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weekend-conspiracy-theorist · 2 years ago

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A needlessly self-indulgent Tim and Steph role swap AU. Sort of.

"There's definitely something hinky going on here," Barbara told Jason. She was down in the cave for the night rather than across town in her Clocktower; Alfred had requested her presence for dinner earlier that night. He'd requested Jason's, too, and having Barb around to sweeten the pot had almost tempted him. There had been genuine regret in his voice when he declined.

Her red hair wasn't bright under the lights near the Batcomputer, not exactly, but it was vibrant, and the screens flashed over her glasses in an intimidating show of blankness. What the rest of them needed kevlar and voice modulators to achieve, Oracle needed only sheer presence. Jason fucking loved her.

"Told you," he grunted. His helmet was tucked under his arm, domino already tossed aside for the night. He stepped up next to her, dropping a hand to squeeze her shoulder briefly, and he could feel the smug satisfaction rolling off of her as she deliberately didn't glance over towards Bruce, who was hunched over grappling gun repairs at the main table and trying very hard to pretend he wasn't jealous of their easy comaradarie.

Up on the screen in front of them were two pictures--the young, pale face of the private-investigator-in-training who'd been bugging the shit out of the Red Hood for the last few nights, hounding him about help on a case, and the neutrally attractive, mid-fifties PI who was supposedly responsible for the kid. Newspaper clippings, police files, birth certificates, and a copy of both the PI's investigator's license and the intern's training contract surrounded the pictures.

"The kid's barely old enough to be out of high school," Jason said, darkly. "I dunno what the fuck this guy is thinking letting him run around unsupervised."

Unsupervised, and with a fucking attitude. The kid clearly didn't have a very high opinion of the Red Hood, despite his uncompromising assertions that whatever he was working on was going to require his assistance, and still, somehow, he couldn't seem to catch the hint that Jason wasn't interested.

(Actually, that wasn't quite true. Jason knew the kid had caught the hint. He just didn't seem inclined to let the hint stop him, and he was both annoyingly sneaky and frighteningly good at guessing where Jason was going to pop up each night. It was fucking annoying.)

Barbara hummed neutrally, rather pointedly not saying anything about the number of teenagers they'd had running solo around the Gotham underworld over the years, and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "That's just the tip of the iceberg," she informed him, and she sounded much more interested now than she had when Jason had initially asked her to dig up information on the PI firm.

She flicked quickly through several police reports, her green eyes sharp as she studied them. "First of all, the kid seems to be pretty much the only one doing any real leg work for Red Bird Investigators. Draper's the one who handles digital communications with the police, and he's handled the press whenever their cases get enough attention to require it, but every time Red Bird shows up in an actual police report, it always seems to be Drake that they've run into."

Barbara paused rather than compete with the roar of a motorcycle as Batgirl came racing into the cave after her patrol, and she dropped a hand to the wheel of her chair so she could turn slightly, fixing a critical eye on her protegé.

Stephanie was rolling her eyes even as she pushed back the cowl. "Not a scratch on me," she yelled, hand cupped around her mouth, and flatly ignored the disapproving look that Bruce shot her. She'd been even more of an independent operator than either of the Robins that had proceeded her, and Jason knew it rankled for Bruce that she submitted so much more willingly to Barb's authority than his own.

"Just some nasty bruises then," Barbara said sardonically, voice pitched only a little louder than normal. The cave was quiet enough that that was all it took; Stephanie definitely heard her, but all she did was grin. It involved a lot of teeth.

Jason liked Stephanie, a lot. It was easier with her than it was with Dick or Bruce or even Barb, without any baggage between them from his previous life--despite the fact that there was plenty of baggage from this one. Luckily, Stephanie seemed to have decided against holding a grudge over his murder attempt at about the same moment as she'd fought through broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder to bash his face in with one of the steel chairs in the Titans' dining room.

They'd both laid there panting for a moment, Jason's vision swimming with the nastiest concussion he'd ever received, and called something of a truce. It was the last time he'd made the mistake of thinking Stephanie Brown was any less of a threat just because she'd lost a grip on her bo staff.

Jason shot her a lazy, two-fingered wave, and Stephanie fluttered her fingers back as she headed for the lockers. She was wasting no time, halfway to the door and already shedding her armor to reveal a sweat-soaked white tank top and a Green Arrow sports bra.

Bruce looked even more sour than he had a minute ago. Stephanie's reflection in the locker room door, just before she yanked it open, was bright with mischief.

Jason shook his head, trying not to look as amused as he felt, and turned back to the screen. "Okay, so Draper's... what? Riding his intern's coattails? Seems like a risky gamble to put a private investigation firm in the hands of a twelve year old."

"Drake's twenty," Barbara informed him.

"No fucking way," Jason said, flatly. Twelve was a joke, obviously, but--

"His identity, I can confirm," Barbara said, a delicate stress on the first word, and Jason's attention sharpened. So did Bruce's, over in Jason's periphery. Jason could tell by the sudden tension in his shoulders, even if his hands didn't falter as they fiddled with the retraction mechanism of the grappling gun.

"Mind your own business, old man," Jason shot over his shoulder, and Bruce just grunted.

Barbara turned fully back to the Batcomputer, and her long fingers flew across the keyboard as she pulled up a bunch of seemingly unimportant bits of paperwork. "Whoever put Draper's identity together did a good job. They covered their bases--school records, hospital records, employment records, even a social media presence, and all of it pretty convincingly done."

"Unless you're Oracle," Jason said.

Barb's lips twitched. "Unless you're me," she agreed. "Draper's identity would pass muster for most every legal entity that went poking around, but there's some small evidence of it all being faked."

"Is Red Bird some kind of front?" Jason asked, frowning. His eyes flicked over all of the records Barbara had pulled up, more for the sake of having something to do as his mind churned than out of the expectation of spotting something in just a few seconds that Barbara hadn't already seen. "Money laundering, maybe a blackmail operation?"

"I'm not sure yet," Barbara admitted. "Their hourly rates as a firm are shockingly low; it's pulling a lot of attention from your end of the city, attracting the kinds of clients who can't usually afford to hire a private investigator, and they seem to be doing good work. Tracking down missing kids, recovering stolen items, turning evidence over to the cops-- notably only to reputable ones-- when they turn up anything especially nasty or organized." She rolled her eyes. "Not to mention catching plenty of cheating husbands. But that can pretty much all be attributed to Drake; whatever else his boss may be caught up in, I'm confident he's not aware of it.

"I haven't done a deep dive yet. Right now," Barb said, as Batgirl reemerged from the locker room in a pair of sweats, chugging a bottle of water as she took the stairs two at a time up to the platform where Jason and Barbara were talking, "all I can tell you with certainty is that Alvin Draper isn't who he says he is."

Stephanie choked on her water, the bottle crashing to the floor as she spluttered and pounded on her own chest. "Did you just say Alvin Draper?" she managed to grind out, those dark blue eyes of hers wide with surprise, and Jason snapped around to look at her.

So did Barbara and Bruce.

"You know him?" Jason asked sharply.

Stephanie was staring up at the screen, her eyes darting over the information Barbara had pulled up, and then she made a strangled noise. For a second, Jason thought she was choking again--

Except then she was laughing so hard that she had to drop to a crouch, one hand on the railing to keep herself from tipping over completely when her foot slipped in the puddle of water still leaking from her bottle.

"Oh my god," she wheezed. "This is--Oh my god. I can't believe him--"

"Stephanie, if you wouldn't mind sharing the joke, please," Barbara said, a warning note in her voice, and Stephanie hiccuped, wiping tears off of her face.

"Yeah," she managed after a moment, pulling herself to her feet and breaking off in another choked off laugh. "Yeah, you could say I'm a little familiar with--yeah." She snickered, swiping at her cheeks again. "Uh, so, Tim Drake's the annoying creep who's been bothering you the last couple of nights, huh?" she asked Jason. Her voice sounded like Christmas, Hanukkah, and her birthday had all come at once.

"You know Drake, too?" Barbara asked. Her expression was flinty. "You never mentioned anything about working with any PIs."

Stephanie subsumed another giggling fit, talking more to herself than to them. "I should've fucking--oh my god, I should've known it was him as soon as Jason said he was a bit of a stalker." She took a deep breath, managing to get her voice more or less back to normal, and gestured dismissively at Babs. "I've mentioned him, just not by name. A lot falls under the category of 'trusted contacts.'" She wiped her eyes again, calming down even further. "Red Bird isn't some kind of criminal front," she promised. "And Alvin Draper is just-- well, okay, Tim is--"

She seemed suddenly cagey, her chin turning as if to glance over her shoulder at Bruce before she aborted the motion. "Okay," she said, and it was that casual, placating tone of voice that all of the Robins had perfected at one time or another. The "Really, Batsy, it's not that big of a deal" voice. Jason had never actually heard her use it before--by the time he'd reentered the scene, Stephanie wasn't the least bit shy about flaunting her disregard for Bruce's opinions.

