#other Batkids may involve

[lbjeff]

Then Dani appears. It will look like Danny had a twin with Dick and never could contact him to talk about that

Later, Dick try to reconnect with Danny, Danny is cool with that and act like they are just old friends, but he never mention the twin or introduce Dick to the twin as their father (in Danny’s mind, it isn’t Dick’s business)

Dick and Batfam think Danny didn’t had a beef with Dick but also didn’t want him in the twin’s life as a parent

Dick okey with it since he knows he deserves it, as long as he can watch his kids grow up.

And then Vlad happens

Vlad, who is obsessed with Danny, always want to give a hand and want Danny as his family, take care of the twin when Danny had work to do. But:

- the twin HATE Vlad (old habits)

- he promised to watch over the twin for Danny then let them play alone in his manor (Vlad knows they’re not kids)

- only care for the twin because of Danny and may plan to have another child with Danny in oder to separate the twin from him (miscommunications, bla bla bla)

Dick decided to man up and pursues Danny again, to be in a family picture with his children and Danny

And other Batkids? They are okey to be their niece and nephew’s new dad and Danny’s husband. Dick had had his chance, now it is their

Bruce doesn’t know he should protest their plans or cheering them

Alfred: may be you should join them. I remember you used to be so fond of mr. Phantom

Both Vlad, Dan and Dani know about the misunderstandings but they don’t really care

And Danny? He doesn’t know what gonna hit him

Dick: I made a mistake

Jason: What you do?

Dick: It's bad

Tim: How bad?

Dick: I think Bruce is going to take me out of the trust fund bad

Damian: Worry no, Richard, for I shall care for you when you are old, wrinkled, and gross. I have more than enough funds for both of us.

Dick: Thanks Dami

Jason: So what'd you do?

Dick: Remember Danny Phantom? That ghost hero that saved the planet from an asteroid?

Tim: Yeah, he does good, clean work. Bruce considered offering him a spot in the Justice League before he suddenly announced he planned to retire from the hero scene.

Dick: I slept with him.

Damian: I beg your pardon?

Dick: And I left before he could wake up the following day, ignored all his calls 'cause he was my rebound when Kori and I split and haven't seen him in almost five years. I just saw him.

Jason: Alright, he's your ex, and you ran into him. He's probably mad at you since that was a bit shitty. But that's not too bad; I don't think Bruce will disown you-

Dick: Yeah turns out Phantom isn't a human ghost. I don't know what he is, but he is a different species, which means his kind reproduces differently, and he was walking hand in hand with a miniature version of me. A version that was five years old. I stole some of the kid's hair, and well.....I have a son I never knew about because I blocked Danny after our one night since I got what I wanted from him.

Tim/Jason: .....

Damian: I regret to inform you, Deadbeat, that no funds are available for you. Or ever. You will die alone. Hungry and scared.

Dick: Trust me I know I deserve that. God! What am I going to do!?

Meanwhile clear across the city

Dan: Are you sure no one will notice me overshadowing this body?

Danny: Nah, it's a failed cloning experiment between me and my ex. It never had a soul. Think of it like it's a meat suit. If anything, I can just keep telling people you're my son.

Dan: Why did you try to clone your ex anyway?

Danny: I'm bored Dan. I'm so bored, there is nothing for me to do now that I retired Phantom.

Dan: That's fair. Boredom is the worst. That's why I choose to visit the human world, though it is weird to be corporal after all this time.

Danny: Do you miss being a halfa?

Dan: Sometimes. But I brought upon myself, I did kill my human side, so I appreciate you leaning me the meat suit. Now tell me about that ex.

Danny: Ancients, where do I even start. His mullet? Blagh! His diet? Blagh!

Dan: He hot?

Danny: So hot.

Dan: Nice.

[tea-and-vodka]

DP x DC AU, Bruce/Danny (if someone knows the ship name *please tell me-*)

Side note: I'm using asterisks (*) to signify italics, because for some reason Tumblr is being annoying about those.

- - -

He never really told anyone about it. No one really remembered but him, Alfred, and the photos they had kept.

Bruce had a friend when he was younger, one who had lived on the streets before moving into the manor.

The two had been practically inseparable.

Yet, as they grew older, they knew that his friend needed to stay away from the cameras and stares that had started following Bruce like mosquitoes.

So, his friend left when they were in their late teenage years. They kept in contact of course, and the two visited. But when the youngest (at the time) Wayne began to get involved with less than legal activities in their twenties, he hid it from his friend.

The rate of their visits slowed down, until it came to a halt. They sent letters, of course, but seeing him in person meant danger. Potentially putting *him* in danger. And Bruce could not let that happen.

- - -

The Batkids all stare in varying levels of confusion, concern, and awe as Bruce becomes visibly flustered.

"Bruce, Darling, it is so nice to see you again!" The man, Danny, says, before kissing Bruce on the corners of his mouth. He holds the billionaire's face in his hands as he tilts his own head to the side, a soft and affectionate look on his face. "I have missed you and Alfred so much! How have you two been?"

Bruce stammers for a moment, not taking his eyes off of the taller man in front of him. "I've, um, been well, thank you. Uh-" He flicks his eyes over to his kids before returning them to Danny as he gestures to the gathered crowd in his entryway. "These are my children! Wo-would you like to meet them?" He blurts out quickly, a smile that he seemed to be desperately fighting on his face.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I want to meet them?" Danny says jovially, turning to the others.

As the man calmly walks over, Cass makes a few observations. His lithe, relatively short body not tense in the slightest, every step seeming purposeful yet not at all thought about, and his eyes flick over everyone in front of him like he's analyzing them. Seeing them like she sees people.

Still smiling, he opens his mouth to speak to all of them, when he freezes. The group tenses, watching as he doesn't take his eyes off of the second eldest brother as his smile falls.

With pain in his eyes, the older man simply breathes out an, "Oh."

Jason stared into Danny's eyes, something akin to grief beginning to show on his face.

"Oh, *Sweetheart.*" Danny said softly, stepping closer to the younger man. He carefully takes his face into one hand, holding him like he may break. "*I'm so sorry.*"

At that, Jason's face metaphorically crumples, tears spilling down his face as Danny feels his [*hurts tired scared angry tired hurts scared h e l p -*]. Danny's thumb rubs his cheek in an effort to soothe the young man, an understanding sadness on his face. In response, Jason lets out a small whimper as he tries to bury his face into the other's hand.

Gently, delicately, despite the sheer size of him, he pulls Jason close, practically curling around him like he's trying to shield him from the outside world. One hand rubs his back, the other curling into his hair as the Bat's face buries itself into his neck, muffling the sounds of sobbing. [*Safe together protect safe comfort soothe safe*]

As the Batfamily watched this happen, most were too caught off-guard and utterly dumbstruck to notice some unusual details.

Cass's eyes squint slightly in suspicion as Danny's toxic green ones close. Weren't those a nearly unnatural blue when she first saw him?

- - -

I'm sorry if this got repetitive; I don't usually beta anything I post!

Essentially, Danny senses Jason's ghostly-ness, and is like, "Who the heck hurt this baby?!" Immediately reaching out with the whole ghost-EM field-thing, Jason's whole world is flipped because he'd been subconsciously trying to reach out that way ever since he got back to Gotham, and had been getting increasingly distressed because no one was understanding what he was communicating.

A few years after he was brought into the manor, Danny had explained to Bruce and Alfred what he is, what happened in Amity Park, how he got deaged, etc., and they accepted him wholeheartedly. *Except*, he left out any and all mention of vigilantism / the bigger enemies that he fought, and went on to working on being the ghost king when he moved out. He doesn't know about the Batfam being the Bats and Birds, and they don't know about him being royalty, nor his vigilante past.

