#tim being the way he is in context of Dick being his favorite and the robin he aspired to be like the most makes a lot more sense

[warningsine]

Listen, I don't hate him either. In fact, during some of my male Shepard playthroughs, I saved him, because I enjoyed their flirting in ME3. But boy, is he a generic noodle.

I don't care which one of the two players save. That's their prerogative.

But. But.

Unfortunately, this "Ashley sucks" trend isn't TikTok specific.

Male fanboys on Reddit and people of all genders on here have been viciously hating on her since the games came out.

She's far from my favorite character in the trilogy, but the fandom's sexist treatment of her has made me turn the chair and defend her more than once over the years.

Unsurprisingly enough, there's an overlap between individuals who still call Ashley "the space racist" and those who hate Miranda (due to her being a "Cerberus bitch," never mind that she flips TIM off, never mind that she tries to bring the organization down herself) and slutshame her.

As if it's the character's fault she was designed for the male fans thus that stupid catsuit (also see: Seven of Nine on "Voyager," Jeri Ryan couldn't breathe in that shit) and those equally stupid shots of her ass. Remember when the fanboys threw a fit when those shots were removed from the "Legendary Edition"?

By the way, the creators quite literally told Yvonne Strahovski (a natural blonde that dyes her hair) that Miranda was gonna have black hair, because she was "supposed to be a femme fatale."

(Never mind that the character is more than a caricature; that she's amongst the most sensitive and insecure ME characters when you let Shepard know her.)

And they, of course, ignored that as gorgeous as the actress is, she doesn't have balloon breasts and ass.

But back to Ashley.

"She's xenophobic."

She does make some rather unfortunate comments, it has to be said, but people throw things out of proportion, because Ashley dares to be outspoken; a female character that doesn't suck Shepard's dick/vagina and challenges them. (She's one of the few squadmates that does this in all of the games, which I personally find refreshing. The blind hero worship makes me roll my eyes at times.)

When renegade Shepard says to an Hanar, "Because you're a big stupid jellyfish!" then everyone laughs. That's not xenophobic, that's badass and true.

When Wrex and Mordin (the fandom faves, my faves) say very, very xenophobic shit, then that's fine and dandy.

When Garrus, the ex cop, does it? The same.

Oh, the double standards of it all.

People love taking Ashley's lines out of context and/or before she gets her own character development.

"That bitch shot Wrex on Virmire."

Meanwhile, that's 100% on the player. Is it the character's fault that you didn't do Wrex's side mission and don't have enough paragon/renegade points to make him stand down?

In that case, Ashley does her job, i.e., protecting her Commander from an enraged Krogan with a gun, when Shepard doesn't pull the trigger themselves.

Also, notice how ME1 Ashley is one of the few characters--if not the only one other than Shepard, I'll have to refresh my memory--that doesn't dehumanize Wrex; she calls him by his name instead of "the Krogan."

"That bitch trash talks Shepard on Horizon."

Oh, you mean when she expresses her doubts about the human terrorist organization (that she righteously hates) bringing back a dead Shepard back to life? When Miranda herself tells Shepard that she wanted to use a chip to control them?

Wow, how evil of Ash to question why her cyborg of a Commander all of a sudden aligns with the cartoonishly evil organization that uses refugees to create Reaper abominations (third game).

Kaidan does the exact same thing on Horizon btw. His call out comes off as milder because he has a different personality.

The way I have to make sure I don’t get on Mass Effect tiktok because they ALWAYS end up hating on Ashley is so annoying. I swear people played the og Mass Effect once, killed Ashley during that play through and just never thought about her again besides miss remembering her comments.

How many times do I have to say it people. ‘I can’t tell the Aliens from the animals’ is triggered by being around Keepers. In universe there is a on going conversation about what the hell the keepers even are so while her comment is in poor taste she isn’t talking about any sentient being.

The ‘Bear Vs Dog’ monologue is a metaphor where humans are the dogs and the person is the Council. Her point is that the council would throw humans under the bus in a heartbeat and Oh, come ME3 she is completely right.

If you bring her along to the conversation with the  terra firma guy she makes it extremely clear that she doesn’t like them in anyway, even before she gets character development. She the hates her grandfather being used by them and strongly opposes them uses his history to promote their racist messages.

ALL the teammates in the og Mass Effect said dumb shit. Garrus in particular makes some shity comments. Because a group of random wildly different characters that start off distrusting each other but grow to love one another like family is a huge part of all the games.

But oh, Ashley is a woman so she gets to die while the boring soft boy gets to live.

[spacedace]

You ever think Dick overhears someone say Jason was the most violent Robin and just gets so mad about it?

And it's not even about like, defending Jason's honor or anything. It's purely because he's just so incredibly insulted that people somehow forgot how much of an unhinged ball of rage he was as a child.

Like I'm imagining him storming into the cave and yanking on his now way too small Robin costume and muttering angrily about I'll show you the angriest Robin

Barbara is facepalming about all the nonsense that's about to pop off that inevitably she's gonna have to clean up. Bruce just starts sweating profusely and desperately trying to talk Dick down because he suddenly remembers that time Dick kicked a criminal so hard they ended up in a coma for a week and smiled so brightly while doing it that the other goons there at the time just chose to jump off a three story building into the suspect sludge that filled Gotham harbor rather than face the unhinged ten year old on bright colors and pixie boots.

Duke: But wasn't Dick the nice one?

Tim, who idolized Dick Grayson's Robin like his own chaotic god: Don't ever insult my favorite Robin that way again. Here are my top thirty photos of him reigning deranged chaotic violence upon his enemies. I'd show you more but this album just has the photos from the first month I started following him and Batman around.

