#ooc: { about duke }

[foolilazuli]

Deadpool: Quick, Signal! Use your lightning attack!

Duke: For the last time, I don’t have lightning powers. I have light powers.

Deadpool: You’re a black superhero. You have lightning powers.

Duke: I don’t know who you are, but I’m getting real sick of your stereotypes.

Cass: Is he bothering you, king?

[ashenquill]

[The Watchtower. The Flash is relaxing in a common area, sprawled chaotically across a couch and munching on a high-calorie protein bar. Green Lantern approaches from the side, pushing away Flash's legs so he can flop down beside him. The Flash quickly finishes his bar, then spitefully brings his feet back up to rest on Lantern's lap.]

Hal: I’m getting real sick of Spooky giving me heart attacks, man.

Barry: What happened to being “always vigilant”?

Hal: I am! It’s not my fault he’s the scariest dude alive!

Bruce: [Appearing out of nowhere] Just be grateful you haven’t dealt with my kids.

Hal: WHAT THE F—

Barry: Your kids?

Barry: I always thought they were more…

Barry: sociable

Bruce: [gives him a tiny grin, looking something between smug and amused]

Hal: Hang on, I feel like I missed a chapter — Spooky has kids???

Barry: Keep up, Lantern

Hal: You cannot in good conscience tell me to “keep up,” you’re literally a speedster—

Barry: So, wait — if you’re not the scariest guy alive, then who is?

Bruce:

Bruce: Depends on who you ask

—————————

[Cut to an Office-style confessional with all the former (male) Robins. Each is interviewed in a different location, and required varying levels of convincing in order to participate.]

—————————

Dick: [Upside-down, in the middle of doing a workout on gymnastics rings. He wears a thoughtful expression as he holds a handstand, making it look effortless.]

Dick: The scariest one of us?

Dick: Well, I guess… probably Tim. His morals aren’t exactly... clear.

Dick: Not to mention the fact that he literally stalked us for years as an untrained, civilian child without anyone noticing.

Dick:

Dick: Actually, I’m pretty sure he still does.

—————————

Jason: [In his apartment, arms crossed and seated on an outdated-looking couch. There is flipped and scattered furniture all around him, and he holds close a copy of Pride and Prejudice. Its cover is spattered with blood.]

Jason: You really broke in just for this shit?

Jason: Fuckin’, me, obviously.

Jason:

Jason: But, if I had to pick someone else…

Jason: [Sighs]

Jason: [mumbling] Demon Brat.

—————————

Tim: [Sitting at a large desk in his office at WE, wearing an expensive suit. His tie is loose and his eyes are dark-rimmed, and papers are stacked all around him in a messy, yet organized fashion. He was woken up from a nap for this, despite the fact that a mug of coffee is sitting to his right and several empty energy drinks can be seen behind him.]

Tim: I mean, I don’t think any of us are particularly scary anymore. Like, we all have similar skill sets and abilities, and there are contingencies for if anyone goes rogue.

Tim: [smirking] Plus, you don’t just stalk the “world’s greatest detectives” completely unnoticed and feel intimidated by them — I know way too much for that.

Tim: [sighs] So, if we’re going by my standards? Couldn’t tell ya. But if we go by sheer intimidation-factor to outsiders, then it’s probably Jason.

Tim: Like, sure, Batman has his whole schtick, but plenty of Gotham has been around the block by now and knows he won’t kill people. But the Red Hood? He made his debut with a duffle bag of severed heads.

Tim: [shrugs] I hate to say it, but that’s pretty badass.

—————————

Damian: [Sitting in a plush chair in Wayne Manor, looking poised. The fireplace is flickering picturesquely behind him, and Titus sits faithfully at his feet. The scene is incredibly photogenic compared to the others.]

Damian: Tt. What a pointless question to ask — the entire purpose of our training is to ensure we are all equally intimidating. But I suppose I will entertain the thought.

Damian: Grayson, as the heir to Batman’s mantle, is the obvious answer. He is highly skilled in combat, deductive reasoning, and, of course, acrobatics. He is confident, competent, and a strong leader.

