#babs was the first woman he looked up to and kori was the first woman he truly loved send tweet

[lazaruspiss]

now im hung up on the idea of like. babs angsting about how dick doesn't see her like he used to, making a big huff about [insert insecurity here] etc etc. but like having her fav pic of them being from when dick was a teen. girl he looked at you like u were the universe bc he was a teenaged boy and u were a hot older woman. and also teens are prone to treat partners like The One by default bc they're inexperienced and don't know what they actually need/want from a relationship yet. anyways if i was friends w babs id make so much fun of her for being so hung up on him lmao

[trexiejan]

I have a theory that Tom Taylor copied/took a lot of inspirations from Dickkory.

I may or may not be wrong but I just can't help but notice the timing and the similarities. A lot of things in dickbabs relationship are not very original at all. Most of the time they just steal concept from other couples.

Now going back to Tom, I suspect he was in a lot of social media apps (twitter, reddit, instagram etc) and secretly lurked in nightwing fandom groups and have read their posts and conversations etc. including about dickkory.

1. The concept of visiting his parents' grave

This panel of Kory and Dick showing up in his parents graveyard was shared in the Nightwing subreddit 1 month ago. How come 1 month later Tom wrote a similar thing for Dick and Babs?

Also notice Dick told Kory "You shouldn't be here" but Tom wrote Dick telling Babs "Thanks for coming here" it seems to me Tom really saw the kory comic and wanted to make the dialougue different for dickbabs to make them look better.

2. The concept of wearing each other's superhero costumes.

This fanart of dick and kory exchanging costumes was created by Laurarts on March 4, 2024, it went viral on twitter and it was also shared on the nightwing subreddit.

How come 1 month later Tom Taylor wrote that Dick and Babs wear each other's costumes too in Nightwing #113 that was published in April 17, 2024. 💀.

3. The concept of being freaky

Now my suspicions of Tom stalking and copying Dickkory content was solidified when he literally posted this gif of Dickkory from the DCAMU, notice how Dick and Babs started acting horny and freaky in his run after he tweeted this and Babs started teasing Dick and making sexual jokes to him like Kory does to Dick in the dcamu. 💀💀💀

4. The concept of A crowd of heroes watching them.

I remember a year ago I posted this screenshot of an article discussing the original plan for dickkory in reply to a thread where Tom Taylor got tagged by the person i was talking to. The person was a dickbabs shipper who insisted NTT dickkory was bound to fail, I told OP it's not true, i showed her this screenshot of the article that discussed the original wedding plan for dick and kory and where it also says a crowd of heroes would watch Dick and Kory. How come a few months later Tom Taylor wrote this dickbabs wedding scene in his run and made a crowd of heroes watch dickbabs too??? 💀

5. Wally being a shipper

This panel of Wally in Teen Titans Academy #9 being a Dickkory shipper was published in December 14, 2021, how come a few months later, Tom Taylor wrote Wally being a dickbabs shipper in Nightwing #91 (April 19, 2022). Wally felt ooc because he never once talked about dickbabs before tom wrote him in his book💀

6. The concept of a woman teaching Dick to be more than just a hero

Seriously, Kory already taught him this 😭 She was literally the reason why he didn't become a Batman 2.0, He already learned the whole "you can be more than just a hero and be in a happy relationship" lesson from Kory.

But Tom Taylor just had to bring him back to square 1 so he can make Barbara say this to him too, making her act like Kory 💀 it's funny cuz Barbara never acted like this before, don't forget she was the one who keep rejecting him and making him feel bad for trying to be happy before 💀💀💀

So yeah sorry if i'm being annoying about this, I might be wrong but even if i'm wrong it still doesn't make dickbabs original since dickkory writers and fanartist did these concepts first.

and tom taylor is known to be an obsessed dickbabs shipper who tried to have beef with dickkory shippers on twitter so copying dickkory content as a form of secret revenge sounds like something he would do 😬

[punkeropercyjackson]

I want legit Batfam rep.None of that 'Core Four Batboys ft.Girlboss Babs™️' nonesense,i want:

Afrolatino/third gen dominican inmigrant on both parents' side Jason who went to Ethiopia to find his 'real mom' because he discovered he had ethiopian ancestry and that black diaspora trauma took over even with all the connections to his dominicano roots his guardians made sure to give him

5th Robin Duke who gets officially adopted by Bruce at 11 due to Elaine and Doug's Jokerization happening way earlier and is autistic as the cause of his troubled kid status and fem/punk presenting just naturally and runs away from home post a Year One run and ends up getting taken in by The Outlaws as their Robin,most of all Jason(who is also autistic)'s and Jason's Duke's Robin right back

(And a complete overhaul of Rhato 2011 and Rebirth Rhato except Artemis as a member since everything about it except her was layer after layer of bigotry and just poor writing choices)

Blasian/jamaicain-korean Stephanie with a silk press in her early Spoiler days but starting to wear her hair natural as Robin which escalates into butterfly locs and purple hair dye and who's fat because fat black girls deserve to be confident and pastel and fun and smart and punk without masculinization and seen as beautiful without her love interests having to 'learn to love her beyond skin deep' first and also has an addiction to bubble waffles specifically

Butch comphet lesbian Cass with a deeply complicated relathionship to femininity and girlhood she can't even begin to put into words a good deal after she learns how to talk but has a gender journey of learning she dosen't need men to be a woman nor white western femininity or white western masculininty to be a valid lesbian.Also,her employing her tradgoth subculture with her chinese roots too and befriending other easian/woc tradgoths

Transfem4transfem Stephcass consisting of Cass and Stephanie falling in love with eachother's girlhood as much as they do eachother as people and Stephanie as an early egg crack that diy's her own estrogen and gender affirming clothes guiding Cass in transfeminism as both best friendship and a flirting/seduction tactic.Them growing to start a big biofamily too as Cass didn't want bottom surgery

Cherokee on Janet's side Tim and not malicious but white ass ignorant dad Jack that didn't teach him his culture so Tim takes it into his own hands and ends up a long haired skapunk urban eco-activist with a huge collection of shirts with messages/memes that make white people uncomfortable and doning the mantle 'Hawk' as an adult and visiting his mom's reservation in her hometown during Red Robin 2009

Sindhi romani Dick who's Discowing fit takes both Disco and Bollywood influences and talks with his hands all the time and carries around homemade puffed rice candies out of habit of feeding them to his siblings as they grew up and tweaking whenever somebody calls them rice krispie treats and was gifted a rroma flag by Bruce as a 'welcome to the family gift' and jewish/romani solidarity

Kory as an official Batfam member through marriage to Dick and bonding with The Batkids,including Robin!Jason as a massive Starfire fanboy(platonically + not of Wonder Woman.Jason's black,he wouldn't view a white woman as the ultimate form of 'women i look up to'),and Mar'i and Jake as extended Batfam members too

Damian not actually being unknown to Bruce,just a surprisingly by Batfam standards well-kept secret as Bruce and Talia had him unambigiously consensually and it adding juicy angst to their relathionship as it broke Bruce's heart he could not only never see Damian but that Damian couldn't even know he existed for his own childhood safety

Talia as a stepmom who's sort not really dating Batdad but nonetheless treated Jason as her own son in his Robin days and extends it to Robin!Stephanie as an older woc and earns her the title of 'Bird Mom' by the Dead Robins Club.In the meantime,she also took over Lexcorp to turn it into an international solarpunk organization and renamed it 'Taliacorp'

Damian's team aka the All New Teen Titans consisting of an afrolatino Jon,a 6th Robin Maps,Maya,Surren,Colin,Nell,Kathy,Irey,Bobby,Nika,Keli,a transfem Laurel and Tai and mentored by Jason,Adult!Signal!Duke,an even older adult Batwoman!Stephanie and Wonder!Cassie(and even more queer heroes of color!!!)ft.T4T autistic4autistic Damimaps

Black biracial natural redhead Babs who's found siblings with Dick from the get-go and keeps trying to deny her feelings for Dinah not out of internalized lesbophobia but out of emotional constipation and refusal to let her win after all the shameless deliberately embarrasingly flirting she put her through

Bear Jason,midsized Duke and Tim,dad bod Dick,scrawny flatchested narrow-hipped Babs,stocky Damian,boft(buff but soft)Cass

Batgyal Tam given the mantle by Luke post-waking up from her comma and joining the Rhato lineup as an Honorary Outlaw

I just love the Batfam so much,okay?But DC clearly dosen't so they're mine now

[gffa]

Since you’re a DickBabs shipper,

What are your thoughts on Nightwing Annual #2 from 2006/2007 besides its more…infamous moments?

I merely ask out of curiosity

Hi! It'd been forever since I read that issue (probably not since around when it first came out!), so I had to go hunt it down again to reread and I have Thoughts. As an explanation about me, as a DickBabs shipper and just a fan of things in general, I tend to really like things that I see as having a solid foundation but lots of fun, crunchy sharp edges that can really hurt when they're dug into. I very much love adorable wholesome moments for them, but I also very much love when they're so far under each others' skins that it makes them do really wild, sometimes awful things. But I think the cheating thing is just fundamentally out of character for Dick. I think I see what the author was going for, in that it came across as Dick feeling desperately guilty that he wasn't there for Babs after she was shot, that he would have done anything to comfort her when she needed it, this person who has always been so strong, and because this is Barbara Gordon, the woman he's loved for so long and would throw just about any moral out the window for her, because she's so deep into his heart. Reading the whole issue, where Babs turns down his marriage proposal because she believes he's living too much for other people, he hasn't really defined who he himself is (and that's why she hopes he goes in the trip with Bruce and Tim, not something as Nightwing for Batman, but as Dick Grayson with his family), that that night was part of what the author was going for, that their take on Dick was that he would do anything to help others, anything to help her, including stomping all over his own personal morals and boundaries. But even squinting to see it through that lens, I just don't really buy it. I don't buy that Dick would cheat on Kory like that, not when he was about to marry her, not even for Babs. And I really do not buy that he would give her the wedding invitation so casually like that the next morning, that guy has way more emotional intelligence than that. I enjoyed most of the annual, because I really like Dick and Babs running the gamut of their dynamic with each other, that sometimes they're in a really good place and are cutely adorable and so fluffy that it makes everyone around them want to vomit, and other times they've both got all the these really sharp edges that make each other even more interesting, that they're fun to read about because they have conflict and I think they both really want/need that sometimes in their relationship, someone who can bite back when necessary. The annual provided a lot of good fodder in how complicated they are, how there's all these roadblocks put between them, that there's been unresolved tension between them forever, there's been feelings between them forever, but they just weren't the right time yet, there was too much else going on around them, that it's not a lack of love for the other or that they don't fit, but that it just wasn't lined up for them yet.

