#r: batman needs a robin (a partner; a son)

[gretahayes]

Like father like son...

[gretahayes]

Also don't forget the arguably funniest part of this, while defending Helena's honor to Babs, he threw Bruce under the bus

Tim: she's being framed, she's not a dumbass! she'd clean up better than this, it wasn't her.

Babs: she's not completely sane, Tim-

Tim: yeah well neither is BRUCE. Now c'mon let's puzzle this out.

i do think it's funny that tim was like "have we considered that bruce maybe did commit murder" when bruce was framed for murder and then when helena was framed for murder "no way, wasn't her she's being framed" even after she accidentally shot batman in the chest with a crossbow.

[silverwhittlingknife]

Dick Grayson & Tim Drake: Reading Guide

Once upon a time, two kids met at a circus... and the rest is history.

table of contents:

who are these losers?

what's fun about them?

why a reading guide?

how does the reading guide work? (tl;dr: there are quick recs, a selected chronological list, and a complete chronological list)

where is the spreadsheet? (x)

who are they?

Dick Grayson and Tim Drake: the first Robin and the third Robin.

Also known as the circus boy and the earnest computer geek, the hotshot and the pretender, the slighted prince and the new apprentice, the acolyte and the hanger-on, Nightwing and Robin, Batman and Robin, Batman and Red Robin, and Marcia and Cindy (BftC 3, N 110 & 119, B 617, DC 677, Detention Comics 1, R 168, RR 14).

Or as Jason calls them, "You idiots" (TT 47).

More seriously, Dick Grayson is one of the most enduring comic characters ever - he's been around since Detective Comics 38 in 1940! He's Batman's first ward, first partner, and eldest son. When Dick's parents are murdered, Bruce identifies with him, comforts him, and takes him into his home, where Dick ultimately volunteers to join his crimefighting mission. By candlelight, the Dynamic Duo swear an oath: That we two will fight together against crime and corruption and never swerve from the path of righteousness!

Tim Drake was created in Batman 436 and formally introduced in Lonely Place of Dying. He's a lonely kid who imprints on Dick when they meet as children, and Dick hugs him and promises to do a quadruple somersault for him; he's horrified and worried about Dick in the aftermath of the Graysons' murder, which he witnesses. He watches Batman comfort Dick, deduces Robin's secret identity, and becomes a secret devotee of the Dynamic Duo. Though he admires them both, it's ultimately Dick who he idolizes and tries to emulate when Bruce is spiraling: Batman needs a Robin. No matter what he thinks he wants.

Their slow-burn strangers-to-friends-to-brothers-to-antagonists-to-brothers-again arc develops from 1989 to 2011, and it's one of the standout examples of the DC Post-Crisis era's commitment to gradual character development and careful continuity.

what's fun about them?

SO MUCH!!! But one of my favorite things is their friendship has RANGE!! They go from sweet kids to tense strangers to loyal friends to brothers over the course of real-life years and tons of comics. They fight, they tease each other, they get protective, they worry, they chase each other down, they walk away... there's just so much story here.

They meet at the circus as children, when both their parents are still alive. They meet again, years later, when Bruce is reeling from Jason's death and they team up to stop him from hurting anyone. In the early days, they're brothers-in-arms and never quite family - instead, Dick is Bruce's loyal-but-estranged eldest son, and Tim is Bruce's new loyal-but-wary apprentice, with his own family and his own semi-estranged dad. The slow process of evolving toward found-family is a delight to watch.

They work together as Nightwing and Robin over four years of in-universe time and for over twenty years of real-time, gradually forging a fierce bond of friendship and, ultimately, brotherhood.

Then Bruce dies, and they have some huge fights.

But even when they're estranged, even when they're not speaking... they never stop loving and trying to protect each other. No matter what.

why a reading guide?

Quotes from New Titans 60 and Batman 441 (1989), Nightwing 25 (1998), Nightwing 69 (2002), Red Robin 1 (2009), Red Robin 12 (2010), Gates of Gotham 3 and Detective Comics 874 (2011)

I think reading guides are cool!! And somebody asked me about one!

More generally, I think reading guides are always helpful, but especially with Dick & Tim... you know, when I first started out trying to read their comics, I got kinda overwhelmed. Because on the one hand there's SO MUCH CONTENT - they're one of the classic enduring friendships in all of post-Crisis! their relationship is a HUGE BIG DEAL! they're constantly calling each other and hanging out and supporting each other and arguing!

But at the same time, all of that content is scattered across lots of different books, in Robin and Nightwing and Detective Comics and Batman and New Titans and Titans and Young Justice and Teen Titans and Shadow of the Bat and Gotham Knights and Birds of Prey and Showcase and DC Holiday Specials and so on and so forth. There's not One Definitive Place where you can read The Dick-and-Tim Story.

So: a reading guide!

how does the reading guide work?

Dick and Tim are in over 400 comics together and over 800 comics each separately. That's a whole lot of comics! So I've made a spreadsheet with three different reading guides, depending on how interested you are in these two:

1-5 Quick Recs: If you just want to check out a couple comics, check out these quick recs for "if you like fluff," "if you like angst," etc.

200 Starter Comics: If you want to do a comprehensive, chronological Dick-and-Tim read without committing to all the comics, this list has some of their major team-ups plus some solo comics so you know what the heck is going on. Most of them have a "sneak peek" you can use to decide if you want to read it.

Big List: A complete list of all the comics Dick and Tim are in, in chronological order, with links to dc.fandom and to DC Universe Infinite. It has filter views.

This spreadsheet was a labor of love, obsession, and SO MUCH PROCRASTINATING doing other things. I update it sometimes.

where is the spreadsheet?

it's here. have fun <3

[missbluesunflowersstuff]

Some Dick Grayson headcanon

I did some headcanon based in canon stuff and also random things, this is more around the batkids and Dick . Please respect

All batkids lie to Batman, ALL.OF.THEM and Dick is the one who lie to Batman and the others Robins (he is the oldest child guys, he will use his power for evil for fun)

He worries about Jason a lot and Dick will be happy in listen if Jason needs to talk

He also worries about Damian but for a different reason, and he still has Damian's adoption papers stored in his house (he mentions about wanting to adopt Damian in Nightwing 11)

Dick bond with Tim is pretty strong

He's Clark's favorite Robin and he knows it (Clark can deny it all he wants, but everyone knows it's Dick)

He accepted very well the fact that Damian changed the color of his uniform and turned the R into Redemption (he forgot to tell the boy what Robin was, but now Dick doesn't think it's right for a grown man to throw his moral responsibility onto a child then he is pretty ok with it )

Dick hates very single Bruce's former romantic partners, especially Khoa (Ghostmaker)

When Dick is tired of his siblings shit, he just needs to shout out "Superman" and less than 20min one of them will show up and pick up his brothers

Is Tim doing something potentially dangerous to himself? Here comes Kon carrying Tim like a sack of potatoes in one arm and Bart in another. Is Steph doing something also potentially dangerous to herself? Kara is on her way. Is Damian missing (again)? just one yell is enough and Jon will be landing on the ground while carrying Damian in his arms like a bride

There is this time that Dick ask Krypto (yep, the dog) to pick up the Robin, Dick's smile got bigger and bigger as the dog approached carrying Robin the mouth as if the boy were a puppy. After that, Damian never went two months without giving news about himself to Dick

Dick and Alfred always get the best gifts in the whole house

Dick is the best at reading people, this is not just a matter of body language, but actually understanding the situation and the person themselves. The more time this boy spends with someone, the better he will be able to understand them to the point of seeing transparency even in Bruce's actions

When he was little, during his circus days, he dreamed of being the ringmaster. Nowadays he is so good at reading the room and pulling strings for his own gain that he basically has made his dreams come true

He taught each of his brothers a different circus trick

Everyone blames Bruce for Damian's addiction to adopting pets, the truth is that Bruce just gave the dog, Dick allow Damian keep the cow and Dick encourages the adoption of his little brother's animals just to annoy Bruce and for everyone to blame Bruce even more

If you ask Batman who is the wost Robin, Bruce will say without hesitation that it's Dick and no one will believe in Bruce

Robin!Dick was a very energetic child, he made a lot of jokes and came from the circus and Bruce was a first-time father, so Dick was able to escape from Bruce and the mansion easily

Nowadays the only Robin who can escape Bruce's obsessive surveillance is Damian (who is a fucking ninja)

"You like the boy as if he were your son because he is a menace like you" - Jason Todd

No one believes in Bruce and Jason when they talk how difficult Dick was in the past (Babs, Kor'i, Wally and Roy can proof but they're in Dick side)

Dick knows many languages, but he really dedicated himself to learning Chinese after Cass was added to the family

The same applies for Arabic

He is actually pretty ok in hide on body if one of his siblings ask

knowing many languages can sometimes become a problem, he may forget a word in English and only remember it in a second or third language

"What is the name of that white liquid that can be ingested?"

and some hours later "MILK! The word was MILK!!!"

Dick always tries to spend quality time with all his siblings and checks in on them regularly (Cass and Damian are the most difficult since they don't use social media much)

Dick and Babs currently knows about Jason fanfiction account, they also reads the fics and leaves comments (Jason will never know it)

He also knows about Damian's fanart account, but will never tell the boy that (if you think Bruce and Tim are terrible you've definitely never read anything about Dick Grayson and its show)

His relationship with Bruce is complicated, to the point that they only interact after Damian's arrival. Dick still tries to understand Bruce, but he keeps the bar low

Never touch him without permission

He became a police officer to try to combat corruption, he gave up the profession due to corruptio, and as being Nightwing allows him to attack the corrupt he will be the hero to keep punch corrupt in their face (I really don't get why in hell he becomes a cop)

Jim Gordon hates him

Dick might get exhausted from all the work, vigilantism, his siblings, and Bruce's weekly batshit, and when that happens he just lays on the floor while Haley the dog plays around him (and sometimes one of his siblings join them, usually Cass or Damian)

"Richard what do you want for Christmas?" - Damian asked one time and Dick in full low maintenance mood "A break"

that Christmas Damian gave Dick a brick, apparently the boy confused the words and didn't understand why Dick started laughing when he received the gift, but Damian was very happy to know that his older brother loved the gift to the point of laughing until his belly hurt

and now every time Dick get exhausted he just sit with Haley the Dog and look at the brick and start laugh (yep, he keeps the brick)

Some batkid headcanon: Damian || Duke || Cassandra || Stephanie || Tim || Jason || Dick

[trust-and-jump]

The name Robin in Reverse Robins AU...

