#and now Bruce has more maturity and does the hard thing and Steph when she did the hard thing and let back mask go

[twistpixel]

Tbh the only thing I have to say abt uth is that winick kind of nailed it with “doing it because he took me away from you” because that is exactly the language Bruce uses when he’s talking about his grief and death the people (usually women) in his life are “taken away from him”

[dailycass-cain]

Detective Comics #1077 brought the Cass back. So how'd she do in this outing? Well, here are my thoughts on the issue...

So the Cass section is pretty early in the issue itself within the second scene and is pretty fascinating with several layers. #1 in that Selina recruited Cass off-panel.

I mean it probably wasn't hard. "Hey Cass you wanna save Batman?" "Yeah."

Bam.

Easy peasy.

I'm just gonna overlook the nonsense that is "Gotham War", and not overthink or mock that any further to this. It's just simple characterizations of two characters with a similar need: Bruce getting freed.

However, this leads me to my #2 interesting thing that occurs on the page. Eiko Hasigawa has beef with Cass.

Like, there's an out-of-issue story we missed here. Cause Cass/Eiko never met physically until this issue at least to my knowledge.

What I am aware of is the growing disdain another Batgirl, Stephanie Brown, had for Eiko toward the end of Genevieve Valentine's Catwoman run (#35-46).

I am not aware if Steph hyped negatively Eiko to Cass. I think it's the safest bet.

However, my gut tells me an "unseen" story. Because, A.) Eiko knows Cass. B.) We know already Cass has met Selina off-panel and gotten an "art" love because of it. So it's reasonable to think Cass has met several of those who worked/allied with Selina closely.

Regardless of my theories, the moment is a nice hype package to remind us how deadly Cass is and interestingly how much she is acting like her biological mom here in manner and appearance.

I get why Cass is in gameface mode. Gotham is in hell given it's Tuesday and she has to showcase this side of her. Even when there's a Lian Harper nearby to "lighten" the mood.

I do find it intriguing how much Cass inherits stuff on her actual mom's side here. From clothing choices to looks. She literally is a Little Wu-San here. I am curious why writer Ram V gives her hostilities with Eiko when a Cheshire is in the same room.

Given Shiva/Cheshire's histories in Gail Simone's Birds of Prey legendary run. But I can see why because again the feud is making me ponder more so on the "what" than the easily simplistic "why" we've seen already.

I really do dig seeing Cass unmasked in this issue as it elevates her into the run and artist Jason Shawn Alexander draws a VERY mature-looking Cass here.

And that leaves us with the final "chilling" twist of who Cass will be teaming up with here. Someone, now I wonder if we'll get our SECOND mention or showing of Batgirl Vol. 1 as Cass will be teaming with Mr. Freeze for her part in this mission.

Also, I do love the little bit of fathering Jim Gordon does here during this scene. He knows what Freeze is capable of (both currently in this run and of the past).

Cass? We don't see her reaction, just one panel of her agreeing which is just so Cass.

Her mindset is completely different than Gordon's. Will she trust Freeze? I guess we'll see where Ram V goes with this. Again, I find this all fascinating the bits he's put here.

You can easily see this plan all going to hell, yet also there's a "chance" this plan might work. I guess it'll all depend on who betrays who.

Again, the bits sprinkled are just stories I want to read more of, along with how the current story is going to progress.

It's all quite engaging and has me on the edge of my seat.

Anyway, #1077 of Detective Comics is yet another refreshing thrilling piece to the puzzle of this run. It feels so darn unpredictable about where it will go.

Not to mention however briefly we've seen Cass sure carries a presence about her in this run. That fills me with glee on where this will go next.

So those who haven't checked on this Tec run yet please do so as what began back in September has been an excellent jumping-back point for this run.

[taggingtim]

Why I love Pre-Boot Tim Drake and why the Reboot has ruined him

I love Tim Drake.  He is my favorite comic book character of all time.  I’ve been really upset the past few days about what DC has been doing with him lately, and I thought it would be cathartic for me to write something up about it.  (No, this isn’t a rant about Tim being bi/gay; it’s a much larger problem than that. But I’ll get to that in a bit.) Bear with me for a bit of history, first.

When I was a kid I loved the Batman Animated Series.  I know this will lose me a lot of internet cred, but I always preferred the fourth season. In particular, I loved Tim Drake. He was fun and funny and I absolutely adored him.  I used to beg my mom to take me to the mall so I could buy issues of Gotham Adventures. For my birthday one year my parents got me a subscription to the comic, and I was blown away by the idea that I could have comics MAILED to my HOUSE.

Around middle school I started collecting Marvel comics, mostly X-men stuff.  I loved them, but when I started college I quit the hobby for financial reasons.

 Fast forward a few years, and I felt I was financially stable enough to start buying comics again. Rather than going back to Marvel, I decided to give Batman comics a chance.  I had no idea where to start, and when I found out my beloved Tim had his own comic series, I thought it was a perfect entry point into the Batman universe. I bought the complete series from a local comic shop and dove in.

 Tim’s Robin series was exactly what I was looking for in a comic.  He was very different from little Timmy Todd from BtAS, but I loved him. I built the rest of my comic collection around him, grabbing up every book that he was featured in, from Young Justice to Teen Titans to Batman, Detective Comics, Nightwing, Red Robin, and many others.  I have random books from series like The Demon just because Tim was in them.

 So why did I like Tim so much?  What about this character made me so excited for more?  I found in Tim something that I had never seen in a comic book before: character growth.  Somehow, though he was written by many different authors over many different years, Tim managed to have a character arc that is consistent and makes sense. Sure, there were a few small bumps along the way, but on the whole Tim has always stayed true to his character, and he’s developed in a way that the big name characters, like Batman, never can.

 When we’re first introduced to Tim, he’s a young teen who has been neglected by his parents growing up. He’s smart, healthy, and strong, but he lacks so much self confidence and has little sense of self worth.  Tim notices Bruce’s increasing violence as he grieves for the loss of his son, and Tim knows he needs to step in and help.  Batman needs a Robin.

 For most characters, this would be the part where Tim put himself forward for the job.  But he doesn’t.  He seeks out Dick Grayson and begs him to come home instead.  It’s only when Batman and Nightwing are in danger and there is literally no one else to help that Tim steps up and dons the cape. And once he does, he’s constantly plagued by self-doubt, terrified he will screw up and leave Batman worse than ever before.

 From there, Tim undergoes intense training.  He never begs to be in the spotlight, doesn’t push to go out on the streets before he’s ready.  His goal is to help Bruce as much as possible.

 Here’s where I started to fall in love with him.  All that self-doubt, the constant need to be useful?  That’s exactly what you would expect to see from a child whose parents had ignored and neglected him.  He finally has a parental figure who sees him, who values him, and Tim does everything he can to make himself worthy in the hopes that Bruce will keep him around.

 This is the first example of character consistency that we see with Tim.  And it continues.  When his mom dies and his dad is put in a coma, you see Tim struggle to come to terms with losing the people he loves, but never had a relationship with.  Tim almost never mentions his mom after her death, because she just wasn’t present in his life.  When his dad recovers and decides to stick around, Tim struggles to build a relationship with him.  He’s plagued with guilt because he’s finally found the father figure he needed in Bruce, but he thinks that he’s supposed to feel that way for Jack.  It’s a running undercurrent in their relationship that creates distance between them for years.