Damian: [grinning smugly] Of course, even if this was not the case, it would still be an easy conclusion to reach, given his competition. Drake is weak and Todd is soft, therefore giving Richard the clear advantage.

—————————

Alfred: [Calmly preparing dinner, chopping vegetables with speed and precision. He is nonchalant and does not look up as he gives his response.]

Alfred: While I would be happy to entertain the question, I am afraid if I were to answer honestly, I would have to say none of them.

Alfred: [smirking faintly] The boys are all very well-accomplished, of course — but it is my opinion that the “scariest” one in the family cannot be anyone other than Miss Cassandra.

Alfred: After all, stealth is the key to startling one’s peers, and she has mastered it thoroughly.

—————————

—alternate response from Tim—

Tim: Oh, definitely Dick, but probably not for the reason people think.

Tim: Like, sure, he started before he hit double-digits, but I figured out who Batman was at that age, so it’s not really that impressive. And, yeah; original Boy Wonder, successor to Batman, Tamer of the Demon’s Heir— all great for the resume. But the real reason he’s the scariest?

Tim: [shudders]

Tim: He went to therapy.

[violent138]

I feel like Jason would wind up married for some reason and just not tell anyone. And then one of his henchmen, while fighting the Bats during one of their weekly ideological disputes on how to handle a shared problem would go, "No wonder he hates you guys, you're ruining his damn honeymoon!" and all hell would break loose.

[thoughtsaboutbats]

Duke: hey Tim, how did you join all this craziness? Cause everyone else has something terrible that set us in the path of Batman, but as far as I know you don’t?

Tim: Jason was dead and I was worried Batman was either going to join him or kill someone.

Duke: wait seriously? But how did that end up with you as Robin?

Tim: Blackmail. And persistence. I had proof of who Batman was and wouldn’t leave.

Duke: that’s all it took?

Tim: yeah

Duke: what kind of proof?

Tim: photos. I used to follow Batman and Robin around

Duke: and they let you?

Tim: they didn’t know

Duke: wait really? But you didn’t have any kind of stealth training did you?

Tim: Batman can be surprisingly unobservant at times. And I was small

[amberedcorpse]

Duke lives in a perpetual state of missing home and being glad he´s not there anymore. Missing the place, it's sights and sounds, but not the people who lived alongside him in that tiny house. Glad that he made them "disappear", glad that he destroyed every branch of his family with his own two hands...But the place, it's trees, the earth and the river-- all of it still haunts him.

[thanotaphobia]

Missa doesn't mean to run into Forever.

He's just out gathering supplies- exploring, too. Keeping to himself, but keeping around, narrating his life where no one else can hear. He can still see the wall in the distance, is what he's trying to say. He's wandering, but not too far this time.

It's probably why he bumps into Forever. He's close and far. Forever lurks around those boundaries, in his relationship and in the real world, too. That. or Forever was also minding his own business and Missa interrupted him. Either could be true.

"Aha," Missa says, awkwardly shuffling backwards. "Em, funny- funny seeing you here."

The translator picks up on his words, the awkwardness seeping through his body language if not his tone. He sees the way it takes Forever a moment to parse his words. The other man is equally on strange footing, leaning away from him and eyeing him awkwardly. Missa wants to cry. He also wants to run away. He settles for backing up slowly.

"I'm visiting Bad Boy," Forever says after a second. His lips don't quite match up with his words, but he seems to gain some confidence as he speaks. "Why are you here?"

"Wandering," Missa says. He takes another teeny tiny step back. "Seeing things I've missed."

Forever's eyes narrow, just a little. "You've missed a lot, you know."

"Not too much," Missa says, gripping his backpack strap tightly.

"Chayanne think the same?" Forever asks, grinning slightly. He cocks his head, and Missa feels a flare of annoyance curdle within him.

"Keep his name out of your mouth," he says. He tries to keep his tone light and jokey, but it still sounds tense. He stays still as Forever shuffles past him, watching as he kicks a stump, restless energy, always moving.

"Touchy touchy." Forever says, hoisting himself up to sit on a fallen log. "Philza forgiven you yet?"

