between work and personal life. Dick also has that same problem and we see it, he knows it and resents it because he knows that's a *Bruce* trait, but he on the other hand has a support system, people who care and help. Because that's what the Titans is. And Dick wouldn't up and abandon that for anything.

Again with Bruce, I know fighting crime isn't the best way to raise a child, and that giving a traumatized child deadly weapons to fight their inner demons will leave scars, but I wholeheartedly believe that Bruce was trying to be a good parent. In the show, he's really no more than a mentor. The most emotion I've seen is AFTER Dick becomes Nightwing(in one of Dick's flashbacks, he communicated through fucking letters. Dick was practically alone). Same goes for Jason. This was supposed to be another kid Bruce saw himself in, someone lost and alone. And when we saw his computer files on possible future Robins?

Keeping the roll with Bruce, he does things I feel like neither Bruce or Batman would do. Hell, when Jason died, first thing he did was kill the Joker. That is Jason's whole schtick after getting revived‼️His whole problem with Bruce is that he let the Joker live, even after everything, even after his own son died! Nothing changed to Jason! His death didn't mean anything!

[5-7-9]

So in my Reclamation AU prequel after Bruce Wayne adopts Dick, well actually I should mention the rumors before he adopts Dick the thh ethe th. Okay when he got back, wait should I mmention before too? Nahhhh more backstory to actually further down the storyline, weirdly enough that the past and future are linked together for some reason. (TW mentions/implies of homophobia and bi erasure and pedophilia and slut shaming)

So when Bruce gets back home after being legally classified as missing and dead, he assumes a neutral persona of socialite. But the missing gaps get filled in of vacations or illegal sites or something wild. Bruce decides to use the weird playboy assumption to his advantage and uses his looks to try going on dates with people.

Then, he decided to use modeling to also hinder any suspicions, he couldn’t show his scars so he went with clothing. He somehow made tons of model friends where he got them to pretend date him for publicity. Between the models, they think he either has an ego, has a secret lover, or is gay. Now the socialites and public see the fake model dates between the few real dates. Socialites get jealous and starts making up stories like “yeah we totally slept together (fuckkkk why doesn’t he like me???)” or “y’know it’s kinda weird he never keeps any of those hotties it’s almost like he’s a bad boyfriend or there’s something wrong with him yeah? (Please please please date me instead)”

(almost forgot) I already mentioned Selina, but her rumors consisted of slut shaming, and the infantilization of Bruce. Talia is actually included for a small while (idk how to make the timeline work, so I think it’s just easier if I just don’t think about it? Intentional plot hole). So to work with my timeline, either Talia already had a baby before Bruce gets back to Gotham, or they have a fling almost right when he gets back home. Either way, the media thinks she’s one of Bruce’s foreign flings from vacation (true actually), so they kinda dismiss her as a partner candidate. She doesn’t gets brought up again until later when i figure out if she needs to meet with Bruce again before Damian. Most of Bruce’s dates include bastardization or angelification, zero in between because nuance doesn’t exist (drama is always extreme, which imo is stupid but whatever).

After Bruce adopts Dick, things take a major turn for the worst. A single father not marrying when becoming someone’s guardian??? What’s wrong with him!!! The biggest conclusion created the pedophilic rumor. “He must’ve not stayed with anyone because he likes kids!!!” This lead to the other rumor to take a twist, homophobia.

So out of pure plot convenience, Clark at some point gets in touch with Bruce to talk about the Justice League, but that gets turned into a fake relationship. See the only way to distill rumors is to use more rumors! Obviously. Idk how to deal with Clark’s reputation, so I’m making it technically a fake secret relationship that protects Clark’s identity mostly. Anyways, now the rumors leaned into the gay rumors instead of the homophobic rumors, society started saying the pedophilic rumors are homophobic. Blah blah blah and then people got “scared” of getting “canceled” so they reverted back to the average playboy stance. This has made lasting impacts towards both Bruce’s and Dick’s lives but yeah they’ve moved on.

(Honestly i just wanted to explain the fake secret relationship plot point but now I really wanna go for all the rumors)

The gay rumors including the (fake) secret relationship really got the media questioning who he’s in romantic/sexual cohorts with, male specific only. It affected some characters to distance themselves…

Jason got classist rumors and reputation, which turned into “missing or dead” rumors just like Bruce had so lots of people were expecting him to come back. Tim was basically “the perfect child” since he was already upper class and he was considered most likely to run the Wayne business in the future. Damian had two sides where one was racist and blamed Talia for existing, and the other side where they blamed Bruce for being reckless. Cass had the standard stereotypes but with ableism included. Steph never appeared in the news besides as Tim’s ex. Barbara only showed up as Gordon’s daughter.

Actually Barbara got the “dating Bruce” rumors with Bruce but that never went anywhere significant, just made things awkward between them and with Gordon. (It’s sorta related to another side plot but i don’t feel like sharing here).

Duke appeared as an adoptee but also not because he avoided the Wayne’s reputation. He gets a passing mention as someone who sometimes takes refuge in their house, as if he was never there, but he sometimes is but he just gets ignored for probably racist and classist reasons. Among Duke’s citizens group of people near him totally know him as the guy with a rich guy’s backing tho. (I have completely different ideas for him, i’ll do another post later).

