#also like tim and luke

[automatonwithautonomy]

anyway. annabeth chase and jonathan sims parallels.

-affliation with wisdom and knowledge entity/god

-chosen one of said knowledge entity/god

-very traumatising experience with spider entity at young age

-fate of the world in their hands

-just. trauma in general. so much trauma good lord.

-goes through literal hell/reality-warped-hell-on-earth with significant other

-has a not really enemies to lovers with said significant other. more like a you annoy me a lot to i will kill and die and other worse things for you

-series of scarring misadventures over a few years

-several entity/gods who hate them specifically and try very hard to torture them. including the knowledge one theyre tied to

[vault--of--amber]

Hello fandom artist. In front of you is a male character, who presents himself in a somewhat flamboyant and excitable manner and actively flirts with many characters of different genders. You have an infinite amount of time to draw this character without making him a hazbin hotel style twink. If you fail every single surface in your house will be plastered over with thousands of copies of Hot Yaoi Base, the eye colour of the smaller man adjusted accordingly to the character in question. You may begin.

[navree]

I've always joked to myself that Luke's biggest offense (aside from the obvious) was that he was boring, but I've never seen anyone else outwardly say it with such conviction. You're a braver person than me! 👍

Oh I've been on the "Luke is boring" train since the show was airing, it's just an objective fact. Luke suffers from something a lot of characters on the show suffer from, which is that the show tried to cram way too much into one ten episode season of television and as such a lot of character writing suffered, especially on the Blacks' side (nearly all Blacks side characters are severely underdeveloped except for Rhaenys and Corlys, who have the distinction of being somewhat schizophrenic). Luke does nothing notable for episode six, nothing notable for episode seven until he maims Luke, nothing notable for episode eight, he's not even in episode nine, and then in episode ten he dies. That's why the scenes he's in during episode ten feel as clunky and bad as they do, they sat down to write the finale, realized that there was no reason for people to care at all when Vhagar munches him, and so we got those random scenes to try and bolster his connection with Rhaenyra and show that he's The Goodest Boy to try and shoehorn in any reason for the audience to care. And be honestly people, did you feel sad when Luke died because Luke as a character is now gone and we'll lose him forever, like we did when Robb and Catelyn died, or are you just sad because he's fourteen and it made Rhaenyra sad and you like Rhaenyra? It's the latter.

(it's also why Lucemond is so popular, because Luke is such a nothing character he's basically a blank slate that a bunch of people can project themselves onto and thus be casted in whatever role they want him to be as a self-insert because Aemond is hot and you can't do that with any other character Aemond interacts with, because they've all got personalities that can't be subsumed the way you can with Luke because he's got no personality)

This is a problem that plagues Jacaerys and Baela and Rhaena as well (seriously, please name me three character traits for Baela and Rhaena separately, I can barely name three for the two of them combined you could literally replace them with lamps and nothing changes it's so bad), but because they're gonna be in the show longer, there's more of a chance to fix it. Luke only being around for four episodes, doing fuck all for most of his appearances, and being defined by "guy who caused grievous bodily harm in a fight he shouldn't have been involved in due to the fact that the opposite side did nothing wrong and then refused to ever even show contrition for it" and then promptly dying means that there's no chance to expand his character the way Jace and Baela and Rhaena can potentially get (and I highly doubt Baela and Rhaena are gonna get much expansion tbf), so we're stuck with the most boring boy. He's a plank of wood, he's nothing, he means nothing to me except that sometimes I think about how difficult the recovery period for literally losing an eye must have been for Aemond on so many levels and I think that Vhagar went too easy on his boring ass.

And it's my blog so I can say what I want and I will bear this cross for you and those like you anon, I will proudly call Lucerys Velaryon a piece of cardboard.

[narcissusbrokenmirror]

Days ago saw a post about writing fanfic of your characters but being from where you live instead of the original country so you dont struggle with accurate portrayal. thinking of how amazing would be a brazilian jatp au.

[kifflepiffles]

A little doodle of a Creepypasta (mostly Marble Hornets based tbh) OC of mine! I truly am more of a writer than an artist, but it was still fun ^_^; I'll probably post her whole story here at some point. But in the meantime, here's Evie! In the thick of her backstory (So about 16 I think? I don't remember the exact age I decided on but I'm pretty sure it was 16)

[sheep-from-rad]

Imagines: Batman x Social Media handler! reader Note: I'm making a series soon I'm just making sure the plot is right.

Being the Batfam’s public and private social media handler is the weirdest job that you’ve ever handled in your life. You were a vigilante forced to stop being one after dealing with life-threatening injuries and now you’re handling half of Barbara’s job. Honestly you don’t have complaints. The pay is good, the benefits are good, the bonuses are top tier, and Alfred makes snacks whenever you’re in the mansion for work. 

Monday at 3:00 a.m., you’re at the Batcave next to Tim who is nursing his third cup of coffee. He’s reading cases and cross examining evidence while you’re on your own computer watching thirst edits and making sure none of the angles are too close to their faces that can compromise their identities. From time to time Tim would peek on your computer to make a weird face or just straight up comment about he’s not caffeinated enough to watch 30 more minutes of Robin edits. You both agree that Dick deliberately poses  after every landing or every after fight for the edits. Also Nightwing’s butt has its own hashtag.  