 This is already so long, so I’m going to try to summarize a bit more.  We get to watch Tim grow up.  We see his awkward relationship with his first girlfriend, Ariana.  He doesn’t know how to treat her; he’s never had the opportunity to observe a healthy relationship.  But he tries so, so hard.  All of Tim’s relationships are awkward, because he’s never had a model of a good one. Steph is a great match for him, because she’s very vocal about what she wants and needs, and she isn’t afraid to call Tim out when he messes up, which is exactly what Tim needs.

 Big things happen to Tim. He’s stuck with Jean-Paul Valley, who slowly goes insane, leaving Tim to try to keep the city in one piece.  He’s infected with the Clench, a plague that sweeps over Gotham and kills everyone it touches, and barely escapes with his life. His girlfriend is sexually assaulted, leaving him to deal with the fallout.  His family moves out of Gotham, and he has to sneak back in during No Man’s Land to help.  His relationship with his dad has intense ups and downs, resulting in him being sent to boarding school, punished in a variety of ways, and generally caused a lot of trouble in his life.

 Then people start dying. Over the course of about a year in his life, Tim loses his girlfriend, his dad, a close friend, and his best friend, each of whom dies under tragic conditions.  Tim’s grief is intense, and he is understandably traumatized by the losses. We see fundamental changes in his character.  He changes his costume from something bright and cheerful to something darker that reflects his emotional state.  He’s more subdued, his adventures a little more serious.

 When Bruce first tries to adopt him, Tim literally creates an uncle and hires an actor to play him, just to avoid dealing with the situation.  Bruce has viewed Tim as a son for years, so to him the adoption is an obvious step.  For Tim, it feels like a betrayal of his father, and it takes a while before he’s ready to accept Bruce’s love, home, and a place in his family.  

 When Damian shows up on the scene, Tim really struggles with him, and not just because early Damian is a horrid brat who tries to kill Tim on multiple occasions.  Tim has always felt the need to earn his place with Bruce, and Damian constantly throws all of Tim’s biggest fears in his face—he’s not wanted or needed now that the “real” son is here, he’s not worthy of a place in the family, he’s not good enough.

 Tim tries to clone Conner, his best friend.  He’s lost so many people, and he’s desperate to get them back.  Conner was cloned to begin with and fully matured over a very short period of time; the technology clearly exists, so why can’t Tim use it to get his best friend back?  And if he can get Conner back, why not the others he’s lost?  He eventually gives up, but when he eventually gets access to a Lazarus Pit, he immediately wants to incorporate the waters into his process so he can revive his loved ones.  With Dick’s help, Tim eventually decides to let it go, but it’s such a poignant moment for the character.

 Then Bruce dies, and Dick takes Robin away.  Tim switches to the Red Robin persona as he travels the world, alone, trying to prove that he was right.  He has to deal with the trauma of losing another father, finds out that his girlfriend never died but let him hurt so much for so long.  His brother and the only close friend he has left both think his grief has overwhelmed his sense and that he’s gone crazy.  He’s utterly alone.

 The Red Robin series is such a great culmination for Tim.  He finds a place for himself as a hero, as a CEO.  He gets parts of his family back—Bruce, Steph, Bart, Conner.  He finally figures out who he wants to be and creates a place for himself.

 This overarching character development is what I love about Tim.  His many, many traumas impact his decisions, and you can clearly see how he changes over time as a result of them.  I didn’t even go into his development as a leader from his early fumbling with Young Justice to his strong leadership of the Teen Titans, or how his relationships with Conner, Bart, and Cassie develop so fluidly and realistically over the years.

 This is why I love Tim. Characters like Batman are static; nothing that happens to them will ever have a lasting impact, because in the end the character always returns to what they were.  Tim, on the other hand, has changed and developed A LOT since his initial appearance.  His growth has always been consistent and logical.

 When the reboot happened, all of that character growth was lost.  Tim was replaced with a jerk who betrayed his friends and cheated on his girlfriend.  DC has basically retconned all of this and tried to turn Tim back into who he was, but by taking away all of the things that have happened to him over the years, Tim has lost SO MUCH.

 I keep looking for my Tim in recent comics, and I just can’t find him.  It breaks my heart, because I love him so much, and it feels like he’s lost to me forever.  The most recent Young Justice comic series actually gave me hope; I felt like maybe, finally, someone was going to write Tim correctly.  He had his primary friendships back, his relationship with Steph was developing (even if they seem to have completely dropped all the development around Steph’s decision to let Tim think she was dead).  The actual book itself wasn’t fantastic, but it felt like they were headed in the right direction.

 Over the last few days, I read the Batman: Urban Legends books.  I actually read the Batman/Red Hood story first, which was fantastic.  I was really excited to read Tim’s story (though I already knew how it ended).  Jason’s character was handled so well, and he seemed to actually have some character development that will hopefully last.  I anticipated the same for Tim.

 But Tim’s story was awful. The plot was all over the place—kids are being kidnapped, so Tim has to join a pain cult to get them back?  He’s somehow helping Oracle with computer issues while simultaneously questioning witnesses?  He’s broken up with Steph, off camera, shortly after telling her how much he loves her, but Steph somehow thinks that they should have a caring relationship where Tim tells her what he’s feeling?  Bernard has somehow become a good enough fighter to stand side by side with Robin?  Tim STILL doesn’t have a code name?  Why is everyone suddenly hounding him about what he wants to do with his life?

 It’s just such a mess of a story.  If it didn’t end with Tim agreeing to go on a date with Bernard, no one would ever have even mentioned it.  There’s nothing particularly re-readable or enjoyable about it.

 I actually liked that they brought Bernard back. I really enjoyed him in the original Robin series. It’s been a while since I read that part of the series (I’m actually working my way back through it now).  I know Bernard always read as gay to me, yet somehow I felt like he was out of character in these books.

 And then, the climax of the story.  Tim is bi, or gay, or has at least agreed to go on a date with a boy.

 If this had happened in the pre-boot, when Tim was Red Robin and had an actual character arc, I honestly wouldn’t have had an issue with it.  I do think it would have needed a LOT more build up than it was given here.  Tim has always been a very introspective character, and we’ve been party to so much of his internal monologue over the years.  It seems very strange to me that such a huge thing just sneaks up on him out of nowhere when he’s never even thought about it before.

 But more than that, this story just feels like the final death blow for the Tim I loved.  The whole arc is about how Tim doesn’t know who he is or who he wants to be.  What will his hero name be?  Will he go to college?  What is he going to do with his life?  These are all great questions, and his answer to all of them is… date a boy?  

 Is this going to be his defining characteristic going forward?  From here will we just see Tim exploring and discovering his sexuality?  The Tim we have now doesn’t have a family, a team, a purpose, or even a code name.  Why was this the thing that DC decided to give us?  It feels like they wanted to make a gay Robin and decided it would be Tim because they didn’t know what else to do with him.

 It’s stupid, but I honestly feel like I’ve spent the past few days grieving the loss of a loved one. The Tim that DC is presenting now is just not the person that I knew.  Tim would never break up with Steph that abruptly for what he admits is no apparent reason.  He would never say “just call me Robin, since Damian’s out of town.”  Everything that I love about Tim seems to be gone, and in its place DC has given me a date with a boy.  