Well that was fun

[crazyw3irdo]

i don't have an actual tweet thing for batfam twitter au/dickwing au/whatever im calling this for today so here's some headcanons(?) for that au (are they headcanons if you're the one making the au? eh some of these are just headcanons for the characters in general so i guess it still applies)

-bruce has been batman for a couple of decades now, he started in his early 20s and now he's in his late 40s

-the public thinks of bruce as this well-meaning (albeit himbo leaning) dad whose trying his best. back when he first started being batman his public bruce persona was just very much happy-go-lucky himbo (how can bruce be batman? bruce doesn't even know how to tie his shoelaces) but he's now graduated to tired dad (how can bruce be batman? he has six kids to take care of and a company to run)

-and yeah six kids, duke is officially adopted into the wayne family in this

-no, alfred does not have a twitter. he's got too much to deal with already. however, he does know everyone's account information, so yknow, in case a masked vigilante gets beat up really bad then it's not like their civilian account suddenly stops posting

-and yeah alfred is alive. he cannot die. i refuse to believe it. i'm already saying fuck canon i'm not stopping now

-i've seen people in the tags asking/speculating about this, but i've been going on the assumption that each character has two phones: one for vigilante-ing and one for civilian-ing. if one gets stolen or hacked then its not like the thief will suddenly have access to their identity. plus it's not like bruce can't afford multiple phones.

-dick started dickwing because he was bored and thought it would be funny; it becoming a "well no one will think dick grayson is nightwing because they're dating" thing was 100% unintentional but also 100% the immediate excuse he gave when asked by the rest of the fam why he did that.

-dick is a theatre kid. which is obvious from the way i've been writing him but i felt it needed to be said again. i wanna say his fave musical would be newsies but i haven't seen newsies personally so,, i mean, of the musicals i really like and am familiar with, i'd say it'd be cats. now if you're familiar with cats you're like "okay yeah i can see it" but if you only know about it from that terrible movie let me justify myself: it's a dance-heavy musical with lots of amazing feats of athleticism in the dances. also, look up what rum tum tugger looks like in the actual show and then remember dick's discowing costume. i'm right about this.

-cass still doesn't know how to read. she uses a text to speech program to have things read out for her. she's also mostly nonverbal

-babs uses a wheelchair in this. i know some canon stuff does the whole "yeah but she got better" but once again i don't like canon

-no one in this family is neurotypical but the ones i feel most strongly about are bruce and cass are autistic and dick has adhd. pretty sure they all have some form of ptsd too but ngl that seems kind of obvious. and yes bruce being autistic is canon i love reminding people of this :3

-speaking of canon things i like reminding people of because it's often ignored in canon, dick is romani! and bruce is jewish!

-bruce, dick, steph, and tim are bi. or yknow, some kind of mspec, i don't think dick is a big fan of labels, steph probably says she's whatever sexuality makes her joke funnier, and tim is still figuring it out. babs is also bi and that is solely because my mom is bi and babs is her favorite character. cass is a lesbian and you could tell me jason, dami, and duke are whatever sexuality you want and i'd believe you. ngl i don't personally feel comfortable giving dami a sexuality hc myself bc i don't really like shipping/imagining child character in relationships but eh you do you as long as its not actually sexual

-genderwise dick is nb. i am nb and he's my favorite character. i have the right. he's fine w all pronouns but mostly uses he/they. once again he's not really a labels kind of guy. and yes i am still obsessed with that official post that used they/them for damian i know they didn't mean it but yes he/they damian my beloved. also she/they selina kyle.

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

I come as bidden to ask for angsty fic recs! :D (Especially if they end good though, I just watched a TV show from which I am a little physically ill of Bad Things Left Hanging) 💛

ohoho yes good you've come to the right place!!! angst with a happy ending is one of my favorite tropes ever tbh, especially including lots of hurt/comfort!!! without further ado~

protective dad Bruce

family-wide angst with a side of character study

Jason and Bruce have very different ideas of remembrance

very angsty Cass fic for the Cass mutual ft. hope and healing

Damian and Jason have met before

the passing down of warmth from fathers to sons not quite their own

pretty heavy Babs character study (this author is REALLY GOOD)

getting shot is a great way to end a family feud (and Tim is a little bit feral for a hot second)

baby Dickie and a field trip gone bad

Damian thinks he's going to die (he's wrong) and Tim won't let that happen

Tim and Bruce and healing

Steph and Bruce get yoinked back in time and they are not having fun

Bruce just needs to see his kid alive

Steph telling Bruce "I think I'm bad" will stick with me forever

a little bit vague and a lot bit sad but everything is okay at the end, for the whole family

Dick and Jason being brothers

this one made me ache a little bit and then healed the bruises (B and the kids and the finite nature of human life)

I feel like this has probably been recced to you already but OUGGHHHH the family feels from Dami's POV... it's so good

this one is actually pretty soft and has a really cool concept (and ten bucks says you can probably guess why the title caught my eye) with Tim and Bruce

Dick is hallucinating his kid and it just might break him

SAD SAD SAD ANGSTY HOWEVER read the endnotes bc everything's gonna be okay

I KNOW this one's already been recced to you but honestly it fundamentally changed something in me. in the back of my mind I'm always on some level thinking about it. I cannot adequately explain just how much this fic wrecked me and how important it is to me. I'm just gonna say again what I told @called-kept after she first sent it to me: for middle children in the Wayne clan, sometimes dying (and coming back) is what it takes to realize how loved they are. (Kept actually pitched this to me with, essentially, "hey you like fics where the others are comforted in near-death experiences by the fact that Jason's already been through it, right?" though not in those exact words. and if i let myself I'm going to write a hecking epistle to you about this so I'm just gonna uh... stop talking now)

so ya know how I'm really emotional about Dick being a parent to Damian?