Jason: The hundreds of dead assassins and all the shit I've heard about you and Young Justice suddenly make a lot more sense

[clearnachopirate]

Terry and the batfam. Terry and the batfam. their dynamics have so much potential and i would LOVE to see it explored in any way at all

Terry and Dick: older brothers, trade stories of how they embarrass and get back at their younger brother(s), anger issue twins, "oh you were batman too??" "yeah, but its only bc one of my parents was murdered" "omg thats how i became robin no way"

Terry and Jason: the second most destructive duo, second only to terry and steph. not bc they fight or blow things up on patrol (thats tim and jasons thing) but bc anytime there a new gadget to try, terry will volunteer to use it, and jason will volunteer to 'spar' with terry to test it out. okay, maybe its bc they fight and blow stuff up, but its only ever in the batcave under supervision! "the tim from my dimension actually killed the joker" "no shit? did bruce stop me over there too?" "... about that--" sometimes they grab the others leather jacket by accident and both have given up on caring

Terry and Tim: terry "from the technological future" mcginnis and tim "designs loads of bat tech" drake talk shop, "my younger brother was made robin without my consent" club. tim listens to the works elcectro pop music ever and it just so happens to sound exactly like what they play at terrys favorite club. tim introduces him to (kon or bernard, take your pick) and they hit it off so well that they hang out without tim

Terry and Damian: ace the dog. terry invited damian to his AC island. both are bruce's bio kids and mamas boys. damian calling him "Terrance" and terry never recovering from it. terry knows damian from the future, kind of, and uses that knowledge to his advantage EVERY DAY

Terry and Duke: team "everyone thinks we're the normal one, they are wrong" they totally do movie marathons you cant tell me otherwise, their favorite thing to do is make bets abt the rest of the fam w cass. they never win against her. on any given day you can find them whispering about everyone else "duke, why the fuck were damian and tim staring each other down over breakfast" "hes mad dick said he can't poison him again" "what" "i know i thought they were over it by now"

Terry and Cass: cass sees him for the first time and sees that he rivals tim and dick in terms of being a mess and is determined to bond. terry hears about what she was trained for as a child and shrugs bc "i was supposed to be a second bruce, things change" cass will make him give her piggybacks when shes tired and terry has never dropped her

Terry and Stephanie: the most destructive duo. something happens to their braincells when they patrol together, buildings fall, bones break, civilians are crying, theres about ten minutes where everyone else thinks theyre both dead. they both are waiting at the cave for the others, terry is teching her how to make really shitty friendship bracelets (dana taught him, and stephanie is pretending she doesnt know how). they dont know why everyone else is so stressed "i texted you that we were fine, old man. steph and i just ran into black masks trafficing ring and took care of it-- why is dick crying?"

ALL of them have asked about the future before and the ONLY thing he ever reveals is out of context sayings and trends "yeah actually luigi and bowser have so much chemistry, well, i guess that movie isnt out yet huh" "???" (they think luigi and bowser are a cononical couple in the future and wonder where the world went so wrong) and (while interrogating smon) "watch out, you're not acting like the sigma you are, batman, try rizzing 'im up, then he'll talk."

him and bart meet (everyone tried to keep in from happening) and theyre from similar enough futures that when they talk, not a single person around them can follow it, they teach each other the different versions of different tik tok dances and terry goes back to the manor and teches them to steph, cass sees them do it once and has them memorized, duke thought it was funny, dick thought it was adorable (eventually they ALL know them, and it becomes an inside joke) tims prized possession is a video he got of damian doing the most dispassionate renegade the world has ever seen bc jon asked and he cant say no to him)

TL;DR:

terry mcginnis interacting w the other bat kids has a lot of potential for chaos and family bonding

[coupleoffanfics]

Part 2- y/n becomes a child

Part 1 Here

She seems to be a big fan of cats. Anything with Hello Kitty on it she wants. Will run up to stray cats trying to pet them no matter how many times they tell her not to. “They could have a disease.” “But they’re so cute!”

Doesn’t fully understand when she says, “I’m looking for my parents. We’re playing hide and seek, I don’t really like playing it. I wanted played sequence. My dad must have helped my mom with her hiding spot because I can usually find her first. Once I find them we’ll go back home to my baby and older brother.”

Hearing this Damian goes to Bruce for answers. He knows of everyone’s upbringing, but he often overlooked y/n in the past. Something about her mentally blocking her parents' death. Bruce only says parents, so it makes him wonder whether or not…It doesn’t matter. He just makes sure that he won’t bring up her parents or try to convince her that Bruce was her father anymore. Or that he and the others were her real brothers.

Dick will bring y/n to the water park, zoo, etc for some bonding time. Trying to dethrone Jason’s spot of being her favorite. When going out this usually results in Damian tagging along. Though surprisingly y/n doesn’t like going out as much, so Dick tries to find another way to connect with her.

It's getting late and while in her pajamas jumps down each step of the stairs. Dick notices the book in her hand and offers to read it to her before bed. Look him straight in his eyes to say no and ask if he knew where Jason was.

He lied by saying that he already left even though he was down in the cave and he’ll just take Jason’s place as bedtime reader. She reluctantly agreed. Everything is fine until the story ends. She looks like she is going to burst into tears and he panics. The story didn’t have a sad ending or anything. It was just a frog and toad book.

Asking what was wrong, y/n looks at him. “They’re gone and they’re never coming back are they?” He doesn’t respond, the look of pity in his eyes was enough for her to start balling her eyes out. Crying for her parents. When he is going to get up to get Bruce she eminently freaks out.

“No! Please don’t leave. I don’t want to be left alone. Don’t leave me alone again!” Dick gets so emotional seeing his little sister desperately begging him to not be all alone. He stays behind and comforts her. Not leaving her side once.

The context of how they unintentionally neglected her when she got older made guilt build up.

After that y/n is more open with Dick and starts to follow him around a bit. Jason raises his eyebrow but doesn’t say anything. Dick would be a better influence than him regardless of how bitter it made him feel.

Tim doesn’t go out of his way to interact with little y/n. Though she does come up to him to share what food she has. She will not leave him alone unless he has some of her snacks. Reminding him of when she was done cooking/baking, she’d force him to take a taste test before anyone else.

She’ll go out into the garden to catch butterflies. Will not take a net no matter how many times it's offered. Damian sits back watching her as she creeps up on butterflies like a cat. Every time she goes up to him and asks if he knew what butterfly it is.

Doesn’t have a clue, but after that, he’ll look up all the different butterflies. Their names and small facts about them for next time. y/n inadvertently made Damian a butterfly wiki.

There will be sudden fits where she wants to paint someone’s nails. Goes up to the first person she’ll see. Place the Hello Kitty nail polish bag on the table and ask them, “What color do you want? Sparkly or no sparkle?” There isn't anyone that can say no.

So everyone in the manor will have painted nails. Bruce is in a business meeting, everyone sees his black-painted nails but doesn’t say a thing. If anyone were to ask he’d hold up a hand to show off and explain that his daughter wanted to paint his nails. He is expressionless the whole time, but if they looked hard enough then they could see the smile in his eyes.

Babs and Dick definitely take a few photos of y/n and send them to each other. It’s not every day that adult y/n allows others to photograph her. Now that she is a child without too many insecurities this allows them to take as many photos as possible.

Speaking of Babs, she’s just like Tim and Bruce. Doesn’t go out of her way to interact with her because she doesn't see the reason to do so. It’s fine after a few days until she starts missing adult y/n. The one who brings up random topics and has late-night texts with.

