#basically dick grayson whump

[demonicsuffrage]

Damian worried about Dick is so precious that's literally his batman

[dizaryswrites]

When Black Mask exacts a revenge plan years in the making, Bruce's only focus is getting his kids out alive. But when one of them is shot, he finds himself launched back into a vicious cycle.

One he used to selfishly run from.

----

His mouth tasted like mud.

Grit crunched between his teeth and coated his tongue. His limbs felt heavy, as if coated in cement. Cautiously, Bruce opened his dry eyes. Blurred shapes slowly came into focus until at last he could see the bare earth he was tasting and the dim outline of trees.

Where was he? There weren't many trees or pavement free areas in the city. Which was where he was supposed to be. The boys couldn’t agree on dinner so they went out to a food truck park smack dab in the middle of Gotham. Dick and Jason were walking ahead as they discussed some long text thread on Dick’s phone leaving Bruce to play referee as Tim and Damian glowered and sniped at each other. It’d been a long week. Everyone was understandably worn down. But they were together and even with the arguments, Bruce felt whole. All of them in one place felt right in a way he couldn't explain.

Now nothing made sense. 

His shoulders burned as if straining for too long. There was an uncomfortable tingling sensation spreading through his hands and up his forearms. Ambient nature sounds filled the air instead of horns and muffled club beats. All of this was pointing towards something being very wrong. He needed to pull himself together and figure out where the boys were. He needed to–

Rough hands grabbed him. The world turned sharply on its axis, his head swimming and stomach churning with it.

“Wakey wakey,” Someone sang. The words echoed and whined in Bruce’s skull like microphone feedback. Cords bit into his biceps and wrists when he flexed, keeping them immobilized behind his back. They must be the source of his shoulder pain. Pebbles stabbed into his knees. “How nice of you to finally join us, Mister Wayne.”

“Dad,” A familiar voice gasped. They sounded almost relieved.

Jason? Bruce squinted against blaring headlights to see all four of his boys kneeling in a line on his left, facing someone to his right. Their hands were tied at the wrist behind them and all of them bore signs of a struggle.

Continue reading...

[creature-phases]

In the in universe batfamily fandom there’s a relatively famous (infamous?) subgenre of fic known as the “Billionaire Bats AU” that has the Wayne family as the Bat family.

It spawns from a fic of the same name that first came out shortly after Tim started publicly appearing as Robin and is running to this day (though uploads are far less frequent)

When it first got popular there was a small amount of time where Bruce thought Tim was writing it because it got a little too many things right. Though he is able to rule that out after he finds the actual author who’s just some 14 year old girl.

The fandom gets into a lot of arguments about it:

“Barbara Gordon is a random choice for being the former batgirl I mean seriously? Just cause they both have red hair doesn’t make it make sense”

“Guys RPF is icky knock it off”

“It actually makes more sense if Batman is a time traveling Dick Grayson from a bad future”

“I’m sorry I can’t get past having Tim Drake as Red Robin have you seen the guy?? The wind could knock him over”

“Bruce is really ooc here”

“I don’t like the retcon that Tim Drake was one of the Robins”

One controversial take was when the fic introduced Clark Kent as Superman because the author is a BruClark shipper and was pushing her agenda since “Superbat is basically canon” so them being the same people made it more realistic.

Bruce keeps an eye on it just in case and it has resulted in Tim and Steph having to explain so much slang to him.

“What is an OTP? Why do people keep asking for a ‘Bruce whump’ chapter??”

[zahri-melitor]

I think the problem with a lot of the collected Fanon Tim traits (specifically using the ones in this poll) is that not all of them come from the same place.

There’s a set that is basically the ‘incorrect quotes’ version of Tim – random imported traits assigned to ‘the nerdy/computer one’: this is where Coffee addict Tim, Tim always resisting sleep, Shy/anxious Tim come from. The reason they grate is not only because they’re contradicted in the text, but because they’re just stereotypes for ‘the one who is good with computers’ without stopping to look if any of them actually apply to THIS character. Tim instead likes Zesti, can sleep anywhere, and is a gregarious networker, facts that show up with relative frequency in his actual stories. If you’re using any of this set it’s a pretty clear flag to comics readers that you haven’t actually read Tim’s comics.

Then there’s the ‘hung up on a particular plot point’ traits: CEO Tim and Damian seriously hurting Tim apropos of nothing are from very specific points in the text. Tim WAS cited as the CEO in a few issues during the take over, not just chief shareholder, and he does take on a senior role in the company where he’s able to implement programmes he is interested in (see Neon Knights, which started during his Robin run, but got more backing in Red Robin). Damian DOES attack Tim with very little impetus from Tim on several occasions over the first few years of their relationship, and while there is understandable reasons for why it happens on Damian’s end in terms of his upbringing, Tim definitely ended up with the short end of the stick where he couldn’t have known he was setting Damian off. Both of these traits overlook continued growth from the characters, but you know? There are reasons you might want to dig into existing storylines. The issue is more ‘assuming this is a long term standard part of Tim’s default state’ – rather like Police Officer Dick Grayson forever popping up despite being a very specific time in his story.

There’s the ‘canon divergence AU’ set. Abused by his parents Tim, Dick sending Tim to Arkham, Tim the mass murderer, Tim was Jason’s Robin – all of these are taking a point in canon and misreading it/twisting it. All of the list have the potential to create an interesting story…if they were actually treated as a canon divergence AU and the writer considered how such a situation could have occurred and how that would have changed all the characters, rather than being an excuse for whump without changing characterisation/scenarios.

So when people arc up and complain about Fanon Tim, it's always worth looking at what the issue is. Sets 2 and 3 are perfectly able to make compelling stories - if you take ONE of them, and you actually play out the changes you've just introduced. The real issue is people assuming a grab bag of this list IS ordinary canon for Tim.