...doesn't exist. In mine, at least. You see, Talia used to call Damian her little shrike. The thing is, she did it in Arabic. The problems is that I write this AU in Russian and... In Russian shrike is сорокопут (if the wiktionary doesn't lie, it is pronounced as [sərəkɐˈput]) and it's a.... long ass word. So in the field it's totally useless as codename. And if i just put Shrike in it as Шрайк it sounds not edgy but funny and clumsy. And if you pronounce it fast it kinda sounds as Shrek, and, well, it's not what I want, obviously. Because I don't want vigilante name sounding ridiculous. I mean, more than they all already do. So... Sardu, yes. Or al Sard. I asked my father (who knows Arabic a little, i hope it was enough) to confirm, and, well. Sardu. Al Sard. Or, "as Sardu", "as" instead of "al". الصرد. the "r" not being english sound here. So. The Gotham mostly knows their little carnivous Bird as Shrike (well, some media tried to call him Shadow, hm). (and yes, still Сорокопут in my Russian text) But, well, in most stressful situation, or when Batman needs Damian to calm down, or get attention, or as the last method to stop from doing something (*cough* killing *cough*) he would use Sardu. Сарду. Сард. Not the 'Sardinian language', guys xD sorry for bad english and everything shjskdkdl

Also, Batman didn't fire him. Damian just outgrew his role of Shrike the Gotham's Shadow, violent sidekick of Batman; they were starting to argue a lot, Damian being always angry like he was when he just got to Bruce; and our dumb boy B didn't realize what was the problem. So, no real kdrama, just Damian being pissed because of his father not acknowleging him as equal. Because, you know, in the League by this age (16) he would be already a rightful Hand of the Demon, like his Mother was. And, well, an adult. Lol. So..... He dissapears, leaving only a note with 'freedom' in Arabic (he is his dramatic father's dramatic son, after all), Cass stays home, Bruce doesn't panic because Damian is far too good to easily get in trouble even in anger and alone, but he is, of course, worried. That is, until he finds out that Damian is still talking to Alfred and just ignoring his father. Also Alfred acting rather cold towards Master Bruce, and Bruce is like: "What did i even do wrong?????!!! He left himself, I didn't make him!"

Blüdhaven gains its own Shadow when the Gotham's one dissapears. (Some time ago he heard his father making plans about spreading Bat's influence and his trustworthy allies across the world. But before that, he was talking about trying to clean up Bludhaven. Damian doesn't become a symbol in this city like he was in Gotham. He just continues to silently terrify and catch criminals. He also realizes that without support of the police it's a little harder. Considering that there is no Gordon to fight alongside him, Blüdhaven police department is a nightmare to deal with, more corrupted. Infiltrating as a policeman would make it easier to purify the city, but Damian is not that desperate: he's not going to actually work with people, for god's sake!.. Yet. Also, would Jon Kent a. k. a. Flamebird stop trying to sell him a name Nightwing already?! He's not going to wear a Kryptonian legend just to humor him!..)

Bruce is also a little bitter, even if he doesn't let himself think about it much. Because, well, his partner left him alone. And for what. For Blüdhaven! Unbelievable. What is his son even trying to prove, living in that hole...

But, ah, well. It doesn't matter, because before Damian arrived, Batman kept everything under control, he's strong enough to do it alone, right? Right. If he's not focused enough to work all by himself, trying to get done the same amount of work they used to do together, getting injured more, exhausting himself, it's only his problem. No one else's.

Then why, after all that shit, does Tim Drake still show up at the door with diagrams, graphs, and PowerPoint presentation?

[listentothelittlebird]

Reveal draft! An alternate Out of the Shadows scene, and Wally finding out in a different way (mentions of Dick’s death, and hand-wavy Spyral tech)

Word Count: 1872 Words

Enjoy :)

Code Bat started because of Robin’s safety, and it seemed it would end because of Robin’s safety, as well.

The villains had coordinated an attack in each of their respective cities - Central City, Star City, Metropolis, and Gotham City. Batman knew he was on his own.

He was just glad to have his partners with him.

The giant robot had been rampaging through the streets, piloted by Mr. Freeze, and it took all of the Bats working together to bring it down. The robot fell to the street with a thundering crash, and Batman swooped down to secure Mr. Freeze.

“R, here,” Robin rasped through the comms, and Batman knew instantly that something was wrong. His youngest son sounded strained, and there were soft sobs coming from somewhere near him, “There is a civilian trapped under the robot’s chest - a young girl, around seven. I am,” there was pause, a gritting of teeth, “I am trapped as well. My leg is immobile.”

Cursing over the comms - Jason, Bruce registered, - before Oracle was directing him to Damian’s exact location.

“I saw her in the way of the robot, and I merely had time to dive under a car with her,” Damian was explaining evenly, “The car’s body sustained most of the damage, but my leg has been wedged. The civilian will be easier to extract, first.”

Bruce frowned tightly, but he knew Damian was right. Help the unharmed civilian out, and then Bruce could deal with his injured child.

“Signal, standby to assist,” Batman ordered, and set about finding an opening he could use to reach them.

There was no Superman who would be able to assist him. Not now, because he knew Superman would still be fighting in his own city.

“Signal, grab the other end.”

Batman barely saw the movement, the boy’s invisibility cloak turned on, but he heard Duke’s small grunt, informing Bruce he was in position.

“On three. One, two, three-”

They hefted the chunk of metal up, and Batman could hear Robin coaxing the young girl to crawl towards the newly-formed exit. A small head soon popped out onto the sidewalk, quickly stumbling to her feet and towards where a woman cried out in relief.

“Robin,” Batman grunted, “Are you able to move?”

“No,” Robin replied, frustration layered over pain, “There’s still pressure over my leg. I… I can’t lift it up.”

“Don’t try,” Batman ordered, even though he could feel his arms straining, trembling from holding up the opening, “Black Bat. Can you crawl in and see if you can help R?”

A black blur dove into the dark underbelly of the metal scraps.

“Lift another piece,” Black Bat informed, “Will need someone outside, someone inside.”

The implications settled into them, a split second of reflection.

“B,” Nightwing’s voice trailed through the comms, “B, let us come down.”

They needed more people. They were on the rooftop, hiding, but more than ready to give up the shadows. The answer was obvious.

“Hood, help Black Bat lift from the outside. Red Robin, help to identify the right location. Nightwing, help secure the opening. Batgirl, be ready to help Robin.”

Batman’s partners - Bruce’s children, each established and formidable in their own right - descended around him. The Signal uncloaked himself, moving so that Nightwing could take part of the load. Red Robin directed Red Hood using the robot’s configuration, before he dived underneath the wreck to help Black Bat. Batgirl had spread her cape on the floor, and had retrieved the first-aid kit from the Batmobile.

Batman was aware of the crowd forming a distance away. Batman was aware of the phones pointed at them, recording the first real sighting of the Bats, out of hiding, in broad daylight. Bruce was also too preoccupied with rescuing his son to truly care.

“In position?” 

Several short and quick confirmations.

“On three. On, two, three-”

The metal creaked where Red Hood hefted it up, and Batman could hear Robin’s pained hiss as Red Robin and Black Bat shifted him towards the exit. Batgirl disappeared underneath for a brief moment, emerging with a handful of dust-covered Robin. 

Jason lowered the metal at Tim’s count-off, and Tim and Cass slipped out of the small air pocket. Bruce counted off for Dick and Duke, and they closed the opening, each turning quickly towards where Steph was looking over Damian’s leg.

“There is definitely something broken,” Steph grimaced, when she met Bruce’s eye through their cowls, “We should get him back to the Batcave.”

Nothing more needed to be said, Batman quickly collecting his kid and pacing back to the Batmobile. Nightwing kept pace with him, and Batman passed Robin to him. 

“There were people filming,” Damian croaked out, grimacing as Dick shifted his hold.

“I don’t care,” Dick declared, cradling his brother, “And you shouldn’t, either. We were meaning to appear to the public sooner or later, anyways.”

“Nightwing and I are heading back first with Robin,” Batman sounded into the comms, “The rest of you-”

“We’ll take care of the robot and Mr. Freeze,” Red Robin agreed. Then, softer, “Just take care of Baby Bat.”

“Shut up, Red,” Robin mumbled.

-

Tim smiled to himself even as he strolled back towards the collapsed robot. He searched for the centre of the robot, where Mr. Freeze had been, and plugged his hologlove into the control panel.

“What’re you doing?” Jason asked, and when Tim tilted his head with a frown, added, “Black Bat’s handing Mr. Freeze over to the police. Batgirl’s treating the little girl’s injuries.”

Tim hummed in acknowledgement and answered Jason’s question, “The robots in the other cities look pretty similar. If there’s a chance that they’re all connected… ah, there we go.”

Tim fell silent as he hacked through the robot’s functions, and tapped his final entry with a satisfied grin. He met Jason’s eye a second time, holding up three fingers with his free hand. 

He counted down from three to one, and when he reached one, Oracle’s voice echoed through their ears, “Robots in the other cities have all shut down, seemingly at random. A warning would have been nice, Red.”

“Dramatic delivery, O,” Tim replied, “And besides, I set them to shut down standing up. No one else is getting stuck under scrap metal, today.”

Black Bat met them at the streetside, with Batgirl.

“We should go,” Batgirl nodded towards where people were edging closer to the robot, “The crowd’s getting too curious.”

“And we better get back before Supes catches wind of what happened out here,” Red Hood added, and Tim agreed. Superman would come running if he knew something had happened in Gotham.

“Race?” Black Bat suggested, a smile playing across her lips. The other Bats grinned.

-

“It’s been a while since we’ve just hung out like this, hasn’t it?”

“It has,” Dick agreed with a smile, “Probably too long, if I’m being honest.”

Wally chuckled, and they fell into a comfortable silence. For once, Wally’s home was quiet - Irey and Jai were with the newer Titans today, getting used to being around others their age with abnormal backgrounds. It had been Dick’s idea, to introduce them to the younger Superboy and Roy’s daughter - plus some new faces that Wally had yet to form his opinion of.

They talked about random things for a while - Dick had moved away from Blüdhaven to be closer to family, Irey had become the new Kid Flash, Bart back to being Impulse.

Wally thinks about everything that had happened, thinks about that time when Nightwing disappeared off the face of the Earth, and asks his friend what had happened. He gets a pinched expression in response.

“Long story short,” Dick explained with a grim smile, “I got unmasked on live television. You don’t remember it, because that time I spent off radar ended with me reversing that event. Or, well, not reversing it - making everyone forget about it is closer to what happened.”

Wally tries to think of the event, what should have been imprinted in his mind, but he pulls a blank. All that was left were the impressions of a thought - like someone burst the bubble of perception surrounding his friend. A deep-rooted shock that felt like…

“You died, didn’t you?” Wally blurted, before he could reel back his tongue. It was the same set of messed-up emotions he had when Donna had died - she came back to them, but there were still the hints of unresolved trauma, buried deep inside him. 

