#and it was worse as a Talia fan

[damian-lil-babybat]

It arrived!!!!!!

I am now the proud owner of THIS COMIC waaaaaa.

Seriously, only good writing and good art can make me do fanart again for Damian. So I am happy comics nowadays are fun now.

Haven't bought any new comics since 2018...for obvious reasons. Let's just say, I don't want to give my money to DC editorials, until now. XD Dami-fans will know why. (Rant at the tags)

[kittykatninja321]

sympathizing with fanon fans today. Like you know what maybe dc does stand for “disregard canon”

[sobbingscripter]

Tags: [mlw][crack][fluff][reader is an asshole][this is their karma for some shit they did in the past]

Includes: Damian Wayne; Bruce Wayne; Dick Grayson

A/n: a lil' drabble to broaden my horizons and see if I should stick to smut :3

"Okay, listen here, Sulu, I don't take orders from you. I take orders from your mother. So if she says I need to keep you safe, best believe, I'm doing my job to the best of my ability."

You're off-putting on your best day.

Alfred and Jason love to call you Damian's karma for him being a massive dick, and Bruce likes to call you.... Well... When Damian's not on his best behaviour.

"Listen, Cobra Kai, you better get your shit straight and listen to Batman." You stare at Damian, your eyes narrowing at him with distaste, upper lip curling in disdain before you look up at Bruce, your expression warm and your eyes fucking sparkle like a supernova.

"Huge fan." You reassure Bruce before looking back at Damian, finding those emerald eyes simmering with barely contained rage and he just about has it when you take two fingers, pointing them at your eyes and then, pointing them at his.

And almost as if to drive in your point (which you definitely do not have), you take a hefty bite of the nearest edible thing to you as you stand in the centre of the kitchen.

The nearest thing being an onion. Freshly peeled.

Your teeth sink into the flesh of the vegetable, and your throat burns but you don't waver, simply retreating back to your assigned bedroom and Jason lets out a whistle, muscular arms crossing over his broad chest.

"I expected her to start tearing up at the taste." Jason comments, taking a bite of the orange in his hand, the fruit already peeled and missing a few bites, which suggests that he didn't even cut it.

"I don't think she can cry." Bruce mutters quietly, before letting a shiver run down his spine and he visibly shudders. "She's intense."

Meanwhile, you're in the en suite of your room, coughing your lungs out your ass and trying not to gag as you feed yourself palmfuls of water from the bathroom sink. The water's clean, clear enough to be drinkable and you rinse your mouth. Your lashes are wet with unshed tears as you allow yourself to sink to the cool bathroom tiles, resting your back against the wall and you wipe the water droplets from your chin, letting out panted breaths.

"Holy shit." You mutter quietly.

Talia had trained you personally, wanting you to be her son's bodyguard when he needed it the most. And she deems him 'needing it the most', as now. When he's been living with his father for about 9 years. When he's 6 foot 2. When he's jacked and a fucking ninja who quite literally, is like...

Have you ever seen that movie? Ninja Assassin?

That's Damian.

Moving organs and shit.

It's barely midnight when Damian clomps into your bedroom, arms folded across his chest and he stares at you from beneath dark lashes, eyes glittering like jewels in a cove as he spits out.

"What do I have to do, to make you leave?"

His expression is tight, eyes narrowing and the muscle in his jaw is wound tighter than... Well a wire. That's wound super tight around a thing.

Damian's fingers tap impatiently on his bicep as he waits for you to answer his question, the fabric of his T-shirt stretching tightly around the muscles of his torso, extending past the waistband of his pants. And he runs his tongue across his teeth, stopping at the sharp point of his canine.

"I'm waiting, vermin."

You scoff.

"Calm down, Beverly Hills Ninja." You watch Damian's jaw tick in annoyance at the nickname.

Somehow, they always seem to get worse. Even when they're... Awful.

"I'm not gonna be here for any longer than you need me to be."

Your voice is as grating to his ears as nails to a chalkboard, but that stupid cadence and the lilt of your tone have his mind wracking for ways to put your stupid mouth to better use.

"I don't need you to be here." Damian grumbles.

"Listen, Kung Fu Hustle," you roll your eyes, readying yourself to go to bed as the back of your head makes contact with the puffed up pillow, the satin pillowcase making you let out a sigh of relief, "I'll tell you what you need."

Bruce would actually rather be in that alley again than work another case with your dumb ass.

Commissioner Gordon's protege, the only officer that somehow seems like a combination of Spencer Reid and Jake Peralta. But more Jake, than anything.

"Come on, Sherlock Homo." You snap your fingers in front of Bruce's cowl-covered face, but you watch as his eyes narrow while he stares down at you. But he doesn't speak, simply glancing back towards the clues laid across the surface of the desk in front of you two.

In the archives of the GCPD building, Bruce and you remain working silently. His wards having taken over his patrol, giving him the time for a physical breather but God, his jaw finds itself clenched tighter than Arthur's fist.

The air smells like musty books and ink, a hint of pine cleaner and you settle into your seat, lifting the clue to your eyes, scanning over the parchment for any kind of spot that could mean something.

"I think we should refer to previous riddles." Bruce hums softly, biceps bulging beneath the Kevlar of his suit, his cape fluttering in the breeze that creeps through rusted vents.

"Or we can use Chat GPT?"

Bruce watches, his expression falling to one of incredulity as he watches you grab your phone from your bag, the device just so...

He's distressed, on your behalf.

15%. A few cracks in your screen guard and that bright notification that says your storage is far too full for your phone to be functioning optimally.