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Deconstructing Bones

by ohmydeerjay Tim Drake is never good at telling his family when something is wrong. It's not like anything actually is, though, he's just going through growing pains. Growing pains don't usually involve fainting, though. Not that it matters, anyways, because Tim can hide a lot of things from his family, but Jason it a leech and doesn't let his brothers go when he thinks something's wrong. (Basically, what would happen if Tim tried to hide a chronic pain issue.) Words: 2887, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: Gen Characters: Tim Drake (DCU), Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain, Barbara Gordon, Batfamily Members (DCU), Original Batfamily Member(s) (DCU), Alfred Pennyworth, Duke Thomas Relationships: Batfamily Members & Tim Drake (DCU) Additional Tags: Chronic Pain, Chronic Illness, Arthritis, Painkillers, Fainting, Headaches & Migraines, Dizziness, Jason Todd is a Menace, Tim Drake and Jason Todd are Siblings, Tim Drake Needs a Hug (DCU), Hurt Tim Drake (DCU), Sick Tim Drake, Tim Drake hides his pain, Bruce Wayne Tries to Be a Good Parent, He's actually doing pretty good, I'm a firm believer in Good Dad Bruce Wayne, Good Parent Bruce Wayne, Growing Pains but it's not actually growing pains, Whump, Tim Drake Whump (DCU), Tim Drake Whump, Passing Out, Good Brother Jason Todd, Minor Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne, just a little bit at the begining via https://ift.tt/MmHbxnX

[yakuzcaru]

Putting out a bat signal for batfamily fanfic finders out there.

I read this fanfic literally weeks ago- or something like that.

It's basically a Dick Whump fic. I can't really remember if it was a post spyral fic but I remember Tim was really mad at him from the start. Then a bunch of stuff happened where he suddenly goes non-verbal but everyone thinks he's ignoring them.

I'm pretty sure Alfred tried to talk to him, Jason yelled at him because he thought he was ignoring them, but what really set them a off was when Dick got shot during a mission because he couldn't talk.

They were lecturing him and stuff until Cassandra piped in, after that they all just understood that he went non-verbal and stuff.

Extra info:

Characters:

Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain, Damian Wayne.

It was a complete fic, I think.

Edit:

I know I'm leaving out a bunch of details and I could've written this better but I'm already falling asleep so I'll do that next time

[damianbugs]

Dick Grayson and 7, 8, and 14 for the character ask game?

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

when they make him a bit of a loser. kind of mean and cranky, strict when he really has to be, but not without good reason. he is a fantastic big brother, but maybe not a good brother all of the time, and that is very okay. really, i just like when people make him realistic. with a complicated personality one gains by being the first kid vigilante, first child raised by batman, first one to leave and become more.

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise

basically the complete opposite of everything said before. Dick Grayson is a Ray of Sunshine is a tag i have had filtered out for months and don't plan to ever free from my tag prison.

but also, i can't stand when people take away his agency. an exmaple thats always peeved me is those fics were people find out what happened to him in Nightwing #93 and then, without any sort of care for how a character like dick grayson would want this very personal trauma to be handled, the other characters are taking charge and dealing with it for him. there is a bigger issue here, with how fandom handle topics like SA, but in this case i do think it boils down to a specific genre of mischaracterisation many accept when it comes to 'whump'. i find it very distasteful, personally.

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

whatever the aesthetic "this guy is 100% about to challenge me to a dance battle" is. party casual all the time just in case ("i AM the party!"). keep away from skinny jeans i think he would rather be dead. bright orange shirt many have tried to destroy to no avail. never heard of sleeves or coats in his entire life.

[renchanters]

Dick drags a hand across his face. This is the kid Bruce fought for in court, and he doesn’t understand the first thing about him.

“When you left on a business trip, he thought you weren’t going to come back. He thought you were angry with him and it was your way of telling him to get lost.” Most of the anger is drained now. Dick just feels tired. Tired of cleaning up messes he’s not qualified to even look at.

Bruce’s porcelain slips for the first time in years. His eyebrows twitch and his mouth spasms, like he’s not sure which of his disapproving, disappointed expressions to revert to.

“I told him that he was family and he didn’t believe me. Four months, Bruce. He was Robin for four months , and he didn’t believe that you loved him. He already had his own room here, his own seat at the dining room table, his own place as a goddamn vigilante, and he didn’t believe me when I said that he was family.”

pls know that 1) i was immediately embarrassed when confronted with my writing 😭 other people witnessing my thoughts is sooooo. mortifying ordeal of being known and 2) i quite literally don’t really remember writing this <3 at the time i was new to my job and worked basically exclusively closing shifts so i would write this after i got home at like 10:30pm and clearly Something was going on in my brain.

but anyway yeah <3 i loooove flawed father bruce <3 i really wanted to explore how he parents and Deals With His Shit (mostly dick leaving and jason dying) from a bit of an outsider pov aka my best friend dick grayson <3 i LOVE dick grayson and all the robin brothers etc but i especially love their relationships w each other. i don’t think i rly did the complexity of their interpersonal relationships justice and i didn’t even TOUCH on tim & jason which is sooooo fascinating to me but. nevertheless.

and yeah tim is SUCH a fun character to play with because he’s such a whump magnet but also everyone loves him SO much. i really wanted to write early tim & bruce which i why i set this fic during that time lmao. the concept of TIM being the one to save BRUCE and not even believing that he’s part of the family the whole time. it drives me crazy insane. tim is one of those characters who is DEEPLY insecure, especially about belonging and having family etc

however. take most tim and jason characterizations w a grain of salt bc i haven’t read an actual dc comic in like. a decade 😭 i used to read all my weekly & monthly issues but then Poverty hit and i haven’t kept up ever since LMAO?

