#orphan signal

[weewoow-20706030]

The batfam trauma candy salad would go absolutely insane.

Dick: Hi. I'm Dick Grayson and when I was 8 I watched my parents fall to their death in front of me, then I had to move away from everything I love and spend the rest of my life in some weird American city. And I brought the sour gummy worms.

Jason: This is so stupid- my mother used to kick me out when he drug dealer would come over so I didn't see her spending our very small amount of money on drugs.

Steph *off screen*: what did you bring?

Jason: nerds.

Cass: I was raised to be a weapon, a murderer. I brought peach rings.

Steph: I'm Steph and My dad was an alcoholic who thought he could go head to head with batman and outdo the riddler. And I brought Reese's pieces.

Tim: I'm Timothy Drake Wayne and I had left the house to try and find some guy before he killed my dad, just for him to kill my dad when I was gone. I brought sour rainbow strips.

Duke: My parents are in a mental ward, high on joker toxin. No one knows if they'll ever get better. And I got m&m's.

Damian: I am a highly trained assassin and-

Steph: cut. Cut. Damian. Civilian identities. Ok. Restart.

Damian: My mother randomly dropped me on some weird man's doorstep when I was ten. I brought rock candy.

[incorrectbatfamandfriends]

Headcanon that since Jason can’t go out with his family publicly, what he does instead is show up in random disguises.

Bruce is chatting up some socialites at a gala, talking about the joys of fatherhood and how rewarding it is. Meanwhile he made eye contact with Jason disguised as a waiter twenty minutes ago, and is currently trying to stop his eye from twitching.

Dick is speaking to a third grade class as a part of the Bludhaven Police department outreach program, except when he walks in Jason is sitting behind the teachers desk, playing the role of substitute.

Babs can’t help but stare when Jason hands her a coffee from behind the counter of her favorite coffee shop. (His name tag reads Peter, and for a second she thinks she’s actually lost it).

Tim walks into Wayne Towers one day and on his way in, he waves to his secretary- lo and behold Marjorie has been replaced by Jason. It takes him three hours to notice.

Cass walks into ballet class to discover her teacher had to take a sick day- his replacement is Jason in a beret who talks in a terrible French accent the entire class, only to drop it at the very end to talk in a thick New Jersey accent. Her entire class talks about it for weeks.

Stephanie hails a cab on her way home one night, only to find Jason driving. She’s not sure how he pulled it off or how he got a cab, but her mind is effectively blown.

Duke is on a school trip to the natural history museum, and when the tour guide introduces himself, Duke can’t help but role his eyes. Jason gives a surprisingly good tour, even throwing in some tidbits about a robbery that went down just last week that the Signal stopped.

Damian’s encounter happens when he’s with Jon in metropolis. He’s watching Jon play baseball, and when Jon steps up to bat, he can’t help but notice a the umpire looks a little familiar.

[spicy-apple-pie]

Duke, filming a TikTok walking through the halls of Wayne Manor: “I’ve never understood why people want to know what it’s like living with the Wayne’s.”

He walks past a dark, candle lit room. Dick, Tim, Steph, Cass, and Damian all stand in a circle around Jason. They hold hands and rhythmically chant out the words to Smashmouth’s “All Stars.”

Duke: “Like, they’re just regular people doing regular people things. They aren’t aliens, you know?”

Duke cracks at the last second, laughing at their skit.

[atomic-insomnia]

find the word tag

there was an open tag & i took it

word: breathe [wip: Orphan Signal, fanfiction]

