#and I mean. even if his steph was awful his cass is just. so good.

[teleportationmagic]

One of the grand tragedies of modern comics is that I doubt Ram V will ever get a Cass ongoing, despite being one of the best writer she's had in the last decade

[psychemochanight]

So... Dick can sing.

This is canon, he actually can sing and it's pretty good at it.

I like to think that he sings to the hostages when he rescues them, especially to the frightened children that he helps.

So... How his siblings found out? Not by hearing him humming, or by hearing him comfort a scared child, na-ah.

The siblings were in Dick's apartment, going through the things he had told them they could see if they wanted anything, since he was going to throw away some of the things he no longer needed.

In a box, Jason pulls out a CD, looking at the name written on it with a frown.

Jason: "Dick's performances"? What is this? School presentations?

Dick, not at all impressed by the taunt, looks up at the CD: Oh, I forgot that existed. Alfred recorded that. It's when he was singing on the radio.

Absolutely everyone falls silent.

Steph, who was invited to join them and now it's just stunned: You did what?

Dick: What? Singing on the radio?

Duke: Are you a singer?

Dick: No? I mean, only with sung commercials and some other music that people asked for. Nothing actually serious.

Tim, completely offended because I didn't know about this CD: Let's listen to it.

Dick, rolling eyes: It's awful.

It's not, not at all. Even Damian is impressed.

Cass asks him to sing after that, and Dick complies with his little sister's wishes.

[alilobsessive]

In ‘Dreaming of Teeth’, what would have happened if , due to being literally ignored and forgotten about, Y/n died.

Maybe due to some sort of illness that no one took seriously, believing Y/n was being overdramatic or just a child.

But like holy shit I think that’d be way worse for the Batfam, if Y/n died due to them brushing off a really serious illness.

Or maybe they don’t die, but are seriously ill and weak, having to be hospitalised most of the time, basically unable to move or do anything because their pain was ignored for so long.

Bro, okay I’ve actually been thinking about a similar thing for a bit. Not for Dreaming of Teeth but just in general. Let me tell you, they would feel awful. None of them hate Reader, they all love them in there own way, some more obvious than others. So for Dreaming of Teeth they would definitely take anything like that seriously. But because of how reader is and depending on we’re we are on the timeline, Reader might not even tell them. They would have no idea reader is even sick until it’s to late.

Some slight spoilers for what I have planned for there relationships with Reader, but not to much. For Jason it would be awful, imagine finally being able to reunite with your favorite sibling only to find out there dead. Imagine Bruce luring that Reader trusted them so little that they didn’t even bother to tell him there deathly sick because they were convinced he would never help. Dick trying to reminisce on the good times only to find out they never had any, how he ends up hallucinating Reader like how he did with Jason. Maybe there sweet and soft telling Dick it’s not his fault, comforting him, being what Reader was like in his head or maybe there more accurate. Taking a form similar to a malevolent spirit, feeding into his guilt and self hatred. Tim is confused on how he missed something so obvious in hindsight, falling deep into his work. Damien is devastated, him and reader have a very complex relationship, especially in Damien’s pov. But that doesn’t mean Damien doesn’t love reader and learning about there death would be heartbreaking. Especially that depending on when Reader dies Damien is extremely young. Duke would either be stuck as there grief counselor, or would be grieving with them depending on when they dies.

I admittedly haven’t really figured out Steph and Cass is relationship with Reader yet. But I do know they’d be upset.

[ultimate-marysue]

The Batfam and cooking

Alfred: we have so much canon info about this one. He takes pride in meeting the demands of his grandkids, but the kids sometimes just pretend to like it for his peace of mind.

Bruce: No. And I don't mean in the meme way. He's more than capable of sustaining himself and following instructions. He also chooses to subsist on those "nutritional milkshakes". Like to him is not a matter of learning how to cook, he's a chemist measuring his exact nutritional needs in a cup. It's disgusting and he shouldn't be allowed near the blender.

Barbara Gordon: not the best, not the worst. She has cooked, she will cook again. She's also not trying to make anything too fancy. She prefers take out mainly because she has (and will again in the future) burnt her food to a crisp because she got distracted with oracle stuff. A quick check while the potatoes are in the oven is a very dangerous thing.

Dick Grayson: he would love to be that guy that takes Instagramable pictures of his food. Sometimes he manages to do just that, but that's not sustainable for him. He has a few fancy recipes he likes to bring out to impress people or to feel like a responsible adult. Most of the time he's sauteing random vegetables with some rice and chicken and calling it a day. It's good, healthy and filling but is not much in the great scheme of things. I feel like he'd make really good salads too for some reason.

Cassandra Cain: she's not very good at being people. Cooking is part of that, a survival skill and not much more. She really appreciates nice food but doesn't see the point in learning herself when her time is better spent elsewhere. I can see her breaking into the other's houses to join them for dinner because she forgot to make her own.

Jason Todd: this man cooks. I don't care if the whole "Alfred's favorite" thing is a bit fanon, it's fun fanon. I think that since he is aware of how they lie to Alfred sometimes, he'd be an even better cook. He's the kind of guy to make any recipe work first try, even if he keeps workshopping it until it's perfect. He's also very neat and cleans after himself. Cooking helps him wind down after a hard night. If he messes up though he might cry.

Stephanie Brown: she took the whole "cooking is like science" and decided to be a mad scientist. Her cooking works for her because she has crazy tastes. Like she'd make a salami and Nutella sandwich and consider it her Magnum opus. She loves baking too just so she can fuck around and find out. Steph usually leaves the mess there until she needs the space to cook again. Not because she's dirty it's just that she gets so caught up in trying the final product she forgets about it. She stresses the fuck out of Jason.

Tim Drake: he's more of an utilitarian, closer to Cass. He learned a few simple recipes when he was a kid and that's all he needs. Through the years he's had to add a couple more to make it more balanced and fit his needs (first with the increase of physical activity and then the asplenia). He has a very healthy but very limited diet. He refuses to add anything else because there's no need. He already knows how to cook the things he needs and likes well, thank u very much.

Duke Thomas: this man can cook. It takes him a while to get into it, but he has great instinct for it. He's more of a "vibes only" kind of cook, which makes him an awful baker but Alfred has the sweets covered anyways. Part of his process includes picking the spices from the back of the rack that Alfred pretends don't exist. He's creative but not in as much of a messy way as Steph. And unlike her, he does have functioning taste buds so sometimes he ends up a victim of his own hubris. Most times it works out for him.

Damian Wayne Al Gul: he helps his siblings whenever he mooches food from them (because Alfred is the only one that tolerates idle hands in the kitchen). He loves Jason's cooking but he has more fun with Duke and Steph. They allow his input and suggestions which makes him feel like he's contributing. He prefers Duke though, because his success rate is higher.

[wondersinwaynemanor]

my hc for TikTok with the Wayne kids

it's Steph who starts learning a viral TikTok dance. she may not be as graceful as Cass or Duke, but she's a fast learner. besides, watching and admiring Cass plenty of times has helped her.