[ao3feed-jaytim]

Craving (Yearning)

read it on the AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/45932902 by Noam_21 “Earus! It was you!” Damian breathes out, shock clear even through the comms. “You are a Demon’s Bride.” Jason just winces. “You are the reason the league split into civil war,” mutters the boy. “I thought it was because Grandfather chose you as a new favourite and all the unrest was caused by Mother’s followers who didn’t want any more potential heirs, but it wasn’t it, was it?” “Mostly. One thing you got right for sure though, kid,” Jason smiles. It was a deeply bitter expression. “I’m a Demon’s “bride”, just not your grandpa’s.” “Jason,” Bruce starts cautiously. “What do you…” “It’s a Pit. I’m bound to it.” Words: 4205, Chapters: 1/6, Language: English Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con Categories: M/M Characters: Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Alfred Pennyworth, Talia al Ghul, Slade Wilson, Roy Harper, Kyle Rayner Relationships: Tim Drake/Jason Todd, Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Talia al Ghul & Jason Todd, Stephanie Brown & Jason Todd, Batfamily Members & Jason Todd, The Outlaws & Jason Todd, minor Jason Todd/Slade Wilson - Relationship, minor Jason Todd/Original Character(s) Additional Tags: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Lazarus Pit Side Effects (DCU), Immortal Jason Todd, Heavy Angst, Dysfunctional Family, Dysfunctional Relationships, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, all the non-con stuff is non-explicit in this fic, Forced Pregnancy, Abortion, multiple of them, Jason Todd Has Issues, Hurt Jason Todd, BAMF Jason Todd, Jason Todd Whump, Batfamily is a Mess (DCU), Protective Tim Drake, Protective Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson is not all rainbows and butterflies, Dick Grayson and Jason Todd have complicated relationship, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Alpha Bruce Wayne, Alpha Dick Grayson, Alpha Tim Drake, Alpha Damian Wayne, Beta Stephanie Brown, Beta Cassandra Cain, Omega Jason Todd, Multiple Partners, Slow Burn, But the main slowburn here is Jason/Happiness, Male Lactation, self-indulgent fic, Bruce Wayne is a Bad Parent, but he is trying, Basically Jason is stuck in Rosemary's Baby situation, Cursed Jason Todd read it on the AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/45932902

[ao3feed-jaydick]

Craving (Yearning)

read it on the AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/45932902 by Noam_21 “Earus! It was you!” Damian breathes out, shock clear even through the comms. “You are a Demon’s Bride.” Jason just winces. “You are the reason the league split into civil war,” mutters the boy. “I thought it was because Grandfather chose you as a new favourite and all the unrest was caused by Mother’s followers who didn’t want any more potential heirs, but it wasn’t it, was it?” “Mostly. One thing you got right for sure though, kid,” Jason smiles. It was a deeply bitter expression. “I’m a Demon’s “bride”, just not your grandpa’s.” “Jason,” Bruce starts cautiously. “What do you…” “It’s a Pit. I’m bound to it.” Words: 4205, Chapters: 1/6, Language: English Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con Categories: M/M Characters: Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Alfred Pennyworth, Talia al Ghul, Slade Wilson, Roy Harper, Kyle Rayner Relationships: Tim Drake/Jason Todd, Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Talia al Ghul & Jason Todd, Stephanie Brown & Jason Todd, Batfamily Members & Jason Todd, The Outlaws & Jason Todd, minor Jason Todd/Slade Wilson - Relationship, minor Jason Todd/Original Character(s) Additional Tags: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Lazarus Pit Side Effects (DCU), Immortal Jason Todd, Heavy Angst, Dysfunctional Family, Dysfunctional Relationships, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, all the non-con stuff is non-explicit in this fic, Forced Pregnancy, Abortion, multiple of them, Jason Todd Has Issues, Hurt Jason Todd, BAMF Jason Todd, Jason Todd Whump, Batfamily is a Mess (DCU), Protective Tim Drake, Protective Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson is not all rainbows and butterflies, Dick Grayson and Jason Todd have complicated relationship, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Alpha Bruce Wayne, Alpha Dick Grayson, Alpha Tim Drake, Alpha Damian Wayne, Beta Stephanie Brown, Beta Cassandra Cain, Omega Jason Todd, Multiple Partners, Slow Burn, But the main slowburn here is Jason/Happiness, Male Lactation, self-indulgent fic, Bruce Wayne is a Bad Parent, but he is trying, Basically Jason is stuck in Rosemary's Baby situation, Cursed Jason Todd read it on the AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/45932902

[lambergeier]

IT TOOK TWO MORE WEEKS BUT: part 2 let's go

seeley's nightwing 2016, issues 1-43. okay here's where we start getting into the business. i was bopping between early volumes of nw2016 and nw96 basically at random, both of them had their high points, until nw96 suddenly Clicked and then i stopped picking up volumes of nw2016 entirely. what i read was alright: the character beats in the damian arc were real stand-outs, i've returned to those issues a number of times even if the dr. hurt/pyg plot felt kind of nothing. and also the whole setting was simply racist. but jesus christ dick and damian are in love. otherwise, superman just suggesting dick check out bludhaven and then he does it was like, insulting. i felt personally insulted by that. fucking put any work in to setting up the status quo!! but truly without the frisson of bruce and dick's terrible relationship, bludhaven in 2017 or whatever just could not compare to bludhaven in 1996, so yeah i haven't really returned to the rebirth series since.