Video title:  RARE!!! Vintage 1960 Palisades Production movie set 45mm vinyl Ace Jenkins Al Alfred Jones #1950s #1960s #cowboy #western #classic hollywood #vintage #antique #vinyl #record Video desc:  Vinyl record on a turntable, not moving.  Label is faded blue with white title RED RIVER VALLEY, subtitle PALISADES LTD. ©1959, Al ‘ACE’ Jones.  A hand comes in from out of frame and moves the needle onto the record, then starts the turntable.  After a brief scratching noise, a tinny guitar plays the tune ‘Red River Valley,’ with a distant male voice joining in singing indistinguishable words.  The record continues spinning at the same speed but the song itself speeds up until it’s unintelligible.  The hand comes back and adjusts the speed of the turntable, slowing the record’s spinning.  The song resumes at its correct BPM, although the singer breathes heavily and stumbles over the words, eventually ceasing to sing and just gasping and panting (crying?) over the music.  Singer coughs then keeps panting.  The guitar sound slows.  The hand comes back and adjusts the speed faster to keep the guitar at the correct BPM, which requires constant gradual adjustments as the music continuously slows.  Eventually the guitar stops.  Heavy, uneven breathing continues, then the sound of someone swallowing and clearing their throat.  Record continues spinning for another 13 seconds of silence except for occasional pop and hiss.  Needle clicks off and returns to ‘Off’ position.  Record continues spinning.  Video ends. Total time:  13:47

word: copper [wip: Beg, Borrow or Steal, original work]

"I see…I see a trunk. A traveling trunk. Is the dress there, lying in wait, at the bottom of a traveling trunk, a wedding dress that once held such happiness…" Another rattle from the table added in, like it was voicing agreement. Twisting her wedding ring, a plain copper band, Mrs. Herman said, "…Nothing you couldn't guess, storing a wedding dress in a trunk. Lots of people save their wedding dress and a trunk is where they'd keep it, isn't it. Nothing there that a spirit had to tell you." Beneath the table, a series of knocks startled Mrs. Herman again and she tapped her foot on the floor beneath, finding nothing. "But this isn't just a wedding dress for one bride, is it, madam," the medium said, her sleepy eyes steady on her customer for once. "This was a wedding dress for mothers, and for daughters…this was a wedding dress that was meant for a family…" Jaw grinding, Mrs. Herman said, very politely, "The spirits should know when to hold their tongues. That's none of your business. Or theirs, either, quite frankly."

word: salt [wip: The Ressurectionist, necromancy AU of Beg, Borrow or Steal]

He placed the handkerchief with its dried blood on the sterile metal table and gathered the supplies.  Salt, to bind the connection in place and keep anything from leaking over to the world of the living (or too much of the living from seeping back into the void).  Oil to burn – and give him light to work by – because while a flame was a poor substitute for true life, it was easy to maintain and easy to work with.  Fresh, living, human blood. He hissed slightly.  The nick of the knife into the side of his thumb was routine by now, but it didn’t mean the nerve cells let it go. The small radio in the corner sparked to life, tuned to static.

word: fine [wip: Beg, Borrow or Steal]

"Man came in here a little while back, asking about a medium," Nash said, examining her cigarette. "We can do that. What kinda man?" Being a spirit medium required very little to do with reading spirits and a lot more to do with reading a client, Amelia had found. But then, she'd had a lot of practice in the fine art of telling people what they wanted to hear. Grinding out the stub of her smoke, Nash said, "That's the thing, a strange kinda man." "Normal kinds don't talk to ghosts," Vinny deadpanned. "Yeah, well--true," Nash said, frowning a little in thought at that. Knowing how distractable Nash could be when left with her thoughts, Amelia quickly got them back on track. "How do we get in contact with him, honey?" "Oh, he left his card." With a little twist, she flicked it in a spiral. It landed on the table, face up. Over his cup of coffee Vinny spared it a quick glance, then just watched Amelia's reaction. She just pursed her lips. Nothing much to say--a plain business card for a plain business man. Those were the worst; trying to read a blank.

i used an open tag and i'll leave an open tag. next set of words:

comfort, tough, close, sound, and lost

[we-r-robin]

Vicki Vale: Mr. Wayne are you Batman?

Bruce Wayne: What is a “Bat man?”

—

Vicki Vale: Mr. Drake are you Red Robin?

Tim Drake: Like the restaurant?

—

Vicki Vale: So Cassandra, are you Orphan?