Duke hears Steph murmuring the dance steps when she goes to her lockers to change for night patrol. Steph decides that she's learning this with Duke when they lock eyes. Duke doesn't get to say no because he sees how enthusiastic Steph is and he's happy to learn it with her.

Cass comes home in a few days after a Birds of Prey mission. she sees Steph and Duke practicing in her dance studio at the Manor. she's heard of this song before. she startles both of them when she walks in on them. she gives a peace sign to the camera where it's recording on a chair that Steph has placed in front of them at a good distance. Steph doesn't have to think because obviously Cass will be part of the dance now. Cass studies the dance steps in less than an hour and she becomes the teacher for the two of them.

big brother Dick happens to just know everything. not really. but when it comes to his younger siblings, he wants to know. so when he hears his younger siblings sing this famous TikTok song during breakfast, he sings along. Steph decides Dick is going to be a part of it now. maybe with him in the video, it will get them to million views. but goodness me, someone as flexible as Dick Grayson, he gets a little awkward when he dances. it's his charm that assists him.

whatever. Jason isn't going to be part of this TikTok dance. please, don't disturb him when he just wants to read his precious novels. when he enters the library of the Manor and sees his siblings practicing the dance, he's horrified and cusses them out, "What the fuck???? This is a place for peace and dreams. Not for fucking modern, teenage, bull-" Dick shushes him. Steph says the library has the best lighting for the video, but Jason knows otherwise. this is their way to invite him. he flips them off and leaves with five books on his hand.

Tim doesn't really know how's he's got the time to do this. i mean he really tried to learn the steps, but his legs just happen to tangle themselves and he constantly lands on the floor. thankfully, being CEO of WE and being Red Robin didn't require him to be a dancer. he's happy to be behind the lenses of the camera, capturing sibling moments to frame and hang on the walls of the Manor.

well, Damian's older siblings are really, really just proud of him. he's not the best dancer, that's all Cass and then Duke. but he must admit it that he's not bad or awful. and of course, he's not into TikTok (that's for juveniles, he says). even though he has this scowl on his face when he dances because all he hears is cutecutecute. he's just participating because Richard told him, "I'll help you convince B in getting you another pet dragon."

the video gets millions of views, as expected with the Wayne kids. Jason even made it to the video, but all he did was advertise the book he was reading after his siblings danced. (little did they know, Jason was learning the steps in his safehouse)).

[televisionlassie]

The reason I find Jason to be boring is because people are so scared to hold him accountable. You can’t claim to like anti-hero’s or claim that Jason is an anti-hero if you’re going to excuse everything that makes him an ANTI-hero.

There is no doubt in my mind that I would like him a whole lot more if people accepted him as a character that does bad things. I understand he has trauma and his own reasons but trauma is only an explanation, not an excuse. While I like consuming content of the batfamily being a family, when it’s not based in pretty much an entirely different universe it doesn’t make any sense.

Pretty much all of the batfamily (except Bruce because he’s can actually be pretty awful to Jason) has reasons to hate or be mad at Jason.

Jason went out in a Nightwing outfit and killed people to try and ruin Dick’s image, and all the shit he’s done to Dicks other siblings. You really think Dick would just be cool with the fact that Jason beat one of his little brothers and shot another one?

Cass has a moral code probably stricter than Batman, she would HATE Jason for killing. And again same thing with the siblings.

Tim I just don’t understand why he would ever forgive Jason. Jason beat the absolute shit out of him, plus you gotta admit that guy is too much of a cocky bitch to ever just forgive and forget

Unfortunately I can’t say much about Steph as I can’t think of a single time where they actually interacted in canon. But I don’t think she would be too fond of the guy who beat up her best friend and shot Damian.

Duke I think has had one personal interaction with Jason and while it wasn’t too friendly I don’t think he would hold that big of a grudge.

Damian I think would be more understanding but it’s hard to forget how he was shot by Jason and had to have his SPINE replaced because of Jason.

I’m not trying to hate on Jason, he honestly makes me sad because he is filled with wasted potential. It’s not even that they never make him do bad things, it’s that there’s never any lasting consequences.

Many times when I see people who hate on Jason they bring in the death penalty argument, which as much as I hate and believe is stupid, still has some tiny bit of validity. The reason it sucks is because the world of DC comics is not even remotely similar to our real life. Criminals in real life don’t have plant powers or convoluted plans to distribute their weird ass poisonous gas. If they did, they wouldn’t even spend a night in jail because they would be shot on the spot. If Jason did just kill these types of criminals, then he would not be considered an anti-hero, just a hero. But that’s the thing, Jason doesn’t just kill the Joker, or the Riddler or any of the Rogues, he kills the type of criminals we would see in our real lives. THAT is where the validity lies in that argument, it’s not just that Jason is killing supervillains but that he is killing the type of people that we are fighting against the death penalty for. Obviously this argument means nothing to you if you are pro-death penalty but I just wanted to explain.

Jason would be so interesting if he was treated like the character he is supposed to be. A young traumatized person who does bad things for the right reasons but still has to face the consequences.

And if people really want to give him a character arc where he eventually stops killing, it shouldn’t just be he gets tried of killing or tired of arguing with Bruce, but that he sees how his way of crime-fighting can do more harm than good.

It’s just so frustrating to see how people just act accept anti-heros for what they are. It like people are so scared of making or admitting a character to be immoral, that they just erase the consequences of their bad actions to make it excusable.

Anyways, thank you for coming to my rant, Jason Todd fans this wasn’t me hating on your babygirl, I’m trying to help you.

[mamawasatesttube]

Cass cain and kon for hcs (separately or together go wild)

Headcanon A:  realistic

they are both nonbinary. cass grew up without language to even begin to describe gender - what the hell is a "boy" or a "girl"? she uses she/her because it's what she's used to, but if everyone had used he/him for her at first, she'd have been fine with that too. it's all just words and none of it makes sense to her. she is just... herself. none of the words and little boxes they delineate make sense to her. it's lonely and frustrating. kon meanwhile is so, so conscious of how he's perceived and what little boxes he's supposed to fit within. he represses any feelings that are out of line with those boxes, but he gets really in his head about it sometimes. which is also lonely, and frustrating.

they both kind of end up exploring that together. it's a slow process, but kon is very easy for cass to open up to, because he always waits so patiently and is happy to fill silences for her. (he makes her laugh. he's one of the first people she ever knew who just wanted to make her laugh.) and he doesn't mind if it takes her a while to figure out the right words to describe things. in turn, she's good at reading him and hearing all the words he doesn't say. they stargaze together a lot.

Headcanon B: while it may not be realistic it is hilarious

they're both affection-starved and they both understand each other on a really profound level, which means they're both aware the other is affection-starved. what this means: they're completely platonic friends who cuddle and occasionally kiss. what this means: there's a whole romcom plot in which tim and steph witness cass smacking kon's ass and going "thanks babygirl <3" when he gives her a slice of fresh pie a la mode, and (not unreasonably) think hey what the fuck. when did they become a thing??? shenanigans ensue.

Headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends

finding out she lost brenda and all her friends in bludhaven was already hard enough. when tim (in tears) told her that they'd also lost kon, barely any time at all later, she shut down and was entirely nonverbal for three full days. how many loved ones is she supposed to outlive? how many? and why must they die when she lives? she's already taken a life - surely if anyone deserves to die, it's her. not him. he was made to be a weapon just like her, but he rose above it. she didn't, not until she'd already done the unforgivable. why did he have to die? why does she have to live? why? why?

Headcanon D: unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own.

throws evil cass mind control arc out the fucking window. bye get out of here. honestly i haven't worked out Exactly how i want to fix that whole era (bc like, it gave her the impetus to leave batgirl to steph, so SOMETHING still has to happen), but i think she should have been on the cruise with dick and tim and bruce... haha wait unless she didn't want to go on a cruise bc it reminded her of how she and kon met and that grief was still too close... and then some shit happened to her when they werent there and she was alone bc she didnt wanna go... hmmm... this could be something!!

[cluescorner]

Randomized Robins, names and character work

I figured out what I want everybody's superhero name to be and wrote out their explanations for why they chose their names to try to figure out how I want to write them going forward.

Steph (Spoiler, then Clue): I named myself Spoiler because I was going out to Spoil all my dad’s plans! And now I’ve named myself Clue, because after my father’s death I want the chance to turn his name into something good. Plus I’ve changed my goals for why I’m doing this whole vigilante thing. Instead of being someone who ‘spoils’ the plans of villains, I want to help people and show them the true way the world can be. It’s not enough to just stop the bad guys anymore, I want to protect people who can’t protect themselves or just need a push in the right direction.

Tim (Spoiler, then Paradox): After I was brought back, everything about me felt wrong. I was Tim, yet I had another ‘self’ crudely shoved in me…literally. I was supposed to be dead, yet I was alive. I was supposed to be a ‘good guy’, yet all I could feel was an onslaught of awful emotions (not to mention that I broke Bruce’s rule, I’m a murderer now). I was supposed to be Jack’s kid, yet whenever I pictured ‘dad’ two people who weren’t him came to mind. I was Bruce’s son and Steph’s boyfriend and Cass’s friend, yet they left me with him for so long…and I suppose I betrayed them back. I had friends who could literally hear my goddamn heartbeat and protect me from bullets and race to me from across the world, yet when I screamed until my voice was raw begging for them to help or free me from that hell or to kill me and get it over with they never showed up. *Sigh* So yeah, I was basically a walking contradiction. But Pierrot and I needed to agree. And he thought ‘contra’ was both too basic and that nobody would get it. So we compromised and now we’re Paradox. 

Pierrot (He’s just Pierrot): Ok, so I got to name MYSELF! Which is AWESOME but also a lot of pressure. I mean, I started existing 2 weeks ago and now Ra’s was asking me for a name?! Like, I just spawned, can I have a bit longer before I have to make a lifelong commitment? But he was an efficient man and wanted to initiate Tim and I into the League and he couldn’t do that if I didn’t have a name. I had 3 hours. So, I went to Talia. She had just had a kid and she named him, maybe she could name me! She wouldn’t do that, but she did give me a baby book. It was useless and I hated all of those names. I was down to the last hour when Tim suggested that I just take his middle name, which is JACKSON! And I thought, “Like I’m gonna name myself after his dad!” But then it got me thinking…what if I name myself after my dad?! The Joker TECHNICALLY wasn’t my dad, but he did make the chip and the chip made me! So I had it! I would name myself ‘Jack’ and trick Tim into thinking I did it based on his advice! The perfect plan. 

….Then once we left the league I decided that I hate my dad and also his name. So I changed my name to Pierrot. It fits into my whole ‘tragic clown’ bit and I like how it has the name first letter and amount of syllables that our ‘vigilante’ name has. Plus it makes me sound sophisticated!

…….Ok fine I also like Hatsune Miku and she had a song about a puppet clown named Pierrot and I went ‘hey I like this song! yoink’. Plus there’s also another Vocaloid song about a kid named Pierrot who kills people at the behest of their parental figure and like…hello?? That’s literally our whole thing. I thought that it would be a fun if I could use that as a reason to code Vocaloid sound-banks into the mask so I could sound like Miku whenever I felt like it. Tim is still vetoing that idea. But I think the idea of getting chased by Batsy and singing ’The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku’ while he overanalyzes the lyrics of what we’re singing and guilts himself even more would be SUPER FUNNY. It’d probably mess him up for WEEKS! I mean, we have the voice modulator and it can speed our voice up, why not use it for something besides sending coded messages to Bart! 

Dick (Spoiler, then Twist): I really don’t think that Bruce wanted any more kids. It’d been a few years since Tim died and everybody could tell that Bruce Wayne was a mess afterwards. The only times he really went out were for official appearances and to go places with Cass. He hadn’t made any new friends or even kept up with his old ones, everybody thought that any chance he had at moving on was caput. So when he adopted me after my parents died, I think even he was surprised. And I just kept surprising people, first by finding out about Batman and then by becoming Spoiler and then by being really good at it! So I guess my name kinda reflects that. It’s a way to remember my parents too. Some of my best memories of them were of us flying in the sky and having fun, twisting up and around in the air. 

Damian (Spoiler, then Hoax): When I first arrived, everybody figured that I was some ploy my grandfather had dragged my mother into. In reality she was trying to get me away from the mess that was the league, but they were all paranoid enough to run plenty of tests. To the surprise of everyone except me, and Paradox perhaps, I was as real as they come. But this did not mean they trusted me. In their defense, I probably would not have trusted me either. Mother had hidden a lot from Father, for good reasons but these were still betrayals, and everybody was already on edge after Timothy’s return. The mantle of Spoiler was withheld from me until I stole the costume and went out on my own. But everybody could tell I wasn’t quite like the other Spoilers, I was too good for a kid just starting out and far more brutal than any Spoiler ought to be. Thus, I was dubbed the ‘fake Spoiler’ until Father finally let me join him officially. My name spawned from these memories and the emotions that came along with them. And after Dr. Thompkins helped me with my ‘death’, it only became more relevant.  

Jason (He’s Spoiler! So what does the name Spoiler mean to him?): Steph picked a really funny name in retrospect. I mean, the phrase ‘No Spoilers’ took on a whole new meaning in Crime Alley after she started showing up! I’d be asking people not to tell me the endings of books and they’d think I was doing some funny business that I didn’t want the capes showing up to. We got more used to Spoiler over time and most of us kids actually started liking her. It was probably because she seemed…like us. She was a normal person, not some looming rich jerk like Batman. She could relate to us when we talked about our parents and gave us advice that came from experience, not a guy repeating the same canned advice we could find on the internet. Our feelings about the Spoilers changed depending on who had the mantle, but we always trusted Spoiler to help us out without also ruining our lives. They were kids and they understood us. So…I guess to me Spoiler is someone who understands people when Batman can’t. They’re a symbol that we can all make a difference in somebody’s life, we don’t have to be some meta-human or really rich to do what we can to help each other. …I really hope that I can live up to that.

