#maybe bruce should get on that one

[screamting]

another fic prompt

Batman has to use nail polish for something, like painting, writing, or simply covering something with color, and he's in a public space. People are looking. Someone whispers, "Batman uses nail polish? The fuck, I thought you were a guy????", with derision and disgust. You can choose how Bruce reacts to that when a small boy with painted nails is standing right next to them and looking hurt.

It is not, in fact, his nail polish, but the two youths hiding outside a mildly shot-up building waiting for the ambulance to arrive needed some sort of distraction, and in the dark and while looking for injuries, painted nails had set off the same sort of alarm as heavy bruising to the nail bed before he'd gotten a clearer look.

The girl still had the blue nail polish bottle in her pocket. So they are playing with nail polish when the police arrive, likely drawn to the minor explosions. Unfortunate. Bruce prefers the ambulance drivers.

There is some immediate guffaw when they come close enough to see the little bottle and brush in Batman's gauntlet, reapplying a layer to the girl's chipped nails.

"Get a load of this. Batman's playing little girl."

They are not, technically, jeering. It's said like sarcastic indulgence. Very 'oh no, I could never,' style denial.

The smaller of the youths, a boy who has just had his nails painted blue for the first time and was holding his nails carefully apart to let them dry, begins to shrink in on himself. His sister scowls but just moves slightly to block the line of sight, though that won't work long.

Bruce caps the bottle and sets it on the ground. He doesn't believe he'll be identified by hand similarities but he'll have to clean it up with acetone later and get a fuller manicure for his next public appearance.

He pulls off one gauntlet and waits, patiently, for the ambulance to arrive, and for one of the youths to pick up the bottle and shakily paint his nails.

[dukeofthomas]

Here's my controversial opinion; if you're trying to write Bruce as a non-abusive, good parent, you should also write him respecting his kids' privacy, boundaries, and not stalking&surveying them.

[daisybell-on-a-carousel]

Still very wild to me when people try to gotcha Jason with the whole "if you can kill other people for being evil why can't they kill you" when jason is like. One of the most passively suicidal characters I've ever seen. What if man

[covertblizzard]

jaykyle au where they're theatre kids in the same school but they're not the actors jason's the scriptwriter/director and kyle is the prop manager (i don't know the official terms sorry) and they'd probably do an amazing job on the backstage setting if they could stop arguing for 5 whole seconds about their artistic visions and ideas and how "this would obviously work better this way"

[violent138]

Batman's ships with his various Rogues are very interesting to think about (lots of quality material there for both character analysis and just fun) but simultaneously you have to grapple with (or ignore) the canon abuse/murder/kidnapping/torture/trauma some of the Rogues have wrought upon Bruce's family. I'm starting to really get into BruHarvey (for so many great reasons), but holy hell in canon Harvey was once the killer of Jason's dad, and definitely beat the shit out of Dick (amongst other things).

Still a great ship though.

[brick-van-dyke]

My dad, jokingly: "I'm badman"

Me: "haha sure" (not thinking he's anything like batman)

My dad: *left/ separated from my mum when I was a teen, started a GTA gang that helps bullied kids, ended up emotionally adopting like 8 kids and helped them through bullying, suicide, abuse, etc.*

Me: *was hurt by an abuser and had to deal with said abuser being forgiven by family around me*

Me: *gets into Batman lore*

Me: ...

"Wait a second..."

[jacklesraised]

Bruce and Cassie + •-•

Bonus w Arthur

[pebblezone]

🦭

[cdelphiki]

I've always loved the story of Matilda. I've only seen the musical once because of how musicals work, and how hard it is to see them not live, but the 90s movie was my favorite movie as a kid. As an adult, Matilda has given me really strong Jason-Todd-feelings. Especially in the song "Naughty," in just how Matilda really subscribes to the idea that if she wants things to be better, or at least to have things made 'right,' she has to do it herself. She can't and shouldn't just sit back and take abuse, she should fight back, no matter how little she is. That spirit in itself just always reminded me of Jason.