 Again, it’s not Tim being not-straight that I have an issue with.  I’ve never read the character that way, but it’s something I can live with. My issue is the way it was handled. Why not make Tim an actual person first, and then explore his sexuality?  Send him off to college!  He’s obviously thinking about it!  It’s the perfect opportunity to give him his own book.  He can move to a different city, choose a new name, and DC can introduce a whole new set of characters.  Figure out which parts of Tim’s backstory are still canon, and which have been dropped. Make him a person again, and then let him explore his sexuality.

 I know this post is all over the place, and I don’t have time right now to go back and edit it.  I just really needed an outlet for my frustration.  Right now it feels like there are so many people who are so excited about Tim being bi/gay, but they don’t know anything else about him.  I keep seeing people comment how DC has been “dropping hints for years!” with no evidence other than “he and Superboy were really close!”  I guess I’d just really like to have some dialogue with other people who are fans of Tim, rather than fans of Tim-as-bi/gay or fans of Tim-as-straight.

 Does anyone else feel this way?  I’d honestly like to have a dialogue about it with other long time fans.

[talesfromatabletop]

RP Headcanons: DC Edition, pt 1

Batfam

Bruce cares, tries, and fails, but generally keeps trying for his kids.

Baby Terry McGinnis is the cutest thing ever and his dinosaur t-shirts reinforce this.

Slade Wilson - terrible person, great assassin, loving (if strict) parent.

Dick and Bruce fight constantly! Once Dick gets mad about something, everything makes him more angry until he and Bruce eventually resolve the first problem. It's sometimes big stuff... sometimes really petty shit.

Steph loves waffles. She will trade Tim for a 4-stack with chocolate chips.

Everybody wants to pair with Bruce on Gotham patrols. He gets the best fights and he brings snacks in the belt - it's a 50/50 if it's protein bars or trail mix, though.

Nobody wants to pair with Bruce on Gotham patrols. He won't let you make Social Media posts or stop for a hotdog at Rico's corner stand.

Jason and Dick actually fight a lot, still. Jason knows how to push Dick's buttons and he uses that as a self-defense tactic when he doesn't want to talk. ("Get Dick mad and he won't ask if I'm okay!")

Cass loved Steph before Steph loved Cass. Stephanie figured it out... eventually.

Lucius Fox only helps with the really weird shit because Bruce trades him Alfred's secret holiday recipes sometimes. Alfred's recipes are the true treasures of Earth.

Duke does his best not to get swept up in the weird, wild lives of his batsiblings tbh.

Tim doesn't babysit, he gets babysat.

Ace is the Good Boy™ but he will try and take Krypto down.

Titus is trained, we swear, but he's goofier than a ferret on drugs sometimes. 10/10 derp.

Sometimes Dami gives Batcow walks through the garden to help her relax.

Every Batfam member will stab the other for the last piece of Ma Kent's apple pie. Even Alfred.

Superfam

90s Kon and YJ Kon both deserve to exist. What better combo than the Insta-famous, outgoing showboat and the blunt, introverted buffbaby?

YJ Kon is way more of a "Conner" than 90s Kon. 90s Con is now "Carter."

Carter + Tim = Flashy Disaster Couple

Conner likes Wally's freckles.

Ma and Pa Kent accept any and all grandkids, time-travel or dimension-hopping be damned because "They're our boys, now, Clark, of course we want to see them!", and there are family trips to the farm.

Clark will bribe his friends and teammates with his mother's cooking. He can't bribe with his own, though, because he's terrible at it.

Jon would happily fly to Gotham for dinner before eating what his father burned made for them.

Krypto would probably go, too.

Clark doesn't know what to do with all of his sons but at least they aren't like his cousins.

"It's not about whether the boob window would look good or not, guys! It isn't happening!" is still something he's had to say before, though, and Clark's mildly ashamed of it.

With three superboys up to bat, the real issue is that none of them want to share the name. Jon had it first and that's fine with his brothers, really. Conner looks and feels like practically an adult, so he's meh about it. Carter wants something catchier to say. The result? Superboy, Kon and Rao.

Jor-El had a conniption when Carter named himself "Rao" as a hero. "You named yourself after OUR GOD?!? You disrespectful little-!"

Lex thought it was hilarious.

The boys are constantly in the background of Carter's posts and there's a few Insta vids of Lex trying and failing to hide that he's mildly amused by his son's shenanigans.

Flashfam

Barry is face-blind (has prosopagnosia). He can gradually memorize specific elements of a person's face ("Uh... Ollie's hair is like mine, right? So he's blond! And I know he has facial hair.") but has trouble associating them together unless he's had long periods of exposure to the person.

Wally is a nervous bundle of anxiety. All of the time.

Barry is practically incapable of looking on the dark side of things, and tends to believe the best of people - this extends to his villains.

Cisco is his bro, Caitlin is like the ditzy aunt, and Harrison is the exasperated father-figure that just wishes his kids didn't drink so much coffee.

Speaking of coffee - Barry doesn't drink it on the job. It makes him antsy.

Captain Boomerang - Digger, to his friends - is always on the edge of getting out of the game. Raising Owen ("Little Diggs") is a higher priority than his Rogues work. He waivers between retirement and always that "last" job that'll set him up to take care of his son.

Little Diggs is too pure for this world, and a fan of Flash even though he knows his father is a villain.

Wally isn't as forgiving with the Rogues as Barry is. This is especially true for Heatwave, Glider and Cold, since they've all double-crossed the Flash before.

Cold isn't fond of Kid Flash. Barry earns his respect and, in some ways, his admiration - this doesn't extend to Flash's smartassed sidekick.

Lisa and Mick are a surprisingly functional duo despite their dysfunctional dynamic. Lisa is generally in charge in their relationship, and Mick knows Len would ice him if he ever raised a hand to Lisa.

Len and Mick are best friends, despite the friction from their clashing personalities.

Lisa keeps pushing Len to either date or pick a favorite hooker - anything to get him laid and chilled out for once.

Len is practically addicted to puns. Not even just cold- or ice-related puns, either! He will make puns out of anything when given an opportunity, and genuinely is amused by them.

Arrowfam

Oliver is never in control of his daily life. He's barely in control of his personal choices most of the time.

Felicity runs it all - the team, the company, organizing his assignments from the League... everything other than doing the hard stuff herself.

Ollie really is a capable hero, but he doesn't believe it. He also doesn't particularly believe that the League needs or wants him there, but couldn't tell you why exactly they keep him, then, if questioned about it.

Roy has totally given up the flash and mystique of heroism tbh. Trucker hat? Check. Bow, arrows, and backup guns? Check. Flip-flops? All the better to chase people with. The slapslapslap of justice will strike terror in the hearts of muggers everywhere.

Oliver spoils Lian relentlessly.

Artemis is glad to avoid the weird shit that Roy and his clones get up to when Ollie isn't paying attention. She's never been more thankful that she isn't one of the adopted sidekicks.

Jim: Big, friendly, easily guilt-tripped, the pretty one.

Will: Mature, down-to-earth, does the guilt-tripping, the mom/dad friend.

Roy: Trash, amger!!!, can't be guilt-tripped but can be blackmailed, has no clue what he wants in life yet.

Lian will either murder you in your sleep or you are now a member of her family. There is no in-between.

No pets. Ever. They will get shot with an arrow by accident and nobody in the house is willing to deal with that emotional burden.