I like that Dick and Babs are so deeply entwined in each others' hearts that they can really hurt each other and with these characters, who are very much not perfect people, who indeed are both sometimes kind of real assholes, that's going to happen. They're going to say nasty things to each other, because they're both strong personalities and both kind of fucked up at times. It's similar to how I enjoy Dick's relationship with Bruce, one of the most defining ones of his life, a relationship that is deeply imperfect, but all the more valuable for it. Sometimes Dick and Bruce are horrible to each other, but it only highlights how much deeper down the love goes, how important they are to each other, because even this horrible fight can't truly break them apart, not long term. That's a lot of how I look at the Dick/Babs relationship, in a sense! Sometimes you have warm, happy months in the sun. Sometimes you have tearing into each other level of fighting. Sometimes they both just need a little space. Sometimes there's an issue the other needs to get their head on straight about and the other knows they're important enough to say, hey, you gotta deal with that and stand firm on it. But they always, always love each other and always, always come back to each other. Dick/Babs works for me in part because they have been through so much crunchy stuff together, but also so much good stuff together. Because they know each other so thoroughly--Babs knows that sometimes what Dick needs is a drill sargeant, rather than someone gently holding his hand, like she does for him in this annual. Sometimes he needs someone who will be the one to put on the breaks because he's not always good at that when it's someone he loves. Dick knows that sometimes Babs needs someone to lovingly call her out on the boundaries she's really willing to cross when it comes to dealing with people. The best parts of this annual are the ones that capture the sense of scope about them, the hard edges they both have and how sometimes they enjoy getting a little mean with each other, because there's a lot of dark corners to both of them. They're both deeply loving, kind, caring people, but they're also both Bats, they're both not always nice people, that they're both a little fucked up in how they relate to other people, but that they challenge each other, they push each other, they shove and kick each other, into getting their shit in gear. Babs being the one to help Dick with his physical therapy and recovery after everything worked well because she was kicking him out of his self-pity and guilt spirals, she was kicking him out of going right back to living for doing everything for everyone else, and instead taking some time to figure himself out. When the annual worked, it worked because Babs loves him so much that she knows him well enough to kick him into gear and she's right. And it's fun because she's not always the softest about it--she can be very soft and gentle, but Miss Barbara Gordon is also always willing to kick someone in the ass if she thinks they need it and she will not be sorry about it. And when it doesn't work, it's just. Sigh. Sometimes comics are dumb and we have to make our peace with that.

[luvly-writer]

"But oh..cara mia"

Ch. 13 F*ck Around and find out

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Dick Grayson x Latina! Reader

Warnings: Fighting

Status: Ongoing

Author's note: I don't know how to write fight scenes TuT so I apologize. I saw a few videos of Batman, Wonder Woman, and Black Canary fighting (Ref. DC Animated AU) and just described what I saw. Hope it wasn't shitty. Anywaysss, you can tell I have a lot of free time and am using it as best as I can and updating. Idk how much it will last cause April will be one tough ass month so yeah, HOPE YOU ENJOY!!!

Taglist: @lorosette @nanas-teatime @prettyacademia00 @mxtokko @sarahkaliii @w31rdg1rl @Eurydicegrimes @writing-for-the-hell-of-it

Series Masterlist:

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Dick Grayson was damned the day he intellectualized his feelings for Yn. It had made his life nearly impossible and it was driving him insane. Seeing as he had been benched, his time spent around Yn increased even if she had asked for the opposite. Kory would go down to the cave but would stay quiet for the most part. Alfred would keep an eye on her making sure she wouldn't intervene with anything. For the most part, she would be found staring daggers at Yn, who in return would ignore her childishness. Dick had been in quite the predicament and the rest knew. They would see how his eyes followed Yn's figure everywhere and how Kory would storm off fuming. Everyone wondered why they hadn't broken up yet. They could hear the arguments coming from Dick's room every other night. Kory would always bring Yn to the topic but Dick would deny it. In his mind, he found it difficult to grasp how much he loved the girl. He feared that if he spoke word of it, all he had stood for ever since he was a child would crumble. In a world full of instability, his relationship with Yn was strangely comforting because it never changed. The cycle of joking to fighting to space then all over again was something he was used to. Now, that he sort of acknowledged his feelings internally (boy would rather be dead than say them out loud), memories resurfaced and his behavior in them was clearer. He didn't scare that boy that had asked for help for confessing to Yn away just to prove he had more admirers than her, he had done it cause he didn't want someone stealing her attention from him. The time he overly criticized one of Yn's first boyfriends wasn't because she had a horrible taste in men, it was because he wanted to be the one with her. Little by little, collections of his past came to bite him in the ass. All this time, I have been trying to search for you in other people and it took you finally telling me to leave for me to notice...it took you being in the same room as Kory and seeing the comparison of the woman he fell in love and the woman he wanted to fall for. Dick was a mess and a fucking idiot.

Your scent when you walked past him made him dizzy, your laugh whenever you talked with Babs was intoxicating, your slight touch whenever you changed his bandages left him almost begging for more, the soft sway of your hips, your eyes, your lips, God those lips he wanted to kiss and get lost in for all eternity, you just you, all of you. You were his weakness and he didn't want to accept it. Finally, he was off rest, the wound already healed. Yn had advised that he'd train on one of the simulations so that she could conduct one last check and he followed accordingly. The problem is that Kory followed as well, never wanting to leave Dick alone with Yn. The simulation began and all went swimmingly. Yn hummed and was about to leave before Kory spoke up, "Would I be able to partake in some training exercises as well? Maybe sparring?" Yn looked at her and shrugged, "Sure, knock yourself out. Although I have to change the simulation so that you get the best of the best." She looked down at her iPad ready to tap the new code when Kory interrupted her, "How about sparring?" She said and sent a wink his way. He noticed those didn't have an effect on him anymore but smiled anyways. "Well, Richard is in optimal condition so I guess" Yn answered and was about to leave when Kory called out to her. "Actually, I was thinking of you. Seeing as you do have your own powers, the match can be more equal" Dick let out a little "hey!" but looked between them, unsure of what could happen. Yn had been fed up by her constant shit and done being polite, "Alright, then. Suit up" you said coldly and walked away to get your suit.

Kory and Dick walked towards the cave, both in suits. There they found the rest gearing up for patrol. "I thought Starfire wasn't allowed in," said Damian as he placed his hands on his waist. "She isn't. She just wants to spar a little" said Yn walking towards them all suited up. Jason, who had half a protein bar in his mouth as he was loading his guns, choked and Duke patted his back. You walked towards the ring and turned to Kory, "I don't have all day." She flew towards you and you both stood in position. "3...2...1...GO!" and o it began

Kory and you circled each other, waiting for the other to begin. Kory got tired of waiting and threw a punch with her left, one that you swiftly avoided. She began attacking constantly and you stayed in defense. Left hook. missed. Right kick. miss. Jump left quick, not a chance. She began to taunt you whilst hitting, "Scared?" and you smirked at her just as she threw another left hook, you caught it, pulled it, and elbowed her stomach, leaving her out of breath for a second. She regained her composure rather quickly and began to fight harder. You were taunting her by not letting her hit you. "Stop avoiding and fight like an actual warrior DAMN IT," She said through clenched teeth. "Ok" you answer and quickly start to use the fact that she had used her initial strength against her. She goes to kick you but you slide under her raised leg, stand up and kick her in the back, successfully knocking her balance off. When she turns around, she is met by a mean right hook to the jaw. She stumbles back a little and looks positively enraged. She turns to hit you with her right but you catch it and hit her with your right knee. Star was livid. She had managed to hit your shoulder, making you stumble a little, and once she threw another punch, you used her momentum to grab her arm, jump up, place your thighs on her shoulders, and flip her, successfully throwing her on her back whilst you stood over her. You let out a soft whistle and smirk back at her as she gets up "One". Finally, Star had had it, she began to use her entire force and you did the same. Fed up with the fact she was losing, Star begins to throw more punches and kicks. Block the majority of them. She sends a kick your way and you grab her leg, kicking her other one, making her fall again. "Two," you say again and Star gets up, enraged. She started to punch again but you avoided it by doing two backflips in order to get away. Blinded by anger, Starfire raised her hands and shot one of her green light beams at you. Thankfully, quick as ever, you cross your forearms, using your Amazonian bracelets as a shield and you deflect them back to her, successfully throwing her back again. "Three" you finish and smile. Dick runs over to her, whilst Jason and Steph whoop at you in cheers. Damian has a smug smirk as he crosses his arms and nods, walking away to look for his swords.

Barbara comes up to you and claps your back, "You not doing yourself any favors if you ever wanted that girl to be cordial with you" and you laugh, "I don't care for pleasantries, I demand respect and she better remember that." Barbara laughs and follows you to the changing rooms. You come out, having changed out of your suit, and don't see Kory anywhere. That will teach her that if you fuck around, you most definitely find out.

After Yn and Babs left, Kory left for her room, embarrassed by what had happened. Dick was about follow her when Bruce arrived and told them that it was time for patrol. Once patrol was done, he had come back and wanted to talk with Kory, and see how she was but found her fast asleep. Tomorrow was going to be one long ass day and Dick just KNEW it was definitely going to bite him in the ass. Why you ask? Because tomorrow was the day of the gala. Dick took a shower and slid into his bed. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes, "I'm fucked" he said before slipping into a dreamless slumber.

[fancyfade]

I thought I’d just ask you. Do you think you could do on Cyborg and Babs. They’re personalities and fighting styles. I don’t think I get any where with them.😅

like? Just a run-down on what I think their personalities are? :P

Vic in NTT* is portrayed as insecure in his place in the world and his body, due to having suddenly become disabled in a traumatic accident that also killed his mother. He wakes up to find his body modified (cybernetics) which is dad did to save his life -- there wasn't really a way to get Vic conscious and say "oh hey are you ok with this?" -- but understandable Vic is upset since like. His mom is dead and his body is completely different, he has to re-learn how to walk and do everything, and he views himself as one of his dad's 'science experiments'. (part of this is b/c his parents did do some experiments in his youth to increase his intelligence IIRC).

Vic is also pretty good at reading people. In NTT's first arc, he can tell that Wally cares about Raven (but is mad at her) and he kind of manipulates Wally to get him to help save people :P

People often view him as angry, and well, he does have lots of anger on the surface due to his insecurity and trauma, but I wouldn't say he has more than many of the other titans. He's actually not very likely to yell at people, he mostly just withdraws and avoids confronting emotions, like when he's feeling guilty that his civilian friend (Sarah Simms) got kidnapped by deathstroke and he was worried about her, he avoids the issue and just like. ghosts her I guess but ghosting wasn't invented yet as a term :P

Vic generally has positive rapport with most of the Titans, he calls people nicknames and oftentimes they seem slightly insulting on the outside (but like :P Lots of Titans do that, so he's not unique here) but they are affectionate. That's just how the Titans bond :P

He seems to have lots of rapport with Kory, they agree on a lot in terms of action, both being very direct people . Which makes it funny when Vic is like "for once I agree with you, Goldie". I'm like. VIc. You agree with Kory ALL THE TIME.