nightwing 1996, issues 1-117, minus nightwing: year one. first chunk of reading that should really be its own post. fascinating to watch how efficiently dixon sets up a status quo, which i have since watched a lot of other writers fail at badly lmao. his stuff just zips along, the action is fun, he builds out a big and enjoyable secondary cast (with the interesting tension of like, many of these characters are based on racist tropes, but they're still human in their actions underneath that? or something. requires more study lol). the dick/tim/babs/bruce relationships are all fun, got hints of tension even when he's not committing to anything huge (most especially with bruce and dick, least especially with dick and babs lol). AND THEN: devin grayson's run. man this really should be its own post. her stuff is great, her character work is second to none, but man the destruction of nixon's status quo felt almost vindictive in how long she drew it out. i agree doing knightfall to dick is great, i think about doing knightfall to dick every day of my life, and i think where she was going with it (but ultimately got stopped from achieving) was probably gonna be really interesting!! but it was just too long and too brutal for the medium imho. i would pay four figures for her ffn/ao3 account tho. devin i know you're out there

year one: batman/scarecrow. good times. love how even when bruce is trying to be a good dad and he still puts the literal fear of god in dick. what the hell man. not not battered wife coded like fr

robin & batman. this was fun like whump is fun--bruce making dick give the debrief on all his new friends was deeply compellingly horrible--but ultimately like, this can't be canon lol. it can't have been this bad at the beginning or else it's meaningless how bad it got later. i'm glad they kind of immediately made it irrelevant with b&ry1

batman & robin: year 1. SOOO GOOD. CANNOT WAIT TO SEE WHERE THIS GOES. SAMNEE MY KING!!!

joker: last laugh 5/6 and robin 93 #95. wanted to see dick kill the joker. honestly think everyone should have been way more fucked up by all that. one fucking issue of being depressed after, that's kid shit. devin grayson read that one issue and it made her so mad she blew up dick's entire apartment building

the titans 1999, issues 1-39. first twelve issues or whatever are great because, of course, they are by devin grayson. she simply nails the little character moments. dick and kory's whole intensely loving nightmarish shit.....mmmmm that's good! kept reading after she left but couldn't make it to the series finale. just got kinda boring. jesse quick was kinda great tho, i liked her neurotic corporate ass.

the boy wonder, juni ba. pell has said more on this and more intelligently, but to sum up very quickly, i do think it's probably impossible to make something good out of the orientalist bog that is the al ghuls. i think this was a very interesting attempt, though, and it was gorgeous, and damian is my baby, and the jason was fantastic, and tim and dick were very cute (tim's nasty little redditor beanie from his robin flashback: iconic), so for all of this i will forgive the boy wonder's worst sin, which was including yet another fucking kintsugi metaphor.

birds of prey one-shots. literally their third issue together babs is eating dinah out then asking her why they don't spoon as much as they used to. what the fuck did dixon think he was writing?

infinite crisis #6-7. i don't remember like any of this. #blessings. emma remembers it tho bc she was regularly on that scans_daily shit until infinite crisis suddenly started happening and ruined everything she ever loved. she filled me on the "and then superboy punched time" meme. dark times

a whole mess of shit leading up to batman & robin 2009 in order to more fully bring batman & robin 2009 into my heart. includes morrison's batman/batman rip/the resurrection of ra's al ghul, the accompanying tec/nightwing/robin 1993 issues, the final nightwing 1996 issues, an inadvisable amount of final crisis, last rites, the battle for the cowl, and then like 90% of the batman/tec issues with dickbats. and then, finally, batman & robin 1-26. no i haven't read batman incorporated yet. second chunk of reading that should be its own post. this was a really funny incident caused by emma picking up batman and robin and being like baby i think this is good come read it with me and me being like "oh shit i haven't read anything past infinite crisis yet, lemme just do a quick little context read" and then, a week later.... anyways morrison is fascinating, low lows (final crisis, talia) but some high highs (their very first issue with the fight in the art musuem with all the pictures-within-panels reacting to the fight, DAMN that was good). i really like the hallucinatory ambiguity of a lot of their stuff. i love when dick grayson is sad. i love him and damian. they are babies and in love. alfred is a freak for real: enjoyed that. eeeeeverything to do with the breakdown of tim and dick's relationship as implied thru this era including red robin: good. still thinking about winick's line about dick always knew he'd bury bruce without a single gray hair!! damn!!

special mention from the above list: like 7 issues of bruce wayne: the road home. INSANE BRUCE BEHAVIORS. INSANE. JUST DON'T TELL DICK YOU'RE HOME? DO TELL TIM AND THEN NEG HIM FOR LIKE 28 PAGES OF COMIC? ALAS, WE'LL HAVE TO KILL THE BATMAN.

red robin plus that one issus of adventure comics 2009 with tim and kon in the paris sewers. i love this, i love tim, i love red robin, i love chris yost, i love tim's year-long episode of magical thinking, he is my baby, he is my normal and rational king, i love him.

task force z. okay listen i had a lot of fun with this. issue nine through the finale completely fell apart, the machinations of the "plot" were ultimately total nonsense, but the jason&bruce and jason&the other kids issues were really really fun (besides the usual babs character assassination). i love jason just getting to preach to everyone about how nobly he's suffered. finally in rosenberg we find a worthy successor to judd "jason todd has done nothing wrong" winick. also i love harvey dent. shame it sounds like the follow-up joker series sucks ass, i will not be reading all that

skimmed forever evil and then nightwing 2011 #30. wanted to know about the infamous fight scene. even in the context of n52 bruce, who i know is famous for sucking ass, this felt like character assassination. like it was just hard to read. there were one million other ways to have gotten dick into spyral, that they picked this one is kind of a nightmare lmao

the 2011 judgment on gotham event. this was weird. are you telling me there are people out there who are christians like for real?

batman: gates of gotham. bad. dickbats not wroth it.

knight terrors: nightwing 2023. WHY do i KEEP READING comics from the TWENTY-TWENTIES. BABS GREATEST FEAR IS RELYING TOO MUCH ON TECHNOLOGY-> OOC, ABLEIST, BORING, AND I'LL KILL YOU

taylor's nightwing 2016, #106-113. why did i read this? was i possessed?

watters' nightwing 2016, #119. tentatively intrigued. you've appealed to my emotionally curious nature. i will not be buying dcui for you though.

like a single issue of gotham war. batman #138. OOF. OOF! NOT GOOD!

