#nightwing will be taking the world by storm bruce u can't stop it

[breadandblankets]

tags via @the-sage-libriomancer #duke is like if spiderman suddenly started patrolling in gotham #gothamites are used to either big godly heroes like superman or “nonexistent” cryptids like the bats #they've never had to deal with like. a sixteen y/o in a costume walking them home at night #or stopping bank robberies *as they happen* #so there could be some funny culture clash as gotham gets used to this #also yk that post about how robin is credited for all of batman's successes bc gothamites refuse to admit he's real to the rest of the world #that happens to duke all the time now #literally 90% of the bats wins gets attributed to signal bc now the police have someone they can point fingers at#and duke is LIVING for it #finally something he can hold over his brothers (and steph's) heads #who's the most competent gotham superhero now motherfuckers #guess it's technically me because i'm the only one who's confirmed to exist #meanwhile the other batkids are gritting their teeth and telling themselves that it's the mission not the fame that matters #while duke slurps loudly from a Limited Edition Signal™ Mug

gotham got so used to superheros being "other" cities problems that theyre all collectivly like *suprised pika* for a while at the Signal like dr doof meme "A superhero?" slaps a bat on there "A GOTHAM superhero??" and part of the problem for gotham is that duke is just so damn charismatic and good at interacting with the public/rallying people (hes a born leader what can i say) that its about an hour into his debut before everyone thinks to themselves yeah alright hes ours now.

i think in this au We Are Robin still happened but now its like a game of we are signal within the batclan, there's some mixed feelings about everything getting attributed to The Signal for sure, Dick's already drafting up his daytime-sona Discowing 2, Red Hood has never been underground lmao just.... largely considered a rogue and he kinda never changed anyone's mind about it (i have a draft of an interview with the red hood in this au heheheh), the batman? batgirl? batwoman? lmao do you also believe in mothman? robin was a bunch of kids playing crime fighter lmao

anyway i think bruce makes duke wait till he's 18 to join the justice league, making Signal officially Gotham's Favorite Son right up there with other gotham specific celebrities that Wayne Industries guy

bruce 100% buys signal merch lets be real, he's so fucking proud, the rest of the kids (read dick and jason) are trying to make their own bootleg merch to give to bruce for variety but i think it would be super funny if bruce wayne's signal mug becomes like a perminate fixture of his instagram or smth

au where the bats manage to stay urban legends, sure other heroes know of them, but they help largely from the shadows, they aren't put on display and they're hardly known at All outside of the strange circle of gotham's goons

that changes when duke thomas stares batman down and says on no uncertain terms that he's working day shift

the signal is Gotham's first confirmed superhero, and he wears a bat on his chest

social media goes Wild fighting over whether the Batman existed all along or if someone finally got the tech and powers to make the bat (or a bat) Real

suddenly the world of superheros feels a lot more real to the citizens of Gotham who got used to horrible disasters being either ignored or neatly cleaned away from the public eye, now there's a guy getting thrown through windows and helping grannies cross the street and the war between gotham and metropolis gets even more cut throat