Vic also volunteers with Sarah Simms, who is a teacher for disabled children, some of whom have protheses and look up to him and admire him. He's portrayed as very patient and caring around the kids. He does have a strong connection to the disabled community here, and his comics are strongest when that is emphasized IMO. Here's a scene in ToT (link) that I liked that emphasized that

Less fighting style emphasis here, sorry.

Also: Link to a post (link) where I talked some about his relationship w/ his body and his parents.

Ok so Babs time:

Babs is a pretty direct woman, she reads as kind of autistic to me :P Lots of her conflicts with Dinah in BoP are kind of like a "logical vs emotional" thing, though maybe that's a bit of a simplified explanation? Like babs is normally a long-term thinker and risk adverse, Dinah is much less risk adverse (which makes sense, b/c Dinah is the one putting her life on her line, and superheroes seem more willing to risk their own lives in general than other people's :P)

She is not super open with her feelings, and it leads to some friction. she generally pushes people away. When Dinah gets captured and injured by Savant, Babs pushes her away emotionally, saying she should not go out in the field. She also in general pushes Dick away early on in BoP and keeps him at arms' length. Babs in general is a person who does not like to be emotionally vulnerable.

Somewhat related to this: the way babs processes trauma is oriented around control (link). She processes trauma in a way we see more male characters written with, where there is a lot less emphasis on her being afraid, she does not allow people to comfort her, and there is more emphasis on her getting mad and getting better.

She is a Planner ™. All her bases are super well defended, as we see in Hunt for Oracle and some NML comics. They have different lines of defense for different stages and threat levels.

She also is a huge believer in second chances and redemption, even in her pre-Oracle Batgirl days. (1 of my fave babs quotes is pre Oracle: "I’ll always believe in second chances. I’m too flawed myself not to"). I think that matters a lot because a) she does try to give other people second chances a lot and b) she does mess up a lot and try to get better. Like she apologizes after pushing Dinah away, and admits it was her own issues, and not Dinah. She is manipulative of Helena, trying to get her to change her morality without telling her, and also does apologize and make amends and stick in helena's corner. So she's a character with a lot of flaws, but she always tries to do better, and she extends that opportunity to other people, too.

Fighting style stuff later, I had this in drafts for a bit and it was getting long :P

*for many characters who debuted in New Teen Titans, NTT is my go-to reference :P

[flashfuture]

What do you think each fab five titans looks for in a relationship?

Well I suppose you'd have to look at their canon relationships and what they get out of those

Dick's main relationships have been Kori and Babs. Two fellow heroes one a superhero one a vigilante/fellow bat. I think Dick looks for a partner who can back him up in every aspect of his life. Which is why he ended up breaking up with Bea when he got his memories back because he immediately figured it'd be dangerous her (not knowing she's a pirate queen which if fucking awesome). I think Dick strives for someone he doesn't have to hide things from. The same sort of thing he looks for in Titans as a whole a teammate.

Garth's main relationships have been Tula and Dolphin. Two people from his world. Tula was Aquagirl she was there to be his childhood sweetheart and then she died. Dolphin was a gorgeous woman and I kind of got the vibes she and Garth fucked to spite Arthur (or Orin as he was going by then). And then she got pregnant and it spiraled from there. So I think Garth is just looking right now for company. Tula was really his first love and I'm not sure what is going on with them beast work confused me like was tula dead and came back and I've missed it? they were on about stolen moments. Idk but Garth definitely looks for similar people to him. They added he dated Donna for a bit but they were simply too different.

Donna she I think wants some normal. She dated and married a man older than herself had a baby and he died despite Donna being warned it would end badly. I am not even sure really about if Donna is dating anyone now. She had a friends with benefit thing with Roy for a bit but not serious

Roy he had a daughter with an assassin and an incredibly dangerous one who nuked a country in one timeline. Roy is attracted to bad ideas imo

And Wally he looks for Linda Park in a partner

[lacrimosathedark]

I don’t think I ever actually put this out into the world, So Imma do it now.

I love that so many JayRoy stories focus on Lian. I love Lian so freaking much. But no one seems to recognize the potential hurt-comfort angst that her current status as Shoes of the Alleytown Strays holds.

So, I have an idea. I hope to write one myself, but if anyone else wants to run with this idea, please let me know. I’d love to read it.

So, I’m not fully up to date on Catwoman, but after defending Alleytown in Fear State, she decided to leave the Strays and move uptown. But she cares about these kids, and just ditching them feels wrong to me.

But there’s another local vigilante who knows what living on the street is like.

He also just happens to be her would-be son-in-law.

So, before fully moving, Catwoman goes to Red Hood and asks him a favor: just check in on these kids every now and then, make sure they’re doing okay. Oh, and there’s also this teenage girl trying to be a vigilante who could do with some more training.

And Jason, bleeding heart that he is, reluctantly accepts. And he meets these kids and they all like him and he becomes their unofficial protector.

He meets Shoes and starts actually training her. He’s impressed by her hacker skills, as well as how agile and fast she is, and just how clever she is. She’s brilliant. He does not like that he is reminded of Roy, who recently came back to life and has not reached out to Jason. (she also sometimes wears a red baseball hat backwards which, y’know, doesn’t help in that regard) When she shows him her mask, he brushes the niggling feeling of “that looks a bit too much like Cheshire, literal assassin” off at first, until she opens up and tells him about her first memory/recurring dream, where she’s saved from a woman in a similar mask before being left on the steps of a Gotham church. And Jason starts connecting dots he’s not happy with.

Maybe he tricks her into giving him a DNA sample, or maybe he asks her as an offer to help her figure out who she is. And, as it turns out, Jason has found Lian Harper! What the fuck does he do with that?

Jason tells her he knows her parents and maybe he gives her the choice to know. Maybe she decides she doesn’t want to know; her family is Selina and Jason and the Strays now, and she still has no memories of her old family. They sort of settle on Jason telling her her first name and telling her vaguely about her family. He doesn’t talk about them much because talking about Roy, even without naming him, still hurts, and he doesn’t want to tell Lian that her mom is, like, evil.

Jason basically just tells her that her name is Lian, both of her parents loved her more than anything in the world, and her dad has probably been looking for her (he may not know for sure because who would tell him? Roy’s not talking to him yet, on page anyway. Would Kory call him? Would Dick tell him in passing? Would Babs tell him because she knows everything?).

Then Task Force Z shit starts and Jason is basically MIA and Cheshire Cat is left to her own devices.

Maybe Jason has to duck out of his Task Force shit for a bit to try to save Lian who tried to do a case by herself and got in over her head and Jason gets to be the overprotective big brother/father he was always meant to be and beats the shit out of anyone who touched her and patches her up while scolding her for not having a backup (and she snarks that he was the back-up plan, and it worked, didn’t it? and he’s fuckin fuming because she’s a smartass and I love her) and just--caretaker Jason is my jam.

Maybe Lian finds out that “her new friend Jade”, also known as Cheshire, who she met in the wake of Fear State, tried to kill Jason and has apparently wanted him dead for a while. And she is angry. Imagine when she finds out/remembers that that’s her mom.

Maybe Roy hears about Cheshire being in Gotham, or maybe he hears that Jason’s been basically off the grid, or maybe Babs gives him a heads-up that Lian might be in Gotham, so he decides to swing by Gotham to look for any or all of them. And what do you know, turns out Cheshire knew where Lian was this whole time and never said a word to Roy. And Roy is pissed.

This could lead to a whole-ass drama. The complicated relationship between Roy and Cheshire is decidedly sour now, but it’s still complicated. What could happen between Jason and Roy after they’ve been out of contact for so long (and Roy basically chose Dick over Jason like everyone else in his life seems to)? What about Lian and her amnesia and her complicated feelings for her parents? What about Lian’s new family with the Strays? How can her new world meld with the one she initially grew up and supposedly died in with numerous superhero “uncles and aunties”? How can Dick fit into all of this to make things better and/or worse (because if I remember right, he was Lian’s godfather, and he absolutely adored that little girl)?

(How can I shoehorn all the other Batkids into this story?)

Bonus points if you bring up Bao Phan, Duela Dent, or Tyler. Especially if they meet Lian. Because give Jason all the kids! Make him worse than Bruce about adopting stray orphans.

More bonus points if you bring in other hero’s kids like Jai and Irey West!

Just, someone please use Stray Lian more. I honestly really love her and would love for her to be used more and actually know her family again.

[hintofelation99]

Batfam Favorite Outfits:

Dick:

A sleeveless crop top and joggers. Or a crop top with work out shorts. Or he’ll go topless with either pair of pants.

Basically either little clothing, or light, thin clothing. He’s pretty comfortable with showing skin. It’s one of the things he and Kori have in common.

He and Steph wear the brightest colors out of all the family members so usually they go shopping together.

Shopping with Steph has resulted in him having at least two rompers.

Babs

A nerdy t-shirt with a loose knit cardigan and high rise jeans.

She also usually wear zip up combat boots bc 1) they look cool and 2) fuck actually tying your shoes.

Babs always has a variety of glasses, right now her favorite are the rounded thick framed glasses with a turtle shell pattern.

Recently Steph got her into scrunchies and now Babs always has one.

Jason

A button up shirt with his favorite dark red sweater and gray pants, or nice jeans.

Honestly he wears they stereotypical lit nerd outfits.

He does really like being a bit dressier even in daily wear because it makes him feel more put together.

He usually carries a messenger bag with two books he’s currently reading, one of his all time favorite books, a notebook, some pens, first aid supplies, and a spare domino.

Tim

Tim has three favorite outfits for three different settings/frames of mind.

1) The CEO: a dark gray double breasted slim-fit suit with peak lapels. He usually wears this with a wine colored tie that Steph got him.

2) The Skater Kid: A t-shirt with ripped jeans, a bomber jacket (or flannel shirt), and vans. He’s always carrying his camera when he’s dressed like this and usually has his skateboard.

3) The Leave Me Alone Unless You Have Coffee: Hello Kitty PJ pants that Steph got him as a joke, one of Kon’s shirts, one of Dick or Jason’s hoodies, green lantern fluffy socks, and dinosaur slippers. His hair is always in a messy, half undone bun and he’s usually looking at a case file.

Cass

Slim high waisted double breasted dress pants, a collared, white, silk shirt, heels, and gold jewelry.

As she’s become more well known by the public Cass has developed a reputation as being extremely fashionable.

She and Dick have done several magazine covers together and are both known as fashion icons.