Dick stayed silent, and the shock grew roots and pulled up a memory - his eyes catching on a television screen, wanting to look away but feeling rooted to the spot. Bright blue eyes blinking in stubborn resolve at the camera, even while tied up and heavily injured. Lex Luther talking to a reporter, bringing the awful news that...

“Dick,” Wally breathed. Dick blinked, and was suddenly engulfed in an armful of speedster, clinging to him and shaking - not vibrating, but shaking in residual fear. 

“You died. Holy shit, man,” Wally whispered, and tightened his hold further. Dick returned the hug, pressing his face into his friend’s shoulder, trying to reassure him that he was present and alive. 

“I’m alright now, Walls,” Dick stated firmly, “I wasn’t even dead for that long, actually. Just a few moments, but we decided to hide that I was still alive, just in case people came snooping.”

“A few moments doesn't make it any better,” Wally hissed, and Dick could feel him pause, from where he was still wrapped around him. “We?” Wally repeated.

“What do you remember?” Dick shot back. Another pause. “You’re Dick Grayson,” Wally stated, and after one last squeeze, finally pulled back from the hug. Dick smiled and removed his sunglasses, and Wally took one look at his face and sighed roughly.

“You were Batman?” Wally smiled tightly, “No wonder you went dark on me.”

“I’m sorry,” Dick blurted, and cringed, “It’d have been hard to keep up communications with anyone during that time, so I made new connections as the ‘new Batman’. While I was kind-of dead, the only person I really talked to was B, because of the nature of my mission at the time.”

Wally sat back down and took a moment to process everything. “Bruce is your Dad,” Wally stated, and Dick snorted at Wally’s shocked expression. “Hey! Believe me, this is a revelation,” Wally flailed his hands, “I mean, we always knew that Batman had kids, and yeah, we knew about Black Bat, but you? His kid?”

Wally frowned, “Your childhood stories were from the circus, then.”

“Yeah,” Dick confirmed, “I only told stories from my biological parents. You probably only heard one or two stories that were about me and B, and Jay.”

Wally narrowed his eyes.

“Is the whole Wayne family like you?” Wally gestured helplessly, “Like, all of you are vigilantes? I know you mentioned everyone’s been through combat training, but, there’s more of you?”

Dick laughed, “You haven’t seen the news, have you?”

“News?”

Dick showed him the most played video from Gotham - the robot fight.

“That’s you,” Wally gaped, “And those are your siblings?” 

“Yep!” Dick chirped, grinning at Wally’s shocked expression, “Can you place their names?”

Names?

[spock-smokes-weed]

Okay but put side all of the jokes I make about Tim coming back to Robin simply because he’s my favorite, I truly do think he’s meant for that position and he was at his strongest when he held the mantle.

The way I define Robin is first and foremost the partner to Batman. He’s one half of a greater whole. He’s someone who mirrors Batman while at the same time contrasting him. I feel like Tim is the one person who truly understood that.

Tim set himself apart from all the other Robin’s from the very beginning. He’s the person who coined the phrase “Batman needs a Robin”. He chased after the position. He fought for it. He molded it into something greater than just “Batman’s sidekick”. He was the first to change the costume. He changed the costume to fit the kind of Robin that he wanted to be.

With Dick and Jason, their characters became far more interesting when they went off and became their own heroes, but I feel like there was never the need for Tim to do that because he was his own hero from the beginning. He had his own solo book where he had several adventures separate from Batman. He could handle himself on his own, he was more than just a sidekick. Tim knew who he was when wore the R on his chest, and every time he’s tried to become something different it’s never felt right.

Tim also really likes working with Bruce. I said this before, but Robin is the partner to Batman, and Tim really liked working with Batman. Tim is a lot like Bruce and so they tend to meet each other on the same level when it comes to working on cases n stuff. They are very similar, but also different where it matters. They learn a lot from each others’ differences and can keep each other grounded because of it. Tim liked being a part of something bigger, while still being  independent when he wanted to be.

Honestly since he got fired from Robin, Tim has been pretty distant from the family. He’s felt like they don’t need him anymore and that they don’t want him anymore. He’s been around, but at an arms length. Being Robin and being Bruce’s partner is what truly fulfilled him, but now that Bruce has Damian, his blood son, what use is he? He’s lost his place in the family and he feels like he doesn’t fit anymore. I think restoring the partnership he once had with Bruce and regaining a prominent role in the family would be really good for his character.

Tim has been adrift, and I think it’s time he came back to the role that he truly felt himself in.

[currentfandomkick]

Marinette did not sign up for this part 10: Mari plots plotting

So long time no post. I live. Ish. Also finally figured out readmore on mobile, so yay. Will take forever to edit posts now though. Explanation at the bottom First part here previous part here. Ao3 here

Marinette wanted to go on record that Mandeliev did not, in fact, give her an extra day or so to study for the test. Why? Instead, she was told she may do a paper on the application of physics in gymnastics and principles of evasion in urban areas and how to combine the two to maximize one’s ability to run away from akumas and other dangers.

Or as Nino put it: “I am tormenting you into running better, the eight page essay.”

Alya dubbed it the “Run Better Paper.”

Aurore said it should include more formulas when Marinette showed her the draft. (as Adrien would complain about lack of theories and how she should have used this advanced formula she’d never heard of instead and then Marinette would have to forcibly stop him from taking over her paper. Again.)

Kim had taken to keeping her in his hoodie, escorting her to the bakery and didn’t leave her alone until Adrien said it was his “Marinette Anxiety Watch” shift.

Which she would like to go on record, is just plain mean to say. She has Liar 100% under control when world ending things and metaphorical bomb drops aren’t happening to her constantly.

—-

Bruce tried to contact Diana and Arthur again. Hal was off world, and therefore useless.

Why?

As his missing son hadn’t contacted them yet. Was still in the Miraculous team’s custody. And he saw the footage of Robin—Damian—being hunted by a lving shadow, an element casting swordswoman, and a strategist that seemed to know exactly what to do to keep Robin cornered in battle. The living shadows—Chat Noir—tried to kill his son with Cataclysm.

That was when they were in public, and had Hal watching over them.

He didn’t want to think about what the kids might do unsupervised to someone that tried to kill Ladybug, openly stalked her civilian self, and apparently tried stalk her again, in broad daylight. And possibly may have revealed her secret identity…

From the comments, it seemed that the Parisians hadn’t connected his sons aliases to the pair, writing it off as “Copy-cat Vigilantes” thankfully. And none of them were revealing more than “so the Fashion Disaster tried to go after Chat and Ryuko’s civvie… Not A Smart CopyBird” was the most he was able to get.

His children, on the other hand…

——

“I Fucking KNEW IT!” Tim yelled. “I knew it was her!”

“But,” Jason smirked. “You didn’t tell us.”

“Soup girl, baby bat!” Cass said gleefully.

“Wait, we both talked to her—and you didn’t say you thought it was her either Cass!”

“So what I’m hearing, if my ears don’t deceive me,” Jason continued. “Is that you all lost too.”

“What—“

“Wait a minute!”

“No way—”

Cass shrugged. She was the least invested in winning. She got to meet soup girl, who is very nice and her parents are safe for Baby Bat.

“We don’t have proof,” Dick pointed out. “Didn’t you say something about her being a mouse?”

“I—”

“Well—”

“Yes.” Cass cut through Tim and Stephanie’s waffling. “She is.”

Dick rubbed his forehead. “How many secrets can one kid have?”

“Five?” Jason said without much thought. “Limit is definitely five.”

—-

“Let me get this straight,” Miss Sting began, watching Ladybug very, very carefully. Rena and Carapace were busy that night and couldn’t act as the team’s Common Sense Filter in person. and texts only went so far.

So the job fell to Aurore. To talk (probably Marinette) Ladybug out of a Very, Stupendously, Inconceivably Bad Idea.

“You want to trust Robin—the kid who tried to kill you—to contact his mother—an assassin—to talk strategy about how to take down Hawkmoth’s civilian life’s business, not kill him, and trust that they won’t kill you?”

“…I’m bringing Chat with me.”

“Ladybug.”

“What, do you want me to use a Lucky Charm to prove this is our best bet?”

“You know what?” Miss Sting threw her hands up. “Yes, yes I do.”

“Fine.” Ladybug threw her yoyo skyward. “Lucky Charm!”

A red, spotted ball with an 8 on it came down.

“… you have got to be kidding me.”

Ladybug shrugged. “Uh, Magic Eightball, is it okay to trust Robin with this?”

One shake later and the floating die window read “Without a Doubt.”

“Give me that.” Miss Sting scowled, shaking as she asked. “Should she bring someone besides Chat and Robin—like someone from our team or Wonder Woman or Aquaman?”

The ball answered “Outlook not so good.”

Miss Sting glared at the magic eight ball. “I can’t believe this!”

Ladybug shrugged. “Lucky Charms are Lucky Charms—and I gotta go.”

Miss Sting checked her beeping spinning top. Someone was just akumatized.

“Re-charge first!” Miss Sting yelled before swinging ahead.

—-

“Oh, hey, when’s Demon Spawn going to contact us?” Jason asked as other bats calmed down.

“He’s not answering his communicator.” Bruce growled. “Hal took it earlier.”

The bats paused at that.

“Well then. Trackers?”

“Disabled—what? We didn’t need anyone crashing the apology and he ran off before I could stop him,” Dick defended. He is not Damian’s keeper. Just his Batman (as yes Bruce, he is Damian’s Batman and Damian is his Robin. Current masks not-withstanding).

“Then how are we supposed to find him?” Stephanie asked as the room grew uneasy.

No one answered that.

“How’s this,” Tim began. “Me, Steph and Cass agreed on who Hawkmoth probably is, each of us has a different set of evidence for it—and I’m counting breaking into his evil Liar and the cameras catching him mid-act a few minutes ago as absolute proof.”

“I’m sorry, you did what!” Stephanie leaned over Tim’s shoulder to see. “Oh shit. Isn’t that guy—”

“One of her friends? According to their private Instagram accounts, more like partner in crime and possible Chat Noir. I mean, he’s the one that calls her his “everyday Ladybug” and voices Chat Noir in everything." Tim answered idly. “My money’s on him not knowing at all.”

Bruce twitched. Then began to add ‘stalking social media feeds’ to his to-do list tonight.

“So,” Tim stepped forward. “I suggest we send this to the Wonder Woman and ask for Robin’s comm to be returned, and failing that, I bugged the video so anything they play it on, we get access to its IP and can find where they are.”

“Have Oracle go over the bug, just in case,” Bruce told them. “In the mean time, the rest of you suit up for the night. Gotham needs its vigilantes.”