Wonders if she should inform y/n’s friend and boyfriend about this since they’ve been reaching out a lot. But decided against it. y/n is in a vulnerable state of mind and having even more “strangers” interact with her should just be avoided. Barb tells them that she’s broken her phone and is taking care of her sick auntie who is overseas. She makes up an elaborate lie and now y/n’s friend and boyfriend think she has an Italian auntie named Bianca Bellagamba.

One day Dick gets a drawing that he’s always dreamed of. A crayon drawing of his hero persona that had My #1 hearo! Everyone can see him internally squealing.

Everyone got a similar drawing, but she handed his drawing to him first. So obviously he’s the favorite brother and she clearly put more effort into his drawing.

Only Dick and Damian have thought of sabotaging the progress of returning y/n back to normal a few times. They’d be able to keep her in the manor safe and be able to rewrite their mistakes. Jason has thought of this too once, but he knew that it wasn’t right for y/n if they kept her like this.

The only reason Dick and Damian didn’t do anything as everyone was dead set on getting adult y/n back. Even if they were to sabotage their progress, it would just slow them down.

When y/n is turned back to normal she doesn’t remember anything after she was turned into a child. This breaks Dick’s heart more than it does Damian’s. Dick was making so much progress with y/n and now it's completely erased. Damian took this more as a way to understand and learn more about y/n.

y/n awkwardly thanks them before shuffling out manor. Babs will send the pics of little y/n to her later.

Most of the family’s view of y/n doesn’t change except for Dick and to a lesser extent Jason’s. Dick will see y/n even more as a child now. That one night when she begged to not be left alone again will motivate him to reach out to her. Spend more time together to make up for his absence.

Jason might view her a little more like a child, but he already saw her as one. Though this whole fiasco has made him a bit more protective of y/n. When out, he’ll check on her apartment just to make sure that she’s safe at home. If he finds her out for whatever reason when he’s on patrol then he’ll follow her until she gets back home safely.

Damian knows that little and older y/n aren’t exactly the same. It would be stupid to do so because she could grow out of things and has developed as a person. When he breaks into her apartment for a visit he’ll have a type of Hello Kitty memorabilia. y/n clearly hasn’t grown out of her love for the cat with a bow as the next time he breaks in, he sees that she kept the gift.

[kevin-day-is-bi]

Beginner's Guide to Batman (and Batman-related) Media

(based on my knowledge and the things I enjoy)

Live action Batman movies are very hit or miss. Most of them are fairly middling, but the Dark Knight Trilogy is generally pretty bad. Poor Bruce characterization, white-washing, inaccurate representations of Gotham, etc. I have several thousand words written on that trilogy, and many more on live action movies in general (all of which are accessible thru my pinned post). The Batman (2022) is pretty widely regarded as being good and accurate. It has a much more emo depiction of Bruce. A major pet peeve of mine is that I, personally, don't think it's a very good Riddler, but everything else is good.

As for shows, those are generally less accurate but more enjoyable. Gotham is not technically canon I don't think but it has better aesthetics, canon accuracy, and character design than every live action movie imo. It starts with Bruce seeing his parents' murder and goes up until he first decides to become Batman. Gotham Knights is a much more AU-style show, detailing the death of Bruce and how his adopted son (invented for the show) handles it. It also has Stephanie, Harper and Cullen Row, and Duela Dent, plus great queer rep. Heavily recommended for people who want to know more about general character personalities or who enjoy AUs. Titans has Dick, Jason, and Tim, and while I personally don't think that they did well with the characterization of the other Titans, the Robins are well-done. If you want a good idea of Dick right after he became Nightwing, you want to see Jason as Robin, or you like Tim pre-Robin, this is the show for you.

As for animated shows, the usually widely loved ones are Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, and Batman: The Animated Series. B:TAS is largely accurate to the comics at that time, though it plays a little fast and loose with the Robins (goes straight from Dick to Tim). Plus, it's the first appearance of Harley Quinn! Additionally, I enjoy The Batman (2005), though it plays with the timeline a little and targets a younger audience. Batman Beyond is amazing if you want to get into the future of Batman/Terry McGinnis universe. The accompanying movie, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker covers Tim becoming Joker Jr.

Speaking of animated movies, there are a Lot. Standouts include the Batman Unlimited movies, which are some of the only ones to include Tim. They're very futuristic, so if you enjoy AUs or the science side of Batman, these are the ones. There are a lot of AU style ones, like Gotham by Gaslight (which I personally really love but don't think is anything particularly special outside of being interesting for characters), The Doom That Came to Gotham, and Batman Ninja. Batman Ninja isn't one of my favorites, but it is very good and has general good characterization. If you want to know more about how Barbara became Oracle but you don't want to read one of the most sexist comics ever, watching the Batman: The Killing Joke movie is a good way to do it. It frames the movie from Barbara's perspective and focuses on her story. If you want to know more about Damian, Son of Batman and Batman vs Robin are good. They detail him becoming Robin and his brush with the Court of Owls. Batman: Under the Red Hood is absolutely necessary viewing for anyone who likes Jason, as it details him coming back to life and becoming the Red Hood (along with having one of the all-time most depressing lines in-context ever).

When it comes to media that doesn't have Batman in it but is Batman-affiliated, Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn is a really good post-Joker pre-Ivy look at Harley, and it has Helena Bertinelli (Huntress), Dinah Lance (Black Canary), Detective Renee Montoya, and an AU-ized Cassandra Cain. The show Young Justice, particularly the first season, is a really good look at Robin!Dick in non-Bat teams, as is the animated Teen Titans. Both take slightly different routes when it comes to his personality, but both are equally good (especially if most of what you know about Robin!Dick is "holy dental hygiene, Batman!" or his vague backstory). They also both provide introductions into other team families, particularly Young Justice, so if you've just gotten into DC via Batman and want to know more about other characters, YJ is the way to go.