"Okay, if I hadn't been caught so off guard I totally would not have handled this conversation this way," Stephanie told Barbara. "If I'm going to be honest, I did not intend to ever have this conversation. Tim would have given me away at my theoretical future wedding without a single one of you having any idea how we even knew each other. He'd probably have done it wearing a stupid wig and calling himself Maurice."

Barbara raised an eyebrow. Bruce was no longer pretending to be focused on anything else, a frown line etched firmly across his forehead.

Jason had no idea where this was going.

"Absolutely no chance you can just take my word for it and drop your suspicions about Red Bird?" Stephanie asked hopefully.

"Not in the fucking slightest," Jason told her.

Stephanie pressed her palms together and leaned her fingers against her lips for a moment, thinking, and then she dropped them, still far too casual to actually be casual. "I should set the stage for a second, because none of what I'm about to say is going to make sense if I just dive into it," she admitted, hands on her hips. "Jason, you know what what everyone-- what Bruce, specifically-- says about my reputation as Robin, right?"

"Ferocious," Jason said immediately. "Clever. Scrappy. Compassionate."

A smile twitched at the corners of Stephanie's eyes, but she told him, dryly, "Actually, the word I was thinking of was 'insubordinate.'"

Barbara rubbed at the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger, suddenly looking exhausted. Bruce, in the background, looked vaguely like he wanted to argue, but didn't actually have much of an argument to make.

"I mean, I've always been the master of back talk to the B-man," Stephanie said, and her expression-- her tone-- was somewhere between pride and guilt. "And I frequently ignored any and all instructions to keep my nose out of certain cases, unless I was given really, really thorough and convincing reasons why I should leave them alone. So yeah, my time as Robin was characterized by a lot of flaunting the rules."

She took a breath. "But the thing is that even with all of that," she said delicately, "Bruce does not actually know even a third of what I got up to as Robin."

Bruce finally spoke up. "I know more than you think I do," he said, with just a hint of amusement in his tone. "You found a lot of counsel in Barbara, thinking it was behind my back. She handled plenty of mishaps for you, but she certainly didn't keep as many of your secrets as you might have hoped. I didn't mind, since you were confiding in someone."

"Sorry, kid," Barb said.

"Yeah," Stephanie said impatiently, "I know Babs was ratting on me. I knew it then, too. Which is why I leaned on the fact that you all saw me as just a little bit silly when it came to boys, and I fed Oracle a number of thrillingly believable lies about sneaking around on patrol to make out with Boyfriend, without ever mentioning that Boyfriend was also a detective savant with a corkboard conspiracy map of the city and a freakazoid obsession with stalking mobsters and crime lords with his insanely expensive long distance night vision camera."

Jason blinked.

Bruce said, "What."

Stephanie shrugged. "I mean, we did also do a lot of making out, it was just usually on top of a rooftop across the street from some dudes whose noses I was about to break. Which, before you say anything about endangering civilians, I did all the muscle work; I never let Boyfriend anywhere near the fighting, even though he's been taking a bunch of martial arts lessons since middle school.

"And," she added sharply, cutting off Bruce's response, "before you say anything about endangering myself, I'd like you to remember that it's only been two weeks since the Ex-Robins Union collectively negotiated for amnesty regarding cases that occured during our days in the pixie boots, and if you break the terms of the contract in under a month then the Extreme Penalty Subclause is activated and Dick, Jay, and I get to decide on our response. Suggestions have included an official Titans Gotham team and the Outlaws getting open season on the Joker."

Stephanie and Jason high-fived as Bruce's mouth slowly shut.

"I told you that signing that contract without reading it was a bad idea," Barbara sighed. "Dick was being way too nonchalant about the whole thing."

Stephanie turned back to Jason and Barbara and waved a hand at the Batcomputer. "This is relevant because Tim Drake is Boyfriend, if this room full of detectives hadn't already made that leap," she told them. "Alvin Draper's one of his favorite aliases. He did not tell me about this because he knows how much fun I am going to make of him, but I know how that batshit little brain of his works, and that guy--" She jerked her chin at the alleged picture of Alvin Draper-- "is definitely an actor Boyfriend hired to pretend to be his boss. Hacking the New Jersey PI database and issuing himself a license is easy enough, but convincing anyone he's actually old enough to be in possession of it is literally impossible with that baby face of his." Stephanie mimed squinching his cheeks together.

"Which, for the record, fucking classic Boyfriend move, right here," she added, grinning. "He once hired a fake uncle to be his legal guardian when his parents died and he was too young for the judge to consider emancipating him."

Jason had no idea what was going on in Bruce or Barb's brains because they both appeared to be blue screening a bit, but all he could think was that it was official: Stephanie was hands down Jason's favorite Bat.

"You hid a whole ass vigilante from Batman for like six years," he said wonderingly.

Stephanie snorted. "Not a vigilante," she corrected dryly. "Boyfriend has no interest in dressing up in tights or kicking people's teeth in; he just likes detective work and hates cops. He mostly just does a lot of sitting on rooftops taking surveillance photos." She obviously couldn't resist adding, smugly, "But yeah, more or less. Cass couldn't even kiss Superboy without Bruce knowing about it, meanwhile I practically had Boyfriend hidden under my cape on every solo stakeout for a year straight, and no one ever noticed." She tapped a finger on the side of her nose, raising her eyebrows. "No small part of why I've refused to ever live in the Manor or the Clocktower."

"This is the first and only time I will ever acknowledge that the people who call you the greatest Robin have even a single leg to stand on," Jason told her.

She gave him a nod, lips twitching.

"That's probably why Boyfriend's being such a little bitch about working with you, by the way." Stephanie leaned back against the railing and crossed her arms over her chest. Her scars stood out, stark, over the bulge of her biceps. "You used to be his favorite Robin, but then you came back from the dead and tried to kill his ex. He took it pretty personal." She made scare quotes, rolling her eyes and pitching her voice up an octave mockingly. "'It's my responsibility to hold a grudge since you have no intentions of doing it yourself, Stephanie.'"

She shook her head, her tone suddenly serious as she added, "I couldn't begin to guess his motivations in trying to drag you of all people into one of his cases, but it's gotta be something important. I'd hear him out next time he approaches you."

"You trust him? Trust his judgement?" Jason knew she did, she'd pretty much just admitted that Drake was aware of her identity, but it still seemed prudent to ask.

"As implicitly as I trust Cass," Stephanie told him immediately.

High praise, Jason knew, but he could tell it wasn't all she had to say on the matter.

Stephanie was very still for a moment, her gaze flicking to meet Bruce's in the reflection of the metallic plating at the edge of the Batcomputer, and then she met Jason's once more. Her voice was quiet but steady as she told him, "You weren't here for it, but I know you know the gist of what happened during War Games, and that I've always been vague about how I got away from Black Mask. Nobody ever pushed because they thought it was just the trauma fogging my memory, and yeah, that's part of it, but keeping Boyfriend safe from the fallout was the other part. I didn't somehow manage to break myself out after Mask left me for dead; Tim tracked me down. He got me to Leslie."

Barbara sucked in a breath, sharp, through her nose. A muscle ticked in Stephanie's jaw. And Jason had never before seen that expression on Bruce's face when the subject of conversation had nothing to do with an explosion in Ethiopia.

Jason whistled, low and slow.

"So, yeah," Stephanie managed, a little stiff. "I trust him. He's an obsessive, scheming little weirdo as I'm sure you noticed, Jay, but it's all part of the charm. He's a brilliant detective, and he cares so much about everything. We've always make a good team; he's good at seeing the whole picture, I'm good at seeing the people in it." She grinned, wicked. "Plus, he taught me how to skateboard."

Barbara snorted at that, then immediately looked annoyed at herself, but Stephanie was already fist-pumping.

"I'm not gonna lie, despite my years long efforts to keep all of this a secret, I'm excited to finally talk about Boyfriend as something other than the abstract concept of my best friend who none of you except Cass were completely certain existed," she said cheerfully.

"Cassandra knew about this?" Bruce asked.

Jason was pretty certain that the threat of invoking the ERU contract was the only reason the Bat was managing to stay so calm. Collective bargaining worked, people.

"I have never successfully kept a secret from Cass in my life," Stephanie said, ruefully. "I'm fucked when she takes over Batman."

"And everyday of interacting with you pushes Bruce closer to that retirement," Barbara told her dryly. "I'm still processing this, Stephanie, so I'm not going to get on your case tonight, but you know that your union will not protect you from me. We will be having a conversation about what other secrets you've been keeping."

"Considering that your vigilante career began and ended entirely outside of--well, anyone's supervision, not sure you have a leg here, Barb," Jason pointed out.

"There's a reason I'm your protegé now," Stephanie said cheerfully, as her voice cracked on a yawn. "Anyway, I need to scoot. I can text you Tim's number if you want it, Jay."

"Yeah," Jason sighed. "Sure. I guess I'm probably never getting rid of him if even your annoying personality hasn't managed to drive him off sometime in the last six years."

Stephanie flipped him off, rolling her eyes, but she was laughing under breath as she leaned down to pick up her water bottle. "Oh," she said, far too casual once more, as she found some papertowels to use to dry up the puddle. "There is one more thing I should probably tell you guys about Tim."