—-

Marinette wanted to go on the record that her plan (to keep the bats away) was going well. Deciding what to do with Mu—R—Damian. Damian. Damian and his offer, was a challenge.

For obvious reasons, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and Aquaman were against her asking a bunch of assassins for their help. Chat has more than a few reservations. Carapace, Rena and Miss Sting gave her looks for that plan.

But.

But it would work. She needs more information on how to make the plan burning in the back of her mind work. It’s a lot of chaos (and she may thrive in chaotic battles but this wasn’t her usual battlefield, and her team didn’t know who they were going up against for once). And Marinette? She needs to know its not just her doing this when its so out of her depths.

So despite literally everyone and their disagreements she had Chat on her right side with Damian on her left, meeting up with his Crazy, Semi-Immortal mother. And possibly his Immortal, former Black Cat candidate, grandfather.

Why?

As Marinette isn’t trusting the likely cult that makes up the Gotham Ghost Gang (Batfam if you like them) when she can get real advice and vague directions to immortal and allied (loyal and terrifying) assassins.

And yes, she wasn’t sure if Liar was wrong or right when they said it was a bad idea too.

But fuckit she’s already got Kaalki at her shoulder, looking a bit bored at the deserted rooftop that Kaalki chose for their meeting.

“داميان*,” the woman smiled at her son. “It’s good to see you.”

“Mother,” Robin greeted. “This is Ladybug and Chat Noir. Ladybug wished to speak to you about potential strategies to take down an enemy outside of battle without violence,” Damian stressed.

“I am well-aware of the Kwami and their Chosen, اِبْن.**” The woman spoke calmly. “The League of Assassins formed to act as the Black Cat to restore the world to balance and un-burden the Order with its maintenance.” The woman offer Ladybug her hand. “I am Talia al Ghul, and I am at your service, with or without violence Ladybug.”

Marinette took her hand. “Thank you Talia. Our target being directly exposed like I planned would have…” Ladybug trailed off, thinking over the ramifications not only to Adrien, but to the whole of Gabriel’s brand, workers and all that worked with them. “Some intense ramifications I’d rather avoid.”

Talia nodded her head, waiting for more information.

“I believe its possible to topple them without affecting their employees by uncoupling them from their business, but doing so is, well, stocks and economics isn’t my strongest point.” Ladybug admitted a bit sheepishly.

“I would suggest,” Talia began, “to create a bit of chaos in the stock market. Perhaps a rumor here and there, let investors pull out and grab the abandoned stocks quickly. Consolidate them under one owner and become the company’s owner.”

Marinette twitched a bit at that. “That… sounds complicated.”

“Oh, but it isn’t. My son knows just how to that, or did you forget our lessons?” Talia asked coolly.

Damian twitched at Marinette’s side. “I did not.”

“You know,” Chat chimed in. “I do know a few things about those things. If its general chaos, well…” Chat’s face twisted in a way Marinette forgot he could do after that Chat Blanc episode.

“… I will take that into consideration.”

“Anything else?” Talia asked, watching Ladybug and her son. Specifically, how her son seemed glued to the girl’s side. “I am certain my son is able to take out your target, if all else fails.”

Damian scowled at Marinette’s side.

“However, I do believe that whatever is happening, whatever has you active, might require a more… experience hand.”

Damian brushed against her side. Code for ‘Possible Danger.’

“Thank you for the offer,” Chat moved in front of Marinette. “But mi’lady and the Guardians have that much handled.”

Talia’s eyes shifted from Chat to Ladybug, staying on her. “Is that so?”

“Yes. I merely needed more information on how to execute this type of plan, that’s all!” Ladybug almost, almost slipped into Marinette while Liar, while silenced for the moment, prodded the back of her mind. “I want to minimize collateral damage as much as I can, to everyone. The kwami already said they get to chose the target’s punishment.”

“Ah, I see.” Talia relaxed then. “You are following the kwami’s wishes. I will respect their wishes as well, Chosen.”

Marinette categorized this interaction as one of the “not too horrible, but will avoid a repeat” once they left.

—

*Damian in arabic

**son

so we have Talia now as a Player, sort of. she plays by her word pretty well so hopefully its a cameo more than anything else.

any ideas on how JL will handle the video, and if Miraculous Team should see it and freak out or only LB and keep on the dl while JL assissts in her Chaos Plot?

End of update. Will have to repost from ao3 on my phone now as desktop tumblr is being exceptionally rude. Tags always open, just takes me a bit to do—sorry to vixen for vanishing from tags

TAGS:  @heldtogetherbysafetypins @laurcad123 @raisuke06 @chaosace @jeminiikrystal @toodaloo-kangaroo @kris-pines04 @bisha43rbs @izang @dreamykitty25 @emu-lumberjack @vixen-uchiha

[bluebellhairpin]

Dating BatBoys Headcanons

A/N: I had too much fun with this. - Nemo

Masterlist

Bruce Wayne

Makes a point of being in bed with you when you wake up in the morning, even if it’s only for an hour, and especially if you didn’t fall asleep with him. 

It’s no secret he shows you off at galas and in public, even if he decides to be ‘subtle’ about it. Everyone knows anyway. Even Arthur can sense when he’s showing you off, and Arthur’s powers aren’t even close to doing that. 

Please teach this man how to use a microwave. He can do literally anything else, and master it without a problem, but microwaves are just not for him. 

Spoils you rotten as if that’ll make up for the fact he’s gone with work and with Batman stuff. You take none of it, and just make him spend time with you. Which he thanks you for because he really misses you when he’s working. 

Alfred and the kid's all love you even if some of them warm up slower than others *coughDamiancough* and it just proves to him how lucky he is to have gotten you. 

Dick Grayson

Teaches you self-defense because he’s a detective and a past Robin so you could be a ‘target’. Plus you could get in trouble and need to defend yourself if he’s not around. And he like having an excuse to have you close via training. 

Can’t cook for his l i f e. Like, don’t let him near the kitchen at all. Before you, he survived on 2-Minute Noodles, whatever was in the fridges at work, and things Alfred would bring him on occasion. He relies on you to feed him so please do it. You don’t even have to be the best cook either.

Gives the biggest, softest hugs e v e r. They’re all huge bear-hugs, full of gentle words and absolute warmth. Even before you were dating he’d give good hugs. Like, wow. Now I need one of his hugs. 

Tells such good jokes, he always knows how to make you laugh, and exactly what kind of humor you need. 

PDA is definitely a thing, and at the very least he has his fingers locked with yours. He’s just a little clingy, that’s all. And show-ey off-ey. Spent too much time around Bruce. 

Jason Todd

Everything in his house is his, and therefore is yours too. That includes food, books, and the bed, even his toothbrush, but God help you if you eat the leftover Chinese Take-Out without giving him the chance to get a mouthful in. Not even Alfred want’s to deal with that. 

Teaches you how to ride a motorbike on your own, and as much as he loves seeing you ride on your own, he prefers it when you ride with him and hold onto him nice and tight. He lives for those moments tbh. 

Is a heater. His body warmth is unparalleled in any dimension. Not too hot “But aren’t I always too hot?” and definitely not too cold. It’s the best for cold nights in Gotham.

Helpless Romantic. Gets you flowers, chocolates, takes you out for dinner because with Bruce’s money he can afford it, even dresses regularly in suits because he knows how much you love him in a suit. 

Loves dancing with you, and for you. His best jam was along to Fall Out Boy’s cover of ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’. He should’ve been a theater kid. It’s a waste, but you’re willing to soak it all in in behalf of everyone else. “Don'tcha wanna dance with me baby!“

Tim Drake

Makes extra coffee for you in the mornings. If you drink it. And memorizes your favorite. Decaf? Got it. Soy milk? No problem. Black? He has it like that too. Three sugars? So sweet, but okay. 

Has an infinite amount of movies for movie nights. You know he hacks into places to get them. But you don’t care. Free movies. And a chance to get him to not work for a couple hours. (He falls asleep in the first twenty minutes.) 

Pulls the best one-liners, especially when he’s over-tired. He could have a snark-off with Sherlock Holmes or Tony Stark and win with the things he sports out, and you’re lucky enough to be around whenever he does. 

Has an amazing memory, so every single date worth memorizing he has it covered. You need to worry more about you forgetting anniversaries rather than him.

Cried when he heard Avicii died. He didn’t get over it for weeks. The only reason he’s gotten back to listening to his songs is that he’s now connected them with you. Play ‘Addicted to You’ and he’ll look at you with the most lovey-dovey heart-eyes ever. 

Damian Wayne

Actually an almost human when he’s around you, which makes his family want you around more, which makes him happy weird, huh?  

Hates PDA, but makes a point to hold your hand whenever he feels you’d like it because “Boyfriends do that. They do things they might not like to make their partner happy.” 

Gets all flustered whenever you give him a n y sort of kisses. Hand kisses? Full-face blush. Cheek? Won't stop smiling. Mouth? Can’t speak for the next ten minutes. It’s fantastic. 

High-key will scare people away if they look at you in a way he doesn’t like. He doesn’t like the idea of someone taking you away, and being Robin and the son of a billionaire doesn’t help. All must R  E S P E C T his love. 

Gives you all sorts of pet names, but only calls you them in private because “No one will believe you.” The little twat. 

[gothamdad]

THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS PART ONE: CINEMATIC WRONGS AND ANALYSIS COMMENTARY

DO NOT REBLOG.

This is going to be a bullet point list of incidents that occur in the movie, and will either have my general commentary or an analysis of what makes the scene terrible (or in some rare cases, good). TRIGGERS FOR SUICIDE, MENTAL HEALTH, AND DYSMORPHIA 

-bruce trying to kill himself in the beginning of the movie. 

Hes reckless, and willing to risk his life, but not suicidal. But he just purposefully gets into a wreck at 2 minutes into the movie?? for no reason??? theres literally no reason for it other than it being angsty bc they COULDVE started the movie with the mutants doing crime, as the next scene cuts right into it and the following news reports 

-"This reporter hopes that wherever he is, hes enjoying a toast with good friends" said when its the anniversary of batman’s disappearance 

this is stupid I hate this movie. You're telling me Gotham forgives Batman for just disappearing on them? DID THAT NOT HAPPEN IN NML AND EVERYONE GOT PISSED??? Like everyone in this movie seems to have forgot he abandoned the city. Not to mention, and I'm gonna go off on a tangent here, bruce will be batman for as long as he lives. He calls himself batman in his mind even when hes retired. He believes that Bruce wayne is the mask. His whole identity is batman. Saying that hed quit because of jason is not only stupid because it implies Jason's death isnt just as important as his parents, but shows that any tragedy is enough to permanently knock him down. And as if the league, or the family, would have let him give up. Anyway the whole reason the retirement in batman beyond works is because it shows bruce was going to fight until he literally died on the spot, but instead he pointed a gun, didn't even use it, just pointed it, and he realized he wasnt fit to HONOR batman anymore. He broke the rule. And he doesnt deserve to wear the mantle. This is so good because 1) bruce still wants to be batman and 2) it doesnt imply that he gave up at all, and at this point with his decreasing wellness his family WOULD be telling him to stop

-Gordon toasts with Bruce on the anniversary

FBKSBSOANSISSB OH MY GOD IT JUST SHOWED HIM SHARING A TOAST WITH GORDON. this is the anniversary of the last time batman is sighted and gordon. JIM FUCKING GORDON. Is celebrating. When they were literally partners and hed shine the batsignal each night TELL ME WHERE THE LOGIC IS!!! I CANT FIND THE LOGIC!!!!! I'm literally 3 minutes into this movie..... and already this is how its going...