My personal idea of best piece of media for any character:

Bruce Wayne

Pre-Batman - Gotham

Batman: The Animated Series

Alfred Pennyworth

Batman: The Animated Series

Barbara Gordon

Batman: The Animated Series and The Killing Joke

Kate Kane

Batman: Bad Blood

Dick Grayson

As Robin - Young Justice

As Nightwing - the Son of Batman/Batman vs Robin/Batman: Bad Blood trilogy

Jason Todd

As Robin - Titans

As the Red Hood - Batman: Under the Red Hood

Tim Drake

As Robin - Batman: The Animated Series

As Red Robin - Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem/Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts

Stephanie Brown

Gotham Knights

Damian Wayne

Son of Batman/Batman vs Robin

Feel free to send an ask about a specific movie or show (or if you want a detailed list of everything a specific character has ever appeared in!) - I'm currently watching every Batman movie in existence and writing reviews literally so I can provide better recommendations to people (on part 41 rn). I will gladly provide more details about any movie or show. Also if you want to know more about specific media or what media a specific character has appeared in that is Bat-affiliated but is not a Bat, I probably have info! Anyone who's ever been a Titan, most Supers, most of the JLA, etc.

I can do another of these for comic recommendations if anyone wants bc I Do have opinions, I've just had some folks ask questions about specifically non-comic media recently!

[sunflowersandink]

🎨 ⇢ link your favourite piece of fanart and explain why you like it

awww man. this is legit an impossible question for me to answer, there are SO many I love for so many different reasons.

I think if I had to pick one artist it would be @silk-scarlet-ribbons - the way they capture movement and character and expression is just absolutely unparalleled to me, every work of hers just slots into its own little spot in my brain that I didn’t realize was empty.

A lot of my favorite works of theirs are discord exclusives that won’t make a lot of sense without an entire AU’s worth of context, but here’s a great one that lives rent-free in my head - featuring Jason dressing up in his old Robin outfit at the request of de-aged/clone baby Dickiebin. The sharp affection in Jason’s face? The absolutely cherubic energy Dickiebin is exuding? The way Dick’s little hands wrap around Jason’s wrist? The pixie boots? Perfect. Showstopping. Incredible. NO one is doing it like Scar is.

I also think I have to include @ky-landfill in here - there’s absolutely no way I can pick one favorite piece (true for every one of these artists tbh), because everything they draw makes my heart ache in the very best of ways, but I have a ton of love for this piece

I’m just so attached to Jason and Cass getting to be siblings. I love how small she is beside him, I love the way his hair curls and the scars on his cheek, I love that he looks like a battered young man and looks so soft at the same time, with his arms held awkwardly like he’s not sure how to respond to being hugged. It’s just so. *ugh.* you know? I could stare at this for hours

And finally I’ve gotta shout out @amorkuku. this was the first work of theirs that I remember seeing, and oh my god I have not stopped cackling about it since

everything about it just catches me right in the funny bone. Kon’s stupid little delighted face and Tim’s entire everything as he gets dropped on his ass. Both of their •_• faces as the adults in their lives stare at them in disappointment. The way Clark looks so concerned and Bruce manages to look so tired with minimal facial expression. It’s a piece of comedic genius, and everything else this artist has ever done, especially a lot of their recent Dami and Jason comics has been an absolute goddamn delight. If I could buy a collection of their works in a physical book like I did with Wayne Family Adventures I would do it in a heartbeat

God there are SO many more works that spark joy but if I keep going we will literally be here all day <333

[ghost-bxrd]

I think the one that concerns me most that I really want to know more about is "little birds in little graves" because, given context, one bird is for sure Jason. So who the other, or others, is, has my morbid curiosity. I'm also hoping this is mostly a metaphorical title.

It could be Dick. We've all seen how well you write those two being brothers. It's wonderfully heartbreaking. The 'grave' of his being depression, guilt, or regret of not saving Jason, or being distant with him, whatever, pre-death.

It could also be Tim. I haven't seen much of him from you, which is a lil sad, he's probably my favorite. This isn't pressure to write him more, you're doing fantastic! I just have a lot of thoughts on his character. The 'grave' for Tim being his personal mission to keep the Batfam on track in the wake of Jason's death. Something he never really digs himself out of.

The last real option I'm seeing for our second bird, is Calvin. You've been focused on him, you've had thoughts! And I'm really thinking "Screaming sounds a lot like birds singing" might be a more Calvin focused WIP. But it could be Calvin! This is a much slimmer chance than Tim or Dick, but it could be! I think it was an ask, but someone mentioned Calvin saving Jason from Joker after the Court had him watch Joker. So it could very well be inspired off that.

Damian or Steph could technically also be the other bird, but I really haven't seen you mention them, so really low hopes on that.

Personally, the most interesting, and most complicated, way to explore the "little birds in little graves" thing would be to explore how that applies to ALL of them. How being Robin is a sacrifice, a burial, of youth and innocence had before. I know Gotham isn't a great place, but the Robins have definitely seen more than the average Gotham kid.

I have many thoughts on this title, and what it could mean. I do know for sure, it will probably make me cry.

Hehe yes my first thought reading through half of your ask was “awe, why assume there’s only two birds and two graves?” Especially because Bruce has so many birds flying around. 🤭 although, arguably, we could say that Dick wouldn’t need his own grave because he’s .1 seconds away from crawling in beside Jason anyway. 👀

I love your thoughts on the title btw! And I’m DYING to share the contents with you guys but first we need to build some more suspense 😩

Rest assured though, Tim is going to feature a lot more frequently in the series from now on. ✨ I’m really going to put our poor “Replacement” Robin through the (proverbial) wringer, wahahahaha!!! 😈

As for Calvin… well, we’ll just have to wait and see. But one thing is for sure, the Court of Owls isn’t as “destroyed” as everyone suspected 😌🦉

[maccreadysbaby]

Project: Killcode

batfamily + oc insert

tw: none

wanna read more? here’s the table of contents!

want to read the first fic in the hundred days series so you understand what’s going on here? here it is!

bentley is so clueless about like everything and it kind of makes me happy and sad 🫠 fun fact this boy has never seen two people kiss on the lips apart from movies, he has absolutely no idea what a healthy romantic relationship looks like lmao

part three

❝ MAFIA FAMILY (PT 2) ❞

SUNDAY — JULY 15 — 1:48PM

BENTLEY HAD BEEN STARING AT TWO PIECES OF A TORN NAPKIN FOR WAY TOO LONG.

Call me! One said, followed by a phone number and the name: Vera.

Text me, said the other, with a number and the name: Layla <3.

Bentley tapped his fingers on the coffee table. “Why do you think she put a heart on it?”

Asten, Jason, Dick, Tim, Steph, Duke, Damian, and Cass hardly batted an eye away from their intense game of Mario Kart. (Bentley was terrible at Mario Kart. Hence why he was staring at a napkin instead. Plus, only eight players could go at once. He didn’t mind.)

It was the day after the gala, which was commonly considered a lazy dayaround the Manor. Bentley enjoyed it very much, just hanging out with his family. Everyone was rocking sweats, and they had all slept through breakfast in favor of gorging on terribly unhealthy snacks, which was fun. (And probably giving Alfred a bunch of grey hairs.) 