According to one article “Cassandra Wayne is the epitome of a modern woman. She effortlessly combines classic and contemporary to create jaw dropping looks that have fashionistas everywhere raving.”

Steph

Steph loves to wear yoga pants and Jason’s t-shirts. Bc of this Jason is constantly running out of t-shirts

She also loves rompers, like if she wants to look cute she goes for a romper. She loves them bc they bc she could kick someone’s ass in one without accidentally flashing people.

One thing Steph loves about being close with the Wayne’s is dressing up for galas. It’s not something she wants to do constantly but getting the chance to wear insanely fancy dresses every once in a while is super fun to her.

One time Bruce bought her a Cinderella style ball gown and she almost cried out of pure excitement. Then she punched Bruce and threatened to give him frosted tips in his sleep if he told anyone that she teared up.

Duke

Duke used to just be a t-shirt and jeans guy but as he and Jason have gotten closer he’s started to mimic his older brothers style.

Right now he like to wear a button up shirt with a cardigan and dark wash jeans.

His favorite cardigan is a yellow button up that Jason gave him.

He’s almost always wearing converse, they’re just his go to shoes.

Damian

Damian used to only wear dress pants and nice shirts (outside of training ofc) because Talia was strict and said his clothes should reflect his status.

But after becoming friends with Jon he started to loosen up and wear clothes that he actually wanted to wear.

Nowadays his favorite outfits consist of joggers, a plain v-neck, and a pair of Adidas.

Another outfit that he loves but will never admit to loving is a pair of joggers, Adidas, and the ‘High School Musical’ t-shirt that he stole from Jon.

---------------

For @abdefgijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

[ursie]

Dick Babs arnt incompatible because they are both super competent. The don’t work because Babs 9/10 treats dick like garbage. Like he is a child who needs to be watched while Dick isn’t takes her criticism and rudeness because “she is just looking out for me.” Like no. If Babs was a dude and Dick was a girl, they would have been cancelled as a couple a long time ago. It’s a double standard. I will say it Becuase nobody else will, Babs is emotionally abusive to Dick and that’s not ok. Furthermore, Dick used to be able to read people if they even thought to treat him as beneath them. This man used to tell Bruce Wayne about himself. And you’re telling me that he would allow Babs of all people to treat him like shit? He didn’t even allow Kory or Donna to it. It’s crazy how much pass Babs gets. She is a terrible character who doesn’t deserve half the support she gets. Dick Babs doesn’t work because quite frankly, Babs is a catty immature woman who needs to grow up. I mean even in BTAS Bruce and Dick are blamed for all the fallout and Babs is coddled despite being the one to CAUSE ALL THE DRAMA IN THE FIRST PLACe. As a female. I’ll be the one to also say, some females are shitty people and Babs is just one of them.

Fgsgsgsgdsffgd ok you know what. Go off

I don’t agree with everything here but no yeah she’s canonically p shit to him the entire time they’re dating and yeah I’m not fond of the possessive behavior/spying on him/making decisions for him-without it being acknowledged as a flaw like she can be shit but can a single run acknowledge she’s kinda a terrible gf 😭 and Dicks not perfect but like I wouldn’t say they equate tbh. And yeah she’s bitchy I love that about her but I totally understand your point ��

[dibs4ever]

In love with you!

Warning moderate Dickbabs lemon

Barbara and Dick lay tangled in sheets. Both of them positioned on their sides, her arms hooked under his, him acting as the “little spoon”, her bare chest pressed up against his mid-back.

She was the first to break the sweet silence “Did you love her?” she asked

Dick was currently playing with her hands which were rested on his pectorals

When he didn't respond she bowed her head between his shoulder blades and kissed the space softly.

“Mmm you know that's my weakness” he squeezed her hands as she drug her bottom lip up his back to the nape of his neck. She planted another small kiss there before moving to his ear, nibbling lightly on the lobe “Then answer me.” she said lowly

Dick rolled so he was on top of her

“Did I love who?” he questioned

She smiled up at him “Bea. I've always been curious since ya know...Ric was dating her and not Dick. Technically it was still you though ”

He smirked, rubbing circles on her back. He knew she’d be able to tell, immediately if was lying which wouldn’t be good given the question.

He nodded “Yeah I did.”

Barbara smiled “Well to be fair she was beautiful and so kindhearted she also-. “

Dick smirked, cutting her off. “But I also loved Kory and Stacy my first girlfriend in high school. I could have loved Shawn ...”

“Alright that’s enough I get it you have loved a lot of women” Barbara rolled her eyes playfully

Dick shook his head “ But I’m IN love with you. Which is completely different than any other woman I have ever had feelings for”

She giggled, threading her fingers through his hair

He was propped up on his elbows, “Had to mess with ya a bit Babs. Way to kill the mood by bringing up my past lovers.” He bent down kissing her lips

“You are my one and only” he mumbled against her mouth “You know what I always say.” He moved to her neck and blew a raspberry before kissing it then sucking on it gently. She laughed, keeping her hand on the back of his head.

Dick moved to the region between her breasts and paused

Barbara could feel his breath on her sensitive skin “Say it” he said softly, feeling her tense up in anticipation

Barbara groaned, yearning the sensation of his lips on her favorite spot “You know, I know what you always say.”

Dick nodded “Yeah but I wanna hear you say it. Then you shall be rewarded baby.” he rested his chin on her chest. Bright blue eyes looking up at her curiously

With a sigh, she leaned forward pecking his lips “You always say and I quote “I don't believe in soulmates but if I did, mine would be you.”

Dick chuckled “And don't you ever question that-that's how I feel.” he pecked her lips

Barbara fell back onto her pillows.

“Now where was I? Oh yeah.” Dick shot her a sly grin before bowing his head and planting a trail of kisses up between her breasts, pausing in the middle he placed a hand in each breast squeezing them together to ‘motorboat’ her.

Barbara laughed lightly “Grayson, you're such a Dork.”

He lifted his head to meet her eyes “A dork who's crazy about you.”

Barbara nodded pulling him toward her so that she could feel his chest on top of hers and kiss his plump lips yet again. “And don't you forget it”

Dick nodded leaning in closer to her “Never again.” he whispered, just as their lips met

[pandoraimperatrix]

caught between goodbye and I love you

DickKory | Pining | Eventual smut | Two shots | Post season 3 AU

Chapter 1: My heart is a sad affair

Nobody could say he didn't have been trying. Well, they could but it wouldn't be true.

Even though Bruce had made sure Dick knew how to attract the female attention, nobody told him what to do when it didn’t work as planned. Or how to stanch the wound.

Hell, Bruce made sure he could seduce anyone that could be seduced. "It is a very useful skill to have in your utility belt, Chum" he said then. But it didn't mean Dick didn’t pray for the sweet release of death back then when he was being forced to have seduction lessons under Alfred's or worse, Selina's tutelage.

He should have payed more attention to when they broke up, not that he’d have learnt something useful. They always got back together. He and Kory on other hand…

Well, been taught how to seduce someone for ulterior motives didn’t mean he knew what to do when his goal was not mission oriented. Usually in a mission, after the seduction part was over, even if he had to date the person for more than one night, he had a script and a clear goal. But what if there was no mission? What if he had hopes instead of goals? What to do without no script to follow? No set of rules to guide him?

And he was especially bad when he genuinely cared, never being able to judge if he was trying too hard or too little, usually finding himself overcome with anxiety which resulted into pushing the object of his affections away in the long run. That happened to Dawn, to Babs, hell, despite being a completely different kind of relationship it almost happened with Rachel and Gar too. Thank goodness his children were way more forgiving.

Since Dawn was gone for good and he and Babs had broke up again after deluding themselves for a whole five minutes that their childhood trauma bonded romance could have a last hurrah. He was back to reality. The depressing reality that he, to his absolute despair, cared for Kory, so much, too much, more than he had thought that he ever could for anyone.

Read on AO3

Despite all his overthinking tendencies, all his overplanning, all his precautions, he really didn’t see that coming. Of course, he was aware he was attracted to her from day one, it was nothing alarming back then, at least in the beginning. It hurt when she told him she needed to find out who she was before it got too serious, but he understood, and it was fine. They had time. And time they had, after their reunion, raising a household together, his physical attraction to her remained, and new set of feelings started breeding from their partnership. Something way more aggravating than the constant desire to fuck her brains off every time she entered the room, something deeper.

It took a while, because he was known for being stubborn as fuck, but he knew that a good detective can’t cherry pick evidences, and eventually, he admitted to himself that he wanted to be with her forever. Which not only was a scary thought by itself, considering how much time he spent running from everything serious and true, but it made his insides twist in fear.

Because nothing that good could last. When the love of you life quite literally fell from heaven, heaven can take her back whenever. And the thought of losing her at any moment pushed his anxieties to the roof. Her behaviour haven’t been exactly helping. Despite of not having anything substantial of proof, Dick could feel something was wrong with her, something that she wouldn't talk about no matter how many times he tried to approach her.

Maybe it was his fault, maybe he put himself in a position in which she felt responsible for his wellbeing but not trustworthy to be relied upon after the mess he had made with Slade and with Jason.

Besides, what claim did he have to demand any clarification from her? They weren't together.

But it still hurt. That feeling of uselessness, of having nothing to offer when she gave so much just being by his side.

They lived in the same house and were currently raising super powered teenagers together, everybody outside their tight circle assumed they were a couple, married even, hell, her sister thought they were together. And Kory hardly flinched when they dined out and the waiter called her “Mrs Grayson”, she joked about it, that also hurt, because it wasn’t true. Yes they used to have sex, and yes he was trying to make his grimaces of pain to look like smiles on regular basis to hide how much he wanted her, but they are not together.

But it wasn't by Dick's choice.

It was Kory's.

And the rejection hurt, especially when he didn’t expect it.

From all his many faults, Dick wasn't that kind of guy, it wasn’t as if he didn’t think that her rejection was impossible or insulting due to some high opinion of himself. But it just didn’t make sense. He wasn't deluding himself, although he sometimes had no choice but doubt, wanting to believe and respect her choice, but when it had such dissonance with her actions…

Because, as much as he sometimes wanted to take the easy way out that his internal self-hatred provided – that he was crazy, pathetic and there was no way in heaven or hell such woman would have feelings for him – Dick had also been trained in reading body language and micro expressions.

Everything about how Kory interacted with him felt like an invitation. Unless he had been suffering from a very serious case of psychosis (again), he couldn’t have been imagining the longing in her gaze. Sometimes, even when he thought she wasn’t in the room, he could feel her eyes in him. And it wasn’t just the hot looks he was used to get from people that only thought he was attractive – even though Kory would give him plenty of those too, his skin had been reaping the benefits of all his ice cold showers. But, sometimes, especially when he was giving attention to their children, or just doing something mundane like reading or meditating, he could feel her watching. A gentle smile on her face, eyes like pools of warmth and endearment. Nobody ever looked at him like that, with such unadulterated fondness.