BIRDS OF PREY BABY. #1-9 let's go war criminals let's go

literally all of knightfall. all nine collected volumes. everything through troika. my end of the year blitz. the final chunk of reading that should be its own post, but here we are. the art in this ranged from good to like, stupefying. graham nolan and scott hana have to be some of the best to ever do it. prelude to knightfall and knightfall vol. 1: fun fun tasty stuff. prodigal: IIIIIIIIIINSANE. everything else: boring (i'm sorry jpv i am just not that into your problems!) to offensively, offensively bad (WOW THE SEARCH HASN'T BEEN REPRINTED IN 25 YEARS? THAT'S CRAZY. COULD WE HAVE MADE IT 50?). the way all this is the inciting incident for the modern batfamily is like.....man there is a lot going on there. a lot to unpack!!! very glad i read it tho, even if that also meant i had to read the search 💔

2024 comics post

broooooooooooo. what the fuck HAPPENED.

the actual cause of all this: i read some really funny fic by ao3 user deadchannelradio, then i got emma to watch some old teen titans with me, then we watched the under the red hood movie, then i read some more fanfiction, almost entirely bad, then i caved and checked what the public library had available to borrow comics-wise. which turned out to be a lot. and then i bought the DCU subscription. and now here we are. this is going to be in approximately chrono order, and there will be no bolded recommendations. read only what big 2 comics you can justify to god.

tom taylor's nightwing, vols. 1-5 (issues 78-105 i think) plus fear state. my first foray back into big 2 comics since my mcu-era marvel situation in high school and college. haha, these are kinda cute, i thought. simplistic, but the art is gorgeous, i said. i would be happy to buy these as floppies at my local store, i theorized. like some kind of idiot. like some kind of naive child.

batman/superman: world's finest, #1-ongoing. waid and mora just too fucking good. i love nonsense, and to put nonsense in my mouth. would actually consider buying the first volume as a tpb it's so fun except for the massive, classically racist, unforced L of making another culture's normal nuanced folk hero (ne'zha) into a demon from hell for just like, no reason. hello? also love mark waid just doing whatever the fuck he wants with the kingdom come continuity. it's his house. no one can stop him. still reading this one as new issues go up on DCU.

world's finest: teen titans, #1-6 loved this also. i also haven't read any og teen titans (emma read all of pre-crisis NTT while i was reading nightwing, so the early children remain firmly in her realm of expertise) but she also agreed that it was cute. waid is just fun. like what are we supposed to do.

mark waid's shazam 2023, #1-6. see above re: waid and his powers. big shout out to dan mora, as ever, but BIIIIIG shout out to colorist alejandro sanchez, who i truly think made this arc. girl those WATERCOLOR EFFECTS!!

robin 2021, #1-17. read this and super sons at about the same time, officially dipping my toe into the damian waters. solid, loved the issue of all the other robins chasing after him, him and dick love each other for REAL. i also like his little goth girlfriend, and his manga habit. felt like a kinda ham-fisted attempt to give damian his own story without being willing to set him up with his own status quo, a la bludhaven, but what can you do.

super sons, #1-16. children's comics for sure, but with a surprising amount of blood in them? wasn't quite certain of the marketing angle on that, but i LOVED jon and damian they are BABIES. i also like every time clark is like my son never listen to damian. his father is a lunatic. for sure never listen to his father either. that was cute. shame this was cut so short lmao.

tim drake: robin, #1-6. offensively, offensively bad. i didn't even really know tim yet but this was like. please christ in heaven gay people have to be worthier of better comics than this.

batgirl 2000, #1-37. i know this is widely-loved, but it actually didn't get me until like #12 or so? if that? i love cass, but the art was rough for me, and it couldn't carry me for the early non-verbal comics. her shit with shiva was great tho. cass you are fully insane my girl

under the red hood and lost days. ICONIC!! JASON TODD MY RATIONAL KING!!!

robins: being robin. did not like this. trite. also did not like dick's manbun: a real issue.

batman: year one. oughhhhh what if the classics are good actually. and unfortunately. mazzucchelli and lewis are so fucking good, like lewis in particular..... what even is left to be said. the art alone is Just That Good. also bruce wayne and jim gordon are kissing with tongue for real

robin: year one. mmmmmm good. dick grayson your problems. also i still love harvey dent. possibly my favorite batman villain. symptom of having watched a lot of batman begins/read my one random copy of the long halloween an extensive number of times as a teen

batgirl: year one. had some great moments, but did not like nearly as much as robin y1. i do think this is due to the sexism. i like when babs punched infant dick in the solar plexus tho!

batman: urban legends - specifically the cheer arc with jason. i really liked this but i'm not sure i'll feel the same in a year or so. i think this was a pretty deft way to get jason to drop lethal violence without betraying his own justified belief in the power of lethal violence (rational king), and thus bring him back into the family fold, but of course bringing him back into the fold is itself a fraught project, and his character as a whole is so uncertain (as i understand) since the new 52 so like. i think it did what i was trying to do quite well (and i loved how insane bruce appeared! compared to jason!) but should it have been trying to do all that? an open question!