And Bruce watches as you type the riddle into the AI app, and he watches as those dots appear, signalling a response being formulated. And Bruce nearly groans aloud when he sees an ad light up your screen.

And he pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration when he watches you screenshot the name of the stupid widget app, saving it for later when you can download it.

"Should we use my phone?"

Bruce's question is unexpected and you crease your brows, shaking your head.

"Nah, I just need to connect to the wifi."

And Bruce wipes his hands over his face, a low groan rumbling in his broad chest before he drops into the seat beside you, and he waits for you.

Each minute seems like a lifetime, and he hears that little beep.

"Did you get an answer?" Bruce questions, his voice tinged with barely contained annoyance, frustration. Almost everything that points to him yanking out his luxurious, inky hair.

"It says I used up my free messages." You purse your lips. "I'm gonna make a new email really quickly."

Half an hour passes before you get an answer. Which is, that there is no answer.

"This...—" Bruce let's out a shaky breath. "Have you ever been told that you're disorganised?"

And you scoff, raising a hand in Bruce's direction to dismiss him.

"Listen, Karate Kid, who went to police academy?" You question Bruce. "Not me, but still. I've still got the badge, American Ninja."

"You're not a legal officer?!"

"License and registration, Mr Wing."

Dick can't believe this.

He's getting a speeding ticket for chasing a fucking criminal on his bike.

"They have my secret identity on them, so I can't give it to you." Dick answers, pulling his bike onto the curb and cutting the engine, and he rests his forearms on the space between the handlebars. Because he just knows this is gonna take a while.

"So you're impersonating right now?"

Dick rolls his eyes behind his mask, and his lips part to protest.

"Listen, officer, I'm in a bit of a hurry and it'd be really nice if you could just... Not do this right now."

Dick's trying to be nice, really. Trying to respect the law and act like a model citizen, like the kind of citizen he'd be happy to protect and serve.

"Well, too bad Britney Allen, justice... Isn't nice. Justice is messy, hard and fast. Like a creampie." And you pull the notebook out of your back pocket, the action of tilting your body just a bit draws Dick's attention to your body.

Perfect hips, only accentuated by those stupid cuffed, cargo pants and that bulky holster belt.

Dick clears his throat.

He seriously cannot be finding you sexy right now.

"So, Twinkle toes, you wanna tell me why you're going 130 in a 80 zone?" You hum, eyes lowered to the notebook in your hands, continuing to scrawl his parking ticket before you glance towards the number plate of the sportbike.

Or more accurately, the lack thereof.

"Oh, Pom Poms," you muse, laughter in your voice as you continue to scrawl, "riding without a number plate? That's an 80 dollar fine."

Rummaging through a hidden compartment, long gloved fingers wrap around a hundred dollar bill before handing it to you. And you pocket it.

"Now what about the fine?"

[frownyalfred]

Hi!!!! What do you think about the fandoms characterisation of Dicks and Damian’s relationship???

A lot of the fans replace Dick with Bruce in terms of who is Damian’s father. Idek but it gets annoying when it’s all “oh Bruce may be Damian’s father, but dick is his dad”

Thanks <3

I go back and forth on it, tbh. Damian needed a dad, but he was a surprise to Bruce. Dick handled it much better than Bruce did for a while, but Bruce eventually came around (depending on the canon). A lot of siblings raise their younger family members in the absence of a parent, so it makes sense that Damian would be drawn to Dick as a more grounded and sympathetic parental figure. And that Dick would be able to connect with Damian more easily than Bruce, who was still reeling from the shock of finding out Talia lied.

But does that make Dick his dad? I don’t know. It’s kind of like saying older Bruce raising Dick as his ward was his dad. Yes, on paper there’s a parental relationship but — the ages are so off. Bruce was young and Dick wasn’t that much younger than him.

Their relationship was more like an older brother raising a younger one, and that shows a lot in the dynamics between them later in life. Not saying he can’t be a full dad to Dick or that he doesn’t take that role on but — their relationship isn’t as clear cut either.

So yeah, it makes sense to me that Dick could model that same relationship with Damian. Not quite dad, not quite older brother. Still Batman, to Damian’s Robin, just like Bruce was Batman to him.

I guess when it comes to writing it, it depends on how much you want to make 1) Bruce the bad guy for being a bad/absent parent and 2) Dick the sacrificing parent who stepped up while Bruce was gone.

I tried to show in my fic borderline that that relationship isn’t sustainable long term - Dick trying to mollify Damian and Bruce standing to the side awkwardly does everyone a disservice. Dick is not a martyr. He’s a sibling trying his best. But also, sometimes that actually makes things worse, you know? Having a sibling raise the younger kids. It throws off the dynamics in so many families if you’re not careful. If that sibling doesn’t have resources and support, they’ll burn out.

[sunhighriptide]

My Headcanons for the Spice Tolerance of various members and associates of the batfamily.

DICK: He isn't a wimp, but also not a spicy fan. Give him sweet any day. He'll eat the hot sauce from your local mexican restaurant but will avoid spicy challenges at all costs. Has been burned by Jason's food more than once. Does have a liking for sour candy.

BARBARA: Not terrible, but very much not her thing. She likes sour and occasionally bitter. She will not eat your hot sauce. Handles it much better than some, but would rather not purposefully eat pain, thank you very much.

JASON: Spice King. There is almost no food he will not try. Had a high spicy tolerance before he died, after the pit and his world travels, nothing phases him. He loves Alfred's cooking, and it will always be his comfort food, but his palette is way more adventurous. He will only tone his cooking down for Alfred and Barabara. If anyone else wants to eat his food, they can shut up and deal. He doesn't have to feed them.

I don't really have an opinion on Helena. Probably similar to Dick's.