Tuesday you’re sitting with the Batkids at the Wayne manor common room as you read aloud the thirst posts and DMs their accounts had received, it had become a little tradition. Damian thinks it’s repulsive but he stayed to watch the horror filled expressions. To his own horror however, he learnt that the ones who received the most thirst posts and DMs are Jason and Bruce. Apparently a lot of people like Red Hood’s ruggedness and no nonsense approach and a lot of people are attracted to masked men. 

Wednesday you’re in the cave with Stephanie and Duke with the weekly meme watching compilation (the purpose is to make sure that they don’t accidentally say something in public that can be hinting their identities. If they did, you’ll have to send the vid to Barbara to have it scrubbed off the internet) . It has also become a tradition that Alfred now makes a lot of popcorn whenever Wednesday rolls. Scrolling on the Gotham video media, when you search the terms ‘Batman’, ‘Robin’, or anything hero related, you will first be greeted by the headlines or recent news. Scrolling on next pages, you’ll be greeted by meme compilations. Stephanie really likes the ‘Batman being a tired dad: A compilation’. It currently has around 100+ videos on it. Duke finds it really fun to watch ‘Red Hood and Robin bickers while Signal patrols in the background for 30 minutes’. 

Thursday is relatively slower than other days. You sat at your normal desk job at Wayne Enterprise as the social media manager. Luke Fox would sometimes pass by your desk to pass some secret documents to be sent to the cave but most of the time you just spent your hours sitting in front of the computer while listening to the ‘10 hours of Gotham rain occasionally broken by Nightwing slipping on my house’s roof’. At lunch break, Dick would swing by to get the names of the crazy fans from the DMs to make sure they don’t do anything crazy (ps he’s always annoyed because his request from Barbara to have that 10 hour asmr video removed is always denied). 

Friday you’re sitting on the Wayne gardens munching on the snacks Alfred made while Cassandra sits next to you. Tomorrow’s your day off and now you’re just making a weekly report. Cassandra poked you as the Wayne men came barreling out of the backdoor for the weekly competition of who gathered the most edits/fanfics/fanarts this week. To their surprise, this time there were no competitions. They were instead greeted by Bruce who lectured them about fighting while on patrol (also Stephanie won this week)

masterlist

[glitter-stained]

Bats and Birds jobs headcanons that I will defend with my life, mostly from my civilian AU:

Barbara: works at a library, will hack your company to help you figure out flaws in the system for money on the side

Dick: retired Olympic gymnast, gymnastic teacher

Cass: part time professional wrestler, in a duo with Steph

(Edit edit: it has been pointed out to me that some people just don't like feelings which I didn't consider, so I did take off the therapy part because she wouldn't want to do it, but I still think it would be so interesting to see her volve about it)

Jason: writer (novelist + ao3, he has the range), part time barista at some point

Steph: definitely works part time at a movie theatre, I also picture her being a professional wrestler for some reason, in a duo with Cass

Tim: unclear if he's doing freelance investigation journalism or private detective work but either way he likes figuring stuff out (it's a lot of cheating husbands and he doesn't dislike it)

Duke: escape room owner and designer, the trickiest puzzles in the American continent, and each room has incredible aesthetics and personality even though people complain about how difficult they are.

Damian: professional painter, volunteers at the animal shelter every day.

Bruce: trophy wife

Harper: whatever the fuck Michael Reeves has going on

Cullen: editor (Jason's professional AND ao3 beta but neither has any idea the three identities are connected)

Lucius Fox: CEO of Wayne enterprise

Luke Fox: mechanical engineer

Kate Kane: rich heiress, competitive MMA fighter when she feels like it

[numberonedukethomasapologist]

Duke: has anyone seen my wife beater?

Tim: ..your what?

Duke: um- my wife beater?

Time: 🧍‍♂️erm- no???

Duke: where the wahchumahcallit

Bruce: ???

Luke: *hands him the item he's looking for*

Bruce: ?!?

Duke: *laughing and running away from the person who said the joke*

Damian: Thomas?

Duke: ?

Damian: why did you run around the table??

Duke: cuz it was funny😭

*Duke with fresh cornrows patting tf out of his head*

*batfam member observing from a distance*:?????

*Duke on patrol acting like a black mom while forcing a robber to return the thing he stole and the robber makin stank faces*

Duke: fix yo face before I fix it for you.

*the backup he called in*: 😟

Duke(no filter after just wakin up): oou- whatchu lookin like who did it and why for?

*Steph who just woke up also*🫤

*dick trying to calm jon and Damian down and get control of them cuz they keep running through the manor with muddy shoes*

*Duke going to help* yall ain't bout to keep running in and out this damn house!! It's either you stay to assess outside or inside, do you hear me?

*jon and dami stop in their tracks cuz duke's using that loud mom voice*

Jon: yes sir

Damian: ..

Duke: hey! *snapping his fingers infront of damians face* do. You. Hear. Me.

Damian: *nods*

Dick: *in fuckin disbelief*

*Duke watching Damian and Jon fighting outside*: they gon sleep good tonight.

*goon mumbling under their breath*

Duke: say sumn slick again. I'll pop you in yo shit..

*Duke walking with some of the batfam*

Duke: *sees another black person running*

Duke: *immediately starts running away with them*

Batfam members: wtf??

