#the tragedy of cassandra cain

[superbat-lmao]

A “buddy” vigilante story where Jason and Tim go back in time during Dick’s time as Robin, when the Worlds Greatest Detective was still young.

Basically, they significantly change the past and in the most annoying way possible. Tim knows that no one will know it was them and has been pretty morally flexible about the whole thing. They go down the list of rogues, down the list of siblings, bickering about it the whole time.

Jason kills the Joker, Tim rescues Cass, and both of them try and get one over on the other about their past selves.

Because Tim tries to talk baby Jason into stealing the Bat’s tires early while Jason’s out murdering Zucco, and Jason’s out snatching Tiny Tim and his camera from rooftops trying to leave him gift wrapped in the batcave while Tim’s out stealing info from Luthor.

It’s one giant clusterfuck but they’re successful because Tim and Jason combined are absolutely lethal and no one ever saw them coming.

Meanwhile, they keep running into Robin and absolutely losing it over seeing their oldest brother so young and angry.

Dick tries to track them down after they killed Zucco, he wants to ask why. What the hell they could possibly be doing or why that would matter to them.

Tim pushes Jason off a roof.Jason lights Tim’s ancient computer on fire. Tim tears a book in half. Jason takes pictures of Tiny Tim and sets them as his wallpaper. It’s a comedy, your honor.

And probably the worst headache Batman will ever get.

[magnusraydar]

Batfam exploring the multiverse with one startling realization.

Tim is either a super villain, criminally insane, dead, or straight up a husk of a person. They wonder if they got lucky that Tim is actually on their side or hasn't completely broke, like gun Batman.

Damian either leads the league, becomes Batman or leaves, and actually lives a peaceful life with no in-between.

Dick is either a Talon or some form of celebrity (Nightwing or other). He's a bit more unhinged, which who thought that's possible.

Jason actually lives and becomes a priest, or he's been doomed to die no matter the circumstances. He either stays dead or comes back crawling.

Cass becomes the weapon her father wanted, or she dies early in training. Never to escape.

Steph becomes just like her father wanted. His sidekick. In some universes, she escapes her father and lives a boring life, filled with unfulfillment.

Bruce either dies in that Alley, or he becomes a more violent version of Batman, a cruel, uncaring Batman. A Batman who acts like the Joker, a Batman who acts like a fascist dictator or a permanent violence that stuck after Jason's death.

Duke never witnesses his parents fall into insanity. He never joins the family. Sometimes, his meta abilities just don't appear, sometimes they're so powerful he gets recruited. But most times, he's a normal boy living a normal life, no Robin gang, no suffering, just a normal boy.

Barbara stays Batgirl, or she becomes a detective, or she's just your average civilian. However, it was common to see her still in that wheelchair. A cruel joke, even the universe, seems to play.

The multiverse is cruel, and it seems the fates they have already are more cruel and twisted in other universes than the one they're in now.

Perhaps... this universe was the one that turned out best.

[crimsonwolf715]

Death Will Do Us Part

(POV Bruce) 

Family dinner is chaotic as ever. Bruce smiles as his family eats and argues about whether or not to bet on the next villain to get out of Arkham. Of course, he doesn’t agree with the idea of placing bets on that, but it isn’t hurting anybody. Unless they break somebody out to win the bet, but that isn’t likely. The house shakes and everyone practically jumps to their feet. They can see vines through the roads outside, so everyone heads down to the Batcave. Bruce goes over to the computer and puts a call through to Commissioner Gordon. 

“What’s the situation, Gordon?” Bruce asks. 

“Everyone’s out of Arkham. We’re completely overpowered,” Gordon answers. 

“We’re on our way.” 

“Thanks.” 

His kids are collecting their gear and getting ready. 

“Did all of you hear that?” Bruce asks. 

“Yep, everybody’s out of Arkham,” Jason answers. “Pretty sure we jinxed it.” 

“Do we believe in that?” Cass asks. 

“I don’t believe in that,” Damian replies. 

“I don’t either,” Tim says. 

“I doubt we did,” Dick says. “But let’s just deal with this quickly. I have something to attend to later.” 

“Like a date?” Jason asks. 

“Like none of your business.” 

“It’s definitely a date,” Tim says. 

“Focus,” Bruce demands. 

“Don’t worry, we’re still getting ready as fast as we can. Speaking of which, I’m heading out,” Jason says. 

They all head out and start taking on the inmates of Arkham. Bruce gets a steady stream of updates over comms that his kids are dealing with inmates and he updates him when he takes them out as well. 

“Ivy’s causing too many problems. I have the building she’s in,” Barbara says. 

“Nice of you to join us, Oracle,” Dick’s replies. 

“Shut up. My setup got destroyed so I had to get to the Batcave to assist.” 

She gives the location. Bruce looks at his location. 

“I’m close.” 

“I’m close too, so I’ll come assist,” Jason says. 

The two make it to the building and it’s definitely a floral place. Jason and Bruce have to cut through greenery to get into the building at all. Poison Ivy gives them a hard time, but nothing the two of them can’t manage together. 

(POV Jason) 

“We should get out of here, this building’s unstable,” Bruce says. 

Jason nods, so the two head towards the roof with Ivy. 

“If I can’t win, you two won’t make it out of here alive,” Ivy says. 

Vines sprout up and start exploding, rocking the whole building. The floor cracks and Bruce shoves Jason to the part of the floor that isn’t cracked. 

“Dad!” 

Jason watches as the floor crumbles away under Bruce’s feet. He lunges to grab Bruce’s hand and barely misses the mark. Bruce tries to catch himself on one of the other floors, but fails. He falls onto a large piece of a floor, which impales him. 

“Dad!” Jason cries out. 

“What’s going on?” Barbara asks. “Why are Bruce’s suit’s stats bottoming out?” 

Jason pulls his helmet off and throws it. 

“Jason?” 

“I’m fine,” Jason says through gritted teeth. “But Batman isn’t. Delete the feed from my helmet without looking at it.” 

“What?” Barbara asks. 

“Delete the damn feed from my helmet without looking at it,” Jason demands. “Barbara, do it.” 

“Okay, okay. I’m sending medics to your location.” 

A pause and Jason can almost hear his father stop breathing. 

“Jason.” 

“I know. Let the others know and I’ll get him to a safe location.” 

He turns his comm off and grips the floor. He spots Ivy, who got thrown away from the two during the explosions, but seems fine. He gets up and she looks terrified. She starts trying to get away and he shoots her hands and feet. She cries out and starts cursing Jason. 

“I should kill you for still breathing,” Jason growls. “But I’m better than that now. You are gonna pay for killing him, but you deserve to live and suffer for it.” 

Jason drags her out of the building by her hair and officers are heading towards the location. 

“Red Hood?” 

Jason throws her over to the officers. “You might wanna cuff her.” 

He turns and heads back into the building. He walks over to Bruce’s limp body and he feels an overwhelming amount of anger. He stuffs it down and as gently as he can gets Bruce out of the building. After getting him into the Batmobile, he turns his comm back on. 

“He’s in the Batmobile. Send him home, Oracle.” 

The Batmobile closes and speeds off. Jason heads back to continue taking out inmates, turning his comm off so he doesn’t have to hear everyone’s reaction. 

{POV Cass} 

Cass is searching for villains when she comes across several people tied to a lamppost by their feet. She throws a batarang to cut the rope on the first person and catches them. When she does, she sees that the person’s eyes are wide and they aren’t breathing. Cass checks their pulse and realizes that they’re gone. 

Smoke starts spilling out all around her, so she tries to find the source. A metal orb with straw on it. Cass goes to grab something from her utility belt when someone takes her legs out from underneath her. Batman’s towering over her, completely decayed. She backs away and Batman crumbles to pieces. She pulls a mask on, searching for more threats in the suddenly dark world. Gotham’s been replaced by a metal room. 

“The darkness is where you belong. Killing people for someone who will never appreciate your efforts. They’ll only expect more out of you.” That voice belongs to her father. 

 Her father comes forward and she stumbles back. She starts searching her belt but can’t find any of the things she usually keeps in there. She closes her eyes and tries to focus, blood rushing in her ears. Her father’s getting closer, sword raised for a fatal strike. She jabs herself with what she hopes is the fear toxin cure and kicks her father away. 

Slowly, the world returns to what it should be. A grimy Gotham street with Scarecrow not far from her, getting up. Cass attacks Scarecrow, who tries to run. After a mostly one sided fight, Cass takes out Scarecrow. She ties him up and heads towards a police checkpoint to drop him off, still feeling the aftereffects of the fear toxin. 

{POV Damian} 

“Please help us!” An officer shouts when Damian drops down. 

“What is it you require assistance with?” Damian asks. “There’s nothing going on here.” 

“Goons are running loose in this area and Killer Croc keeps popping up and taking officers out,” the officer answers. 

“Does he?” 

Damian unsheathes his sword. He pulls up the manhole cover and stands by it. Once the goons come back, Damian starts taking them out with expert ease. He kicks the first goon into the sewer grate and can hear the audible crunch sound of Croc eating the goon. He continues to beat up the goons and then kick them in the sewer until Croc comes barging out of the sewer. 

“There you are,” Damian says. “I was starting to think that you were too much of a bitch to come and get me.” 

Croc charges at Damian and he dodges, slashing at Croc as Croc passes him. 

While the blade is mostly blunt, Damian can still easily kill someone with it. Croc would need more force and a pressure point, but Damian’s goal isn’t to kill him. It’s to incapacitate him. 

Croc goes headfirst into a lamppost and Damian snorts. Croc regains his senses quickly, then rushes Damian again. Damian and Croc go back and forth until Damian picks up the manhole cover and throws it like a frisbee. It hits Croc in the head, knocking him unconscious. After instructing the officers on what to do from there, Damian leaves the area. 