TIM: The biggest wimp to ever wimp. His taste buds are mostly destroyed, so if you feed him spicy food, he won't notice for the first five minutes. Until he realizes his mouth is on fire and is finally distracted from whatever he is working on. The burning will linger for the rest of the day, and he won't talk to the person responsible for a week. He used to gulp water until Steph told him that makes it worse, and he should use milk instead. He figured coffee has enough milk content. Both Damian and Jason have used this against him.

STEPHANIE: Suprisingly impressive. She can nearly match Damian, and no one but Cass can tell she's dying inside towards the end of the hot sauce challenge. She once attempted to eat Jason's spiciest dish while looking him dead on before bailing to the bathroom about six seconds in. Jason never told her it wasn't quite the spicest dish he makes.

CASSANDRA: She doesn't like spicy food and is fully okay with that. Sure, she can tolerate it, but as Barbara said, why would she willingly eat pain? Jason doesn't mind because it is Cass, and she's really chill about it. He'll give her the mild version he makes for Alfred and Babs.

DAMIAN: Obviously, he can handle spicy food, how dare you insult his constitution, plebian. Nothing in the U.S. is going to trip him up, especially nothing in New Jersey, but there are spices he would rather not suffer through, though he will never admit to such a weakness.

KATE: Enjoys spicy food, but European level spicy. She can handle anything found in Italy, no problem, but Indian becomes a problem.

ALFRED: He is English. No, he doesn't like spicy food. He will never like spicy food. This is okay, we still love him.

BRUCE: It is a very good thing he has a nearly perfect poker face because Talia would never have married such a wimp. Feed the white boys (Tim and Bruce), a pepper, and watch Ra's al ghul loose all interest. That's my solution. Cannot handle the slightest spice. The grocery store mild salsa is a danger to him. Will lie to your face about it. Lives in fear of his family discovering this weakness.

[thenonbinarydetective]

Do you like the official wayne family adventures? It has everything any batfam fan would want.....But sometimes I feel like they all kinda have the same personality.....shouldn't dick be with titans or starfire....why is he back with Bruce?

EDIT: REMINDER THIS IS MY OPINION. IT IS NOT A DISCUSSION OR ARGUMENT.

It’s what tumblr fanon fans who actively go out of their way to shit on comics wants. To be precise. I’ve been shitting on the behavior of some truly awful people on here for like several years so if anyone reading this is surprised and offended. I don’t care.

No I really don’t like it. The better personalities are the girls really. But even then it’s not great. The boys and Bruce especially are full copy and paste. But honestly that’s the only way they can get what they want to work without digging too deep

That’s kinda the main problem I have with it and many others who do that it’s very surface level fluff rather than actually challenging the “angst” in the comics. I’m only putting it in quotes because to some angst is when it isn’t sunshine and rainbows all the time.

I don’t think it has a good argument, for lack of a better word (still works I just want a different one that I can’t remember rn) for being what it is. And also creating that weirdly rancid, occasionally violent and pretentious fanbase that accuses comic fans of doing that no matter what they say or do. Like some people suck but you dont need essays when people point out flaws in WFA. Of which it has some pretty obvious ones. Aside from batfam characterization their Talia characterization just rubs me the wrong way. Like I know it’s been worse but it’s just not giving what it should.

I think dickbabs is supposed to be canon there or at least people act like it. Idk a lot of their reactions can still read platonic which is why WFA readers try to say it’s batcest. If that answers your starfire question. Technically this should be set at a time where dick wasn’t fully friends with the titans again. Although it’s an au, they could probably just fix that for their obscenely happy go lucky attitude

But if you’re asking why starfire and Roy should be far away from the outlaws title, you’d be right. You can call me dramatic but it was lowkey shitty of them to include them considering the damage it did to their characters. Especially Kory.

Yeah dick should be actually independent. But again it’s family fluff over solid characterization so the umbilical cord isn’t cut yet

It’s negatively effecting comics too. Pushing that coffee Tim bullshit, “feral” Damian, and emotional support dick. The Damian one pisses me off most of all because they really had him pull a knife in a formal affair out of annoyance when that boy was raised an AL GHUL until he went to Bruce. Like if he’s drawing a knife it’s for a formalized duel. Not on an unwitting old woman. But even then I’m not sure I’m forgiving.

Oh and DUKE. Duke gets his own paragraph. Jesus fucking Christ did they do him dirty. Absolute boring cardboard cut out of a child. That also gets mildly sidelined for a comic that began with his narration. I get it’s a group thing but like why did some chapters seem to forget about him completely when they stripped him of every ounce of personality to turn him into a reader insert? God I hate it

There’s a lot of problems with it but apparently when you talk about it you’re in for a “let people enjoy things” lecture from someone who doesn’t actually let people enjoy things. I mean some WFA stans cry webtoon if you talk about the slightest amount of negativity. Claiming they need to be healed. Idk with what because WFA is basically a placebo of a comic

[zeynyukine3011]

Not quite sure but even if Talia's character wasn't butchered by racist writers, fandom would still write Talia in their fanfics as a bad mother. Look at Jack and Janet Drake. Just because they weren't flawless, perfect parents fandom treats them as horrible, neglectful, abusive parents while they were not.

And considering Talia is Arab-Chinese, she would still be butchered and mischaractarised by fandom rasicm. Fans might be better than DC in some parts but there is an undeniable racism towards POC characters.

And also because she is a woman. Misogyny is a big problem too and fandoms treat women worse than men. Fandoms don't accept flawed mothers, but they can accept flawed fathers.

So even though the situation would be MUCH BETTER than this, I still think there would so many Bad Parent Talia fics out there.