Or the way she found excuses to touch him. He always loved the feeling of falling, doing unnecessary stunts so he could only feel that special kind of rush. With Kory around to catch him whenever he needed, he had been doing that even more often so he could feel her strong arms around him, and she never denied him.

When they fought enemies, or trained, she always found a way to make skin contact, throwing him at their mark to give him an extra boost, instead of shouting for him to clear away from danger, she’d physically pull him away in very unnecessary and unfortunately fast hugs.

She’d lean on his shoulder for no reason at all, even after her powers returned and she told everyone she was not feeling tired all the time anymore. In the mornings, while they washed the dishes together – since Gar banned them both from cooking – she’d bump him with her hip to make him move out of her way, and her hands always lingered when handing him an utensil.

Kory was always pressing away invisible wrinkles on his clothing, and picking things from his hair, so much he could hear muffled giggles from the children every time she did that.

And how could he have been imagining the way her face lit every time he entered the room, or when someone mentioned his name? He couldn't have made anything like that up. Didn't have the self-esteem necessary, or the self-hatred necessary to imagine such torture.

Dick did wonder, though, if living with a woman that looked like what poets sang about, that had the personality correspondent of the most golden of summer’s day, and flirted with him mercilessly, but yet dismissed every attempt he made to turn their relationship into something romantic was just karma. In the past, he had abused his own good looks and knowledge. Hearts had been broken because of his folly, and now the universe was punishing him or something.

Yeah, right, as if the universe cared that much.

But then, when his bitterness and confusion were not settled at all, and he was getting ready for another night of delicious horrible dreams about the woman that did not want him, something weird happened.

Kory Anders, knocking on his door, with a bottle of tequila, just a few days after he finally asked her out and she destroyed his heart and made a mess of his head by saying no. Not only no, she said she didn’t like him like that. That she loved him as a friend, and didn’t want to make things more complicated.

What a bunch of garbage.

For a fraction of second he wondered what she'd do if he closed the door on her face. But he'd never be able to do that, so, wordlessly, he gave away the space she needed to enter his room.

“Can I help you?” he said when she just stood there, looking everywhere but him, as if his room were a great novelty.

Kory bit her lip and he wanted to die. He didn’t want to believe she did those things out of malice, but sometimes one cannot help but being angry over such carelessness.

“Kory?” he asked in that bitchy impatient way of his.

“I lied,” she finally said in a puff of breath.

“What you mean?” His heart was racing, it couldn’t be. Was he asleep? Most of his dreams began with some sort of flashback of their first night. Terrible, terrible dreams that always ended too soon.

She looked away, searching for something, his heart shrank when swayed her body aside, thinking she was about to leave, but Kory placed the bottle and the cups on his dresser and turned back to him, the look she gave him making his throat feel raw. In two powerful strides she was all over him, firm elegant palms cradling his head as she tilted his face to the angle she wanted for their kiss. It was like if time went back.

He pulled her closer carefully, afraid she’d disappear in the smoke of his lust filled memory if he went too hard or too fast, but even when she remained solid, warm under his touch, her teeth pulling his bottom lip mercilessly, then spreading licks and soothing kisses, her perfume making him dizzy, he let her lead. It was easier, which considering his tendency for always taking the most tortuous path, added a layer of pleasure in a luxury hardly ever taken.

--------------------------------------

Notes:

I started writing this before season 3, because I wanted to write a fic in which Dick was pining, and also I wanted it to be steamy and smutty. But since the smut part is taking forever to finish and the pining part became bigger than what I planned, you get a two shot.

---

Preview:

“Please don’t this. I don’t want to pretend. I’m so tired of lying to you and I’ll have to pretend to the rest of my life. This might be the last night I will ever have to be myself, to be with you. I need this to be real.”

Kory took one of the hands off his hair, bending her arm backwards so she could rub him trough his trousers. Dick let out a moan and she used the opportunity to make a wet path of kisses across his cheekbones, until she reached his ear. She whispered something in her native language and licked his earlobe.

What else could he do? She wanted real. He’d give her real.

Dick pulled her up as his lips claimed hers again, her powerful legs crossed around his hips. He held her up like that for a while, just enjoying the feel of her body pressed flush against his. His hands giving her support by moulding her round butt with his palms.

Dick he walked backwards until his chins hit the bed and he fell sitting with Kory on his lap. She stopped her ministrations to pull her hair from her face and look down at him.

“Hey,” she said, her eyelashes were still wet, but her tears had stopped falling, she looked so… No wonder she belonged to the heavens, no being in the planet could be so perfect.

[slashy-ashy]

I love dickkory, dickkory is my favorite ship because those two were literally my first ship. I grew up with watching the Teen Titans and I instantly fell in love with them. It sucks that comic writers did what they did too Dick and Kory, I mean it pisses me off so badly, I hate how they made Dick sleep with Bab’s right before getting married with Kory to perpetuate this idea of theirs that Dick is a ladies man that can’t be chained down to one woman even though he loves the idea of having a family and the fact that Dick loves Kory so unconditionally it isn’t even fucking funny, and Kory loves Dick so unconditionally back too and the fact that she was the one who helped Dick be more open about his feelings and to be more loving towards himself and she’s basically the reason on why the fandom writes him as this mother hen, happy go lucky guy. Kory was the one to bring him out of his shell, along with the Titans because they helped out A LOT with bringing Dick out of his shell because depending on which retcon you want to go with Bruce is definitely not an entirely open guy especially when dealing with his emotions, I hate that when Dick was raped by Mirage (because they did have dubious sex, one party of the duo didn’t know that the other was a shapeshifter who turned into the love of his life and slept with him then turned back into their original form and laughed in his face when she revealed her so called master plan) they had the team, the team of SUPERHEROES WHO DEAL WITH THIS SITUATION IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER POSSIBLY ON THE DAILY VICTIM AND SLUT SHAME DICK, and it says a lot when the fans actually agree with the teammates who slut shame and disrespect their leader and not bat an eye at the fact that the literal SHAPESHIFTER is practically jumping with joy after emotionally manipulating and raping their leader, and people are so quick to say that after seeing Kory yelling and blaming Dick say how in character that is but don’t talk about how in a different issue Kory fucking attacks (as 👏🏾she 👏🏾 should👏🏾) Mirage because “how dare you sleep with Dick” and they don’t site how truly THAT is in character because it is in the character of her. She loves that man so fucking much she really does, and Dick is so fucking gone on her too it isn’t even funny, and I have nothing against DickBabs I love their dynamic too but I didn’t grow up with them and I wasn’t as introduced with them as I am with Dickkory in a sense and I truly just enjoy Dickkory more than Dickbab in my opinion but it’s mostly due to the writers and how they just fucking wrote Barbra like I just feel like if they took the time to rebuild their friendship, and to stop and look at her characterization over the years and learn to write her properly then yeah I would love DickBab’s but as it stands I’m hesitant to follow canon DickBabs and I honestly will accept fanon DickBabs more than likely.

Dickkory is such a wonderful ship because they have so much history with each other and honestly at this point most of my ships for Dick are just him with the fab five, I love DickRoy, I love DickWally, I love DickGarth and I love them even if they’re romantic or platonic, outside of the fab five I will say that I like DickJoey but only for the reason that I don’t really know Joey.

One gripe I have will be the fact that due to how writers have written and mistreated canon, people believe all of what I said up above to be canon behavior for Dick, I hate how hyper sexualized he is and I hate how it comes to a point that it becomes this running gag of “I wonder what I can get away with” and by that I mean the in canon instances of people touching Dick without his consent but it ends up being laughed off because the predator is just so good looking that it makes it okay, or how people will just say how good his ass looks, or even wonder out loud how good in bed he probably is and some old flame will just come out of the wood works with a smirk on their face being all “well ladies I can say that he is fantastic in bed” while Dick just stands there while listening to this all go down and being so used to this but he still will get flack if he says anything to show how uncomfortable he is with the situation because he “asked for it” or something else as disgusting and ridiculous, and after a while it just gets so old like honestly just find a new gag okay, it’s not that hard.

And finally J**Kory , J**Roy and J**KoryRoy are not my favorite ships whatsoever ever. They’re not even my favorite friendships to be honest, because I legit cannot see a world where like my older sibs friends would ever just decide to hang out with me and spend so much time with me and I would just be okay with that. No, no, no,no,no,NO! It just boggles my mind on why DC decided that Jason can’t possibly make friends with people himself and it irks the hell out of me that they nerfed Kory and Roy that hard it isn’t even funny.

Like it kind of is funny when you think about it because if they weren’t then I doubt I really doubt that those two would have just been like “ yep, I’m just going to hang out with the love of my life’s little brother” like I can see, just them from time to time just going to check in sometimes with Dick and him just being like “hey you guys want to come with me while I check in with Jason” and they could be like “yeah sure, I haven’t heard from him in a while” but for the most part no I just don’t see them realistically just deciding to just hang out with Jason because Kory has a planet to run and Roy has a daughter that he needs to parent and Jason has a lot of trauma and anger to get through in a responsible and reasonable way that doesn’t include running a drug empire, killing people, trying to kill his family, and just constantly blaming his actions on his trauma because I don’t want to sound too critical of him but at the same time it’s like when are you going to let go of all of this anger and just try to start healing because you keep taking the easy route of things and you decide to walk away from the problems eating you up inside and you just default to distancing himself away from his problems and family but when are you going to do the most important and difficult step, of beginning the process of healing and coming to terms with your actions and on how they don’t just affect you but also the people around you? If I saw an issue like that than I would most definitely pick up an red hood book but as it stands no. It’s a no from me y’all.

And DickKoryRoy is honestly where it’s at. They have DECADES of content and storylines that you can just be like “hmm, I want to write/draw about the Brother blood arc or I want to write/draw about how Dick went to save Lian and how this affected Roy” the content is there it really is.

I love how this post just devolved into me talking about my love for Dickkory, my hesitance towards DickBabs, me talking about the ships I love and like, how I hate how they (the writers) mishandled Dick and how they mishandled real problems that people go through in real life, how Jason with Kory and/or Roy is my first and ultimate NOTP, and how Dickkory and/or Roy is elite in my opinion.