"He's a vampire," Jason guessed, just as casual. He kept her in his periphery, sensing immediately that this was something that the Ex-Robins Union contract was not going to cover.

"Nope." She bundled up the dripping paper towels and walked over to toss them in the trash. The movement took her closer to the stairs up to the Manor.

Neither Bruce nor Babs had apparently gotten any better at recognizing the signs of a shifty Robin than they had been before the revelations of the last ten minutes, so it's up to Jason to abruptly dart between her and the stairs, cutting off her escape route.

"What do we need to know about Tim, Replacement?" he asked, pleasantly, as he loomed over her. Batgirl was a bad ass, undoubtedly, but Jason had three inches and at least fifty pounds of muscle on her. Plus, he was still in his body armor.

"Ah," Stephanie said, clapping her hands together, and Bruce finally seemed to clue in to the fact that he was really not going to like the next words that came out of her mouth.

"What did you do?" he asked flatly.

"I did not do anything," Stephanie fired back immediately. "It was Dick, actually, and the thing he did was a quadruple somersault that only three people in the world can do, or whatever. Notably," she said, thumb and forefinger pinched together as she took a step forward, away from Jason and away from the stairs, "Dick Grayson, of the Flying Graysons, can do that somersault. And, my, what did a nine-year-old Timothy Jackson Drake see on the news one morning, except Robin the Boy Wonder doing that exact same somersault."

"You're fucking kidding," Barbara said.

"Yeah," Steph said. "Tim knows the secret identities of literally every single vigilante in Gotham, even the ones not connected to us. It's a hobby of his."

And then she pivoted, the space she'd gained from that step forward giving her enough room to dive under Jason's arm and come up sprinting as she took the stairs three at a time.

now continued

#tim drake #stephanie brown #I wrote this #I think that was my tag? whatever #this is pretty much just wildly self-indulgent musings about what it might look like #if Steph became Robin III and Tim therefore had no motivation to join the batfamily #and I thought this would be the funniest way to explain it #also ft. the truly hilarious concept of an ex-robins union #also war games definitely didn't go down exactly as it did in the comics but I'm i no mood to hash out details #I would be down to write more in this universe but also I have no interest in writing casefic so I will probably never touch it again #I just had this scene in my head and needed to get it out

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bi-robins-club · 4 years ago

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tim: what's something that's considered a punishment as a child but a reward as an adult?

jason: death

steph: spankings

dick: can you guys chill for just like five seconds?

#jason todd #tim drake #stephanie brown #dick grayson #batfam #incorrect batfam #ft steph and jason as chaotic bi disaster dumbasses best friends #as they are in canon fuck u dc

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bitimdrake · 3 years ago

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Complete Stephanie Brown Timeline & Reading Order

(*for the Post-Crisis/pre-Flashpoint era)

Steph spent over a decade as a supporting character, which means until she finally got her Batgirl run, her appearances are scattered across various bat-books, and hard to track (let alone order) if you don't know where to start. Which is what I’m here for!

This will run through a basic explanation of Steph's entire timeline up to Flashpoint, including every appearance in chronological order. (Well, minus some pointless cameos where she appears for a single panel/line.) If you're just reading for Steph, there are many issues listed where you could just skim through the non-Steph portions.

For the very abbreviated version:

Steph first appears in Detective Comics vol 1 #647-649 as the Spoiler, working against her dad.

She returns and becomes a regular supporting character in Robin vol 2 (1993), which includes getting together with Tim, and going through a teen pregnancy.

Steph starts to appear more across other Batfamily books, particularly Batgirl vol 1 (2000) (while still being a regular in Robin).

For a short time, she is welcomed into the inner circle and trained directly by Batman, before being rejected again.

After Tim is forced to quit, Steph becomes Robin briefly.

Shortly after being fired, she is killed.

Steph returns with a very brief explanation, and floats around as a Robin supporting character again.

Finally, she becomes Batgirl and gets her own run in Batgirl vol 3 (2009), which lasts until the reboot.

Full timeline and issue listings below the cut! I’ve tried to make it possible to just grab the listed issues, ignore any (lower-case s) spoilers, and get a fresh read for yourself OR to read in full for a thorough timeline.

Early Days

Detective Comics vol 1 #647-649 (in 1992) - ft Batman, Robin

(Batman: Knightfall begins here; irrelevant if you’re just reading for Steph. Tim starts dating Ariana Dzerchenko.)

Robin vol 2 #3-5, #15-16

Stephanie is introduced wanting to stop her father, and teaming up with Batman and Robin to that end. The next two stories are also Cluemaster-centric, with Steph and Tim working together again (sans Bruce). These stories are spaced out by irl years.

Batman and Robin figure out Stephanie's identity right away, but she remains unaware of theirs. Bruce is against Spoiler, considering her lack of training to be a hazard, and perhaps remaining wary of her morals after Stephanie nearly kills her dad in her first appearance. He wants to keep her safe, but it mostly manifests in criticisms. Tim is more conflicted, backing Bruce up, but also thinking he's too harsh.

(Note: Steph’s mom is called “Agnes Bellinger“ in her first appearance, but will later be renamed Crystal Brown.)

Showcase '95 #5 (in 1995), second story

Robin vol 2 #25 - ft Green Arrow/Connor Hawke

Robin vol 2 #26

Robin vol 2 #35 - Final Night tie-in, but you don't need to know anything about that story except that the sun is missing and the world is very cold.

Robin vol 2 #40-41, #43-44, #45 (briefly)

Robin/Argent Double-Shot #1, Teen Titans vol 2 #17 (briefly)

Robin vol 2 #50 - ft Batman

Batman: Huntress/Spoiler: Blunt Trauma #1 - Part of Batman: Cataclysm, but no prior knowledge should be needed. With Huntress

Robin vol 2 #54

Steph takes a regular role in Robin, and almost all issues here include Tim. Stephanie started as a cynic, only motivated by stopping her father and perfectly happy to leave her enemies to die, but develops here. She finds a passion for helping people, and embraces mercy. R#45 includes a brief mention of her considering quitting the Spoiler thing, but that isn’t followed up on, and she remains active as a newbie vigilante.

In this era, Steph also gets her first stories with neither Bruce nor Tim present in Showcase and Huntress/Spoiler (which also introduces her temporary boyfriend Dean), her first narration in R#40, and meets others in the hero community. Steph is affected by the Gotham-wide earthquake, which also indirectly gets her dad out of prison, but not strongly tied to the plotline.

Now that Bruce is rarely around when he sees Steph, Tim typically makes cursory complaints that it's too dangerous for Steph to be Spoiler--and then works with her and relies on her and enjoys her company nonetheless.

Also prominent in this era is Steph's crush on Tim, despite him having a girlfriend. Ngl, the 90s values and drawn out love triangle can be rough to get through. Steph keeps making moves even when Tim is uninterested. Tim sends mixed signals here too, only wanting to be with Ariana one minute, and then saying he's also attracted to Steph the next.

Pregnancy

Robin vol 2 #56-57, #58-61

Secret Origins 80-Page Giant, fifth story - backstory

Robin vol 2 #62 (beginning of issue), #64-65

Tim and Steph finally start to date in R#56, and Tim breaks up with Ari. Tim thinks it's unfair to date at first because he can't tell Stephanie his identity per Batman's rules, but Steph insists she's okay with it. This won't become an issue in their relationship until later; for the moment, they are happy and tackling the problem together.

Just a week after getting together, Steph realizes she's pregnant with Dean's baby. Over the next issues, she decides on adoption, hangs up the Spoiler costume while pregnant, and starts home-schooling. Tim uses the Alvin Draper alias to take her to Lamaze class and meet her mom, who appears regularly here. Originally a neglectful addict, Crystal is now sober and much more present for her daughter.

Chuck Dixon's conservative, anti-choice politics are blatant in this arc: abortion is eeeevil, some silly teenagers think being pregnant is cool, and a baby needs a mom and a dad.

A minor wrench is thrown in Steph and Tim’s relationship when Jack Drake moves the family to Keystone City in R#62, but Tim returns for Steph’s birth anyway, and convinces his dad to move home shortly after.

Back in Action

Robin vol 2 #68-69, #71-72

Batman Chronicles #22, second story - ft a creepy Uncle Dave

Steph’s mom finds out about Spoiler. Although she’s not mad--even delighted at the idea of Steph sticking it to her father--she is insistent that it’s too dangerous and tries to forbid Steph from taking up again. Obviously this does not work; Steph just hides it from her.

Though a major plot for the rest of the Bats (including in Tim’s plots in these same issues), No Man's Land is really just a side note for Steph.

Robin vol 2 #74, #75

Robin 80-Page Giant - (This oneshot annoyingly contradicts the main continuity in some details, but definitely goes here.) ft Black Canary/Dinah Lance, Wildcat/Ted Grant

Young Justice vol 1 #30 - ft Secret

Robin vol 2 #80, #82-84 - ft Dean in #80 (briefly), Batman in #84

After NML, Steph and Tim happily reunite, but Tim is having problems he can’t or won’t talk about in his Tim Drake life. Steph not knowing his identity really starts to be an issue here, both because of his secrecy and her insecurity.