Jason, Damian, Duke, and Cass were sitting on the long sofa, while Steph, Tim, Dick, Bentley, and Asten took up spots on the floor around the coffee table. They also had a string of movies lined up to watch later, one of them being Bentley’s favorite, the Outsiders. (Dick always pulled it out after Bentley had an attack or a rough day, he realized, which was nice.)

“She’s a teenage girl. She probably thinks it’s cute,” Jason shrugged, leaning forward and focusing hard, his fingers moving impossibly fast on the controller. His white streak was hanging down toward his eyes and he kept blowing it away. “Girls love all that stuff.”

“Or she thinks you’re cute,” Asten added. Bentley scrunched his face up, glaring across the coffee table at him. He was too busy winning the race to see it.

Bentley looked over at Steph. “Steph? You’re a girl.”

She snorted, pushing one of her French brains behind her shoulders. “I mean, I used to sign my name with a heart, so I guess that’s a possibility.”

Oh. So it was normal?

“But also, when I dated Tim, I-“ 

A throw pillow nailed Steph right in the face before she could continue, so hard she fell over in the floor. 

“Ow!”

“We are not going there,”

“They probably just want to be friends with you. You should text them,” Dick suggested. He was focusing so hard on the game that his tongue was sticking out the side of his mouth. “If you want to.” He added quickly.

“You should totally text them,” Asten piped up.

Bentley looked back down at the numbers. “What am I supposed to say?”

“Something like, hey, it’s Bentley, I really enjoyed hanging out with you the other night,” Duke said, actually taking a second to flick his eyes over to Bentley momentarily. “So they know you’re not just doing it to check a box.”

Jason scoffed. “Or you can just say hey instead of being a suck-up.”

“Maybe hey, it’s Bentley. So they have a little context,” Dick suggested.

Bentley sighed heavily. Why was this so confusing and difficult?

“Context is for losers,” Jason replied.

“Is that why I never know what you’re texting about?” Tim rebuddled, and Jason retaliated by shooting something at him on the game.

Dick looked over at Bentley, flashing a soft smile, blue eyes shining. “Just say what you want to say, kiddo. There’s no right or wrong way to do it.”

“Except cussing them out,” Steph added. Damian rolled his eyes at her, or maybe at the whole situation in general.

“If it were me, I would not text them at all. They were being rambunctious and interruptive during an important gala,” Damian muttered. His eyes were trained on the screen in a freakishly unmoving way. He was in second place.

“Some people like having friends,” Tim replied.

Damian scoffed, and Tim’s vehicle got shot at again.

“Whoa, no one told me we were playing Mario Kart,” 

A chorus of grumbles and unhappy mutterings came with the appearance of Bruce’s voice.

Bentley glanced up, smiling lightly at him when he walked into the den in a t-shirt and pajama pants, something very out of the norm for Bruce Wayne. He caught Bentley’s eyes and smiled back, gray irises gleaming just like Dick’s did. (Bentley never would’ve thought Dick was adopted if he hadn’t been told, really.)

“That’s because you’re the worst Mario Kart player in history,” Jason mumbled, taking Damian’s second place spot, which caused a barrage of weapon firing to come his way.

Bruce looked appalled as he sauntered over toward the coffee table and couch. “I am not,” He muttered, ruffling Bentley’s hair on the way by. “Hey, chum. How are you feeling?”

“Okay,” Bentley shrugged, glancing down at the napkin pieces. “Trying to decide whether to text those girls or not.” 

“From the gala? What were their names?”

Bentley tapped his fingers on the coffee table. “Vera and Layla.”

Bruce hummed in acknowledgment, shoving himself between Dick and Jason on the couch. “I think that would be nice.”

Bentley said nothing, but instead, pulled his phone out of his pocket and set it on the coffee table, screen up.

He guessed hey, it’s Bentley sounded best.

“Should I text them in a group?”

He got varying answers of yes, no, and whatever makes you comfortable. Which wasn’t very helpful in the slightest.

So, he settled on it. He opened his messages, added both Vera and Layla’s numbers to a group, and texted: hey, it’s Bentley.

And for some reason, he suddenly wanted to chuck his phone across the room and into a pit of lava, so instead of destroying a perfectly good device, he turned it off and tossed it on one of the chairs sitting behind him.

“He threw the phone. That means he did it!” Steph half-squeaked in excitement, even though Bentley knew she hadn’t even been looking at him. He swore everyone in the family had more than two eyes.

Not much was said besides a muted woohoo from Asten, which, honestly, could’ve been directed toward the game. Bentley was glad for it. Actually texting these girls was awkward enough as it was.

Not thirty seconds later, Bentley’s phone started ringing.

He felt eyes on him as he moved from the coffee table to grab it, peering down at the caller ID. 

Vera.

With a breath in, he grabbed his phone and made his way out of the den.

“Don’t have too much fun, B,” Asten called behind him, and he shook his head, not looking back. He knew everyone was staring.

Why did they make Bentley talking to girls such a big deal? Other than the fact that it was his literal first time taking to girls his age, there was nothing special about it.

When he made it to the top of the stairs, he pressed the green button and put it to his ear. “Hello?”

“Hey! Great timing on your text, our plane just landed,” Vera said, her voice much more cheerful than it had been at the gala. “JFK is a disaster, though. I hate airports.”

“Hey, Bentley!” Came a second voice he recognized as Layla’s.

“Hey,” He replied, walking into his bedroom and shutting the door behind him. He walked around for a moment, tapping his fingers on his pants awkwardly. “Where… did you fly to?”

“Us? We live in New York City,” Vera replied.

Bentley furrowed his brow. “Isn’t that, like, right next to New Jersey, though? Why’d you fly?”

“If you had the choice of car or plane, wouldn’t you pick plane?”

Bentley shrugged. “I guess so.”

“Exactly,”

Bentley said nothing, but sat down on his bed with a little poof noise.

“How are you today? Better than yesterday?” 

“Layla, that’s rude,”

“How is that rude?!”

Bentley snickered lightly. “I’m better than yesterday.”

“That’s good,” Layla replied. “That was scary.”

“Layla!”

“What?!”

“What she means is she’s glad you’re feeling better. And, in my opinion, your powers were awesome,” Vera replied. “I mean, I guess you weren’t having an awesome time, but… they were still cool. Do you control liquid?”

Bentley shrugged. “I guess. At first I thought it was just water, but I‘ve done champagne, and tea, and b-… uh, and… uh, stuff like that.”