[danny-chase]

Comics I’ve read, so I can actually keep track of things, don’t assume it’s good if it’s on here - aka this isn’t a list of recommendations, but do feel free to ask about any of the titles on here

Edit: A lot of these need warnings before you read if you don’t want to be surprised by racism, sexism, rape, child abuse, suicidal ideation, etc., etc. before reading, i didn’t include specific warnings in this, because it’s been a while since i read many of them, please ask before reading things you’re unsure about 💀, i’ll start adding warnings from what i remember

Team Books:

- JLA/Titans (1998)

- New Teen Titans (1980)

----pedophilia (not addressed as such), Gar sexually harasses woman sm, Terry Long - my detested (prof dating a student), racism and so much more

- The New Titans (1984) (until Dick left the team)

----rape (which isn’t addressed as such) and slut shaming, to avoid skip over issues with mirage, multiple major character deaths, there’s also bad dad Bruce kicking Dick out a few times, Terry Long - my detested

- Young Justice (1998)

----the writing around Anita is racist

- The Titans (1999)

---- a weird arc where they thought a character was autistic but turns out there         was a man in her head idk what to even tag that as

- JLA: The Obsidian Age (2002)

----been too long for me to remember but i think someone said it’s racist

- Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day (2003)

---- major character deaths

- Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files (2003)

- Teen Titans: Year One (2008)

- Outsiders (2003)

- The Return of Donna Troy

---- brainwashed mentors hitting their sidekicks

- Titans (2008) (until Dick left the team)

- Young Justice (2011) - have also watched the show (all 3 seasons)

- Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011)

---- Roy and Kory’s characterizations are obliterated by new 52

- Convergence: The Titans (2015)

- Convergence: The New Teen Titans (2015)

- Titans Hunt New 52 (2015)

----ugly as heck art

- Titans Rebirth (2016)

- Batman & The Outsiders (2018)

- Titans: Titans Together (2020)

- Titans: Titans United (2021) (ongoing)

Nightwing Titles:

- Nightwing (1995)

- Nightwing (1996)

----rape (again not being addressed as such) to avoid skip over issues with Tarantula and Liu, and copoganda (Dixon’s run it’s been a while but prolly has     more bad takes), Bruce hits Dick in the Officer Down crossover, also uh Devin     destroys Dick’s life, mischaracterizes Babs, and his entire city is nuked (i’m literally not exaggerating), passive suicide attempt, Bruce’s F- parenting

- Nightwing: The Target (2001)

- Nightwing (2011)

----domestic abuse (Bruce to Dick), skip Nightwing #30

- Grayson (2014)

----old lady being a creeper, Dick being examined naked, girls thirsting after him, Bruce’s F+ parenting (leaves Dick stranded in the middle of the mission), sibling on sibling violence

- Nightwing (2016) (up to Ric sorry i can’t do it guys, i do check in on tt stuff to rag on it)

Robin Titles:

----warnings for Dixon’s weird beliefs of how the world works (Steph’s pregnancy arc, Tim yells at an alcoholic roommate an he’s cured, ‘boys will         look’, girls kissing Tim without permission is fine apparently), major character death, sexism everywhere, Tim's personality taking a 180 after the one year later event

- Robin (1991) Volumes I and II

- Robin (1993)

- Robin: Year One (2000)

----Neglectful Bruce, enabler Alfred RIP Dick Grayson’s childhood

- Batman and Robin (2009)

----obliterates Talia’s characterization

- Red Robin (ongoing)

----I've read the first four issues ngl it kinda sucks imo

- Batman and Robin (2011)

----Bruce is literally a terrible parent for the first part of the run, regresses Damian’s character development from the 2009 run, sibling on sibling violence

- Batman & Robin Eternal (2015)

----obliterates Cass's character

- Super Sons (2017)

Batgirl Titles:

- Batgirl (2000)

----disability is magically cured, Bruce is a shotgun dad, gets Cass high to fight him to “talk to her in a way she can understand” i classify it as abuse, but absolutely a must-read despite this, made me love Cass

- Batgirl (2009)

----pushes Cass out of the role for *checks note* absolutely no reason, but is enjoyable all the same and made me really like Steph

- Batgirls (2021)

----I read the first issue and will not be continuing because it sucks ass

Birds of Prey

- Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey (1995) #1

- Birds of Prey: Revolution (1997) #1

- Birds of Prey: Wolves (1997) #1

- Birds of Prey: Batgirl (1997) #1

- Birds of Prey: The Ravens (1998) #1

- Birds of Prey (1998) - ongoing

Batman Titles:

- Birds of Prey: Batgirl (1997) #1

- Birds of Prey: Ravens (1998) #1

- Batman: A Death in the Family (1988)

----major character death

- Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying (1989)

- The Long Halloween (1996)

- Dark Victory (2011)

- Batman: Legacy (1996)

- Bruce Wayne Murderer/Fugitive (2002)

----Bruce Wayne C+ parenting, physical fight between Bruce and Dick

- Batman: War Games (2004)

----major character death, sexism

- All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder (2005)

----terrible, child abuse, r-word used, don’t read

- Batman: Battle for the Cowl (2009)

----Jason as a villain idk skip if you don't like him being an antagonist, sibling on       sibling violence

- Batman: Streets of Gotham (2009) (up to #12)

- Batman: Batman & Son (2010) 

----probably also obliterates Talia (haven't read it in forever), siblings on sibling violence

- The Black Mirror (2010)

- Batman: Gates of Gotham (2011)

- Batman (1940) #687-707 (aka Dick!bats era)

- Batman (2011) #1-17

----Bruce punches Dick in the face in one of the first issues

- Batman Eternal (2014)

----Barbara x Jason, i hate that pairing (idk for sure it's been a while)

- Detective Comics Rebirth (2016) #934-981 (plus Night of the Monster Men crossover) and #983-987

- All-Star Batman Rebirth (2016)

- Batman & The Signal (2018)

Assorted:

- Joker’s Last Laugh (2001)

----hee hee major character death but it’s a good thing <3

- Heroes in Crisis (2018) 

----tries to de-stigmatize mental health by making a depressed person a killer,           basically don’t read this it was horrid, i hate it, it’s stupid and bad

- Impulse (1995) - literally just the first 3 issues but it’s great

- Tempest (1996)

----sad, made me sad, but also you should read it because Garth <3

- Future State: Wonder Woman (2021) - just the first issue so far

- Harley Quinn: The Animated Series - The Eat. Bang. Kill Tour (2021) - just the first issue, have watched the show

- Some Dark Nights Metal stuff that i don’t really understand what was happening uh Bat is door 👍 very cool 👍

- Scooby-Doo Team-Up (ongoing)

- Huntress: Cry for Blood

[kiragecko]

DC Sidekick Age References

Here’s a dump of all the references I’ve found. Know I’m missing a lot, and quite a few were found on other sites that didn’t give me the most precise info.

If you know of anything else, can correct a mistake you see, or want to discuss comic book aging - please send me an ask, message, or reblog!

?? - means I don’t know where the info is from, “quotes” are direct copies of the wording in the comic

-

?? Parents died when Bruce was 8

Detective Comics #27 (May 1939) – Batman introduced

Detective Comics #38 (Apr 1940)  – Dick is (8 when parents killed/9 when Robin) 12 when he becomes Robin, it's Bruce's 3rd year as Batman

More Fun Comics 73 (Nov 1941) – Green Arrow Introduced

1962 - JLA formed

1964 – Dick teams up with Wally and Garth

Teen Titans 1 (Jan-Feb 1966) – Teen Titans form, Donna is introduced (all 5 are 14ish?)

Detective 359 (Jan 1967) – Babs introduced, has PhD, has graduated

Batman #217 (Dec 1969) – Dick graduates high school, enrolls in University (starts 3 months later)

1971 - Roy discovered using drugs by Ollie and Hal in a drug den (he was trading arrows for drugs), retcon has Wally and Dick discovering him at tower and making him promise to get help

Justice League 116 (Mar-Apr 1975) Charley Parker is 16

Batman Family 10 (Mar-Apr 1977) – Dick is teenager, Babs is 25

Teen Titans 53 (Feb 1978) – Dick, Wally, Donna, Vic all started college at same time

DC Special Series: The Flash Spectacular (May 1978) – Wally graduates high school

New Teen Titans 1 (Nov 1980) – Raven forms New Titans, Gar is 16 during run

New Teen Titans 2 (Dec 1980) – Slade meets team, Grant dies

1981 - Dick drops out of university after 1 semester, he never really was interested

New Teen Titans 20 (June 1982) – Vic turns 19, Donna already is

Tales of the New Teen Titans 2 (July 1982) – Raven turned 18 just before forming Titans

Batman #357 (Mar 1983) – Jason’s first appearance

Detective Comics #526 (May 1983) – Bruce adopts Jason, Dick is there and approving

New Teen Titans 34 (Aug 1983) – Terra turns 16

Batman #368 (Feb 1984) – Dick gives Jason the Robin costume, Jason becomes Robin

Blue Devil(84) – Eddie is 11/12

Tales of the Teen Titans (May 1984) – Joey introduced, Author describes him as 17?

New Teen Titans #39 (Feb 1984) – Dick stops being Robin, Wally quits being a superhero/the team

Tales of the Teen Titans 50 (Feb 1985) – Terry and Donna's wedding (she got married while 19)

New Teen Titans 10 (July 1985) – Kole says she's at least 18

Crisis on Infinite Earths 7 (Oct 1985) – Supergirl dies in Superman’s arms after mostly destroying the Anti-Monitor, who has to flee reality

New Teen Titans 18 (Mar 1986) – Dick turns 20 (“Dick Grayson celebrates his birthday away from home with a traditional Tamaranean feast.” (While sulking because Kory got space-married))

New Teen Titans 20 (May 1986) – Roy locates baby Lian, Terry Long is 29

?? Roy is 22(when he gets Lian)

Batman #404 - Batman Year One (Feb 1987) – Bruce is 25, spent 12 years training, became Batman at 26, Barbara Gordon is pregnant, her and Jim move to Gotham

Detective Comics #571 (Feb 1987) – we see Bruce’s fear gas induced vision of Jason’s tombstone (birth: 1974 – death: 1986, so he’d be 12)

Secret Origins 13 (April 87) – 15 years ago, it was Dick’s 5th birthday. Soon after tenth birthday, parents are killed. [Set during New TT 18])

Batman #409 (July 1987) – Jason becomes Robin (In Detective Comics, Jason has been Robin the whole time, but is still being wwritten with Pre-Crisis personality)

Flash 1 (June 1987) – Wally turns 20

New Teen Titans Ann 3 (Nov 1987) – Danny Chase is 13 and introduced

Batman #416 (Feb 1988) – Dick in Gotham, meets the new Robin on patrol. Confronts Bruce later, says he was ‘fired’ less than a year ago (since then he was briefly in college), makes Bruce admit he missed him. Dick finds Jason again, expose the drug dealers, and Dick gives Jason his old costume (symbolically, since Jason already has one) and a phone number, Dick was Robin for 6 years

Batman #427 (Winter 1988) – Jason dies

Batman #436, Batman: Year Three (Aug 1989) – 2 years since Dick stopped being Bruce’s sidekick (When he became Nightwing? Or when he quit?), parents died 10 years earlier

Batman #441, A Lonely Place of Dying (Nov 1989) – Tim 13, was 7 when Dick’s parents died

Robin #1 (Jan 1991) – Tim debuts as Robin

New Titans 84 (March 1992) – Joey dies

Deathstroke, the Terminator #15 (Oct 1992) – Rose introduced

Team Titans 3 (Nov 1992) – Robert Long is born

Adventures of Superman 500 (June 1993) – Kon appears and escapes from Cadmus with Newboy Legion, John Henry Irons first appearance, Eradicator and Cyborg Superman also appear for first time

Batman: BTAS: Robin’s Reckoning (1993) - 'Richard 'Dick' Grayson: Age 10'

Detective Comics 668 (Nov 1993) – Tim gets license (because dad is disabled) even though he hasn’t turned 16 yet, gets beat up by Jean-Paul

Flash 92 (July 1994) – Bart aged to 14

?? Shortly after Knight’s End – Tim is 15 and in the 10th grade

Flash 0 (Oct 1994) – Wally is 23

Damage 1(94) – Grant is 16

Deathstroke, The Terminator Annual 4 (Aug 1995) – Rose is 14, “What would that do to a kid? A fourteen-year-old girl whose father is an assassin she’s never met?”