In other news, Steph is instantly starstruck by her first meeting with Black Canary--whose identity is not secret--and she tries to angle for a partnership. She also first hears about Oracle. Her introduction to Secret is a lot less pleasant, by which I mean Secret attacks her. Whoops.

In the final arc in this era, Tim’s two lives have gotten too close, Steph has gotten wildly jealous, and she’s determined to discover his identity. Also, she tells her mom here that the boy she’s dating is Robin-yes-that-Robin.

In with Batman

Robin vol 2 #87

Robin vol 2 #88 - ft Batgirl/Cassandra, Alfred

Green Arrow vol 3 #5

Batgirl vol 1 #20

Robin vol 2 #92-94

Batman takes Spoiler to the cave for the first time, and reveals Tim’s identity to her--behind his back, which Tim is very upset about. Since Tim is mad at him, Bruce decides to latch onto the new kid and starts training Steph. He is nice to Steph for once in this era, and it's the closest she's been to the inner circle yet. Batman takes her training seriously and genuinely talks to her.

Here she meets Cassandra and Alfred. Neither is particularly warm at first, but Cass asks for Steph’s help to read a note in Batgirl, and the seeds of their friendship are planted in the ensuing team-up.

Almost all appearances here include Bruce, but Steph interacts with Tim less. They reconcile in that last arc, but despite being theoretically on good terms again, still don’t talk much.

The last arc also sees Steph’s dad return to their house, whether Steph and her mom like it or not. (Hint: they don’t.)

Joker: Last Laugh, in which The Joker breaks out a number of supervillains and "jokerizes" them, starts here. (The continuity of this story is extremely vague and messy, but this order is as accurate as I can possibly make it.)

Batman: Gotham Knights vol 1 #22 - with Batman

Batgirl vol 1 #21 - ft Oracle/Barbara

Joker: Last Laugh #3 - ft Cass, Oracle

Robin vol 2 #95 - ft Batman, Huntress

Joker: Last Laugh #6 - ft Batfamily

Steph's first significant role in a bat-family crossover also contains her first on-panel interaction with Barbara (who makes no effort to hide her identity), and the first time the three iconic Batgirls (past, present, and future) work together. Steph helps Cass resuscitate an accidentally-killed villain in Bg#21, marking a turning point in their relationship.

Towards the end of the storyline, Tim is thought dead, and Steph is thrilled when she finds this isn’t true. She also appears on-panel with Nightwing for the first (and only pre-Batgirl) time...immediately after Dick has beat the Joker to death in a fury. So, uh, no small talk for their first meeting.

Batgirl vol 1 #26 - ft Barbara

Steph fills in for Batgirl, while Cass recovers from a fight with Lady Shiva.

Outs with Batman

Bruce Wayne: Murderer? starts here

Robin vol 2 #98

Birds of Prey vol 1 (1999) #39 (end of issue)

Robin vol 2 #99

Birds of Prey vol 1 #40

Name switches to Bruce Wayne: Fugitive

Batgirl vol 1 #27

Birds of Prey vol 1 #43 (end of issue)

Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive sees Bruce arrested for murder and the family scramble to solve the case. (Note: the official order of this storyline is Wrong and I will ignore it because I am Right.) Stephanie, unaware of Batman's identity, is out the loop but still effected. She finds herself locked out of the Cave without explanation.

Steph seeks out Dinah and Barbara instead, remaining with them through most of this storyline. She also works with Tim again in R#99, with no apparent tension. Dinah finally helps Steph get her father and the Riddler out of her house in BoP#40. However, Dinah pulls back on their not-a-partnership in BoP#43, citing her work being too dangerous.

Cass has the same concerns, and Steph is irritated in Bg#27 when Cass keeps forcing her out of the most dangerous fight and knocking her out to avoid arguments.

Robin vol 2 #100 - (This issue is awkward to sort as it takes place over a period of time. Steph's first scene is chronologically before BoP#43, but the rest of the issue is after.)

Robin vol 2 #101 - Continued from #100. Young Justice crossover.

Robin vol 2 #102-105 - Continued from #101

Batgirl vol 1 #28

Batgirl vol 1 #31-32 - ft Robin, Connor Hawke

(Steph does not appear in Robin vol 2 #106, but developments in her story are spoken about.)

Robin vol 2 #107-110

Robin vol 2 #111 - CW: threats of childhood sexual assault.

Batman: Family vol 1 (2002) #2 - ft Catwoman/Selina Kyle

Batman: Family vol 1 #8

Young Justice vol 1 #50-51 (briefly)

R#100 begins Jon Lewis's run on the book, with some usual new writer switch-ups, and Steph maintaining a strong presence. Steph and Tim are back together (though I'm not sure they ever broke up, so much as just took some space), better off with all identities known, and very sweet in this era. Steph’s friendship with Cass also gets closer.

On the flip side, per R#106, the Birds of Prey off-panel decide to stop mentoring Steph, and Bruce no longer wants her around, now that he’s returned from being a fugitive. In the ensuing issues, Steph really considers if she wants to keep being Spoiler.

Things get messier with the new of Cluemaster’s death. Steph really struggles to process--and with her mother's reaction. She starts sleeping in a motel to avoid going home after R#110.

The non-Robin issues here don’t technically have a single correct placement, but per my longer order work best where I’ve put them. In Batman: Family, Steph is called in along with Batman’s greatest network of allies, despite him still disapproving of her. In YJ#50, Steph has a brief conversation with Secret about the latter’s attack.

Batman: Gotham Knights vol 1 #37 - with Batman

Batgirl vol 1 #38

Robin vol 2 #112-113 - ft Black Canary

Robin vol 2 #116 - ft Ives

Robin vol 2 #119, #120

Young Justice vol 1 #54 (briefly)

Robin vol 2 #122 (briefly), #123, #124, #125 (briefly)

Wizard Magazine #150

Batman sets a test in GK#37 to prove Spoiler isn’t good enough. :( After she fails, he moves from largely ignoring her to outright disavowing her and instructing others to do the same. Steph's friendship with Cass disintegrates when Steph realizes that Cass agrees with Batman. Her interaction with Dinah is brief and tense.

Cluemaster's death continues to hang over Steph, and she’s having a really hard time. Tim is the only consistent presence in her life at this point. In R#119, she admits to him she’s still living in a motel, and he pushes her to go home. She reconciles with her mom.

Bill Willingham takes over Robin with #121, dropping that plotline, and writing Steph as more jealous again. She and Tim are alright for these first few issues. Steph breaks her leg during a fight in R#123, but keeps in shape over the next few issues.

Meanwhile, Jack Drake finds out his son is Robin and forces Tim to quit...

Robin

Robin vol 2 #126

Robin 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular (eighth story)

Teen Titans vol 3 #13 (briefly) - ft Batman

Detective Comics vol 1 #796

Batgirl vol 1 #53

Solo vol 1 #10 (third story) - ft Cass

Robin vol 2 #127-128

Laying low under his dad’s watch, Tim doesn’t speak to Steph for a few weeks, while she gets her cast off. Their reunion in R#126 is happy--but then, in a very stupid plot point, Steph thinks Tim is cheating on her and writes him off. She sews a costume, breaks into the Cave, and declares herself Robin. Bruce, continuing his pattern of replacing kids who aren’t talking to him at the first chance he gets, takes her on happily. Alfred’s objections are ignored.

As Robin, Steph once again finds herself on great terms with Batman, who is nice to her and intent on her training--right up until he suddenly isn’t. Though she interacts multiple times with Alfred here, she is still not let in on Bruce’s identity.

Despite their last meeting ending with Steph disavowing the friendship, with Bruce’s approval she’s also on good terms with Cass again. Things are a little more iffy with a skeptical Barbara, but still alright. But her relationship with Tim is on the rocks after she ghosts him. The only other hero Steph gets to interact with as Robin is Superboy in TT#13, who is incredibly unhappy to find someone other that his BFF in the costume, and pretty rude to Steph about it.

Steph finally talks to Tim over the phone in R#127, after he finds out about the new Robin from the news, but she misses their planned meet up for a case. It’s the last time they speak before her death.

In the last issue here, Bruce abruptly turns around from his friendly behavior and fires Steph for ignoring his orders. Fan debates over whether Bruce legitimately wanted Steph as Robin or was bitter towards Tim or trying to lure him back, or any combination thereof, continue to rage.

Not the End

Batgirl vol 1 #54 (end of issue)

Back as Spoiler, Steph tearfully tells Cass that she was fired but isn’t giving up on proving herself. 😬

Batman: War Games starts here. Steph’s treatment turns into straight up torture pͻrn, and you may be better off just skipping it.