[opticblasting]

as someone who clearly enjoys batman, who do you consider to be a part of the batfam? and what are your opinions on fanon batfam? anything specific in fanon that you just absolutely hate?

if by who do you consider you mean in my idealised world: bruce, alfred, dick, babs (as oracle), tim, damian, steph, cass, duke, luke, kate.

i think fanon batfam just sucks because they take these characters who are really interesting canonically and just reduce them to a few traits and exaggerate them greatly. it takes away from a lot of what makes the batfam inherently interesting. they’re not meant to be a well-oiled machine the way the flashfam or superfam are, they’re meant to be fucked up and have grievances with one another in some regard (that they can grow from obviously but you know what i mean).

like, i think dick (and cass) should always be in odds with jason. dick and jason both have problems with bruce and respect him in their own ways but where dick lives up to the ‘batman code’, jason shouldn’t, because the code failed him. the code wouldn’t allow him to gain catharsis in any way for what was done to him; and he’s a fundamentally better character when he’s away from most of them and does things with his own methods.

also a big hater of how fanon batfam looks at duke. that’s a kid with his own family (who’s cured of the joker toxin now)! why should he be adopted by bruce wayne? not only does it take away from what makes his character interesting, but it also leans into a problem the batfam already has - where a white father is somehow better than the character’s other bipoc parent (or in this case, parents).

also generally i think the batfam shouldn’t be around each other together as often - especially in the comics as of recent. these are all characters with very similar skillsets, and it leads to uninteresting story and team-ups, because they’re all providing the same utility. (it’s also why gotham knights’ as a video game doesn’t work at its core but i digress.) it’s also generally more interesting if they’re all spread across, meeting up every once in a while, but in the meantime they’re all across trying to save the world with the lessons they’ve learnt.

i also don’t like how fanon (and current comics!) handles steph and cass. these are two characters who are interesting individually too, but this obsession with having them be two halves of a whole who can’t exist without each other is extremely irritating.

the fanon i do like is talia being a good parent to damian. there are parts of morrison’s batman i enjoy (final crisis/batman and time/batman and robin/return of bruce wayne) but the way they fucked over talia is genuinely so awful that it paints a poor light on the rest of the run. but also i think there’s an interesting story to be told where talia raises damian as a good parent but still keeps him from bruce because ultimately even though he’s a good man, like her own father she feels like he’s too dedicated to the mission to ever truly settle down - which lines up with my idea of bruce anyway (that scott snyder’s batman also really expresses), the idea that he can’t have the perfect life in a nuclear family or whatever, it’s either that or the mission, and he’d choose the mission every time with the family he’s already made.

i do enjoy the cutesy fanon stuff every once a while even i’ll admit that, it’s just an issue when people don’t even interact with any of the canon and pretend like the characters are like this, or even somehow ‘better’, when most - if not all - of them aren’t. it’s why WFA didn’t work for me, i’ll read an issue here and there, but i can’t read it weekly. it’s too much.

[msfcatlover]

Upon further introspection, in the TMA version of my Reverse!Robins AU, not a whole heck of a lot changes.

—Damian is still a Corruption avatar, but stepping into the Nightwing role means he has so many connections & relationships across the community, all of which he would be so very diligent about managing (since he knows toxic love is in his nature, the part where his patron reaches out to push,) that he might actually be in danger of losing that connection and going back to just being human. A state that Damian would probably have extremely mixed feelings on, what with his pride in his monster-side & love for his swarm. They’re a lot fewer in number now…. (He also probably is not nearly so awful towards Tim for taking up Steph’s mantle, since even if Damian himself slipped up in his self control, everyone close to him has been briefed on the situation and told to monitor him for any slip-ups. You don’t take a recovering alcoholic to a bar, and you don’t give a Corruption avatar the chance to be a bully.)

—Cass’s Stranger nature is inherent long before she comes to Gotham, so that’s not going anywhere.

—Tim was always going to be of the Eye, making him Oracle just doubles down on that.

—Steph started down the path of the Hunt, but I don’t think she ever fully Became a Hunter. Damian took her under his wing too quickly, and if everyone’s an avatar then everyone would know how to look out for the signs. In another parallel to Jason (TMA!Jason, in this case), they probably worked really hard to protect her humanity, and will always wonder if doing so got her killed. In any case, it’s when Steph finds out… everything (Tim took Shadow before even a full year had passed, there’s a new child running around in her death shroud because Tim nearly also died, the Bats are so supportive & warm towards her replacements in ways Steph thought was impossible but apparently that was just the way the behaved towards Steph, but they haven’t changed their methods, Gotham’s as much of a shithole as it ever was, and Roman fucking Sionis is still fucking hurting people, because apparently Steph’s death meant nothing, and she shoulda killed that bastard when she had the chance—) Well. It’s not a door in the back of her mind. It’s not a passion she needs to chase or a sacrifice she needs to make. But the anger that she’s always had, the overwhelming, boiling rage that she has choked down & turned her back on, never going all the way, never crossing that line, because they were so worried about all the damage she could do—in a moment of biblically awful clarity, Steph feels like she’s not boxing or bottling everything up. In her mind, it feels like she’s standing on the edge of a cliff, and the anger she feels, the anger she’s worked so hard to turn away from, is just the updraft from a wild maelstrom far below. It’s one of those times when an avatar has a clear choice: humanity or power. It’s a truer choice than most, no eternal buzzing eating at her mind, no cult huddled around her who might hurt her if she says no. And Steph knows what she ought to do, what everyone would want her to do— But she’s just found out her precious humanity meant more than Steph herself ever did. So, you know. Fuck ‘em. In her mind, Steph takes a single step back and plunges over the edge.

—Jason… Jason might stay human in this. If we stuck with my original Reverse!Robins “Red Robin” plot, I’d say he was in serious danger of the Lonely or the Hunt getting their claws into him, but there is a key difference: my Reverse Robins!Talia is outright villainous, while my TMA!Talia is very much Good Mom Talia. And Good Mom Talia would be doing her best to support & protect Jason, so…

—Duke… honestly, I’m torn. I’m so torn. My gut is telling me Web, which would accentuate the public role I’ve given him, as well as his role as the eldest child who looks out for his younger siblings & pulls the family together as a result. It would also give Duke another layer of that thing we see again & again with Dick & Bruce: when Bruce looked at the child in front of him, saw himself looking back, and decided he couldn’t not do everything he could to help. And Duke is canonically a good leader, good with anyone willing to listen to him really, and while his “fine, I’ll do it myself” attitude is more indicative of his selflessness than anything else, jumping to volunteer even when people don’t want you to can be read as a way to control the situation… I just don’t know if all that is enough to justify Web!Duke. (I still don’t know Duke that well, so it’s hard to pin down.)

—Dick starts down the path of the Hunt, but with Cass as his Batman, I don’t think he chases that to its conclusion. I think he embraces his own Otherness, loves himself unequivocally in all his Strangeness, and follows in his mentor’s footsteps.