“Croc is accounted for,” Damian says. “I’m heading to the next one.”  

{POV Jason} 

“Am I close to any more villains?” Jason asks. 

“Freeze has been reported about a block from you,” Barbara answers. “You sure you’re good to keep going?” 

“I’m fine, Oracle. Give me the location.” 

She sends it and after looking at it, Jason heads in the direction. He walks into the courthouse Freeze is supposed to be in and it feels like the temperature has dropped at least ten degrees. 

“Well, Freeze is definitely here.” 

He walks into each of the courtrooms and barely manages to dodge a blast from Freeze’s gun. 

“You’ll never defeat me, Bat-Brat!” Freeze shouts. 

Jason pulls out his gun and starts shooting the dome around Freeze’s head. 

“What are you doing?” Freeze demands, ducking behind something. 

“Unless you wanna die here, you’re gonna surrender quietly,” Jason says. “I’m far past the mood to be lenient with you lot.” 

“What happened?” Freeze asks. “Doesn’t Batman normally keep you on a tight leash as his wild-child?” 

Jason pulls out a smoke grenade and throws it over the desk Freeze is hiding behind. Freeze runs out from behind the desk and Jason dropkicks him into a wall. Smoke starts spewing out of the grenade and Freeze looks confused. 

“All my grenades look the same to other people,” Jason offers to cure Freeze’s confusion. “I’m the only one that knows which one is which. So unless you wanna test your luck to see if I’ll blow you to hell, you might wanna surrender.” 

Freeze unclicks a freeze grenade and throws it at the approaching Jason. Jason kicks it away from him and beside a little frost on his shoes, is unaffected. 

“I’ll surrender,” Freeze says, putting his hands up. 

“Good.” 

Jason pulls Freeze up and handcuffs him. 

Even though it hurts to say, Jason says, “Batman doesn’t keep a leash on me.”  

(POV Dick) 

“I think you’re the only one with villains left,” Barbara says. “Everyone else is accounted for.” 

“Well, that’s nice,” Dick replies sarcastically. 

He’s having a hard time pulling his punches with the emotions flooding through his system, but he manages. 

Can’t deal with this right now. Dad’s dead and I’m here dodging being shot by two people that should be in a mental hospital.  

“The others are on their way.” 

“Beautiful. Everyone can watch me have a mental breakdown.” 

Dick’s fighting Penguin and Two-Face, who have decided that it is best to temporarily get over their issues so that they can beat him. They’re not doing very well even though they are technically getting along. Dick’s just doing flips around them, literally. Penguin tries to keep up with him, moving and shooting, but he just ends up falling off the roof. 

Dick throws down a net so Penguin doesn’t die on impact, but then turns his attention back to Two-Face. Two-Face shoots at him until he runs out of bullets. Dick runs forward to strike him down when Two-Face shoots Dick’s leg and his leg goes completely numb. Dick stumbles and falls. 

“Had this little beauty waiting for me to try. I’ve wanted to use it for a while, but never found the right moment. Pays off to go and get gear before engaging, doesn’t it?” Two-Face asks. “Alright, do we deliver the kill shot? Let’s flip the coin.” 

Dick turns towards his leg and starts trying to beat life back into it. 

“Ooo, luck is not on your side, Nightwing. Goodbye.” 

“Grayson!” 

Dick turns in just enough time to see Damian take a shot meant for him. It would have killed Dick instantly. Dick attempts to get up but his leg won’t let him. Damian stumbles into him and Dick wraps an arm around him so he doesn’t go anywhere. He grabs Damian’s sword and throws it. It goes through Two-Face. Dick turns his attention to Damian, who’s attempting to stop the bleeding chest wound. 

“Hey, it’s gonna be okay. Barbara, we need medical attention right now. Damian’s injured.” 

“It’s on the way,” Barbara says. 

“You’re gonna be fine, buddy.”

(POV Tim) 

Tim jumps onto the roof of the building where Damian and Dick’s trackers are and finds a horror scene in front of him. Damian and Dick are covered in blood and Two-Face is dead not far from them. Tears start pouring down Damian’s face as he clings to Dick. While Tim doesn’t want to, he can’t seem to look away. Dick’s crying and trying to soothe Damian. Tim can feel Jason and Cass’ presence beside him, but he can’t look at them. 

“Ssh. It’s gonna be okay, Dami. I swear, everything is okay.” 

A pause in sobs and the silence is broken by Damian quietly asking, “You love me, right?” 

Dick nods. “Of course. I love you. Everyone does. I love you so much.” 

Damian’s sobs resume and persist for a little longer, then stop altogether. 

“No, Dami. No, not you too. Dami, stay with me please.” 

Jason walks over to Tim, who’s frozen in place. Jason pulls him into a hug that Tim doesn't even attempt to fight. 

“He can’t be gone…” Tim mutters. “They both can’t be…” 

“I’m sorry,” Jason says. “I’m really sorry.” 

Jason goes to move Tim to arm’s length and Tim clings to him. Jason rubs Tim’s back as Dick’s cries for Damian ring in his ears. After a while, Jason finally convinces Tim that they need to go. That the crisis is over for them and that they need to get home. 

Tim watches Jason walk over and puts a hand on Dick’s shoulder. 

“No, no. You can’t take him.” 

“I’m not gonna take him, but we need to go.” 

Cass takes Tim’s hand and the two of them hold hands, silently supporting each other. 

“Where’s Dad?” 

“On his way to the Batcave. I’m really sorry, Dickie.” 

Dick stands up slowly, holding Damian’s body like a baby. 

“It’s not your fault, Jay. It’s Ivy’s. We should…” He chokes up and looks away from Damian. “We need to get back to the Batcave. Make sure that Tim and Cass get there, okay?” 

Jason nods. After stomping some machine by Two-Face to pieces, Dick takes off with Damian. Jason turns towards Tim and Cass, the three of them coming to a silent agreement. They head to the Batcave and are met by Barbara and Alfred. 

“Dick here yet?” Tim asks. 

Barbara shakes her head. Cass, Tim, and Jason all hug Alfred, who looks like he might break down. Dick comes in and bypasses all of them to put Damian on the table beside Bruce. He sits between Damian and Bruce. 

“Come on. You all need to get cleaned up and taken care of,” Alfred says. 

So they head upstairs. Dick and Alfred join them not long after. 

(POV Dick) 

Dick planned the funeral, refusing to let anyone assist him. Whether it was so nobody else had to deal with the event or him, no one knew. The event was only for family and close friends. Many of the Justice League members showed up to show support. Dick stayed in the back during the event and after giving his speech, didn’t say anything to anyone. 

Since then, he’s locked himself in his room in the manor. Just about everyone’s tried to come in and talk, but he ends up running them all off. Tim knocks on the open door and Dick barely glances at him before returning his attention to his hands which are planted in his lap. 

“Did you come in here to talk me into feeling better? To tell me to pull myself together? How am I supposed to pull myself together when my father is dead? When my baby brother died in my arms while waiting for medical support that never arrived?” Dick shouts. 

Tim doesn’t flinch or leave the room like the others did. He walks over, sits down, and wraps his arms around his oldest brother. Dick breaks down sobbing and the two end up hugging for a while. Dick breaks away, walking over to his closet. Dick walks over to his closet and digs around until he finds his box of keepsakes. He holds it out and Tim takes it. 

“Feel free to keep it as long as you’d like. You can share it with the other two if you want to.” 

“What is it exactly?” Tim asks. 

“Things I keep here. Pictures, items, writings about memories. I figured that you’d enjoy looking at some of the nicer ones,” Dick answers. “I won’t be able to even think too hard about them for a while, so you guys might as well.” 

“Okay, I’ll share it with the others.” 

Dick ruffles Tim’s hair. “Thanks, buddy.” 

“Do you need space?” 

“Yeah, a little. I’ll be down in a minute.” 

Dick watches Tim leave the room and he collapses on his bed. 

How am I supposed to live with the guilt that it should have me? That Damian’s supposed to be alive right now?

[pocketmolly]

If you don't like Genshin PLEASE scroll. Guys I'm sorry if this is cringe but the bats and their visions stories.

Case #0: Batman

Batman has no vision.

Case #1: Nightwing

Dick Grayson obtained his vision at age ten, two years after Batman took him in. His intense feelings drove him to go behind his mentor's back, tracking down his parents' killer and hatching a plan to eliminate him.

As he stood over the cowering man, gun in hand as Zucco begged for his pathetic life, his finger tensed and relaxed over the trigger of the gun. A purple glow shone. Till now, he does not know if it was an appeasement or an order from the gods.

A few moments later, Batman arrived to find his ward with a gun and vision in his hand. Despite this, Tony Zucco was still breathing.

Case #2: Red Hood

Jason Todd was captured and tortured in a warehouse in Qurac by Joker. After sustaining severe injuries, he was tied up and left with a ticking time bomb beside him.

Perhaps, as the bomb ticked to its final second, Jason had thought that Batman had forsaken him. That he had lost his father. However, even the bright cyan energy that suddenly emitted could not save him from his fiery fate.

Jason Todd was buried with a grey anemo vision.

Case #3: Batgirl

Cassandra has no vision. Perhaps she might have had one before, David Cain was never a big fan of magic given by the gods.

Case #4: Red Robin

Tim Drake had been training under Batman to take the mantle of Robin. It was a late night, Batman was out on patrol and Tim was burying himself in case files. Unfortunately, he had fallen asleep in the mess.

When Batman returned, he was greeted by a green glow and it was then that he knew Tim was destined to be the world's greatest detective.

Case #5: Spoiler

Stephanie Brown was young when she acquired her vision. She had walked into one of her father's nefarious crimes. Of course she was afraid, it was only natural.

But as she sat in her bedroom in the quiet of the night, she swore to spoil her father's plans. The next day, she found a glowing purple jewel under her bed along with a purple hood.

