#dad! tim thoughts

[lokutofu]

World’s Greatest Detective fails to correctly identify his children 😭

[prlssprfctn]

Imagine in the beginning, before Red Hood's goons figure out that he is a baby, they think he is a single dad of a bunch of kids, instead. And it is not like they are wrong, since he does parent all kids of Crime Alley, but they mean not them. They mean Bats, instead.

No one is sure how old Red Hood is. But they saw a single white streak of the hair once, so he is... old, right? And these Batkids, they always hang around him, whining and asking for something - surely, it is his kids? Right? That gotta be it.

Red Hood: Now, back to- Sorry, I need to take a call. Goons: Sure, sir. Red Hood: What... Oh my god, Red. What do you mean, you don't know how to wash the carpet without- Spoiled brat. Okay, listen to me, you first need to get a really hot water... Goons: That's definitely his son being in troubles.

(It was Tim, who accidentally ruined Alfred's favourite carpet. He was in big troubles that day.)

Robin, appearing on the doorstep of Red Hood's den: Scram. I am here to see Hood. Goons, staring at little Damian: Hm-m. Red Hood, pushing them away: Bad day? (Damian wordlessly raising his arms to be picked up by Jason) Okay. It is fine. Goons: Hm-m-M.

Nightwing, whining: You are so boring. Why don't you want to play Twister with us this Sunday? Red Hood, rolling his eyes: Shut up. Goons, overhearing the conversation: Kids, am I right? Red Hood: Huh?

Goons, watching Batman and Red Hood shouting on each other on the rooftop: Hey, do we think Batman is also his kid?.. Goons: (thoughtful pause) Red Hood, completely pissed off by his dad in the meanwhile: I am TIRED of you. Go back to your stupid ass CAVE and think about your behaviour. I don't want to see you AGAIN. Batman: But- Red Hood: OUT OF MY TURF. NOW!!! Goons, staring at Batman, who walks away sulkily: ...HM-M.

Red Hood, staring at the "Best Dad" merch, given him by his goons on his birthday: I am confused. Do they mean kids from Alley, or they view themselves as my kids... What does it mean? Uh. Whatever. It is kinda sweet. Red Hood, on the next day: Thanks, guys. Very thoughtful of you! Goons, high-fiving each other: Sure, boss!

[dragontamer05]

More Dad! Tim thoughts;

Should he ever find himself lucky enough to have a Bio kid with someone, besides the obvious concerns of just health and general well being of both child and his S/O one of his biggest sources of fear and anxiety would come from hoping for them to be born looking normal not like him.

Not because it matters to him- it doesn't he love and care for his child no matter what and would always try his best to ensure they know they are loved and accepted, that there's nothing wrong with them and have nothing to be ashamed of. No what worries him is the rest of the world.

Not all know of magic and while somethings they may be able to creatively lie/ come up with an explanation for if asked- or potentially even hide if need be but that's only if they're born with more subtle features and less obvious things like Horns or a Tail ect.

Sure some people may not care, or at least have enough sense to keep a mouth shut. Some may see it and just assume it's some kind of costume/cosplay- little kids like to dress up after all and lots of people do cosplay as they get older. And sure some people might be assholes no matter what anyway magic or no but still.

He just doesn't want them to have to go through what he did, how he felt. Feeling out of place and not belonging, worse thinking themselves a monster.

I don't think he'd ever try to teach them that they can't ever tell anyone else about magic or who/what they are but just to be very careful. Magic over all in away is sort of an open secret- some know some don't and while there's no hard rule or law against revealing such things that doesn't mean you should go around telling everyone. Plus not everyone who does know or has magic is necessarily safe/ nice.

Maybe one day the world may become more aware of magic/ those with it and it will become something more easily talked about and be open with

Tim wouldn't be over protective- not intentionally- but at the end of the day he just wants to make sure his kid is both safe and happy, something a lot easier done if they don't take after him so much in the physical appearance.

(And yeh Tim would also try and work on getting control of his fears/anxieties and not letting it spiral him to over thinking n worrying over things that quite likely may never happen/ haven't happened. )

[sidewalk-cracks]

The batkids encountering distressed children and calling them "sweetheart", subconsciously mimicking how Bruce would and will call them sweetheart when they're distressed, and not even realizing it?? Don't speak to me. I can't.

[bet-on-me-13]

Danny is the Tibetan Monk

So! When Bruce was travelling the world, finding masters to teach him how to fight and investigate, he came across a strange building in Tibet.

He had followed rumors of an ancient Monk who lived atop a mountain just on the edge of a Village, who had learned how to conquer Death itself, and stole its secrets for himself. Hoping to find a new Teacher, Bruce climbed the mountain and found the home of that Monk.

What he found was strange though...

The building seemed much more modern than he had been expecting, built with metal and drywall rather than ancient bricks or stones as he had assumed. There was also a strange machine on the top of the building, and if he didn't know any better he would have said it almost looked like a spaceship.

Hesitantly, he knocked on the wooden door and waited.

The man who answered looked nothing like he had expected, but so far nothing had met his expectations so he wasn't really surprised at that point. He looked relatively young, in his late 20's or early 30's, and was wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans. He had short black hair, blue eyes, and pale skin that didn't exactly match the tone of the other people living in the area. In fact he looked as if he could have been an American, rather than Tibetan.

Bruce introduced himself, explained why he was there, and managed to convince the Monk that he deserved his training.

It was unorthodox, certainly very different from the training he had recieved in the League of Assasins, but the Monk said that he was well suited for this style of training.

Under the monk he learned a variety of techniques. The ability to shield his mind from Telepaths, how to Astral Project, how to completely hide his presence from others, even from those with enhanced senses, and so much more.