*mushes two of my favorite AUs together*

Red Hood!Steph would still be a Desolation avatar—there’s too much anger, too much destruction, too much hate & desire for the complete annihilation of the targets of that hate to be anything else—but she’s different.

RH!Jason is an earthquake.

RH!Steph would be a lightning storm. The crackle of electricity, the taste of ozone, the light of something utterly uncontrollable in her eyes. The billowing, bulging thunder cloud sweeping across the sky to blot out the sun. Wind enough to rip up trees, rain so heavy you can’t see, but lightning, lightning every few seconds, like all the electricity in the world has been stolen underneath her skin. A fire-starter (like Jason) but the blaze itself is not what you have to Fear, the blaze is merely a side effect of something much more powerful sweeping through. Her victims are not shattered bones & splattered brains, they’re bleeding ears & the reek of cooking meat.

Jason borders the Buried far closer than he’d like.

Steph would dance on the border of the Vast like a small child dances in the rain: with wild abandon & near-feral glee.

[thattimdrakeguy]

What I Mean By "I Hate This Character." or "I Think x Is A Terrible Character."

Also, so no one misunderstands me saying "I think Damian is a terrible character", I think every Bat-Family character is a terrible character at the moment.

I think they're all simply awful currently. That's why when I was more active I was a 90s Tim Drake & related characters blog. Not that it was perfect back then. Dixon had a lot of bad writing habits, and he definitely dominated the 90s Bat-Family (he's also an awful person I hear), but characterization had a lot more consistency that was enough for me to quite enjoy it.

Nowadays Batman is...to be honest I don't know what.

Tim is a bland character, most writers just project on. Which he was meant to be relatable, but he still had a specified personality that really worked. Tim wasn't a self-insert (People misunderstand what that means), just written to be extremely relatable to a lot of children. You used to be able to define him in a mostly consistent way. (Didn't stop Dixon from using his comics to impart some ol' projection sometimes. But it didn't always infect the entire character.)

Dick is a sitcom character who acts as everyone's fictional boyfriend nowadays.

Jason I've lost track of, but last time I saw him, he was treated like a silly anti-hero who's had their entire backstory retconned. And they felt very neutered. (Jason's a lot like my opinion on Damian. One good story, and a bunch of inconsistent character breaking shit since.)

Damian really depends on the writer so I couldn't tell you. I remember he was infantilized a lot, and now he's...I can't even tell really. Williamson treats his character extremely strangely. He gets some things right, it isn't as bad as it used to be, but he also clearly doesn't understand the character in a lot of other ways.

Batgirls I can combine into one thing, which is depressing, they're all just...quirky girls. Barbara just less so. (Their Batgirls series was cancelled last I saw and I haven't seen anything since.) Steph gets this the worst. She is unrecognizable. I guess with Cass they think as long as she doesn't talk a lot it's fine--She was quirky in her own way, but...not the way they write her now.

To me they're all horrible. Inconsistent, bland stories if not outright terrible, don't recognize them anymore.

But it's also been like this for well over a decade, like 15 years now maybe. For Tim even longer since Didio wanted DC Comics to be super dark, and besides one writer, he was totally different to me. Can hardly consider it the same character besides some minor things--also depending on the writer.

All these characters had their time as great characters. Bruce, Dick, and Tim especially (I don't know as much about Barbara, and know they de-aged her to date Dick, which is weird. But I think she was all right beside that? I'm not gonna claim to know a lot about her). Nice periods of consistency and good stories. Iconic stuff.

So when I say "I think they're a terrible character", it typically means "As they are now".

I am not a DC Comics fan. As i hate what they currently put out.

What made me start a blog was my love for DC Comics that mostly came out YEARS before I was born. It's odd, I realize that, it's just how it is for me.

[robbed-ghost]

DC thoughts cause I have them

- Bruce canonically cannot cook to save his life, but he’d likely adapt and learn to make snacks for dummies (honey on crackers, apple slices, cereal, etc) and those become a lot of the batboys’ comfort foods

- Billy Batson always has his powers but when he’s in his real form/child body it’s proportionate to his size. So he has incredible endurance, strength, speed, and wisdom (and kind of always smells like rain/ozone) but only in relation to a 5th grader.

- Wisdom of Solomon does NOT mean common sense or intelligence. It means Shazam is perceptive and has good judgement based on knowledge he already has. Whether or not that wisdom is based on how wise king Solomon of antiquity was is unknown.

- Jason actually stole the wheels off the batmobile because he made a bet with Catwoman while he was homeless for $50, who 100% thought he was bluffing. She still has three of the wheels under her bed

- Poison Ivy has acne during spring—it’s her version of seasonal allergies

- When Damian was a kid he demanded servants to eat his food with him. His mother and grandfather took this as him being a natural born monarch being perceptive enough to know about poisons, but really he just didn’t want the servants to feel left out and didn’t want to eat alone.

- At least one member of the justice league is colorblind; that many aliens doesn’t make for a consistent amount of cones (the color perception in the eye, humans have 3) and the watchtower ALWAYS has to accommodate for this in some way. Like hell they’d ever leave someone without their proper accommodations for what could be considered a disability.

- Hawkgirl is incredibly farsighted and her mask/helmet doubles as reading glasses

- When Diana went to a salon for the first time. Oh boy. She didn’t leave that massage table for 3 days.

- Everyone can always tell when Clark just got off a call or back from a visit with his parents because his accent comes back. He can never hear it himself and its driven him crazy trying to get rid of it.

- After an incident involving time travel and meeting another version of Bruce—a very old version—learning the fact that Bruce has a risk of heart problems makes his kids ease up on the pranks and death defying feats. At least while in front of him. He doesn’t though.

- Dick and Wally have a secret code that they made based on Rock Paper Scissors. It looks exactly like Rock Paper Scissors except they move a finger or change angles to indicate what they’re talking about and it took Wally 6 months to get correct

- Every year for the Flash Day in Central City the Rogues decorate things with antlers and red noses without fail. Every year on Flash Day Wallace Rudolph West considers the ramifications of changing his middle name.

- Black Canary always has access to tea somewhere in the room. Any room. One time she pulled tea bags out of one of Batman’s pockets and he was stoically bewildered as she calmly made earl grey during an interrogation

- The amount of times Constantine has had to be escorted from the premises of a case is absurd

- Tim’s footsteps constantly fluctuate between being super loud and extremely quiet. Since he was at home alone so much he was used to being able to be loud, but quickly learned to be quiet after he realized he could be heard while following Batman and Robin, and got even better at it when he became a superhero. Whenever he gets loud, he knows it’s time to take a nap.

- Steph is terrible at chess but the best scrabble player you’ve ever seen. Cass is always in awe, because she’s the exact opposite.

- Barbara can still do a backflip paralyzed from the waist down. Her arms are enormous and she always finds a way.

- Duke HATES the Night Shift, his powers are annoying and near inert when literally everything is bathed in darkness. (He also sleeps with the hallway lights turned on so he can see footsteps under the door before they’re there. All the bats do.)