Batman: The 12-Cent Adventure - ft Catwoman

Batgirl vol 1 #55

Catwoman vol 3 #34

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight vol 1 #183 - ft Catwoman

Nightwing vol 2 #97 (briefly)

Batman: Gotham Knights vol 1 #57

Robin vol 2 #130 - torture CW, beyond usual comic standards

Catwoman vol 3 #35

Robin vol 2 #131

Batman: Gotham Knights vol 1 #58 - with Batman

Batman vol 1 #633 (in 2004) - with Batman

Steph tries to prove herself by starting one of Batman’s “contingency plans” to consolidate all of Gotham’s gangs, which instead ignites a gang war when she doesn’t have all the information. Cass sees her for the last time in Bg#55, and spends much of the storyline searching for her.

A distraught Steph gets some reassurance from Catwoman, who is perfectly content that Steph knows her identity, before sneaking out, determined to help. She finds Batman’s agent Orpheus--cornerstone of the plan--just before Black Mask kills him. Then some awful issues where Black Mask tortures her. Steph escapes and fights him, but is injured further when she refuses to kill him. Fleeing over the roofs, she’s found by Batman and taken to Leslie Thompson’s clinic, but her injuries are to severe and she dies anyway (until the retcon comes).

More subjectively: reading this storyline exclusively for Steph is a horrible experience. The beginning is a little rough--but everything after Black Mask catches her is horrific. The Robin issues are the worst of the bunch, contrasting a happy storyline for Tim with misogynistic literal torture for Steph.

Batman is nice to Steph on her apparent deathbed, assuring her she really was a true Robin--not that it makes up for his terrible treatment of her before, or abhorrent behavior in this storyline otherwise.

Death

Out of universe, Stephanie’s death was intended to be real and permanent, and issues over the next few years reflected that. Steph obviously doesn’t actually appear here, so I will be less thorough and just cite a few issues with heavy references:

Batman #634 - Epilogue to War Games. Includes, in flashback, Bruce telling Tim about Steph’s death

In the wake of the gang war, almost everyone except Bruce leaves Gotham.

Robin/Batgirl: Fresh Blood - Tim and Cass both move to Blüdhaven (recently abandoned by Nightwing), where their shared grief leads to them bonding for the first time.

Steph’s death continues to linger heavily over Robin and Batgirl, and their lead characters. Cass is broken and grieving for her first friend. Tim, whose dad died mere days after Steph, is falling into a dark place.

Batgirl #61-62 - Cass hallucinates Steph at a moment of near-death.

Batman Allies Secret Files (2005) #1 (last story) - Interesting discussion between Tim and Cass, partially around Steph. Lead-in to War Crimes.

Batman: War Crimes - I do not recommend this story. It introduces the idea that Steph could have been saved, but didn’t get the medical care she need. The initial suggestion is that Bruce delayed saving her--but then, of course, it turns about to completely absolve Bruce of any wrongdoing, and instead commit character assassination on Leslie Thompson. It also sees Steph’s identities revealed to the public and her father back from the dead. HOWEVER, after universe-shattering event Infinite Crisis and Steph’s return, almost everything from this storyline was retconned out of existence. Arthur Brown being alive is pretty much the only thing that remains.

Batgirl #72-73 - Cass hallucinates Steph before dying, again.

Infinite Crisis occurs here, followed by a year time skip.

Robin #156 - Now also mourning best friend Superboy/Kon, Tim talks a jumper off the ledge. Note: because of all the losses Tim had in a short period, there is unfortunately not that much time to focus on Steph specifically, and more taking his grief as a whole.

Birds of Prey #99 - Barbara tells a would-be Batgirl about Steph’s death, to warn her of the dangers of vigilantism.

Nightwing #139 - Part of The Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul. Tim nearly uses Lazarus water to try to resurrect his dead loved ones.

Return

Robin vol 2 #170-172 (in 2008) - appearances very brief, but references all over the place.

Gotham Underground #2-6 - (Awkward to sort with the Robin issues, but this is the best spot for it.)

Robin vol 2 #173-174 - ft Bruce, Alfred

Robin/Spoiler Special #1 (both stories)

A purple-clad vigilante appears in Gotham--not Spoiler, but she gets Tim thinking a lot about Steph again...right at the same time Spoiler has returned. She starts out watching Tim from afar, coyly seen in glimpses in panels, before finally being revealed to readers.

Her role in GU is mysterious to the point of complete confusion. The Penguin recruits a number of low-level lowlifes and gives them stolen costumes and tech. He notes one girl with better training than the others--her face conveniently hidden from readers--and gives her the Spoiler costume. Spoiler also gets invisibility tech, and carries a minor and largely unexplained plot thread. I genuinely thought this must just be someone else in the costume at first, but it’s later made clear it is Steph. Just not, you know...why she did any of it or what the point was.

Her real return arc is in Robin, alongside Chuck Dixon’s return to the book. Spoiler returns to fighting crime, and is revealed when she swoops in to warn Tim of a trap. For some reason, she’s very resistant to admitting it really is her, until Tim (and Bruce) tracks her down himself in R#174.

Steph explains how Leslie faked her death to protect her. Bruce admits he always suspected she was alive (oh, retcons), and for some reason is now happy to welcome her back. Despite never having been told before her “death,” Steph also knows Bruce’s identity now. Alfred is delighted to see Steph. Her survival also comes as a huge shock to her mom, who didn’t know either.

Tim’s initial elation turns into very mixed feelings over the deception. Spoiler and Robin team up again, but tensions persist. The lack of resolution to their romantic relationship hangs over them as well--especially now that Tim is maybe seeing another girl from school, Zo.

The second story in R/S Special is largely a flashback to Steph’s time in Africa with Leslie over the time she was faking her death. I’m...not sure they ever specify more than “Africa” :/

Robin vol 2 #175-176 - tie-in to Batman: R.I.P., which you neither need to nor should read.

Batman and the Outsiders vol 2 (2007) #13 (briefly)

Robin vol 2 #177

Teen Titans vol 3 (2003) #66

Robin vol 2 #178-182

Robin vol 2 #183 (very briefly)

Chuck Dixon was replaced with Fabian Nicieza shortly after for the final stretch of Robin. This span of time is tied up in Bruce’s disappearance at the hand of the Black Glove (from RIP), and then in the aftermath of his death (from Final Crisis). Steph is very much treated as a side character in Tim’s story here.

When Bruce vanishes, she’s worried over Tim’s increasingly shady decisions. It turns out she’s also been following orders secretly given to her by Batman before he disappeared, to keep Tim away from the Black Glove stuff and help him in Bruce’s absence. Obviously this only makes things more tense between her and Tim.

Steph tries to learn more about Batman’s disappearance over in Outsiders. As Cass is now part of the Outsiders, this contains their first appearance together since Steph’s “death”...which is extremely underwhelming and addresses none of that at all.

(Bruce dies either before R#177 or after #182. It’s awkward to place, as it is for really all the bat-family books. He’s only referred to as missing in #177-182, and not as explicitly dead until #183. Usually I would prioritize that to say he only dies after #182, but because Tim is in complete denial over Bruce’ death anyway, we could indeed stick Final Crisis right after RIP, as Morrison claimed. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The timing of FC is fucked up anyway, so it’s not like it will ever read smoothly.)

Despite the tension between them, Tim asks Steph to come with him as moral support in TT, when he feels compelled to quit the team so he can focus on bat-problems. (This issue breaking up the Robin storyline is awkward, but it really only can work in this exact spot.)

With Batman gone (and some help from villainous Jason Todd), Gotham’s gangs are stirring against each other. Steph, for some reason, keeps trying to follow Bruce’s secret orders push Tim to be a better vigilante. She hires an assassin, Scarab, against Robin and tries to make a deal with Tim’s old nemesis Ulysses Armstrong, resulting in her being shot, Tim having half his head burnt off, and many people dying. It’s, uh. Not great in- or out-of-universe. imo might be Steph’s worst storyline.

Tim is furious about all of this, and in the immediate aftermath of two kids dying, declares he doesn’t want to see Steph in the Spoiler costume ever again. While I hate the way Steph was written in this story, admittedly I...have a hard time faulting Tim for being upset in this scene.

Gotham Gazette: Batman Dead? #1 (second vignette)

Gotham Gazette: Batman Alive? #1 (third vignette)

Dick becomes Batman; Damian becomes Robin.

Red Robin #2 (end of issue)

Steph does not appear in the main story of Battle for the Cowl, but does appear in the GG framing issues, which go before and after it respectively. Steph considers her future, and again decides to stick with vigilantism. In Alive, she and Tim have a much calmer talk after the blow up in Robin--though Tim still doesn’t believe in her.

Later, in RR, when Dick expresses concern over Tim to her, Steph goes after him to check in. He coldly rejects her worry, shortly before he leaves town to find Bruce.

Batgirl

Batgirl vol 3 #1-3, #4

Batgirl vol 3 #5-7 - ft Batman/Dick Grayson, Robin/Damian Wayne

The Web vol 2 (2009) #3 - ft Barbara

World’s Finest vol 3 (2009) #3-4 - ft Catwoman, Supergirl/Kara Zor-El, Dick, Damian, Barbara, Superman/Clark Kent

Red Robin #9 (end of issue) Batgirl vol 3 #8 - with Tim. Directly leads in to the next:

Red Robin #10-12 - ft Batfamily

Red Robin #15 (briefly)

Steph finally becomes her own starring character in Batgirl. A “three weeks ago” flashback explains that Cassandra left Steph the costume before vanishing (and contains the only other post-death content they get together).