Oliver wants exactly 0 people in the "Arrowfam" but will kill you and/or himself over losing any member of his Arrowfam.

[darkspellmaster]

Young Justice: Outsiders Theories -What’s going to happen in Season 3

Minor YJ speculation and worries

With the return of Young Justice, now with the added, Outsiders, a lot of reactions are happening based on the first three episodes. Now that I have had the pleasure of watching the three episodes, a few things have crept into my mind. So I figured, why not theorize about them. 

Side note...Going to add pictures later today because of time by me right now, and I need sleep, so I hope this doesn’t come out jumbled. Pictures when they are put in will be under cut, and some will have blood and may be less then pleasant. You  have been warned. 

Also spoilers for DC comics from around seven or more years ago, again, you have been warned. 

Terra being a Baddie? 

So right now we know that Terra has been Kidnapped and there’s some speculation as to where she is, and what’s going on with her. As many know thanks to the Teen Titans and a movie for the Teen titans as part of the DC Animated movie series, Terra was working as a agents for Slade Wilson, aka Death stroke. We know that Death Stroke exists in this world and that the YJ team has come up against him. 

Given that Judas Contract is such a well loved story, and something a lot of people would like to see done right, I’m wondering if we’re going to see it play out again under Greg and Brandon. If so, is Tera going to be brainwashed or is she going to be actually someone who is evil. We’ve had it in the past where she’s manipulated by Death Stroke and was actually a decent person. However, with YJ nothing is that simple. 

My only concern right now is that people will be upset if they go with the real event in the story and have Princess Tera actually follow her other selves path, only being more true to the actual story. Greg did say they were going to push things with this season, and her parent’s death are one way of doing that...another would be to reveal that she’s in love with Death Stroke and has been sleeping with him, which is what was going on in the original story. That could cause a lot of drama for Geoforce,and he would have to contend with what happened with his sister and a way older man. 

Also I wouldn’t put it past them to have her be saved by Slade and that’s why she feels connected to him. Terra from the comics was complex. This one probably will be too. 

Where is Wally West. 

So according to Greg there is no Speed force, however, we haven’t talked yet about time travel. One of the stories that happened for Barry Allen was that he and his wife Iris West wound up traveling into the future where they had their two kids, a pair of twins, one of whom has Bart, which I can’t remember right now. We know Bart came from the future, so we know that you can travel through time. 

So what if they gave Wally Barry’s story here. Suppose that the speed was enough to actively send him forward in time. But what period? Well there are a few times. Bart’s is one, Possibly to the time of the Tomorrow Titans, or the the time of the Legion of super heroes. Any one of these could lead to him coming back in various ways. 

However I caution something. Wally would not be coming back as the Wally that we knew. He would have changed, probably matured more, and, more than likely depending if they want to go farther with the story and hit home on the idea of merging both Barry and Bart’s stories into Wally’s trip, having him come back as an adult with a family and married to Linda Park. 

Now who is Linda Park? Well she’s Wally’s longest lasting and more famous love interest. She’s a tv news investigative reporter that he met after he became the Flash and for years they’ve had a bit of a contentious sort of romance where Wally tried to win her over and she didn’t fall for his typical charms, this eventually led to the two becoming friends, and her helping him on a number of cases. Eventually, after dating and her worried she couldn’t fit into his world, the two were married and had twins, Iris and Jai, both who had speed powers, though Jai’s were more connected to making him strong. (Both seemed to be based a bit on Mark Waid’s two kids of Wally’s from Kingdom Come.) 

If they decide to go this route it would fit in with the idea of Wally possibly becoming a second Flash, or work in some other way. Not sure yet. Also adding to this theory is that Greg used to work on a show named Gargoyles, where at one point he planed to have one of the main characters, Brooklyn, time travel back to Ancient Japan, meet another Gargoyle from the past there, marry and have a family, only to be brought back into modern time. 

Now I’m not sure how the time travel aspect works in YJ, if it’s only been two years in the future or not. But we do know it’s possible to move through time thanks to Bart. We also know there is no speed force, and thus he can’t be there, so logically the only time that would make the most sense is that he is in the future. It’s not hard to buy into the idea that Wally ends up meeting his Niece -Dawn Allen, and Nephew -Don Allen, also known as the Tornado Twins (who seem to be not dead in this version of the characters history) and possibly the Legion of Superheros, with Jenni Ognats, aka XS (Barry and Iris’s grand daughter and Bart’s cousin, Dawn’s daughter) who is one of the Legions members. 

Given that in the comics both Bart and Conner were revived in the future do to the work of the LoS, I wouldn’t be surprised if they agree to help Wally get home thanks to Braniac 13, who is their tech head. My guess is during this time away Wally will probably meet Linda Park, a local investigative reporter. The two probably will become friends, and then possibly fall in love. Due to not knowing how time flows in this case, I have to wonder if they will have kids or not, so Wally may come back married or in a relationship with Linda, who goes with him back to the past. 

What does Bruce know and why did the others up and leave the team? 

So Batman pretty much blindsided the team, and this is typical of him. Actually this fits in with his actions when he created the Outsiders. Back then there were issues with the UN about them going into Markovia (same as in YJ) only they had Lucius Fox in this case as captive and he needed to get in and get him out. 

So we have Batman forming his own group, probably Batman Inc, or they’ll be called the Outsiders while the other team will be something else. In any event, Bruce doesn’t do things unless he has reasons. Given what happened off world and the fact that there have been over 16,000 kids that have gone missing, this would have gotten his attention long ago. Knowing Bruce, and that he has ties to Talia in YJ, he more than likely has some clue of something going on thanks to Ra’s al Ghul having ties to the light. This would mean that he probably knows it has something to do with the light, and that with Luther on the UN this would lead to him trying to stop the JL and YJ in helping others. 

So what would he know? My guess, is that he knows about what Dick found and I think that Dick’s working with him on this. Bat Family tends to stick together, so he probably has them knowing that he knows something. How much they know, it’s up in the air. I don’t think Tim, Steph or Cissie know much of any thing outside of the fact that they’re going to try to stop Virtigo and other’s like him from kidnapping kids. But Dick and Babs, Katana, and Batwoman probably know more about the situation. As we know that both Dick and Babs were already on the case, and Batwoman is Bruce’s cousin Kate Kane, and a former Marine who is possibly dating Renee Montoya, (possibly the Question) who is a detective on the GPD, which means she would have info from her. Katana is probably working with Lady Shiva, anti-hero of the Batman comics, so she’s probably gathering info via her typical way of doing that. On top of that her family was killed by one of Baron Bedlam’s helpers, so she’s probably wanting revenge. 

I’m pretty sure Bruce knows that the Light are involved, I’m pretty sure that given the death of Ana, that she was used like many others that there’s hints of Apokolips. I’m damn sure that he’s trying to put two and two together and more than likely thinks the watch tower is bugged at this point, that was why he didn’t explain more. I have no doubt he sent Dick to recruit Jefferson. This is Bruce, leave no plan unfinished, Wayne. 

As for Hardware and Plastic Man, I get the feeling that both wanted in because of the kids as well. Both have had connections to kids and both are good guys. So Plastic, who has been sometimes Team Bats and sometimes not, but he was a criminal that knows about how kids fall through the cracks, and would want to help them. Hardware focuses a lot on inner city kids and believes they need a chance to better themselves and his genius intellect and past connections would be a boon to Bruce in this case. 