- Since he was born in the phantom zone, Chris Kent has a lot of problems that taught Clark about being a good father. He and Bruce don’t have many serious disagreements after Chris. He understands now.

- Every single lantern goes absolutely apeshit over Lego bricks, they can’t get enough of it. One time the league went on a mission that involved the lantern corps and there was a giant battle of Lego builds in willpower green that they had to break up.

- Lois Lane is face blind. She does not let this stop her. Clark took an entire class on body language just to try and keep his privacy under wraps because she can read people like a book. Why else do you think she’s such an amazing investigative reporter and can’t spot Superman’s big lovable face a cubicle away?

- (More)

[thisiswhereikeepdcthings]

Criminals react to Batkids

Dick:

Loyal Henchman: Oh no, not this guy.

New Guy: What? Why? It’s not like it’s the Bat.

Loyal Henchman: Yes but the PUNS.

New Guy:

Loyal Henchman: Honestly I think I’d rather go to Blackgate again.

New Guy:

Nightwing: Okay, first of all? Rude.

New Guy:

New Guy:

New Guy: what the hell

*a few minutes/eternity of puns later*

New Guy: Okay yeah I get it now.

Nightwing: *slapping the handcuffs on* See? Puns ARE effective combat measures. Batman never believes me.

Jason:

Red Hood: What the hell, man?

Thug: Sorry, boss.

Red Hood: Not your boss, Jeff.

Thug named Jeff: You say that now, but Dan’s working on a PowerPoint that I think you’ll find very interesting…

Red Hood:

Thug named Jeff:

Red Hood: Just put the nice lady’s purse back.

Thug named Jeff: Right, sorry, boss.

Red Hood: Not your… oh, forget it.

Red Hood: [grumbling] …KNOW I……better than……freaking PowerPoints……nerd bird……corrupting respectable minions…

Thug named Jeff: So this means you’re coming to pizza night, right?

Cass:

Black Bat: *stares*

Criminal: ohmygoshimgoingtodie

Black Bat:

Criminal: *sweating*

Black Bat:

Criminal: *on the verge of a nervous breakdown*

Black Bat: Leave.

Criminal: Yes sir, Miss Batman, ma’am.

Steph:

D-list Villain: [horrified gasp] YOU!

Spoiler: Aw, you remember me.

D-lister: DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TAKES TO GET GLITTER OUT OF THIS OUTFIT???

Spoiler: You call THAT an outfit? Please.

D-lister: Hey, now just you wait one second. This is a…

Spoiler: *knocks out distracted villain wannabe*

Tim:

Very Evil Minion: I’ll just be on my way then. Have a nice night, Mr. Red Robin, sir.

Red Robin: what

VEM: Oh, we’re not allowed to fight you anymore. Boss’s orders.

Red Robin: Huh. Tell Luthor I said hi, and hey, if you ever want to make a career change, you know, to something legal, you can always try Wayne Enterprises. They have a good ex-criminal work rehab program.

VEM: I think this is why we’re not allowed to fight you anymore…

Damian:

Robin: *unsheathes weapon*

Criminal No. 1: oh hell no

Criminal No. 2: Just once can’t we get a non-feral bat?

Criminal No. 1: ‘Come out East,’ they said.

Criminal No. 2: Did it have to be freakin swords?

Criminal No. 1: ‘Plenty of opportunities,’ they said.

Criminal No. 2: I’m going to get rabies or tetanus or something.

Criminal No. 1: Well SCREW THIS. I’m going back to the guy with arrows.

Criminal No. 2: Where do they even FIND these kids?

Duke:

Signal: ‘Sup.

Bank Robbers:

Bank Robbers:

Bank Robbers:

Bank Robber No. 4: I thought you were all vampires.

Bank Robber No. 2: Yeah, it’s like two in the afternoon. How’d you even get here?

Signal: That’s kind of my thing.

Bank Robber No. 5: I hate this place.

[alto-tenure]

Detective Comics is one really long-standing run, a lot of it focusing on various characters and sometimes entwining with the Batman run at the time. And not all of it is Batman all the time, either. So I wouldn't suggest starting all the way back at the beginning. There are some completion reading lists out there, but I'm suggesting some shorter runs here to get you started, because not everyone is down to read 50+ issues. I also tried to stay away from events! You may brush into them during your reads, if you go for further reading. I tried to keep this list to "fairly short canvas".

General Batfam:

Gotham Knights (2000), especially the first 11 issues

This run is more dedicated to the Gotham ensemble. These issues I've spotlighted are the Transference arc, which take their turn spotlighting various members, which means that you can get a little of everyone. A special shoutout to issue 2 for Cass <3 There's also specific issues dedicated to Babs, Robin (concept), and Alfred/Leslie Thompkins in this arc.

Tim:

Tim had three Robin minis published before his longer run launched in 1993. The third one (Cry of the Huntress) I definitely recommend. I haven't read the others.

Babs:

Batgirl: Year One

Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey

Batgirl: Year One is the best Babs!Batgirl comic, in no small part because it's one of the more meaningful stories told as being set before her paralysis. Babs as Oracle leads the Birds of Prey pre-N52 runs, but they tested the team a couple times before launching the run, and the issue here is one of those tests.

Steph:

Huntress/Spoiler: Blunt Trauma

Detective Comics (1937) #647-649

...sigh. Batgirl (2009)

The first one is not great Helena Bertinelli/Huntress characterization, but it's alright Steph characterization, for her time as Spoiler.

The second is Steph's introductory arc as Spoiler, which is never a bad place to start when reading a character.

...I have several caveats recommending Batgirl (2009). I don't think it's a great place to start reading Steph -- and heck, I don't like it that much as a comic (I think it's just kinda mid, mostly). But Batgirl (2009)'s Steph characterization is the Steph that many writers have drawn on in future comics. Reading Steph is hard because of her status as a supporting cast member to Tim; she's mostly in and out of Robin (1993) and is also occasionally in Batman/Tec/Cass's Batgirl eventually.

Cass:

Spirit World (2023)

This is the most modern comic on this list, but this mini has really great Cass writing, despite not being dedicated to her. Reading her solo is a fairly lengthy commitment, but if you're willing to go through the 74 issues, then it's definitely a good investment. I for one read it over a weekend, at the sacrifice of many of the other things I should have been doing instead. (It isn't as lengthy as 74 issues of standard comics, and is much less wordy than average, but 74 issues is still a lot.)

Duke:

We Are Robin

All-Star Batman

Batman and the Signal

Batman and the Outsiders (2019)

We Are Robin is firmly New 52, so its characterization of some characters may not correspond with other comics on the list. All-Star Batman is NOT the same as All-Star Batman and Robin. I promise it's actually good lmao

Batman and the Signal is only three issues, so it's pretty short.

This Outsiders run also features Cass, but it's only kind of okay Cass. Not great, but not egregiously awful either. It's a fun read, though.

Alfred does not very often get comics dedicated to him, but he pops up everywhere even when you aren't looking for him.

I've just realized that only batfam members that I have a good characterization of are Dick, then Damian and Jason, then Bruce and Alfred, then Tim and Babs, then Steph and Cass, and then I have zero clue about Duke.