By the time he was finished training with the Monk, he was confident that he could finally achieve his goal of saving Gotham from itself. He bid the monk farewell, and returned to his home ready to begin the legend of the Batman.

Meanwhile Danny had just sent his most recent student off after a few months of training.

He had to do this every once in a while. There were hundreds of Liminal and Ecto-Contaminated people out there in the world who didn't know how to manage their abilities. They didn't know how to innately seperate from their physical bodies so they could more easily feed on natural Ectoplasm, or how to shield their minds from the volatile stray emotions of the people around them thay may influence their thoughts.

It was dangerous for people with that level of Ecto-Contamination to live without knowing how to keep themselves healthy. So every once in a while, Danny would find a way to contact them and to teach them all they needed to know to stay healthy.

The "Centuries Old Monk" routine was an old favorite of his for this purpose. He would intentionally spread rumors where he knew they would hear, add in some incentive like "conquering death" to make sure they would follow those rumors, and than meet them and take them under his wing.

A few of his other favorite routines were the "Circus Act who knows more than he should", "Mechanic with great advice", and sometimes even just "Life Coach" for the more conventional cases.

And if he heard Bruce's story and decided to teach him how to use a few extra useful Ghostly Abilities, like hiding your presence or merging with Shadows, then who could really judge him? The kid had taken up a huge burden, he needed all the help he could get.

Besides, its not the first time he's ever done that.

...

Years later, Bruce met Dick and found out that he also knows how to Astral Project and Guard his Mind. He couldn't merge with the shadows or hide his presence nearly as well, but he could apparently slow how fast he fell and bend in ways even bruce couldn't.

Apparently he was taught how to do so from an old member of Haley's circus, who told him that they were meditation techniques to get "in the zone" for his trapeze acts.

Then he met Jason, who could also Astral Project and Guard his mind, and he could also heal faster than normal people and read other people's emotions. He learned from a Mechanic who used to live on his street, who told him it was just some street skills that would let him avoid the people who would hurt him or give him trouble.

Then Tim came in, also with Astral Projection and a Telepath-Proof mind, and he could apparently last for weeks on end with no food or even water, and could hide his presence from even Batman. He was taught by a butler his parents had briefly hired while away from home, though Tim's parents didn't know what he was talking about when he brought it up to them later. He was told it was just a way of "keeping his spirits up" when he was alone.

Stephanie had also been taught by an old Mechanic on her street. Same as all the other she could leave her body behind and guard her mind, but she could also read emotions and convince people to do what she said. The mechanic never gave a reason for why he was teaching her, but did say that it would help her gauge the people in her life easier. He left barely a week before Steph realized her dad was the Cluemaster.

Damien was, suprisingly, trained by the same Master that Bruce had been taught by. Talia had sent him up the mounting saying that his Father had learned from the man on the mountain, and he would as well. He was taught the same as all the others, though instead of merging with Shadows like his Father he was taught how to converse with Animals.

Cass had been taught by a man while she was running from her Father. He never said why, only that it would help her live a better life. She had the "normal" abilities of Astral Projection and Guarding her Mind, but she could also Merge with Shadows and Perfectly Read other people's emotions beyond their body language.

Duke was taught by a man who had also taught other members of "We Are Robin" during the cataclysm. He said it would help them survive their attempts at heroism, though he gave Duke extra training for some reason. He had taught Duke even more than he had taught the other Bats, alongside the now typical Astral Projection and Guarding his Mind, Duke could also talk to the Dead, See into the Past, and even Phase through Walls. With enough effort he could even Fly.

A few of his abilities were attributed to his Metahuman Powers, but he claimed that they were never that powerful before that man came along.

He also said that the man "Glowed" in a strange way. He was the only one who could see it among the members of We Are Robin, even the others he had taught.

Bruce had long since decided he needed to pay his old Master a visit.

[ellestrade]

It's so funny to me when people said that Damian is the only BatFamily member that Bruce didn't choose/want/was forced into caring as if we didn't watch that boy tried to leave on multiple occasions only for Bruce/the other BatFamily chasing him down and dragging him back kicking and screaming

[thebrainrotsreal]

Was pondering how Mark’s rigid ass mask/lens is prob a Budget Thing (since squishy, bendy lens are pretty much a mandate for all hero animated series, like JL, BTAS, TNBA, Spider-Man, etc), and then I was slapped with a vision of Mark in a more JL/BTAS-ish style and I had to see it through. I am a genius btw.

[somnoir]

As a prompt Danny after he enters Gotham for any suddenly starts growing again for the first time since the portal incident and his body instead of slowly again decides to catch up all the missing years of growing at once so Danny goes from still looking 14 to suddenly having his father's height and looking his actual age.

Growing pains.... Literally

Since his death, Danny hasn't really... Grown. His parents think he's a late bloomer, that he'll grow later in life. But it's been four years since he's died and he hasn't grown a single inch in that time.

Frostbite is kind enough to tell me that... Well... He's stuck.

He's stuck in this form until something affects his physical form. Amity, even though it's considered the most haunted place in earth, doesn't have enough ambient ectoplasm for Danny. There are too many ghosts from the realm that feed of it, too many nevermores that need it to exist. Amity feeds it's ghosts but it doesn't have enough for a halfa like him.

When he moved to Gotham for the aerospace program (plus the scholarship) he doesn't expect much from it. People still question him about his age, it almost ends with him flinging his ID and birth certificate on people and cussing them out on his height.

He had even started exploring the city. There was this one cafe he found and the owner, Lily, was an absolute angel! With a shotgun. And he met a lot of people in Lily's Eden Cafe, like this weird kid that apparently dropped out of high school. Now, Danny ain't one to judge, so he's pretty okay with Tim. Except for the fact that he was so cool and smooth on a skateboard. Danny wanted one too.