The other bats quickly realize she is not the same Batgirl. Barbara disapproves at first, but comes around and the two soon form a close bond. Babs takes on a deuteragonist role in Batgirl, sharing narration and having subplots of her own. She gives Steph guidance, Oracle-style support, and resources--including Steph’s own costume starting in #4. With the new Batman & Robin operating out of the penthouse/bunker, Batgirl and Oracle take over the Cave.

Steph juggles Batgirl with the start of her first year at college, and hiding her resumed vigilantism from her mom. Other supporting characters introduced here include the bitchy girl at school; another classmate Steph is crushing on; and police detective Gage, the Gordon to her Batman, who she enjoys flirting with.

As a new main member of team bat, Steph gets to meet and interact with a lot of people in this era. Dick initially does not approve, even telling Babs to get out of the Cave, but he comes around by the end of the story arc (#5-7). This is also Steph’s first meeting with Damian. She is as annoyed as everyone is upon meeting Damian, but takes it in stride, and the pair work together pretty successfully. Over in WF, she meets Supergirl for the first time, and the two become fast friends.

Shortly after, Tim returns to Gotham, displeased to find Steph in the suit instead of Cass. He’s unkind, Steph snaps back, and they bicker...but cool off, work together, and make up. The role reversal from their very first appearances--Steph now the bright optimist and Tim falling to the pitfalls of cold loner--is clear. But by RR#10, Tim outright apologizes and asks for her help with his Ra’s al Ghul problem.

Batgirl vol 3 #9-12, #13

Batgirl vol 3 #14 - ft Kara

Steph and Barbara move from the Cave to a new base, “Firewall,” beneath Barbara’s apartment building. Babs introduces Steph to another of her flock, former sorta-Teen Titan, now paralyzed, computer genius Wendy Harris. Wendy soon ends up helping Steph when Babs is taken, and then takes on the name Proxy as she joins the team, filling in when Babs is busy with the newly reformed Birds of Prey.

Bruce Wayne: The Road Home: Batgirl (2010)

Bruce Wayne: The Road Home: Oracle

Batman: The Return (2011) (very briefly)

Bruce is found and returned to the current time. Steph initially worries that she’s still desperate for his approval, but when he puts her through another test, she realizes she isn’t. She confident and refuses to let him take Batgirl--though as it turns out, he has no desire to. Bruce approves. Going forward, he includes her as one of the team.

Batgirl vol 3 #15-16

Batgirl vol 3 #17 - ft Damian

Batgirl vol 3 #18

Red Robin #20 (briefly)

Birds of Prey vol 2 (2010) #10 (briefly)

Batgirl vol 3 #19-20, #21

Batgirl vol 3 #22, Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes (2011)

Batgirl vol 3 #23-24

Steph carries on as Batgirl, being briefly framed for murder, bickering and bonding with Damian, and generally finding trouble. Babs fakes Oracle’s death in BoP. She steps away from partnering with Steph (but remains on good terms), leaving Wendy/Proxy to fully take over the job--until Wendy heads off herself on a personal quest in #21.

In #22, Steph goes to London on a mission for Bruce/Batman Inc, where she meets and befriends Squire/Beryl Hutchinson. She gets to the actual mission in B Inc, infiltrating a villainous finishing school.

In the final arc before the reboot, Steph discovers her father is alive. When he puts her under the influence of a Black Mercy, Batgirl is taken to the very hostpital where her mom works. Crystal obvious recognizes her, protects her identity, and is ultimately proud of her daughter. <3

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rainybyday · 2 years ago

Text

Another thought

I like the thought of Damian trying to get along with Tim, like, he is the first person to try to stretch out his hand as a peace offering. They may not be “I-want-to-kill-you” phase anymore but that doesn’t mean the tension is gone.

Damian would plan a whole day of what to do or an event or something similar of that sort to hand out with Tim. He’s going to be the person who a) will plan an event through his own interests because brothers would share their interests with each other or b) something that Tim likes. He would be a person who would whole heartly go all out to make sure the day was perfect because the Bat paranoia has to come from somewhere. He would plan everything to what they would do from sectioning their time to tactically make sure his whole family was busy with something else that every day. (He has to bribe either Cass or Duke to get Dick off his back. Alfred already has Bruce covered.)

The thing about Damian of being a perfectionist about the day they hang out is that Damian would expect certain reactions from Tim because it’s a brother-hang-out day that he planned. But Tim would either be very tense, suspicious, bored, or out right in exhausted pain. These are not the sort of reactions he gets when he goes out with Grayson or Brown at all and its slowly driving Damian into a panic because something went wrong with his plan, and he doesn’t know what to do. This confusion leads to Damian letting his emotions out as anger and would either get mad at Tim or be very snippy with Tim throughout the trip.

Meanwhile, Tim is trying to understand Damian’s motive of taking him out and thinks this is just him messing with him or that this is a punishment of sorts.

Both boys do not know how to communicate with each other which leads to high tensions and disasters.

Damian will try to go more planned days out with Tim, but it doesn’t work, and he doesn’t understand what he is doing wrong because “this is how Grayson took him out for the day does he want to be kidnapped like how Todd does it????”

Someone’s going to come and fix this eventually, just let them get it out of their system.

+Cass would help them

+Dick too once he finds out what is going on by a panicked Tim calling him about Damian

+Jason will not want to get involved because this is not for him to intervene and it makes good drama to watch

+Steph see’s it too and is between face palming because of Tim or laughing before hinting at Tim what Damian is trying to do which he flat out does not believe (best detective my ass)

+Duke will not touch from a 100 ft radius but if Tim is complaining during his time then he will make sarcastic remarks which Tim takes the literal opposite way of what they mean

+Barbara is a mix of Duke and Steph, mostly Duke when both brothers do. Not. Take. The. Hint.

+Alfred has Bruce covered, just don’t worry about it much

+But yes Alfred will have tea and coffee at the ready when both boys come to him at different times to complain about each other

No idea if people would do an angst or a crack type of path with this

#tim drake #damian wayne #robin #red robin #batfam #batfamily #idiots #the both of them #misunderstanding to a whole new level #batman #dcau #robin things #brother things #why are you like this?#communicate damn it

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codenamed-queenie · 5 years ago

Text

#BatsInQuarantine

I am going insane. So I poured my restlessness into one long and very detailed post and got super into it. Please enjoy this hot mess.

The Justice League, being the well-meaning virus-proof Super Friends that they are, took one good look at the news, one good look at their non-powered friends Ollie, Bruce, and their families, and collectively decided that these normal humans must be Protected At All Costs.

Now, keep in mind, Bruce is never one to roll over when it comes to being benched.

However, he understands the importance of social distancing. He knows he needs to set a good example for his kids, and keep up appearances as Gotham’s Most Responsible Multi-Billionaire.

So. Quarantine it is.

But how are his kids handling it?

Dick -

100% on board in the beginning. Gotta do the Responsible Thing. Gotta set a Good Example. Besides, guys, this is gonna be Fun. Quality Family Time is always a Must.

He lasted 2 days.

Then he started to get twitchy.

And as everyone knows? A Trapped Dick Grayson is a Feral Dick Grayson.

He bounces off the walls.

Literally.

“I have to climb.”

“Dick, no.”

“I have to climb everything.”

Has scaled the manor 16 times already. Has climbed the chandelier. The banister. Bruce. The roof. The Cave. Anything in the house that’s been bolted down and especially anything that hasn’t.

Duke found him clinging to the wall 10 ft off the ground like Spiderman and screamed so loud it shattered glass.

Desperate for news of the outside.

He thrives off of it like a starving man.

Was the one to suggest he and Barbara take a break to Social Distance from each other (”Sorry, babe, kissing spreads germs”) and experienced Instant Regret(TM) approximately 5 minutes after.

The Family has labelled him a Flight Risk Level 1 (Most likely to say f**k it and make a break for the outside world)

Jason -

Accidentally got trapped inside the manor with the others when Bruce called Shutdown. If he had his way, he’d be chilling in his favorite safe-house right now, binging The Witcher with Roy and Artemis, and not worrying about finding a stray brother in his sock drawer.

But he’s nothing if not an opportunist.

The way he sees it, Jason has 3 options:

Self Improvement

Self Isolation (See Duke, Cass, and Damian)

Descension Into Madness (See Dick and Steph)

And, well, he always wanted to try a few things. Now he’s got the free time to do it.

So he settles on baking.

Alfred’s got enough food and raw ingredients stored up to feed an army. (Not because he’s a Panic-Buying-Hoarder in times like these. But because he’s a Panic-Buying-Hoarder all the time. Just try feeding 11+ teenagers sometime.)

Uses recipes he finds off Google.

His first few attempts are, in a word, ‘tragic’.