Cassandra Cain: No I’m not an orphan. I have a dad.

—

Vicki Vale: Mr. Thomas are you Signal?

Duke Thomas: Am I what?

Vicki Vale: Are you the Bat Signal?

Duke Thomas: That is the stupidest question I’ve ever been asked.

—

Vicki Vale: Damian, are you Robin?

Damian Wayne: Tt, I am not a bird. Are you well, Ms. Vale? I’m concerned for your mental state.

[lilsoupboiii]

Even more of my personal favorite panels from s2 of Batman: Wayne Family Adventures

[incorrectbatfam]

Bruce once made an offhand comment about how no one wears watches anymore because they all use their phones to tell time

The next day Tim buys a smartwatch

Dick straps the hourglass he got from the dentist onto his wrist

Damian carries a bunch of candlesticks with nails in them and lights one whenever he needs a timer

Jason lugs around two industrial buckets of water to make a water clock

Steph gets an antique pocketwatch but it's carried around by a personal assistant that's coming out of Bruce's budget

Barbara buys a classroom clock and keeps it in her wheelchair pocket

Cass stands in a well-lit area and checks her shadow

Duke unearths a fifty-pound sundial and names it Duke II

Bruce no longer comments on Gen Z

[pacificwaternymph]

Batfamily Beauty and the Beast AU where Bruce is the beast and with every child he adopts he becomes slightly more and more human.

He finds Dick in the woods, sobbing over the loss of his parents. A year later, he looks in the mirror and wonders if he's only imagining that he's gotten shorter.

Jason sneaks into the castle and steals a loaf of bread, hungry and desperate. Bruce takes him in and offers him a proper meal. As he's putting his new son to bed one night, he notices that his claws have shrunk.

Tim marches into the castle and demands Bruce take him, knowing the stories of the monster who kidnaps children. Bruce's snout feels flatter than it used to when he presses a kiss to his forehead.

Cassandra lasts a full two weeks before anyone even notices she's there. The fur on Bruce's arms begins to thin as he holds her close, and she smiles up at him.

Tim brings home Stephanie, who loudly insists that she does not need nor want a new father. His skin grows less leathery, and the beginnings of crows feet appear on the corners of his eyes.

Damian is brought to them by Talia, rigid and wary of everything, convinced of his birthright as the Bat's heir. The fangs in Bruce's mouth seem to smooth over as he learns to gentle his speech.

The day Duke joins the family, still reeling from the plague that claimed his parents, something clicks. Bruce steps out, and before them stands a perfectly human man, finally made whole by his love for his children.

[ditzybat]

non-gotham locals think the most prolific bat-villain is the joker, or scarecrow, even the riddler — or any of their assorted highly dangerous deluded rogues.

but a real gothamite knows how big a pain in the ass condiment king is, in fact, urban legend says that the bat kids have formed a pact to not tell batman if condiment king just happens to turn up… at the bottom of gotham harbor.

[goodoldfashionedengineer]

The only time when all the batkids will work together in perfect harmony is to prank Bruce.

And for the best prank all they needed was a few label makers.

Labels are put on everything.

On every mug, on every plate, on every bandaid package.

The chocolate bars are labeled "BatSnack".

The fruits become "Batana", "Batricot" and "Batermelon".

Every button on the microwave, every key on the keyboard, it all gets a label.

"Batstop button", "Batstart button", "Bat-A-key", Bat-Enter-key".

Bruce's desk isn't simply the "Batdesk". It is the "Batwood construction surface".

There is a label beneath the desk too.

Originally named "underside of Batwood construction surface".

It takes days, weeks, months to remove all the labels.

Until one day, when Bruce makes a few new installations in the cave.

Surely some higher being is laughing at him right now, Bruce thinks, as he pulls of the last one.

"Batceiling"

[oldmannapping]

Crack HC, because is there any other kind?

Bruce realises embarrassingly late that his Batkids can’t swim.