devin grayson's gotham knights, #1-24. WELL AS IT WOULD HAPPEN THESE ARE MAYBE THE BEST BATCOMICS I READ ALL YEAR. listen i am so aware of devin grayson's many sins. but these are the original "what does it mean for bruce to have all these fucking teenagers" comics, and, so far in my reading, they remain the undisputed best. everyone's just been rehashing her since, and it hasn't been nearly as good. she's got the touch (profound fandom-aligned inanities)

batman: murderer/fugitive. put an order in for the recently-released 1100 page $125 omnibus just this afternoon. It's Good.

robin vol 1: reborn (tim drake). idk the exact issues on this, collects tim's first few post-tlpod batman issues, plus his first miniseries. tim drake by god do i care you.

lmao okay the post editor is starting to lag like a motherfucker. posting this then putting the next half in a reblog

[arguablysomaya]

batfam fanfics that don't have enough fucking attention

alright i'm finally doing it gents listen up

1. Bang, bang by @Ididloveyou_once

Summary: ‘You shot me!’ Jason gasped, stunned, ‘Holy shit, you actually shot me.’

Tim’s eyes widened and he froze. They stared at each other for a second, dumbstruck and then-

‘Don’t tell Bruce.’

Or: The family enjoy a normal movie night. Except Jason has a gunshot wound and Tim’s the only one who knows and oh- that’s because Tim’s the one who shot him and they really, really need to find a way to leave before anyone finds out.

This fic is fucking hilarious and the characterization + banter is on point. i have a bit of a soft spot for schemes <3

2. four brothers, one crush, and absolutely zero braincells to be found by @Ms_Trickster

Summary: Tim: i need to know what’s the best way to a boy’s heart

Damian: Easy. The best way to someone’s heart is through their ribcage. Everyone knows that.

Damian: Come on Timothy, I expected better from you.

Dick: I-

Dick: Try again

Tim is having boy troubles.

Tim goes to his brothers for help.

Tim...did not think that plan of action through.

(In which the batbros give Tim advice on relationships, told entirely through texts.)

Again, fucking hilarious. the chat titles are SUCH a nice touch and it really feels like authentic sibling silliness

3. Night at the (National) Museum by @collectivefandomstuff

Summary: Tim finds himself having, once again, been dragged into the social event of the season. As he slowly dies of boredom and the physical exertion of not rolling his eyes, he bumps into his fellow prisoners brothers and they decide to do something about Bruce’s tendency to trick them into going to these things. More specifically, they decide to cause as much trouble as possible in the hopes that Bruce will just straight up stop inviting them. [cue mission impossible theme]

“We could call in a bomb threat?”

“That’s imaginative.”

“Ok, then we get paintball guns and go to town.”

“Also unhelpful.”

“No, wait! That’s actually a good idea!”

“Really Dick? You don’t think people are going to ask questions if the Waynes start literally hunting socialites for sport?”

I. Love. Schemes. also the writing style is so good omg if i could write like this i'd literally die happy lmao

4. Cingulomania (Sometimes, Dad Needs a Hug) by @charleswaterloo

Summary: ‘Right,’ Tim said, in the voice he used on missions, ‘we’re going to have to call in an expert.’

*

‘Hey guys!’ Dick said, voice slightly crackly over Tim’s phone speakers. ‘What’s up? I’m not supposed to visit until tomorrow - is something wrong?’

-

Something is seriously not right with Bruce. They’re a family of detectives and no one can figure it out. It’s kind of embarrassing.

They’re all starting to get worried.

-

(Sometimes, Bruce needs a hug.)

ok this fic is just really fucking sweet and sometimes a bitch is soft okay?

5. After the Fall of Olympus by @/killthespare

Summary: The League has fallen. The team is dead. All that’s left is for Dick Grayson to pick up the pieces and move forward.

Easier said than done.

this fic is literally a must-read in the dc fandom it's not done yet but holy shit. basically goes through young justice and other arcs if the league had died while dick was robin. perfect if you liked young justice and convoluted plotlines, and this fucking fic kicked my emotional ass SO hard

6. And The World Came Crashing Down by @One_annoying_bird

Summary: When Dick and three of his siblings find themselves within the wreckage of a collapsed building, Dick makes the executive decision for himself to be rescued last.

Even if his injuries really demand for him to be first.

Not that he'll let anyone know that last bit.

Fuck me dude. i'm always a sucker for whump

7. Asimov's Integral by @sElkieNight60

Summary: Tim is an unwanted android, a Robo-Child. After being sent back by his parents, his last and only hope rests in the hands of a man still grieving the loss of his own son.

“I didn’t ask for a replacement,” Bruce barked. “I don’t want a replacement! You can go back and tell the RCO I don’t need a replacement.”

Bruce Wayne didn’t want him. If Bruce Wayne didn’t want him, he’d be sent back and dismantled.

this one hurt me <3 android AU, tw for tim absolutely abysmal mental state and attempted suicide

8. Midnight Book Club by @badwolf36

Summary: “Dick is a lying liar who lies,” Jason declares, drawing his knees up to his chest. His ribs are screaming in that very special way that lets him know at least one or more is bruised (or, more likely, cracked).

“Dick wasn’t the only one who turned you in.” Cass says, now tracing ‘moron’ onto his forehead. “Also, Alfred.”