Almost a week after moving, he's suffering. His body hurts, everything aches. It's as if something inside of him was trying to break out and it's making his bones strain. Everything about it hurts.

Many days passed of Danny being delirious from the pain, barely able to register what he was doing. A week and it's like he spent a coma walking around while his consciousness was asleep, practically dead by the lack of his memories.

The next time he woke up, it's been a week since he blacked out from the pain.

There's music in the background, almost familiar. The beat is something he heard Ember compose before his eighteenth birthday, then it was practically blasted through our the Ghost Zone when the day actually came.

"Shhh! Turn that racket down!"

"Hell nah! He likes it, see?"

"The little king seems.... To......change... Gotham..."

His eyes snapped open, gasping when he saw multiple pairs of eyes looking down at him.

"He's alive!"

Danny's instincts took over in that second and he's sending a blast of ecto towards the sudden scream. More screaming. Too much screaming. His head hurt.

"Holy shit, baby pop!"

He takes a moment before he's recognizing Ember... And the hole on his wall... And his glowing hand. Shit.

"Woah, woah! Calm down."

In Danny's confused state, he could barely register Kitty and Johnny in the room. Oh, and Shadow too. But still...

"I— What happened?" He groaned, blinking slowly. "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

His voice... OH MY GOD HIS VOICE! Why was it so deep?! What was wrong with his voice? Did he have a cold or something? Or maybe it's just his morning voice—

"Congrats on your dawning!" Johnny congratulated, grinning like a madman.

"What?" ooh, that was weird, "What the heck is an dawning?"

"Ooh, baby pop!" Ember cooed, "Forgot that our little king is still pretty new to being all ghost. C'mon now, baby. Mama Ember will teach you all about ghost puberty."

"GHOST WHAT?!"

Ghost puberty was a thing apparently. He had hauled himself into the Far Frozen after yelling at the four ghosts to steal him some clothes that would actually fit him. Because his entire body felt wrong... So wrong.

He was taller now. Having shot up from 5'4" to a whopping 6'2". Everything still hurt and now all his clothes didn't even fit! Nothing looked right when he'd looked at the mirror. He was almost as tall a shis dad now—he looked almost exactly like his dad now actually. It was almost terrifying how much he resembled his dad. If he went to visit now, he's sure that his mother would have a heart attack from how quickly he had grown.

"Frostbite!" Danny practically growled and oooh... Yeah, now it sounded differently to whenever he'd end up snarling. The deepness of his voice almost intimidated him.

"Great one!" The yeti greeted, looking utterly ecstatic to see him. "Ah, I see you've finished your dawning. I offer my sincerest congrats, your majesty."

"Yeah, yeah. The fuck is a Dawning?"

Frostbite blinked, before his expression morphed into a grim one. "Oh dear... I had thought that the Observants would have deigned to explain this too you upon your coronation... Well, let us sit then, great one. This will be a long one."

To summarize it all, Ghost puberty.

A Dawning was a time every ghost went through, so long as there was enough ambient ectoplasm around them to help their forms morph into their preferred appearances. Usually, a ghosts appearance to their own mentality. Their maturity.

Apparently, Young Blood already went through a Dawning but remained in his child-like form due to his own mental age. He was a child in heart, mind, soul, and body.

Meanwhile... Danny who was still alive yet also dead, had followed on with his mental maturity. His body morphed, it changed, it adapted to how he saw himself, how he desperately wanted to become deep down in his core.

And this Danny Fenton was a 6'2" giant trying to control all his limbs that were suddenly too long, too heavy. Everything felt strange....

Tim Drake's favorite cafe was known for being neutral ground for both rogues and vigilantes. You don't fuck around Lilian's cafe or else she'll pull out a rifle and shoot you dead. So if course, Tim fucking loved the place.

Actually, many people frequented it.

He's familiarised himself with the faces of a lot of people by then. Even that scrawny new kid that arrived three weeks ago. Tim remembers Danny for how enthusiastic he was about going to collage, not even minding the madness of Gotham itself. It was like he thrived in it.

He waves at Lilian after ordering his usual, taking a seat in the corner before he's whipping out his laptop. Duke and Steph arrive soon after, immediately ordering before going off to join Tim.

Mundane things, something they all seemed to appreciate more.

The bell rings, more customers arrive and—

"Danny! Holy hell, what happened?"

Tim paused, immediately snapping his eyes towards— WHAT THE FUCK?!

Steph whistled, "Hot damn..."

Danny Fenton was a scrawny young man, shorter than Tim. Even more slim.

But whoever the hell entered the cafe was 6'2", almost as muscled as Jason, and slouching like Clark—as if he was in the wrong body. He almost dropped his drink if not for Duke gently guiding his hand down.

"Hey, Lils..."

God, what the fuck was that? What was happening? Who the hell was this awkward adonis with a voice as deep as the fucking ocean?

"Tim?" Duke waved his hand over his eyes, "Timothy? Timbers?"

"Duke, leave him alone. He's gone, never coming back." Steph snickered, shaking her head before her eyes went back to Danny, who was stuttering as he tried to order what he wanted. "But damn if I wouldn't act the same. Shoot your shot—"

Shoot his fucking shot he did.

"Hey Danny..." Tim slid up to him with a smile.

Danny blinked—woah was he tall and practically built like a fucking fridge—before his eyes brightened and a smile joined his expression.

"Hi Tim!"

Was this how Bruce felt like when he saw Clark?

Masterpost

[bluerosefox]

Paying a Price.

I want more Dad!Tim stuff. (And once again a deaged Danny and Ellie idea)

So let's go do that.