He and Bruce are both very intelligent dumbasses, and do not realize that they have romantic feelings for one another. Alfred is well aware. Is Bruce also dating someone else in this AU? Potentially! It is currently up to interpretation, since I have not thought about who would go well for this scenario. (Although, I do feel like Danny would have beef with Clark because of the whole Connor debacle. Maybe, behind the scenes, Danny adopted Connor, and now Danielle has a brother!)

Also, I'm tired of people being like, "Danny is short! He's only 5'7!" (/lh) It makes me feel short. In this, he is 5'4, and he does not care if this whole ass man is over six foot, he *will* do his best to curl around him and help him feel safe for the first time since he was a teen.

[brucewaynehater101]

Love your ideas for the death of family au! How does Damian feel about this situation and what would the other members of the batfamily think about the situation with Damian and Jason. Would they want to try to get involved with this situation? Also, kudos to Jason for dealing with birth Bruce and Talia while protecting Dami in the bad scenario.

Many kudos to Jason for somehow having the skill to outmaneuver them as briefly explained in this.

Damian, from that tiny infant moment, was taught that Jason is his brother who loves him, is there for him, and will guide him. Talia, his mother, enforces this perception. Jason is also the one who is around Damian the most in this AU. I doubt Talia is going to become a stay at home mom for Damian. She's got a lot of responsibilities, her own people to protect/command, and she needs to constantly ensure her position in the LoA is stable (this is applicable to both good mom Talia and bad person Talia).

Few aspects to establish about Damian's childhood in this AU:

Talia's frequency of in-person contact with Damian (is she traveling a lot, busy, and distant, or does she make as much time weekly to get someone time with her son)

Jason's role in the LoA (is he training, taking missions, and leaving Damian for extended periods of time)

Ra's al Ghul's feelings/behaviors towards Damian (caring grandfather or the person who wants to use Damian's body as a vessel)

Talia's attentiveness to Jason and Damian (does she notice the manipulation, the words Jason says regarding her and Bruce, and Damian's closer bond to Jason)

Jason's protection of Damian (how often does he step in, comfort, or teach)

I'm sure there's more, but that's a few to consider.

Overall, Damian trusts Jason the most. His older brother has proven time and time again that he cherishes Damian. He may feel conflicted (and Jason may be a bit not mentally well if the Talia is a bad person route), but Damian will follow Jason's lead. The older one managed to put himself as the one to listen to above Talia, LoA, and Bruce.

For the others, it depends on their relationship with Bruce. Regardless of how good Bruce is, Jason doesn't trust him. Even more, he doesn't trust him with Damian. Perhaps that could change in the distant future, but that's the starting point. If the others have a good relationship with Bruce, Jason won't trust them for a long time either.

Tim may try to convince Jason to go back to Bruce. Jason would despise and loathe him for that. There's also the possibility that Tim never becomes Robin in this AU. He's not mentioned except for when he becomes Batkid (Tim presumably isn't Robin because Jason survived for that route, but he's not really mentioned in the other routes). Maybe Tim is hyping himself up to knock on Bruce's door when Jason comes back to town (this would be years of Bruce spiraling more and more until Tim couldn't ignore it). Somehow, Tim could get adopted by Jason, similar to how he does when he becomes Batkid. In that case, Jason sighs as he reluctantly let's the kid in.

Dick will face many difficulties in getting Jason to trust him. Hopefully, he has a horrid relationship with Bruce, or Jason won't talk to him for at least a year.

Anyways, Jason's definitely keeping everyone away from his kid until they prove worthy enough

[zeawesomebirdie]

Brudick Co-parenting + Batfam Shenanigans Rec List

Thanks to @holybatmandickgrayson for requesting this, and thanks for your patience while I put it together!! (And paging @steine-druff as per usual!) Dick acting as the defacto second parent in the Wayne household is one of the best brudick tropes, and it has my whole entire heart. And the batfam dynamic itself has so much potential and is a joy to read, especially when the common goal of teasing Dick about Bruce is involved!

These are in no particular order, but I've tried to organise them into general categories. The titles to each fic contain a link to it. A lot of these are on the shorter end of the spectrum, but there's a few longer fics included too! I hope you find something here that you haven't read yet!

Co-parenting

1. Till You Find Your Dream by Kyele [@timeforalongstory on tumblr]; rated E; no archive warnings apply; 177,062 words; 31 chapters; complete

Summary:

“You know, my child, that the orphanage cannot continue to support you once you become an adult.” The abbess sighs. “There is one path that is always open to you. You may choose a holy vocation, and take orders. The Sisters of Perpetual Grace will accept you as a postulant if you choose.”

Dick had known to expect this. “Thank you, Reverend Mother,” Dick says respectfully, “but I cannot follow that path.”

The Mother Superior nods. He looks unsurprised. “Then perhaps,” he says, “you would be interested to hear of another opportunity.” From the papers on his desk, the abbess removes a single sheet. “Are you familiar with Captain Wayne?”

---

Dick accepts a position as governess to eight war-orphans, adopted by millionaire and WW1 flying ace Captain Bruce Wayne. The rest is inevitable.

Starting this list off with a bang, this fic is glorious! It's a The Sound of Music AU and A/B/O, and that sounds like a wacky mixture but truly this is one of the best co-parenting brudick fics I've ever read. It features beautiful sibling dynamics, Dick learning to function in high society at the same time as he's teaching the children to do the same, and the best exploration of gender and social roles I've ever come across. And the way the children come to accept Dick as their governess then protect him from being fired by Captain Wayne is utterly glorious!

2. The Fall of An April's Fool by Mysterious_Aud_Lou; rated M; creator chose not to use archive warnings; 3,967 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

All it took was one mission, one week, one bed, and one very tired mistake for Bruce Wayne to realize that he was in love with Dick Grayson.... and then came the fallout.

Bruce and Dick just came back from a mission in which they were fake engaged, and during that short mission, Bruce got a little too used to acting as a couple. Of course, the rest of the batkids pick up on this immediately, but luckily Dick is great at improv, and so this one has lived rent-free in my head ever since I first read it!

Damian Playing Matchmaker

Because I have a very surprising number of recs with this exact premise! These also sometimes double as co-parenting fics with the other batkids besides Damian too :)

1. Covet by resurrectedhippo; rated M; creator chose not to use archive warnings; 16,059 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

Dick Grayson is an extension of Bruce Wayne. If there’s no Bruce Wayne, there’s no Dick Grayson. They struggle to exist without each other.

The entire world wonders if they have ever been separate people.

This one is a little bit of both co-parenting and Damian being the one to force them together. It features Bruce denying his feelings for a million years, Dick helping to train each successive Robin, and so much mutual pining it hurts (affectionate). And of course, Damian calling a family meeting to announce that Bruce and Dick will need to be wed over the summer, much to the shock of every other person in the family

And I'm adding a cut here because this is getting long, but I've got more under the read more!

2. Better than the Sweetest Dream by shield_of_selene; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 15,089 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

Damian accuses Bruce of failing his Valentine’s Day duties; namely, romancing Dick Grayson. This starts a chain reaction that leads to exploding heart bombs, forced imprisonment, and wedding bells.

I love a villain who can commit to the bit, and the Matchmaker, a Valentine's Day themed villain, does not disappoint! This fic also features Damian having a better grasp of Bruce's emotions than Bruce himself does, which is always a delight to see!

3. To Court a Grayson by Mysterious_Aud_Lou; rated T; creator chose not to use archive warnings; 3,285 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

Damian Wayne has always gotten what he wants, and what he wants is his father to realize that Bruce will find no better romantic partner than Damian's beloved Grayson. So, armed with a briefcase and a carefully planned powerpoint presentation, Damian takes on the challenge of convincing his father that it's time to throw all other romantic entanglements aside, and begin to court Grayson properly.