-Gordon and Bruce talk

"You're not worried about me, are you?" Asked when hes in clear danger of being attacked by mutants "noT MorE tHAn i aM tHe ReST oF tHis CItY" ah yes. I forgot that Bruce hated gotham and jim Gordon. My mistake. Common misconception.

-the mutants are introduced

Ugh and it's the worst kind of villains too, jim just described the mutants as "the worst kind of criminals. They are only after violence, with no humanity at all" GIVE! VILLAINS! REASONING! I hate these joker wannabes Joker was already enough we dont need a million more "lol I'm just evil deal with it" villains

"Talk to Dick lately?"asks Gordon "You know I havent" Bruce responds

THIS CONVERSATION IS GETTING W O R S E BC I KNOW HOW THIS MOVIE GOES AND HE JUST INSTANTLY HAS CARRIE BE THE NEW ROBIN- WHICH, IS N O T BRUCE'S TO GIVE. ITS ALWAYS BEEN DICK'S MANTLE TO PASS DOWN- WHEN HE HASNT BEEN SPEAKING TO DICK????

-tangent on how it’s overlooked that Dick Grayson was the one to make Robin, not Batman

This is a sin that not just the movie, but the batman franchise in general seems to always make. Robin was made as a tribute to the flying graysons, and is meant to be colorful and aerodynamic for acrobatic tricks. it should always be dick’s to pass down, or the next robin after. 

-Bruce begins having trouble with holding back his urge to be Batman

His whole wanting to be batman again thing started because of a newspaper with a family's death and pearls being sold. On the same front cover. I'm. THATS WHEN HE REMEMBERS HIS PARENTS? NOT EVERY FUCKING TIME HE HEARS A GUNSHOT? OR CLOSES HIS EYES? OR SEES BLOOD? HE READS A NEWSPAPER THATS FLOATING IN THE WIND??????NOT EVERY TIME HE LOOKS AT JASONS COSTUME? OR THE OTHER CRIMES COMMITTED??????LOGIC!!!!!!!!!! I NEED !!!! TO KNOW!!!!! WHERE IT IS!!!!!!!! ARE U KIDDING ME NOW THE MARK OF ZORRO, WHICH IS WHO THE FUCK KNOWS HOW OLD NOW, IS ON TV??????????? AND HE JUST HAPPENS TO FLIP TO THE CHANNEL.. Batman telling bruce "you've tried to hold me back. But you're weak. Ypu know it in your soul. You're nothing but a hollow shell." Is so STUPID!! WHY HAS HE BEEN FIGHTING BEING BATMAN!!!!!!!!!! BRUCE SHOULD WANT TO BE BATMAN!!!! AND HATE HAVING TO NOT BE!!!! AND A BAT FLYING INTO HIS WINDOW AGAIN???? STOP THE FUCKING CLICHES IM SICK OF THIS . UR NOT BEING NEXT LEVEL, MOVIE. ITS JUST DUMB. ITS DUMB!!!

-Carrie Kelly

her first ??? Appearance??? Is her going into KNOWN MUTANT GANG TERRITORY instead of going through the rain. And scolding her friend for not having backbone WHEN THEY COULD LITERALLY DIE and saying, and I quote, "its better than out there." then when interviewed about the incident her friend says  "It was a flying monster! With wings and fangs!" and she replies with "Reality check, Michelle, it was definitely a man, but he had to be like 12 feet tall" OH YEAH THATS VERY REALISTIC CARRIE. Shes an asshole to her friend and we're supposed to like her.  Oh and Carrie's reason for wanting to be robin? She saw the bat signal while her parents were talking about public marches. That's it. That's her reason. Not because she was attacked by mutants and almost died.

-Giving the movie credit

Okay but if theres another thing I'll give credit for, and I'm sure its unintentional, is that Harvey is the first criminal he wants to take down. Because Harvey is always going to be Bruce's priority. He didnt go after the mutants, but Two-Face. And the way that confrontation goes when it’s revealed harvey thinks both sides of his face are scarred. the Arkham staff fixed his scars before he was ready for treatment, and his mental health wasn’t priority. he was going to have dysmorphia either way, but not treating mental illness worsened it.  kinda? good writing? But I think it was unintentional to have the idea that Arkham didnt know what they were doing and the belief that scars are important before trauma, and how trauma has to be helped first. I dont believe for an instant that's what's meant. 

-Carrie Kelly part two

She gets a Robin costume and goes out onto the roof and is like.... almost dies. THEN THE NEXT SCENE WE SEE HER SHES LIKE COMPLETELY ACROBATIC? WHY IS SHE SO ACROBATIC NOW!!! THIS TAKES PRACTICE!!!

-Batman confronting the man who supplied the mutant gang with guns

Oh, this scene...He hands a guy a gun, knowing full well that he was depressed because his wife was dying and he had to make more money to save her by supplying the mutants with weapons, and just walks away as he kills himself. (input from a friend which i like:  think about everything bruce did to help mr freeze and his wife now think about this scene )

Batman vs Mutants 

oh, and the "batmobile". Aka his tank. Rubber bullets. Ok fine, whatever, but RUNNING THEM OVER AND SHOOTING MISSCLES ISNT LETHAL? AND HOW IS CARRIE KELLY GOOD AT FIGHTING ALL OF THEM WHEN SHE COULDNT HANDLE HERSELF WITH ONE LIKE A WEEK AGO.  hate that the mutant leader is just a ripoff of bane with long pointed nipples I hate this. I hate that batman cant take him down, but carrie kelly can. AND THE MUTANT LEADRER TOTALLY DIED WHEN BRUCE THREW ADHESIVE ON HIS FACE AND HE WAS SUFFOCATED BUT LATER ON IT SHOWS HE LIVES ??

Bruce talks to Carrie 

"What is this thing?" -carrie "Dick called it the batmobile" -bruce "SIR!!" -alfred over the radio There are no words. Then she pops his arm into place and creates a makeshift cast And he says "where'd you learn to do that?” and because she’s a mary sue she says nothing, because miller doesnt know why she should, so he cuts to "what's your name?" and she says "Carrie. Carrie Kelly. robin" and HE FUCKING GOES "MINES BRUCE." and then immediately tells Alfred hes bringing "robin" to the cave. I hate it here I hate that he forgets what happened to Jason aFTER ITS HIS LITERAL REASON FOR QUITTING. WHAT IS THE POINT IF HE’S GOING TO ACCEPT THIS GIRL HE DOESNT EVEN KNOW AS ROBIN?

-Bruce talks about Jason

OH BRUCE'S FUCKING LINE. HIS LINE. IM FURIOUS Alfred asks "have you forgotten what happened to Jason?" And he says "I'll never forget. he was a good soldier. He honored me" I AM !!!! SHAKING!!!! WITH HOW MAD !!!! I AM!!! Bruce would NOT say that shit. Implying that jason wasnt his son, or that jason was only a casualty in a war, or that HE FUCKING HONORED HIM AND NOT THE CITY, OR THE TITLE OF ROBIN "He honored me" shut the fuck up I hate this and dont even get me started on the misconceptions of Robin in the first place. i dont want to go into the debate on whether or not they’re soldiers, which I personally don’t believe. but its just stupid because Jason considered being Robin the best thing that’s ever happened to him, and he was THE BEST. it wasnt his fault he was killed, either. 

-The ending

So the mutant escapes his cell by going through a VENT. A . V E N T. AND ENDS UP IN THE SEWER. I hate that these mutants are just an army of evil people and have no motivation and the leader is just a brute I fucking hate Bruce calling him "son" And the mutants become the sons of batman who fight crime......??? because their leader is gone?? werent they supposed to be evil criminals with no humanity in them?

-Joker

Okay but Joker being absent the entire first part , only to show up in the end hearing news reports about batman, and then smiling as he stands up and just fucking creepily says "darling" holy shit that gave me goosebumps. another credit i have to give. 

[gretahayes]

Detective Comics (1937) #618

You can just tell by Bruce’s smile that he’s thinking "this nerd of a child"

[preciousthingsareprecious]

Hey, not to be a bother but my little brother's (9th) birthday is coming up and I want to get him a comic book or a graphic novel. But i have know idea where to start or what's any good do you have any suggestions? Totally cool if you don't.

It’s no bother to me at all! I love doing recommendation lists and as it so happens, I’ve been reading quite a few titles for younger readers lately as a part of my side job. 

There are a lot of great comics/graphic novels out there for kids and young adults, meaning this list is in no way comprehensive. I’ve picked out books I’ve read myself and enjoyed, and I tried to mix it up a little bit in reading level and style because reading is not always one size fits all. 

I broke the list down by comics and graphic novels and stuck to DC related titles, but if you’d like a list of things outside DC that I’ve found enjoyable shoot me another ask and I’ll compile one (it won’t be as long because most of my outside DC reading isn’t geared towards younger readers). I also linked each title to it’s DC Comics page where you can find summaries, covers, and options for ordering (but your LCS is probably still open and right now is a great time to order from them so give them a call).

Trades 

Super Sons- This is always going to be first on my list of suggestions. Superboy and Robin having adventures? It’s a great story for anyone, but it’s content is safe for younger audiences to thoroughly enjoy. There’s a few books in this series, and it’s followed up by Adventures of the Super Sons, so if you want to pick something that has a lot of content this is a good choice. 

Batman Adventures- These are drawn in the style of Batman the Animated series and follow the same characters, but the stories are just about all new. It’s been collected into 4 volumes, so it’s another series with quite a bit of content!

Batman & Robin Adventures- Same as above only now with added Robin! If you’re looking for something that follows the Dynamic Duo on their adventures look no further. There are three volumes of this series. 

Batman: Li’l Gotham- Li’l Gotham is one of my favorite comics of all time. It’s a collection of stories that follows the Batfamily and various villains in short collected stories. It’s light, humorous, and generally a lot of fun. This series has two volumes. 