So you know those DPxDC AUs where Tim makes a deal with either Clockwork or Danny to carry Ellie? Or Tim is a reborn Danny whose carrying Ellie instead (love these btw) in order to get Bruce out of the time stream.

Well what about instead of just Ellie, it's both her and Danny.

Danny and Ellie who were badly hurt by the GIW that they both had to revert into their cores. They are saved by their friends/family and are taken to Frostbite. There they are monitored and looked after only until they can finally the reform but they run into a problem. The two can't return to their home dimension due to the GIW activity and they cant stay to long in the Infinite Realms cause they are still halfas. Then one day CW appears to speak with Frostbite over something important about the two.

Meanwhile in the DCverse.

Tim might have figured a way to save Bruce from the timestream. A being known as Clockwork might be able to help him if he manages to summon the powerful 'Ancient'.

However he knows summoning and requesting it's help he will have to pay a price.

If it means getting Bruce back he'll do it...

[smilesheartshugs]

One trop I can’t get enough of is Bart being Wally and Dick’s kid from the future. There arnt enough fics for this trope! Should I write some? Probably, but I don’t have the creative juices to write it.

But like I want Wally and Dick to find out Bart is their kid in the most absolute random way possible

Game night: Bart doesn’t think before calling Wally dad after doing something that Bart always saw durning family game nights but he doesn’t notice

Going to get ice cream: “dad you know I always get [insert ice cream flavors here that’s like ten scoops tall with an ungodly amount of toppings and sauces]” leaving Dick confused and just getting what he would normally get Wally. This is how Bart finds out his go to ice cream use to be Wally’s go to

Gotham patrol/ party: Batman notices that impulse move a little bit to much like a bat to be a coincidence. Nightwing is off in his own little bubble so doesn’t notice, Red Robin for some reason just never questions why Impulse would call him and superboy his uncles. (Let face it Tim was running on -4 hours of sleep when Bart called him uncles) and it’s not until years later when there was like a really big holiday party with all of the justice league, titans, and other hero teams and Bart just brings presents labeled for Dad, for Pa, and other family titles instead of anyone’s actual names and that’s how they find out while Bart was under the assumption that they already knew, it’s not like he was hiding it!

To many ideas and not enough writing juice

[v00do-d0ll]

De-aged Bruce

I just thought about how I think everyone would react to “de-aged 10 year old Bruce.” Because we all know that at some point in Bruce’s life he figured out how to keep emotions and feelings off of his face, and out of his eyes.

At first they all freak out because “what the fuck?!? Bruce is a child!?” Then once they get him home. They find it hilarious. Because “why the fuck is he so cute?” He’s got the biggest blue eyes and he’s just so small, and they’re all about to die from cuteness overload.

But the second Bruce gets his bearings and realizes he’s in a dark cave with bats and surrounded by 7 strangers..

He freaks out.. Bruce screams so loud that he disturbs all the bats in the cave, and he runs. He tries so hard to get away, but he doesn’t know how to fight them off. He wasn’t taught, what he taught his kids at this age. So he’s extremely easy to catch. All the kids are stunned because this isn’t the Bruce they know.

Then they see Alfred rushing towards them because he was upstairs when he heard the scream, and even though he hadn’t heard it in over 30 years, he would recognize it anywhere.

“Master Bruce?” Alfred says softly and Bruce looks up so quickly, and when his eyes land on the man he starts crying. Trying so hard to get to Alfred but not being able to get out of Jason’s grasp.

“Master Jason, please let go of Master Bruce.” He says without taking his eyes off the child. As soon as Jason lets him go. He runs into Alfred’s embrace. Sobbing, and gripping onto Alfred’s shirt so tight that they think he might rip it.

And they watch Bruce try so hard to hide in Alfred’s neck and watch as Alfred tries to calm the boy down with the most frazzled look on his face the kids have ever seen. Then they all collectively go

oh.. Bruce is just a traumatized child.. just like them.

And he’s terrified of them, all except Alfred.. Once Alfred gets Bruce to calm down he falls asleep in Alfred’s arms.

“Let us all go upstairs, if Bruce is going to be a child for the unforeseeable future, we will need to have a discussion.” He says matter of factly,

When he returns back downstairs all the kids are sitting around the dining room table. Alfred sits at the head of the table and looks around at his grandchildren.

“What’s up Alfie?” Dick asks

He looks at them all with a straight face. “You all need to prepare yourselves for the version of Master Bruce that he is at this age. He is not anything close to what you’ve imagined your father to be. At this age he is just a child, no training, no outlet, no hidden emotions, and most importantly.. no guidance.”

“What do you mean?” Duke asks, Alfred looks down at his hands for a moment. “Even though I did everything I could for Master Bruce, he was a deeply unhappy child. Witnessing his parent’s death changed him fundamentally. You would understand the most Master Dick.., but the difference is that Bruce didn’t have someone to help him vent that anger.. that fear.. and the sadness.”

They all look at one another apprehensively

“You might think that he does not talk that much now. But he ended up being non-verbal for the majority of his adolescent life, and that is largely due to the fact that he was heavily bullied as a child.”

“What!?” They all exclaim

Alfred takes a moment to gather his words 

“When Master Bruce went back to school after the passing of his parents, he was no longer the same boy they once knew, and high society children are cruel. Your father has always had large emotions and a even larger heart, even if he doesn’t show it now. I suspect that’s where Master Damian gets his love for animals. But they did many things to your father that is better left unsaid. But each day he came home, he was just a shell of the boy who use to thrive with life.”

Alfred’s eyes gloss over as he remembers the past. “Everything in the next years for him were awful. Everyone wanted something from him. Reporters jumping the fence here at the manor, and at the academy just to get to Bruce. All the galas that he unfortunately had to go to, he hated them so much, and it just got worse after everything.”