Oh my goodness, where do I even begin with this one? The whole thing is just glorious, featuring Damian hacking into Bruce's work calender, Bruce actually sitting through the entirety of Damian's presentation, and one of the most delightful reveals I've ever read!

General Batfam

1. Old and New by junetangerine; rated E; no archive warnings apply; 5,241 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

Objectively speaking, he knew the man wasn’t infallible or indestructible (heaven knew he’d picked enough fights over it, Bruce insisting on patrolling even when he could barely stand on his own), but the prospect that he might not bounce back into the brilliant steamroller of a man that Dick loved in more ways than was appropriate or healthy was terrifying.

Not as jarring as the Twilight Zone experience of having Bruce look openly delighted to see him.

“Dick!”

It was all Dick could do to remain frozen in place while Bruce crossed the distance between them and just kept going, right into Dick’s personal space and then closer, until his mouth was against Dick’s. It was short, just a firm press of lips, but enough to turn Dick’s world on its head.

---

A head injury leaves Bruce confused. He seems to believe he and Dick are a couple. Dick doesn't have it in him to say otherwise.

Exactly what it says on the tin. This fic is a delight, featuring Dick being incredibly conflicted and Bruce trying to deny his feelings the moment he gets his memory back! Also featuring the various batkids accepting this new dynamic with surprising ease

2. Be Kind, Rewind by kleine_aster; rated T; creator chose not to use archive warnings; 2,138 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

Batman always thinks of everything, except for erasing his old tapes when he really, really should.

This fic is very funny! I greatly enjoyed the dynamics between the various batkids as they processed what they were watching, and Dick's frantic reaction to being caught with Bruce

3. It's A Christmas Miracle (Or Not) by RandomMayhem [@randomlymayhemic on tumblr]; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 6,864 words; 2 chapters; complete

Summary:

With Harley and Ivy causing chaos in Las Vegas, Dick and Bruce must go on an impromptu trip to stop the unruly couple. Only, they aren't quite sure what exactly they're supposed to be stopping...

Waking up married wasn't in the plan, regardless. Not with Damian on the verge of pulling a Rumplestiltskin. So, there's no doubt about it - the holiday season's about to get a whole lot crazier.

In which Damian threatens Dick's firstborn child should they return home late for Hanukkah. This fic is very cute and very enjoyable, and the batfam's reactions to their impromptu marriage are a delight!

4. Truth or Dare by rnedagemacaroni; rated T; creator chose not to use archive warnings; 959 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

This is why the Bat Family kids should not have free time.

Anything with the batkids actually getting to relax and have fun is an amazing read, and this fic is no exception!! Oh to be a fly on the wall during their games of truth or dare!

5. Wayne Family Adventure: the secret episode by Caroaimezoe; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 4,005 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

Prompt: How will the Batfamily take discovering that their dad and big brother/mother have been in a secret relationship for years

I adore the sibling dynamics in this one, and Damian being smug the whole time is just SO cute! There's also so much that could be said about how valiantly Dick tries to keep their relationship secret only to fail so miserably, it's a true delight

And that's all for now! I hope you enjoy these!

[piedpiperart]

Danny, maybe doing crime: what are you gonna do, arrest me?

Batman, holding adoption papers: no...

Danny:… honestly I’d rather you just arrest me

Danny: what is it with rich people thinking they can just adopt people? It's so ugh

The robins:

Batman, adoption papers mentally filled out: hm

[headcanonpalace]

Here are more headcanons/ similarities of Ladynoir and Superbat because I'm way to invested in these ships.

1. Cat Noir and Batman both flirt with their superhero partner.

While Cat Noir as hero is generally more flirtatious and shows his affection towards Ladybug, Batman is secretive and behaves extremely professional.

Nonetheless both of them have some amazing pick-up lines they (sometimes) use at the worst time possible. And let me tell you, you can't compare these lines to cheesy stuff like 'Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?'. No, these guys are pros at flirting and know how to use words.

Ladybug is used to this and found a way to hide her excitement, so Cat Noir has to get creative. Batman on the other hand can easily turn indestructible superman into a blushing mess, what makes things so much more fun for him.

2. Clark and Marinette love watching their partner.

Sure, you can say it's the same with Bruce/ Adrien but I see some differences here.

Both Clark and Marinette do things that require a good eye for the little things. The things someone else might not pay attention to.

Clark naturally does ist with his superpowers, the job as journalist does the rest. With Marinette it's nearly the same, she just loves to create fashion instead.

So both of them directly see the habits their partner has. A furrowed brow, chewing on lips, playing with a pencil while thinking.

They love to watch Bruce/ Adrien without any ulterior motives (because let's be honest, that's what Bruce does. He observes and doesn't just look) and enjoy the time they spend together.

Every glance while their partner isn't looking makes their day.

3. They danced around each other for so long everyone went mad.

This should explain itself pretty good. I think both ships had a really long 'talking stage'.

After they revealed their identities and found out about the alterego of their crush things got awkward. It took some time to adjust and accept the fact partner and crush are the same, but they became an even better team afterwards.

After that it got clear pretty fast that feelings were involved (for everyone except Superbat and Ladynoir).

I think at this point eveyone knew that the pairs were head over heels for each other, wether it were Alya, Plagg and Chloé or Alfred, Lois or any of the batkids.

At first it was funny watching them dance around each other. All the tension, flirting and 'dates' that definetly weren't dates.

Then it got annoying. Time went by and nothing happend. No progress at all. How could they be so dense?

The fun was gone and all the superbat/ ladynoir interactions made their friends and family nearly explode. Even some help (from Dick or Alya) didn't work out.

When the ships finally sailed Lois was throwing a party, just as Alya.

4. Batman and Cat noir love the strength of their partner (not in a sexual way).

Superman is incredibly strong, I don't think i need to say much more. This guy can move planets if he wanted to.

Ladybug might not move planets, but let me tell you, this girl can carry buses, buildings, even the Eiffel tower.

With superbat it's easy to say that superman is physically stronger, with ladynoir it's a little different. I think they are nearly equally as powerful with Ladybug being a little stronger.

In the beginning this fact wasn't really that spectacular to Batman/ Cat Noir until their partner did something to show their power and they were simply at awe.

Were they fascinated? Impressed? In love?

Maybe (for sure) all of it. From that moment on they always watched Ladybug/ Superman secretly while fighting because them beeing so absurdly strong makes them feel things.

They may be jealous sometimes, but most of the time they just love their partner for beeing so strong and using it for the greater good.

[ladytauria]

Hello! I'd like to know which type of prompts involving the Batboys do you accept please

i take both gen & ship prompts, sfw & nsfw!

for pairings i’m fine with most batkid/batkid ships—im most comfortable writing jaytim, jaysteph, jaydick, dicktim, & damitim, but i take/accept other combos too. (also poly pairings are good too!! idk how well i would do with anymore then 3 tho.)

i also like a handful of other ships like jayroy, timkon, joyfire, jaytimkon, etc. tho i’m not as confident in my characterizations so smut prompts may take. a long time xD

selfcest prompts are fine too, esp jay/jay.

as for bruce… currently not super comfortable writing him, but you can ask if you want. might inspire me xD

i hope that answers your question, but if you want anything clearer / need to know any thing else ask away <3

[alfredsolos]

I don't think a lot of people read the new 52 Joker, but let me tell you it's downright horrible and disturbing.

Through out the whole run, we see him traumatise the batfam and Harley Quinn. And by that, I mean that it is the literal plot of the comic. Just everyone getting traumatised by Joker.

Oh and also, his appearance was very disturbing to see too. He had skinned his face and stitched it back.

Anyways, here are the most disturbing things he did.

He kidnapped Barbara's mom and made a ransom call to her. Which triggered a panic attack on her part. He also tortured her mom and cut her fingers off.