Batman / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures- Listen, do I even need to sell you on this book? It’s Batman. It’s TMNT. It’s amazing. 

It follows Batman, Robin, and Batgirl as they deal with mysterious Arkham breakouts and mysterious Ninja Turtles who’ve appeared. Just as a note, this isn’t Batman vs TMNT by Tynion (which is good, but I wouldn’t categorize as kid friendly). This series stands alone, so it’s good if you want to pick something that’s not going to require an investment to finish. 

Graphic Novels

Batman Tales: Once Upon a Crime- I could go on and on about how good this book is. It’s by the same creators who worked on Li’l Gotham, though it’s not a sequel. It’s a collection of 4 stories that put the Batfam in the middle of fairy tales. You’ve got Robin mixed up in Pinocchio, The rogues gallery spinning wild tales, Alfred in Wonderland, and Batman dealing with the Snow Queen. 10/10 this is a good read. 

Batman: Overdrive- This is a re-imagining of Bruce Wayne’s younger days. Bruce is 15 going on ready to drive everything in sight and on the hunt to find out who killed his parents. Does he don a home made Bat costume? Yes. Does he partner up with a young Catwoman? Also yes. Is he angsty and dealing with trauma? Three for three. It’s a fun story, with a lot of action,and a ton of car talk/fixing/driving/just a lot of cars (I mean it is called Overdrive). 

Shadow of the Batgirl- Listen? This book? It’s great and it’ll go on all my recommendations of books for young readers. It does the best job of any of the Ink or Zoom books of re-telling a character’s backstory for younger readers. The essence of Cass is still very much here, as she runs away from her dad who wants her to kill, and moves into a library where she finds friends, learns to read, and decides her own destiny. 

The Lost Carnival: A Dick Grayson Story- Technically this book is out on May 5th, so it might be out a little late for you to order. This story features a teenaged Dick Grayson still working at the carnival with his parents. He’s a bit of a hothead and a showoff, but he’s got a good heart and a whole lot of curiosity as he explores a rival carnival that’s taking all of Haley’s business. It’s a fun, enjoyable read that’s got action, mystery, and a hint of magic.

Zatanna and the House of Secrets- Last but not least! I wanted to include this in case you’re looking for something with a magical element. The story follows a young Zatanna as she has to rescue her dad from a house full of magic! She partners up with Klarion the Witch Boy as they navigate the twists and turns of a house that is often upside down. I walked away from this book grinning, it’s cute and quite a bit of fun. 

[our-happygirl500-fan]

Ra’s Hit List/ Batman’s Legacy

In Red Robin 11-12 we learn of Ra’s Hitlist and what he views as Batman’s Legacy or those most important to Batman. These issues are famous for Tim getting the title of Detective putting him on the same level as Bruce but we also learn that Ra’s also has names for others close to Batman

The Butler - Alfred Pennyworth Bruce’s longest companion Ra’s recognises him by his official description

The Cop - Jim Gordon one of Batman’s most trusted allies Ra’s views him as nothing more than his position in law enforcement.

His Daughter/ The Cop’s Daughter - Barbara Gordon is a powerful ally to Batman in her own right first as Batgirl and then as Oracle however before she was any of that she was the Commissioners daughter which is what gave her the desire to fight crime in the first place and that is how Ra’s remembers her.

The First Love - Julie Madison while a civilian has been a love interest to Bruce multiple times even going so far as to get engaged to her multiple times throughout comics, she held Bruce Wayne’s heart before he was Batman and Ra’s took note of the emotions of the man behind the mask.

The Whore Thief - Pertains to Selina Kyle the Catwomen, Selina Kyle is Bruce’s biggest love interest and Ra’s has often shown to be displeased by the relationship as he’d much rather Bruce be with Talia.

The Son - Damian Wayne is Bruce’s son and when he was born Ra’s hoped that Damian’s existence would make Batman join him, what happened instead was that Damian joined Bruce’s side.

The Doctor - Leslie Thompkins like Alfred is one of Bruce’s oldest allies and some have said she is a mother figure to him in the way that Alfred is a father figure. She is also known as the Batfamily’s doctor and is the medical expert Bruce trusts most even for fields she doesn’t specialise in and Ra’s recognises this.

The Replacement - Dick Grayson at the time of these events had become the new Batman due to it being believed that Bruce was dead. Ra’s was incredibly displeased by this as he didn’t think Dick was a worthy successor to Bruce and even called Dick ‘a pretender’.

The Reporter - Vicki Vale is a new reporter that has constantly caused the Batfamily grief as she has come close time and time again to figuring out their identities. However she is also someone Bruce cares for both as a love interest and an ally feeding her stories that need to be seen my the public. Ra’s views her as her job.

The Steward -  Lucius Fox helps handle Wayne Enterprises and without Bruce being able to delegate to him Batman most likely wouldn’t be possible, Lucius also designs a number of Batman’s gadgets as well. As a verb Steward means to supervise arrangements and keep order or to manage someone’s property which is exactly what Lucius does. Ra’s named him for his role in making Batman work.

The Girl Apprentice - Stephanie Brown has had a long and incredibly complicated relationship with Bruce due to his grief over Jason however he does care for her. Batman has taken many children under his wing but the most notable position is that of Robin and Stephanie Brown is the only girl in main continuity to wear the R. Stephanie has been trained by Batman himself, it was short but she was his partner, she was his Robin, Ra’s recognises Stephanie’s time as Robin and so should everyone else.

[bat-lings]

Do you think Dick and Damian have a brotherly relationship?

Anonymous asked: “What do you reckon Dick thinks of Damian and what's your view on their relationship?”

The first thing that jumps to my mind when thinking of Dick and Damian is, oh, how far we’ve come.

[Nightwing (1996) #138 || Batman (1940) #687]

Dick didn’t particularly care for Damian before Bruce’s death. He didn’t have to. This was obviously a child with no interest to get to know him (waaaay unlike Tim who was the initially one-sided motor to his own relationship with Dick), a brat, and more importantly not Dick’s responsibility.

As hinted in the last panel above, Dick’s involvement with Damian starts very much as a duty thing. Someone has to take up the Batman mantle after Bruce’s death. Someone has to keep Damian in line and guide him. And there’s no one else to do either, so Dick steps up. He didn’t particularly seek to engage with Damian before he lost the luxury of the choice, much like he lost the luxury to be Nightwing.

It’s a stage of transition for both. Taking on the mantle is an extremely delicate process for Dick. Damian’s identity was built entirely around the fact that he’s Bruce’s son and heir, but his father isn’t here anymore and he’s got no interest in knowing what he thinks is an usurper. But Damian is terribly out of place too. He struggles to adapt to values that contradict everything he was taught, reins himself in against every instinct, and is still told he’s too aggressive, too violent, not enough in a sense. Unworthy of his father’s legacy, and unable to change that with the means he knows.

They’re both at a crossroads. That specific configuration complicated their early days to no end, but it’s also the reason Dick invested so much into their duo. It was hardly a natural thing to do for him– much like becoming Batman.So, how do I do it? Dick thinks, on both front. He has to settle on what he’ll make of Batman, and what he’ll make of this improvised partnership with Damian. Let’s discover it together, he tells him.

[Batman (1940) #688]

And this right here is another defining point of their dynamics: Dick includes Damian in every step of the process.

It doesn’t make everything easy or instinctive. At this point uncertainty defines their relationship. They both have to learn their new personas. There’s a lot of bumps on the way. Dick has to settle on the kind of Batman and mentor he’ll be, and Damian’s still an insecure, uncooperative brat.

[Batman & Robin (2009) #1, #2 & #4] 

Some would find Dick almost uncharacteristically patient during most of his interactions with Damian. Tbh I do think he’s been toned down and I’d have expected him to let his temper get the best of him more often– he snapped at Tim (the first person he really saw as a brother) on several occasions ffs.

Yet the narrative emphasized Dick’s conscious decision to take on that responsibility and to make the best of it. It’s not just that he has to get to know Damian, like he did with Tim. He has an additional work to do as the only mentor available.

Damian thinks respect is something you gain. He yells at Dick to prove himself as a teacher, but in the same vein Damian thinks he must prove himself worthy of being kept around. Dick teaches him that a worthwhile dynamic is based upon respect. That Damian already has his, but not only.

[Batman & Robin (2009) #3]

Maybe some of y’all are starting to know me. That’s where I groan, because Damian’s reaction at someone giving a shit about his life lies on the fact that under Morrison his mother cares for him only as a weapon, Talia’s character-assassination, yadda yadda yadda.

But there’s another point to that scene. This is Dick teaching Damian another type of devotion. Not one you grew out of respect to your superior, but one you grow out of care.

In the first few issues of B&R, Damian outwardly went against orders, used excessive force, and went after Pyg on his own. Dick went after him to ensure his safety. In the following panel, Damian questions orders because he genuinely doesn’t understand why Dick is keeping him apart of the main action. So Dick explains.

[Blackest Night: Batman #3]

Dick respects Damian and trusted him with something Bruce never even considered– Robin. Bruce wanted to provide a home for Damian, he wanted to step up as his father (at least when they first meet, then he kinda messes that up too), and man did he try to be patient with him. But not once did Bruce consider making Damian Robin. We joke a lot about Dick being the favorite but I feel some people forget how much Bruce loves, respects and admires Tim. Had Bruce never died, I don’t think he’d have given Robin to Damian at all before Tim chose to step down himself. And even then... he’d have expected Damian to change drastically before he gave him Robin.

When Bruce is known to return soon, it’s bitter-sweet because Damian fears to lose his partner, but also because he’s understandably unsure of Bruce’s intent to leave him the place Dick did.

[Batman & Robin (2009) #10]

Damian needed a place in his father’s legacy. He needed to be acknowledged as worthy to be part of it. I think Dick got that fairly early on (hence his decision to take Robin away from Tim) but that it went completely over Bruce’s head. Dick gave Damian the fragment of security that made it possible for him to realize his potential, then grow into his own person, something that’s absolutely crucial to Damian’s development.

Damian comes to confide in Dick and accept the provided comfort. A vulnerability he didn’t allow himself before, because this is the kind of weakness that Damian thought would nullify his chances of being accepted as a worthy heir/partner. But Dick worked hard on establishing that Damian already had his place as a bat, that he had nothing to prove, and that he could feel comfortable accepting reassurances.

[Blackest Night: Batman #1]

[B&R #22 || Streets of Gotham #7]

So. Father-son, or brothers? Well, I’m not sure we can categorize it that easily.