Case #6: Robin

Damian Wayne was stubborn, naive and... forgiving. In the end, it was his love for his mother that ended his life. Not many understood but Batman did.

That was why he was so enraged when he found Damian's letter, it was lit by a cold blue light. The cryo vision was dim but not grey, almost mocking him with his son's death.

Rage bubbled inside as Batman took his frustrations out, it was only overtaken by guilt at the sight of fractures in the precious ornament. The light flickered before extinguishing.

Little guide for non-genshins

Visions are little charms given to people to grant them the ability to control their element in times of need

Purple is electro (electricity) and is given to those seen as different or abnormal.

Cyan is anemo (air) and is given to those who have lost someone close to them or on a journey for freedom

Green is dendro (grass) and is given to those in the pursuit of knowledge

Blue is cryo (ice) and is given to those who feel unloved or abandoned

[starrycomics]

Batgirl (2000) #9

“I can be… Mediocre for a lifetime. Or perfect for a year.”

WHY ARE ALL THE BATKIDS SUCH A GODDAMN TRAGEDY

[rock-in-robins]

In my mind painting Jason as the ‘angry robin’ takes away from the absolute tragedy of his story. Because here was this kid who had every reason to be angry at the world, instead he was actively making moves to be a happier and better person. A boy who had a bad life trying to help others so they don’t have to suffer as he did. He wasn’t like Bruce who was fighting as another way to fight his grief, or Dick who wanted to avenge his parents, or Damian who was raised to become this, or Steph who put on a mask to stop her father, or even Tim who fought to save the Batman from crossing his own line. No Jason became Robin to help his people, the ones nobody else saw or understood, and he was happy to do it. So don’t take away from the tragedy of a 15 year old happy kid dying because he wanted to help the woman who gave birth to him.

[astrobbie]

i think about batgirls 2000 stephcass constantly they are so everything to me. more than friends but not lovers. a quiet intimacy in the things they do and the words they say. a storm trapped in a glass box, on the verge of cracking yet still contained. cass as ‘your death forever haunts me, you are gone and yet i can only find comfort in the image of you. come back and free me from this torment, i cannot take it, it is too big for me to carry.’ steph as ‘i want to both be you and be nothing like you. you understand me more than anyone, and therefore you can hurt me more than anyone. i’ve kept secrets and i’ve told lies, and you knew i did, but you stayed anyway.’

[blackbatcass]

can you believe dc finally gave me a story where dick, steph and cass get to hang out. and it was a fucking. backup in a tom taylor issue

[weirdo-from-bonesborough]

Steph🤝Cass🤝Babs

Complex women aged down and simplified to fit the youthful Batgirl brand

[teleportationmagic]

Something I kind of want to write is an injustice universe Barbara au, where she is the unseen and unknown ruler of Gotham ~from the shadowwwws~.

Ft

Cass as her right hand, by day the heiress of the Wayne family fortune and by night a shadow around Gotham

Steph as her left hand and also the mayor of Gotham city

Dead Bruce and Dick and Gordon

Damian who swings into the city from time to time as a Superman liaison

Tim who had at some point just flat out left, and is trying to make some headway in the city from the outside but there also the matter of the fascist Superman to try to struggle against

He is in many ways the last remnant of the Bats outside Gotham, and takes up a lot of the roles of Injustice!Batman

Duke who is trying to figure out vigilantism and rebellion in a place where there are no secrets

WAR is also definitely involved as a decentralized network of people trying to pull at the threads and have some real freedom

Enter: Bruce/Dick/Babs? and maybe Tim? or Damian? or Steph/Cass? two or three out of that list - but from a kinder version of the timeline, all trying to follow the threads to figure out who is the leader of Gotham city, while Barbara is playing a cat and mouse game to keep the suspicion off of her.

It opens with Dick and Bruce go to the library, trying to figure out what the hell is going on, and Barbara reaching out to help.

[superbat-lmao]

Jason Todd Fic (De-aged?)

(INCOMPLETE/UNFINISHED)

Of all the kinds of magic, Jason Todd hates death magic the most.

So when the call comes through about Grave Affair, he tells Oracle where she can shove it.

“Hood, if there was anyone else available I’d have called them. Believe me, you’re beyond my last choice for this.”

And he’s standing on a rooftop, firing rubber bullets at a guy wielding a magic scythe. He’s ranting about final words, last confessions, things Jason never had.

He’s trying not to think of dirt and starched sleeves and silk linings.

When he’s finally close enough, Jason disarms the guy, but not without the blade touching him.

There’s a thud behind him but he’s already got the wannabe reaper in cuffs by the time he turns around.

And is met with his 15 year old self, wearing an outfit he knows. An outfit that never made it back to his closet.

The boy’s in shock, momentarily disoriented and Jason’s lucky the kid isn’t running, but Oracle is in his ear, awaiting confirmation of something Jason doesn’t think he can say out loud.

He takes off the helmet, holsters his guns, and crouches as low as he can. The kid is squinting at him but he isn’t running.

“You’ve been displaced in time.” He jerks a thumb at the knock off grave digger behind him. “The scythe cut me and brought you here. I’m you, but older.”

The kid squints harder, if that’s possible. Jason uses a couple of the old bat-signs, and doesn’t remove his domino.

“Prove it.”

God, every time he’d tried to seem intimidating, that’s how he’d sounded?

Jason tilts his head and thinks a moment. His old scars are gone, it can’t be anything Jason would willingly volunteer, but even now he doesn’t want to say those things out loud.

“We never told Bruce about Catherine’s last dealer.” The kid stopped squinting. “Or, or about. Well, we never told anyone about Tommy.” The kid flinched. It was a name neither of them had spoken since he died.

“Are we going back to the manor?” Jason shrugged at him. He didn’t want to, but this wasn’t about what he wanted anymore. He wanted to take the kid back to his safe house and burn those clothes. He wanted to cut out his eyes so he wouldn’t have to look at him. He wanted to be anywhere but here.

“Depends. Let me call in the calvary to come pick this guy up and you can decide. It’s the manor, or my safe house.”

He put the helmet on to be met with silence, either Babs was finally at a loss for words or had muted his channel. He sent his location and the pick-up signal. There was no confirmation and Jason decided he had hit his limit on dealing with bats before physically disconnecting himself from the comms network.

“If I pick the manor, how upset will they be?”

And wasn’t that just a crowbar to the gut?

“Not in the way you’re thinking, but a lot. I’ll be honest, it’s going to be worse than when [insert]. I know what you think they’re upset about and for them, it was years ago. But you going back will be like a bomb going off for them. I’ll take you, but you’ve gotta know it’ll probably overwhelm you.”

“And the safe house?”

“I’ll take the couch. And make you wear a different set of clothes because just looking at you hurts. But um, you can ask questions or don’t. Eat, read, ignore me. It’ll be a breather until the manor, or until the spell ends and you go back.”

“Go back?”

Jason wanted to throw up.

“To Ethiopia.”

——

True to his word, Jason burned those clothes the second they were in his safe house.

The kid, because he wasn’t willing to think of him as himself, had locked himself in Jason’s bedroom with a couple paperback copies of things he said he hadn’t read yet. Jason was making a sort of pasta bake in the oven and cleaning his guns on the coffee table.

His gear, except for the helmet, was stashed away properly, but he hadn’t turned the comms back on. He was sure that Oracle had been alerting all of the bats to the presence of his 15 year old self and watching live feeds of the interrogation to see what spell was cast, or how the scythe worked, but Jason was trying to avoid thinking about it.

Because if it was him, if he was 15 instead of 23 and in an apartment with an adult man claiming to be himself but built like Bruce, he’d fucking lock himself in and refuse to come out. Sure, he wouldn’t want to see the bats, all the people he remembers letting down by running away and at the peak of their fighting where Jason had believed none of them actually cared about him, but that doesn’t mean he’d really want to be alone with the veritable stranger of himself either.

He has his phone shut off, his comms are physically disabled, and this particular safe house is one he hasn’t had the chance to use yet since it’s a sort of last resort. It’s kept in a spot with few to no cameras and hasn’t been around long. Jason makes a point of keeping one safe house as a last resort, so that if he really does fuck up beyond what the bats can tolerate, there will be one place they can’t immediately find him.

He’ll have to burn this one soon, but it gives them a couple hours, if not about two days.

He’s trying not to remember the fight, the hasty decision to leave, being told there wasn’t enough room in the helicopter. God, he doesn’t even know at what point the kid was taken from, but Ethiopia hadn’t surprised him. He must not have made it into the warehouse yet.

When the oven goes off, Jason is trying hard not to picture cigarette smoke and eyes in the dark.

He makes two plates, sets one on the counter and the other on the coffee table, and goes to knock on the door to the bedroom.

When the younger Jason emerges, he looks wary, but not frightened. There’s also a calculating look in his eye that Jason knows others assume he got from Bruce, but was present while he was on the streets.

“Do you mind if I eat out here?”

“Knock yourself out.”

They’re almost finished eating when the boy finally speaks up.

“I’ve got questions for you.”

“Sure, but I have one for you too. Only one, so you pick what you wanna do first. Ask or answer.”

“Ask.”

“Go ahead.”

“The guy that brought me here, what does the magic entail?”

“I’m not a hundred percent sure. He was doing his little speech while we were fighting, something about meeting yourself and seeking absolution I think. It sounded like a chance to ask yourself questions or have a conversation with a different version of yourself but I don’t exactly know why. I also don’t know how long it lasts. I got the call about him pretty late and walked in without a full picture. One of the other bats is probably looking more into it right now and we’ll get an update at some point.”

“Other bats?”

Jason doesn’t envy Talia for having to explain to him Bruce’s knack for acquiring orphans.