“Older business men and women trying to take advantage of Bruce to get to W.E.

That’s why he was so fiercely protective of each of you at galas. I could unfortunately not be there with him for such things. He wanted to make sure you all never went through the same.”

Alfred stops abruptly for a moment, he inhales quickly

“How old is he right now?” He asks apprehensively.

“We’re not sure, he wouldn’t respond to us but he looks about 10. Why?” Tim replies softly

“Because depending on how far it is into the year Bruce thinks it is. He was also recently kidnapped. I won’t tell you what happened because I am already over sharing Master Bruce’s secrets.” Alfred says

“Jesus Christ. He’s just a kid.” Steph says as she rubs her temples

“Quite right Ms.Brown, he was only a child. That couldn’t get a moment to grieve in peace.”

“After a while he felt that he couldn’t trust anyone. For a short period of time he didn’t trust me. He felt like everyone was out to get him and he couldn’t do anything about it, and he was right. So he closed himself off to everyone. His entire life it’s only been me and him.”

Then Alfred looks at Dick with a soft look in his eyes

“Then he found you Master Dick..”

Dick looks at him with confusion “What do you mean, ‘then he found me?’ “

“When I said the he was a deeply unhappy child, I meant it.” Alfred pauses for a moment to take a deep breath.

“I was terrified many times when Bruce was young, that he might take his own life. I stopped him once.. when he was 14.” Alfred pauses again

“He was never truly happy… until Master Richard came into his life. He didn’t have people to go out and see, he didn’t have things to go out and do. He was just surviving day to day with no life behind his eyes.”

“It got a little bit better after he trained to become Batman, he had a mission to focus on. But he didn’t have anything to live for. Until he found you on that fateful day Master Richard. Then you Master Jason. Tim, you found him. and I am always grateful for that. Damien you waltzed your way into his life but he wouldn’t have it any other way. He now has something to live for… All of you.

You all keep him going, even if you’re not on good terms all the time. He will always live for you. So I thank you all for keeping my son alive for this long.” He looks all of them in the eyes as he says it, to make sure that they understand what hes saying is 100% true.

“There is one more thing I need to let you know so you are not caught off guard.”

They all look at him with a sad look on there face that says “there’s more?”

“At this age Master Bruce does not know how to hide his emotions. With the way you are all attuned to notice every small detail of your father, you will see many emotions in his eyes.

“His eyes?” Jason asks

“His eyes use to be his biggest tell of how he was feeling. You could see every ounce of pain in them no matter the time. When he came back from his training, he taught himself to hide those emotions.”

“So just know that you will see all the things your father hides behind his mask.” Alfred says as he stands up from the table. “I will go sit with Master Bruce. He will not like to wake up alone if he has a nightmare.”

After Alfred walks off, the kids just sit in silence for a while because.. what the fuck?! They are all now terrified of scaring there father even more. They are also apprehensive and curious of the emotions that Bruce can’t hide away.

And they truly were not prepared for the pure devastation that was Bruce’s eyes. Every ounce of emotion that he had was told through them. Anytime they would attempt to get closer to him he would shoot them with a devastating look, showing how scared he was of them, it was like being sucked into a pool of sadness.

He was terrified of them. Flinching away from them anytime they were near. Gasping and running away to quickly find Alfred when they accidentally sneak up on him. The tears and devastation that run down his face when he’s reminded of his parents.

If eyes were the windows to Bruce’s soul, his shutters were always open. With sadness so etched into his irises. It feels like he was cursed with it.

[littlefankingdom]

"Dick had to take care of Bruce and teach him emotion"

"Tim had to mentally support Bruce when he became Robin"

Shut the fuck up, they did not. They did not have to do shit. Bruce learned from raising Dick and having Dick around, Dick did not have to take care of Bruce or shit. He learned from Dick behaving lile a kid and having to deal with that, not from Dick taking his hand and teaching him. Tim literally only had to be there for Bruce to be better, it is explained in A Lonely Place of Dying that Bruce needs a child to take care of, and that's what Tim is, a child Bruce can take care of. They weren't parentified to take care of Bruce instead of him taking care of their emotional and mental wellbeing. HE TOOK CARE OF THEIR EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL WELLBEING. Damn, with Tim, he does it when his parents don't. With Dick, it's the whole point how Bruce took him to take care of his emotional and mental wellbeing because nobody did for Bruce, and Bruce succeeded.

Stop infantilizing autistic adults. Bruce being autistic and having difficulties with communication, emotions and relationships because of it doesn't mean his kids were the one taking care of him. It means his kids had to learn how it is to interact with an autistic or neurodivergent person.

Bruce being well only when he has a kid to take care of is what is difficult for the kids, because it makes the process of becoming an adult more difficult when your dad needs a kid.

I challenge y'all to be able to talk about Bruce being mentally ill without painting it as a burden to his family, because that's the only way you ever do it.

[brucedefender4eva]

“So… Dick…”

Dick raised an eyebrow, stuffing the rest of Bruce’s homemade brownie into his mouth and looking over at his best friend. “Yes… Wally…?” Dick mocked, chuckling to himself.

“Bruce… is, like, in a relationship? Right?” Wally asked slowly, very pointedly, not looking at Dick, no matter how much the acrobat tried to grab his attention.

Dick’s was already twitching. Wally knows how unhappy he is about Bruce being in a relationship. “Yeah…? Walls, where is this going?”

“Is your mom happily in a relationship, or just in a relationship?” Wally wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"...What the actual fuck did you just say to me?" Dick asked quietly, slowly standing up from his position on the floor and towering over Wally, who was still sprawled out on their couch.