If anyone disagrees, please share your thoughts with me. This was just a passing thought I had while I was looking at fics.

[drbatsponge]

Most ass Batman comic ever incoming?

Yes this is the preview for Hush 2.

We're lucky Jeph Loeb prefers Babs as Batgirl because this could've been a lot worse if Cass was here.

Feel bad for Damian and Talia fans tho.

[wesavegotham]

"Talia can never be redeemed and her romance with Bruce can never come back because *falls for Grant Morrison's/DC's extreme racism towards asian and arab characters in the 2000s/2010s"

Yeah, sorry, but shut the hell up. It never fails to astound me when DC actually tries to fix the mistakes they made with Talia/the al Ghuls in general these last two decades and the fans manage to be even worse than DC by clinging to the blatant racist/sexist writing of the past instead of embracing the turn for the better.

"But she did this and that!"

She's a fictional character in a fictional universe that is aware that it goes through continuity changes/retcons. What Grant Morrison did to her character was a a complete retcon of her 30 year history and characterization with zero respect for her. Why am I supposed to take Morrison's bullshit as gospel and reject any attempts to fix her from writers who know better?

[thatndginger]

I made a powerpoint presentation for The Runaway. I tried to make it comic sans, I swear, but Temperance refused to cooperate. Anyway, I realized I haven't talked about this Shapeshifter project nearly as much, so a formal introduction is in order.

@sunset-a-story @touloserlautrec @ceph-the-ghost-writer @illyriashade56 I hope you guys don't mind that I borrowed your tags and comments, but they made me happy cry to read💙💙

Transcription for each slide under the cut.

A powerpoint presentation comprised of ten slides. Each slide has a faint background image of a watercolor painting depicting a foggy pine forest.

[SLIDE ONE]

thatndginger presents:

The Runaway A Shapeshifter story

also known as: the story that got me anon hate from a jaded ex-friend who co-wrote the original version, then got mad that I kept writing after she cut me out of her life with no explanation :D

[SLIDE TWO]

THE PREMISE

Temperance Maddox does a runner

ok but seriously, the title of the story is the plot: a shifter [Temperance] runs away from certain traumatic events and ends up stranded in middle-of-nowhere Wyoming

where he’s rescued by a quiet, kind single dad [Dean] with a ~mysterious past~, an adorably rude six year old [Kate], an empty room, and seemingly infinite patience for Temperance’s terrible attitude

Temperance is a totally mature and reasonable adult who absolutely does not argue with the six year old and engage in petty name calling with her

Temperance will also never fall for the man who rescued him. It’s not like he’s going to stick around long enough to even consider it. Right?

everyone involved questions why Dean bothered taking this guy in when he’s a

capital-P Problem - even to himself. Dean is not taking questions at this time

[SLIDE THREE]

alright let’s break this down tier-style

Tier One - The POV Characters: Dean Matthews & Temperance Maddox

dueling POVs are always fun in a romance-centric story, right?

ok neither of these two would shut up so they both get POVs so I can get some sleep

Tier Two - The Important Side Characters: Kate Matthews & Talia Salwood

one is dependent on their father and the other is just plain nosy, so they’re almost always around in one way or another

Tier Three - The Supporting Cast: the residents of Kilnora Falls

there’s a nonbinary mechanic, the mechanic’s Australian vampire partner, a witch that runs a coffee shop, forest rangers, well-meaning grandmas, and distrustful neighbors

imagine one of those small-town romcom background casts and you’re probably close. except most of these background characters are witches, vampires, or shifters

[SLIDE FOUR]

Image ID: in the top right corner of the slide is a digital drawing of Temperance Maddox in a side profile view. He has short black hair, pale skin, and sharp features. His expression could be called confident, contemptuous, or amused. There is a simple sketched outline of a fox just behind and in front of his face.

Temperance Maddox he/him - 22 - fox shifter

the most pathetic drowned rat of a man you’ll ever meet

can and will cuss you out in multiple languages (he only knows the swear words)

if you can get him to stop saying ‘fuck’ every other word he’s surprisingly well-spoken

a city boy born and raised in Moressau, Washington

he’s got worse manners and emotional intelligence than the literal six year old

desperately in need of a long nap, a strong hug, and a lot of therapy. and maybe some kisses

would rather gouge his eyes out than admit any of the above

somehow a fan favorite among readers? I don’t understand that at all but I’m glad y’all love my terrible son?

[SLIDE FIVE]

Image ID: in the top right corner of the slide is a digital drawing of Dean Matthews in a side profile view. He has long-ish brown hair, tan skin, and is missing the tip of his left ear. His expression is neutral but has the slightest hint of a smile. There is a simple sketched outline of a coyote just behind and in front of his face.

Dean Matthews he/him - 32 - coyote shifter

heavy on the Romance Protagonist vibes (the good kind, not the weird heteronormative kind)

has lots of feelings but cannot for the life of him figure out how to show them on his face

tries to be a good dad, kind of a pushover and would bend over backwards to keep his daughter happy

is a carpenter by trade, and always willing to help out around town when things need fixing

the kind of tragic backstory character that sneaks up on you, because how can such a decent guy have a tragic past?

would very much like to have a quiet, simple life in his quiet, far-from-simple mountain town but things just keep happening to him

did I mention he has a bit of a southern drawl? and can play the guitar?

[SLIDE SIX]

Image ID: in the top right corner of the slide is a digital drawing of Kate Matthews in a front-facing view. She has long and curly red hair, darkly tanned skin, and yellow eyes with slit pupils. There are freckles on her face that are grouped in stripe-like patterns. Around her neck is a necklace with green and white crystals. She is looking off to one side with a solemn but curious expression.

