#is this like everyday convos for people in gotham

[mayamarvil]

gothamites having casual convos

The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #3

[bluegarners]

4. Never Disappointed Me

heyyy aster!! nice to see you!!

4. what would this fic be about, based on the title? (asker provides fake fic title)

i feel like you already knew what i was thinking when you sent this in, but who knows? maybe not? but for me and my lizard brain, of course i thought of a convo between bruce and dick because, let's face it, i am a total sucker for mushy conversations about the past and expectations created because of it

(i got carried away with this a bit so)

so maybe it starts off with a rough night on patrol. dick is in gotham for a change, taking a brief break away from blud, and he's just trying his best to get back into the rhythm of working with people of similar skill-sets and mind-sets as he. after years of first working on a team as a leader, learning to use his teammates very different but still useful skills to the team's advantage, and then leaving teams all together to go solo, has more or less thrown him out of sorts with knowing how to work with people that are thinking the same things he's thinking and gathering/learning the same things when faced with a crime scene/problem.

which leads to problems in and of itself as dick becomes a little over-bearing when working alongside the likes of red robin, robin, and batman. it's not that he under-estimates or under-values any of their work. really, they are all way-too-highly capable individuals and none of them really need his help, but he wants to give it anyway. so him invading on projects, leaning over the others shoulders, giving input that is obvious to them, and in general trying to point out things that they already know leads to someone blowing up at him; yelling and raging a bit at dick and claiming that he think they're incapable/incompetent at their job when, really, dick is just so used to having to take leadership, having to painstakingly point out things that are obvious to him but not others, and explaining concepts that are commonplace to him but unheard of to others that aren't affiliated with batman.

and that progresses into dick doing a complete 180, backing off and away and making himself scarce both in the cave and in the manor as he realizes that no one really needs him anymore and that his role in the family is very easy to replace as he can only contribute so much compared to what everyone else has already gathered. and of course everyone notices, feels a little bad for his recluses, and bruce takes it upon himself to reassure dick that he is still a very much needed part of their family, no matter the fact that the way they operate is just a little different from the way everyone else does and that that doesn't make his thoughts and input any less important.

which then leads to dick confessing something along the lines of this:

"I... I think I'm stuck, Bruce."

"What do you mean?"

"It's like this, right? All my life, I've been surrounded by capable, hard working people. People who have powers, god-like abilities, can talk to animals, turn into them, and produce radiation bursts out of their fingers. And then there's people like us. No powers. No special abilities. No mutations. Nothing. We're just... people."

Bruce says nothing but nods his head in encouragement. Dick wipes at his mouth, a nervous gesture of his.

"We're just people," he repeats, "and so that means that we have to better. We have to- to overcompensate and do all sorts of things that they don't have to think about. You raised me to be better, to overthink, to over-do everything so that we could somehow stand on equal footing with these super-powered people. And that's led to us leading them sometimes, somehow, because even with their powers, they can't do the things we do. Can't think of the things we think about. And that's fine. I'm cool with that. I don't mind being the leader, the planner, the one that gives explanations and back-up plans and assessments. It's great that I can be that person for them."

"But?"

"But it's... different here. With you guys. I... We're all the same here. I have nothing to bring to the table in terms of what makes us so different from all the super-people. Sure, I can be part of the patrol sectors, I can do surveillance, I can read over a plan or a map and go from there, but that's all.. it's all par for the course here. That's normal."

"And that makes you stuck?"

Dick scrubs harder at his mouth. "See, that- that's the thing. I don't mind not being the 'special' one or the 'normal human' aspect of the team. It's actually welcomed now that there are people who know I won't crumble into pieces if I break a bone or something. But the problem- I can't say there's an actual problem, there isn't one, but it's just... it's just..."

"You worry that there's nothing left for you to do."

"Yeah. Yeah, that. I have nothing new to contribute. So, now, I'm just here. I don't have a real purpose, a real ability to bring to the team, I'm just.. stuck. And I just, well, worry sometimes that I'm not enough."

"Not enough?"

"For Tim. Damian. Anyone. You."

"Me? You worry that you're not enough for me?"

Dick jerks his head in what might be the start of a 'yes' but stops half-way, mouth thinning into a red line and stress points.

"Dick," Bruce sighs, carefully raising a hand to place on his son's shoulder. "Will you please look at me?"

He does so, slowly.

"You will always be enough," Bruce says, squeezing his eldest's son. "You have been enough."

"I just don't want to disappoint you," Dick rushes out, surprising himself with the admission. "I want to be the person you think I can be, but sometimes it feels like I fail at that. Constantly."

Bruce inhales and exhales with the weight of years and years of regret and immense patience and love. He's not really one to shove physical affection onto others, it's not his department, but he deliberately wraps both of his arms around his son's shoulders, who readily returns the gesture.