For sure, they’re equals & partners.Dick is Damian’s teacher in more ways Damian could ever have imagined. He’s also someone Damian can confide in, exchange easy banter with…

[Batman & Robin (2009) #17 & #20 || Streets of Gotham #7]

And someone he shares a true complicity with.

[Batman & Robin (2009) #17]

The grounds on which that relationship started make me lean more towards a parent-son bond than a brothers one. Because while family relationships are never easy, the parent has a duty to guide the child the best they can. If siblings don’t get along, then they don’t get along and (often) everyone lives their life. In most configurations, siblings don’t quite have the same responsibility towards one another than parents have towards their kid. There’s a reason mentor-student relationships are often associated with parent-child ones although they’re not quite of the same nature.

On more than one occasion Dick plays moderator between Damian and Tim, which feels like a “parent” role. Through his mentoring Damian, Dick definitely gathered facets of a parent– teacher, patient guide, placating presence. Anchor.

It’s when they grow closer that they really start to make me think of siblings. The banter, the specific brand of complicity. After Damian’s progress I get the feeling that Dick can loosen the mentor boots the slightest bit and relax in exchanges that are more natural for him.

The way he always treated Damian as an equal and let him in in the decision-making process, too, edges more towards friends or siblings than a strict mentor-protégé/parent-child dynamic. Dick explains his orders and never expects blind-obedience. I mean, elder siblings are often the Actual Worst at treating their cadets like equals (”nuh-huh I’ve got the power of experience respect me!” god shut up), and Dick himself is not without his authoritative sides with other teams/friends he worked with. But based on his global relationships with Tim and Damian, Dick is, as a sibling, above that.

But Dick is also the one who truly brought Damian into the family. His first teacher in this new environment; his first guardian. And Damian is the first kid Dick was truly responsible to guide into realizing his potential. It’s not like with Tim, when Dick took part in his formation on Bruce’s instructions. Dick was entirely in charge of Damian. It’s a mirror situation of Bruce taking Dick in. They’re each other’s first Batman and Robin.

Dick probably first thought of Damian as a responsibility. Alfred helped him see Damian’s potential & good heart, but once Dick saw it, I don’t think he ever doubted of it. I don’t know if he now sees Damian more as a son or as a younger brother. Probably a bit of both.

It’s a multi-faceted dynamic that I can’t sum up with one word. They’re the guys who reinvented the dynamic duo.

[eastonia-blog]

Let's Chat about these Reversed Aged!Robins AUs

So recently I replied to @gentlemenpaws generalask!post which said…

And I thought I would go a little into my reply to him. Because and hear me out.

I can never take reversed ages Robin headcanons and stories seriously. Without turning off my brain a little. And please, please, please just hear me out.

There is a reason why.

(TLDR at the bottom of this long post)

1) This is the most important reason. Say it with me. THERE IS NO ROBIN WITHOUT DICK GRAYSON.

Think about all other ‘sidekick’ or 'junior partner’ characters. With the exception of maybe Speedy, what are their names and costumes? Aqualad, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Super Girl, Super Boy, Bat Girl, Miss Martian... You know, the famous ones? The ones that all based their costumes in echo of their mentors (and yes, I’m including Roy Harper here, Speedy’s costume is a mirror of Green Arrow’s - in red).

So why doesn’t Batman’s apprentice call himself Batboy? Why is his design so divergent from Batman’s? (Okay I understand there’s other reasons but I’m trying to stay in universe/lore here). Depending on the continuity, when Barbara Gordon/Betty Kane became Batgirl she followed the trend. Robin’s identity although associated with the Bat, can stand alone without context.

Why Robin? Why the traffic lights? Something that has been shown time and time again (despite continuity differences and all) is that Robin was Dick’s pet name, from Mary Grayson, his mum. Again depending on the continuity, Mary Grayson called Dick Robin because:-

1)  He was “...always bobbin’ along.” (Pre-Flashpoint Robin: Year One)

Interesting because it could either refer to his skill in acrobatics or a tendency to get underfoot because of his curiousity.

2) Born on the first day of Spring. 

Or...

 3) Just as a tease because he just really, really loved the stories of Robin Hood.

The traffic light colouration he chose for his costume, even the design of his costume? Well if you take a look at most of the Dick Grayson origin stories (Pre-Flashpoint: Robin Year One, Batman Year Three. Post-Rebirth: Batman #54 just to name a couple examples) the Grayson aerialist costume is... Red, Green and Yellow. The proportions of the colours and presence of a cape vary but traffic lights are Grayson colours.

Robin was Dick Grayson’s tribute to his dead family.*

*Part of the reason why Dick got so hurt that Bruce gave Robin away to Jason was because Bruce forgot that Robin was not his to give. This is why the other Pre-Flashpoint comics had Dick give Tim his blessing to become Robin. And then outright have Dick give the R to Damian. Jason eventually got Dick’s blessings but by that point, the relationship was never going to start from the best place.

2) Damian as the first 'apprentice’ would not work. Why? BRUCE WOULD NOT HAVE SURVIVED LONG ENOUGH. (I can hear all the cries of ’But he’s Batman!’ ring out).

Dick and Bruce met super early into Bruce’s career as Batman.

Remember how pre-Batman Bruce went about as a generic vigilante without a moniker or anything? And got his butt kicked so hard by the Gotham streets that it took a bat crashing through a window to convince him to try again?

Pre-Robin Batman was characterised by one thing:- Recklessness. He knew sooner or later Gotham was going to claim his life and that he would probably be going sooner rather than later.

He spent a lot of time recovering in those days. Maybe more than he did catching lowlifes or solving crimes.

And then everything changed when the Flying Graysons fell.

The crime that touched Dick mirrored the crime that affected Bruce. (It’s actually pretty interesting from a meta standpoint. The Waynes died in a circle of light - under a Park Row streetlight and the Graysons paralleled that with the spotlight remaining on them long after they hit the ground.)

And Bruce looked into the eyes of little 8-10 year-old Dick Grayson, and saw himself. But more than that, he (Bruce) saw an opportunity to change things for him (Dick). So that Dick would not end up like him.

(Want to know a cool thing? The reason why Dick’s relationship with Bruce is different to the approach Bruce took to Jason, Tim and Damian? Age difference. Bruce is about 14-18 years older than Dick. Putting him in that weird spot where you could simultaneously be a teen parent or an older sibling. Bruce has a more Older-Brother-Promoted-to-Parent relationship with Dick than father-son. It’s why in the Rebirth Nightwing vs Hush Prelude to the Wedding issue, Dick thought he could be a candidate for Best Man).

This is also the reason why I love Dick’s and Damian’s relationship so much is because it directly parallels Bruce’s and his. I don’t quite know what the age difference is post-Rebirth (and I tend to outright ignore the New 52 at times) but since Rebirth tends to mirror Pre-Flashpoint more than not, I think the age difference between Dick and Damian is about... 14-16 years? Again, simultaneously a teen parent and older sibling.

This is also why I don’t think a Damian as the first Dark Squire would work, because Bruce would not be in a good place to help out a child. Nor will there be the same connection that there was between him and Dick. Damian being first would probably ruin Batman for ever taking on someone in the ‘apprentice’ role.

So after Bruce (eventually, inevitably) takes Dick in, Bruce is forced to realise that he has to be more careful because he has to be there for Dick.

This is when Bruce fully embraces the amount of Crazy Prepared he’d need to be to be.

And then Dick (at 8-10 years-old! Seriously we talk about the amount of detective skill Tim has to figure out Batman’s and Robin’s identities... But we don’t talk about the amount of charisma, courage and will it takes to out-stubborn the Batman???) makes his way onto the streets (and Bruce can’t stop him so he has to help him). So now what does Bruce have to do?

There is a rule medics and first responders have to follow: Protect yourself in order to save others.

Bruce is no longer allowed to accept dying as an option (until Dick is old enough to take care of himself). This forces Batman to work situations to his advantage so Batman and Robin can both come home.

Basically, Dick made Batman evolve into the Batman we know and expect today.

Batman’s relationship with the police significantly improved after Dick Grayson debuted as Robin. Batman’s relationship with other Justice Leaguers improved after Dick Grayson debuted as Robin. Batman’s relationship with Wonder Woman and especially Superman/Clark Kent improved after Robin.

So let’s remove Dick from the lineup and stick him at the end as the youngest then. And... put Damian as the eldest son... that’s... not going to work.

Hey Damian. Where did you go?

Remember the timeline. Without Dick as the eldest Bruce can continue to be reckless. Batman was a suicide mission until Robin stepped in.

No Dick? Batman continues to be reckless. Reckless Batman? Dead Batman. The Al Ghuls and the League of Shadows/Assassins? Probably would have nuked Gotham and Bludhaven. Also Damian Wayne will not have his male genetic donor because... Without Dick Grayson as the eldest son/brother? Batman would not have survived to catch the eye of the League of Shadows/Assassins.

It is necessary for Dick to be the ‘eldest son’ otherwise the rest of Bat!Lore will not fall into place. Dick was Bruce’s more traditionally heroic foil from the start without which we would have a dead Bruce Wayne before Batman could take off. 

TLDR:

Robin was created as Dick’s Tribute to his dead family. If Dick wasn’t the oldest - Batman’s partner (if he would even have one!) would NOT be called Robin.

Bruce and Dick met very early into his career as Batman. If they didn’t meet Bruce would have carried on his reckless path and possibly DIED before Damian could even be ‘conceived’.

And that, my friends, is the tea.

Tagging @theflyingwonder as inspiration of this particular meta

[elecilaombre]

A waste

So I was in a bad mood an wrote al of this in one sitting. I’m now to llazy to edit it, so let’s just hope it’s not too bad. Enjoy !

Tim’s life has become a nightmare. Tim’s life is a nightmare, a living hell. It has been spiralling for days, for years and he keep going lower and lower. 

Deep down Tim known, he known it isn’t going to end well, he won’t have a pretty ending but damn, he did fight for it. He wanted it so bad, to have something nice, to be important to someone, to do good. 

Except he didn’t. His end was more than predictable. He was the worst, an echec to everyone. 

First to mother and father, stranger tied by him, him tied to them by blood. Tim wasn’t a good bound, not good enough. Alas, Janet Drake couldn’t have another pregnancy and they ended  stuck with him. 

He was tiny, he wasn’t good at sport, he was looking quite feminine, he was a lost cause to Jack by the age of 4. What a strange world where you decide the worth of a child in not even four full years, decide to ignore him as if he wasn’t part of your world.

So Tim tried, tried his very best to be the son Jack deserved. He did sport, trained over and over again to finally be good at it, to finally learn those skill. He wasn’t the greatest, but quite decent in multiple sport, from gymnastic to basketball, including escrim and boxe and others. Tim also tried to learn as much possible in the masculine interest, like cars, virtual market or science, skills that his father valued. 