Kate Matthews she/her - 6 - half-fae

unreasonably cute for a being who’s part uncanny-valley-made-of-magic creature

not blood related to Dean, but try telling her that

too young for anyone to tell if she’ll end up more fae-like or more human, but who cares? she’s adorable

has to wear a special necklace when she’s not at home to keep her innate magic in check. no one wants the little kid to have a tantrum and set the mercantile on fire

thinks her dad is the coolest thing in the world, especially when he turns into a coyote

thinks Temperance smells funny and is a rude meanie

personal space is not a concept she understands around those she likes. will bite anyone she doesn’t like who tries to touch her. watch out, her teeth are sharper than they look

thinks fairy tales are stupid, because real fae are scary and mean

[SLIDE SEVEN]

The Setting

middle of nowhere town in the western mountains of Wyoming

the town is called Kilnora Falls and there are exactly 521 people living there

more than half the population is some kind of supernatural, the majority being shifters and witches

everyone knows that faeries are real, that they’re incredibly dangerous, and that no one’s seen a true fae in almost a decade since the old faerie door beneath the waterfall collapsed

there is a very strong distrust of strangers among the residents of the Falls. They don’t see many strangers, and not many people who grew up there choose to leave

this setting started as an inside joke between me and my partner because he grew up in that part of Wyoming and I think it’s hilarious to tease him about it. Now it’s its own thing with regional holidays and a whole map and everything

[SLIDE EIGHT]

Image ID: on the left side of the slide is a digital drawing of a map depicting Kilnora Falls. It is in a simple style, with the buildings depicted as simple white shapes. The town sits on a small river and is surrounded on all sides by thick forests and tall mountains. 'Kilnora Falls' is written in the bottom left corner, while a scale and compass are depicted in the top left corner.

look! a map! imagine steep mountains all around, because would rather cut my foot off than draw contour lines

average weather conditions lean towards ‘cold’ - summer highs hang around the 70's. winter lows can get down nearly to -40. bring your coats, kids!

the entire town is less than one square mile in size

all the businesses in town are open 24 hours a day so that the nocturnal residents can still use their services. which means the bar is open 24 hours a day.... oh boy

the nearest ‘city’ is almost two hours away (Wyoming’s biggest town only has 65,000 people guys, the quotation marks are justified)

most people who are born here don’t leave, or if they do for school or work or whatever, they come back

[SLIDE NINE]

TROPES, MEMES, AND THEMES

y’all know I can’t resist a good meme sesh, so without further ado, here’s a mish-mash of tumblr-approved silliness for The Runaway

grumpy x sunshine pairings

domestication arcs

pathetic little meow meows

hot handymen

cute romance moments

tragic backstories

Image ID: a meme variation of the "Gru's Plan" meme. In it, Gru is labeled as 'Dean'. The first section reads "see someone stranded on the side of the road. The second section reads "stop to help. The third and fourth sections read "be verbally assaulted by an angry twink".

Image ID: a meme variation of the "Flex Tape" meme. The man slapping the tape is labeled as 'Temperance'. The tank spewing water is labeled as "trauma induced nightmares. The flex tape is labeled as "don't sleep ever".

Image ID: a meme variation of the "Schoolbus Hit By Train" meme. The schoolbus is labeled as "a wall around your emotions you've spent most of your life building". The train is labeled as "Dean Matthews".

Image ID: a meme variation of the "Bernie Sanders Asking" meme. Bernie is labeled as 'Kate'. The subtitled text reads "I am once again asking why the stranger dad found smell weird. And acts like a big mean pinecone." The line "and never says 'please' or 'thank you' is partially cut off at the bottom of the image.

[SLIDE TEN]

some comments from my lovely friends who have read The Runaway, because they make me happy and if published books get to put endorsement quotes on their covers, why can’t I do the same with my little powerpoint?

"#highly recommend you follow for the absolute bangers of stories you'll find here"

"#askjkdhd look at Temperance's sweet dumb little face #Dean looks like the type of guy who'd pick up a rude stranger #on the side of the road"

"Oh I can already tell Temperance is gonna be my favorite poor little meow meow I adore him."

"#good on you for writing on company time #me [handshake emoji] Dean #<- not being fooled by Temperance's tough guy act one bit #I want to wrap him in a blanket like the feral kitten he is #or maybe talk to him like Sam from Vampire Therapist #'Woah there fella. Easy now. Ain't no one gonna hurt ya. That's right...nice protagonist...'"

"#efojweojfoe love this whole shapeshifter thing giving tem a heart attack #also the way this playing scene is described? idk it flows so neatly and pleasant to read"

"#i can't wait #Dean is dreamy"

[sparkylilacs]

Bat Family Show Concept

I’ll admit while I’m more of a casual Bat-Man fan, I’ve been stalking the Bat Family concept posts on here and love the idea! 

It made me wonder why no networks have tried to make it a show yet? And that made me think about how it might play out. But since I’m still pretty green I need advice as to where to put which Bat kid in each of the middle child roles.

See Damian and Dick are easy to place. 

Damian: Baby, like actually only 4-5 years old, with lots of chaos energy. The other Bat kids consider babysitting him worse than a one on one training session with Bruce. 

Dick: 19-20 years old, finally off at college and trying to enjoy a normal life and put superhero stunts behind him (at least for now). Basically he's Nora from Cheaper by the Dozen, and keeps getting called back to the manor to meditate fights and babysit.

Then I have middle children roles, but am not sure who would fit best where.

9-10 year old Bat: Just learned the family secret or was just officially adopted by the family and is so excited to be here training. Because we are freaking SUPERHEROS!