So what about Ollie? I don’t think he knows as much as Bruce, but I think he does know enough that he suspects there’s something darker going on with the missing kids. People keep forgetting that Oliver is only a bit less rich than Bruce and has his own group of people that watch out for things for him. So he probably has his own suspicions. Keep in mind Ollie is a guy that wants justice for all social issues, and if one thing would piss him off more than anything it would be missing kids. So he would probably meet with Bruce, talk about what they knew and Bruce would play to Ollie’s hot temper and get him to join in leaving. 

Cissie, who is connected to Ollie through her mother, probably is going to be more like Mia from GA going forward as her outfit seems to mirror Arty’s and Mia Dearden’s Speedy look, rather than her own main YJ look from the comics. More than likely Cissie feels the same way as Ollie about things, and (unless they change her back story to be Mia’s -please don’t) she would want to do whatever she could to protect kids due to the fact that so many look up to her because of her time in the Olympics. So her leaving for Ollie makes sense. 

Stephanie, who’s father is the Cluemaster, is known for her more hotheaded choices and for going in to prove herself. She’s also someone who would want to protect kids because of what happened in YJ’s past where she got taken, and probably also because kids like her who’s family is messed up may slip through the cracks and people don’t notice. Her leaving would make sense as she’s going to want to prove herself to Bruce, given that Tim’s probably the one that brought her in and they’re friends (at least right now -crossing fingers more later), and she would want to do her best to prove to Bruce that she can be trusted and is loyal. 

Tim did not look happy about it, but it makes sense for him to want to go too. Tim may not have grown up in a hard life, but he’s also the one that brought Bruce back from the deepest depression he had after Jason Todd’s death. His actions make sense as Cassie has always been a person that would butt heads with him due to him wanting to be like Bruce. He’s more of a detective type then Dick, or Jason, and with his computer skills he’d have probably agreed to this after realizing how this could affect people like the Runaways that they saved in the last season. Yes he wouldn’t have told Cassie as he would know she would tell Diana because the two are very close and would break everything. 

Why are Roy and Artemis living with Lian in the same house? 

I’ve seen a lot of people discussing what is going on with Roy and Arty. People are thinking it’s Roy and Jade’s house, but if it was you would see things that would indicate Jade is around, and we do not have that. In fact it’s clear that the house is very simple, meaning that it’s more than likely Roy decorating at this point. We know that the other YJer’s aren’t exactly okay with Jade/Cheshire, and she and Arty are not perfectly okay either. We also know she tends to fall off the bandwagon and follow her dad’s footsteps. 

So I don’t think she and Roy are together anymore. That doesn’t mean he and Arty are either. Given her loss, Roy would have been the first to take her in as he knows what dealing with pain and loss and that sort of thing can do to you, see his...um China-cat episode (and yes I am calling it that as you can’t tell me that wasn’t a nod to him being on Drugs way back when). Arty is still a college student, she’s gonna have loans and the like as she’d probably not take a lot of money from Ollie. So who’s paying for the house? Who’s house is it? Why it’s Ollie’s. 

Again, it’s in Star City, which is GA’s home town. No doubt Ollie saw what Roy saw with Artemis and Dianah probably pointed out her being down as well. Roy more than likely said he’d take her in, rather than her living on her own, and Ollie was like, no way are you and your daughter and Artemis living in that crappy apartment. Then took Roy and her house hunting and they chose a simple house. Ollie probably paid for it and they live there. It’s a lot like Roy’s house in the comics, that he bought back when he was working for Mr. Bones. 

Dr. Jace and her role in all of this? 

Okay so I’m sure a lot of people are probably going to like the idea of Helga and Brion, given that she’s very touchy with him. The problem is that they are probably going to make Helga also the reason that Metamorpho-Rex Manson (dude on the poster cover with the other outsiders) becomes what he is. He wants her to fix his issues. (Aso there’s a chance that Rex may connect back to Jamie with Egypt and that connection to the beetle.) 

Here’s the thing, Helga Jace is a known villain who works for the Manhunters, a group founded before the Green Lanterns by the big blue heads of Oa. The Manhunters are ruthless and dangerous and I think we see them in the trailers. They were supposed to police the universe like the GLs but they sort of screwed that over. Given we have John Stewart as a mention, we probably will see him and the other Lanterns later. 

So what would she want with Brion? Well if she’s working with the Manhunters than she’s going to have ties probably to Apokolips plot in some way. She’s helping make the kids into these monsters so she would have some idea of what they are being used for. Unless they change that. My guess is that she’s going to turn out to be actually one of the major baddies later on in the season and helping out the Light. 

Halo....

Okay so Halo was a young woman that got killed, lost her memory and was brought back by an alien and now they share the body in a way and she can use powers. In the case of Halo for YJ one thing I noticed is that her powers are very much the same look as the powers from Apokolips. As other’s have noted the color scheme is off with what does what in regard to healing and her force field. The thing is that the color scheme does match that of powers from Apokolips. This means that this may be tied to something or someone from that world. Could we possibly be seeing the New Gods in the near future? 

Darkseid and his plans...

Something’s been bothering me since I’ve seen these first three episodes and that’s the fact that a lot of this is reminding me of Infinite Crisis, or at least parts of it are and there are things that are reminding me of Final crisis as well. 

So there’s this thing in the DCU called the Anti-life equation. Humans seems to have it connected to the subconscious. Darkseid has been looking for this for years, and in Final Crises he was using humans and other beings in experiments to find the equation. This lead to the vanishing of Batman (Long time travel story there) and the battle for the Cowl in Gotham. 

On the show we know that Vandal Savage had brought War World to Apokolips, and said that their alliance still stood. Now we don’t know what the deal is, but it’s looking more like Apokolips is using the Light to create the monsters that we saw fighting the League at the start. But why would he need such things? Well I think that it’s got to do with the equation. Using them for the experiment would be a way to gather information in regard to pulling out the equation. 

It could also tie into the New Gods, and their war with Apokolips. We could be seeing an attempt at building up to a all out war between these two and the building of an army to use against the New Gods. 

Conner and Megan...and Match

I’m not sure how to talk about this one because it’s got a lot of twists and turns. I’ll do my best with this theory. 

So when I was watching the season so far, one thing that stood out to me was the fact that Megan and Conner’s actions are reminding me a lot of what Conner and Cassie were going through during Infinite crises. During the story line Conner was trying to deal with his previous actions. He had been taken over by Lex Luthor (triggered by some stuff in his DNA, and later it turns out it wasn’t Lex who was the main DNA, it’s confusing) but Conner fought his friends and was saved and felt guilty about it. Not long after there was a huge deal with the Infinite crises that was coming from Alexander Luthor (long story there), the first Superman, and Super Boy Prime, who were trying to fix the darkness that had come over the DCU. 

So who is Match a clone of Superboy that wound up fighting with him. He later became a good guy. and joined Titan’s east. But for a while he outright hated Conner and wanted him dead, as I recall. He was made to serve an The Agenda and kill Superboy. He eventually started to go good then started to Rot and was later killed by Superboy Prime. 

The reason I bring both these up is because of how Greg seems to be playing with the story for both these crises and it’s not hard to see similarties here. 