[devinescribe]

Their Inner Monologue the First Time You Kissed

[Mixed Bag x Reader]

Characters: Snotlout, Hiccup, Tuffnut, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Damian Wayne, Tim Drake, Percy Jackson, Octavian, Luke Castellan, Grover Underwood, Steven Meeks, Neil Perry

Snotlout Jorgenson

"Okay so this is really happening... wow she's so gorgeous... she tastes good... I could do this forever... don't panic. Don't panic, you're brave and tough you've faced dragons scarrier than this... am I doing okay? Does she like it? Should I pull away? Is where my hands are okay? Maybe I'll move them up... here. Good good good. She asked before kissing me… felt nice… to have a choice… I don’t really care if that makes me seem weak… Ohh I'm getting lightheaded I need air... oh wow okay okay she looks even better when she pulls away oh Thor help me..."

Tuffnut Thorston

"YESSSS THIS IS AWESOME HAHAHAHAHA I KNEW SHE LIKED ME! …not like I’ve been her boyfriend for a month but… Ha… Bet Hiccup would be jealous. I can actually kiss my girl. He can not afford. Great success. Oh she's laughing into the kiss this is even better! Her laugh is so pretty... would she be mad if I tickled her right now...? No! Focus. Lock in. She's holding on so soft it's like she's scared of hurting me she's adorable I love her so much... I'm hungry... I wonder where Chicken is I haven't- FOCUS TUFFNUT!! THE WOMAN OF YOUR DREAMS IS KISSING YOU!!! Oh she pulled away... oh yeah oxygen. I'm gonna need more so she can learn to survive without oxygen-"

Hiccup Haddock

"And this is really happening okay okay don't... panic? I'm not panicking I'm just worried because I've never done this before and wow she's pretty should my eyes be closed? Where do I put my hands? Where is she comfortable with me touch- oh it's like she read my mind she's just leading my hands that's nice... I like her hand in my hair. Feels really nice. She should do that more often. I'll make it a decree. As future chief your hand should be in my hair 12 out of 24 hours in a day. I hope no one- oh gods I need air... oxygen is yummy. And necessary. I hope she's not mad- oh she's not. I love her."

PercyJackson

"Huzzah!! I have won yes yes yes! This is great, I love this. And we're in a bubble under the lake no one can get us of find us and embarrass us... that would be really crazy honestly... ooh what kind of fish was that? I wonder if the fish ever get confused when I'm down here... oh she has cherry gloss on... yummy... cherry... cherry pie... blueberry pie is better. Just because it's blue. If every food was blue, life would be so much better- FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS- oh we're done. ... I want more."

Octavian

"...this is new... I don't know how to feel... my heart is racing and my face feels hot and... gods she's gorgeous... I wasn't prepared for this I didn't see this in my premonitions...I've never kissed anyone before... I wonder if I'm doing this right... she seems to enjoy it I guess. I'm also enjoying it... I did not understand why campers always wanted to kiss their partners until now... however I still think it is inappropriate and unnecessary to be making out in public. Shameless. At least my girl knows better... waited till we were in private and asked. I love her... she makes me happy... oh yeah oxygen."

Dick Grayson

"Okay Grayson, not the first time you've kissed someone... kissed a few people. Guys girls... but this is... different... it's like... fireworks are going off and my heart is beating out of my chest... she's amazing. She asked before she kissed me... I think that's the first time anyone has ever done that... her hands feel nice on my face... her nails on my scalp... just feels nice. And she's so warm. Makes me forget about everything... about how I'm late for patrols...about the freezing weather Bats is making me go out in... Bruce would never- oh right she needs to breathe. Not all of us were trained by Batman."

Jason Todd

"How do I tell her this is the first time I've kissed anyone?! Without sounding lame... she's so soft... I love squeezing her... she's so plush and sweet.. oh shit... I just knocked my head on hers... oh she just smiling... she's not mad. Okay... she keeps checking in... she's so sweet... no one's ever cared this much... how do I tell her anyway? Hey so remember that I died at 15, got brought back and trained with the LOA for a while until now which I'm 19, meaning I missed out on my core childhood experiences- oh shit... she's... oh she just blushing... and panting..? Oh right she can't hold her breath that long..."

Damian Wayne

"Well... while unexpected... it's not unpleasant nor is it unwelcome. I hope Grayson doesn't walk in, I'll never hear to end of it... unless the fact I have a girlfriend I can kiss would tick him off, in which case, yes. He may. I'm not one for physical contact but this is really nice... It’s soft. Not all consuming… which makes me happy… she’s soft… always asks… I haven’t a clue why… but it’s nice to feel like I have a choice for once. I wish I could stay here all night… would father even let me skip patrols to spend time with her? I wish- oh. Right. Air.”

Tim Drake

“Science says kissing burns calories and if this is how good kisses feel then I’m going to be soooo skinny by the time we’re married. Mhm mhm… okay… what am I supposed to be thinking about during a kiss anyway? Is it like… blank? Or can I think of other things… like how Damian slipped on ice and fell this morning- oh great I laughed into the kiss… oh she’s not mad. I love… I love…”

Luke Castellan

“I can handle this.”