“Nothing!” Wally exclaimed nervously, holding out his hands in front of him. “Just a joke! Poor taste… please don’t hurt me.”

"You better watch yourself, Wallace." Dick hissed lowly, grabbing Wally by his collar and holding him very close. "Kori and I would still be very happy in a relationship with just two people."

Wally squeaked, caught between feeling terrified and slightly turned on. "... Kori agrees with me. He's a certified MILF," he whispered, which was obviously the wrong thing to say at the moment.

Dick's scream of rage was heard throughout his entire apartment complex, and Wally was very glad he was gifted with the power of superspeed. It was inevitable that Dick would find him eventually, but running to Antarctica would surely slow him down.

Right?

——

“Hey, Cass!” Cass set down her gym bag and turned to face the other dancers in the ballet classes she was taking for fun at a local center that was up-and-coming.

“Morning. Did you all get the routines down? I had a little trouble on the jumps.” Cass made herself giggle softly, and by the sounds of the other girls talking and giggling as well, she was nailing this small talk thing.

It had taken some trial and error to realize that a lot of people don’t like ‘bragging’ even if she wasn’t bragging. She had no trouble with the jumps. In fact, she had memorized the entire routine the first time the instructor went over it, but societal norms prevented her from stating that.

“Anyways… Cass. Are you, like, being picked up by your Dad again today?” Michelle, a woman Cass thinks uses the word ‘like’ a little too much, twirled her hair around her finger. The rest of the girls and guys giggled as they stared at Cass, awaiting her answer.

Cass cocked her head to the side, not understanding why they were all suddenly interested in who she was being picked up by.

“I don’t think so. He’s busy.”

A mix of groans and complaints filled the hall as all her classmates turned to each other in disappointment, which was confusing for Cass. Why would they care who was picking her up in an hour and thirty minutes?

“Damn, I was really hoping to get the chance to talk to your hot Dad.” Kyle, another classmate, groaned and clicked his tongue in disappointment. There were loud murmurs of agreement.

Cass blinked. "What?" She asked.

Maybe it was the tone of her voice, the expression on her face, or the way she tilted her ear closer as if to hear her classmates better.

"Uh... I think class is starting."

Cass stared at the backs of her retreating classmates, making a conscious effort to restrain her bloodlust.

This wouldn’t do. This wouldn’t do at all.

——

"Oh, Bruce was over at Ollie's mansion yesterday," Roy mentioned, tossing a handful of caramel popcorn into his mouth as he eyed Jason moving around his kitchen like he owned the place.

Jason hummed absentmindedly, completely focused on the new smoked salmon recipe he was trying out. "Yeah... I think he mentioned business or something. I wasn't really paying attention to what the old man was saying." A loud sizzle and the opening of cabinets. "Did you move the paprika?

Roy shrugged. "Hey, it's basically your kitchen. I don't touch anything in there." Jason muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'Damn fucking right it's my kitchen' as he continued opening and closing drawers and whatever else.

"So anyways..." Roy continued slowly. "I saw your Dad swimming around in the indoor pool and stuff." Roy could feel his cheeks heating up, going back and picturing Bruce slowly rising out of the pool wearing only one of Oliver's Speedos (disgusting on Oliver, not so much on sexy Bruce Wayne), water cascading down his muscular bare chest.

Jeez, did he forget to turn on his air conditioner?

"Has he always been so... ya know?” Roy probably should have stopped when he no longer heard any sound from the kitchen.

“Like…?”

“Well… DILFy…” Roy continued, like the idiot that he is. “I mean, everyone’s seen what he looked like when he was younger, which was hot as hell, don’t get me wrong, but I feel like he’s only getting better with age,” Roy said, looking up only to see Jason staring at him with barely contained rage.

"Get out," Jason ordered icily, brandishing his spatula like a weapon. Considering who trained him since childhood, Roy wouldn't be surprised if Jason did know how to use it like an actual weapon.

"Uh, Jay, I don't know if you remember, but this is my apartment-" Roy was cut off by his own butcher's knife being embedded in the wall right beside his ear.

Jason had thrown the knife so close that loose strands of hair drifted down onto the couch from where he had been unwillingly given an impromptu haircut just off the side.

"Or I could leave."

——

“… so fucking hot…”

“… I know right…”

“… have more…?”

“… fucking duh…”

Tim pulled down his headphones and looked over Kon and Bernard, who were staring intently at Kon’s phone.

“Hello? Are you guys on Insta looking at hot guys or something? What’s going on?” Tim chuckled and immediately stopped when he noticed the guilty expressions on their faces. “Now way… seriously?”

"Well... It's not Insta..." Kon coughed and handed his phone over to Bernard, who was decidedly not looking Tim in the eyes. “Tim… you know how your Dad came over to the farm to ‘destress’ from Gotham life for a bit?”

Tim raised an eyebrow and slowly shut his computer, giving his boyfriends his full attention. “I wouldn’t say he was de-stressing from Gotham necessarily, but yes, go on.”

Kon played with the spiked cuff on his wrist and pursed his lips. “Bruce insisted on helping around the farm even though Clark and Pa said he didn’t have to…”

Tim waited. “And?”

“And he was super fucking hot!” Bernard blurted out, his cheeks flushing a bright red as Tim’s head whipped around to look at him.

“What?!”

“Look! Kon took a bunch of pictures!” Bernard shoved Kon’s phone into his hands, batting away Kon, who was trying to snatch it away.

Tim was in complete disbelief as he scrolled through pictures and short videos of his father walking around shirtless, sweating, and hauling heavy things.

“You-! You-!” Tim sputtered, holding Kon’s phone above his head before hurling it down to the ground and watching it shatter. “Perverts.” Tim hissed, grinding his heel.