Jason is having panic attacks

Jim Gordon is SUCH a good dude.

Jason stress cooks/bakes

growing up is hard when you're a bird-themed vigilante

I don't usually go for soulmate AUs but this is a REALLY GOOD platonic soulmate AU (it made me cry)

ANOTHER fic that's made me cry and also the one that made me realize how deeply bittersweet I feel about Dick Grayson

Timberly dealing with being immunocompromised (a word which my phone apparently does not like smh)

brothers grieving together — sad but has a happy ending!!!!!

INCREDIBLY long oneshot (with a sequel that I also greatly recommend!!) with a lot of angst but!!! it does not stay there!!! as is a theme in this list there's also healing!!!! (Tim needs help to feel again. that's ok bc he has brothers.)

dare I say it THE Batfam angst (presumably with a happy ending) fic? I'm slowly making my way through it and AAAAGHJHHH it's SO GOOD the characterizations and relationships and struggles and fears and never giving up... so so good

basically anything by @envysparkler but I have like 90% of her fics bookmarked and this list is already super long so I'm just going to gesture wildly and excitedly toward Envy's AO3 and leave it at that

and last but not least one of the first Batfam fics I read and really really loved. a bird gets a bird of his own and Damian gets a new understanding and deeper relationship with his next-oldest brother

[not-back-to-this]

Headcanon

Tim has a habit of grabbing onto a small corner of peoples shirts when he’s walking with them no this isn’t inspired by the fact that I do this but he only does this with people he has a close connection with.

~Dick Grayson~

First time he did it to Dick, Dick just took it as a sign of affection and had no problem with Tim doing it

Dick asked Tim why he did then when they came back home and Tim said it was a sign of affection and just made him feel safe

Dick was really happy to hear that because even though he always knew that him and Tim have a close relationship he felt like they were slowly drifting away but now he has confirmation from Tim that they are still close and even closer now that Dick let’s it happen

Now Dick is super happy whenever he’s walking with Tim and he just feels the slight tug on his shirt

~Jason Todd~

First time he did it to Jason, Jay was super confused but he let Tim hold onto his shirt anyway

Later he asked Bruce why Tim did that and Bruce explained that Tim does that around people he’s close to and he feels safe around

Jason was super touched because that means after years of trying to make up with Tim after he tried to kill him Jason finally was able to get Tim to trust him and feel close to him

One time Jason and Tim got into a fight and Jason’s eyes got glowing with the Lazarus green Tim just calmly backed away and hid from Jason in his room

Jason was super pissed at himself cause he finally got somewhere with Tim and he just ruined it then he got the idea to try and take Tim to get ice cream and see how he felt after

Tim agreed to go get ice cream and as they were walking to the parlor Jason felt a significant absence of someone holding onto his shirt and so he gently grabbed Tim’s hand without saying anything and just gently rubbed his thumb against Tims hand as he was holding it to try and let Tim know that he was safe

After they got ice cream they sat on a bench and talked about the fight and other things and Tim told Jason that he forgave him but still wanted a little time before he fully felt comfortable around him and Jason said it was ok and Tim could take all the time in the world before he felt ok and Jason would be ok with that

It only took a week before Tim started holding onto Jason’s shirt again

~Damian Wayne~

Since Dami is shorter than Tim, Tim grabs onto the top of his shirt and walks with him like that

Damian was super annoyed with it at first and he thought Tim did it to treat him like a kid

“Do not grab onto my shirt, Drake. I am not a baby and I don’t need you to hold onto me.”

Tim felt sad that he couldn’t hold onto Damian’s shirt and show him affection like that and he didn’t really feel like explaining because he didn’t want Damian to make fun of him

Dick saw that Tim was down because of it and calmly explained to Damian that it wasn’t actually because he wanted to treat Damian like a baby but he did it because he trusted and liked Damian even though they fought a lot

Damian went to Tim in the cave and told him that he was ok with Tim grabbing onto his shirt

Dami secretly likes Tim holding onto his shirt because he also feels safe. He feels like someone has his back and he and Tim are finally in a good place. Also n the Red Robin series, Tim had a list of people he didn’t trust and kept and Damian was on that list and I just feel like Dami would be super happy to know that Tim finally trusts him. They still fight like hell though but thats just sibling love lmao

Tim does it a lot after Damian came back from the dead everyone notices it but Tim refuses to offer up an explanation

The reason is that Tim has an irrational fear that if he let’s go of Damian then Damian will die again but he feels like it sounds stupid so he doesn’t tell anyone why

~Bruce Wayne~

The first time Tim held onto Bruce was on patrol and they were walking walking to the batmobile

Bruce just climbed out of a building that exploded while Bruce was still in it and Tim was so scared that He wasn’t actually alive and him holding onto his cape made him feel grounded and it felt like Bruce was safe

Bruce asked him why he held onto his cape when they made it back to the cave but Tim didn’t say anything

Alfred asked Tim why he did that and Tim told him why he just generally liked holding onto people’s clothes

Alfred stitched Bruce up and gave him a good lecture on how he should be more careful especially since he has kids

Bruce walked into Tim’s room to talk to him and he found Tim crying on his bed while holding a picture of his parents

He hugged him and asked him what was wrong and Tim screamed

“You can’t leave too! You can’t! You can’t! You can’t! You’re all I have left, Bruce! I’ll be a better Robin I swear just please don’t die too!”