Alfred slips him a few of his recipe cards, and Jason suddenly starts seeing Results.

Turns out he’s pretty good at this baking thing once he gets the hang of it.

Hope everyone’s okay eating nothing but pie, macaroons, biscuits, and whatever else Jason whips up.

Cause that’s gonna be the only food left by the time he’s done.

Barbara -

Self-quarantined with her dad.

They’ve been binge-watching classic black and white movies together.

It’s a fun time, but she’s started to get a little antsy. Loving her dad and wanting to be around him 24/7 are, understandably, mutually exclusive.

Calls the manor to video-chat every day.

For her sanity just as much as theirs.

Gives everyone little challenges to film on their phones and send in. She makes compilations of everyone’s submissions so they can all watch and laugh together.

Bonus points for Creativity

One comp shows the family trying to drop Mentos into coke bottles.

Dick did a handstand, and dropped his Mento from the second story balcony.

Tim did it wearing the Batman cowl. The soda exploded into his face, and the rest of the video is just Bruce’s Shrieking.

Stephanie tried it, but the bottle tipped. Everyone on camera screamed as the bottle rocketed through the front window.

She spends most of her calls having one-on-one convos with Dick.

They’ve come up with little code phrases so they can be Cheesy even with family members lurking in the background.

She thinks the way he clings to the monitor is cute.

Almost like he’s giving her a hug through the screen.

(It’s easier than letting herself worry about his mental state, at least)

Tim -

Oh this boy.

Freaked out for the first five minutes before he decided ‘hey wait, Bruce is letting me stay in my pajamas all day? Noice.’

Now he’s just vibing.

The rest of his family is Low-Key shielding him.

He Has No Spleen, you see.

Steph: “Someone could cough on him and he could die!”

He just goes about his day, playing Animal Crossing like there’s no tomorrow, tinkering on projects, taking naps, etc. Living his best life.

Meanwhile there’s always someone lurking behind him, keeping watch, keeping him safe.

Dick sneezed within 5 feet of Tim once (the fact that he was on top of the dusty bookshelf Tim was perusing is irrelevant)

Jason still full-body tackled him the second Tim’s back was turned.

No one with any symptoms--

Like, any symptoms. They don’t even have to be Corona-related.

--is allowed within 10 feet of Tim.

Tim has been wandering the manor for weeks, now, without seeing another human being.

(He sees Dick on the ceiling sometimes, but that doesn’t really count)

He’s been trying increasingly drastic pranks and shenanigans to draw someone, anyone, out.

But it doesn’t matter how many times he steals Damian’s sword, or sets fire to Jason’s brownie bites.

Nobody wants to risk it.

Cass -

No one has seen her since quarantine started.

Everyone is approximately 87% sure she’s somewhere in the manor though

Because she does eat the meals Alfred leaves out for her.

Or at least someone does, at any rate.

(Jason and Santa top the running suspects list)

Santa was Steph’s suggestion. For some reason it snowballed.

It’s assumed that Cass misunderstood the meaning of ‘social distancing’ and took it too far.

But no one knows for sure.

She is Tim’s Guardian Angel.

People who so much as clear their throats a little too loudly anywhere near him suddenly wake up on a different floor of the house four hours later.

Duke came closest to spotting her while he was up in the attic.

Either that, or there’s another Creepy Sister everyone forgot to tell him about living up there.

She is silent, and watchful, sticking to the shadows, but she does leave the occasional note out to brighten her siblings’ day.

Things like ‘helo i love u’ and ‘hop u ar ok’ mostly.

She is bound and determined to protect her family from this invisible threat, no matter the cost.

Steph -

Like Dick, she was Super Pumped at first.

(Just kind of showed up at Wayne Manor before quarantine was enacted. The original purpose of her visit is unclear, but regardless, she’s Trapped.)

Also Like Dick, her descent into madness was swift.

She is impossible to pin down.

Not like Cass or Damian, who’ve stayed off the grid, and are therefore Untraceable.

No. She’s impossible to pin down, because she never stops moving.

Switches seamlessly between Zumba on top of the Giant Dinosaur in the Batcave, and furiously knitting Alfred (the Cat) a sweater with a pair of Tim’s used chopsticks.

Braided everyone’s hair while they were asleep.

Even Bruce’s.

She tried to do Tim’s, but somehow blacked out and regained consciousness in the attic.

When she woke up with a scream and a furiously twitching eye, she startled Duke out of his Makeshift Fort he built out of old cardboard boxes and antique furniture. He’s had to resort to finding a new hiding place.

Sometimes, on the rare occasions she does sit still, staring off into the distance, she’ll suddenly start laughing hysterically. This may last between thirty seconds and thirty minutes, depending entirely on how long it’s been since she’s knitted a cat sweater or done cartwheels through every room in the house.

Blew up the greenhouse out back, somehow.

Everyone has agreed not to talk about it.

Some people were built to handle prolonged time inside their homes.

Stephanie Brown is not that way.

Damian -

Damian Wayne Cannot Be Contained.

At least not inside the house.

He took off thirty-six hours into quarantine.

Thanks to the security equipment around the borders of the Wayne Estate, he can’t escape the grounds.

(He’s tried and failed multiple times. Jason and Bruce have a running bet on how many times the perimeter alarms will go off per day.)

(Jason is winning.)

He wanders the grounds with Titus as his only companion.

The two of them run laps, practice drills, and find ways to occupy their time.

No one’s entirely sure what those ways are.

In fact, nobody knows exactly where Damian is at any given time.

Only that he is Out There.

And he’s the best security system Wayne Manor’s ever had.

So far, he’s stopped five groups of civilians scaling the perimeter walls before the lasers and electric nets even have a chance to deploy.

They were trying to break in and steal supplies.

(Even ones they already had in surplus. Like Toilet Paper.)

He’s also stopped Dick from escaping twelve (12) times.

Drags him back by his shirt collar and deposits him on the welcome mat.

Usually with a note for Alfred/Jason, requesting more fruit tarts.

Duke -

Did not leave the attic for two weeks.

Then Steph discovered his hiding spot (read: was dumped there by Cassandra) which forced him to relocate to the basement.

Yes, it turns out Wayne Manor does have a basement.

This was a surprise to Duke, who always thought that the Batcave was Bruce Wayne’s basement.

Alfred keeps him supplied with all the necessities:

i.e. food, magazines, assorted pastries from Jason’s latest batch, usually straight out of the oven.

Duke also snagged the Manor’s Alexa.

She has become a sort of ‘Wilson’ to Duke’s ‘Chuck Noland’.

She is his only comfort. His only ally.

He’s determined to wait out this quarantine, doing his best to avoid the others.

Duke has seen these people under pressure.

He knows exactly what he’s dealing with.

Duke: “Alexa is the only motherf****r in this madhouse I ever respected.”

*offended butler noises from the other room*

Duke: “And also Alfred.”

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avaoracle · 4 years ago

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Batfam Karaoke Headcannons pt 1:

Jason and Roy like to duet Fall Out Boy songs and against all logic they’re actually really good at it- Their renditions of ‘Phoenix’ and ‘I don’t care’ are masterful

Tim has made a game of finding every song that even remotely mentions/references Superman and changes the lyrics to superboy ~So far he’s done;

-Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down

-Superman by Rachel Patton

-Waiting on Superman by Chris Daughtry

-Superman by Taylor Swift

-Superman by Lazlo Bane

-Love the way you Lie by Eminem ft Rihanna (Steph sang Rhianna’s parts and everyone was strangely impressed by Tim’s unexpected rap skillz)

Also he and Steph’s rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘The Chain’ is to quote Dick “Off the Chain!” (Pun totally intended) Steph brings her own tambourine

Dick~Can’t sing~

“It would just be excessive if he could sing too.” ~Tim Drake

“Dick’s terrible singing voice is discernible proof that he wasn’t engineered in a lab to be the perfect male specimen.” ~Barbara Gordon

“He’s intelligent, kind, funny, charming, loyal, athletic, unreasonably attractive. He’s a beacon of goodness in the hero community, an excellent leader, brother and mentor...not to mention his other assets. If he could sing too.. no sexually oriented person would be safe....gay, straight, bi, pan, etc. all at risk. It would be chaos, the world would burn to a crisp from the thirst fire generated by billions of panties spontaneously bursting into flames....Is it hot in here??? Gah- Green panties, disco collar, no, wait mullet, okay, picture the mullet Steph, then remember hearing him butcher Total Eclipse of the Heart.....there we go, phew, good that was close!” ~Stephanie Brown during an eight month dry spell after seeing him rescue both a puppy, a baby and a toddler’s stuffed bunny from a fire, then watching him help Duke with his sign language so he could better communicate with Cass.....Then later accidentally walking in on him training shirtless.