Wonder Woman 105(95) – Cassie is 14

Tempest 1(96) – Garth spends many months in other dimension

Aquaman 20 (May 1996) – Garth aged 3-4 years in other dimension, now older than other Titans

Teen Titans 1 (Oct 1996) – Argent, Risk, Joto, Prysm all turn 16(they were conceived by seed things on same day)

Superboy Annual 2 – to Kon: “Happy birthday, Kid - - number one in a long successful series, we hope.” “He will effectively remain sixteen years old - - forever!”

Green Lantern 82(97) – Robert Long is 3

Wonder Woman 121(97) – Terry and Robert die

Secret Origins Giant 1(98) – Bart is “Three. Fifteen. Depends.”, “you’re almost 15, Tim.”

Titans 5(99) – Donna is 23

Titans(99) – Lian is 4

Sins of Youth(99) – Kon 16, aging normally again

Aquaman 63 (Jan 2000) – Future Garth tells granddaughter Donna about Cerdian being born (think this is his weird birth issue)

Wonder Woman Secret Files (2002) – „Wonder Girl is a precocious outgoing 15-year-old named Cassandra „Cassie“ Sandsmark.“

Bruce Wayne: Murderer (2002) – Oracle says Tim is 15

Batgirl #37 (April 2003) – “Cain said ... today was ... my birthday.”

Batgirl #39 (June 2003) – “I see an eighteen-year-old girl, who’s out of her depth.” (Babs about Cass)

Robin #116 (Sept 2003) – Dana: “Oh, I’m so glad we’ll all be together on Thursday ... !” Tim: “Why? What’s Thursday?” Jack: “Yeah. What’s Thursday?” Dana: “Wait a minute – seriously? Tim: “Yeah. Tell. Us.” Dana: “It’s nothing – never mind. Just leave your schedules open for a nice family dinner.”| Jack: “Dana, what’s – “ Dana: “Shh! Thursday ...  the 19th of July ... ?” Jack: “Um ... oh! Right!” | Steph: “So – Thursday!! Are you excited? Got any ideas for it, yet? ... Tim ... ?” [Tim is asleep.] | [Ives and Steph come over, with pizza that says “Happy B-Day Tim.”] Ives: “Sixteen spankings – get that boy up!!” | Dana says: “I remember when I was in 11th grade.” | he also gets the first ‘clue’ for Bruce’s ‘birthday present.’

Teen Titans 1 (Nov 2003) – Gar is 19, Is this Joey’s return?? (He’s puppeting Slade)

Teen Titans ½ (2004) – Rose’s early years, with a ‘6 years ago’ flashback, she was raised in a brothel her mom ran, tutored, never allowed the outside world, but had relationships with kids her age

Detective Comics #790 (Mar 2004) – Jason’s 18th birthday “he would have been 18 today”

Teen Titans 8 (April 2004) – Raven looks 'barely older' than Cassie

TEEN TITANS #1/2 [2004]: The flashback panels totally sync up with my age theories; Flash to 10 years ago: Dick Grayson’s parents die. Flash to 6 years ago: Rose Wilson is schooled at home by her mother, Lili. Flash to 5 years ago: Ravager I is killed. Flash to 3 years ago: Slade is forced to kill Jericho. Flash to 2 years ago: Cadmus attempts to clone Superman. Flash to 18 months ago: Rose deals with the death of her mother. Flash to one week ago: Bart Allen is shot by Slade.

Identity Crisis 4 (Dec 2004) –(Tim still 16)

Green Arrow 47(05) – Mia is 17

Return of Donna Troy 3(05) – Cassie barely 16

Nightwing: Year One(05) – Dick is 26

Batgirl #65 (Aug 2005) – Cass decides to figure out if Shiva is her mom, Jason and Cass roughly the same age

Flash(05/06) – Wally is 26

?? Robin #136 – Tim still 16 ???

Detective Comics #868 (Oct 2010)– Kate is 32 years old??

One Year Later(Mar 06)

Flash 1(06) – Bart 4 years older(20?)

Blue Beetle 2 (June 2006) – Find out Jaime was in space/a pocket dimension for One Year Later

?? Just prior to 52 (July 2006-July 2007)– told Tim is 17 (long before he’s also  17 in Red Robin, 52 is 1 year long)

Teen Titans 42 (Feb 2007) – Eddie is 17

Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds 3-4 (Apr-June 2009) – Bart and Kon back, same as when died

Batman 677 (July 2008) – Batman over 30

Batman: Battle for the Cowl (May-July 2009) – Damian is 10, Ends with Dick and Damian becoming Batman and Robin

Brave & The Bold 2 (May 2007) – Kara is 17, “You have food in the refrigerator older than her, Hal. Who are you, Ollie? No bad thoughts. She’s seventeen.”

Batgirl #1 (Oct 2009) – Steph starting college

Batgirl #7 (Apr 2010) - Damian is "what happens when you work with a 10-year-old."

Red Robin #12 (July 2010) – Tim spent “a few months” looking for evidence before returning to Gotham, becomes emancipated minor

Detective Comics #871 (Jan 2011)– Mention that Dick and Babs went to prom together

Red Robin #25 (Sept 2011) – Tim “and you are only 17”

The Batman Files (Oct 2014) – Jason was 15 at death (seen on death certificate)

?? Rebirth Young Justice series – Cassie: “didn’t mean to end up back in high school feeling - - like I did back when I went to high school.” Later, she says she’s in Metropolis “Working. Going to school in the fall.” So she’s probably starting college.

?? Bart in some Rebirth comic: “Am I six? Am I nineteen? That’s a really freaky thing, right?”

?? At some point: Donna says shes a little older than Kyle

[catxsnow]

OLD WOUNDS PT. TWO

Summary: Dick’s words broke you more than a bullet ever could, it was time to fix that once and for all. No matter the outcome. 

Warning: angst, some swears

A/N: Part two babyyyyy. Wasn’t planning on this but I’m glad that I did! 

Word count: 3.5k

GIF not mine

Part one

It took weeks for your bullet wound to heal. Weeks of not being able to go out on the streets, weeks of being stuck at home, and weeks with nothing to do except for think about the words that Dick Grayson lashed out to you.

You knew that he was being honest about what he was thinking. Dick never yelled at you unless there was a reason and this one was loud and clear. Dick hated you. He hated you for leaving everyone behind without a second thought. He hated you for abandoning the people that you once called family.

And he was right to do so. You left for your own benefit and didn't think about anyone else while doing so. It was selfish of you, and you regretted it. Of course you did, leaving them left you with no one. You had been alone for years. You didn't want the pain of Jason and Wally's deaths leaning on you, or anyone else that you couldn't save.

Those weeks had left you in a mess. Sleepless nights of wondering how different things would be if you hadn't left. Stressing over whether or not you should ever show your face outside of your apartment again. Most of all, you felt the kind of sadness in your chest that never truly went away.

Dick's words hurt more than the bullet he took out of you.

It was what you needed to hear. You needed to know that you hurt so many people because of your actions. The pain that he cracked against you like a whip stung deep, but the true pain came from knowing that everything was your fault. You took his happiness, and you ruined him for years.

Babs, Kori, they were better than you, they always had been. Morally, skillfully, they always won against you and yet Dick wasn't happy with either of them. He was happy with you and you broke him in return.

By the time that your wound had healed, you needed to get out of your home. You needed the fresh air, the harsh punches against criminals. That was the night that you wouldn't mind if a thug got the upper hand on you.

You had left Gotham the moment you left the Wayne Manor. It wasn't fair of you to stick around after already causing so much pain. Home was only a few cities over, you could never bring yourself to veer too far off.

It felt refreshing to leap from roof top to roof top. The crisp cold air woke you up out of the sluggish state you had been in. This was what you lived for, fighting crime and bringing peace to the people. It was too bad that you could never bring peace with your friends, if they dared to call you that anymore.

That night, you had taken down a few people. An idiotic thief, a pickpocketer, a group of men who were getting a too handsy with an innocent woman. The moment you jumped from the roof you knew that you were way outnumbered. There were too many men at once and you were stuck right in the middle of it all.

It was what you felt like you deserved. More punches than you normally would receive, but not enough that you couldn't take these bastards down. By the time the last one fell to the ground, blood dripped down your cheek and your lips. You spit out a mix of saliva and blood and stormed away from the scene.

The rest of the night was quiet, and quiet was what you were trying to avoid. It wasn't until you passed by your old hideout did you finally stop. It was well abandoned now, you hadn't been there since leaving the team. With a sigh, you headed over to the building. The access code was still the same - Dick's birthday.

Dust covered all the computers but nothing had been changed. You spent a lot of hours in that room. Between you and Dick, it was easy to clock in over thirty hours a week there. You spent a lot of time with him there and being inside only brought back memories that you were trying to diminish, not resurface.

However, you pushed on. You flipped the lights on in the room, looking around at everything that you once had. Dick was right, this was your fault. Everything that happened was because you weren't strong enough to be there.

You fingers trailed over the desks and you walked towards the Zeta Tube Bruce allowed you to have. It made it a hell of a lot easier to get to the mountain or the watchtower rather than going all the way over to Gotham. The machine whirred to life, and with a moments of hesitance, you typed in where you wanted to go.

The likeliness that they kept your name in the roster was slim, and you were sure that it wasn't even going to work. However, when you were beamed out of the room and to the Watchtower, you were more surprised than anything. The robotic voice spent chills down your spine as you arrived.

The Watchtower looked the same as it always had. Cold, empty, never home. Mount Justice had been your home for many years when you finally settled from going from mentor to mentor. The team was the first time that you ever felt like you had a stable life. Leaving it and having to come all the way up there? It never felt right.