"I know I don't say it enough," Bruce begins, "but you have never disappointed me. Ever. You have become someone far greater than I could have ever hoped for you to be, and I am so, so proud of you. Everyday. All the time."

Dick doesn't say anything, just smashes his forehead into the collar of Bruce's worn sweat-shirt and hugs a little harder.

"Richard Grayson, you have made me nothing but proud and I am so grateful to call you my son."

[currentfandomkick]

Bio! Dad Strange part 4

Shorter but a paris update for her life and a little on gotham with Jason as Robin while Tim is a hero Stalker.

Marinette is 7 when she changes schools, ordered into the Dupont school chain by her teachers since she was getting ‘difficult’ and contradicting their ciriculum. When they challeneged her on this, she went to the school board with Rolland beside her of all people.

The board agreed on one thing, Marinette’s contradictions were not only factually correct, but were done to prevent the outdated ciriculum from hurting her classmates. Instead of punishing her, she got to skip a gade and was given to Dupont as a ‘highly reccomended gifted student’.

Her first day she met Max, who also skipped a grade. The pair bond in five seconds over a new programming focused on learning emotional intelligence. Uncle Riddler was showing her it, and Max got his hands on a various ai bases. This led to then teaming up and designing the one and only Markov together, if only in schematics.

A week in and the two notice that some kids are being followed around by a guy with a bat. They report it. Again and again, but no one can find him.

One day he catches the pair on their way to Max’s—they wanted to work on their ai together, ok? The guy tries to hit Max, saying something about them being lucky metas that needed to suffer.

Marinette’s gotham training kicked in. She caught the bat, ripped it away from him and hit him in the chest with it, while yelling at max to run.

At the end of the incident, videotaped by a bystander, the Dupont Stalker was arrested.

Marinette was given another name by the police, ‘fille de batte’ or bat girl. Her having family in gotham only made the nickname more popular.

This put her on Kim and Alix’s radar. Kim wanted a challenge for fighting and competitions, and this tiny kid did that—to an adult! New friend and rival!

Alix was went from shock to joy as Marientte does art. She does art. Art friend to rant to found!

Nino ran into Marinette not long after Kim and Alix attached themselves to her and Max. Nino became their judge for Kim challenges. Including Mari pinning Kim to the mat, or deciding who did a circus move better (Mari won acrobatics).

Chloe doesnt go to dupont until next year, and sabrina is in another class, mildly concerned for Marinette.

In this au, again, Dupont is considered a ‘i would not be shocked if there were metas there’ school for gifted kids in any way.

Marinette is sent there for her insane science obsession at the time, but is also put in their arts program with Alix to develop as an artist with her medium, fabrics and fashion.

And if marinette redesigns hero outfits as “monsiuer ross, scribbles have more style, let alone fashion sense” alot, well. Kids get obsessed a lot and the Justice League is a common one, as are known villians. Her everyday outfits having different hero schemes—oddly enough some forensic scientist she’s obsessed with from some american city ended up in her mix—well. She’s a kid and showing signs a few types of anxiety.

Possible social and OCD and a developing case of perfectionism common to the arts program. The school has her see a therapist and know she isnt telling them everything beyong mild concern for her gotham family, and confusion over people just ‘not getting things’ as she is terribly smart and good at finding patterns and how do people not see it?

By the end of the year Marinette is in a strong friend group who’s parents and hers have decided to have joint custody during the school year.

She was now (forced) to learn vietnamese from Kim’s Grandparents, italian from Rolland (her nonno that has a Thing for tradition and somehow married Gina and raised Tom mostly on his own while running the bakery to boot), english from Father/Strange, Mandarin from her Maman and she started Arabic to talk with Nino’s aunt who kept saying marinette was her future in-law and point out that nino and her are friends, not dating ma’am.

However, Nino endured most of this with her-not the italian or Mandarin, but the others. Kim couldnt get Arabic but mandarin was a breeze for him. Alix cannot get vietnamese or arabic but Mandarin is her jam after french. Max just speaks french and english, he understands the others he just cant get the sounds right, ok?

When Marinette goes back to Gotham that summer, she ends up dealing with Hero Stalker Tim (jason is robin now) while looking for Red Hoodie who No oNE is telling her what happened and she’s worried, ok?

Tim feeds her obbsession with fixing problems. He sometimes sends her building layouts of places Catwoman stole from. And then the jewlry reappears thanks to a nervous Marinette coached by Rose and Ghoul while Frost handles her post-fix it freak out. Tim also may or may not get helped by her alot during Batman Stalking Time as she teaches his butt how to sneak and complains he’s worse than penguin.