We have had clones before in the series, Match is a clone. Conner asks Megan to marry him, Conner and Cassie consumate their relationship in the barn at the Kent family farm (don’t ask that’s John’s writing), we know that Apokolips is playing with things right now, and we know that they took samples of DNA from the boys in the first season that hasn’t come into play (even if they smashed it, that doesn’t mean all is gone) and it wouldn’t be too hard to see them turning a Superboy clone into a Superboy Prime, by using Match. 

So what does this all mean for Megan and Conner. Well, honestly my guess is that we may see Conner sacrificing himself ala his character in the Infinite story line. 

Superboy Prime and Conner fought till Conner was wounded and SB P had to go get power armor to make himself stronger to beat him. However Conner managed to destroy a tower that SB P had made to change the realities. However he died in the process in Cassie’s arms. 

We know that YJ has a habit of killing off heroes each season. Kent Nelson in season 1, Zartan and Walley in Season 2, so could Conner be up next? We already have an engagement, and it would fit right in with the above story. 

There are a few options here though that could play out.: 

1. Conner doesn’t die, he and Megan get married and live out their lives as heroes, with the complication of them having to deal with his aging problem (You know, stuck at 16). 

2. Conner does die and we are down one Super character. They chose to bring in Damian and Jon Kent in the near seasons, and Jon becomes the new Super boy, or we see the arrival of Chris Kent (lois and Clark’s adopted child who is the son of General Zod), and he takes over the role as Superboy. Or we get Kara Kent, aka Supergirl to join in Conner’s stead. 

3. Conner dies and Megan goes through what Tim did, trying to clone him. Case A: she fails like Tim did and has to move on. Case B; she succeeds, but the Conner that comes out is closer to the original Conner from the comics and less serious and possibly isn’t interested in her. Case C: she makes a perfect Clone of him and that comes back as a story plot point later when he comes back alive. 

4. Conner dies, but is revived by the Legion of Superheroes, just as it was done in the comic and he comes back to the past with them for another season arc. 

There is also the option of Megan dying too, but I’m not sure if they would do that as of yet. 

Okay on to happier thoughts: 

Character’s that I hope we get in the near future.....

Anita Fite -Empress. It would be so cool to have her join the team and have an interesting relationship with Cassie and the other girls on the crew. Her powers are more magic based so that would fill in for the missing Zee. 

Slowbo- Clone or kid from the same planet as Lobo. He could claim to be Lobo’s kid, that would be amusing. Come on we need the trash talking nerd to get on Con’s nerves. 

The Ray, already being used by the CW seed, Ray was on YJ for a short time and was older than the other kids but he turned out to be a good mentor figure for them. 

Jade and Obsidian, Twin children of the first Green Lantern Allen Scott. Jenny (Jade) has powers like her father, except they are internal, Todd (Obsidian) manipulates shadows and merge with them allowing him to do things like fly and the like. 

Powergirl -if we can’t have supergirl then at least give us Power girl, as Karen Star is amazing and being Clark’s cousin with the same powers is cool. Also bonus if this gives us the idea of Earth 2. 

Since we have Courtney can we get the kids from the JSA? Like all of them? 

Also just where is Bunker? I could easily see him joining the cast as he would fit right in and be a fun character to have. 

Rose Wilson and Eddie -kid devil, would be a nice added bonus, along with Jericho (and leave him mute please). 

There’s way to many people I would like to see, including Argent, as Toni would make for an interesting female character. 

Can we also get Raven in there please. I miss Rachel.  

[becausewerebatfam]

Age Matters (2)

Damian Wayne x Reader

Damian falls in love with an older woman.

Warning: Talks about age when it comes to relationships. Not at all inappropriate. Maybe some suggestive content.

[ Master List ]

"Father, what are your thoughts on courting an older woman?”

Bruce turned away from the Batcomputer almost instantly. Damian always seemed emotionally closed off, he had worried he would never care for anyone but himself. The question thankfully brought some peace of mind. “Age does not matter as long as both of you are responsible adults.” Of course, he also began thinking, calculating if you will, who could have caught Damian’s eye. To his very accurate knowledge, his son had never been in a relationship.

Damian nodded acknowledging his father’s response. He was nineteen now, only months away from his twentieth birthday. He was able to do just about anything with the exception of consuming alcohol but he had no desire to drink it anyway.

It wasn’t too surprising to hear he was interested in someone older. Having been raised like an adult by Talia made him mature for his age. Bruce figured the woman had to match Damian’s mental age, with a tough personality that could handle Damian’s. A name came to mind, “Are you seeing someone?”

“Not yet, soon.”

If he was right Bruce knew he had to give his son a warning. “It can be difficult to mix work and romance.”

Damian wasn’t the least bit worried about that or the fact that his father seemed to know it was you he was referring to. 

After your incident with Owlman Damian went back to his usual self around you. He didn’t want you to push him away or distance yourself further. He wanted to be there for you when you needed help. Even if it hurt, he assured you his feelings had gone away. It all seemed to work because soon you were back to your usual self. You visited the tower again, confided in him, and once again he was the first person you called when you needed help.

Feigning to forget you was much harder. Especially when he had to see you with Roy. Yeah, you dated Roy Harper and he blamed Jason for it. Even if you two didn’t last long the jealousy he felt was overwhelming. If he was able to handle that he knew he could handle this. “I can handle it.”  

+++

The manor was quiet allowing Damian to hear the light footsteps that quickly approached his bedroom door. He opened it just in time for you to bump into him. Your face hit his chest reminding you that you had one less thing you could tease him about. He was now taller than you and made of bricks apparently because the impact was strong enough to send you falling onto your ass. “God, Damian!” You pinched the bridge of your nose hoping no blood would come from it. “Are you trying to become a wall?” you laughed seeing his disdain. 

“I was going to apologize but you can forget it now.”

“You? Apologize?” you asked incredulously. Your right hand extended out towards him, “a little help?”

Damian rolled his eyes but helped you up nonetheless. “Why are you sneaking up here?”

“I wasn’t sneaking.” You were but you weren’t going to admit it now that you had failed. “I was just looking for you.” You walked in taking a look around his room noting all the new paintings he had brought back from the tower. “I heard you finally came back and left Jon in charge of the Titans.”

His lips curved up slightly seeing you walk into his room unlike at the tower where you would awkwardly stand at the door.

“I also heard you broke some hearts this last year.” Jon had told you everything about Raven’s crush on Damian and how oblivious he was to it. What surprised you most was his anticlimactic response to the kiss she had given him right before he left. Although Jon didn’t disclose his words to you he said Damian had other things on his mind. Whatever it was you were relieved Damian had experienced teenage love.  

“Tt,” Damian cursed Jon’s big mouth. “That kid-”

Although you hated to admit it, a part of you was also jealous. He had really gotten over you but all you had been doing was thinking of him. You tried your best to forget what Damian said, even going as far as dating Roy, but it stuck with you. “W-why did you reject her?”

Your stutter didn’t go unnoticed. Damian began to examine your expression but you turned your back to him wanting to hide the fact that you were biting your lower lip. He smirked suddenly feeling very in control, “Why are you so interested?” 

“I’m not!” you huffed. Trying to compose yourself from the outburst was hard. Your heart was racing and you knew why...you couldn’t deny it. This had solidified your assumption, you loved Damian. “I just...” you trailed off unsure of what to say.

While your heart raced your cheeks began to change color. Damian eyed you remembering his own actions when you would speak of Roy. “Just what?” He began to hope you were jealous as well. 