But now with the Netflix movie, I've watched the musical several times this week and it's really made me listen to the music (before I only listened to a couple of the songs with any repetition) and Wow do I have feelings. But this song in particular, at first I was thinking about how it would reflect on Jason & Bruce before I realized something...

This is exactly how Tim's story plays out. The song is the final song in the play, and it's called Still Holding my Hand. The lyrics go:

I believed that I would never be able to rely on anybody else. And I was sure that I would just have to learn to survive all by myself. And one day I opened my eyes, and looked to find that the sky had turned blindingly blue. And right by my side was you quietly taking a stand, and you were holding my hand.

And just. Think about that. Tim Drake was this tiny little child who inserted himself in Bruce's life because Batman needed help. He didn't go to Batman for help in anything, and while canon is kind of all over the place on Tim's own situation, he was a neglected child in basically every version. In the main one most people tend to use, he rarely had his parents around, and was instead raised by boarding schools and the housekeeper. But none of those people are parents. They aren't people you can rely on. They're all employees of someone or something. They aren't the same thing as nannies, and even then, nannies aren't replacements for parents. I say that as a former nanny. People who take care of you for a living aren't permanent fixtures in your life, no matter how wonderful, supporting, and loving they are. And that will cause a wall to be built between you, especially if you're used to being moved around or just don't have the same one your whole childhood.

So Tim, being 12 or 13, didn't have anyone in his life he could rely on. He relied on himself, and was fiercely independent as a result. It's certainly one of his strengths, and it was what made him approach Batman and save him over and over again. But even if it was a strength of his, everyone, everyone, but especially children need people they can rely on. And once the grieving-Bruce resigned himself to training this child they bonded. Bruce started noticing things about Tim, about Tim's parents. Or... lack of Tim's parents, and so he stepped up further. He became a father figure in Tim's life. Even if he was hesitant, because Tim wasn't his kid.

And one day.... Tim opened his eyes and saw. And he realized that Bruce was there for him. Bruce cared about him, loved him even, and Tim trusted him with his entire being. Something he never thought would happen. Kid-him relying on an adult so heavily.

Anyway. Now listen to the song and cry with me about it.

[candy-ac3]

Should have the first chapter of this Adam and the batfam crossover shit done either today or tommorow yippie!

[doerot]

Do we have a specific time of year when utrh takes place? Because I tend to like to think that it happens around the anniversary of Jason's death, meaning that it coincides very closely with Jason's birthday, which, to extend the thought exercise, practically overlaps with Stephanie's birthday. A friend of mine reminded me yesterday about a tidbit I never think about very much, how the end of war games is right before utrh. All this is to say: Imagine a father holding his dead kid in his arms days before he even reaches 16, and then two years later he holds the hand of a girl—one that he was supposed to protect, because if she was going to force herself onto the field, then he was damn sure going to stop what happened to his son from happening again—before she passes away, never reaching 17.

[daisybell-on-a-carousel]

During the Under the Red Hood comic, there's a scene where Red Hood is fighting Black Mask, and proceeds to get killed by Black Mask. The helmet exploding when Black Mask removes it

As it turns out, that was a fake Red Hood. Jason had put him in the costume and had been speaking remotely through the helmet.

[sweetteaanddragons]

I have been thinking lately about a universe where Bruce Wayne killed the Joker.

I want to be clear here, since there are so many longstanding debates on this topic: I do not think Bruce Wayne should kill the Joker. I have just been wondering what would happen if the circumstances aligned in such a way that he did.

And to be clear on a related, yet slightly different topic: when I say I have been wondering about what if Bruce Wayne killed the Joker, I do not mean as the Batman. I mean Bruce "Brucie" Wayne.

Maybe it's kind of an accident? Like, he definitely did intend to hit the Joker, but he's Brucie right now, so he's trying not to look like he knows what he's doing while still doing enough damage to keep the Joker from killing someone, and meanwhile the Joker makes just the wrong move and -

And here we are. Brucie just killed the Joker.

Bruce's reaction here is one thing; he has his one rule for a reason, he's just broken it, he's determined to turn himself in -

His family's reaction is a whole different story. How does Cass feel about this?