Tim hates that, works on it, and still has nonidea who she is. He does admit to figuring out who batman may be, but needs more evidence so...

Marinette hits him becuase “thats dangerous!” And tries to lecture him in identites.

Batman’s radiowave was used for said lecture.

“And it puts their families in danger you, uh, hero stalker! And stuff so no more identity investigations!”

“They have the same builds, and did signsture moves from—“ the signal cutout.

He and Jason are more careful... ish. They change channels and monitor the old one.

Sometimes Batman catches Marinette and Tim talking about coldcases and she has asked three times if he heard anything about Jason’s street kid identity. Jason is feeling guilty about this as she’s his Pixie Pop. This lets Bruce know that the probably-clark’s-kid would keep Jason away from GCPD and CPS.

When a convo leads to Batman finding out Tim and Marinette have considered asking the police for help with a case of medicine that needed to be recalled as it was beign used to mule drugs contaminated the batches and hurt patients, but turned it down after she saw some taking bribes from Fish, Batman lets Gordon know and an investigation is launched.

While Bats is away, Jason visits marinette as Robin and tries to get her to bats for more information and a lecture on heroing without adult supervision. Maybe.

Only she’s currently stealing from a sleeping selina at another HQ. A Selina who has stopped trying to stop marinette and let riddler turn her house into one of his ‘traps’ to stop Marinette’s ‘return theiving’.

Jason gets stuck in a trap. Marinette is gone by then, scared Robin will tell Superman about her and he’ll hurt her family or something.

Catwoman is annoyed at Marinette’s sucess. She goes to stop the girl after leaving him tied up for Batman with a message: leave her new kitten-to-be alone.

Follow up talk post-Caught Marinette reverse theiving.

“Blame the Council’s decrees. She’s their little princess, and my new neice,” Catwoman watched Batman carefully.

Confused Batman in interrogator mode. “You mean the Court of Owls, arent they disbanded?”

“Bats, the council is gotham’s underground. Apparently Two-Face made the contracts as penance for scaring the Princess during a breakout. Unless you want an organized attack by the council, steer clear of her.”

Batman conencts the dots and curses himself. The girl he was looking for last summer is the Princess of Gotham’s underground. It will be hell finding her. And Superman/Clark will lose it when he’s told.

He lets the JL know about it, saying ‘possibly kyptonian clone, female child. Gotham’s underground is calling her their Princess. Connor and Kidflash tailed her last summer during the arkham breakout while Robin was with the Titans. Be alert for a small asian girl.’

That was how Marinette ended up on the JL watch list and how Superman had another existential crisis.

Dick freaks out with the Titans over this. Becuase kyltonian raised by villians is terrifying. Jason forwarded the message and adds on “she’s a good kid and wants to help. Somehow keeps zsasz and joker from killing people, so its not good to take her away or issolate her from the villians if you find her. From what i remember, she is terrified of her family beign put in danger. The others wont listen to me. If you can, pass this along to the other sidekicks and your allies—none of them trust me enough to listen. I cant talk to her as a civilian like i used to either for obvious reasons. And she’s terrified of me-Robin. Maybe you can get through to her, or someone else can. Just talk to her first, she’s more reasonsble than she looks”

Dick doesnt read the add on until much later and regrets it.

He met marinette once. She was a very excited kid babbling about aerodynamics in acrobatics and asking about that. Not hero things, not power things, or justice league but That.

He tried to be nice but he was having a horrible mission, saw the girl floating as she rambled and tried to grab her.

She freaked out and bolted, sort of. He got slammed into a building, or would have had she not caught him, rambled in french while trying to apologize (he was a but stunned from the throw, and rebooting as villian-kyptonian was... nice?) and put him on the roof, hit his communicator and said one thing.

“I think i broke your robin? All are robins like bird bones or something?”

He regained a functioning brain as that. That was something he could respond to.

“I am human thank you!”

That seemed to be enough for her as he moved to get up. She waved bye and bolted, something about Rose being mad at her for being late...

“Titans. I think we might have been wrong about the kid...”

Later with Young Justice the info was passed on.

Jason asked if anyone read his attachment and was met with silence. He groaned and told them “so another team she’s going to avoid... great.”

Marinette added the titans to her list of ‘people to aviod—tetch and Jerimah were the worst. Luthor and Cadmus were under them. Then the entire Justice League (they would tell batman or superman. Snitches.), followed by GCPD, CPS, the Bat Family and now Titans. She wonders if she needs to add anyone else, and hates that she cant talk to heroes. They could help with controlling her powers instead of suppressing them but she cant trust them not to give her to superman like batman did with Rose to Poison Ivy and she’s pretty sure Superboy too.

Next time, times marinette accidently put together identities and curses Hero Stalker Tim for her now knowing.