Except that it was already too late, he was already invisible to Jack’s eyes. He was a waste of his father time. A failed investment

In the same time, Tim tried to please his mother, to be seen as smart she wanted, as dainty and graceful she desired, to be as much the son she wanted.

But she didn’t had time to wait for him to be that, it was a matter of born with or get rid off. He wasn’t born with those. So she get rid of him and spend her time at something more valuable.

He was a mistake, an error, a deception. They made it clear multiple time. Luckily for them, they travelled a lot and didn’t saw Tim so much. They had better things to do.

What was odd is actually how they praised him to their “friends”, acquaintance fitting better, how they praised Tim has if he was the greatest son they could had. How their son knew so much, could so much, was so much. Even if he wasn’t.

In the end, even if they were stranger to him, if they ignored him, he did cried and mourn them each when they died.

Then there was many other person he failed : teachers, nannies, friends … He wasn’t good enough for them, even at his best, he wasn’t doing good enough, he never could. And each left him, for their own good of course, they shouldn’t waste time on him, he didn’t deserve it. He tried, his hardest, but he still ended all alone.

But suddenly, there was an hope, in the form of Batman and Robin. Oh, how much he watched them, hidden on rooftop, through his binocular, then his camera. How he longed to be with them, to do as much good as them. But he didn’t deserve … And Gotham needed much better than tiny lonely Tim. 

He did ,anyway, trained as much as he could, as hard as possible. He tried over and over again to do some tricks seen during his stalking session, even if each time he failed it hurted very much. He might not be worth anything, but at least Tim knew he was determined and resistant, so he would do it until it became manageable, until it was worth his father and Batman expectation. Until he trained enough to be a vigilante.

On the other hands, he kept close to his mother’s mindset and trained his brain. It did took time, but 8 years old Tim found Robin’s and Batman’s identities after 4 months of study. Not fast enough but still some results. 

And he kept going, watching them with awe and dreaming of becoming as good as them, worthy their attention maybe. He kept watching when the new Robin stepped in, even adapted his training to not be only as flexible and agile than the first one, but also blunt and full of tricks as the second. He watched the duo adapt to their new partnership and Nightwing appear in Gotham’s sky. He knew them, all by name, all by face, by movement and by breath. It felt right.

When the second Robin died, he mourned him, deeply, knowing a teen died for this city, anonymously. He watched Nightwing move away shortly after. He watched Batman turning even more violent and lethal following those.

It took him time to decide to go to them, to offer his help. He hoped during months that another Robin would appear, as Jason appeared after Dick’s resignation. But nobody showed up and Batman needed his partner. Maybe Tim was ready, had trained enough. Maybe he could honor Dick’s role and Jason’s legacy. Maybe he wouldn’t fail Bruce.

Yes, indeed, at first, Bruce rejected him, but Tim was stubborn and kept pushing, knowing it was the right decision. And Bruce took him, gave him the Robin mantle. But the man was still cold and rough with Tim.

But it was alright, he could manage it. Tim customised the costume he had to wear, not wanting to wear the same as Jason out of respect for him, but wearing proudly the big R by love for his predecessors.

And it did work, for sometimes, Tim was barely good enough for the role, not worth anything to Dick’s eyes or Bruce’s, but he could take it. After all, they feared he would fill Jason’s place, except Tim couldn’t, because we can’t replace a person, just fill their role.

But he fought well, had a purpose to his life, worked hard to protect Gotham and defend it against the villains. He did team up multiples time with other outcast from the superhero community, formed a group with them, The Young Justice, and finally had friends in them, real one he didn’t disappointed. 

It lasted for maybe three to four years, a pleasant break in Tim’s nightmare, if he except the death of his parents. Because he did had support to mourn them.

Then Jason came back. And Tim loved that news, was so happy, he mourned the young man so much. He loved him so much. 

Except it wasn’t reciprocate, not quite the contrary to be fair. The first thing Jason did coming back to Gotham was to attempt killing Tim. Multiples times.

Each times ended in a near death experiences for Tim and left him deeply scarred. Tim told it to Bruce and Dick. Told them that Jason was alive, that he saw him in Gotham, but didn’t talked of their fight, by fear to be left out by them.

At one point, after almost one year, Jason stopped his tentative to kill him, telling him he didn't it mattered that much. That was fair.

And shortly after, his friend Kon died, during a fight in space. Then Bart, few months after, snatched by the spacetime and finally Cassie, who disappeared.

Tim was alone again, but not fully, no not yet, not yet ! He still has the bats. Well, not for so long though.

First, Stephanie, the second batgirl, his ex-girlfriend and best friend died during a mission.

And it’s will Tim was still mourning his former team and bestfriends that Damian appeared at the Manor. He was Bruce biological son. The true heir to the Batman legacy… And to Robin’s mantle. After all, every Robin, except for him, was a son of Bruce, by adoption, but a son nonetheless. But Tim wasn’t one yet, his father and mother just had died before Jason return and the adoption paper where in Bruce’s office, waiting to be signed by both Tim and Bruce. In the end, Tim never had the adoption paper filled, and Bruce never mentioned it again.

He was the odd pieces of the family, he knew it, Damian told him and Jason to. Dick had just begun to warm up to him. Too late as always. Too late.

Then Bruce “died”. To be fair he disappeared. Dick became Batman. Damian was still in training to become part of the vigilante. And Tim hadn’t barely time to proceed his second father figure death before Dick stripped him of his vigilante title. 

He wasn’t Robin anymore, he wasn't a vigilante. Those honor had been gifted to Damian.

Tim felt something broke this day, inside him, deep down, something that was already fractured and finally shattered.

He spent days alone in some flat he rented, laying in the bathroom, not moving, eating or doing anything. Just processing all of his life, this whole failure that he was.

When he finally got it under control, barely, but still, he got up and made a plan to find Bruce. He couldn’t be dead if there was no proof or body. There could be some other explanation. And if he could give back Gotham is hero and the family their Bruce, it would be a great achievement.

But nobody believed him. He was a fool to them, as always been. 

So he took it alone. He worked for Bruce firm all day, and for his father’s company as well. Became another vigilante to protect Gotham, Red Robin, for Jason and for Dick’s example. They mocked him.

And instead of resting between those two things, he built his case, Bruce case, disappearance. He was so alone, so broken, empty, he had not clue of what he was achieving in the end, how, why, nothing. His memory became a blur, things he couldn’t remember and other he doesn’t wanted to. Stuff to be proud and other ashamed. 

He did became “close” to Ra's, did horrible thing during this time that he happily forgot. 

And in the end, it paid off. Tim couldn’t remember what he traded exactly to Ra's but the immortal found a way to get Bruce out of time and back to their dimension.

And when finally Tim came back to the manor, exhausted, barely his own shadow, but proud of having saved Bruce, he didn’t earned any smile or acknowledgement. They knew he find a way to get Bruce back, but it was easier to ignore Tim. 

Things didn’t fell back as before Bruce disappearance as Tim hopped, new dynamics had been created, new dynamics and partnership in which Tim wasn’t needed.

But he stayed, he tried to fit in, to be useful. 

Even if Bruce ignored him.

Even if Dick had abandoned him.

Even if Jason was disgusted by him.

Even If Stephanie reappeared and had faked her death in his back.

Even if Damian hated him.

Even if all his friends were dead.

Even if he wasn’t enough.

Even if he never did fitted in this family.

Tim got reckless. He didn’t slept. Over worked himself at the office, and during his patrol. He stopped to feed himself properly. To tend his wounds correctly. He was decaying. He could pull lightly at his hair and his hand would come back with locks of it. He kept training his body even if he passed out everytime. If he ate more than 400g of food, he threw up. He was dying. And it wasn’t pretty.

Than there was the final day, the famous day when the last strip would romp. It happened as he had imagined it, almost ironically.

First, Bruce confronted him. About his reckless behavior. About his current state. About how Tim wasn’t good enough for the mission, to protect Gotham and should stop. He wasn’t welcome in the Cave anymore.

Then he stumbled on Stephanie who was avoiding him. And given this opportunity, she dumped all her hard truth on him : he never had been her friend, she never trusted him, that’s why she faked her death and didn’t told him… He didn’t deserve it, wasn’t worth the true.

And while Tim was currently crumbling on himself, the new Wayne, Damian found it funny to provoke him, belittle him. To remember him he was a failure, to weak, to thin, it was better if he just stopped to work, has a vigilante and for their incorporation because he wasn’t doing any good. He wasn’t enough.

So Tim just left, tried to not react because he didn’t knew how to. He was empty, that was it, there just wasn't any Tim left. His body was decaying and himself seemed to be no more. 

But he wanted to end it well, to make it pretty. After all, that had been the whole point of his life isn’t it ? He visited his parents grave and left there flowers. Did same for the monuments dedicated to his friends. Then made sure flowers will be delivered for each one on there birthday. Same for the living who mattered. Then, he tied up all his belongings. And tried to call Dick one last time.

He tried to talk to him. To tell him to not worry anymore he won’t bother them anymore. It would end soon, soon. But instead, Dick cut him off immediately and told him he hadn’t time - for Tim. So it would be it.

He got home and put his costume on. It was a last time to. After this patrol, he would burn all of his vigilante stuff, take his new fake identity and disappear somewhere in India, or maybe in Russia, he wasn’t sure yet. What he was sure, it’s that nobody would look out for him. They would assume him dead. Nobody had time for Tim. And he could finally decay in peace.

Except he saw Jason during his last patrol. Jason who turned out to known some memory Tim had forgotten. Disgusting stuff Tim had done to find Bruce. How dirty Tim got his hands for the sake of the family. How repugnant it made him, even more than before. Jason never had many tenderness for him. But him looking at Tim pitifully was the final straw.

Tim just fly away, ignoring Jason call. Ignoring everyone’s voices buzzing in his ear, sounding like if they were calling him - as if. He just threw his comm in a street. Then his GPS somewhere else. Then he got on top of his old-house, the Drake’s house, stripped of his uniform that he put in the big barril of acid he had lay out. Put on his new civilian clothes, with his bag containing his new identity and … 

And finally felt some tears run down his cheek, realising it was it, his life, Tim Drake’s life was officially a waste of time, of space. An error, an echec… 

Then why run away ? It was done. It could had been a pretty end, but Jason was going to tell his secrets to everybody and it would be a repugnant final. And what if he ended up messing his new life, just as this one.

Tim didn’t wanted to waste anyone's time or space anymore. His body was dying. His mind was broken. That was it.

He did heard someone calling his name, but he was already falling, halfly because his body couldn’t support him anymore, halfly because his mind choose too. He fall from the highest point of his house into the bay.

The surface of the water broke just like his heart did over and over again.

That was an end.