When Barbara came to rescue her, Joker showed her the torn finger of her mother and proposed to her. In which she had to accept, because Joker was basically blackmailing her.

He also got Barbara's psychopathic brother James involved. Which, if you know about him, you'll see how disgusting that is.

Barbara after having to, forcefully, accept his marriage proposal, went to the church in which the 'ceremony' would be held. She however couldn't take it any longer and almost killed the Joker.

Things however did not end up good for her as James attacked her and knocked her out.

After that he went for Jason.

Jason went over to a woman's house to spend the night. But after he got out of shower, he found her dead on overdose. Her name was Isabel and she had a daughter.

Jason immediately knew that this was no suicide attempt. So he went after whoever had done that.

While looking for the responsible person, Joker managed to knock out and kidnap both Tim and Jason.

He literally dug their fathers' corpse out of their grave and mocked them for being the #1 dad.

They were both traumatised after that. Especially Tim, who loved his father dearly.

He later on Joker gassed them and knocked them out again.

He then went after Dick. Joker killed a very close friend of his and hung his corpse over Bludhaven.

Dick went after the responsible person. But while looking for them, Joker gassed every single friend of his and made them attack Dick. And most of them died after it. Which also included a little child.

They had a bloody fight, but Joker eventually got the upperhand and knocked him out cold.

The last Batkid he went after was Damian. Joker kidnapped him and hung him to the ceiling from his ankles. He later on burned his eyes with amonia and basically, temporarily, made him blind.

He kept making bird jokes on him, and as the final act, dumped tons of insects on to him. Some of which got inside of him and made him choke.

He then made a Jokered-Batman attack Damian. They fought for quite a while, and Damian held back significantly trying not to harm his father. But After Bruce tried to drown him, he basically gave up and told his father to kill him. As he couldn't live with himself if he harmed him.

The fighting stopped and Batman was knocked out.

Joker then gassed Damian and knocked him up.

And as a surprise for Bruce, he brought all of the Batfamily into a werehouse and strapped them into a dinner table.

Joker had also managed to kidnap Batman and bind him tightly at his chair.

He then served the meal.

Which was the skinned face of his family.

Of course they were fake and their faces were intact.

But none of them knew that, as Joker bandaged their faces tightly and squirted some blood onto them.

They literally looked so frantic.

And Bruce was mentally destroyed.

Bruce did eventually broke out of his binds, and attacked Joker.

The kids and Alfred also got out of their binds, but it was too late as Joker released his laughing gas and turned everyone into a Joker and made them attack each other.

They fought and fought. Eventually Bruce beat the Joker and injected everyone with the antidote. But it wasn't over.

In the epilogue, it was shown that everyone was having nightmares and night terrors.

Anyways, this was a more summarized version of the comic. So, if you want more details I suggest reading it. But be aware that it may disturb you.

[cephalog0d]

For the WIP game, may I ask what "It's Not About the Pizza" is about (clearly not pizza!)

It does involve pizza! Sort of! The title is definitely a reference to the Farscape episode Crackers Don't Matter, because that episode is amazing and I love it. (This one was also inspired by a dream I had, and the pizza thing was one of the lines of dialogue I remembered when I woke up.)

It's really mostly just an excuse to write Dramatic Batbros. XD With the aid of some Gotham Typical psychotropic substances! Because as much as I like writing fun silly Batkids sometimes you gotta go for some drama. (And writing Dick and Jason reverting to bratty teenagers with each other is my addiction. XD They're idiots.)

Pizza is actually a plot element, though! It's set on the anniversary of Jason's death, which is relevant but not really the focus, and starts with Dick and Tim going over some planning stuff for their job for the evening while Steph and Jason bullshit about where in Gotham has the best pizza. (The best pizza is a place that's definitely some kind of criminal front, so like...ethical dilemma.) Dick keeps giving Jason weird looks that he (incorrectly) interprets as mistrust or annoyance that he's there.

CUT TO things going off the rails, as they are wont to do in Batfic, and some Mysterious Gas getting released. Everyone gets a little, but Dick gets a LOT and while it's not as bad as some other Gotham specials like fear gas or Joker toxin it's definitely got some sedative effects (severe disorientation and loss of coordination, maybe hallucinations, they're not quite sure.)

GIANT SNIPPET under the cut because it's one of the parts I have written and it's part of the pizza thing. XD

“Right, well, I think we’ve had enough of each other for one evening,” Jason said, turning to leave. He was more than happy to let the kids deal with whatever sort of nightmare Mystery Drugged Nightwing was going to be. Unfortunately, Dick apparently had other ideas. In a frankly surprising display of coordination, given how heavily he had been leaning on Tim and Steph not ten seconds prior, he lunged forward and all but tackled Jason from behind, wrapping his arms around him like a fucking vice. Jason hastily shifted his footing to avoid eating shit face first into the pavement at the impact, and then had to shift again to compensate for the entire grown adult acrobat hanging off of him. He made a token effort to either wriggle free (hopeless) or pry Dick’s arms loose (also hopeless), but only succeeded in shifting enough that Dick’s arms were at least wrapped more around his shoulders than around his neck. He was calling it a win. It was a tight enough hold that he would have been worried about actual bruises if he wasn’t wearing his body armor. (It might still be a concern, Jesus Christ, it was like being attacked by a fucking python.) “The fuck is your problem?” he snapped. There was a long, static pause while Dick’s drugged out brain either processed the question or tried to come up with an answer. (Or both. Or maybe he just hadn’t heard at all. He had his face pressed against the back of Jason’s neck, and Jason wasn’t sure if he was imagining how uneven his breathing was or not.) “You have a favorite pizza,” Dick finally said, absolutely nonsensically. Jason waited a second to see if there was more, but that was apparently the full explanation on offer. “The fuck does that have to do with anything?” “You didn’t before,” Dick mumbled. Jason made another futile attempt to free himself. “Yeah, hard to be picky when you’re fucking starving,” he snapped back. “No,” Dick said emphatically, with more clarity than anything else he had said since he got dosed. “No? No what?” Jason demanded. That outburst had apparently exhausted whatever supply of lucidity Dick had left, though. He mumbled something entirely unintelligible against Jason’s neck, still refusing to even slightly loosen his crushing hold. “A little help here?” Jason said flatly, trying to shift and turn his head enough to glare at the younger kids. Tim had his solving-a-puzzle frown on but didn’t actually move to do anything; Steph just shrugged. Wonderful.

Tim and Steph absolutely abandon Jason to deal with drugged-out Nightwing because they're the worst (and because something else comes up that needs Bat intervention and Jason's clearly not going anywhere at the moment, but if you ask Jason it's the first thing). The real fun part, for me, is getting to write a whole big sobered up conversation full of Jason being prickly and willfully misinterpreting things to agree with his own assumptions and Dick being Way Too Hungover For This. XD And the pizza comes up again! (Possibly literally including a frustrated "It's not about the fucking pizza!")

Anyway, that's that! It's not really a plotty thing, mostly just me indulging writing these two dumbasses being dumbasses and just effortlessly antagonizing each other even when they're not really trying to. XD Siblings, amirite?

[riley1cannon]

How would you write a friendly outing between two characters?

All right then...

The first thing that popped into my head was something with a Mary Stewart vibe, where the heroine and her aunt on holiday, perhaps in Greece. They've had enough of the official tour bit, however, and want to get out on their own, Someone recommended a certain spot, so they rent a car, pack a picnic lunch, and set out. After a couple of wrong turns, adventures in themselves, they find the spot, and agree that it is idyllic indeed. As her aunt dozes in the warmth of the day, the younger woman sets out to explore a bit, and is delighted to stumble upon some ruins. No one else seems to be around, and she's just started to have a look around when there's a scraping sound, like footsteps. She looks around -- nothing. But no, there's the sound again, and a shower of gravel down the hillside, and the next thing she knows, a young man, panting and disheveled and altogether rather worse for wear, appears, almost colliding with her. "Please, help me," he gasps, clutching at her, just before he faints dead away at her feet.