How does Jason? Bruce has killed the Joker, just like he wanted, but it wasn't for him, not really, and -

And meanwhile, this happens in front of, say, a gala full of people, so now all of Gotham gets to react to it too.

Average Gothamite, seeing the words BRUCE WAYNE, JOKER, and KILLED in the same headline: OH, NO.

Average Gothamite, once they've processed the order those words are actually in: . . . I did not have that on this year's bingo card.

The city's most famous mass murderer has just been publicly killed by the city's biggest employer/philanthropist/source of tabloid harmless nonsense! Three days before Brucie was making tabloid headlines by tripping into a fountain and somehow losing his shirt in the process! Two weeks before, the newspaper was running a retrospective on the Wayne murders and what donation Brucie was making to help the families of victims this year! The article mentioned how one of his adopted sons had also tragically become a murder victim!

Now this has happened, and Bruce is having a breakdown over breaking his one rule, and the rest of Gotham just assumes that this is because poor Brucie thinks this somehow makes him like the man who killed his parents. They send a huge outpouring of support his way. This in no way helps Bruce's actual breakdown.

Ninety percent of Gotham is sure Brucie didn't actually mean to kill the Joker, and pretty much a hundred percent of them support him whether he meant to do it or not. No one wants to have anything to do with prosecuting this mess. Bruce is trying to make it as clear as possible that he will fully cooperate with the justice system and meanwhile an entire gala full of people is suddenly acting like they could in no way have possibly witnessed events that took place ten feet in front of their faces. Did Bruce kill the Joker? Is the officer sure? That doesn't seem like him. Maybe the Joker just tripped on his own. Marble floors, you know. Very slippery.

[lapislavender]

the biggest joked about conspiracy in Gotham shouldn't be "do the butts match" NO it should be that Bruce Wayne's kids are actually biological.

Bruce built his persona on being a dumbass playboy and Gotham's hottest bachelor. Then he ~mysteriously~ adopts a recently orphaned Dick Greyson by ~chance~ who shares his black hair and blue eyes and later shares his body type. Then he ~randomly~ adopts a kid from crime alley that ALSO shares his black hair and blue eyes. Then- He gets his neighbour's kid as a ward. A neighbour's kid that suspiciously has black hair and blue eyes. Cassandra? No blue eyes but certainly his hair, and her personality is almost identical to her father's. Duke may not look like it at first- But he shares the same strong jawline, black hair and while shorter than Bruce- he's got the same body (again, like dick). and ofc Damian is straight up his kid

Like. Tabloids should write articles about how Bruce's playboy nature came back to bite him, people make estimates about how many people in the city are secretly Bruce's children. Rumours spread that he only adopts the ones that fall on hard times. Maybe there's people that try to claim they're a secret Bruce Wayne lovechild and it drives him up the wall because he HAS to check. Just in case.

edit:‼️Zionists fuck off from this post‼️Free Palestine forever and always. If you have the means to donate please consider visiting gazafunds.com to help a family in need. Winter is extremely harsh and conditions are only getting worse. Every bit helps 🍉

[duskdog]

That, and pitting Robins against each other -- using one to bludgeon the other with criticism -- is such a shitty thing to do.

Even worse, pitting Steph against her boyfriend is an even shittier thing to do.

Like, you can criticize someone's actions without forcing a comparison with someone else -- particularly when that someone else is a person who is/should be an ally that they'll need a good working relationship with. All it does is drives wedges of resentment between those people and make things harder in the future.

And he wonders half of his Robins end up having a complex about being replaced.

This is making me crazy because NO HE WOULDN'T?! Did we forgot how Tim became robin in the first place?

[corkinavoid]

DPxDC "Pick Me Up"

The stream goes live on the first day of the school year. It's the usual song and dance - mad laughing, threats, poor jokes, terror, and about thirty kids huddled together in a classroom behind Joker's back. Tim recognizes it as one of the Gotham Academy classrooms. Dick can't imagine the horror those kids' parents must be feeling right now. Jason jokes about middle school traumatic experiences. Damian is feeling very justified for skipping classes today.