I know what the Mis-characterizations are, but like no clue about what the real ones are. I was thinking that I should probably start reading detective comics, but I have no clue what issue I should start with.

[aceofshitposts]

I am so sorry but your shutterbug au has been in my head for DAYS. Mmmm what about regular Tim sparring with Other Jason while they're in the Cave with the rest of the Bats? Jason's kinda hesitant at first but Tim rolls his eyes and just fucking decks him (with his staff or in hand to hand idk) and oh boy then it's on. Naturally this leads to a whole conversation about some of the stuff Tim's fought, where the fuck he learned to fight like a league assassin, the fact that he was robin, how the HELL he became robin, etc. And Tim just talks about the most insane shit any of them have heard in the most absurdly casual tone ever. Other Jason, while in awe, quietly decides to never let his own Tim out of his sight ever again

No need to be sorry!! I'm so glad people enjoy it!! I really didn't expect it to get so much love honestly 😂 I just started it thinking "lmao what if Tim found out him and Jason were dating in another universe"

you actually bring something up i wanted to touch on but didn’t due wanting to move the story along haha which is that: Shutterbug Tim is not nearly as well toned as Red Robin Tim 😂 It was gonna come up while Tim was investigating Shutterbug’s apartment, and have him realise Shutterbug also isn’t littered with scars like he is but I ended up cutting it.

BUT! I think a sparring session would be a lot of fun, though I don’t think it would start with Jason or Tim really lmao. Tim still doesn’t want to tip them all off too much on his history since he doesn’t want Jason to feel guilty about something he didn’t even do in this universe BUUUUTTT...

Dick is the one who asks to spar because he’s intrigued by this other Tim and what little tidbits Stephanie has managed to drag out of him. They’re all detectives, they can tell Tim’s being purposefully dodgy. Tim isn’t really sure sparring is a good idea at first but on the other hand he’s starting to feel real pent up from the stress and even if this borrowed body isn’t the same as his, he can still let off some steam.

So he asks if they have any bo staffs around.

He can tell Dick isn’t giving him his all, but Tim also can’t give it his all so they end up about even. Tim’s just gotten Dick to yield in their latest match when Jason begins to blurt out, “you move like-” but gets interrupted by Stephanie excitedly saying, “like Cass!”

Which leads to Tim having to sheepishly admit he has been trained by Lady Shiva. Steph assumes this was recent, since their Tim spent well into his teen years travelling with his parents, unless Gasp did Tim’s parents have connections to the League or something in his universe?

No, no, Tim stayed in Gotham while they travelled. Which just leads down the entire path of what do you mean your parents left you behind. Oh I was supposed to go to a boarding school but my parents didn’t really pay attention to what school I was enrolled in so I just changed it so I could Bat Watch at night. He shrugs and completely glazes over most of it, if anything because he doesn’t think any of them need to relive Jason’s death and Tim doesn’t really want to talk about the shape Jason was in when he returned.

But he talks a little bit about the photos he used to take, he and Other Tim clearly share the penchant for photography even if their subjects were different. Jason has to admit he’s charmed by that, by Tim quietly admitting he used to take so many photos of the former Robin. That he has a lock box full of them.

Jason is a little horrified to hear how casually Tim shrugs off his parental neglect, though his Tim is the same in a lot of ways. He knows Tim is avoiding... a lot, in an effort not to upset him. He thinks he can piece together what might have happened between Tim and his Jason, knowing himself. But he is also immensely charmed by how Tim talks about his stalking and knows there’s no way he wouldn’t fall for this incredible man in any universe.

[jinx-jade]

Contagious adoption Part 2: Creatures

Marinette and Tim were sitting in the living room of one of Tim’s apartments. They had flown in from the Tibet village about thirteen or fourteen hours ago.

Tim had filled out all the adoption papers and any other legal papers his newly claimed daughter would need. To his surprise, Marinette had identification papers. He had thought the little deity didn’t need them. After all, Marinette had lived on the hill to grant wishes, why would she need identification papers.

Unless she didn’t live on the hill her whole life… 

Thinking back to what Marinette had said when he asked her why she stayed up on the mountain all alone. Tim had a feeling she’s been abandoned before.

Back on the mountain, Marinette had shifted from one foot to the other a few times before answering his question. She seemed to have been contemplating what to tell him. Or was it how much to tell him? 

Her answer, “Because I have nowhere else to go and no one waiting for me anywhere.” was a well-thought-out way to respond. 

If no one wants you, then no one waits for you.

If no one waits for you, then you have nowhere to go.

“... ake, Mr. Drake,” Marinette called for the umpteenth time.

“Sorry about that, guess I got lost in my thoughts,” Tim said with a sheepish smile. “Did you need something? Oh, and you can just call me Tim, or any variation of dad that you’re comfortable with.”

“Oh, uh, I don’t need anything… ” The little deity trailed off. “But, uh, does… does Papa work?”

Tim gave his daughter a soft smile.

‘His daughter. Now wasn’t that a strange thought.’ Tim couldn’t help but think to himself.

“You can call me Papa if you want.” He said with a smile, before adding, “I can speak French and a few other languages.”

Tim was unsure why he felt like mentioning that he can speak French was important. However, when Tim saw Marinette look up at him in awe, he couldn’t help but think It was the right thing to say.

“Now, what is it you wanted to do,” Tim asked, picking his daughter up so she doesn’t have to look up at him the whole conversation.

“Can we make cookies? It’s… It’s been a long time since I’ve had any…” Marinette trailed off again.

“Of course we can make cookies. What kind did you want to make?” Tim asked with a soft smile.

Life continued like normal for the young CEO, vigilante, with the addition of a small deity. However, there were a few changes to his lifestyle.

Tim was now able to cook and bake, not as good as Alfred, but he figured that Alfred won’t ban him from the kitchen.

Tim also registered Marinette Drake-Wayne as being homeschooled. Which was fine since Tim was technically qualified to homeschool his kid. However, Marinette flew through the classes like they were nothing. Her teachers wanted to have her IQ tested, but Marinette said she didn’t want to, so no one pushed it.

Tim also worked from home, only ever showing up to meetings. He also seemed to have a little helper when it came to some of the paperwork. Turns out, Marinette knows how a business runs, and how to run one. It was slightly concerning, but his daughter waved his concern off.

Tim took a break from being a vigilante. He still helped out by sending the bats reports of the rogue of the day, or sometimes a week, that they were tracking. Marinette helped out with this as well. Apparently, she’s been a vigilante before. To say that Tim was concerned was an understatement, but his concern was once again, waved off.

After a month of living with his adopted daughter, Tim had his first in-person meeting at W.E.

“Hey bean, do you want to come with me to work?” Tim asked while making breakfast.

“Am I allowed to?” Marinette shot back in response.

“I mean, B. always took his kids to work so, I’m just gonna say you’re allowed to,” Tim answered with a shrug, setting the food at the table.

Marinette shrugged back.