“Babe.” Bernard tried, moving closer then holding his hands up as Tim hissed louder.

“Get away from me!” Tim gathered the broken pieces of the phone, intent on throwing them into a blazing fire and destroying all those… pictures of Bruce. “And stay away from my mom!”

Kon winced as Tim ran out of the room, wishing he didn’t have super hearing. “Oh wow… those are a lot of… descriptive torture methods. And curses…” Kon took in a shaky breath and turned to Bernard with a crooked smile. “I think we fucked up.”

“Oh, do you? Do you think we fucked up by thirsting over Tim’s admittedly stupidly sexy Dad/Mom? Just start ordering Tim’s favorite chocolates.”

——

“Your Dad’s so cool, Damian…”

“I will stab you right now. Don’t fucking test me, Kent.”

Jon got over his kiddie crush very quickly…

——

Alfred gracefully sipped on his tea, watching as the other ‘grandparents’ milled around and conversed with each other.

It was a meeting of ‘the help’ from wealthy families that somehow, over time, became family and unofficial parents and grandparents. Good ones and otherwise.

“Oh, and how’s little Brucie?”

Alfred looked up from his tea (subpar at best) and smiled politely at the nanny from the influential Korden family. “Master Bruce is as well as ever. Implementing new technologies to help Gotham has him at the business for longer, but it’s nothing he can’t handle.”

“Poor pitiful child.” Another man cooed. Alfred didn’t know him; his family simply wasn’t important enough.

“Yes, yes. What he needs is a partner to set him straight.” Another portly woman butted in, her small purse stuffed to the brim with scones and biscuits. “When is he going to settle down, Pennyworth? He's getting up there in age, soon he won't be as attractive to potential suitors.”

Alfred felt his eyebrow twitch, but he was a man of grace, no matter what Bruce said or had witnessed in the past. “Master Bruce is currently in a relationship-“

“Oh, come off it!” A man laughed, slapping Alfred on the shoulder, causing Alfred to have to fight to control his facial expression of disgust. “You know what we mean! Proper folk. One of ours.”

“Oh! If I were a few years younger! I wouldn’t let him say no!” An old man wiggled his eyebrows lewdly, causing the women around him to titter and giggle in agreement.

“Alright.” Alfred set down his cup and smiled thinly. “Even if you were the same age as Young Master Bruce, I doubt he’d want anyone with such a disgusting personality,” Alfred said, ignoring the shocked and offended gasps.

“Like I’ve said, he’s in a relationship. Your opinion on this relationship means absolutely nothing. You need the Wayne family, not the other way around.” Alfred sneered, happily turning his nose up at the other attendees.

“You in particular, watch your fucking back.” Alfred snarled at the older man who had spoken about dating Bruce himself. “I will take care of you personally. There is nowhere you can fucking hide where I won’t find you and beat you till an inch of your life.”

“Well- well, I’d never-!”

“That’s right! You’d never! The lot of you are just a bunch of-!”

Alfred walked out of that sad little meeting hall with his dignity intact and his knuckles bruised, which he hid expertly underneath his crisp white hand gloves.

“How distasteful.” Alfred sniffed, dabbing at a splotch of blood that landed on his lapel.

——

“Huh…”

All the Batkids looked up at the same time while Alfred continued to pour Bruce’s tea.

“It’s just… none of your friends have been over for quite a while,” Bruce said thoughtfully, staring at his children’s faces. “And you haven’t been going to your tea meetings, Alfred. Don’t tell me… You had a falling out?” Bruce asked, frowning in concern.

“Uh… Roy is busy with Lian.” Jason shrugged, glad he had an easy excuse.

Dick chewed on his waffle with a stiff expression before relaxing into an easy-going smile. “Kori’s off world for a bit and Wally is… dead.”

“What?”

“Dead asleep from how much crime is going on in Central City! Haha…” Dick forced out a laugh and stabbed his next waffle with more force than necessary, making all his siblings flinch and Bruce look more concerned. “He’s just busy heroing Dad.”

“…okay…” Bruce said slowly, reaching over and patting Dick’s hand before looking over at Damian and Tim. “So?”

“Kon and Bernard are… having their own dates together. Ya know, having time for each other or something.” Tim shrugged, shrinking down in his seat with a scowl on his face.

“Jonathan knows what he did,” Damian said simply, leaving it at that.

“Right… and you, Alfie?”

“No comment.”

Bruce raised an eyebrow and dropped a few sugar cubes into his tea. “No comment?”

Alfred stayed silent for a second longer before letting out a rough sigh. “I simply realized the company that I keep can be… a little too rowdy.”

“Yeah sure.” Bruce rolled his eyes, already knowing all of Alfred’s tells for his lies. “Well, you should invite them over. Oh, we can have a pool party sometime this week. It’ll be fun!” Bruce clapped his hands and smiled at his kids.

“Oh, Bruce-“

“I dunno if-“

“Well-“

“Master Bruce-“

“Let me rephrase,” Bruce said, holding up a hand and stopping everyone from speaking. “You will invite your friends whom you spent so many years complaining, griping, and whining that I wouldn’t let you reveal your identities to over. And you will have fun at this pool party next week.” Bruce said softly, causing a chill to run down everyone’s spine. “Understood?”

“Yes…”

“Alfred, I can’t force you to bring those snobs that you hang around with for some reason, and if you’ve somehow discarded them, you will be getting new friends.” Bruce narrowed his eyes as Alfred opened his mouth to speak. “Yeah, you don’t get a say in this. You’ve forced me through the years to put myself out there and make friends because socialization is a need. I’m simply returning the favor.”

Alfred closed his eyes for a second before opening them and looking down at Bruce with a slightly annoyed yet resigned expression. “Of course, Master Bruce.”