Of course this is less about the aunt and niece enjoying an excursion, and far more of a nod to The Moonspinners, but it's a start.

Then I adjusted course a bit and went to Clark and Bruce, contemplating an outing to a summer carnival. The players would have to expand beyond just the two of them, with some of the Batkids along -- Dick, Damian, and Jason, I think; Alfred as well -- and it would be a long day of cotton candy and deep fried Twinkies, funnel cake and caramel apples, riding the carousel and Ferris wheel, Tilt-a-Whirl and roller coaster, and Damian getting a lifetime ban from the bumper cars. Jason and Dick would compete in all the games to see who can win the most stuffed animals for Damian (Jason edges out a win, but it's close). Damian throws up once; Dick throws up twice, because cotton candy, popcorn, funnel cake, fried dough, deep fried Twinkies and all the rest aren't exactly how he remembers from his circus days.

The actual reason Clark and Bruce are there, with the kids providing cover, is because Matches Malone picked up intel that Intergang is using the carnival to get up to some nefarious shenanigans. So while the kids are enjoying the rides and stuffing their faces, Clark and Bruce are nabbing Bruno Mannheim and others.

When that's done, Clark insists Bruce has to have a little bit of fun. He hasn't even eaten a deep fried Twinkie or had a corndog. "And I never will," Bruce assures him, but Clark is persistent and eventually persuades him to at least go up on the Ferris wheel with him.

It's gotten on toward twilight by then, and when they reach the top they can see everything all lit up and bright and shiny against the darkness, and Clark says, "It was a pretty good day," and Bruce grunts and allows, "Punching Morgan Edge in the chops wasn't so bad." Clark laughs, and when he slips his hand into Bruce's, Bruce doesn't object, and even privately admits it's not the worst time he's ever had.

And then I thought about Ramses and Nefret, from the Amelia Peabody mysteries, because I'm reading Seeing a Large Cat and getting Ramses/Nefret feels again, and did in fact whip something up -- but it is well on its way to becoming an actual fic, so we shall skip over that, and instead contemplate Highlander: the series, and how they never did a Vegas episode...

Duncan and Methos are on a road trip, because I've always wanted to do a road trip fic and they would be great for that (I think), headed east from Seacouver, and deciding to stop off in Las Vegas for a couple of days. Duncan flashes back to the last time he was there, back in the Rat Pack days, and how he had a run-in with a mobster Immortal. Amanda may have been involved.

And maybe because of Amanda, when Duncan and the mobster Immortal came to blows back in the day it was a draw, but it was an uneasy truce, with the understanding that if they ever crossed paths again it would be a different outcome.

So here they are, sixty+ years down the road, and maybe the mobster runs a casino now or something. Anyway it all comes down to a game of cards: Duncan wins, they both walk away; other guy wins, they draw swords and fight until one of them loses his head.

Long story short (hah!), Duncan wins, and it's not until they're back on the road, Vegas left far behind in the desert dust, that the Highlander discovers Methos engaged in some chicanery -- "Trick I picked up from Houdini." -- because he wasn't taking any chances on Duncan losing. Something like that.

I could do more -- outings to a haunted house, for instance, or picnics that end with someone discovering a dead body -- but I think this enough for now.

Thanks for the inspiration!

[stealingyourbones]

When Danny Phantom makes a portal to another dimension, We Weston, who had been following Danny, goes into the portal. Now, he's stuck in another world filled with Superheroes, and in the most crime-filled city. But most of all, he's lucky he got adopted. He's very lucky to be adopted into the Dowd family with an older brother who understands him so well.

Together, with his brother's caffeine addicted boyfriend, they try to uncover Captain Marvel's secret identity: Danny Fenton's uncle from another universe, or Jack Fenton of the Justice League Universe?

Bernard: So, you think Captain Marvel is Phantom's (who is Danny Fenton) dad? In this universe?

Tim: ....wait ...I can see it. Those two are so close with each other, as if they're related! (They're so familiar with each other during Justice League meetings. This is just another addition to the speculation going around the league)

Wes: Maybe this is why Danny keeps visiting this world. Because his dad in this world actually pays attention to him! I won't be surprised if he brings his sister here, too.

===

Meanwhile...

Billy: DANNY! CHECK OUT HOW MANY MARSHMALLOWS I CAN FIT IN MY MOUTH!

Danny: BILLY. NO! YOU'RE GONNA CHOKE! JAZZ, SEE? YOU NEED TO HELP ME!

Jazz: *sighing lovingly at something a certain crime lord had texted her*

Jazz: Hm? What was that Danny?

=======

Mean meanwhile...

Green Lantern: I've called this meeting to inform you that Red Robin has updated us with some information that may support our "Captain Marvel is Phantom's Dad" theory.

Flash: Are... We just going to ignore that this Wes kid is... Stuck? In this dimension? And not his home dimension?

The League: *focused more on Captain Marvel being a negligent dad in another universe but a better dad in this one*

Someone in the League: It makes sense because Batman allowed him to have more offdays, the same amount as Superman and Flash! No. Not offdays!More like being more of a 'call during emergencies' kinda hero! The Bat even made a bank account for the dude, finally after months of Bats pestering him to have an income for being a hero, because gods know the man needs it to raise a kid! He's a dad, you guys!

Flash: ... *to himself* I should probably call Batman.

==========

Mean mean meanwhile...

Batman: Flash.

Flash: Hey, B-man! I just wanted to--

Batman: Wes Weston is safer with the Dowds than in his own world.... We should work to convince Phantom to stay with us as well. (I want to meet my future daughter-in-law.)

Flash: ...

Flash: Okay.

===================

Mean mean mean meanwhile...

Impulse: Hey, gramps!

Flash: Please don't call me that--

Impulse: If this is about Wes, then, yeah, he's in the future, too gottagobyeeeeee

Flash: ...

===============

Does Batman know about Captain Marvel's true identity? Yes. Does he know about Phantom's? Yes! Did he try to adopt both? Absolutely. He's failed though because Billy actually got into a good foster family (the bank account is actually a trust fund), and Danny and Jazz are content with their lives (Their parents have gotten a bit better with how they view ghosts, but if Danny and Jazz wants to move into their world, he's got the fake identities ready for them. All they gotta do is ask.)

Do the Batkids know? Surprisingly, this is a secret he kept from his family because even his kids are in on the speculating on Captain Marvel and Danny being related. He's keeping it a secret for shits and giggles. He also involved Superman to be his double-agent to update him on how close or farther away everyone is getting.

The interactions you’ve written anon give me life.

I haven’t read anything about Bernard so I don’t know his character but having his family adopt Wes? That was something I’ve never thought of before and is such a fun idea to fuck around with. Just the concept Bernard maybe not even being relatives with Wes but being good pals with him in general is such a good idea.

Billy and Danny just fuel each other’s stupidity and having the two in the same room is always a recipe for disaster. it’s always amusing to see how the disaster will unfold so instead of stopping them the adults now just make bets to see what the fuck those two will do next.

Batman respectfully not telling his family about Billy or Danny to keep their trust but still having the time of his life trying to see which kid will find it out first with Clark running interference? Brilliant.

[yjwhatif]

YJ: TARGETS ISSUE #3… (spoilers below!)

I just read the latest issue of Targets and all I can say is…

MY BOY IS BACK AND HE SPEAKS!!! 🎉

I’m so happy right now! I love Eduardo! He’s so awesome and cool and just… perfect… I missed him so much! We need more Eduardo! GIVE ME MORE EDUARDO!