You couldn’t handle being alone with him any longer. “Sorry, I know it’s none of my business.” You smiled your usual smile trying to put the awkwardness behind you. This was a special day for Damian. Not only did he come back to the manor with the intention of taking over as Batman but he was also reaching a new milestone. You didn’t want to ruin it with your unwanted emotions. “Can you come with me?” You pulled him by the arm knowing everyone was waiting for you to bring him down. 

“Where?”

+++

Upon entering the Batcave Damian was attacked by colorful confetti.  “What the-” Damian growled at Tim who had thrown the colorful pieces of paper a little too enthusiastically at his face.

“Happy Birthday!” 

Tim laughed feeling a lot better about having to wait so long for you to get him. “You’re right Jason, that was fun.”

Dick charged at Damian hugging him tightly. “My Dami’s all grown up!” He felt more like a father than a brother at that moment. His little sparing partner who fought for the cowl was finally going to wear it.

Damian had lost count of how many times he had said that over the years. “Grayson get off of me!” He struggled to push the older male away as another arm was wrapped around his shoulders.  “Welcome to adulthood kid, let’s go get you a drink.”

“He has to be twenty-one Jason!”

“I know a place that-”

Bruce cleared his throat making everyone turn and note his entrance. “There will be no underage drinking.” He was accompanied by Alfred and Steph who was carrying a birthday cake with Damian’s name on it.

“Sorry I’m late-” Jon flew in at full speed in a fit of laughter when he saw the group hug situation going on with Damian. “Can I join too?” he asked even though his arms were already open.

“What are you doing here Kent?” Now Damian really was stuck in place. “Don’t you have work to do?” Even though he was scowling Jon knew Damian appreciated when people remembered his birthday. “Aww, I love you too buddy.” It had only been a week since Damian moved out of the Tower but Jon already missed him.

Both you and Steph couldn’t resist taking a picture of the moment. “Bruce, Alfred...” you guided the two of them closer to the action. No one could forget about the two most important men of Wayne Manor.

“Tim get in there!” Steph pushed him towards the group but Tim didn’t hug him. There was no more Damian to go around and he was fine with it. He simply stretched his hand out to poke his bicep. “Happy?”

“Very!”

Damian sighed as the picture was taken. Here he was thinking everyone would finally start treating him like an adult instead he’s being coddled more than ever. Once everyone finally let go he went straight to you. “You are to blame for this.”

You giggled, “guilty as charged.” The bright smile a result of having pulled off the surprise. “I know your birthday isn’t until tomorrow but this was the only way to surprise you.” It was always your wish to get the drop on him. “I know how much you hate surprises.”

Damian silently scowled not wanting to admit defeat.

“Can we go now?” Jason asked and immediately Tim, Dick, and Jon got into one of Bruce’s luxury vehicles. The driver’s seat was left empty for Damian knowing how much he loved to drive. “Hope he doesn’t kill us before our own birthdays,” Tim commented securing his seatbelt.

“Come on kid while the night is young.” Jason opted to drive his bike, luxury cars were too small to accommodate his stature. 

Damian looked to you for an answer. 

“Tonight the city is being looked after by Gotham’s finest female vigilantes while the young master Wayne celebrates his twentieth birthday Jason Todd style.” Your response sounded scripted because it was. Jason only agreed to sit through the surprise part if you said those words exactly. “Whatever that means.”

“What?” His eyes narrowed in a way that told you he was not very fond of the surprise and was about ready to kill you. 

“Don’t worry Jon’s a minor so it can’t be too bad.” When Jason revved his bike you sensed how excited he was for tonight. Genuine worry settled in. Even though you explained numerous times that Damian turned twenty not twenty-one it was possible he would break some laws.

Damian immediately caught the doubt in your eyes. “Even you don’t believe that.” Your shaky sigh confirmed it. Both of you knew Jason had a way around everything.

“Please take care of Jon for me.” In your eyes, Jon was like a sweet, innocent, little brother who needed protecting from the world or in this case Jason Todd.

Damian thought about the situation at hand, "On one condition.”

“What condition?”

Damian leaned in closely to whisper in your ear, “Don’t go home tonight.”

Chills ran up and down your spine when you felt his lips ghost over the shell of your ear. His voice was huskier and lower than usual making it sound like there was a hidden meaning to his words. You quickly dismissed it until you felt his lips press against your temporomandibular joint. “Wha-” you pulled back, wide-eyed, to see him smirking.

He had felt your uneasy heartbeat at that moment when his lips came into contact with your skin. There was so much he wanted to say and do but for now, that was enough to get him through whatever Jason had planned. “You owe me that,” he left not letting you protest further. If you had anything to say to him then you would have to wait for him to get back.

Frozen, you stood. The person walking away from you wasn’t your Dami it was Damian Wayne.

Steph and Alfred were long gone, putting away the intact cake knowing Jason will be back for his half for sure. The guys were all so excited, they didn’t see or hear you two. Only Bruce noticed but thought nothing of it already knowing it was you who Damian spoke about all those months ago.

+++

When Damian got back he found you waiting for him in his room. You had been pacing back and forth, arms crossed, waiting for him. Seeing you in your civilian clothes was a nice change from earlier. Now you both had no mask to hide under.

“Can you explain what I owe you exactly?” You were mad, there was no real reason for you to be so but it was the only way you could hide how flustered you were by the situation earlier. The last thing you wanted was to show weakness to Damian.

Damian easily read through your facade. His heart was racing knowing that the only way he could get through to you was to break you, to break through your false sense of seniority and make you say what you really felt. “I rejected Raven because I already have someone I love.”

Your arms fell down to your sides. This was exactly what you were afraid of. How could he so easily confess his feelings to you? He was never the type to show his emotions or speak his mind. “Damian you don’t love-” you were cut off by his lips. 

Damian held either side of your face in his hands, holding you in place, not letting you pull away from the kiss. He couldn’t stand hearing you question his own emotions. He may not know much about emotions in general but he knew his own. Every time he saw you... this was all he wanted to do.

Your eyes closed involuntarily and before you knew it your lips were moving along with his. It felt right, the softness of your lips against his rougher ones. The longer you kissed the softer his lips became. No one had pulled away and you were becoming lightheaded. Your hands rested on his hips before wrapping themselves around his torso for support.

He slowly pulled away leaving you breathless. Training had come in handy, he was able to hold his breath for long periods of time thanks to all the underwater exercises. “Don’t tell me how I feel or I’ll have to show you.”

“Dami, I’m in my twenties-”

“As am I beloved,” he quickly responded having waited three years to call you that. He was no longer a teenager like you previously stated. “Your argument is no longer valid.”

Your heart skipped a beat as all the blood rushed to the apples of your cheeks. How could he be so sweet? The boy who once called you an old hag. (When he was twelve.) 

He inched closer resting his forehead against yours. “If you want me to stop loving you-you'll have to say it.”

“Say what?”

“Say you don’t love me.” You bit your lip a tell-tale sign you were in conflict and a reminder to Damian of the day he stole a kiss from you. “You can’t, can you?”

You shook your head. “I love you Damian.”

“I know,” he smirked before kissing you again and solidifying the fact that you were now his and he was yours. 

-end-

pic credit; to the owner/artist.