12-13 year old Bat: Current Robin, but is getting frustrated with the role (they can only go on night patrols with Bruce and even then only once or twice a month) and really wants their own super persona. Keeps trying out new names and costumes on their siblings, each more ridiculous (would be really funny if some of the personas referenced B role DC heroes) than the last.

15-16 and 16-17 year old Bats: Have their own superhero personas and have just started going on solo night patrols once a week. Current Robin is very jealous of them and they may rub it in the younger kid’s face just a bit.

But wait, where's Jason you may ask? He is the black sheep of the family (we don't talk about Bruno), the younger Bats barely remember/ didn’t know him at all. He left the night Talia dropped baby Damian at the manor. It was after a huge fight with Bruce over the family business that he ran off with Talia al Ghul and the League of Assassins. But as the show kicks off a new villain Red Hood has been growing power in the streets of Gotham. Nobody knows who he is or where he came from. Will there be a big dramatic reveal? Absolutely. Also Jason does not know about Damian or why Talia was in Gotham city that night. Just to add more drama of course.

Alfred will be the rock of the manor as he’s always been. He knows each of the Bats favorite late stakeout night drinks, the only way to get Damian to go to bed, and is the reason Dick keeps coming back to help out at the manor. Basically the overextended MVP, but he loves every minute of it because he remembers how quiet and empty the manor was after Bruce lost his parents. He is thriving in all the noise and life the manor has now.

*edit* Had another idea Barbara Gordon while not officially a Wayne, she is the nerdy kid from school who figures them out and follows them home one day to the Bat Cave. At first they are suspicious of her but, after she makes them give her a chance by threatening to tell her dad The Commissioner, she proves herself trustworthy and is inducted into the team. Basically the only child is enamored by large family trope, with more punching. (P.S. she uses the name Batgirl semi ironically because it’s what Damian called her when he first saw her suited up)

Please add on your own ideas!

[havendance]

I’m back again with another fic rec list. This time with a baker’s dozen of excellent Batman fics of the hidden gen variety that I’ve dug up. Hopefully there’s something new for everyone on here. Check them out! Give them some love!

Boy Hostage by kuonji

2.5k, complete. A fun little piece showing each of the batboys getting in and out of getting kidnapped for ransom.

but I don’t own a single gun by Molly_Hats (@mollyhats)

1.1k, complete. DICK AND TIM! A conversation between them set at a vague point in the timeline in which various old wounds of the past get dug up.

Get Used to Dying, by papered_king (@paperedking)

1.6k, complete. A very neat character study for Jason that’s formatted as a script for a play and does and excellent job of utilizing it’s format.

It could be worse by Runespoor

2.8k, complete. A series of vignettes about alternate universes where it was somebody else that took Jason in instead of Bruce.

paradoxical sleep by brawltogethernow (@brawltogethernow)

4k, wip. A vibey and cool inception AU. I have never actually watched inception so I don’t know what’s going on half the time when I read this, but I do know that it’s a fun read!

Promises by RenaRoo (@renaroo)

33k, wip. A fix-it fic for Cass’s One Year Later/Evil!Cass arc. This one admittedly, has not been updated since 2018, but it is still very good and you all should read it! It’s got Cass & Tim! Cass interacting with the Birds of Prey! And it really does a great job of digging into her head and all of her raw emotions.

Rose Garden by batling_out_of_hell

6k, wip. In which Cass decides to rebel against Batman and take over the world in order to make sure that no one kills ever. A delight to read. The first chapter is a little slower to start, but chapter 2 onwards is rocking!

Ships and Schemes by Molly_Hats (@mollyhats)

1.3k, complete. A short and fun little fic where Oracle’s been running a misinformation op by harnessing Bruce Wayne/Batman Shippers.

The Fisher Prince by Arctic_Cyclist

3.4k, complete. Damian vs Poison Ivy during the Batman Reborn era. This fic has rich prose, cool lore, and Damian kicking ass through superior ecological praxis.

these crosses by mintchocochips (@mintchocochipsposts)

7.1k, complete. Post-No Man’s Land Helena Bertinelli character study my beloved! Also features a fun Tim & Helena scene for fellow fans of their dynamic.

There is no milk! by chucklesbuckles

2.1k, complete. A fic where Catherine is alive when Jason dies. The start of a Red Hood!Catherine AU, but hasn’t actually gotten to that part in the series yet. It does an excellent job at capturing Catherine’s grief. (Note: This fic is only available to read if you have an AO3 account)

They move and it's fire by Arctic_Cyclist

1.5k, complete. Dick and Damian doing gymnastics together and Damian being recognized as Talia’s son.

when the bodies hit the floor by nashequilibrium

7k, complete. A fun Steph & Damian teamup where they take on a ghost at a sleepover gone wrong with some really fun to read prose.

[anxiousnerdwritings]

Damn... if we go back to au, where Demian's twin reader becomes Harley's child, how much will Talia be jealous.

She's like, yes, I didn't put my child in anything, he's an unworthy brat, but I hate even more that she found another mother and thinks I'm worse😡😡

And Ra, outraged at the conditions in which his grandson is being brought up (and angry that Talia allowed the child to escape with these people, and full of hatred because now his role as the main male role model has been replaced by some crazy clown)

Talia would be incredibly jealous and irate but it wouldn’t stem from her own maternal instincts, it’s all about principle. That child, even though she despises them and thinks their nothing but a defective spawn, is her child. It all comes down to possessiveness. And she especially wouldn’t take well to the situation if her child was absolutely thriving with Harley as their mother.