Okay I’ll stop talking about Ed… for now…

This was another great issue… or at least the main story was great - I haven’t actually read the flashback part yet because I don’t have access to that bit yet… so for that I cannot comment but I’m sure that will also be just as great when I eventually read it! Anyway… I have thoughts and I’m just gonna bullet point them…

First things first - I love Cassie as a leader, of course we haven’t seen her do too much as of yet, but I just love how she talks to people… She never disregards gars comments or his desire to be involved with the mission - even though he could be perceived as being too emotionally compromised by the situation - and she doesn’t present any hostility towards brion - even though he’s an ex teammate who betrayed them by going rogue. She shows control and objectivity but also reasonability… with brion, she’s able to put aside any personal animosity she may feel towards him because of the past and talks to him without showing any judgment or criticism. As a leader you have to have a level of objectivity to ensure information doesn’t get clouded or swayed by personal assumptions, but still remain aware of who it is your speaking to to avoid being misled by any false charm they may put on… I’ve no idea if this is making any sense but basically I think Cassie is showing herself to be a really great leader - she also looks amazing with that new suit!

So it only just clicked in my head why cissie shows so much care towards Ollie whilst he’s in the hospital and that’s because he’s her mentor and she would care about him… honestly, I keep forgetting cissie is apart of the arrowfam - I think it’s because she was introduced and grouped with the batfam throughout S3 - so I keep thinking she’s a batkid when she’s not, she’s an arrowkid… if I say it enough time it will eventually stick in my head. Anyway, the panel of her being by Ollies side, holding his hand in the hospital is such a great shot. There’s so much concern on her face which tells us, without having seen really any interaction between the two before, that they have a clear bond - it matters to her that he’s not okay - they’re more than just allies on the same team, she’s emotionally invested in his well-being. It says a lot without needing any major explanations and I like that - I like seeing people care for people in these shows - especially in these smaller moments and seeing who specifically worry’s about who… it’s also why I’m so fascinated by the potential Roy and Perdita pairing - because for whatever reason, in the previous issues roy shows more concern for perdita than we’ve ever seen him show anyone before — and I want to know more!

Tim speaks!! I know he technically had a line in the last issue but he was deprived for so long in the show that this is always something worth celebrating! I love getting to see him lead again and he has a pretty cool squad - I’m excited to see more!

Have I mentioned that I love Ed? Well… it’s always worth saying again… Ed’s back and I love it!!! He’s so fun here and either Bart’s ways of always dropping some sort of witty comment when fighting a baddie has rubbed off on him, or the two are just perfect for each other because I love how quippy he is as he keeps blocking Henchy (quippy might not be the right word but you know what I mean)… and now I think about it, he did have moments in S2 where had drop some kind of snarky comments as he teleports around the opposition - it’s great seeing how he’s grown into the character he’s become - and he is simply a joy to watch/read on the page.

“I could be a doctor… of something.” Love this line and interaction between Dick and Steph - I’m here for batfam content!

Ok I am seriously concerned about the fact that another Taos teen has turned up as an infinitor in markovia — where is my Ed content regarding this fact?! I’m really hoping it’s coming because you cannot tell me he did as much as he did in S3 and then not have him involved in whatever the heck is going on with these teens! Why did they leave Taos?! I’m sure it is coming - I just hope it’s soon - because I wanna see it… and I kinda really wanna see Ed vs brion… it’d be great!

So here’s a random question I have - does Everyman uses he/him pronouns? I looked on the wiki and it does say male for the gender - but I can’t recall whether anyone has ever actually used gendered pronouns when referring to them - it’s always been Everyman - which I think is interesting. The only reason I’m wondering this is because as a shapeshifter who does comfortably go between the genders, could it be that Everyman is non binary or gender fluid or agendered? Maybe Everyman is just simply Everyman, like forager is forager… I don’t know 🤷‍♀️ I just thought I’d ask the question… of course, there’s also the chance that I’ve just missed them use specific pronouns - I haven’t actually gone back and checked… so if that is the case then feel free to point that out to me.

Henchy's name is Joe Henchy… I don’t know why that makes me laugh - it just does! 😆 Guess I always thought Henchy was a nickname and not his actual name… but now I think about it, it makes way more sense that vertigo would refer to him by his surname and not a nickname… gotta be keeping this relationship professional.

Orphan immediately beheading the robot after Dicks specific instructions not to kill anyone that’s potentially inside is hilarious… of course she explains that she knew no one was inside but it’s still funny. Dicks reaction is great… also it has s1 vibe of M’gann seemingly murdering the dude who was in the mr twister robot - which is cool!

I like how they illustrate the sign language and that Dicks like - yea, I can read ASL Spoiler! I really wanna see more Dick and Steph interactions - they seem fun together - I’m imagining brother/sister energy.

Batfam owning the Bat-brats insult is just perfect - that is definitely the name of their family group chat.

Gotta love Orphans the robot slayer!

RIGHT, can someone please tell me when we’ve seen Lex’s spider bots before - other than in Elder Wisdom, which is the first time I ever remember seeing them - because they keep being brought up like they’re some reoccurring thing but I don’t remember them ever being established - and it’s bugging me that I apparently don’t remember! EDIT: thank you @inquisitivewordsmith for answering this - the spider bots were in the video game… which I never played - so that explains why I didn’t remember… I really appreciate the help! 🙏

Sings 🎶it’s been Luthor all along🎶 to the tune of ‘it was Agatha all along’.

This really was a brilliant issue - I love getting to see the different teams work on their own area of the investigation but all for the same mission - it’s what I like best about this shows universe - there’s scope but also connection. You have teams in three different locations around the world all working together to solve the mystery at hand - they have their own skills and techniques but they’re all unified by the same goal - get justice for perdita… this is shaping up to be another great story in the canon of young justice!

Ok, I know I have more to say about this but my brains stopped working and I wanna get this posted - so I’m calling quits for now… thanks for reading!

LB

[brucewayneisabusive]

Our Tagging System

Welcome to @brucewayneisabusive, an archive dedicated to collecting Bruce's canon abuse in one place for easy reference.

All characters are tagged by "first name + last name" (in lowercase). If the moment involves all the batkids, the tag is "all batkids". If it involves Bruce's girlfriends and exes, the tag is "abuse towards girlfriends".

For all other tags, see below:

fandom apologia: Common excuses Batfandom likes to make for Bruce's abusive behavior.

misrepresented panels: Panels that Batfandom likes to pass off as cute or fluffy that are actually abusive in context.

physical abuse: Self-explanatory.

verbal abuse: These involve Bruce demeaning somebody.

emotional abuse: These involve emotional manipulation, gaslighting, guilt-tripping, etc.

emotional neglect: These involve withholding or withdrawing affection, comfort, etc; i.e., not meeting a child's basic emotional needs. Research shows that childhood emotional neglect (CEN) is capable of causing C-PTSD, personality disorders, and stunting growth in victims. Google is free.

parentification: A form of CEN in which the child is forced to take on an adult, parental role for an emotionally immature parent.

codependency and trauma bonding: Trauma bonding is the (often obsessive) emotional attachment an abuse victim may develop towards their abuser, especially when the abuser is capable of "lapses" in abusive behavior (i.e. occasional affection). Co-dependency is a similar trauma response by the victim towards the abuser, stemming from the "fawn" response in "flight/fight/freeze/fawn". The victim feels they cannot leave/live without the abuser.

classist abuse: Self-explanatory.

racist abuse: Self-explanatory.

controlling behavior: Bruce manipulating someone and violating their autonomy/consent for missions or otherwise.

projection: Bruce displaying emotional immaturity by projecting his own feelings onto others.

external evidence: Situations and analyses outside of direct one-to-one abuse that support the fact that Bruce has been, or is capable of being, abusive.