___________

Cass and Jason discuss books as they wait for Jason to be able to stand up after taking a brutal hit.

this one's a really sweet, quiet piece about jason and cass's relationship (which i absolutely love) and cass's characterization is spot on perfect

9. You fuck with them, you fuck with me by @oclark1226

Summary: When Batman's out of the country for Justice League business, it falls on Dick to find his missing brothers. Once he does, however, he nearly loses control fighting their kidnapper. He has to deal with both the mental and physical consequences of that fight while helping his brothers heal. Includes some soft Bruce tending to both of his eldest boys because they need some hugs and they support him in return.

now this one is simply criminally underrated. hella protective dick, which is my lifeblood, and some of the most well-written hurt/comfort i've read

10. Conflict Resolution by @anicomicqueen

Summary: It started off as a quiet Sunday morning, until Timothy and Damian decided to take their argument outside.

who would i be if i didn't end off with some fluff?? this fic is literally catharsis and i cherish it so much plus its hilarious

[dickgraysonexchange]

Holy cannoli, here we are again for Day 4! So many amazing works, so little time.

Don’t forget to kudos and comment on your gift to show your giftor some love!

A NEW ADDITION TO THE FAMILY for J_D_MCCORMICK [Art, Teen And Up Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply]

Dick/Wally West

Digital Art, Art, Fanart

For the Prompt: Dick and Wally introducing their new baby (or babies) to the Batfam! Preference for Dick having given birth (can be A/B/O, trans!Dick, or magic) and being a little exhausted but proud. Bonus points for Damian who is astounded by how tiny the baby/ies are, and quickly vows to be the best uncle.

A NEW SUIT PT2 - UNDETECTED for FLEETSPARROW [Fic, Explicit, Rape/Non-Con]

Dick/Slade Wilson

Omega Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson Whump, Dick Grayson is Not Okay, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Jason Todd is Robin, Alpha Slade Wilson, Alpha Wally West, Omega Roy Harper, Omega Jason Todd, Alpha Koriand'r (DCU), Alpha Donna Troy, Omega Raven, Beta Victor Stone, Beta Garfield Logan, There's Another Ship But Spoilers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics...

With shitty mission comes shitty partnership. Can or how will Dick survive it? Or Basically a continuation of a fic but, make it OmegaVerse. Because Dick isn’t Robin anymore.

SEE YOU AT YOUR WORST for WITHTHEKEYISKING [Fic, Mature, No Archive Warnings Apply]

Dick & Jason Todd, Dick & Tommy Tevis

Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dick Grayson is Not Nightwing, Dick Grayson is Not a Police Officer, Dick Grayson is Mobbed Up, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Jason Todd Has Issues, Identity Porn, Enemy to Caretaker, Depression, Angst, Self-Hatred, Guilt, Canon-Typical Violence, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Dick Grayson is a Tevis

Dick has only been a mob enforcer for six months, but delivering a shipment of guns to an up-and-coming crime lord in Gotham should have been easy. All he needs to do is win the man's trust and secure him as a repeat customer.

Unfortunately, the Red Hood is not impressed with him.

BLACK & BLUE for SCARLETTSWORDMOON [Fic, Explicit, Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings]

Dick/Bruce Wayne

Alpha Bruce Wayne, Omega Dick Grayson, Sex Pollen, Intersex Omegas, Knotting, Vaginal Sex, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Mutually Dubious Consent (Chapter 1), Enthusiastic Consent (Chapter 2), Praise Kink, Dirty Talk, Possessive Behavior, Breeding Kink, Emotional Sex...

After a big fight between Dick and Bruce, Dick leaves to Bludhaven. Unfortunately for him, patrolling gets too dangerous even for high trained omegas like him.

Or Dick gets hit with sex pollen and the only person who can help him is Bruce.

FEATHER TRADE for SUPERSILVERSPY [Fic, Mature, Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings]

Dick & Jason Todd

Wing Fic, Hurt Dick Grayson, Hurt Jason Todd, Child Abuse, Branding, Burning a Price Tag into your Products, Dehumanization, Small Jason Todd, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Human Trafficking

Dick's wings are prepared for sale.

BLACK GOLD BLUES for RAWRBIN [Fic, Teen And Up Audiences, Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings]

Dick/Slade Wilson

Hurt/Comfort, Torture

The gut punch is what gets him. Dick knows all the ways to tense and relax correctly to take any kind of hit with the least damage to himself, but that only works when he’s prepared, when he sees the hit coming.

He does not see it coming, when it turns out one of the henchmen in this drug operation turns out to be on some Venom knock-off. --- Dick gets captured. Then things get worse.

COME TO MY CALL for ANOONIE [Fic, Mature, No Archive Warnings Apply]

Dick & Bruce Wayne

Vampire Bruce Wayne, Dark Bruce Wayne, Vampire Dick Grayson, Dark Dick Grayson, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Child Abuse, Corruption, Grooming, Start Of Darkness, Unhealthy Relationships, Canon-Typical Violence, Minor Character Death, Villains Win, Codependency, A Cinderella Plot But Make It Evil

Vampire King of Gotham Bruce Wayne takes in little human Dick Grayson as a publicity stunt, after arranging the murder of his parents. But Dick Grayson is impressive, for a human, and Bruce decides to take him under his wing more thoroughly.

YOU DREW STARS AROUND MY SCARS for AELIG [Fic, General Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply]

Dick & Jason Todd, Batfamily & Dick

Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Giving Tattoos as a Show of Love, Minor Appearance Tim Drake, Minor Appearance Cass Cain, References to Past Joker Attack on Jason, Alternate Universe - No Capes

Jason had scoffed when he’d seen them all together for the first time and suggested renaming the tattoo shop, “Wayne’s Hoarding Problem.” Tim had almost gotten that tattooed on him until Bruce put his foot down.

Dick wasn’t sure that Tim wasn’t going to get that tattoo eventually.