…

“I can not handle this oh gods… what if I suck at kissing what if I mess up- oh damnit I just bit her… oh she’s laughing… okay let’s try this again… and if I put my hand on her face… ahh she’s so warm… so cute. I just want to squeeze her forever and ever my sweet girl…”

Grover Underwood

“Well this is how I die… not a bad way to go… probably the best way to go if I’m being honest. I love this…”

*literally after this, head empty no thoughts.*

Steven Meeks

“Maybe I should’ve read books on how to kiss girls I’m- ahhhh- this is not proper. Not at all. What am I talking about we’ve been going out for months… well maybe the fact I snuck her in and we are kissing on my bed in the dorm when Pitts could walk in at any time… but still… she tatted good… smells good too… probably cuz of the ice cream we had… I’m glad i get to have her… I’m glad she chose me…”

Neil Perry

*head empty no thoughts except ‘I love her so much’*

[theobservatory]

What's in a Name｡⁠.ﾟ★ ˎˊ˗

｡⁠☆Synopsis: how they would name their children

｡⁠☆Cw: gender specific, talk of reader being pregnant

｡⁠☆CH: Damian ☆ Duke ☆ Tim ☆ Jason ☆ Dick ☆ Bruce

✧Bruce✧

Classic names for sure. He tends to lead very masculine for boys and very feminine for girls. It's not that he doesn't like gender neutral names, but it's not the natural place his brain goes when naming his kids.

Since he already has so many kids I doubt he would want anymore unless you did, and since he has almost entirely boys I'm giving him a girl lol. I already know that poor girl is going to find him insufferable when she becomes a teenager. He is the most overprotective dad around, he's not gonna want her to do nothing lmao.

For boys: Thomas, Arthur, Bennett, Dominic, Theodore, Charlie, Liam

For girls: Clara/Claire, Charlotte, Francesca/Francis, Theodosia, Lorelei, Evelynn, Alice

✧Dick✧

For girls: Summer, Josie, Mary, Leona, Elise, Simone, Willow

He loves sweet sounding names. He keeps it very wholesome. Every name he brings up is going to be soft and sweet, tho I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted a junior or a child named after his parents.

I did a poll and most people agreed he's a girl dad, but I can't help but imagine him with a son who's the spitting image of him, but also a momma's boy lol. In the end I went with an older girl and a younger boy a year apart. He's probably the best dad here tbh, I feel like he's just the type to go above and beyond for his kids.

For boys: John, Oliver, Adrian, Leo, Elias, Jonas, Henry

✧Jason✧

For boys: Roscoe, Demetri/Demetrius, Arlo, Thatcher, Adonis, Nicolas, Maximus

Leans towards stronger sounding names for either sex. Gender neutral names are brought up just as much as very masc or fem names. Like you can't tell me his favorite superhero isn't Wonder Woman, I would not be surprised if the first name he suggests is Diana.

Twin girls. Can you imagine his face when you tell him not only are you pregnant, but it's twins? He might pass out on the spot. I can also see him with another girl maybe a few years later, but whether she was planned or an accident is up in the air lol.

For girls: Cleo, Demetria, Vivian, Sloan, Devin, Blake, Ananias/Anias/Anania

✧Tim✧

For girls: Samantha, Erin, Kayla, Alexis, Monica, Alicia, Sydney

Gender neutral guy all the way. Just neutral names in general. He would probably bring you a baby name list that's just the top 20 names in the US rn, or he would go crazy trying to figure what the next most popular names are to get ahead of the curve. I also wouldn't be surprised if he wanted a junior or a kid named after his parents.

Tim is a boy dad, I don't think he could handle a girl in all honesty. Just one, maybe two, but with a giant age gap between them. Like I have an 18year age gap with my little sister, and if you have kids young I can definitely see this happening to y'all.

For boys: Luke, Derek, Ethan, Evan, Dakota, Jesse, Zachary

✧Duke✧

For boys: Lucas, Enzo, August, Everett, Amari/Amarion, Brooks, Dion

He also tends to go for names that everyone already has. He's perfectly fine with names not standing out in the slightest, I think he'd let you take most of the lead on naming a baby tbh.

I think after moving into the manor, he wants his children to grow up with a big family like he did. I can also see him as a foster parent or a social worker outside of his vigilantism, so maybe two or three biologically, but you still end up with a full house. The genders of your bio kids ? Still up in the air for me idk.

For girls: Mia, Parker, Nora, Eliana, Avery, Naomi, Zoey

✧Damian✧

For boys: Khari, Amir, Kylian, Imani, Nasir, Princeton, Isha

Like Jason, he also wants a strong sounding name. Though, I think he'd also want to incorporate his culture from nanda parbat into at least one of the names as well. I could also see him wanting something sweet or dainty for a girl, like he sees this tiny baby for the first time and just goes... No... You will be no warrior bc I will protect you forever. So dainty and small, like a tiny flower. I can also see him naming his children after anything royal or whatever, bc he's pretentious (adoring) like that.

Twin boys, and a girl a few years later. Much like Bruce I can already see his kids finding him unreasonable. Damian's a strict parent (unlike Bruce), but he's also incredibly overprotective. None of his kids can go anywhere or do anything without their father fretting over them.

For girls: Kala/Kali, Aaliyah, Aisha, Zahrah/Zaharah, Nyla, Ali, Meira

Tell me which names you like best, and your opinions on these headcanons as well (⁠＾⁠3⁠＾⁠♪ I will be picking from some of the names provided for any kid fics, unless one of y'all give me a better name, so feel free to give suggestions/tell me your fav baby names ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Thank you to my fav name consultant on tiktok and reddit for making this possible lol. Tbh I know people with a lot of these names, like I have a cousin named Nasir, and another named Imoni, and my little sister's name was almost Francesca. The websites just made me actually start considering them for what they are.