“Remember when Bruce first took us in and we couldn’t understand what he wanted from us? Well, it’s morphed into a bit of a habit of picking up orphans. It isn’t just Dick, Alfred and us anymore. There’s a couple others and all the explanations are kinda long, so I’ll wait till the end to really get into that if it’s alright. In terms of how many are important for you to keep track of and you might come across at the manor, at least six, excluding the three you know.”

“Why aren’t you living at the manor? Why do you have a safe house?”

“A couple years from how old you are now, Bruce and I have a fight. We’re still kind of working on it, but it’s easier for me to have my own place than have to deal with all the riff raff. The manor isn’t as quiet as it used to be, and it’s too many variables.”

God, he’s really trying to be vague here instead of having to tell the kid he’s right and his Dad doesn’t love him. That his Dad doesn’t save him and that he’ll try to kill him. Jason doesn’t know if he can look his younger self in the eye and tell him everything he’s done. But he remembers being overwhelmed by too many people, too many emotions to try and navigate in conversations. It’s still something he struggles with, not that he’s told anyone about it.

“What was the fight about?”

“Since we don’t know how much of this you’ll remember when you get sent back, I don’t really want to get into specifics, in case we create some sort of paradox. Once we know for sure I’ll give you more details but basically, appropriate levels of consequence alongside a heavy dose of blame for shit Bruce fucked up.”

“What about Dick and Alfred?”

“What about them?”

“What do they think? Do they agree with you or Bruce?”

“They’re a little more complicated. Alfred loves us, has made sure we know it, but abstains from voicing his true opinions on it. I think he disagrees with us, but doesn’t want to push. Dick is vocal about disagreeing with us, but doesn’t think Bruce is completely in the clear either. He’s harder to predict in conversation and his goals are less obvious than Alfred’s.”

“What’s your question for me?”

“What’s the last thing you remember before coming here?”

“Bruce getting in a helicopter and telling me to stay put.”

“Alright.”

“That’s it?”

“All the useful information will come from this time, not yours. I just wanted to make sure I knew what part of the day you’d already been through.”

His younger self appears to think this over.

It’s almost a relief talking to him. Jason’s goals have always been pretty straight forward. Stay fed, stay warm, protect himself against adults, and stay alert. There are no mind games, or unspoken rules, or demands, or debts for his actions. As an adult, there is nothing he would want from a kid and as a kid, he’s found probably the only adult he’ll believe doesn’t want anything from him.

“Can you tell me about the other bats?”

“Sure, but I’m starting on dishes and you’re filling tupperware while I’m talking.”

So Jason explains Tim and Damian and Cass and Steph and Duke and Babs. He’s careful to avoid his own history and how he met them, only really stating how they each got taken in. How they met Bruce. His younger self doesn’t seem to mind the vague information, it’s been a long day and Jason doesn’t have much to hide from him except the obvious, his death and resurrection. So by the time the kitchen is clean, there’s little left to say except a brief rundown of what’s stocked where, what parts of the apartment have traps set, and what weapons are allowed to be kept in the bedroom.

He tells the kid he’ll be doing a short patrol tonight. They have a code for “all clear” that predates the bats, so they’ll stick to it. And he gives the kid a burner in case his training isn’t enough. He shows him how to contact himself, and if it’s really bad, the emergency beacon.

Nightwing is the one who finds him, but he isn’t stupid enough to recognize the others are likely on hand but just out of reach so that when he runs, they minimize his head start.

“Oracle says you shut off your phone, comms, tracker, and is locating your safe house as we speak.”

“And you’re telling me because?”

“Because we need to bring him to the cave. Because he won’t cooperate with any of us. Because we don’t want either of you to be alone and you damn well scared the hell out of all of us by disappearing like that.”

“You guys figure out the scythe and how long before he’s sent back?”

“Lantern figured it out. About 7 more days, from what we can tell.”

“How long until B’s planet side again?”

“About 3 days.”

There’s math somewhere in that sentence that Jason can’t calculate. A problem he doesn’t have the answer for. He refuses to acknowledge what’s about to happen, because if he does, he’ll step off the roof without his grapple.

“Tell the calvary to stop hiding and meet us here. I need everyone to agree to ground rules.”

Cass is the most proficient at B’s trick of appearing from the shadows, but the rest of the bats are a fair hand at it too. And suddenly, everyone who had been out of town slightly over a day ago, was congregated on a single roof. If Jason couldn’t solve the problem of seven days and Bruce Wayne, he’s not sure he really has a chance with so many more variables thrown in. Especially with the least predictable ones.

“We will meet you all at the cave tomorrow, in the morning. You are not crowding my safe house.”

There is some shuffling, but no objections.

“I have told him all of your names. He does not know more than how each of you loosely came to meet B. He does not know my vigilante name, the new kids vigilante names, except Oracle, or how I met any of you. Or when.”

The shuffling has stopped. It’s just the dark, silence, Jason, and everyone he’s spent what amounts to his current life avoiding.

“He is 15 and for him, Batman just got on a helicopter in Ethiopia.”

If there’s silence now, Jason can’t hear it over the rushing in his ears.

“For as long as he is in this timeline, I will remain close enough to get him out of any situation you put him in.”

He’s focusing on a spot in the middle distance. Jason is afraid he might black out.

“He will know that we are lying to him soon, although I can’t guess how quick he’ll catch on. When he asks about it, about our - death.”

It takes almost a full minute for Jason to keep speaking.

“You will direct him to me.”

Jason sweeps his unfocused eyes over a mismatched group of vigilantes in the dark. They are rigid and unflinching. Jason wants more than anything in the world to be somewhere, anywhere else.

“You will not leave him and B alone in the same room together.”

This time, his eyes are focused and he meets each of their gazes.

He looks to Cass last, and at her nod, Jason steps off the roof and swings away.

——

Jason gives himself ground rules the next morning.

“You can ask questions. You might not always get an answer.”

“If someone will not give you an answer, come find me.”

“If you want out, of anything, you press the button I gave you.”

“I will remain in the same building as you at all times. If you need space from me, say so. If you want me in the next room, signal. I will stay as close or as far as you prefer.”

“There are things that the others will know that you have not shared. I cannot undo that, and I am sorry. However, both things that I told you as proof of myself are, to my knowledge, things they remain unaware of.”

“I will respect whatever decision you make in what you choose to share with them.”

“I will not, under any circumstances, allow you and B to be alone in the same room.”

The final rule gets him a raised eyebrow, one that he stares unflinchingly at.

“Why not?”

“I do not trust his emotional regulation when it comes to you. He is still safe, still Bruce or Batman or B. But he has made far too many mistakes for me to allow him to make decisions regarding you. I believe him to be, emotionally compromised.”

There is still skepticism in his own face. The face of a child that will never become an adult. Not the way he should have.

“And you won’t tell me why?”

“Not until we know for sure about eh paradox thing. And we both know there are some things neither of us are ever gonna want to talk about - for me, this is one of them. So, for now, no.”

The kid seems to accept this and they pack a small bag of Jason’s gear and books. They’re on his motorcycle in less than half an hour and are pulling up to the cave entrance in less than two hours.

There is no welcome party. Just the cave, and Alfred.

There is no glass case.

When Jason cuts the engine on the bike, he feels pins and needles down his spine.

He takes his gear out of his bag and moves towards the lockers to store it. He can’t watch this. Can’t watch his younger self approach Alfred. He tries not to hear what they say to each other. He fails.

Jason doesn’t have to imagine what he would have said to Alfred when he was 15, if he had gotten home. The conversation is eerily similar to his own nightmares.

“Hey Alfie.”

“Master Jason, it has been a long time since I have seen you, although I suspect the reverse is not quite true for you.”

He hears a huffed laugh behind him and squeezes his eyes shut.

“I’m sorry I ran away.”

Jason knows he must have steeled himself to the words, to say them now or risk not saying them at all.

“Master Ja-“

“And I know that I shouldn’t have done it. And that he, I said that it’s been years since you’ve probably thought about it, since I ran away, so maybe you’ve already gotten the apology but for me it was yesterday. And I don’t know how I’m going to go home and tell you that I’m sorry, and I know I will never get to skip chores for the rest of my life but Alfie I just need to know that you don’t hate me too.”

Jason remembers being 15 and thinking that Bruce didn’t trust him anymore, thinking that he killed a man, and that Dick was never really his older brother and that he just wanted a parent. Someone normal who could love him normally without it being twisted up into expectations and disappointment. He remembers the polite distance that he thought Alfred was using every time he called him Master Jason, and how it had felt like a barrier to one of the only adults he was almost convinced loved him. How he all but threw it back in the man’s face by running away to another continent to chase down a woman who sold him out.

Jason doesn’t know what Alfred’s face looks like. Doesn’t want to know.

Because he knows the tension in his own voice, the way it spells out tears. Knows that his younger self if already crying even if he can’t hear it at this distance. Cannot allow himself to picture what Alfred must look like.

“Oh Jason, my boy.”

And there is a soft sound behind him, a rustle of fabric and a hiccup pressed into a shirt.

He’s sure Alfred has bundled him up and carried him over to one of the cots, or chairs, or even the training mats. He doesn’t turn around. He wasn’t meant to hear this.

Because Alfred is murmuring nonsense into his hair. And holding him while he cries. And Jason forces himself to walk upstairs to the kitchen, to sit at the counter and wait.

He doesn’t know how much time has passed by the time he calls Babs.

“Oracle.”

“Jason, what do you want?”

“I need an alert set up. One that will go straight to my phone the second B is planet side. One that tells me when he is within 100 yards of the manor, even if he comes by Kryptonian.”

There’s a silence on the line. Either the bats were broadcasting to her through an open comm during his little speech the night before, or Dick filled her in. Either way, they both know she knows his last rule.

“Alright.”

“Thank you.”