Gotham’s beach water is pure chemicals and sewage, and the city’s public school funding doesn’t exactly prioritise teaching kids to swim. Steph, Duke and Jason had never seen a swimming pool before meeting Bruce.

Tim’s parents meant to sign him up for swim lessons after he fell into their indoor fountain when he was three and nearly drowned - it would have been so embarrassing if it happened when they had guests! - but forgot.

So Bruce is like. Oh no my baby-soldiers must learn to swim.

Damian insists that since the League trained him to withstand waterboarding, he’s fine. Bruce pulls a muscle in his cheek from clenching his jaw so hard.

Dick insists that he can swim and manages one impressive mermaid-style undulation before becoming disoriented and slamming into the wall.

Duke covers himself in floaties and clings to a pool noodle for dear life, eschewing dignity because “this isn’t how I die”.

Conversely, Tim sinks like a stone, curls up on the bottom of the pool, and waits for death.

Cass, with the lowest body fat percentage, also sinks but manages to squeeze into one of the drains. She re-emerges six hours later in an estuary in New Jersey.

Steph refuses to let go of the wall by the deep end, scuttling away like a crab when Bruce tries to poke her into the water with a skimmer net.

Jason scoffs at them all and manages a perfect swan dive before flailing and crashing into Steph, causing both of them to panic and use each other as ladders to get out.

Alfred asks Barbara for the security camera footage and makes everyone watch it twice a year to keep their egos in check.

[ktkat99]

Brucie Wayne has a bedazzled phone case.

One so sparkly and shiny with so many charms and stickers and trinkets glued to it that he can't even fit it comfortably in his pocket and must therefore carry it around.

Whenever he's asked, he admits that he allows his kids to decorate it for him, and then is able to point out what came from who.

Ballet slippers from Cass's first dance lesson.

An elephant from that time he took Dick to the zoo.

Glitter because Steph and Jason were unattended and bored.

Dog and turkey charms because Damian, despite rolling his eyes whenever his siblings added to their fathers collection, refused to be left out.

A rhinestone crown with 'Yas Queen' under it that had appeared one day. It had taken a week to figure out that it had come from Duke.

[heylosers06]

Dare I say the best members of the bat family!!!

[sad-littletalker]

If Bruce is covering as Nightwing right now, who's acting as Batman in Gotham?

Tim: ok so any takers for the cowl?

*everyone looks at Jason as he is the second oldest*

Jason: oh no way. Absolutely not. Tim?

Tim: after evil gun Batman? ha. Nope. Plus DC doesn't pay much attention to me to make a good story about that.

Damian: may I-

Everyone: no.

Stephanie: OH I COULD BE PURPLE BATMAN!

Cassandra: I want to be Batman if Steph is my Robin

*everyone considers it*

Tim: that... isn't a bad idea actually. I like it.

[violent138]

Duke: "Bad news guys, he managed to give me the slip."

Tim: "How? Okay, who's got eyes on him?"

Damian: "He's just... gone."

Tim: "Hood?"

Jason, eating takeout: "Stop hacking my comms for this, I'm not even there!" *leaves the channel*

Steph: "Negative from me, I've been tailing some whole other guy."

Tim: "Nightwing?"

Dick, in a whole other city, on the computer, barely listening: "I already told Alfred I left the keys in the--"

Tim: "Thanks anyways. Orphan?"

Cass:

Tim: "Well shit. Everyone, we need to find him now."

Kate, spotting Bruce holding someone's black-haired baby at the Gala and immediately taking the baby from him: "No."

Kate, pressing a hand to her earpiece: "I got him just in time. Don't give me those puppy dog eyes Bruce, you can't even keep all your kids' names straight anymore."

Tim: "Phew, crisis averted everyone, good work. But remain vigilant."

Jason: "Tim, I swear to God--"

[ahfrickenfrick]

how many times have any of the batmembers had to come up to leslie and been like ‘hey got into a fight with a bat from the cave’

and she sighs and ask which family member only to realize they lost against a literal bat and need 12 different shots