[river-bottom-nightmare]

My friend, I would personally love more Dick as a nexus being au stuff! What if he had a power like Ciri's from the Witcher games where he could use the nexus to go to other worlds. Just one problem: he doesn't know how to control this power or what triggers it, so there is a very tense but funny period of time where he keeps going "poof" and Zatanna and Constantine need to go and fetch him from random places and he meets up with other versions of friends like 1966 batman and hilarity ensues!

hello hello hello babe!

thank you thank you ("i would also love more nexus dick au stuff" i say to myself lmao)

and ahhhhhhhhhhhhh yes yes yes i LOVE that idea!!! i've never actually played the witcher games, but what i'm getting at here is that the basic concept is dimension hopping? dimension jumping? since he's kinda a focal/anchor point for the multiverse, he can travel through the multiverse to other versions of himself

now, when he does that, are there going to be two dick graysons running around in that universe? is he just going to temporarily take over the other dick's body? interesting to think about

also yes yes YES him just poofing into random universes and needing the other magic-users to help him get back home is utter hilarity. imagine him popping into the 1997 batman and robin movie dear god. dick poofing into the gotham by gaslight universe and being like me, jason, and tim together on the streets???? dear god kill me now (but also loving it a little). also if we adhere to the concept of parallel realities as written in the dc universe, then technically that means one of the realities dick could pop into on accident is one of our fanfictions. please imagine dick somehow finding himself in a 30k tim drake whump + hurt/comfort fic with main supporting character Magically Redeemed Jason Todd.

this is. a top tier idea i love it

[zahri-melitor]

Ooh, the Dickpoll. Dick like Tim is cursed with having a bunch of acceptable writers who also tend to have a huge gaping flaw.

Marv Wolfman: can I get spicy here? I don't really like Wolfman. Yes yes, foundational to creating Nightwing, he IS NTT - but I don't particularly enjoy NTT. I like the OTT lineup. He's also dealing with the fact a lot of his content is now 30-40 years old. Plus, when they DID give him a Nightwing run, it was the most retrospective thing ignoring almost everything that had happened to Dick since he was returned to the Bat office in 1993-1994.

Chuck Dixon: I don't think Chuck is Dick's best writer. I think he is way too heavy handed with the 'be my own man, Bruce' narrative most of the time. Despite this he also wrote Robin #13, and Dick and Bruce's conversation there, especially "That's the way it is between fathers and sons" is peak perfect Bruce and Dick. He set up pretty much everything about what is now treated by the fandom as Nightwing's 'default' situation - Blüdhaven and a good chunk of the associated rogues gallery. Also he's the architect of well-written Dick/Babs so I love him for that.

Devin Grayson: Devin shouldn't actually be allowed to write Dick as his primary writer because she loves him too much and has elaborate headcanons that contradict what other writers have written. That said, she's actually a solid writer and her runs tend to be much better when she's got other characters around to spread her attention between. She wrote Transference in Gotham Knights, after all! She wrote "Like Riding a Bike" about Dick and Donna in Batman Chronicles! Also as I've said before, part of the issue with her Nightwing run is she got royally screwed over by War Games and then Nightwing Year One right as she was trying to land the bleakest part of a whump run, and never recovered from it.

Jay Faerber: he's...fine? I think the only bit anyone seriously cares about is the Who is Donna Troy storyline.

Judd Winick: Oooh Winick. He likes writing Dick more broken than I enjoy Dick. Also I hold a grudge against him for his Batman & Robin story, when I was desperately hoping someone other than Tomasi would write bearable Dick and Damian interactions in their own title and instead we got a random Jason Todd story.

Peter Tomasi: Tomasi's run on Nightwing, particularly Freefall, has the best understanding of Dick as a character that anyone has ever written in a book titled 'Nightwing'. Fight me. Also he had the only good run on Batman & Robin 2009, a truly cursed book, blighted only by the fact nobody stopped to check basic facts about Aaron Langstrom.

Grant Morrison: uh. um. I guess Morrison was in the loop for the Dick and Tim storyline in Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul, even though pretty much all of it happened in books they weren't writing? Bottom of my list. Seriously, Paul Dini's Streets of Gotham did most of the heavy lifting initially with making Reborn Batman!Dick appealing.

Scott Snyder: Dick's characterisation in both The Black Mirror and Gates of Gotham is actually really good! He brought some really good 'team leader Dick Grayson' energy to the Batfam during a period they needed it, and he gave us back Dick and Cass having a functional relationship together.

Anyone I think was overlooked here? Hmmm. Not notably, but I'll shout out Scott Beatty, whose Dick in his Gotham Knights run was always consistently entertaining, and who collabed with Dixon for a bunch of things I think have great Dick in them (Joker's Last Laugh, Batgirl Year One, Robin Year One).

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Shadows of Blüdhaven

by idfkwhyidothistomyself In Blüdhaven, Dick Grayson, aka Nightwing, juggles his duties as both a vigilante and a police officer. After a series of suspicious his instincts tell him that something bigger is going on. As he's suspended from his job and targeted by a mysterious force, he must face the possibility that someone is intentionally undermining him. ___ Basically a case fic where the criminals of Blüdhaven seem to be involved on a bigger plan that is targeting Dick personally and he has to call Jason to help. Words: 4759, Chapters: 4/?, Language: English Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Nightwing (Comics) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: Gen Characters: Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Barbara Gordon, Bruce Wayne, Blüdhaven Police Department Officers Relationships: Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Barbara Gordon & Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne Additional Tags: Dick Grayson-centric, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Good Sibling Dick Grayson, Good Sibling Jason Todd, Dick Grayson is So Done, Hurt Dick Grayson, Protective Jason Todd, Protective Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne Tries to Be a Good Parent, Case Fic, Tired Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dick Grayson Whump, Sort off?, MORE CHARACTERS WILL BE ADDED AS STORY PROGRESSES, no beta we die like jason todd, no beta we die like jason (todd not grace) via https://ift.tt/OEGSmzg