Jason drifts for a while. At least until he hears footsteps closing the familiar distance between the cave and the kitchen.

Jason gives them both a small nod when the come in, and the younger Jason takes a seat right next to him, without a buffer, but they don’t speak much as Alfred starts his prep work on lunch.

It’s obvious the kid has a question when his shoulders start to tense.

“What’s your question?”

“What room am I staying in?”

Jason glances over to Alfred, and he looks about as calm as to be expected. He’d never expected to see Alfred cry, but he feels a dulled shock at the sight of his reddened eyes.

“You are welcome to your old room, or I can prepare a guest room for you.”

“Why wouldn’t you be using our room?”

“That fight I mentioned? Well, I was - hurt a while after. It was easier for me to stay on the first floor than to take the stairs. I’m not here as often anymore, so I mostly stick to the guest room if I am. You can take our room if you want it.”

There’s a small part of him that wants to pray that Alfred made the room look less like a shrine, or a time capsule, because the kid knows several years have passed for Jason and if he walks into the same room he remembers from earlier “that day” Jason isn’t sure how he’ll face those questions right now.

“I had some time to prepare it this morning, it might be close to what you remember and I took the liberty of stocking it with your old clothes that fit you now.”

“Thanks Alfie.”

After a while, the kid glances at him and Jason supposes he’s got a fair guess as to where he wants to go. He clears his throat.

“We’ll be in the library until lunch. And um, thank you.”

He doesn’t want to read the look on Alfred’s face. He doesn’t want to be in this kitchen. In this building. The look on Alfred’s face is kinder than he deserves.

“Of course, Master Jason. Do enjoy yourselves.”

They aren’t ambushed on the way to the library, but they aren’t alone when they enter.

The kid stiffens beside him and shoots a glance at Jason’s left hand. Counts the taps, and then relaxes.

Jason knows Cass also probably counted the taps, and might be able to figure out what they mean, but they’ve never talked about it.

“Hello, Cass.”

“Hello, Jasons.”

There’s a snort from the kid and Jason is grateful that she staged their meeting like this. Of everyone else in the manor, Cass is the one who hates seeing anyone, including Jason, in pain. She’s the only one aside from Alfred who seems to understand when he needs to leave and lets him.

“Want me to read in here or go put books in your room?”

The kid eyes Cass for a moment, and then Jason.

“You can take the books. But if you want to read too I won’t stop you.”

Jason takes that for what it is, that the kid will be alright for a few minutes, but doesn’t want more than 20 by himself.

Dick is waiting for him outside the door to his old bedroom.

“You didn’t say the rest of us couldn’t see him alone, just Bruce.”

Jason’s mouth is dry. He pushes the door open and is off kilter. It looks like when he was 15. It looks like he never went to high school. It looks just enough like his old room and yet everything that had made it his, was gone.

“It’s up to him. Bruce is the only one I won’t allow to be alone with him. It doesn’t have to be me in the room if the kid doesn’t want, but they won’t be alone.”

“You think he’ll hurt him?”

That startles Jason, badly enough that he laughs. It’s a broken sound, scratches all the edges of his throat and teeth as it leaves his mouth. Dick tenses behind him.

“You don’t want to know what I think.”

“Jason, I don’t know how to fix this.”

Jason sets the books down on his old desk and turns. He doesn’t want this conversation. He doesn’t want to keep talking to these people. He’s sick of the echoes of his old life, the one he can’t return to. He can’t sew himself back into belonging, he doesn’t have enough of the fabric of himself to try.

“You don’t have to try.”

Dick makes a sound like he’s been punched.

“Of course I do -“ Jason cuts him off.

“We weren’t brothers, Dick. You made that clear, not just to me, but to him. I don’t know what you’re trying to do now, but you don’t have to. I’m not asking you to. It’s not your job to try and clean up B’s mistakes. You’re running yourself into the ground trying to play clean up crew for him. Just stop.”

“I’m trying to fix my own mistakes Jason, not his. I shouldn’t have treated you like you weren’t my brother. I want you to be my brother now. But I don’t know how. I don’t know what you want, but I want to try. It’s the only regret I can’t live with.”

Dick looks close to tears. Scratch that, Jason can see them, running silently down his face. His breath just isn’t hitching and he can’t seem to decide if Jason will be more or less upset if he keeps up the eye contact, but he continues to stand outside Jason’s childhood bedroom. Waiting. Asking for permission. Asking to be let in.

“Is this your dry run of the speech you’re gonna give the kid?”

“This is the first time you’ve been in one place long enough for me to get the words out. You’ve bolted long before I had worked up the nerve to say it to you before.”

“You don’t know me.”

“I’d like to.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Then tell me how to prove it to you.”

Jason thinks it over. He thinks about himself, about a kid sitting on a roof and squinting at him, asking for proof. He’d known how to convince his 15 year old self. He’s not sure how to convince himself now. He wishes the dull ache in his chest would go away. That he could stop wanting people, stop remembering the familiarity they used to share, even if it wasn’t always happy.

It never stopped him, even when it should have. He would still run jobs for Willis, or get a fix for Catherine. He still tried to save Shelia. He wasn’t sure if he could survive it again. He didn’t last time.

But the part of him that he couldn’t avoid thinking about anymore, the part of him standing in his favorite room on the planet, just down the hall, felt like it was clawing through his ribcage. The part of him that would always be 15 and desperate to have an older brother, to have a family, someone who could just make the world go away for a minute. Not another fucked up parental figure, but someone else. That part of him was trying to escape himself and curl up inside the person who wouldn’t even cross the threshold of his door without permission.

“Ask me again in two weeks.”

“What?”

“Once the kid is gone, give me a week. If you’re serious.”

“I am. In two weeks, what then?”

Maybe more of his composure had cracked than he was willing to admit. Because the look he was giving Dick made the man crumple.

“I don’t know, but. I’d be willing to try.”

“Can I - please, Jason I won’t. Right now I just. Please come here. Just for a minute, please Jay.”

And maybe in two weeks Jason would be able to let him in, maybe he wouldn’t have to wait outside the door. But he knows the week he’s in for. It’s going to be long, and worse than any torture Jason’s been through so far. He isn’t sure he’ll be able to get through it.

To look a 15 year old in the eyes and send him to his death.

Jason fucking hates death magic.

So he takes a step forward, and another and another until the door is shut behind him. Until Dick has a death grip around his waist and forces Jason’s arms over his shoulders. His face is jammed right into his chest and Jason rests his own against Dick’s shoulder.

“I am so glad you’re alive, little wing.”

Jason allows himself five minutes. To memorize the sensation in a way that he wouldn’t be able to forget. Sometimes, when he would try to think back and picture Catherine, he would wish he had been able to memorize the hugs she gave him more clearly.

When he steps back, Dick’s hands spasm beneath him for a minute before seeming to remember himself and let go. He doesn’t try to wipe at his eyes and the smile he tries to give Jason is shaky. Jason doesn’t know what his face looks like. He’s not surprised when Dick’s hands brush tears from the undersides of his eyes.

He doesn’t think he can say anything else. And Dick seems to understand, because he gently turns them both in the direction of the library and walks with him until Jason’s steps are more sure.

When he turns to go in, Jason knows he’s damming himself. Because the glance he risks behind him, not quite turning back, but not not tuning back, is met with a smile he’s never seen before. One that makes his chest seize painfully because it’s full of something Jason can’t believe is still in him. That hasn’t been drowned out by the relentless wave that Jason has struggled to keep his head above. The one thing he hadn’t parted with even in his final moments.

Hope.

——

From the looks of it, the kid’s conversation with Cass had gone better than his own with Dick. He looks weary, and still a bit on edge, but he hasn’t been crying, nothings broken, no one’s yelling, and Cass has a small smile that is usually reserved for Steph on her face.

Whatever Cass can read in his own posture doesn’t seem to alter her stance, but the kid looks slightly more alarmed when he meets his eyes.

He taps his leg four times and gets a look of utter disbelief, but the subject is dropped before it’s even picked up.

“What’re you reading?”

“The Brothers Karamazov.”

Huh. Jason’s not sure what to say to that. Not without spoiling more than a book.

“Let me know if it’s any good.”

That gets him a laugh. Small, but there. And yeah, he wouldn’t believe he hadn’t read it either.

Cass looks like she’s said all she wanted to, so he sets up shop, cracks open something at random, and settles in. She briefly squeezes his shoulder, and then is gone.

It’s maybe 20 minutes before Jason hears the pages of a book not in his own hands stop turning.

“Are you sure about the four?”

One meant danger. Two meant stay alert. Three meant “safe enough.”

Four meant safe.

They’ve never used four taps for anyone. If Jason had to hazard a guess, the only person that would come close is Alfred, but he’d hadn’t shared the street code with the Bats back then, so it wouldn’t have meant anything to them.

“Yeah, Dickface wanted a quick chat. I’m not sure when he’ll try and drop by to talk to you, but I’d guess before lunch. Once he settles down a bit.”

“Cass said she’s new to learning English, that she doesn’t have much practice speaking yet. Said she reads posture better than words.”

“She gives the old man a run for his money in combat. Of all of us, she’s the best at hand to hand.”

“You didn’t try and school your posture when you came in.”

“Figured out pretty early on it’s not really worth it. And with multiple people in a room, trying to sort out all the contradictions can give her a headache. She’s never used it against us in a way we didn’t deserve, so I don’t hold it against her.”

“What did Dick want?”

“My fight with B is a bit bigger than I really wanted to concern you with. Dick wanted to talk to me before speaking with you so that I don’t complicate what he has to say to you with what he has to say to me.”

“Can we please figure out quicker whether or not there will be some sort of paradox once I’m sent back? Because I’ve been pretty good at rolling with your vague fucking answers, but I’m reaching my limit for bullshit.”

“Noted. After lunch I’ll try and get in touch with Lantern and see what the full deal is.”