Bruce held Tim tight and told him he would be right by his side and he would be more careful from now on

He held onto Tim for about an hour and then they went into a movie room to watch Tim’s favorite movie and Bruce made sure Tim knew that he was already good enough

~Alfred Pennyworth~

Obviously Alfred was the first one Tim did it to. When he first came to the manor Alfred was there for him no matter what and so it feels right to have him be the first that Tim held onto

Tim thought that Alfred mighty been annoyed by it so he explained to Alfred why he did it and if he wanted him to stop he could

Alfred hugged him and told him he didn’t need to stop and he also didn’t need to explain anything to Alfred

[forevermore-quoth-the-kitten]

I call this one, I just watched a tiktok comp on YouTube.

TikToker: tell me how you know your boyfriend won't cheat on you without telling me how you know your boyfriend won't cheat on you.

Babs: * holding her phone to show her face and then flipping it to show Dick in her lap. * Baby, why are you upset.

Dick: * muffled and whining * they think I'm a slut because I date a lot. It's not my fault that my relationships don't last! * Babs is heard trying not to giggle * I try! But because I date a lot they think I'm a slut!

-

TikToker: tell me how you know your boyfriend won't cheat on you without telling me how you know your boyfriend won't cheat on you.

Roy: * deadpanning into his camera before getting up and walking into a different room. * Hey Jaybird.

Jason: yea?

Roy: remind me who were allowed to hit.

Jason: rapists, drug dealers who prey on kids, pimps, anyone we fight during a Rogue attack.

Roy: what about cheaters?

Jason: oh I don't kill them. I just shoot their dick or their hip joint, depending on my mood or their gender.

Roy: * looks back at his camera and smirks *

-

TikToker: tell me how you know your boyfriend won't cheat on you without telling me how you know your boyfriend won't cheat on you.

Steph: * smirking * we aren't dating anymore, but we used to. watch this. * she gets and up and moves into a room, leaning on the door frame. * hey tim?

Tim: yeah?

Steph: what was that movie you used to like so much while we dated? Kon mentioned he saw you watching it again. Avatar something-

Tim: DON'T YOU DARE MENTION THAT MOVIE IS IT NOT AVATAR THAT IS TRASH-

Steph: he'll do this for a couple hours. (she's smirking)

-

TikToker: tell me how you know your boyfriend won't cheat on you without telling me how you know your boyfriend won't cheat on you.

Dick: * smirking * not my boyfriend, butmy little brother finally got one. watch this. * it cuts to showing Damian and Jon lounging on a couch, Jon's grinning and Damian looks annoyed, eyebrow twitching, as what sounds suspiciously like Scooby Doo plays on the unseen tv * hey Dami? you liking scooby doo?

Damian: very much Richard, thank you for showing me this Habibi. * Jon lights up, there's very little strain in his voice. but when Jon leans forwards Damian glares at Dick, furious looking. he darts away snickering and the camera goes back to him.

Dick: ok one, habibi is the Arabic word for 'beloved', and he doesn't call anyone any pet or nicknames, ever. Second, i've shown him Scooby Doo, back when he was ten. he's sixteen and now he's watching it. willingly. and pretending he likes it . * he's got a shit eating grin. * so take a guess.

[nightlight-stardust-and-rain]

OK so like. Fanfic idea because this had been in my head for days. So first of all : Jason joining the suicide squad. Not willingly (as I doubt anyone would do that) and maybe someone captured him IDK I SUMMON THE PLOTHOLE CARD but anyway it wasn't his family and he's in good terms with them ok that wasn't the idea. I akso have no idea which suicide squad it is. Maybe... A mix of both? Both suicide squads from both movies. Yes. So relationship wise, he doesn't exactly trusts them yet but it's... Getting there. Obviously he can't wear his domino in jail so they know his face but given that Waller and every guard calls him Red Hood, they just don't know his name (which honestly wouldn't give them a lot of information, like maybe Harley would recognize the name but also maybe not) so they call him red. They don't know much about him besides the fact that he's really dangerous, softer than he looks, likes to read, and is obviously very traumatized. He's also younger than everyone here except maybe Cleo so the squad is hm... Not exactly protective but maybe. Softer. And that's just the context, because the fanfic idea was actually a series of phone calls. So the idea is that once a week they're all summoned in the same room and a guard gives them their mail and they can have one phone call - cause people can't always visit, yknow? And when there are phone calls, which not gonna lie is pretty rare, it's on an old phone that must be put on speaker obviously, to monitor conversations. So the idea was, from the squad's POV, several times someone calls Jason and how they learn something new about him every time.

The first time, the caller is someone young. His voice sounds pretty arrogant, and he's asking to talk to "his akhi". The guard frowns, because there's no one called Akhi in this room, but then Red speaks up "oh, it's for me, gimme" and curiosity from the squad, because maybe his name is Akhi? And when Red answers the phone, he looks more relaxed than any other time they've seen him, and not gonna lie that's pretty fascinating. He calls the person on the other side of the phone habibi, or maybe Dami, they're not sure because suddenly Red is speaking Arabic and it sounds good, natural. The boy calling still sounds arrogant, but also fond, just as fond as Red. It's the most they've seen Red smile. He looks young.