"He was never angry with me," Missa informs him. At least, not in the long term. Forever doesn't need to know that bit.

"As far as you know. You were gone. Meanwhile, I was here." Forever props his chin in his hand, elbow on his knee. "Who knows what could've happened?"

"Phil said... nothing ever happened," Missa says slowly. And he believes it, just looking at Forever. The way his mouth cocks to the side and he says slowly,

"You gonna believe him?"

Missa nods once. "I trust him. He trusts me."

"But he doesn't love you." Forever is still watching him, and behind his mask, Missa feels his cheeks burn.

"What do you know about love? About him?" Missa asks, suddenly more than a little furious. "You know his little habits? Did you stitch the backpack he wears? Do you know what he did for me? I am on all the access doors to the house. To the eggs. I am allowed in his bedroom at night. Not you."

Forever looks up from where he's been inspecting his nailbeds, feigning nonchalance. Missa can see the tightness in his shoulders, the way his face is a little too bored. "I only care about one of those things," he says.

"And that's why you've never gotten it," Missa snaps. "Goodbye." He turns on his heel to leave- but doesn't miss the way Forever's face scrunches up before it leaves his line of sight.

"Watch your back!" Forever calls out. Missa purposefully does not look over his shoulder. "You never know when that trust will run out!"

Missa keeps walking. Not worth it, he reminds himself, and immediately warps home once he's out of Forever's sight.

[starlooove]

ppl only pretend to care about Duke Thomas and read more than wfa online. Ppl irl who know his name prolly care about him. No I’m not coping with the fact that I’m WATCHING the breaking down and setting to the side of a potential if not already major black character not just in dc but in the batfam specifically AGAIN

[big-betty]

Why does my family have such unhealthy habits

[oathtorn]

// sometimes I think about how many times in bg3 you get conflicts that don't have an objectively "best" outcome. I think about freeing the 7000 vampires, for example. Freeing them is the ethical thing to do, because they are all innocent victims, but it remains true that leaving thousands of vampires loose, even in the underdark, is a bad bad idea. Not only are they traumatized people, but they're predators who have only their instincts to help them survive in an unfamiliar land that isn't exactly bountiful in terms of wildlife. If they don't do well, they'll die or be slaughtered, and if they do they'll ruin entire communities or ecosystems, depending on whether they feed on people or animals.

[duke-detain]

Oh, I forgot to change my status and inform everyone here. I'm taking a week long break from police work by the way.

[brotherslayer]

still thinking about how Derrick canonically stole things from Penelope's room

[idolsummons]

'Sometimes I mention a song from, like, the 1980s and older people are like, oh my god, how do you know that song? It's so old! Like, I'm still a musician even if my management company cares more about my image and marketability.'

[daybreakrising]

i just wanna give a lil shoutout to my wrio twin @wwriothesley bc... discussing all our hcs together and being so genuinely excited for each other's ideas really just fuels my muse so much

and i joke about me and sam having the same brain a lot (we do, it's Frightening-) but even when we have differing hcs on certain aspects of his character or his traits, we hype each other up over them regardless and even help each other develop things & talk them through for hours sometimes. we first bonded over our mutual (completely Normal) love for this man & i just really appreciate having someone to share that with

& it's also just... so refreshing, bc i've had issues with previous characters where people act like their interpretation of a muse is the only Correct one & so far this community is (from what i've experienced) completely the opposite.

sam. ily and our silly lil twins

[stxrmstained-a]

// Seira being badass rescuing the Duke vs Seira panicking when he realizes that's his boyfriend's father he's about to meet at their rented room.

[amberedcorpse]

.Duke is the worst man on my roster but have you considered the following 🤨....

[oflostinfound]

Scenario: Eath trying to understand how a Prince becomes a King and how most people use Prince / Princess to mean son / daughter of a King / Queen

Because to her a Prince / Princess is a title that means a specific level of power and falls UNDER a Duke / Duchess. Family relations have nothing to do with the title and she'd probably call what people consider a Prince/Princess a King/Queen In Waiting or a Kingling / Queenling