Also, my fav name from this list is Naomi. I've loved that name for years, idk what it is, but I adore that name. My least favorite name on this list is Thatcher. That shit is ass bro. It reminds me of the game I Want To Fuck Mr.Hatcher... just... Yuck.

｡⁠☆Requests Open

[casscainmainly]

"My long-held belief that Duke and Luke should not get along" <- could you please elaborate on this? I'm fond of both and I collect your thoughts and analyses like they're rare trading cards so I'm ready to be all 👀🫳🍿

First of all anon this might be my favourite ask ever, I've been dying to write my thoughts on these two so THANK YOU. Secondly my belief that Duke + Luke wouldn't get along actually stemmed from WFA, I was super annoyed with Luke giving Duke the pep talk in ep 76 because they have no relationship!!! Then I started thinking harder and realised they are a really interesting pair. In case anyone hasn't noticed I'm fond of giving Duke relationships where he's annoyed with the other person so 😭 this is very on brand.

The thing about Duke + Luke is they are, on the surface, similar - they are Black members of the Batfam who operate mostly independently, 'separate' from a legacy as Signal/Batwing (though I will deconstruct this later), devoted to their family, have a strong sense of justice, and view crime-fighting as a business. But I believe at their cores they are fundamental opposites - and it's this hidden opposition that makes me think they wouldn't vibe with each other. I'm focusing on We Are Robin Duke and Batwing Luke, though I will also refer to Duke's Signal days + Luke in Detective Comics.

(This is going to be a long post because this is lowkey my Luke + Duke thesis 😭)

Introductions

Duke and Luke were both introduced in the New 52, actually in the same year (2013!). What's really cool about their intros is that you already see how different they are. We first meet Duke in Zero Year, where he's fishing in the subway and then attacked by a gang; we then get the famous scene of him solving crosswords by Bruce's unconscious body. When Bruce tells Duke and his family to leave, Duke refuses, telling him they can't leave Duke's grandma and that all it takes is one riddle to free the city from Riddler's influence.

By contrast, we first meet Luke in the spotlight as he's wrestling for MMA in Batwing #19. He's been wrestling to get Batman's attention, refusing all job offers from his dad to do so (and thus creating some juicy father-son tension). In Batwing #20, we see he has two degrees from MIT, lives in a fancy apartment, and is really tech-oriented; his cover story for Batwing is that he's travelling the world.

Already, there are a couple things that already firmly separate them:

Class: Duke is from the Narrows whereas Luke is rich

Connection to Batman: Duke stumbled across Batman and gained his attention quite organically, whereas Luke was actively begging for Batman to notice him

Agency: Duke's actions were motivated by the extreme circumstances of Zero Year and a desire to help rooted in his material environment, whereas Luke's is a more internal, abstract wish to help (pointing to their class differences again)

Gotham: Duke refuses to leave his city, whereas Luke immediately packs up and travels the world

Intelligence: Both of them are fiercely intelligent, but in different ways - Duke loves puzzles and riddles whereas Luke is more inclined towards engineering and technology

And these differences only grow as they get older!!

Maturity

Duke is 16 (in my head, canonically it's vague but he's between Damian and Tim so 14-17) and Luke is 23. This age gap is honestly not that big, but I think it would feel big to both of them. And what's worse is that Duke is quite mature, but Luke is said to be immature:

Batwing #23

I don't think Luke is actually immature, but it's a recurring theme that other characters perceive him as unwilling to grow up; and I genuinely do think Batwing, for him, is kind of an adventure at first. Now compare this to Duke, whose circumstances disallowed him being childish. He had to grow up because his parents weren't around anymore, and he became quite jaded as a result. Even after he's mellowed out in his Signal days, I still don't think he could tolerate working with someone who comes off as light-hearted as Luke does. Duke would be annoyed by how he perceives Luke doesn't take things seriously, and Luke in turn would be annoyed when Duke inevitably criticises him for it.

Arc

Following on from above, their arcs are actually in total opposite directions. We first meet Duke alone and disillusioned with everything, putting his whole being into finding his parents. Then, through We Are Robin and Robin War, he begins to understand what Robin means as a symbol and finds community, leading to his brighter personality in Signal comics. Luke, however, begins very light-hearted (as seen above), with a huge respect for Batman and the Bat symbol. Once his family starts being torn apart, though, he becomes increasingly aggressive, more isolated, and in a much darker place. Compare a narration box from the last issues of both:

Batwing #34 / We Are Robin #12

These encapsulate their journeys: Duke learns that he doesn't have to act alone, whereas Luke struggles with accepting all that has happened since he put on his suit. Being a vigilante improves Duke's life, whereas it essentially ruins Luke's. This is why I don't think that WFA ep made sense!!! They have nothing in common in terms of the vigilante experience, and I think they would frustrate each other because they have such different conceptions of what the vigilante life is!!!!!!!

Batman and Robin

Okay so I said that Luke + Duke aren't legacies; even though Batwing is one, Luke doesn't actually talk to David Zavimbe, and his Batwing is not spiritually connected to David's really. But Luke and Duke both do take inspiration from other Batfam members - Batman and Robin, respectively.

Batwing #25 / Batman (2011) #45

Luke is the rare Batfam member whose motivations don't spring from tragedy - he's inspired one night when Batman saves him and he jumps in to help. Luke's love for Batman is wrapped up in Bruce himself, as a person rather than a symbol; he genuinely thinks Batman is awesome and wants to help people under his name.