“Sure! I’ll go ahead and call H.R. and let them know I’ll be making my first appearance as Marinette Drake-Wayne.” Marinette informed him, before digging into her food.

Tim chuckled at that.

“You’re definitely gonna be H.R.’s favorite.” He claimed before he began eating his breakfast.

“Papa, I used to grant magic wishes on a hill with mythical creatures, that is my version of normal. I’m willing to bet that I will be H.R.’s least favorite person by the end of the year.” Marinette claimed, causing Tim to laugh.

“Bean, sweetheart, you’re about to call H.R. to let them know about a mess they will have to clean up. The rest of the Waynes, myself included, usually just let them find out through the tabloids and news stations. You’re definitely gonna be their favorite.” Tim informed his daughter.

_______________________

Tim stepped out of his car and walked through W.E. up to his office. He was aware of the attention that was on him, not bothered by it in the slightest.

He looked down at his daughter to see that she was trying to hide from sight. She was clearly not comfortable with everyone looking at her. Well, everyone looking at her and the lack of magic. He really should have remembered that Marinette has extremely bad anxiety whenever she can’t freely use magic. In his defense, it seemed that neither of them had remembered due to having barely left the apartment the whole month Marinette has been living there.

Tim looked up and around the workplace. He raised a brow at the employees that were just watching, most of them scrambled to work, or simply turned their attention away to seem busy.

When Tim and Marinette finally made it to Tim’s office, they thought they could relax, only to see the rest of the Waynes sitting inside.

Bruce looked like he was about to ask something, but stopped when he caught sight of the little girl hiding behind Tim.

Tim of course, ignored his families questioning stares in favor of calming his daughter.

Tim sat Marinette down in his office chair with a cup of coffee, before turning his attention to the others in the room.

“I wasn’t aware everyone started working at W.E.” Tim joked with a raised brow. A clear question as to why they were in his office.

“Not all of us do,” Dick answered looking towards the small child. “Did you just give the tiny person coffee?”

Tim shrugs the question off easily, “Caffeine helps calm her anxiety when she’s too overwhelmed.”

“And who exactly is she?” Damian inquired, sounding a bit more like a demand than a question.

Tim looked over to Marinette who seemed to be doing slightly better. There wasn’t much else they could do besides give her more coffee and random tasks to do. He gestured for her to come over and talk, a simple task to take her mind off the lack of magic. She slowly made her way off the office chair and towards the group of people.

“Marinette, this is my adoptive father, brothers, and sister, Bruce, Barbara, Dick, Cass, Jason, Steph, and Damian. Guys, this is Marinette Drake-Wayne, my adopted daughter.”

Marinette gave a small, shy wave and smile before hiding behind her father once again.

“You disappeared for a month, and apparently adopted a kid.” Jason states. “Damn, and here I thought it was supposed to be my job to stress B. out.” He claimed with a chuckle.

“Could one of you watch Marinette for me while B. and I are in the meeting? I had asked her this morning if she wanted to come since I couldn’t leave her at home alone, but I don’t think either of us thought It would be this bad for her anxiety.” Tim states.

“How about those of us who don’t have a meeting to attend will go back to the manor, and we can watch over Marinette,” Barbara suggests.

Tim looked to Marinette to see if she would be ok with it, only to receive a shrug from the little deity.

“Ok.” Tim agreed after some hesitation. “If Marinette starts getting too anxious then give her something with caffeine in it and have her draw, or bake something,” Tim informs them.

After Marinette and Tim say their goodbyes, Marinette follows Barbara, Dick, Cass, and Steph out to the limo.

The drive to Wayne manor was awkward, to say the least. None of the Waynes had known that Tim adopted a kid, and they weren’t sure if she knew about their nightly activities, so they stayed quiet.

Tim’s daughter didn’t seem to mind the silence. Marinette was looking out the window calmly with no signs of her previous anxiety. However, every once in a while her hand slightly opens and closes as if grabbing something.

When they arrived at the manor, Dick was immediately grabbed into a hug by his daughter. Mar’i speaks too fast and excitedly for them to understand, unknowingly grabbing the attention of most of the Waynes.

Cass however, noticed the youngest and newest Waynes flinch at Mar’i’s unexpected appearance. Cass quickly and quietly, moved away from the other Waynes, bringing Marinette with her, inside the manor.

“Would the two of you like anything to drink or snack on?” Alfred asked when they entered.

“Tea. Muffin,” Cass says pointing to herself. “Coffee. Muffin?” Cass said pointing to Marinette.

“Of course, why don’t the two of you relax in the garden,” Alfred suggests.

Cass nodded her head leading them to the garden while Alfred left to prepare their snacks and drinks. Marinette seemed to be stuck in her head and simply followed Cass silently.

Marinette and Cass spent the afternoon in the garden, the plants seemed to have a calming effect on the smaller Wayne. After Marinette being in the garden for a while and drinking her coffee, Marinette seemed to have calmed down.

However, not all of Marinette’s anxiety and nerves were calmed by the coffee and plants. Cass just wasn’t sure what else could be calming the little bluenette.

After a few more minutes had passed, some small creatures started gravitating towards Marinette.

A white rabbit, some squirrels, birds, even a butterfly landed on Marinette’s nose making the girl giggle.

Cass could only watch in awe as the small creatures came closer. None of them wanted any food, water, or shelter, they simply wanted Marinette’s attention.

Then Cass noticed that the few small injuries and bruises she had received from last night’s patrol were fading away.

No.

They were healing.

Cass took out her phone and quickly recorded her injuries healing too fast to be normal, this seemed like the kind of thing the other bats would want to know. 

Cass also took a video and a few pictures of Marinette playing with the animals. She had to admit, the pictures looked adorable, so of course, she sent some to Tim. 

Chat: Tim

Cass: one attached picture*

Tim: good call on bringing her to the garden

Cass: Alfred idea

Tim: where are the others

Cass: Mar’i frightened? Marenet?

Tim: KEEP MARINETTE AWAY FROM KORI AND MARI

Cass: why

Tim: Marinette isn’t

Tim: normal

Cass: one attached video*

Tim: yeah

Tim: her anxiety is caused by not being able to use magic freely

Tim: should have mentioned that before

Tim: sorry

Cass: I text others?

Tim: Yeah go-ahead

Tim: Lunch break is over

Tim: I'll see you guys when the meetings are over

Cass: ok

Cass shot a quick text to Dick, warning him that Tim doesn’t want Kor’i or Mar’i near Marinette till he was at the manor, before looking up from her phone to check on Marinette. She seemed to be relaxed, definitely not as anxious as before. Cass probably wouldn’t have been able to tell that Marinette has anxiety from looking at her right now.

Marinette looked up from the little creatures she seemed to have befriended, with a smile. She got up with some plants in her hand and made her way towards Cass.

Marinette placed a flower crown on Cass’s head with a giggle, before running back to the animals.

Cass couldn’t help but think that Tim had a lot of explaining to do when he gets to the manor.

‘But that’s not my problem to deal with.’ Cass thought to herself as she took a picture of the flower crown and sent it to the family chat.