“Great!” Bruce smiled brightly. “Now, I’ve got a date in an hour, so I have to get ready!” Bruce grabbed his cup of tea and walked upstairs happily.

The dining room was silent until they heard Bruce’s door close.

“I will not let those… perverts, around Baba.” Damian hissed, clenching the butter fork in his hand dangerously.

Dick stood up slowly from his seat, making his siblings and Alfred look at him. “No… we invite them. But-“ Dick’s eyes gleamed evilly, “we make it very clear what will happen if any, and I mean any, certain comments are spoken.”

There was a nod of agreement. “Alright, let’s do this,” Jason said, also standing up, a determined look in his eyes.

“Good luck,” Cass said grimly, pulling out her phone and scrolling through her contacts. She didn’t expect anyone from her ballet class to come, especially after she made it very clear she wouldn’t accept any comments about her Dad, but she would see about the Birds of Prey. That was tough in itself.

“Don’t look at us like that, Alfred,” Tim said. “This is some serious shit.”

“Just… don’t kill anyone. Your father will be very disappointed.”

“No promises.” They chorused, leaving the dining room to make their calls.

[flwrkid14]

ohhh you know what id love to see in your writing style if you have the time? tim just... getting a kitten. getting a kitten and realizing this tiny innocent creature depends on him and simultaniously freaking out about it while settling into the role of owner. very much reminding him of his own childhood and dealing with thoughts of like... how could someone not love and cherish something completely innocent? basically making him rethink how he was treated. could definitely include danny co-parenting the kitty and just being lovely.

YOU DONT HAVE TO THOUGH AND I LOVE YOUR WRITING HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY RAHHH

hi anon!! tysm for the ask and the kind words !! <3 I hope u have a wonderful day too, and I had so much fun writing this !

Tim doesn’t mean to take the kitten home.

It’s raining. He’s bleeding. The alley is too cold, the sky too loud. And in the hush between thunder, there’s a sound like a whisper. Like a meow.

He follows it. Down a fire escape, behind a dumpster, into the alley’s lungs.

And there she is.

Shivering. Soggy. No bigger than his palm. His heart does something unfamiliar and awful in his chest. Her meow is hoarse and angry, and she bites his glove hard enough to draw blood. It's like love at first sight.

She meows again, and then cautiously plants herself on his boot like she’s made a decision.

It’s not a question. She’s coming with him.

---

At first, it’s chaos.

He googles everything. Kitten feeding schedules. Litter training. What it means when she purrs. What it means when she doesn't. He overthinks every sound she makes. He buys a cat tree taller than Damian. He reads labels on food like he’s defusing a bomb. He calls Alfred three times in one night because “her paw twitched in her sleep and I think she’s dying.”

Danny finds him sitting cross-legged on the floor at 3am, kitten curled on his hoodie, utterly still.

“She’s really taken to you,” Danny says, voice low.

Tim blinks up at him, dazed. “I think I’m her whole world.”

There’s a pause.

Danny smiles and crouches beside them, fingers brushing against Tim’s, “Yeah. Sounds about right.”

They don’t move for an hour.

---

Tim names her Cassiopeia. Because she’s dramatic and beautiful and just a little bit doomed. She is too small for her name. He whispers it like a secret anyway.

The first time she climbs onto his chest and falls asleep purring, something in Tim just… stops. Like a wire inside him went slack for the first time in years. It’s terrifying. It’s quiet. It’s warm.

She trusts him.

It's a small thing, barely a moment—Cassiopeia curling up on his chest with a sigh, a tiny, vibrating purr against the steady thrum of his heart. But it slams into him like a punch. A reminder. A question. A memory.

She’s so small. So soft. So painfully here, alive and warm and unafraid. And she looks at him like he’s a constant. Like he’s safety. Like she’s not even considering the idea that he might drop her, might walk away, might not come back.

That kind of trust is dangerous. That kind of love… it terrifies him.

Because Tim remembers being this small. Sitting on the floor of his childhood bedroom in silence so loud it rang in his ears. Because he knows what it’s like to eat dinner alone at a table too long, to pad barefoot through an empty penthouse and realize no one is looking for you. He remembers curling into himself under too many blankets and pretending that he was a ghost—easy to miss, easier to forget.

Cassi is too young to know what it's like to be forgotten.

And he wants to keep it that way.

She just wants warmth. Food. Gentle hands and a heartbeat beneath her tiny paws. She doesn’t want him to prove anything. Doesn’t expect brilliance. Doesn’t care about masks or missions or mistakes.

She just wants warmth. Food. Gentle hands and a heartbeat beneath her tiny paws.

And somehow, despite everything—despite the cold parts of him that never fully thawed, despite the cracks he tried to fill with caffeine and case files—she’s decided he’s enough.

He’s what she picked.

Tim doesn’t know what to do with that. He doesn’t know how to be someone worth trusting. But he wants to try. For her, for the tiny kitten making biscuits on his chest and purring contently with no problems in the world, he wants to try.

The ache in his chest is too deep to name. It sits between his ribs like something ancient and exhausted, something he's been carrying for so long he forgot it was even there.

He blinks hard. Swallows twice. Then buries his face in her fur and breathes.

She smells like laundry detergent and the soft plastic of the toy mouse Danny gave her. She smells like safety. Like a future he didn’t think he got to have.

He doesn't cry. Not really.

But something in him finally exhales.

She is safe. Loved. Spoiled rotten.

And maybe, just maybe, so is he.

[darkcrowprincess]

Me:

[mikeluciraphgabe]

Clark spending like… forever building up the courage to tell Bruce he’s in love with him

All for Bruce to be like “wdym we have been together for 20+ years and married for like 15 years?”