Duke is the exact opposite - Robin is not a person for him but a symbol, and a symbol that can be spread to many people. It's also intimately tied with Duke's relationship to Gotham, because Batman is "on the gargoyle" and Robin is "on the street". Importantly, Duke says to Darryl that "I know you work for him, but you're us". Working for a singular person is in opposition to this 'us' that Duke believes in.

Luke, though not exactly an employee, literally wanted to work for Batman, Inc. Batwing is in many ways a 'job', an alternative to the corporate life Lucius wanted for him. Duke would, I think, take huge problems with Luke's philosophy as a whole. Separated from Gotham, attached to Batman as a person rather than as a symbol, Duke just literally wouldn't understand where Luke is coming from. And Luke, too, doesn't seem to respect Robin as a mantle (this is after someone mistakes him for Batman in Batwing #34):

I think Luke views Robin as firmly a kids' role, a sidekick for Batman; that would annoy the STUFFING out of Duke. I actually could write a whole post in itself about this incident and Luke being mistaken for Batman but that's for another day. The point is they are attached to the Batman and Robin legacies which in themselves are already vastly different, but Duke is kind of anti-Batman and Luke is a little anti-Robin, so they would not mix.

Family

One thing they do have in common is a deep love for family. But even then, their familial relationships are extremely different: Duke has a wonderful relationship with his parents, bolstered by the fact he lost them for a while, whereas Luke has a contentious relationship with his. Duke in some ways idealises his mom and dad, while Luke is sharply aware of his parents' shortcomings.

Batwing #20

Now this wouldn't be an issue normally, but Duke canonically has, like, a problem with judging other people's families. It's a really consistent (and somewhat hilarious) trait of his:

We Are Robin #5 / We Are Robin #5 / Gotham Nights #8

The Dre comment ("you're a mob kid?") is particularly telling. Because Duke has such a good relationship with his parents, and because he's shaped so much by them, I think he sees children as reflections of their parents/families. It's hard for him to see someone completely divorced from their family - you even see this a bit in Batman & The Outsiders, where although Duke understood Cass' disagreements with Shiva, I don't think he really got the nuances of what that felt like for Cass.

Luke's relationship with his father is complex and contentious. They love each other, but Lucius' desires for Luke just don't match what Luke wants, and Luke can't tell him about Batwing either so it's a constant back-and-forth. This secrecy is another thing Duke wouldn't get - I've made posts before about Duke and honesty, and it's a huge value of his. It's significant that as soon as his mom is healed she finds out about Signal; dishonesty is not really a factor in Duke's life, whereas it is Luke's central conflict. Luke's entire thing with his dad and his alter ego is something Duke has never had to deal with, and I think Duke would just be like 'tell him?? and make up??' and Luke would sigh so loud and hard.

Personality and Authority

But all of that aside, I just think their personalities wouldn't mix! Duke is a jaded teenager whose overt honesty and resistance to authority often give off a bad first impression (see his first encounters with Black Lightning, We Are Robin, Damian, even the Bruce train scene...). People do warm up to Duke quick, and once you love him you adore him, but there's a hurdle to becoming close to him that you have to leap first.

Luke, on the other hand, is affable and immediately likable. He's popular in school (as Russell mentions in #25), has experienced college social life, and is open and friendly. I think in an initial meeting Luke would find Duke off-putting and rude, while Duke would find Luke shallow and annoying. Luke is an extremely confident person, as shown in both Batwing and Detective Comics (particularly the latter). I think Duke would take this confidence as him being stuck-up, especially because Luke is rich.

Their class differences also separate their reactions to authority. Luke doesn't take authority at face value - he disobeys Bruce basically as much as Duke does. However, given his upbringing he isn't that anti-authority. Compare Luke and Duke's attitudes to cops:

Batwing #25 / We Are Robin #2

The Luke narration box is after the cops shoot him and accidentally make him kill his best friend 😭😭😭 like if that had happened to Duke his inner voice would NOT say that. This is another example of how their different upbringings and personalities cause them to have DRASTICALLY different outlooks on things. Batwing also sides with Batwoman when she kills Clayface in Detective Comics, something I think Duke would not do (he would've sided with Cass) so their ideologies often put them on opposite sides.

FINALLY, and least importantly, Luke is not a reader. This is a recurring thing and it's so funny:

Batwing #21

That's Tam telling Luke to "read a book". I think this exact interaction would happen with Duke taking the place of Tam, where he'd just be super annoyed that Luke doesn't enjoy literature. Honestly I think Duke might remind Luke of Tam in a lot of ways, since Duke is Bruce's golden child just like Tam is Lucius'. And that would annoy Luke, like he can't escape annoying younger siblings even as Batwing?? Bruce liking Duke more than Luke, even when Duke doesn't even care for Bruce's approval, would send Luke's blood pressure through the ROOF.