(Harley asks, later. His name isn't Akhi, it's the word for brother)

The second time someone calls, the cheerful voice asks for a "little wing" and it sounds like a prank call until Red snatches the phone, blushing, and yells to stop calling me that I'm not a kid dickface! The caller laughs (and maybe Harley thinks the voice sounds familiar, but Red is from Gotham so the caller must be too, she might have met them in the street or something like that) and teases, à lot. And they've never seen Red blush like that, both from embarassment and rage. He looks young, again. It's weird to think about. They chit-chat a bit, and oh is that gossip?? Red likes gossip? The cheerful voice talks about a Cass, a Steph, a Tim, a B, a Agent A, a Dami, a Duke, a Roy, a Kori, about so many people. He gives updates, but mainly, he gives blackmail. Tim stayed up so late again and missed a whole day of college but the funny part is that he didn't notice that Steph scribbled on his face until the middle of the next day, also in college. Of course Cass didn't do anything embarrassing, of course not, she could never, and maybe I'm a bit scared of what she would do to me if I told you, little wing!! Sure, laugh, as if you're not scared of her too! And the whole time, Red vibrates with petty younger sibling energy. The teasing goes both ways, and he looks just as happy as he did last time someone called him. When the time is up, he glares at them and hisses that if they ever try to call him little wing he'll make their life hell (a few of them were thinking about it, but well they have seen the kind of chaos Red can unleash so they shall... Refrain. Except Harley, because she has no sense of self control).

(Chato asks, later. All the people the cheerful guy talked about, without exception, they're his family)

The next one to call is both not exactly a surprise and totally a surprise. The call itself, not so much. They've learned last time how large a family Red actually has, so they kinda were expecting another call. The voice, on the other hand, sure is a surprise. It sounds old, and incredibly proper and English. Precisely the kind of voice you'd never hear in jail. The caller asks for the Red Hood, even if he sounds slightly strained saying the name. Red honest-to-God giggles (will they ever stop being surprised by how young he is), and takes the phone. His voice is full of uncontained mirth when he informs the caller that he finally got you to not call me that, A ! And the old man on the other replies believe me if it wasn't for the sake of anonymity, I would never, young man. And Red laughs I know! But I still win the bet! And it's incredible how despite the lack of any noise the squad can almost hear a raised eyebrow. Turns out that there's a bet going on within Jason's family as to who could get "A" to call them by anything other than their name with honorifics outside of work, and it's been going on for a long, long time. The English voice sounds faintly, dryly amused when he promises to inform the others that Red won the bet. And they talk, and what the caller is doing can only be described as nagging. Asking if Red's eating well, sleeping well, not currently injured... Red is definitely being fussed over (a few of them discretely snicker) and bears it with the grace and slight childishness if someone who's used to being mother-henned.

(it's the younger he's ever looked, and it occurs to them that he looked like an adult barely out of his teenage years talking to his parent. Which he probably was, and wow isn't that a thought)

The next call is expected, and they're expecting it because Red has been almost vibrating out of his skin for the whole day and has been staring at the phone since they got in the room. When the time for phone calls comes he straightens up and his gaze is so intense that a good part of the squad expect the phone to straight up disintegrate, along with the table and part of the floor. The laser-like intensity doesn't leaves when a happy voice asks for Jaybird. At this point they're used to it, whoever is asking for a name they don't know is asking for Red. And Red barely waits for the person to say his name, grips the phone and without even saying hello, just bursts out (as if he's had it on the tip of his tongue for the whole day, as if he'd been waiting for hours to say it, which he probably did) Happy fourth year of being sober!! And for several seconds there's silence, the caller is probably startled. And then a soft laugh, and an unbelievably fond voice says god Jaybird, it's your birthday and that's the first thing you think about? And Red answers with narrowed eyes and a very determined yes. The voice of the caller practically drips with love as he thanks Red, thick like honey (that's so much love it genuinely feels a little uncomfortable to listen to, maybe a bit too intimate). Red sounds very, very proud of his friend, and said friend sounds a bit flustered by that but also quite proud of himself too. They talk, they catch up, the guy talks about someone named Kori, who'll call soon but is off... Country for now. It's very soft. Warm.

(the squad feels a little warm too, basking on the love that pours out of Red's body language, out of the stranger's voice, audible even through the crappy phone).

And like more people you know, but I'm tired rn and don't want to write more.

(also at some point Talia calls and one of the squad recognizes her cause you know, she's big in the criminal world, and they're like THAT'S your mom??? What the fuck ??)

It's kinda like a 5+1 idea, maybe at the +1 one they finally learn his name? Idk idk.... Or it can just be a bunch of phone calls, because outsider pov is the best thing, like ever.

[soulmate-game]

Useful Part 2

fluff with a little hurt and comfort. If you want answers as to the lack of angst, look through my recent posts for an explanation. 

—* — * — * —* —* 

“Wait, you have a WHAT?” were the first words that the rest of the Gotham-based vigilantes heard when they finally were able to track down where Damian had gone. Dick looked over at Bruce, who was noticeably tense. No surprise there, the man had just found out that he had a second biological child. One who was apparently a superhero already, without his intervention, and also apparently had a tragic background in the League of fucking Assassin Assholes. Not to mention that Damian’s track record with meeting siblings wasn’t great, even if this one wasn’t actually new to him. Nobody had any real fear of Damian relapsing on his no-kill rule, they knew he had matured far too much to be at risk of killing for something as immature as sibling rivalry anymore. 

But there was still fear. Because this new Wayne was an Unknown Factor, and as a rule the Bats hated Unknown Factors. And they had no idea what the relationship between the two had been before they had been separated, or what it would become now. 

“That wasn’t Damian’s voice,” Dick helpfully pointed out the obvious. Bruce only frowned, doing his best (and failing) to hide his anxiety about what they would find. Silently, the group inched forward to the edge of the abandoned building they were on top of so that they could look over at what was happening. What they saw was a girl, presumably the same one who had been in a ladybug onesie and had fearlessly begun to ask them to leave Paris— until she had laid proper eyes on Robin and fled, that was. That girl was sitting down next to an unmasked Damian, who had his arm around her shoulders and let her lean into his side. He even smirked cheerfully at her question before continuing to speak to her. 