A/N: Hope you liked it ^^ let me know your thoughts. (Will look for mistakes later >.>)

[redrobin-detective]

I'm a writer and I've gotten a couple complaints that my characterization/psychological state is off. I was wondering if maybe you could give me a little synopsis/character analysis of the main Batfam? Especially Bruce, Damian, and Tim? Those are the ones I'm weakest with. I've looked to many of your answers for more information on the characters and I just want to thank you for being so in depth!!!

It’s hard man and, wow, thank you for the compliment but I’mnot perfect either. With Batman there’s so much history and variability that Icherry pick the parts I like best and combine them to create the ‘ideal’character for my tastes. So keep that in mind, there’s no one right answer.

Bruce- Bruce is one of the most caring people you will evermeet. Such a big heart that loves super intensely. But he’s afraid and he’svery damaged from his experiences. He has all this love but he a) doesn’t knowhow to healthily express it and b) is afraid to acknowledge/express hisemotions for fear of being hurt again. So he comes across as kind of a coldjerk a lot of times. But as he adopts his children (big heart again) he reallydoes make and effort and does as much as he’s capable. He messes up, a lot, buthe still cares. The mission is the most important thing, just slightly behindhis family enough even he forgets sometimes. Motivated and obsessed, hesometimes pushes himself and his feelings too far with consequences.

Dick- Outwardly very bright and cheery, happy and full ofhope and love. It’s one trait he maintains but as tragedies continue in hislife, he hides of that away and instead puts up the mask of a goofball tocompensate. Refuses to be like Bruce but sometimes acts like him anyway. Such apeople person, can make friends in an instant. Observant and caring, sometimesa little overconfident and patronizing but he means well. Being a bigbrother/mentor is very important to him, he loves trying to help out thoseyounger than him to avoid repeating his mistakes. Wracked with guilt and griefand anger that he keeps bottled up cause he hates those negative emotions butthey manifest and cause lots of damage cause he never learned to deal withthem. While he seems easygoing, he’s very stubborn and hardworking and wouldmove literal mountains for those he loves.

Babs- Barb was a very cynical, mature young woman who becameBatgirl as a fuck you to her dad for not letting her join the police force.Eventually she came to love the thrill and intellectual challenge and doinggood. But she grows up and decides Batgirl is a child’s thing and puts it awayjust before her accident. The accident changed her, once a sassy but playfulknow-it, now she’s bitter and angry at her circumstances. It’s unfair whathappened and she broods in her loss, lashes out and pushed people away. Onceshe realizes that she’ll never not miss her legs, she moves on. She’s harsher,more cutting but she’s got her life back and she won’t let her paralysis defineher. Forms the BOP, works with Batman and makes a real difference as Oracle.She’s still angry a lot, bitter but she’s learned to work through it, channelher feelings into positive manners. She’s warm and comforting to those underher wing, an unofficial mom/big sister but a vicious storm to those she fights.

Jason- Jason was a street rat from day one. He grew up incrime alley with a criminal father and an addict mother, he learned to be toughand survive and fight dirty. But despite everything, he still avoided doingmuch crime himself and maintained a good heart. Despite this he has angerissues and insecurities and fears of being just what everyone said he was.Death didn’t help. The Pit scrambled his head, amplified his negative traitsand made him a bit crazy for a while. It calmed down eventually but he’d made alot of enemies and he didn’t regret too much. Through that all, he still caresfor people though, all his murders are done to save people. He’s still bitterwith the batfam, angry about being replaced but he’s tentatively working hisway back in. It’s not easy and they’ll never truly be on good terms, he’s adarker hero now and the Pit still influences him, but he wears the Bat and thatcounts for something.

Tim- Tim’s parents were away a lot as a child so he neverreally developed any bonds. He grew up quiet and alone, honing his intelligencefor lack of anything better to do and a bone deep understanding that he wasn’timportant or worthy of love. He love B&R, looked up to them as heroessaving the city, being important was lowkey obsessed as lonely kids are. Hetook over as Robin, unwillingly at first but then he saw it as an opportunity todo some good in his life, help people. He didn’t think he’d last. As a Robin hewas quiet and contemplative, always hung back and observed rather than jumpingin. Prone to depression and extreme anxiety. Probably the closest to B butstill very warm and friendly, he put everyone else before himself. He gainedsome confidence and grew into himself. When things turned bad, Tim nearlycrumbled. His eternal hope and optimism was darkened and made smaller. It madehim harsher, more willing to bend, not break, the rules. He became more self-reliantbecause people let him down and he won’t make that mistake again. Bitter still,but underneath he’s still that lonely boy who just wanted to help but he coversit with meticulously plans and calculated moves.

Cass- It took Cass a while to learn how to be a personinstead of a weapon. She hated herself and what she’d done (been forced to do)as a child. She was wandering, aimless until Batman found her and gave her backher purpose. Batgirl is so fulfilling for her, to use her skills for goodinstead of hurting people. She’s very kind, she doesn’t want to hurt but shealso will fight against those who do wrong. Very out of touch with culture andpeople in general, especially because she can’t read/write and doesn’t speakwell either. It makes her feel isolated but she tries to move past that. Very curious,loves to explore new things and meet people. Confident in herself but like haveyou seen Cass, she’s every bit as skilled as she insinuates. Loves her newfamily to death would do anything for them. Falls in love with beauty, sheloves dance because it’s a chance to use her natural body reading and movementsto make something beautiful instead of deadly.

Stephanie- Steph is a bit of a wild child, a normal kid but incrediblybrazen, even more so than most teens. When she starts as Spoiler, she reallydidn’t understand the risks and what she was getting into. But as she gotdeeper into the hero gig, she learned how treacherous and demanding it is butshe fell in love with the rush and feeling of accomplishment and also Robin.She wanted to be helpful too, she wanted to feel important and on top becausefor all of her life, she’s just been Cluemaster’s stupid kid. Bubbly but not tothe point of ignorance. She’s happy because she chooses to be and not let theworld drag her down. But it covers a bitter mean steak. Has a mean punch andwill take down anyone threatening or demeaning her. She’s angry at her dad, atTim, at Bruce, at Gotham for how things went down. But she took a page fromBarbara’s book and squared her shoulders, looked her troubles in the eye andsaid fuck off. Very open and playful because if she gives in to all thehardships in her life, that would feel too much like losing.

Damian- Damian was raised a killer but, more importantly, hewas raised to be Batman’s downfall and to eventually become Ra’s vessel. He’sarrogant and rude and doesn’t think he needs anyone. But time with the Batstells him that he doesn’t know everything and the way he was raised wasn’t thebest thing. Dick absolutely changes him; he looks up so much to the acrobat andactively tries to change for him. But changing comes naturally, he develops hiscompassion and builds a relationship within the family and a connection withRobin. He really comes to enjoy this new family and life but he’s insecure andterrified that it will all get taken away: Robin and his family and he’ll besent back to the League. He’s afraid that no one will see that he’s changed or,worse, that he really hasn’t. Covers his fears with sass and false bravado, ‘fakingit until making it’ so to speak. He’s still angry and more violent but he’sworking hard against those ingrained ideas. Feels a strong connection withanimals because they trust him and don’t judge him for his past. Awkwardlyformal and uncomfortable with people, especially kids. He was never allowed tobe a kid himself so he’s very mature but also aching for love and attention.

Also throwing in this bad boy for relationships between the fam, hope that helps!