Conclusion

Um anyway I'm so so sorry this was so long but that's why I think Luke and Duke wouldn't get along!! It's mostly that they have such different outlooks on literally everything and their personalities clash. Anyway, if anyone bothered to read til the end here's your reward!! A little edit of what SHOULD have happened in WFA ep 76:

[an-gothamite-aka-zannalial]

I fell in love with the idea that Damian was doing graffiti with his friends but none of his family members knew it was him, that was a really funny idea

Jason: I have to admit that my graffiti with Roy in Crime Alley wasn't bad

Damian: really. I thought you would be angry because, well, you were made half naked by that person

Jason: Actually I think it's kinda hot

Damian: *Immediately planning to make them kiss later

Steph: I quite like the graffiti that J.B made for me

Damian: I have to admit, Brown, you don't deserve anything that good

Steph: You're just jealous because you didn't get yours from him, maybe he doesn't like you, kid

Damian: I don't need something like that, it just insults my name

Steph: Well if one day he makes you and you smile you owe me 10 dollars

Damian: tt

Dick: That guy captured how hot I was really well

Dick: *starts talking about all the things that should be included

Damian: *Regret following his friend's idea

Cass: Love the graffiti

Damian: That's pretty good but still not enough for you Cain

Cass: still love it

Damian: *Regretting doesn't make it better

Cass: Are you sad, he might want to make you

Damian: I don't need that tt

Cass: I'll ask him

Damian: *Regret again because appeared in front of Cass

Tim: I'm glad someone wants to appreciate my existence since you tried to kill me

Damian: You shouldn't be happy Drake, just because one person makes you doesn't mean you're famous

Tim: look who jealous now, just because he don't get one

Damian: tt fuck you

Harper: that person make better graffiti in one night than Cullen in one week about me

Cullen: Don't pretend to forget that you also tried to make one but failed, sis. This means he is much more talented than you

Harper: Nuh uh

Cullen: Don't use what I teach against me, I dare you

Damian: *Just listen and watch this match

Duke: I guess I'll have to look this guy up and thank him, that graffiti is amazing

Damian: You don't need to do that Thomas, he made it mean he doesn't care if you thank him or not

Duke: I still want to do them, I think there are only a few that he hasn't made yet

Damian: yeah tt

Kate: I'm so hot on that graffiti, and so are you Luke

Luke: Yes, I need to admit it. But aren't there only three left?

Damian: I don't think so because that guy made some for the Rouge's to

Kate: Isn't it true I haven't seen him, I guess he'd make all Gotham freak then

Luke: probably

Selina: So O and I have already gotten one, doesn't that mean the only ones left are the two of you

Bruce: No. I got one too I checked, And it says fuck you

Selina: he doesn't like you then, that means now there's only one left that doesn't have one

Bruce: yeah

Damian: *Makes a super duper big about himself in the middle of the city

[garpen]

Batfam’s opinion on weed? Do they smoke?

Bruce= No. He doesn't mind other people smoking/eating edibles/etc. But it's not for him. He's too paranoid about /getting/ paranoid while high. Plus he doesn't want to get called in for an emergency or something and has to show up high. He did smoke a bit in his high school years though with Harvey.

Kate= Not until she was 30. She grew up with a strict father and joined the military at 17 and had a long career there and they did drug tests so she never could. She uses it medicinally to help with her anxiety/PTSD when she leaves the military. (She also goes to therapy, don't worry).

Luke= No. Was always too scared of what his father would think if he found out, and didn't want to disappoint him so he never touched it. Recreational smoking also wasn't legal in NJ until 2021 so he doubly wasn't gonna risk it.

Barbara= Smoked in highschool/early college mainly to help de-stress, but doesn't anymore as she's developed new ways to deal with her stress over the year. Very rarely (maybe once or twice a year) she'll have one of Jason's edibles.

Dick= Occasionally. Not until he was in his 20's and mainly to help with any pain he has. Every once in a while he will recreationally when he's with a group and they're doing a sesh.

Jason= Yes. He's invited to the monthly sesh with the rogues too. He prefers edibles though and likes putting them in the brownies he makes. He's the go to edible guy in the family/his friend group. His brownies are GREAT.

Cass = No. Never has and never will. Not for any particular reason, she just doesn't personally find the appeal (and there is nothing wrong with that).

Steph: Yes. Actually got caught smoking in the school's bathroom for the first time in 8th grade getting herself suspended for two weeks. Promised she'd never touch weed again, which was a lie. Heavily smoked in highschool, and slowed down after she turned 18. Smokes at least once a week. And LOVES Jason's brownies and will nab some whenever she gets the chance.

Tim: Yes. But he has to smoke with other people. For whatever reason if he smokes alone he gets super paranoid. He needs to be surrounded by people he trusts to comfortably smoke. Doesn't like getting high in front of his family (even if he knows they won't mind) so only does so with his friends.

Duke: Tried once with a friend when he was 16 but it was laced with something else and he had a BAD trip which completely turned him off from it. His family and friends have offered to get him weed and ensure themselves that it isn't laced with anything, but again his one experience has completely turned him off from it. Maybe when he's much older and removed from the experience he'll try again.

Damian: No. He's thirteen. When he's older though and his family/friends offer him, he still refuses. He thinks he's "above drugs" which makes the rest of the family roll their eyes at him. He sees that his father doesn't, so he refuses to as well. (In his last year of college Jon convinces him to smoke just this once, and he relents. He will never admit he enjoyed the experience)

[parker-artio]

The Batfamily in who I think is the most flexible to least flexible (w/ my reasons)

Richard (Dick) Grayson- I feel like this one just makes sense, no extra information needed. He’s the last Flying Grayson, he’s cannonly super fucking flexible, not much information needed.