“A dragon-bat. I knew you’d love hearing about him, I’ll introduce you when you come visit the Batcave. His name is Goliath,” Damian admitted smugly. Despite the familiar attitude and pride behind his words though, his spying family couldn’t help but notice that he kept periodically rubbing the girl’s (they really needed to find out her name) shoulder in reassurance. None of them missed the tear tracks on both of their faces, or how red the girl’s eyes were. Clearly they had missed something big. 

But nobody wanted to try to figure that out yet. This scene was too precious, too breathtaking for them to interrupt just yet. They had never seen Damian this vulnerable around someone outside of their little circle before, someone from the Time Before Bruce, no less. Most of the time, only Nightwing was able to see this side to Damian. And usually the roles were reversed, with Damian being the one consoled. They had never seen him in the position of the comforter before. The pillar of support. 

It really cemented just how far he had come. 

So they watched silently as the girl flinched, pulling away a bit and hunching in on herself. The laugh she let out was small and overflowing with self-degradation. 

“You make it sound as if the rest of your family actually wants me to visit,” she replied sourly. Damian gently cuffed her over the head, frowning. 

“Two things,” he held up two fingers from his free hand. “One: They will. They accepted me, and I was— well, you remember how I used to be. Once they actually meet you, and process the fact that there’s another Wayne now, they will bombard you with more welcoming than you will know what to do with. Two: It’s Our family, Marinette. Not mine, ours.”

Well, at least they had a name now. But it seems like they had bigger issues now, like Marinette’s clearly damaged sense of self. Jason and Tim traded knowing glances; it wasn’t hard for them to guess where, or how, she might have been damaged enough to think so lowly of herself. 

They watched as Marinette shook her head. 

“I don’t know. It’s one thing to try to… to get to know you again. We used to be close before… everything,” she haltingly argued, voice small and frail and uncertain. But she never once looked away from Damian’s eyes, trying to convey as best as she could what she was feeling. “But they’re different. They don’t have any reason to trust or like me, Dami. And I’m bad at, well everything, but especially,” she waved her hands frantically as if indicating the whole situation they were in. “I mean, listen to me! I can barely articulate right now, and I’m talking to someone I’ve known my whole life! I’m a mess. Nobody wants a mess.” 

It was Damian’s turn to snort, and he pulled her right back into his side. “Please. If anything, that’s exactly the type of child Father goes looking for. We’re all a mess. Especially Father, trust me.” 

“You’re just trying to make me feel better,” she accused suspiciously, but sank into his sideways embrace anyway. Damian chuckled. 

“No, I’m being honest. He’s terrible at emotions, not that I really have much room to talk. We all are pretty bad with them. But he’s the most obvious when it comes to that issue,” Damian smirked over at his sister conspiratorially. “For example. He still tries to tell people that he works alone, and pushes people away because he has this intense desire to protect, but doesn’t know how to say “I don’t want you to get hurt, stop worrying me,” so instead he says “Go away, I don’t need you,” only for us to see through that nonsense and remind him that the amount of people in his team is in the double digits already. He doesn’t want to admit he cares about us and is vulnerable—”

“Sounds familiar,” Marinette teased with a watery grin, startling a short laugh from her twin. He nudged her a little roughly (but not to roughly) and playfully glared at her. Marinette just giggled.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he lied with a grin before waving his free hand in dismissal. “Anyway. Another example. He has no idea how to tell a stranger, “hey, I’m your father and I will not reject you. In fact, I’m completely willing to adopt you right this moment and whisk you away to Gotham and relative safety and hire an entire team of therapists to help you and buy you half the world if you asked for it,” so instead he and the rest of our emotionally constipated family just lurks on the edge of a building in broad daylight eavesdropping on us and expects us not to notice.” 

“Wait what,” Marinette’s gaze instantly whipped up towards the sky, taking only half a second to locate the aforementioned eavesdroppers. Everyone except Bruce at least had the courtesy to duck down and pretend not to be there when they noticed she had seen them, leaving Batman standing seemingly alone on the concrete roof. Marinette blinked once. Twice. Then turned to Damian. “I’m gonna blame the fact that I didn’t notice them on emotional turmoil, because there is no way I’ve gotten THAT rusty.” 

Damian smiled, but didn’t laugh. He knew that was a deflection to try and distract from Marinette’s quickly resurging self-consciousness. Her hands were already trembling again, and the fear from only minutes ago had resurfaced. The insecurity. He could practically see the words “I’m not good enough,” written in her irises. 

“You’ll be fine,” he whispered, standing up and pulling her with him. “If anyone has to worry here, it’s me.” 

“What the hell are you talking about?” Marinette whisper-hissed right back, eyes wide in disbelief and confusion. “You’re— You! Mister Perfect!” 

Damian rolled his eyes, and his self-deprecating smirk matched the laugh Marinette had given just a few minutes earlier. “For the League, maybe,” he shrugged. “Never the Wayne family. Which is why I know you’ll be fine. If they put up with everything I’ve done and still call me one of them, they’ll accept you with barely a second thought.” 

Marinette’s next argument was cut off by the sound of a dozen soft footfalls stirring up dirt not far ahead of them. The BatClan had landed from the rooftop. 

Marinette gulped. 

But if there was one thing— one thing she still remembered from her days as Marie Al-Ghul, it was how to fake pride and confidence. She straightened her shoulders automatically, lifted her chin, and pulled away from Damian’s supporting arm around her shoulder. Damian let her. 