“Do you want to be in here when Dick comes to talk to me?”

“Not about me kid. It’s up to you.”

“You didn’t stick around for Alfred.”

Jason doesn’t have anything to say to that. The kid’s right, it was the only break he was willing to give himself.

“You’ve done alright with him and Cass so far. Do you want me in here when Dick drops by?”

“I don’t know.”

It should surprise him more that this version of himself is giving him such direct answers. But then again, after reorienting, he supposes that out of everyone, Jason really had only trusted himself. He knew the lengths he would go to to protect himself, to stay alive. And if the kid knows he uses guns now, then maybe it really has settled in that nothing has changed except the knowledge of how far he’d really be willing to go.

“God, what is it with all of them and talking?”

Jason laughs a little at the frustration. It’s one he shares.

“One and I’ll get you out. Two and I’ll stay but Dick will leave. Three and we’ll both stay. Four and I’ll leave.”

He gets a brief nod, and then they’re both absorbed in their books for at least an hour.

He notices Dick in the doorway a full 15 seconds before the kid does. Neither startles, but he can see the kid roll his eyes from behind his book.

When he seems to catch himself with what he’s doing. He tenses.

Dick looks different from when he was 18. To Jason he’d seemed like an adult, but it’s obvious to him now that he’s a far cry from the adult he is now. He’s steadier, less volatile. Less teenage angst, more adult grief.

“Hey, Dick.”

There’s a small smile on Dick’s face and Jason tries to tell himself to focus on his book. He doesn’t succeed.

“Hey, Jason. I wanted to come and see you before lunch. It’s going to be pretty hectic and you’ll probably meet most of the new kids. But, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you at 15, and from what Jason tells me of the day you came from, I figured we should talk just between us.”

“I - you’re off world right now. Um, I left a note for B and Alfred but yeah. I kinda ran away. And, I don’t know if it’s different now because Jason said B adopted like a million people, but I did try and call you before I realized you were off world. I left a voice mail and. And maybe we’re not really brothers right now. But, I’m still sorry. I don’t know how I said it in the future, or when you got back, but -“

Jason doesn’t know what his own face is doing. But he can’t look at the kid. All he sees is Dick, who had already cried himself out earlier, get a fresh sheen of tears in his eyes.

It would have been kinder for Jason to shoot him.

The younger Jason risks a glance at Dick and then shoots Jason a look with far more panic in it than he feels equipped to handle. Jason taps three times.

Dick sucks in a long breath, trying to recenter himself under the scrutiny.

“It’s alright, little wing, I know I wasn’t a very good brother when you came to the manor. I couldn’t set aside my problems with Bruce and it wasn’t fair to you. I promise you none of that was your fault, or about you at all. You don’t have to apologize.”

There’s a look on younger Jason’s face that he’s trying and failing to school away. Of all the traits of Bruce he’s been told to have, Dick was the only one of them that ever properly managed that blank and unreadable look. Jason has always been too expressive.

It’s longing and a whole lot of distrust.

“B thinks I killed Garzonas, Dick.”

Dick does take a step forward then. Jason seems to realize that the couch he’s sitting on really is big enough for two, because he scoots over just a bit.

“B says a lot of things he regrets, little wing. I know for a fact that you didn’t kill him, that B’s wrong and it wasn’t fair of him to accuse you of that.”

“You know now maybe, but you’re not really my Dick Grayson.”

Dick takes another step forward and Jason stays perfectly still.

“Maybe not right now, but you’re still my little wing, no matter how old you are.” He shoots a wry glance at Jason. “Or how many of you there are.”

“What did you say before? Eighteen year old you?”

It’s an effort for Dick and Jason not to look at each other. To not give it away.

“By the time I got back planet side, things were different. We never really talked about it much, but I ripped B a new one when I learned what he’d said to you. It’s one of the bigger fights we’ve had actually. But I don’t think that’s really what you mean.”

“I should have told you that it wasn’t your fault. That when I was your age I wanted nothing more than to kill the man who took away my parents. That watching him walk around was an injustice I couldn’t stomach. That B had to physically restrain me and I had lectures about it for weeks before he let me anywhere near the case. I was so angry with him, with Zucco, and a part of me is still the kid that wanted him dead. That not every death is always a sad one, even if we’re not responsible for it. And I’m sorry he made you feel like he didn’t trust you because of it. You are my brother and I love you so much and it wasn’t your fault.”

Dick takes his final step towards the small couch and Jason throws himself at his brother. The brother he always wanted and could never seem to have.

“He just fell Dick, I swear I didn’t push him. And I’m glad he’s dead, he killed her and I just, I can’t believe B didn’t believe me. That he doesn’t trust me. I’m sorry I ran away, I’m sorry he fell. He said I’m not his son.”

Dick was wrapped around the younger Jason who had finally given in to the brother he’d always wanted.

Jason wonders if it would have been that easy if Dick hadn’t been in space. If he’d been able to crash at his apartment and talk this out with him before running off to Ethiopia.

But they hadn’t really been on the best terms anyways back then. Even leaving him a voicemail had felt like pushing the boundary of what Jason was allowed to ask for. At 15 he had only learned to mostly accept Alfred, and sometimes B. Dick was more of a distant idea than a real person, a tangible relationship.

When Jason tuned back into the conversation, eyes were being dried and there was a faint look sent his way. But no taps, so they were in the clear.

*I sometimes write drafts of fics in the notes section of my phone but a lot of them never get finished or are incomplete.

I’m not sure I’ll ever come back to/finish this but people are welcome to add/rewrite or do whatever with this.

[nightingale-prompts]

Talents -DC X DP prompt

The public is aware that each of the Wayne children are creatively gifted. It was almost expected. Richard Grayson was the acrobatic of course and no one was surprised but highly praised. So many parents began putting their children in gymnastics after seeing Dick's performances.

Jason Todd took up writing and published his own books at the age of 13. Poetry, anthologies, and historical fiction were the genres he favored. His books still remain on the best-seller's list, especially after his death. His poetry book "Blackouts" is an emotional journey of everyday tragedies and miracles of life. People would often quote lines from his poems after tragic events.

Tim Drake was more elusive. No one knew what he did until his name came up under a national photography award. His album called "The Shades of Gotham" was a contract between parties of the wealthy and the impoverished citizens of Gotham.

Cassandra Cain kept to herself constantly. No one knew what she did for years. People assumed that Bruce Wayne stopped forcing his kids to perform and others argued that she just didn't have any talents to showcase. All wrong of course. Cassandra posted one of her recent projects online which proved she was very talented. It was a beautiful scarf she was making for the winter. Cassandra was gifted with a talent for textiles. She knitted, weaved, and sowed many of the clothes she was seen wearing. It was no secret that some of the clothes the Waynes wore could not be found anywhere else but people assumed they had a tailor to make custom designs but no one knew it was Cassandra.

Damian Wayne did not lag behind his siblings as she quickly showed off his artistic talents. He's still young so he hasn't gone as far as opening his first gallery but one of his paintings has already been put in a museum. Some call it nepotism but art is subjective. The other Waynes disagree since they have hung every art piece Damian makes in their offices and home right next to Tim's photos.

Duke Thomas isn't one to show off too much. But he does go all out in his hobbies. He secretly takes after Jason in writing poetry and has been inspired by "Blackout" since he first learned to read. Duck related to it deeply. But along the way, he learned a different way to express himself. Kids on the streets of Gotham learned a bit of breakdancing and Duke was no exception. Duke is an accomplished dancer and has gotten a few competitions under his belt now.

Now that there is a new member of the Wayne family the public is waiting to find out what Danny Nightingale's talent is. Everyone knew that Waynes were creative but honestly, no one expected this. A play was announced at Monarch Theater and none other then Danny's names was on the ticket as the star.

[urdreamydoodles]

Bat-Family x Fem!OC

You confess your feelings to them

Characters: Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne (aged up), Barbara Gordon, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Duke Thomas, Selina Kyle & Kate Kane

Jason Todd aka. Red Hood

- Jason Todd is not a man of gentle expressions, but there’s something in his eyes when he looks at you that betrays the storm raging within him. He’s rough around the edges, a product of tragedy and survival, but there’s a softness he reserves for you—a quiet longing he cannot suppress. You’ve caught him staring countless times, his lips parting as if to speak, only to close again as he retreats behind his walls. He’s not afraid of danger, but vulnerability terrifies him, and you’ve become his greatest fear.

- When you finally confess your feelings to Jason, he freezes. His confidence, his biting humor, and his unshakable demeanor all crumble for a moment, leaving him stripped bare before you. He looks at you like you’ve just handed him the most fragile piece of glass, his calloused hands unsure of how to hold it without shattering it. "You don’t know what you’re asking for," he says, his voice low and trembling, but there’s no mistaking the flicker of hope in his gaze.

- Jason doesn’t let people in easily. He’s been burned too many times, betrayed by those he once trusted, and haunted by the shadow of his own death. But you? You’ve always been different. He doesn’t know how you managed to slip past his defenses, but now that you’re here, he’s terrified of losing you. His love is fierce, protective, and consuming, like a wildfire that doesn’t know how to burn quietly. He promises to protect you, even from himself.

- He doesn’t say “I love you” right away. Jason isn’t the type to rush into declarations, but his actions speak volumes. He becomes more attentive, more present, and more open in ways he never thought he could be. He’ll cook for you, fix things for you, and show up when you least expect it but need him the most. Every small gesture is his way of saying what he’s too scared to put into words.

- When he finally does say it, it’s in the dead of night, his voice barely louder than a whisper. “I’m yours, if you’ll have me.” The vulnerability in his tone makes your chest ache. Jason Todd loves like he fights—with everything he has, unrelenting and unapologetic. And as you take his hand in yours, you realize that the walls he once hid behind have crumbled, leaving only the raw, unguarded truth of his love for you.