#batman #batfam #batfamily #jason todd #robin #dc comics #dick grayson #bruce wayne #nightwing #batman and robin #Tim Drake #red robin #jason todd’s redundant domino #red hood #stephenie brown #cassandra cain #Tim drake’s missing spleen #spoiler #batgirl

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ao3feed-brucewayne · 7 months ago

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The Nightmares That Come With Being a Part-Time Vigilante

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/E2sXh0r by OneVerySmallSpeedster Dick stood up off the bed, like a zombie suddenly arisen from the dead. Dick turns his head, the bones in his neck cracking. Or The Batfams weird nightmares they have ft. Jason, Tim, Damian, Dick, Bruce, Steph, Cassandra with Alfred and siblings giving them comfort after they wake up. Words: 744, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Series: Part 1 of Batfamily Fandoms: DCU, DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics), Red Hood/Arsenal (Comics), Superboy (Comics) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: M/M, Multi Characters: Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Alfred Pennyworth, Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne, Alfred the Cat (DCU), Bruce Wayne, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Duke Thomas Relationships: Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Batfamily Members & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Jason Todd Additional Tags: Nightmares, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Hurt Jason Todd, Jason Todd Gets A Hug, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Good Sibling Jason Todd, Tim Drake is Red Robin, Damian Wayne is Robin, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Tim Drake and Jason Todd are Siblings, Good Sibling Tim Drake, Tim Drake is Bad at Feelings, Autistic Tim Drake, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Hurt/Comfort read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/E2sXh0r

#IFTTT #bruce wayne #batman #the caped crusader #the dark knight #dcu #ao3 #ao3feed

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persephones-deadly-nightshade · 3 years ago

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Beauty and The Beast

ft. familial relationships

A platonic JasonXSteph pre-romantic TimSteph

Background:

The batfamily are loyal protectors. A mix between knights a vigilantes. Jason dies. Jason gets resurrected via the pit. Jason comes back pissed. He returns home though, doesn’t go on a killing spree, slowly incorporates back into the family.

Jason still dislikes Tim, (Replacement) and Damian (Demon Brat). He is still bitter at Bruce, (B stands for bitch) and resenting Dick(Golden boy/perfect child). He loves Cass (hard not to.)

Anyways something happens, maybe he’s benched Demon Spawns not, pit rage occurs, a guest pops by the door.

Guest is treated rudely and prepares to curse entire family.

Alfred and Bruce welcome her in.

She doesn’t curse yet.

Hears Jason wish he didn’t have family. Family sucks.

Curses him into a beast, transforms his servants into furniture, telling him if he doesn’t feel brotherly love and learn to appreciate family, they’ll stick. The family (Ohana Bitches) intervene to give him a shot to fix this.

They sacrifice their voices/bodies for time. Each person earns Jason an extra 20 years. (100 total) His family members are like ghosts, unable to communicate with Jason besides occasional impressions. They’ll be back if he ever breaks the curse.

Jason is horrified at himself and sinks deep into depression. The pit madness rages more often than not. Time is passing all to quickly...

Start of Story:

Meet Steph. She is a pretty girl, but all to smart and spirited for her village. She loves her mother, another smart woman, an nurse from the city who moved from the country at the behest of her controlling husband.

Meet the controlling husband, Arthur Brown, aka the “Gaston” of the story.

He is not a good person, or father, but the town loves him.

He wants a “perfect” daughter. Timid, reserved, demure. Steph is resisting, but soon she won’t be able to put him off.

Her mother goes into the city for special herbs, needed as the village healer. She ends up seeking refuge in the beast’s castle.

Alfred, who previously disconnected from the Waynes, becoming more butler than grandpa to keep Jason company, takes care of her.

Jason flashes back to the last woman whom they invited in and pit madness overtakes him. He throws her in the dungeons.

Steph comes looking for her mother, running towards the terrifying castle because without her mom, Arthur Brown would bend her quickly to his will.

Steph and Jason’s first meeting was... A disaster.

Think Steph screaming, think Jason screaming back. Think Alfred pushing her into the guest bedroom as the Waynes try to calm Jason the fuck down so he can use the girl to break the curse.

They are in an awkward limbo for days.

Alfred, fed up, escorts Mrs. Brown out in exchange for Stephanie, after explaining what the very aro/ace Jason will need from Steph. (Basically reassurance that Steph would be trapped, but zero chance of getting raped or seduced.)

Because she must not think of him a brother purely for the curse, Steph doesn’t get the full story.

The first week and a half is Jason avoiding the fuck out of Stephanie and being annoyed at Alfred’s deal.

Steph is terrified. She rashly agreed to this deal including spending time with a giant strong monster, Alfred is kind, but she hasn’t seen the silver candlestick since he broke the rules. She is fearing for his safety.

Alfred’s fine, just giving Jason an I’m so disappointed in you silence.”

Eventually, Steph starts poking around.

To preserve his brother’s privacy, he stops her before she can go into the family wing, and has Alfred show her the library. Steph is bored.

She pokes around more. Jason bodily stands in her way.

She persistently pokes him into spending time together. Listen, She is really fucking bored out of her mind.

Alfred refuses to show her the training room, so Jason has to do it.

Less than a month later, he caves. (Steph is annoying persistent)

Her eyes light up at the sight of punching bags and Cass’ equipment, that girls were allowed to fight maybe she could.

She doesn’t ask for permission.

He catches her throwing a fucking terrible punch.

He can’t let that stand.

The fam watches in glee, as the blonde pokes every single one of his buttons, and accidentally/unknowingly manipulates him into spending time with her. (Tim might just be falling in love)

(She out of his league, like a lot)

Invisible family thinks it’s adorable.

Alfred tells her the history of the manor, and about the Batfam spirits. They comfort her when she gets scared, an impression of warmth and safety.

She learns to differentiate. She notices Tim spending a lot of time, doesn’t know it’s Tim. Alfred Knows. Alfred knows all.

Eventually Jason begins liking teaching, and instead of just a harsh taskmaster, he becomes more of a mentor.

Coins her Spoiler after hearing about how she resists her shitty dad.

Winter comes. He teaches her siege warfare and silent moving through snowball fights and games.

He teachers her piano. How the fuck is his voice that nice?

He teachers her to cook and they have ingredient fights. If she can get him in a good mood, he’ll tell silly stories about his family, going all wistful.

Good things come to an end. She gets word that her father is beating Mrs. Brown because she managed to escape. It’s her fault, her mother is getting hurt.

A worried Jason bans her from going home.

Steph runs away anyways, with a purple cloak streaming behind her.

Wolves attack. She can’t hold them all off.

The Red Hood makes an appearance, saving her life.

The Pit rage comes back, he almost couldn’t protect her. Suddenly her broken body gets replaced with, little Timbo’s, babybat’s, his dad’s, Big Wing’s, and Cass’. All gone because he couldn’t control himself. The depression returns full force.

He barricades himself in his room.

Steph punches the punching bag, often. She knows she fucked up. She misses her mentor. Things deteriorate.

The orange rose petals are almost out.

Jason, unable to stand the sight of Steph after associating her with his family, sends a carriage for her to take home, gives her weapons to stand up for herself easier.

Steph, split worried between her mother and Jason, takes the opportunity to go home, as Jason will have Alfred, but her mom has nobody.

She gets home to try to protect her mother, and her father captures her and puts her in a shock color that is programmed to send a jolt of electricity each time he presses the button. (Aka when she disobeys)

Arthur Brown, annoyed that she had been protected from him for that long, and dismayed that she had learned to fight, (That punch to his face was beautiful Steph, the whole Batfam is proud.) Decides to storm Wayne castle.

Mrs. Brown (’cause I still don’t know her name) notices Steph looking troubled and tells her to escape and send a warning to her new family.

Steph denies the family part twice before her mom shuts her up with a look and pretty much said, “Steph, he’s like, your perfect older brother. You guys even have nicknames.”

Steph realizes she’s right.

Steph disables collar and runs toward the manor, taking the conveniently located, super secret passage.

(She didn’t take it home initially because she didn’t know, then Alfred told her after the wolf attack, but it wasn’t an emergency because Jason prepped a carriage.)

So Steph arrives as her father does, he is still the better fighter, so Jason goes up against Arthur Brown as Steph and the furniture/servants take out the mob.

As they are fighting, it is, of course, the perfect time for a heart-to-heart.

“Why did you come back?/Why did you avoid me?”

“I can’t lose my brother!/I can’t stand seeing my family hurting!”

“What?!?/What!?!

“Cool/Sup.”

Arthur Brown gets a lucky hit in when the two are dramatically confessing their new familial bonds.

Jason falls.

Arthur gloats.

Steph knocks him the fuck out. (Heartwarming)

Steph then bear hugs Jason, Jason pecks her forehead.

Swirl of magic...

The servants turn human, the Waynes resolidify. There is a beautiful reunion. Oh, Jason also rebecomes human. (Meh)

Bonus-

As Tim is reforming, Dick shoves him towards Steph. All the bats think a blushing Tim would be hilarious.

He ends up a little to close.

Steph seeing a person she does not know directly in her personal space. Promptly bends down and yeets the brick she is holding. (Mwahahaha)

It was the start of a beautiful romance for the ages.

#platonic jaysteph #batfamily #batfam #batbros #timsteph #dcu #disney #beauty and the beast #batfamily au #familial love #DisneyXBatfam Headcannons

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