“Were you about to say blood? You were totally about to say blood!” Vera exclaimed. “Bentley that’s epic!”

“Not really,” He sighed. “Especially when I lose it like I did last night.”

Or, y’know, when he almost murdered the Secret Keeper by bending her blood.

Crap. Vera.

Bentley tapped his fingers on his pants again. “Can you read minds over the phone?”

He heard them both laugh. “Don’t worry, cowboy, you’re safe unless I’m next to you.”

“Oh,” Bentley breathed. “Good.”

“So; big question,” Vera started. “For you, Wayne.”

He picked at his bedsheets. “Okay?”

“Are the Wayne’s a mafia family? I promise I won’t tell anybody,”

Bentley snickered, bringing his legs up and sitting criss-cross. “What? No.”

Vera grumbled. “Darn it. I thought I finally figured out why you’re all so strange.”

“Strange?” He questioned. “What do you mean strange?”

“Y’know. You stay home a lot, and do business stuff. To be such a high profile family, you’re not in public a ton. Which is weird,”

“And you were calling me rude for asking how he was?” He heard Layla mutter.

Bentley shrugged even though they couldn’t see him. “Well, lots of us are homeschooled or in college. We’re basically either at home or gone.”

Vera hummed. “Homeschooled huh? How boring is that?”

“Vera!”

“Don’t scold me, blondie,”

“I guess it can get a little boring, but it’s not so bad. I like being home with my dad,” Bentley explained, scooting so he was against his headboard. “Sometimes I miss Gotham Academy, though.”

“Really? Why?” Layla asked.

Bentley shrugged. He did miss it, sometimes. It seemed like there was something new at Gotham Academy every day (even without the psycho teacher incident), and at the Manor it was just… the same. Every day.

“I don’t know. We go out and do stuff, but sometimes it just feels like I’m living the same day over and over again,” He explained. “Real school wasn’t like that. Plus, having a teacher talk to you is much more entertaining than just reading from a computer.”

“Sounds dreadful,”

Layla snorted. “You really need to re-think this whole what’s nice and what’s rude thing, V.”

“How old are you?”

Bentley furrowed his brow. “Me?”

“Yes, you,” Vera spat.

“I’m turning fourteen in October. I’ll be in ninth grade this fall. Why?”

“Bentley, you should come to our school!” Layla exclaimed loudly, so loud it sounded kind of muffled on the phone, like she was really close to the microphone.

Bentley blinked a few times. “Uh… you live in New York City.”

“Yeah, but our school’s awesome. Our friend Summer’s aunt is the headmistress!” Layla explained.

Vera snickered. “Yeah, it’s a year-round boarding school for metahumans. I’ll send you the link to our website.”

Boarding school. Didn’t that mean the students lived there? Bentley wasn’t so sure about that part, but being in a school where he didn’t have to worry about being a metahuman sounded pretty cool. And, Y’know. Not staring at a computer in the Manor for the rest of his life.

“Okay,” Bentley replied. “I’m not sure about the whole living in New York part, though.”

“I mean, I guess you could drive back and forth every day, but that’d be a lot of car time,”

“Yeah… it sounds cool, though,” He stated, picking at the blankets.

Vera sighed. “Anyways, that mafia question was all I had for ya. We’re about to hop in a taxi. Make sure to look at the website, yeah?”

“Okay,” Bentley replied. “Bye.”

“See ya,”

“Bye, Bentley!”

The call was ended, and before Bentley could even put his phone down, he got a text. A website link.

Redwood Academy for the Gifted.

He hummed lightly, tapping on the link.

Going to a real school again, especially for high school, actually didn’t sound half bad.

—

dedicated to @sassenashsworld ❤️

—

tag list! (If you want me to remove or add you, ask in comments!)

@fleur-alise @sarcopterygiian @flyrobinflyy @skylathescholar @gayboss-too-close-to-the-sun @xiaonothere @beatyoutothatusernameloser

[fantastic-nonsense]

i don't know if you've already made a post about this but what comic(s) do you think have the best characterisation of cassandra cain and dick grayson?

My instinctive response to this ask was to just answer "Prodigal and Batgirl (2000)" and be on my way. Instead, I took a little bit more time to think about what my answer should be and what information might be useful to people looking for comics featuring a well-characterized Dick and Cass. So, with that said:

Dick:

Robin: Year One (2000)

New Teen Titans/Tales of the Teen Titans (1980 & 1984)

Batman: Year Three (1989)

Batman: Prodigal (1997)

Titans Vol. 1 (1999)

Nightwing/Birds of Prey: The Hunt for Oracle (2000)

Gotham Knights (2000) #1-12

Peter Tomasi's run on Nightwing (1996)

Batman: The Black Mirror (2010)

Batman: Gates of Gotham (2011)

Listen. All of these comics have their flaws. Many of them feature dated and occasionally poor treatment of various characters/social issues. I'm still holding a grudge against Devin Grayson for her Nightwing run and will until the end of time, and thus the inclusion of Titans Vol. 1 and her first Gotham Knights arcs might seem a bit odd. But I also think this is a pretty solid list of comics that portray Dick in ways that feel consistent and faithful to his core characterization; they're also some of the comics that feature Dick at his best.

Cass:

Batgirl (2000): specifically the Puckett/Scott run (#1-37) and the Gabrych run (#38 & #58-73)

Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive (2003)

Gates of Gotham (2011)

Tynion's run on Detective Comics (2016)

Batman and the Outsiders (2019)

Batgirl Vol. 1 was and continues to be the golden standard of how to portray Cass. She's never reached those heights again. Other comics featuring Cass wish they were Batgirl Vol. 1, but it was a true "lightning in a bottle" run that has yet to be replicated. That being said: Murderer/Fugitive (which takes place during Cass's Batgirl run) is great, and Gates of Gotham features the only solid pre-reboot Cass characterization post-Evil Cass arc.

Post-Flashpoint!Cass is a bit of a different animal, but within the context and limitations placed on her appearances until Dan Didio's departure from DC in 2020, she's best characterized and treated in Detective Comics Rebirth and Batman and the Outsiders.

Honorable mentions: these comics either weren't quite on the same level of "good characterization" to make the list or just didn't highlight the character as much as they could have, but I still really like what the creative team did with them in the space they were given:

Dick: Nightwing (1996) #6 (for being a fun depiction of Dick and Tim's early-days relationship), Teen Titans (2003) #6 (great characterization of Dick. So-so characterization of...several other characters), The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul (I love Dick's characterization here, and it's one of my favorite Bat books, but he's just not in it all that much), and Batman & Robin (2009), which...I'll get into my complicated feelings about Morrison's B&R run some other time, but generally: I like Dick's characterization in this comic a lot in isolation. It becomes much more difficult to square, however, when you take everything else going on during the Reborn era into account.