Ra’s would be incredibly enraged, mainly at Talia. Whether the twin!Reader left of their own accord (before Talia could do anything to them) or Talia got rid of them herself and sent them to their demise, Ra’s would blame Talia for the Reader ending up in the hands of Harley. In his eyes it was her fault, if only she had opened her eyes and saw what he saw in them then she would have tried so much harder with them. But seeing that his favorite grandchild was flourishing with Harley (and the fact that when he first visited them the Reader had a sword to his neck in protection of their new mother), Ra’s would be more inclined to allow the a reader to stay right where they were. The only thing he’d want in return would be for them to keep in contact with him. Even if they weren’t to do so he’d have his people watching over them and keeping him updated.

Meanwhile, Harley would have no problem kicking Talia’s ass and even going as far as killing her for how she treated Harley’s bby. When she learned of the Reader’s upbringing and how Talia Ned Damian treated them, Harley would be out for blood. She wouldn’t be able to wrap her head around how a mother can be so cruel to her own child. If Harley ever catches sight of Talia, it’s on sight and she’s aiming to maim. But I could see Harley and Ra’s coming to some kind of agreement regarding the Reader. The two aren’t exactly allies but when it comes to the Reader they’ll keep in contact with each other and if they need to they’ll work together for their precious darling.

In the case of the jokerized!twin!Reader then that would be a completely different situation. If Harley had taken the Reader in on her own, with no Joker in the picture, then things would be alright, but if Joker’s playing ‘daddy’ and especially if twin!Reader has already had a visit to the chemical vats then shit is hitting the fan (mainly in regards to Ra’s’ reaction).

Talia’s reaction to Jokerized!twin!Reader isn’t going to be anything positive. If anything she’ll only double down on her terrible treatment of the Reader, becoming even more disgusted by them and what they move become. She’ll accuse them of having finally sunk so low that there’s no coming back and that she was right to want to get rid of them. But once the Reader starts attacking her and is using their training from their upbringing among the League of Assassins and the unhinged, uncontrollable, unpredictable rawness they’re coming at her with has her shook. It’s probably Harley who goes at her first in retaliation for what Talia is saying about her bby and the Reader only jumps in to protect and fight for their new mother.

Fleeing, Talia would plan to come back or have some members of the League come and retrieve her faulty child so that she can train and forge them into what they should have been all this time ago, maybe even making them into something even better than that.

Ra’s would be outraged and plain disgusted with both the clowns and Talia. Again, if it weren’t for her his beloved grandchild wouldn’t have been desecrated and ruined by them. He would take matters into his own hands and save his grandchild from their ‘new family’. And he won’t let anyone stop him. He may even team up with Bruce but there’s no guarantee that Ra’s will allow anyone to have anything to do with the Reader when he gets them back. Not Talia, not Damian, not Bruce, no one would be allowed to come anywhere near them. They’ve been failed and ruined enough, he won’t let it happen again. It’s safe to say that Joker would surely meet his demise and there’s nothing Bruce could do to keep Ra’s from going through with his eradication of the Clown Prince.

And if getting the Reader back means having to kill them to do so then Ra’s will, but they won’t stay dead for long. He can promise that.

[judgeanon]

So about that DETECTIVE COMICS #1084...

As a big Shiva fan, I really, really liked that. Maybe my favorite issue with her since Hill's Outsiders run. I made a thread in another site about it but I liked that issue so much that I'm gonna take a sec to repost it here too, so hit that jump if you wanna read an in-depth analysis of 'Tec #1084... or at least, its backup feature!

I'm kinda kidding, I actually enjoyed the main story too. I liked seeing Bruce and Talia reunited in a very touching moment of romance that gives way to grim tension as the unfortunate complications of the strange and violent world they live being to slowly rip them apart once more... and then Shiva happens. For one panel and in a flashback but it was really fun to see Talia call her a friend for a bunch of reasons.

The most serious one is that I genuinely think that, given enough room to work with, Talia and Shiva could be a very compelling pair. Shiva is known to be interested in people who are in a state of flux, who find themselves in crossroads trying to figure out where their true path really lies. And Talia, for better or worse, has been there for, like... years now. I've always thought that Talia, endlessly torn between her love for Bruce, her love for her father, and her love for the world, might even find something tempting about Shiva's absolute detachment, about her comparative freedom from all connections. Which would be fun to explore.

The other reason comes from the issue's backup story by Alex Paknadel and Robbi Rodriguez, which I didn't expect at all but ended up being a huge treat for me, since it aligned so much with a lot of what I consider the most interesting elements and perspectives in Shiva and Cass' relationship.

Right from the start, we have Shiva being able to read Cass and figure out what's wrong with her just from a couple of fighting moves, which I absolutely adore. What looks like a fight is really just them having a conversation, at least for Shiva, who is very quickly able to get at the deeper emotions troubling Cass and holding her back.

(Also, that one panel of Snake Style ThodThodThod's really made me smile. I love the idea of Shiva using stranger, more exotic martial arts than anyone else, especially in Gotham)

On my first read I wasn't really onboard with Shiva's words about not killing Cass, like there was something about them that didn't quite click, but after mulling them over for a while I feel like they can be read as Shiva intentionally picking at Cass' perfectionist nature and competitive spirit. It's less "I spared you and now you owe me" and more "You trying to be Batman makes you suck, here's why, now be better." But I might be reaching a bit there.

Still, it does work, which I really enjoy. I like Shiva being able to prod Cass into reaching deep within her, figuring out what's wrong and improving herself. And we get a lot of that in the next couple of pages, where Cass grapples with the Azmer while also grappling with her own nature. Cass' training with David is an extremely defining element of her character. It's her instincts, her mother tongue, her main method of expression, but it's also something that causes her a ton of inner turmoil, due to the intentions of that training.