You didn't realize you were walking towards the large window that overlooked Earth. A smile made its way to your face as you thought about the amount of times that you and Dick would watch from above. You spent hours with him up there, watching, talking, simply loving him and everything there was to him.

Fuck, did you miss him.

The loss of him hadn't hurt you this badly in so long. Seeing him again destroyed you just as much as him. You hadn't realized how much you missed having him by your side, whether it was fighting crime or in bed. You needed him in your life and it had been years since you had him.

"It's been a long time."

"Bruce," you acknowledged. You hadn't heard him come up behind you but you knew the sound of his voice. "I'm surprised you didn't cut off my access. Not very Batman of you."

"It was Tim that insisted," Bruce finally stood by your side. You could hear the underline in his voice though: Tim, not Dick. Tim always looked up to you when he had the mantle of Robin. He copied your fighting style in many ways and had a similar thought process to yours. You didn't know how he felt after you left.

Tim and Dick were as close as any non-blood related brother could be. During missions, Dick relied on Tim to be the leader of the group, he knew that he could handle things when things got tough. You both did. Tim was just another poor soul that you crushed upon your leaving.

"I take it you healed just fine?" Bruce continued upon your silence. You managed to avoid him, and anyone else in the Manor as you left that night. You weren't surprised that he had still managed to find out about your brief visit.

"Physically, you bet," you nodded. This time, Bruce picked up on your tone - Dick had laid a new one on you. He didn't know what conversation went on between the two of you but Dick had been on edge and snappy ever since you left. "Thank you, for saving me. I owe you one - I owe you lots."

"You could come back," Bruce looked over at you. His lips were in a tight line and his eyes couldn't be seen beneath his cowl. The long black cape draped his shoulders and you couldn't help but wish that you too had a cape to hide within. "We could use you on the team, either team."

"It's been years, Bruce," you sighed. I'm not welcome back, was more like it. You felt traitorous to even show up there, you couldn't consider rejoining the team. When the pain of your friends deaths started to dim, you dared showed your face there again? No, that wouldn't fly with half the members of the team. Dick wouldn't allow it.

You couldn't put him through that. He could barely meet your eyes, how did you ever expect that he would trust you again on a mission? Or trust you to have his or anyone else's back? No, your spot on the team was long gone, you didn't deserve it anymore.

"I'm not the same person that I used to be," you continued. Bruce looked at your bloody, bruised face. Beneath your mask, he could see the outline of fresh purple bruises. A small cut dragged across your cheek and although you tried to wipe the blood from your busted lip, some of it was still smeared around your mouth. In all the years that he knew you, you would never allow someone to get that many face hits - this was on purpose.

It wasn't just the beaten face you referred to. It was the aggression. Your tactics became more violent, less with the law. It was hard to maintain a sense of justice when justice killed your friends. Doing the right thing didn't always get your somewhere in life, it got you killed.

Even your suit had changed. Oliver had designed your original one. It was form fitting, covered any exposed skin and protected your from the harms of your world. Now, you showed off a dangerous amount of skin, not caring what could happen to you.

"Dick has gone through too much in his life, I can't put him through this," you pulled your mask off with a sigh. You eyes that once shone bright at the sight below you were now cold and sharp. Bruce could see the exhaustion on your face and how much being back here was tearing you apart.

"I did a lot of bad things in my life but leaving him was the worst thing I could have done. Doing things right by him isn't me joining the team again, it's me leaving, for good. I'm not coming back Bruce, ever," You fished out the device that he had given you and handed it over to him. He never made a move to grab it. "I can't keep causing pain in other peoples lives just to try and lessen my own pain. Leaving for good might just solve that."

Bruce reached into his belt to pull out a small velvet box. He handed it over to you and with confusion in your eyes, you grabbed it. Inside was a ring, an engagement ring.

"Weeks before Jason died, Dick was going to give this to you," Bruce told you. Tears stung your eyes and your throat tightened up. It had been just over three years that the two of you were dating before Jason died. "He wanted Jason to be one of his groomsmen., Wally to be his best man."

"Why are you telling me this?" You didn't want to hear about how you ruined his plans for his future. You didn't want to know that Dick loved you enough that he wanted to marry you. The reality of how much you hurt him amplified.

"Running from your problems was what caused this in the first place," Bruce didn't accept the ring or the beacon as you tried to hand both back to him. "Dick and I don't always see eye to eye on things, but we both knew that you were good for him."

Bruce said nothing else to you. He glanced down at the items in your hand once more before leaving. The velvet box in your hand seemed to be burning a hole into it. The idea of marrying Dick would once excite you, bring you joy about your future with him because at one point he was your future. Now? Now all you could feeling was the unwelcoming pain of shame.

"Fuck," you muttered. You crouched down, the ring box pressed to your forehead as you tried to decipher your thoughts. Dick was the love of your life all those years ago and you truly fucked that up. No greater mistake could have been made on your behalf. "Fuck."

Why hadn't you just stayed? Why did you have to make the unwise choice of leaving for your own benefit? To pull yourself away from the people that you cared about so that if they ever got hurt you wouldn't have to feel heartbreak? Where did that get you? At home, miserable because you had no one. Miserable because you knew that just as much as you missed your friends, they missed you more.

All this time you thought that you left to avoid the pain, but being back here? That hurt you more than all those years away. The reminder that you once had people that would trust you with their life, that wanted to spent their life with you. Now, you had no one. No one would be willing to take a misfit like you back into their life, not after they had just gotten back to where they were before you left.

Maybe it would have been easier to not have pressed that beacon. Maybe it would have been easier to let those men take you. Whatever pain that they would have inflicted upon you had to have hurt less than what you were feeling now. Emotional pain never went away, physical wounds healed.

You wanted to apologize to Dick. You wanted to tell him how you really felt about these past years but you knew he wouldn't stay long enough to hear you out. Hell, you didn't even have a way of contacting him. The device in your hand suddenly felt heavy. You had one way of getting him to come to you.

"Fuck," you repeated one last time. With the ring weighing you down in the other hand, you pressed the button. Who knows if he would even come but you needed to see him once more. If he truly wanted you out of his life, you would heed to his words - trying to force your way back in wasn't going to be fair to him.

You stood there and waited. The Earth below you was cascaded with darkness as the sun had been on the other side. Darkness of the world seemed to be no less dark than you.

Your heart raced as you heard the animated voice - someone was arriving in the zeta tube. You stood there, still facing the large window that cast into space. Being all the way up here made everything down there feel impossible irrelevant. All the problems that you had within the planet seemed to disappear.

"Why are you here?"

Dick. You turned to face him, unsure of what you wanted to say. There were so many things racing through your head and none of them seemed good enough to even sightly make up for what you did. Nothing you could say would ever make up for it, but you hoped that maybe Bruce was right, maybe there was hope for redemption.

The anger that was on his face fell to one of worry as he saw the state of your face. The bruises that covered your jaw, cheeks, and the blood that had dried up on your skin. No matter how angry he ever was at you, even when you were still here, he was always concerned with your safety first.

"What happened?" He changed his statement. Dick stood at your side, his hand reaching up to look over what was wrong. No matter how tender his touch was, you couldn't help but flinch away. You didn't deserve his comfort. Dick's hand dropped back down to his side.

"Nothing I didn't deserve," you assured. He was in his civilian clothes, but he looked tired. Bags were under his eyes, his shoulders drooped while his hands were in his pockets. "I know you don't want to see me, but I wanted to talk with you."

"I'm here," Dick surmised. That was enough to tell you that though he didn't want to be there, he would listen to what you had to say. However, his gaze went from your face down to your hands, he recognized the small box in your hand. "Where did you get that?"

His voice became harsh. So harsh that you winced and cowered back. Wish shaky hands, you handed him the ring. "Bruce," you answered. "Dick I could apologize to you a thousand times and it would never be enough to make up for what I did, I know that. I could announce to the whole world that I'm a fuck up and that I deserve to be frowned upon and that wouldn't come close to enough.

"Fuck, I know that there is nothing in this world that can make up for my mistakes. What I did, to you, the rest of the team, it was awful of me. I know that. I shouldn't have left but you were right: I am weak. I was too weak to face my fears so I ran. If I would have known better, I should have ran to you instead of away, but I didn't.

"It's too late to change things, to change what I did. I just hope that one day that you won't have to look at me with that same anger in your eyes that you have right now." You played with the small velvet box between your fingers. With a sigh, you handed it back over to him. "You deserve a happy life Dick, and after all of this, the life shouldn't have to include me."

Dick grabbed the ring from you. "I bought this less than a year after we started dating," Dick finally spoke after a long moment of silence. You couldn't tell what he was thinking. "I knew I wanted to marry you. After being friends for so long, I couldn't picture myself with anyone else. You were always the one."

"I'm sorry I ruined that," you sighed. You looked down at the mask that you held in your hands. It was the one that Dick got you when you first joined the team. Even if your costume changed, you couldn't bare to part with it. Reluctantly, you handed that over to him as well. He smiled a little as he held it.

"I came to say goodbye, Dick," his gaze abruptly shifted from the mask, to your bruised eyes. "I put you through too much in this lifetime, I can't keep doing this to you. I figured after all this time, a proper goodbye would do us good. I understand that you don't want me here anymore, I understand no one does."

"I never said that," Dick cut you off. "I never said I didn't want you here. It wasn't fair of me to blow up at you the other night, I'm sorry for being so reactive but I'm not sorry for what I said. You left us, you ran away, but if you truly want to make things right, then you need to stop running.

"You want to make up for everything that you've done? You work your ass off here, on this team. You lead the kids to make the right choices and not to make the same mistakes that you did. That's how you earn my forgiveness, that's how you make things right with the team, with your friends."

Your head hung low. "If you want me to stay, I'll stay. If you want me to leave, I'll leave. Whatever choice you make, I promise you with my life that I will stick with it."

There was another silence between you. Dick's gaze turned away from you and towards the window. "We spent a lot of hours here, looking down at the world that we give our lives to protect. Couldn't bring myself to spend a lot of time here after you left," He honestly told you. Dick handed your mask back to you. "I'm tired of seeing you walk away."

"Then I won't. Ever again," You grabbed your mask from his hand. The same calloused hands that would cup your face when you were feeling scared, the ones that would grab your own hands when you needed comfort, the ones that fought against so many people to protect you.

"Dick, I-" you cut yourself off with a staggered breath. You wanted to tell him so many things: I love you, I never stopped missing you, I want to be yours again. You couldn't. If Dick ever wanted you back again, it would have to be on his terms, not your own. You didn't even know if he ever wanted that.

It didn't matter though. You would live a lifetime in pain just to make him happy for even a second.

"I'm glad to be back."

tagged: @gotta-get-back-to-johnlock​ thanks for getting me to do a part 2!