Cass: Mariko Tamaki's Shadows of the Bat: The Tower (2021) event and "Sounds" short from the DC Asian Superhero Celebration (2021) anthology. They're nice and have some great Cass moments, but they're either too short (Sounds) or too focused on other characters/the overall plot (The Tower) to truly do her justice.

[yanmuffins]

I don't think that the sword would glance at her because it would be obvious that she's not favored by Bruce. Like you say she is for the most unknown to the public so it means that for most of time, it's just Damian or Tim (sometimes Dick) that Bruce brings to gala, charity event or his company to meet important peopke. Reader would be deem useless to them because she doesn't have connections like her brothers.

I also don't think that reader would like to be near people like them because they seem to have the same attitude of Damian (prideful about their bloodlines and yada yada). Depending on the depth of her resentment towards herfamily and especially state of her relationship with Damian,she will avoid to interact with this kind of people.

The rose would be better to handle her. They know how to seduce people, they will notice that reader has maybe some inferority complex and is not used to being complimented and they will use that to make it easier for her to trust them. Moreover, I think it would be more interesting to see the inner conflict of rose!reader when she becomes a vampire and has to choose if she stays with the family that thave ignored her all her life or if she joins the rose who even though their primary goal is to use her to reach new heights, they have shown her care and made her feel loved and more confident in herself and her abilities and they always seem to find the words that comfort her.

Btw ,it's tottaly an another subject but i looooove your writing🥰🥰🥰 . I just read your jjk fic and the way you use word to describe the background,the setting is so beutiful. The bath scene was my favorite part and I'm not even a fan of jjk. I'm really excited to read your upcoming fic😭!

context &. context.

here's the thing: in their (both rose and sword) eyes, vampire! reader is the easiest, most convenient target who has... potential. she just needs guidance, a nudge in the right direction. not only that, but the fact she is overlooked by her family and barely known to the public is perfect for someone who wants to waltz in and manipulate her. at the end of the day, bruce wayne is gotham's most important man, owner of wayne enterprises, local billionaire and reader is one of his older kids – the most vulnerable one. that alone is enough to turn their heads towards her, instead of bruce's other children.

now whether she truly is a good fit for the clan of kings... well, that's debatable. reader didn't have any particular inclinations to inherit wayne enterprises, and when damian came along she pretty much abandoned the notion. she was homeschooled for most her life and barely attends galas, and doesn't really have connections, like you said. but... if she's in the right hands, who knows? again, potential.

but yes, i wholeheartedly agree about the clan of roses. it seems to be the preferred option from the two other anons i got on the subject, as well. should i make a poll?

anyways. vampire! reader would be easily seduced. this is the one instance where wayne paranoia would fail her because this new person, who is not from gotham (and that is a reason to not be as wary of them), validates, compliments, gives her attention she never had from her family and makes her feel fuzzy and confident.

"has to choose if she stays with the family that thave ignored her all her life or if she joins the rose"

call that being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

her relationship with damian presently isn't as bad as when he came to the manor. he knew about reader, talia would've told him about her, so at first he wasn't happy to know there was someone sharing bruce wayne's blood other than him. but that's not to say it's good. he still thinks she's unworthy of being a wayne but concluded she's not a threat to him. ironically or not, he's most likely to track reader's behavior if he thinks there's something unusual with her. second to jason, but he casually keeps track of her already.

also, anon, thank you so much!!! ( ∩´͈ ᐜ `͈∩) your comment made me feel so giddy, i'm glad you enjoy my writing. pls stay tuned for future fics!!

[temperamentalaquarius]

any thoughts on batman: black mirror? i really enjoyed it (as a non-batfamily fan) but i'm wondering if there is a difference of opinion with people who are actually acquainted with the context behind black mirror, i guess. which parts did you find the strongest + which parts did you find the weakest?

anyways, im a huge fan of your comics-posting (which is both, in the best way, entertaining and insightful). have a great day!

Ahhh thank u!! I'm glad I'm not the only one having fun 😁!!!

Thank you so much for sending this, I loved the dick!bats era and I liked The Black Mirror!!

I thought it was a decent Dick story, and I loved that it had Babs and Tim as the supporting cast. It was good to see them back(mostly) in their 90s early 2000s element.

I thought that the A plot was better than the serial killer B plot-; it had a lot of personal connection for Dick without being about the Graysons and orcas(which are some of the most vicious and borderline cruel predators that terrify me to my core and it was really cool to see them get some use)- even if I didn't find the ending super satisfying.

I thought James was interesting, and his story was more linear but the addition of the Joker into the situation was kind of just...messy and not entirely necessary? It kind of killed it for me. Idk I might just have Joker fatigue. I did like the coloring and a good portion of the art better in that part of the story, tho. I thought the mood they set was really cool and a little scary.

My high points were all (unsurprisingly) character based:

I loved the way Tim saving Dick from his own shit here

Kinda paralleled this scene in NW 96

But more mature. Watching them go from Dick mentoring Tim to them having a much more balanced relationship where Tim can fully have Dick's back has always been super satisfying and seeing it making a come back after their little fallout was cool

I also like the attention paid to the differences in Bruce and Dick's philosophy (specifically here:

) and the difficulty that Batman presents Dick because of it. Part of the appeal of Dick being Batman is the reluctance and the chunk of flesh it takes out of him and I think this story really got the tone of that right. He's making mistakes that he wouldn't normally, he's not sleeping; you can really tell that everything is getting to him. He feels like the walls are closing in on him with no way out (sometimes literally) and it makes the whole story kind of..weary? It's as much man vs man as it is man vs self. Love that many of the action sequences in the book happen in enclosed places that have an unstoppable deadly force converging on him with no way out and how that emphasizes the theme

OH and my absolute favorite analogy for the mindset that dick operates w/ is in this book

And how that works with his parents rules for survival

There's like... a debate on whether Dick plans or if he acts on instinct and I like the way that this breaks it down to: yes, he's planning from the start and if it seems like he isn't it's because that's what he wants you to think- but he understands that leaving space to bob and weave is a part of that process. Ultimate planner that is liable to start behaving erratically as fuck at any moment is such a fun look

Favorite fight was probably the horror forward snap at the auction, with honorarable mentions going to Dick v.s the compactor, Dick v.s. the orca, and of course Dick v.s. The bends

Worst was by far this one:

There is no way he should've been able to waltz into Babs' hideout without her knowing I'm so sorry it's just not realistic, like, that's Barbara Gordon???