Cass is presented in this story as someone inwardly ashamed by her nature, worried of the assassin skills that are weaved into her very nature and what that may say about her. Of course, this is something that Cass has been through before and has developed quite a bit, maybe even outgrown but with Batman dead and gone, it probably makes sense for her to lapse a bit back into self-loathing without that symbol to guide her and with her failure at trying to emulate it. Which I think is a very human thing to happen. Your worst traits are never really gone, and tend to slip back into you when you're at a low point.

Which is why I really like the last few panels of this story.

Although first, Shiva calling Talia an "associate" makes me giggle a bit. C'mon Shivs, don't be so tsun-tsun... anyway.

On the most basic level, we have Shiva offering Cass some solid advice that ties the whole story in a neat bow. But it takes on an even stronger quality when you remember this is Lady Shiva talking here. Shiva, who we know wants Cass to be more than just a Bat. Shiva, who understands the strength that comes from finding your own path and following it. Shiva, who maybe more than anyone knows exactly how strong Cass can be once she embraces all aspects of her own nature and finds harmony in herself.

From almost any other character, that last phrase would just be a nice little canned moral. From Shiva's lips, it carries the weight of decades of character work for both Cass and Shiva. It's a solid ending that's elevated by the history between its characters. It hits SO many of the notes I want to see, the things that I think make Shiva's relationship with Cass genuinely compelling. Shiva being able to "read" Cass through a fight, her wanting Cass to be herself more than anything else, and all of it unhindered by any kind of easy moral judgment from Cass or the story itself.

Shiva is not presented as a monstrous villainess who Cass must reject, but as her own character with her own story that happpens to cross with Cass' for a moment. And from Shiva, there's no berating Cass for being a hero or choosing not to kill. There is berating, sure, but it works because it speaks to something a lot more personal for both characters than generic notions of good or evil. It speaks about Cass' need to find and be herself and stick with it no matter what.

(Which this arc also touched upon a couple months ago in 'Tec #1082, which very elegantly made it clear that Cass had the heart of a hero before she even knew what a Batman was -- an incredibly powerful statement made in just two captions)

So this is a story that hits pretty much all the right notes for me. I wish it would hit them a bit longer, or in a few different ways that didn't involve Batman, but it's just a perfect example of most of the elements that I think make this relationship worth exploring. Even the fact that this makes it the sixth major appearance of Lady Shiva in a row that is ultimately dedicated to her relationship with Cass doesn't bother me because this is precisely how I want this relationship to be written. If they were all this good, I wouldn't even mind.

And on top of all that, this issue is also a good example of something I'm always thinking about: tempting as it is, you don't need to make every Shiva appearance be huge and bombastic and lead to some massive story arc. It can be something small but meaningful, a quick appearance with some very choice words, Shiva walking into an ongoing story to, in her own way, help others get through an inflection point.

If I had to say something I disliked about it, I do think it's a little blunt in its themes and execution. Paknadel has Shiva quite literally spell out the problem for Cass, which I guess is fine given how short the story is, but it does lose a bit of elegance because of it. Still, it was a great little treat and while I know Ram's 'Tec run is coming to its end, I do hope he'll find a place for one last bit of Shiva in it.

And I also hope he gets to write her for more than just one wordless balloon because Ram V's Lady Shiva is a dream book in my book.

[dickgraysonsptsd]

i am soooo sick and tired of how obsessed the average tumblr jason fan is with claiming that every postcrisis writer HATED him and DESPISED him and SLANDERED him and DIDN'T UNDERSTAND him. oh my god just say you like precrisis and post-flashpoint jason and shut the fuck up already. "talia was totally evil in uth and lost days" she was literally textually not, she actively tried to prevent jason from going to gotham, she gave him resources to start over, her sleeping with jason in lost days is both her and jason having sex to spite bruce (talia sleeping with his son after she blames bruce for ra's death, jason sleeping with his ex because he's angry at bruce) and is not talia using her evil pussy to seduce jason away from being a sweet perfect delicate angel. talia's motivation for taking jason in and helping him physically recover was selfish, yes, it was out of a hope that it could help HER connect to bruce again, but it was not out of a desire to SUPER MEGA ULTRA KILL bruce because she was SOOOO EVIL; she only starts supporting jason in his revenge quest when bruce kills her dad, which is a pretty understandable, sane, non-evil reason to want revenge. kind of nuts to talk about anti-talia racism while lying about her to make her look worse. stop inventing events that didn't occur and disregarding events that did oh my goddddd you clearly don't read shit or, worse, lack even the most basic comprehension. this is not rebloggable because i'm being a cunt and venting

[confusedhummingbird]

The fact that Dickkory is hated by a certain editorial is general knowledge by this point and it is true that we as fans of the ship had our fair share of losses, however HOWEVER... Giving that disgusting retcon Talia suffered with her SA of Bruce, how she and Selina were made to literally fight/duel over Bruce, how in one comic they had Barbara propose to Dick, or her spying on him through that secret camera, or even that panel in which Dick very cruely says to her to not make him regret that he installed an elevator for her wheelchair, or Barbara's response to Batwoman saying she fought in war being "I dated Dick, have you dated Dick?" etc. I would go as far as saying that with these examples in mind it could have been a lot worse for Dickkory and Kory in particular. A LOT. Like considering DC's level of writing romance being what it is (under sea level), and their misoginy, Kory at least has her pride and integrity intact. Which in normal circumstances should be the bare minimum, but this is DC so...

You're right honestly and it's so sad.

All the women in DC deserve better than the DC writers