A little bit of old resentment flared up in him as he saw Batman walk up close enough to comfortably talk with them. Resentment that he no longer held onto, but that had haunted him nearly every night of the first two years he spent with his dad. The realization that maybe his twin was the one that was meant to be a Wayne. Marie had the blue eyes, the compassion, the more specifically detective-oriented mind. The calm head. Sometimes. Marie was exactly who he imagined when he thought of a naturally born member of the BatClan. Stubborn, clever, morally just. She had risked immediate death just because she refused to fight him, for crying out loud. Because she didn’t want to hurt the boy who used to be her best friend. The only ally she had ever had, growing up. 

Meanwhile, he still had issues reigning in his anger sometimes. He had too much blood on his hands, he was more of a battlefield tactician than a long-term strategist. Still stubborn, but also completely unaware of the pain he brought others with his words or actions a lot of the time. He used to be such a rage fueled little demon, and thinking about how his sister fit the classic Wayne outline more thoroughly than he did had made him destroy more than a few practice dummies in frustration. 

But now, looking at Marinette trying so hard to appear strong and proud when he knew she was still so shattered inside, relief overpowered the old and dull resentment. This was what she needed, he could sense that easily. She, just like him all those years ago, needed Bruce and the others to start to heal her and reforge what the League had badly molded. 

“... Marinette, I suppose?” Damian nearly facepalmed at his father’s awkward attempt at a conversation starter. Marinette herself was clearly too keyed up and overthinking things to even register any amusement at the lame attempt, merely nodding with an overly serious expression on her face. 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Monsieur Wayne. Or that’s my name nowadays, that is,” She stumbled a little in her response before clenching her fists and forcing herself to continue as calmly as she could muster up. “My birth name was Marie Al-Ghul.” 

Bruce’s eyebrows visibly furrowed underneath his cowl. “Was?” 

“I…” Marinette finally looked away, shame creeping back onto her face. “I was explicitly told that I was stripped of the Al-Ghul name and would be killed if I ever dared lay claim to it again. So I not-so-legally changed it. And I was later adopted.” 

Several sharp gasps or the hiss of breath through teeth bit through the quiet breeze. Nobody was necessarily surprised, Marinette could see it when she looked through her eyelashes and examined the winces and sympathy on the faces of the vigilantes before her. Batman’s shoulders were stiff, as if someone had paralyzed only his shoulder blades. 

“And the people who adopted you?” Batman pursued. Marinette couldn’t read his tone very well, but it sounded vaguely angry so she quickly raised her hands in a placating gesture and her eyes widened significantly. 

“They’ve been amazing! They don’t know anything about my past, or who raised me, but they are endlessly patient with me. I mean, honestly! Sabine caught me when I was trying to steal one of her gold bracelets in Hong Kong— and I know I’ve never been as good of a combatant as Dami, but I’ve always been better at sleight of hand and stealth so honestly that’s impressive— and she saw my dirty eight-year-old face and for some reason decided, ‘yeah I want this one as my daughter’ and roped Tom right into it and next thing I know they somehow tailed me to my hideout? I still don’t know how the hell they managed that, but Tom had a huge plate of steaming buns and I was so hungry and suddenly it’s two years later and I’m adopted and we’re on a plane to Paris—” Marinette threw up her hands. “I still don’t fully grasp what happened sometimes.” 

She belatedly seemed to realize that she had just gone on an entire breathless rant at the speed of sound, and slapped her hands over her mouth before lunging into a deep bow. “I apologize! I spoke horridly out of turn!” 

To her surprise though, she was met with a soft laugh instead of a scolding. She jerked in surprise, whipping her head up only to see Batman holding a hand over his chin to hide his large grin. It only took another second for the boys behind him to laugh a lot LESS softly. Nightwing strolled over casually and swung an arm around both her and Damian’s shoulders, playfully nudging her brother with his knee. 

“I think she fits right in, don’t you little D?” 

“Of course,” Damian scoffed, though his eyes were playful. “She is a Wayne by blood. She ‘fits in’ more than you strays.” 

“Dami!” Marinette whipped back to him and puffed out her cheeks. “That was uncalled for!” she barked. Damian held his hands up in surrender. 

“Relax,” he said as soothingly as he could manage. “They know I’m joking,” he dropped his hands and a knowing smirk took over his face. “And besides, now you’re relaxed so my plan worked,” Marinette could only blink at that. She… did feel more relaxed, actually. “Also. I told you you’d be accepted easily. They already consider you one of us.” 

“Wha— there’s no way—” she frantically looked at each of the older men around her, but each of them just shot her a smile or grin and a short nod. Her shoulders and jaw both fell, and it broke a little of everyone’s heart. 

Marinette looked so utterly shocked, bewildered to be accepted as if it was still something profoundly foreign to her. And there was that disbelief in her eyes, that distrust that screamed that she expected some sort of lie here. That told that she thought this would all crumble away at any second. If anyone had any reservations about bringing her into their inner circles, it vanished right that moment. She needed support, or she’d crumble away and they all knew it. 

“How about we start by talking about the situation with Hawkmoth?” Red Robin spoke up, walking forward to stand beside Batman. “I assume that’s a little more in your element?” 

Damian silently vowed to thank Tim later for that. In a silent, completely anonymous way of course. Couldn’t have Tim thinking they were friends or something now, could he? Marinette instantly straightened up and nodded, her confidence returning with a little more sincerity this time. 