Bruce, all suited up in his Batman garb, is making his way to the Academy as fast as he possibly can. Those are kids.

Gotham is once again anxiously kept on the edge of their seats, watching as Joker decides to interview the kids on their learning experience so far. Something about leaving a good first impression on the new generation or some other bullshit. Most kids stutter over their words - it's true that Gothamites are way more composed when facing life-threatening events, but those kids are only fourteen or fifteen for the most part. They are not old enough to keep their cool in the face of a murder clown.

That is, until Joker points his camera at one of the girls. Black hair in a high ponytail, blue eyes without a trace of fear, a slightly displeased, even bored expression on her face. She looks straight into the camera, not even waiting for the laughing madman to finish his question, and deadpans:

"I don't think I like school. Pick me up, please."

Joker sputters.

"Not so scared, I see," he sneers, and, in the next moment, a comically large gun painted in purples and greens is pointed to the girl's forehead, "How about now?"

The girl scrunches her nose and makes a so-so gesture.

"It's kinda meh," she admits, "Like, yeah, points for style, but you know, size doesn't matter. It's all in the technique."

Dick snorts over the comms. It's a bad time for laughing, sure, but the phrase caught him off-guard. This is not what you'd expect to hear from a teen, and definitely not something you'd expect anyone to say to the Joker. Jason's comms are muted, but Barbara knows he also laughed a little.

"Technique, you say?" Joker hisses, pressing the gun closer to the girl's head, and she winces, leaning away from it, almost as if she is disgusted by the touch.

"Yeah, I mean, guns are not that scary anyway. What are you gonna do with them, blast my brains all over the floor? Been there, done that," the girl shrugs, "Kinda nasty, but overall, it's just like slime, only sticky." She pauses and looks to the side, seemingly lost in thought, "Huh, maybe we should have added Borax to it. Or was it baking soda?.."

"Listen here, you little brat," Joker's fingers catch the girl's chin, and his voice becomes sickeningly menacing. Bruce is almost there, just two more minutes. Tim is already grappling onto the wall.

But none of them get to finish.

"Put your dirty fingers away from my sister," a low, cold, and even in a way that speaks of barely contained fury, voice comes from out of the screen.

The camera spins, like whoever is holding it turned really fast, and everyone watching the stream sees a fairly normal guy standing by the window - a turtleneck and ripped jeans, same black hair as the girl, same blue eyes... Wait, they are not blue.

And that's not a guy.

The camera falls down to the floor, and there are a lot of panicked screams coming from the broadcast now, but none of them sound like children's voices. It's the screams of adults, of grown-ass men, and later, someone even claimed they heard Joker's scream among them, too. The picture on camera glitches a few times, and the angle is awkward, but everyone still gets to see how shadows in the room morph into eyes, wide open and green, and how the darkness grows sharp teeth, countless grinning mouths that don't belong to any faces.

Screams turn into gargling and then to quiet whispers, filling the ears of all those listening with countless words in languages they don't know.

Red Robin turns off the recording and looks to that same guy from the levestream, sitting across him on the couch. The guy - Daniel, or Danny, as he introduced himself - looks him in the eyes and raises an eyebrow.

"Okay, and?"

"How did you do it?" Tim asks for the third time this evening. Danny blinks.

"Did what?" He asks, completely incomprehending. Tim groans. He's been trying to get his answers, any answers at this point, from the guy for thirty fucking minutes already. So far, he's got nothing. Danny, whoever the fuck he is, proves to be the most annoying human being on Earth.

"Seven people in a coma, including Joker himself, with no physical injuries and none of the children remember a thing! How?!" He demands, and a girl's face peeks from around the corner:

"I remember!"

Tim snaps his head at her, "What do you remember?"

The girl pauses, blinks, and looks to Danny. Then shrugs, "My brother picked me up from school."

Tim drops his head down and breathes out in frustration. He can't force the information out of civilians, he is a vigilante, not a mafia.

"Would it make you feel better if I promise not to do it again?" Danny asks, and his voice is way too innocent for Tim to believe him. He raises his head to look the guy in his shameless, amused eyes.

"I hate you."

"Thanks," Danny grins.