HOW WE DEFINE ABUSE: A long-term pattern of exploiting a power imbalance (emotionally, physically, financially, sexually, for labor, etc.) Abuse does not have to be intentional to qualify as abuse; intent does not negate impact. Just as someone being unintentionally bigoted is still being bigoted, Bruce believing he loves his children and romantic partners does not nullify his abuse. Neither do his own trauma and implied mental illnesses justify abusive behavior.

[FAQ]

[fyeahbatcat]

Recently I've noticed the Selina tags often have posts stating that she doesn't like children or want a family.

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert by any means, however I have read several titles with her in it. I'd personally say she definitely likes children and having a family. She regularly unofficially adopts kids, she's regularly in a relationship with Bruce who has a bunch of kids, and no matter her and Bruce's relationship status - she's continuously been part of the Batkids lives, and the most importantly: Helena. I could be completely wrong, but the relatively small amount of comics I've read, I'd say it's more Batfamily fanon that's suddenly become popular.

What's your opinion?

I don't see how anyone can make the argument that Selina doesn't want/like kids when she has had her own children in both main canon and alternate universes before lmao. She also definitely has a soft spot for kids, even ones that are not her own. I honestly think it really comes down to how Selina gets so stereotyped, and people just don't think she's the "type" of woman who would ever have kids, get married etc , and they hide that under the guise of “concern” for her independence. It's a pretty regressive point of view.

There's a huge difference between being independent and being isolated. Being independent doesn’t mean that you’re completely deprived of interpersonal relationships. I think some people truly don’t understand this, at least as it relates to Selina. I've written about this in depth a couple of times, so you can read my complete responses here and here.

The tldr version is this: Selina is an orphan. In the comics she has expressed grief at having lost her family at young age and missing out on that stability growing up. Even when she had parents her household has often been portrayed as turbulent and at times violent. It's not a stretch to think that perhaps her not having had a stable family unit growing up, would actually make her more inclined to desire that. There’s also a difference between needs and wants, and I think this is something that she would want. She has said so herself, even in recent comics.

This is from the "I am Suicide" arc, and Selina is talking about seeing a picture of Bruce with his parents and imagining being part of their family as a child.

There’s also a difference between being independent and being a loner. One being a positive attribute and the other being (in Selina’s case) the result of trauma, and I think some people don’t understand the difference. When I say I love that Selina is independent I mean I love that she’s self-sufficient, resilient, confident, able to take care of herself, she has her own adventures, makes her own decisions, and is interesting in her own right. Having a family doesn’t stop you from being able to be or do any of those things. That’s just silly. When people say that Selina wouldn’t want a family because she’s “independent” what they really mean is they just think she should be alone. Considering Selina’s childhood I don’t know why that is something they would want for her, but whatever.

Selina being a loner stems from her being forced to become self reliant at a premature age in order to survive because there was literally no one there to take care of her growing up. She pushes people away, avoids getting emotionally involved, and keeps her circle small because she is afraid of losing people or them leaving her. That isn't independence. That isn’t just her being cool and aloof; it's a trauma response. She had a  full on breakdown when Holly left Gotham. Bruce is also a loner, arguably even more so than Selina, and no one ever says he wouldn’t want a family 🙃. There’s a lot of subtext within her books that suggests that she may suffer from abandonment issues to some degree. You see a lot of this play out in Catwoman's third series. Suggesting that Selina needs to be alone in order to be strong or independent is romanticizing her trauma.

[boozymilkshakes]

If you ask me (and no one did, but this is tumblr so I’m going to say it whether anyone wants to hear or not), the batkids arguing over who gets to be Batman is lame.

The (second) best plot for a "who could possibly replace Bruce as Batman" fic:

All the kids take turns in the role, sometimes simultaneously. 

Not as a way to determine who would be best, just that they are all Batman. Think of the chaos. Think of the hijinks. Gotham has no idea what's happening, they have no idea which Batman they'll get at any given moment. Big crimes may involve several batmen at once. 

One is blatantly just Nightwing in a new suit. Everyone lost their minds when Batman showed up with guns (some people think that one is the original Batman who finally snapped). There is a small child in a perfectly miniaturized replica of the batsuit. Several are female but refuse to answer to “Batwoman.” The actual Batwoman has no comment.

None of them act like Batman. None of them will acknowledge that they are not the original.

Dealer's choice whether the kids keep their other codenames and just alternate which they use, or if it's all batmen all the time.

[duketectivecomics]

You might've answered this already and I just didn't find it, but one thing that always perplexed me about Duke was how old he was in comparison to the other Batkids. It's obvious he's younger than Dick and Babs, and I pretty sure he's younger than Jason and Cass, and older than Damian, but I cannot tell if he's meant to be Tim and Steph's ages, younger, or older. Could you help me?

You’re all kinds of good here, anon!!! I answered a similar ask abt the Order of Adoption but didn’t dive into specific ages on that post BECAUSE well they didn’t ask lmaooo but ALSO:

Comic ages are very fluid usually! While Years™️ might pass in the canon proper, or while time seems to slow to a crawl, having a character’s age outright stated is something that occurs very rarely for most characters, if at all!

Because it’s always much easier to have a floating age range to work and play around in! It’s easier to keep a character Perpetually 12 or 16 or 25 or mid-40s or- you get the idea. SO, with that in mind. Let’s do our Best to Break Down What Age Duke Might Be Currently A N D how it might interact with the Other Batkids!

(Warning for a Very Long Post, lots of issue citations, and a LOT of comics terminology regarding specific runs/events/continunity. I’m gonna try to keep it as clear/concise as possible ofc but plz keep these things in mind! If you’re not at least marginally familiar with Bat-Comics, you might find yourself feeling a little lost here!)

So from the Zero Year arc we see a common Trend that plays out pretty consistently with Batfam comics: a Life-Changing Event Occuring while the protag is Young™️.

(Batman (2011) #30)

With how Duke is drawn in these particular issues, and given the trends of the past, I’d place him in the 8-12 range. The historic precedent being ofc that that is the same range that canon usually places both Bruce and Dick at for their Tragedies™; the more benign reason being that he... just very much Looks to be drawn in that Range. He’s very clearly an Older/Prepubescent child here.

Fast Forward to his Next Appearance in the Endgame arc and-

(Batman (2011) #37)

He’s definitely older! He’s wiser! And he’s giving Batman a fistbump lmao. Again, no strict age given here BUT, since they condensed each Robin to a Year or Two tops with Bruce (its n52 and its fucked up is what it is), we can assume it’s been at least 4-5 since Zero Year (which would mean if we go off the age range I proposed for that year, then theoretically he could be anywhere from 12-16 here, and I think that tracks pretty well. Not Perfectly and Certainly Not so well with Pre52 continuity ofc, but I’ll talk about that later!)

In We Are Robin, while its not stated Directly In The Text, it IS given as an Informational Tidbit that Duke is 16 (specifically this can be found at the end of issue #4)! (Sweet sweet canon confirmation FINALLY)

We know that WAR takes place Fairly Soon after Endgame (almost immediately, give or take a month or two given that Duke’s been placed in a few foster homes at this point and has racked up Quite A File) now, again id like to remind y’all that while this is a NICE starting point to have, keep in mind that comics are fluid and this may be retconned slightly/ignored in later stories bc Keeping Duke 16-ish is in DC’s Best Interest at the moment. (Having Relatable Teen Characters afterall is a Good Marketing strategy™️. And the longer they can Keep them Young, the Better)

With that in mind let’s take a moment to Highlight the fact that Duke and Damian have crossed paths at this point AND the storylines that have occurred during this year that were meant to be in conjunction with one another!