Dick Grayson aka. Nightwing

- Dick Grayson is the kind of man whose charm lights up any room he walks into, but with you, it’s different. His usual ease and effortless charisma falter slightly, replaced by a nervous energy that he can’t quite mask. He teases you playfully, his laughter warm and inviting, but beneath it all, there’s a flicker of uncertainty. You’ve always known him as a beacon of joy and optimism, but when he looks at you, there’s a depth to his gaze that makes your heart skip.

- When you confess your feelings, Dick is stunned into silence. His bright blue eyes widen, and for a moment, you can see every emotion he’s feeling—surprise, hope, and a vulnerability he rarely shows. Then, a slow, radiant smile spreads across his face, one that makes you feel like the most important person in the world. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to hear that,” he says, his voice soft and full of wonder.

- Dick’s love is like sunlight—warm, steady, and impossible to ignore. He’s the type to sweep you off your feet, literally and figuratively, finding ways to make every moment with you feel like an adventure. He doesn’t shy away from showing affection, whether it’s holding your hand in public, leaving notes for you to find, or pulling you into a spontaneous dance in the middle of a quiet street. With Dick, love is vibrant and all-encompassing.

- He listens to you in a way that makes you feel truly seen, his attention unwavering as you speak. Dick is thoughtful, always finding ways to support and uplift you. He remembers the little things—your favorite coffee order, the stories you’ve told him, the songs you hum when you think no one is listening. His love is attentive and intentional, a constant reminder that you’re the center of his world.

- The first time he tells you he loves you, it’s during a quiet moment. The world fades away as he cups your face in his hands, his thumbs brushing your cheeks as he gazes at you with a tenderness that makes your breath catch. “I love you,” he says, his voice steady and certain. And as he presses his forehead against yours, you know that with Dick Grayson, you’ve found a love that is as boundless as the sky.

Tim Drake aka. Red Robin

- Tim Drake is an enigma, a mind that never rests, always analyzing, always planning. But when it comes to you, his careful composure falters. You’ve seen him lose himself in thought, his eyes distant as he works through some puzzle in his head, but the moment you enter the room, his focus shifts entirely to you. He’s quiet, observant, and hesitant, but there’s a softness in the way he looks at you that speaks volumes.

- When you confess your feelings, Tim’s reaction is as complex as the man himself. His first instinct is to overthink, to dissect every word you’ve said, trying to understand how someone as extraordinary as you could feel the same way about him. But then, his logical mind gives way to emotion, and he smiles—a rare, genuine smile that makes your heart ache. “I… I didn’t think this could happen,” he admits, his voice filled with a mix of disbelief and quiet joy.

- Tim’s love is quiet and steadfast, like the gentle hum of a machine that never stops working. He shows his affection in subtle ways—a cup of tea waiting for you when you’re tired, a blanket draped over your shoulders when you’ve fallen asleep, a quiet reassurance that he’s always there. He’s not the most expressive, but his actions are deliberate, each one a testament to how much you mean to him.

- He’s not used to putting himself first, and loving you is both a challenge and a revelation. Tim finds himself wanting to be better, not because he thinks he isn’t enough, but because you inspire him to grow. He shares pieces of himself with you that he’s never shared with anyone else—his fears, his dreams, his insecurities. With you, he feels safe, and that safety becomes his sanctuary.

- The first time he tells you he loves you, it’s quiet and unplanned. He’s working late in the Batcave, and you bring him coffee, setting it down beside him. He looks up, his eyes soft and filled with gratitude, and the words slip out before he can stop them. “I love you.” It’s simple, unadorned, and completely genuine, and in that moment, you know that Tim Drake’s love is as profound as it is enduring.

Damian Wayne aka. Robin

- Damian Wayne is not an easy person to love, but you’ve never been one to shy away from a challenge. He’s sharp-tongued, prideful, and often difficult, but beneath the layers of arrogance and bravado lies a heart that beats fiercely for those he cares about. You see the way he softens around you, the way his scowl becomes less pronounced, his tone less biting. He’s still Damian, but with you, he allows himself to be vulnerable, even if only a little.

- When you confess your feelings, Damian’s first reaction is disbelief. He straightens his posture, his piercing green eyes narrowing as if trying to detect a lie. But when he sees the sincerity in your gaze, his expression shifts. “You’re serious?” he asks, his voice low and uncertain. The Damian Wayne who always has a retort for everything is, for once, at a loss for words.

- Damian’s love is fierce and protective, like a knight sworn to defend their queen. He’s not one for grand romantic gestures, but his actions speak louder than words. He ensures your safety with an intensity that borders on obsession, his sharp mind always a step ahead of potential threats. To him, loving you means shielding you from the darkness of the world, even if it means sacrificing pieces of himself.

- Despite his tough exterior, Damian’s affection manifests in small, meaningful ways. He’ll remember the books you love, the meals you enjoy, and the stories you’ve shared. He’ll leave a rare flower on your doorstep, a subtle nod to something you mentioned in passing. Damian may not say “I love you” often, but his actions are a constant reminder of how deeply he feels for you.

- When he does tell you, it’s after a battle, the adrenaline still coursing through his veins. He looks at you with an intensity that makes your breath catch. “You’re mine,” he says, his voice firm and resolute. “And I… I love you.” It’s not a declaration made lightly, but one that carries the weight of his entire being. And as he takes your hand in his, you know that Damian Wayne’s love is as unyielding as the man himself.

Barbara Gordon aka. Oracle / Batgirl

- Barbara Gordon is a woman of strength and resilience, a beacon of hope in a world often shrouded in darkness. She’s brilliant, determined, and fiercely independent, but with you, she lets her guard down. There’s a warmth in her smile when she sees you, a light in her eyes that speaks of a deep, unspoken connection. She’s not one to wear her heart on her sleeve, but you can feel her affection in every word, every glance, every touch.

- When you confess your feelings, Barbara is caught off guard. Her usual composure wavers, and for a moment, she looks at you as if you’ve just rewritten the world. “You mean that?” she asks, her voice tinged with disbelief and cautious hope. When you nod, her smile grows, and she lets out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Well, it’s about time,” she says, her tone teasing but her eyes brimming with emotion.

- Barbara’s love is steadfast and empowering. She believes in you, perhaps even more than you believe in yourself, and she’s always there to lift you up when you falter. Her affection is woven into the fabric of your everyday life—the way she makes time for you despite her busy schedule, the way she listens to you with undivided attention, the way she challenges you to be your best self.

- She’s not afraid to be vulnerable with you, sharing her fears and insecurities in a way she rarely does with anyone else. With you, she feels safe, and that safety allows her to embrace every facet of herself—the good, the bad, and everything in between. Barbara’s love is a partnership, a meeting of equals, and she treasures the bond you share.

- The first time she tells you she loves you, it’s during a quiet moment at her apartment. She’s working on her computer, the glow of the screen casting soft shadows across her face. You’re sitting beside her, and she suddenly turns to you, her expression open and unguarded. “I love you,” she says simply, her voice steady and sincere. And as she takes your hand in hers, you realize that Barbara Gordon’s love is a gift you’ll cherish for the rest of your life.

Stephanie Brown aka. Spoiler

- Stephanie Brown’s love is like a burst of color in a black-and-white world—vibrant, chaotic, and utterly unforgettable. She’s the kind of person who laughs loudly, teases endlessly, and throws herself headfirst into life. But when it comes to you, her usual bravado softens. You notice it in the way she lingers a little too long during conversations, the way her jokes take on a tender edge, the way she looks at you as though you’re the only thing keeping her grounded.

- When you confess your feelings, Stephanie is utterly floored. Her first instinct is to crack a joke, deflecting the overwhelming surge of emotion she feels. But then she sees the sincerity in your eyes, and her laughter fades into a quiet, stunned silence. “Wait—are you serious?” she asks, her voice uncharacteristically small. When you confirm it, her grin spreads wide and bright. “Well, it’s about time, gorgeous,” she says, pulling you into a spontaneous, breathless hug.

- Stephanie’s love is a whirlwind, full of spontaneity and adventure. She’ll drag you into ridiculous escapades, like sneaking onto rooftops just to stargaze or planning midnight trips to the nearest diner. But for all her chaotic energy, there’s a depth to her love that surprises even her. She’s fiercely loyal, ready to fight the world if it means protecting you, and she makes sure you never feel like you’re facing life’s challenges alone.

- She’s not shy about showing her affection, either. Stephanie thrives on physical closeness—hand-holding, hugs, and playfully stealing kisses when you least expect it. She’s the type to leave sticky notes on your fridge with doodles and silly messages or text you memes that remind her of you. Her love is unfiltered and unapologetic, as bright and boundless as the woman herself.

- When she finally says “I love you,” it’s during a quiet moment after a chaotic day. You’re sitting together, catching your breath, when she suddenly blurts it out. “I love you, you know that, right?” Her tone is so casual it takes you a moment to register her words. But when you look at her, she’s grinning, her cheeks tinged with the faintest blush. And in that moment, you know that Stephanie Brown’s love is the kind that will never let you go.

Cassandra Cain aka. Orphan

- Cassandra Cain is a woman of few words, but her actions speak louder than anything she could ever say. She watches you with an intensity that can be both unnerving and comforting, her dark eyes seeming to read your every thought. Cassandra doesn’t love lightly; she’s been through too much, seen too much, to give her heart away without thought. But with you, it’s different. You’ve become her anchor, her safe place, even if she struggles to put those feelings into words.

- When you confess your feelings, Cassandra is silent for a long moment. She studies you, her expression unreadable, as if trying to gauge the truth of your words. Then, slowly, a smile blooms on her face—small, tentative, but undeniably genuine. She doesn’t say much in response, just a quiet, “Me too.” But the way she looks at you, her eyes shining with emotion, says more than words ever could.