“Yeah. Yeah, let me transform again. It’ll be easier to explain.” 

—*—*—*—*—*

It was three weeks later, on Marinette’s third now-weekly visit to the Batcave, when the question finally came up. Jason had asked to spar with Marinette for the first time, having seen her in action as Ladybug and wanting to test the girl when she didn’t have superpowers to rely on. Damian hadn’t been down in the cave to warn him, and the result was Jason’s gut sinking as Marinette scrambled as far away from him as she could, eyes wide and chest heaving in the beginnings of a panic attack. 

“Shit,” Jason muttered before he quickly knelt down and did his best to talk her down, to calm her until her breathing slowed and her pupils were back to normal. It wasn’t long afterwards that Marinette started hugging herself, refusing to look at him. But he wasn’t going to just back down, he wanted to solve this issue. If even the mere suggestion of a spar was enough to set her off, he needed to figure out why and fix it. 

So he carefully lowered himself so he was sitting only a foot away from her, resting his arms across his knees casually. 

“Sorry,” he apologized. “Didn’t think it would be a sore subject. That’s on me.” 

Marinette just shrugged, but didn’t answer him. She just buried her face in her arms and took a shaky breath. 

Jason let the silence linger for a while before trying again. “Does this have to do with certain Asshole Assassins?” 

That startled a slightly hysterical bark of laughter from her, and she had to wipe away a few tears when she raised her head and finally turned it in his direction slightly. Not enough for her to be looking at him,  but just a subtle turn to show that she was listening and speaking to him. “Yeah.” 

“You know, you never told us why you got disowned,” Jason tried to make his words as casual as possible, but wasn’t surprised when Marinette still stiffened and took a sharp breath. He didn’t push. The stage was set, and he’d wait until either she took the opportunity to open up or told him to leave well enough alone. Her tongue flicked out to wet her lips, and her foot tapped on the ground a bit. Clear signs of her anxiety around the subject, and Jason’s hopes vanished a little. He would probably have to wait longer for her to be ready to share.

But, to his pleasant surprise, he was wrong. She took another few minutes to gather her thoughts, but she did eventually open up to him. 

“I refused to fight Damian,” she admitted. “It was… We were seven. It wasn’t supposed to be a fight to the death, but it was a very important spar. We were using live weaponry, and we were told to fight until we couldn’t anymore. Whoever fell first would be relegated as a mere soldier, and have to fight for status like any other assassin in the League. The winner would officially be named as G— as Ra’s Heir. I didn’t want to fight, because I knew Damian would win but I also knew that it wouldn’t be as easy as Ra’s probably expected if I gave it my all like he wanted. I knew both Damian and I would be heavily injured if I did as he asked, and it wouldn’t be worth it. If I misjudged anything, any single hit, I could have accidentally injured Damian permanently and ruined his worth in Ra’s eyes, and that wasn’t an option. I didn’t care that throwing the fight was as good as giving up my life, because at least I could be sure that Damian kept his. I could make sure that he was treated well, or as well as anyone could hope for in the League anyway. I could, with only a few words, make sure he became indispensable. Ra’s and Talia never liked me as much as Damian anyway, I figured… I figured it was nobody’s loss,” She swallowed heavily, clenching her eyes shut. “I was always just the spare. The extra. Damian was their crown prince, the one with actual value. Even to me. I saw him, and I saw everything I wanted to be. I… I tossed down my weapons and let him stab me, because I figured I owed it to him for being such a failure in comparison to him. That I owed it to him to do everything I could to make things easier for him, since I was just an unnecessary obstacle—” strong arms wrapped around her, and she turned to sob into Jason’s chest as he just silently held her. 

“Idiot,” Damian whispered, making Marinette jump. Her twin sat only a few feet away, though only Jason would have known when exactly he had gotten there with them. He shook his head at her. “I never would have gotten as far as I did without you,” he whispered, looking up at the cave ceiling. “You were the only real rival I had. When you left, everything was either too easy or nearly impossible, nothing was the same as trying my best against someone who was just as good as me. And when I got here and met the others, I didn’t think any of them were worthy of taking your position, you know,” he scoffed a bit as he got lost in his memories. “That’s why I hated Tim for so long, I think. He reminded me of you so much that I wanted nothing more than to punch him for daring to replace you—”

“Heh, the Replacement twice over, huh?” Jason joked. Damian chuckled with a small eye roll. 

“Plus, he just has a really punchable face,” Damian added, trying to distract from the emotion behind everything he had just admitted. “Part of me thought you were dead. The other part refused to believe that. And seeing Tim and how some of his mannerisms were the same as yours,” Damian shrugged a little. “It stung. Especially that second year, when I started to regret that you never had the chance to come here and join them with me. Meet them with me.” 

Marinette sniffled. “... Who are you and what have you done with Dami? He’s never this sappy.” 

Damian flicked a pebble at her head with a good natured glare, successfully diffusing the serious air a little. Marinette wouldn’t ever be normal, and it would take a while before she was no longer fragile, but she could get there. Especially now that her bridges with her brother had been mended, and and a whole new family had cropped up to help support her. 

She was glad Damian had convinced her to try, again.  

[raeofgayshine]

Good news! I found the angst!

Me: I’m going to write a fic that has so much Tim angst

Me 4K words in: Okay and so now see Tim has just woken up and he’s a very confused and adorable sleepy child. The only angst so far is he tried to fight Jason, fainted, and then Dick accused Jason of kidnapping, but Tim is fine he’s just very tired and cuddly and has said twice already Jason makes him feel safe which Jason cannot handle