Cassandra Cain- Once again feel like it’s a given. She’s a baller dancer, and she moves so agile on her feet it’s practically obvious she’s flexible and easy to move

Damian Wayne- Oddly enough I think this boy is like a wet noodle when he wants to be, he is flexible. But you’d never know unless you see his ass play limbo or some shit.

Timothy Drake- He gives flexible. He probably tried to practice Dick’s moves in his room alone when he was a kid and stalked Batman and Robin. He would definitely be more flexible than Damian if Damian didn’t have his young age. Tim could easily surpass Damian in terms of flexibility if he wanted, but he just chooses not to stretch everyday (bad idea)

Stephanie Brown- She’s like Tim- does NOT stretch enough. But she could rival Tim in terms of flexibility if she actually wanted to, she can probably do flips and splits better than Tim, but when it comes to back flexibility he’d win by a landslide

Duke Thomas- He’s got a bigger build, like a quarterback who’s only a freshman kind of build. He’s good at flips, dodging, and jumping, but I don’t think he does any kind of stretches that would improve his flexibility, just the kind of ones that would make sure it’s still working.

Jason Todd- Bro is built like a double fridge with a top AND bottom freezer. He’s massive. He’s got muscles that can rival his siblings HEADS. Hes tall, he’s beefy, and he’s a marksman. He’s flexible enough to do flips and cartwheels, but he cannot do anything that involves twisting his body up.

Bruce Wayne- He used to be just like Tim flexibility wise, but then he stated to adopt kids.

Barbara Gordon- This is in no way a jab at her, I fucking love her. Before the wheelchair she’d be placed between Damian and Tim. But now she’s got her shoulder and upper back- that’s it. Which is as flexible as she can get them, but it’s also half of her body. I love her so much though, she’s badass and without her everyone would crumble. So it doesn’t matter if she’s flexible or not.

Alfred Pennyworth- He’s old.

If we want to add Kate, i firmly believe she’d be placed Steph and Duke. She’s flexible, but also just enough to do all of the stuff she needs.

(I know there’s so many other members I could add but ppl only seem to care for these guys- but I might make a more thorough and longer one, with more family members, like Harper, Selina, Helena [depending on what universe], Claire, Luke, David, Cullen, ect.)

[olailamajnoon]

Stephanie, at breakfast: Tim you be Han, I'll be Leia, and Dick will be Luke. And we'll go on adventures together. And our Millennium Falcon will be the Batwing.

Tim: I guess Jason can be Chewbacca?

Stephanie: He shaves a little too much for that, but I guess he can be a hairless Chewbacca?

Dick: Wait. Han Solo pilots the Millennium Falcon. In what universe does Bruce allow Tim to fly the Batwing?

Stephanie: That's just the thing! BRUCE IS DARTH VADER. So we don't need his permission.

Tim: What about Cassandra?

Cassandra, from behind Tim: I have chosen to be C-3PO. Because I am pretty and polite. Also indestructible.

Dick: And Damian?

Stephanie: Yeah...uh...Damian...

Damian's voice, bellowing from outside: Drake you imbecile! What have you done with my video game console? Have you eaten it, like you ate my sandwich last time? Shall I have to force you to ingest a powerful chemical laxative that will result in you being attached to the toilet for a week?

Tim: Yeah...Damian is Palpatine.

Dick: Fair.

[aaa-totodile]

I originally did this back in July and didn’t post it but I saw a post of someone saying they have no idea what the appropriate ages for the bats would be so I present to you:

The Bat Age Breakdown (at least as much as I can gather from the thousands of timelines)

(if you don’t want to read my process, bottom has example ages)

So generally Bruce adopts Dick when he’s in his early twenties (I’m going to use 22) and when Dick is 8.

Jason is adopted at age 12 and when Dick is freshly an adult so I’m going 18, which means you’d need to add ten years to Bruce, making him 32.

I’m going to skip to Tim cause of how timeline works. Tim is definitely the most difficult so it’s mainly based on what I think makes sense. I’d say Tim was like 13/14 when Jason died, which would make Dick 21 and Bruce 35.

Cass is pretty easy cause her and Jason are very close in age (in most of our understanding cause her age is also kinda fucked) so she’d be 15 at this time. If you go with her being around Jason’s age, she’s younger cause he’s August and she’s January.

Steph I would say is about a year older than Tim. Tim definitely fucks with shit, because him and Steph dated but she’s now a college student and he’s still seventeen; so I’m just saying she’s older than Tim. So she’s like 13/14 at that point.

Jason’s been back for awhile when Damian comes around at around age 10, I’d say he’s like 20 so everyone else ages up accordingly. Bruce is 40, Dicks 26, Jason and Cass are 20, Steph’s 18, and Tim’s 17.

Duke comes in generally when Damian’s been with the bats for a while so I’d say Damian’s twelve when Duke gets taken in and Duke is 16ish. Once again everyone ages up accordingly and we end up with these ages:

Bruce - 42

Dick - 28

Jason - 22

Cass - 22

Steph - 20

Tim - 19

Duke - 16

Damian - 12

Not-main bats are harder so it’s just vibes:

Kate - 37-40 (younger than Bruce but not by too much)

Luke - 32-34

Babs - 28-31 (I like an older Barbara cause she was originally older, I also like her being close in age to Luke (I hc them as besties))

(This is just a base where everyone is in the family, they can be aged up and down as needed)

I’m not doing Alfred or Lucius, that hurts my head.