- Cassandra’s love is quiet and unwavering. She shows her affection in the way she protects you, always staying one step ahead of any danger. She’ll guide you through crowded streets with a hand on your back, ensure you’re safe without being overbearing, and stand by your side no matter what. Her love is steady and unshakeable, like a lighthouse guiding you through the storm.

- She’s not big on grand romantic gestures, but the small things she does speak volumes. Cassandra will sit with you in silence, her presence comforting and grounding. She’ll learn your favorite songs, your favorite foods, and the little quirks that make you who you are. She may not say “I love you” often, but every action, every glance, every touch is a reminder of how deeply she feels for you.

- The first time she tells you she loves you, it’s simple and unadorned, but it takes your breath away. You’re sitting together, her hand resting lightly over yours, when she looks at you and says, “I love you.” Her voice is soft but certain, her gaze steady and unwavering. And in that moment, you realize that Cassandra Cain’s love is a quiet, enduring flame that will never be extinguished.

Duke Thomas aka. Signal

- Duke Thomas is a beacon of light in the darkness, his optimism and determination shining through even in the toughest of times. He’s the type of person who believes in people, who sees the good in the world even when it’s hard to find. But when it comes to you, his usual confidence wavers. You catch him stealing glances when he thinks you’re not looking, his smile softening whenever you’re near. With you, Duke feels like he’s found something worth fighting for.

- When you confess your feelings, Duke’s first reaction is disbelief. “Wait—really?” he asks, his voice filled with a mix of surprise and joy. But when he sees the sincerity in your eyes, his grin spreads wide, lighting up his entire face. “You have no idea how happy this makes me,” he says, pulling you into a warm, heartfelt hug. In that moment, it’s as if the entire world fades away, leaving just the two of you.

- Duke’s love is steady and reassuring, like the warm glow of a streetlight on a dark night. He’s the type to check in on you regularly, making sure you’re okay and offering support whenever you need it. His affection is thoughtful and deliberate, whether it’s surprising you with your favorite snacks or sending you encouraging messages throughout the day. With Duke, love is a constant, unwavering presence.

- He’s also deeply protective of you, not in a controlling way, but in a way that makes you feel safe. Duke is always thinking ahead, always considering how he can make your life better and easier. His love is selfless and genuine, rooted in a deep respect for who you are as a person. He admires your strength, your beauty, and your resilience, and he never lets you forget how much you mean to him.

- The first time he says “I love you,” it’s during a quiet moment, just the two of you sitting together under the stars. He takes your hand in his, his thumb gently tracing circles on your skin. “I love you,” he says, his voice steady and full of emotion. And as you look into his eyes, you know that Duke Thomas’s love is a light that will guide you through anything.

Selina Kyle aka. Catwoman

- Selina Kyle is a mystery, a woman who walks the line between light and shadow with a grace that is all her own. She’s playful and alluring, her every word and movement carefully calculated to keep you guessing. But when she’s with you, there’s a vulnerability she doesn’t show to anyone else. You’ve seen the softness in her gaze, the way her teasing smirks give way to genuine smiles, the way she lets her guard down just enough to let you in.

- When you confess your feelings, Selina’s reaction is a mix of surprise and amusement. She arches an eyebrow, her lips curving into a sly smile. “You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that,” she says, her tone light and teasing. But then her expression softens, and she steps closer, her fingers brushing against yours. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that,” she admits, her voice quieter now, almost shy.

- Selina’s love is like a dance—graceful, unpredictable, and utterly captivating. She keeps you on your toes, always surprising you with her wit and charm. She’ll whisk you away on spontaneous adventures, whether it’s a rooftop picnic under the stars or a midnight walk through the city. With Selina, love is an exhilarating game, one that you never want to end.

- Despite her playful demeanor, Selina’s love runs deep. She’s fiercely protective of you, willing to fight tooth and nail to keep you safe. She’s not one to wear her heart on her sleeve, but her actions speak louder than words. She’ll remember the little things, like how you take your coffee or the stories you’ve told her, and she’ll find ways to show you how much she cares in her own unique way.

- The first time she tells you she loves you, it’s almost accidental. You’re lying together, the city lights casting shadows across her face, when she whispers it, almost as if she didn’t mean to say it out loud. “I love you,” she says, her voice soft and full of emotion. And as she looks at you, her usual confidence giving way to something raw and real, you realize that Selina Kyle’s love is as complex and beautiful as the woman herself.

Kate Kane aka. Batwoman

- Kate Kane is a fortress, her walls built high and strong to keep out the pain of her past. She’s tough, confident, and unyielding, but with you, she allows herself to be vulnerable. You’ve seen the cracks in her armor, the moments when she lets her guard down and shows you the woman behind the Bat. There’s a quiet intensity in the way she looks at you, a depth of emotion she struggles to put into words.

- When you confess your feelings, Kate’s reaction is guarded. She takes a step back, her sharp blue eyes studying you carefully. “You’re serious?” she asks, her voice steady but tinged with uncertainty. But when you nod, her expression softens, and a small, almost hesitant smile breaks through. “I wasn’t expecting that,” she admits, her voice quiet. “But… I’m glad you said it.”

- Kate’s love is a steady, grounding force. She’s not one for grand romantic gestures, but her affection is unwavering and deeply genuine. She’ll show her love through quiet acts of care—making sure you’re safe, supporting you in your goals, and standing by your side no matter what. With Kate, love is a partnership built on trust and mutual respect.

- She’s fiercely protective of you, her training and instincts kicking in whenever she senses danger. But she also knows when to let you stand on your own, respecting your independence and strength. Kate’s love is balanced and empowering, a reminder that she sees you as her equal in every way. She admires your courage, your beauty, and your resilience, and she makes sure you know it.

- The first time she says “I love you,” it’s after a long night of patrols. You’re sitting together, the exhaustion visible on her face, when she turns to you and takes your hand. “I love you,” she says simply, her voice steady and sincere. And as she looks at you, her walls finally lowered, you know that Kate Kane’s love is a fortress you can always call home.

[seekingxanadu]

Victim blaming CANNOT be a one way street. But this is just another example of how Batfam stans will blame Dick for Dick's own traumas (as here). Batfam stans have made it a habit to blame Dick for other Bats' traumas that often have nothing at all to do with him; Batfam stans have made it a point to victim-blame Dick for his various SAs, and often use his SA to depict him as "easy" "himbo" "wh*re" et al. THAT'S why Batfam spaces find it funny that Cassandra Cain kicked a traumatised man out the window. Time to can the idea that Cass Cain's body language reading ability is something omniscient. It isn't. OP posted proof.

Yknow, i always thought it was genuinely insane how people laugh at the time when Cass threw Dick out a window.

Bc, like, iirc Barbara dumped Dick because she saw Dick being SA'd by Tarantula (non-consensually kissed) and went "he's cheating on me!"

So like. The whole reason Cass threw Dick out a window is bc Barbara dumped him for being SA'd, if I have my timeline correct.

And uh... how the fuck is that funny?? It's actually kinda messed up imo. Granted in-universe you can't really blame Cass bc iirc she didn't have the full picture, but still.

Its just... it's not funny to me and I don't see why people think it's hilarious

[jennrypan]

"Having Cassandra Cain before any of the robins would be interesting "

..don't piss me OFF. God. We can't have ANY Robin or Batgirl without Dick. I don't wanna see ANY of them little mfs until we get a live action Dick Grayson Robin. I don't wanna see Jason, Damian Tim, Steph etc. GIVE US A LIVE ACTION ROBIN. Battinsons Bruce is PERFECT for Robin.

I wanna see the graysons FALL in that circus!!! Like we gotta see Martha and Thomas dying every time, let's put that energy into the Flying Graysons and I'm so serious 😶 don't play with me. Bruce isn't adopting shit until Dick, he SETS IT MOTION. Also..Cassandra wouldn't fuckin be born around Batman year 1s timeline you fuckin gremlins.

Battisons Bruce definitely would go to a circus and experience a terrible tragedy and then surprise adopt a grieving child. Lord cmon

[wateroflifefrommountains]

Cassandra Cain: Character Thought Experiment

What if the mandate by Dan D never happened? What if writers were allowed to keep writing stories about Cassandra? What if her run was not cut short? Evidently, there would be a broader exploration of the character and her relevance would not have waned due to absence and editorial mandate. There is an argument that a heel turn would still have happened as Cass is shown to have "limits" to her code. (I.e: There was a chapter in her original run where she mentally killed the Joker after being presented with a scenario where the Joker killed Batman.) Moreover, Cass, has also shown disdain for societal oppression but was ill-equipped to handle or solve said problems aside from the usual fisticuff heroics. At the very least, stories about her struggling with the decision would have been interesting. It can even raise the dilemma in the no-killing rule by raising the "Not killing does not mean not evil" argument. On the other hand, there is also the risk of Flanderization. Despite their best efforts, a well-intentioned writer may still over-simplify the character by focusing on her most prominent traits or by focusing on traits they gravitate to. It is possible for the iteration of the character in this scenario to be similar to the overly cutesy sanitized version held by notable groups in the fandom. Another possibility is evolution. The growth of the character may have become permanent. If Simone's plan to explore her relation to religion became a reality, there could have been an overtly Christian version of the character or even one that gave up crime-fighting all together. In this scenario, it could have been a natural progression or a shocking but earned decision. On the flip side, there could also be grave mischaracterization in the same way Robin: OYL turned her into a villain. It would have still been jarring and it would have still been rejected by the fandom. In all these cases, it would not have been because someone made a decision that character was not sustainable with complete disregard for the fans and the sales. For something to happen by the whims of fate or the faults of those who acted in good faith is simply life, but for it to happen due to the machinations of a puppeteer... is a tragedy (or a crime).