Because Prior to Endgame, Damian had Died! And just a year (in real, meat-space time) before We Are Robin, he was resurrected and had begun his “Year of Atonement” in the Robin: Son of Batman maxiseries. Midway through both this series and WAR (and, we can assume, midway thru this “Year” for Damian) the Robin War begins/ends and we see at least one major Moment between these two boys who will soon call one another brothers:

(Robin War #2)

Given that R:SoB is followed up VERY quickly by Teen Titans Rebirth (in which Damian celebrates his 13th birthday), we can conclude that Damian would be 12 during this time (well, 12 and 1/2 to play it safe lmao). That being said, this Confirms about a 4yr gap between Duke and Damian! (One Batkid down at least! but he’s the key to the others so put a pin in him!)

As We Are Robin draws to its conclusion, DC was releasing another arc that would eventually flow into the Rebirth Era, by the end of which, Bruce would approach Duke with an Idea (which involves Bruce becoming Dukes temporary guardian & as he states Many Times “Trying Something New” with Duke).

And thus the Rebirth Era begins, and Duke began his Year of training (most directly encapsulated by the Cursed Wheel arc in the All-Star Batman run:

(All-Star Batman #1 (back-up story))

Bruce introduces Duke to a training regimen that Alfred has named “the Cursed Wheel”. It encompasses all the training Bruce and the other bats have undergone and condenses it down into color-coordinated segments that will take Duke a Year to Complete.

It can be assumed that by the End of this Year Duke will somehow miraculously still be 16, despite, again, an entire ass year passing.

There’s one story that takes place mid-year in All-Star Batman, and the Cursed Wheel is meant to be capped off by Duke’s first Official Day as the Signal (in the titular Batman & the Signal ofc) BUT, near as I can tell after this story, Dukes age is not brought up again. So until they DO bring it up either in Batman & the Outsiders or whatever future run Duke becomes involved in, we can assume DC will be working with the idea that he’s meant to be in that 16-18 range from here on out (ie still a minor).

But, dear anon, you might be saying “okay, that’s cool, but how does that relate to my question abt how he falls in with the other Bats?” You’ll have to be a little patient with me here, but I think I may have cracked the code!

Keep in mind I’m gonna be addressing both the Post-Crisis to Flashpoint Continuity (ie mid-80s to 2010 in comics history) and the N52-slash-Rebirth Era (2010-Today). Its generally agreed by fandom and DC alike that these points of rebooting &/or Major Events constitute the era of “Modern” comics, and that everything from the 80s-on might more or less be canon on some level, even if not All of it is.

(Plus, most of fandom usually likes to borrow elements from both eras and much more rarely from stories before it, SO-)

Lets do a quick rundown of how everyone who’s Closer to Duke’s Age, Relates to each other first, age-wise:

Given that Jason was 15 when he died, in A Lonely Place of Dying its established that Bruce had become increasingly reckless since his death, and by the end of the story, Tim has stepped in to fill Robin’s shoes (he states that he’s 13 during this story btw). Pretty soon after, Stephanie Brown is introduced & established to be about a year older than Tim (wish I could pin-point a specific issue BUT, i unfortunately haven’t read any Tim OR Steph-involved comics that predate No Man’s Land... Besides the aforementioned Lonely Place and Young Justice technically, but im working on remedying that soon!)

NOW, during the No Man’s Land event, Cassandra is introduced, and pretty soon into her Batgirl run, its revealed that she’s around the same age as Jason (or at least how old he Would Have Been, had he not died.) Now, given that Jay has an August bday and Cass has a January one, fandom sometimes likes to play around with the idea of one being older than the other (OR even speculating/placing them in an AU as twins/siblings, given that Lady Shiva (Cass’ mom) was a Possible Candidate to be Jason’s biological mother but that’s a Whole Other Thing i wont get into here.)

The point being, Cass, in this era of comics, IS slightly older than Tim and Steph. At Tim’s start as Robin, their ages could either line up like: Tim-13, Steph-14, Cass-15 (being a few months ‘behind’ Jay), then Jason at 15/16 (depending on how soon Tim filled the role after Jay died in April) OR Jason-15/16, Cass-16/17 (in this case she’d be a few months ‘ahead’ now instead)

So brief detour to talk New 52, however! Because Tim, Steph & Cass all got switched around from where DC originally left them prior to the reboot! Now I haven’t read much of them in this era, other than Batman & Robin: Eternal, so my Understanding of their current ages is Spotty at Best. The general consensus seems to be that while before N52, Stephanie had been attending her first year of College (& doing VERY WELL i might add), with the reboot she was set back a few years alongside Tim to a vague Late-Teen state (so 16-18-ish, instead of a Very Clearly Established 18/19). Cass is probably the worst off for this reboot, given that B&R:E basically constitutes her new origin for the new continuity, and does nothing to confirm her age (all I really know is that she’s a Vague Late-Teen too... Probably? Maybe?), given how much they infantilize her, and subsequently how fandom in turn has taken to infantilizing her too, theres a semi-popular fanon that places her Younger that Tim and Steph. And I, for one, propose that we ignore that bc its Weak Sauce my dudes.

Some fans chose to ignore N52 continuity due to this vagueness, and will stick to the ages established before the N52/Rebirth reboots. But its something to keep in mind regardless bc we’re all obviously going to pull from what’s most familiar to us!

But WHERE could we place Duke with regards to them, then? Because them being “Late Teens” is certainly much too vague to work with!

This is Where Damian is the key!

Because Damian is one of those rare exceptions to the Reboot Rule. His story flowed almost seamlessly over from before to after. While he was made a Robin at the age of 10, he continued to grow and learn even after the universe was being rewritten to suit the whims of DC editorial. 

If we choose to ignore how everyone else’s ages and origins were swapped around, and stick with the growth that was presented before the reboot, then we can draw some interesting conclusions!

Firstly, though Stephanie also had Died and subsequently Returned, she hadn’t lost much, if any time, from the Ordeal. At the start of her Batgirl run, she is enrolled at a Gotham university and making headway with a more firm foot in the Batfamily (even to the point that she and Damian spend a few issues bonding. At this point in time, Damian is definitely 11, and again, Steph can be assumed to be 18/19 during the course of her run. We’ll assume 18 for clarity’s sake.)

So, then when Damian is 11, now our line up is as Follows:

Dami - 11, Steph - 18, Tim - 17, Cass 19-21 (the range depending again, if you subscribe to Cass being either older/younger than Jason).

WHICH MEANS, If during Robin War Damian is 12 (and a half) THEN We’ve got an age line-up that Potentially looks Like This:

Dami -12(and 1/2), Duke - 16, Tim - 18, Steph - 19, Cass - 20-22 (And Obvsly Jason, Babs & Dick at their varying Older Ages than everyone here)

and im just now realizing i Didnt include Harper in this line-up, but thats bc she’d also throw a big wrench in all this.  I’d personally throw her in with being Steph’s age, but I’m pretty sure she was supposed to be either that, or between Steph and Cass (again, since its N52, i believe Cass was/is assumed to be Younger than Steph, but that contradicts the assumed following of pre52 canon that we have for the above line-up, obvsly, and so we ignore that lmao) 

All this to say, however, that canon and fandom is what you make of it, and if you want to wiggle these ages around a little, you’re more than allowed! God Knows i usually like to skew the Tim-Steph-Cass age group to be a tad older than this in my own fic writing, and I like to have Duke start as a Robin at 14/15 instead of 16, but that’s just bc I like the dynamic potential it could bring with them being Definitively Older that him, and thus in a more secure place to be Mentoring him right alongside Bruce & the others.

But you might see these age ranges and want to do something Different (say, making Tim, Steph, Cass, & Duke all the Same Age at 17 instead! And that very well tracks with how current comics kinda looks right now!) and you’re absolutely valid to do so! Because again, comic character’s ages are meant to be fluid, not fixed!

And at the end of the day, its all about wanting to see these teen heroes kick serious ass haha