[wormsin]

if tim’s favorite robin is jason now, does this mean he was no longer present in the canon of watching dick grayson’s parents die? i always thought it was offputting how they shoehorned tim into dick’s trauma event in such a voyeuristic manner to make him relevant to the story….he saw the first robin’s parents die and decides later that jason todd will always be his favorite? can you just imagine tim thinking “yeah it was so traumatic for ME to watch ur parents died and robin was originally a petname ur mum gave you when you were a little baby but jason is my fave robin hehe 😉 “

I don't actually have the context for Tim saying his favorite Robin is Jason but tbh. it's fine. Jason died a horrible death as Robin, he can have this.

it doesn't make sense for Tim to be at the Grayson's deaths, he would have to be like 2-3yo and that's still stretching ages. but iirc, he figures out Robin is Dick Grayson because he recognized an acrobat move Robin did as the same Dick Grayson did. Tim figuring out their identities is pretty important so we have to make this Fixation on the Flying Graysons make sense. I HC Tim was there, didn't really remember it more than a few impressions, researched the Grayson's when he was older and found some rare footage, voila. he had a crush/obsession with Dick Grayson of the Flying Graysons and that translated to being very starry eyed with Dick Grayson when they actually met, in a way that was definitely uncomfortable for Dick, but Tim was a child and I don't see Dick holding that against him.

anyway I don't think there's really a contradiction to Tim being present at the Graysons' death and thinking that Jason is his 'favorite Robin'. what I think is weird is writers pushing *even more* people into that death scene retroactively. like. come on.

[havenesc]

for the ask meme: 5/6, 8, 11, and 16!!!!

(love your fandom ask meme)

HELLO SWEET FRIEND thank you for sending these :^)) had to put my thinking cap on for these

5. something you see in fics a lot and love

Oh gosh. I like a really good Tim and Jason brotherly relationship -- I love Jason navigating all of his familial relationships, good and bad, and when I say "good" in context of Jason and Tim I don't necessarily always mean "happy and healthy" either. I love when people tackle their very specific dynamic of being neither the first nor the last to wear the colors, the replacement to the replacement, the "don't follow in my footsteps because I can't save you from what I have to do to stop you" kind of shit. There's so many different ways to parse their relationship, and so many of them really are fascinating. Like. Oh my god. Bookmarked. Kudos'd. Guaranteed silent car ride while I digest what I just read for the next 5-7 business days.

6. something you see in art a lot and love

Not to be fucked up but I love whump and I love angst and I love emotional turmoil. Seeing art meant to wound both the viewer and the subject is like salt and vinegar chips for the Haven soul.

(I also once was a Jason Todd white streak hater way, WAY back in the day when I was still begrudgingly like, trying to figure out if I was into Batman as a whole like a southern kid trying to figure out if they might be queer (an experience I lived once already), but now I get such a kick whenever official DC artists actually commit to the bit and give our boy his white streak like the rest of us. I am a white hair Jason TRUTHER)

8. you hope more people will come to appreciate __ (a ship, a trope, an episode, etc)

SOFIA GIGANTE AS A ROGUES GALLERY CHARACTER MY GOD THE POTENTIAL GOOD LOOOOOOOOORD

I'm sure it will come. I am so sure of it. This is just my lesbian pining for Sofia Gigante. But I need her to be passive aggressive with the Batfamily, be untouchable in ways that The Penguin or Zucco or the other mobsters aren't. I need her to play a fucking game of 4D chess with the Batman and I need Dick to lose a bitch contest to her and I need her to begrudgingly sympathize with Jason's outcasting and we have already gone down that rabbit hole but I just need to say it aGAIN

11. if you're a writer or artist, what fic or piece of art are you proud of making?

Fic-wise, my best work to date is nothing grows to burn, a still-in-progress fic about loss, grief and love in the eyes of a has-been figure skater and an unconventional rising star hockey player. My very first fic I have ever posted was a Batman fic and it shows, but I am actually working on picking up the pieces of it and making it work :^)

Art-wise, definitely my achilles come down. My favorite (and first!) piece I have done since I came back to DC. I have peaked. I was not high when I made it but I look back and have no idea how I made it at all. Self-high five.

16. a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

Honestly, I'm relatively new to being back in my DC lane after a two-year stint in JJK, so it may very well be appreciated to death already and that's why my ignorant eyes have not seen much of it -- and it's not exactly a tiny detail! BUT.

The very specific scar of Jason having his throat cut by Bruce. That is not a byproduct of the Joker or Jason's death, like the autopsy scar, but it sure as hell is a byproduct of Jason living and having autonomy out of the shadow of thy father -- and by god did he suffer those consequences when he faced Bruce down with a problem Bruce could not correctly solve. They might not be flesh and blood but the sting of your own paternal figure taking the risk of killing you again over killing the Joker, your actual murderer. WHOOMPH.

[zeroducks-2]

Reading your answer on why Clark is still friends with Bruce despite everything is depressing, despite all the meta reasoning to know that the symbol of hope and optimism takes abuse and won’t stop abuse is….sad.

It is, right? I agree that it is kinda depressing. But ultimately comicbook characters are influenced by who writes them.

There's a lot of stuff my blorbos did that I don't like. From Tim being sexist to Stephanie, to Slade being creepy and weird to Rose, Dick making racist jokes, Bruce arguing that his violent approach is the only one that works, Clark himself being condescending to Lois when she does "foolish woman things", and many more.

I highly recommend anyone not to hold their favorite character as paragon of morality, regardless if they're heroes or villains. Characters don't have agency and are subjected to what their writer will want them to say and how they will want them to act, and we can argue that "it's OOC" all we want but at the end of the day we WILL be disappointed if we treat fictional people as role models.

Seriously anon, the secret of fandom happiness - beside blocking bullies - is to stop wanting our blorbos to be paragons of "good things", whether it's hope, justice, righteousness, what have you, because ultimately these concepts change according to the time period, the context, the writer(s), the interpretations, and are influenced by a million other things. They're treated like sempiternal concepts but in fact the precise definition of them will vary from person to person, even in the exact same context and time period.

And by the way, like it happens for many other things, Clark not preventing Bruce from abusing his Robins isn't Clark's failure, it's the writers and executive's failure in creating a good narrative around the fact that Bruce is a toxic douchebag who hurts the people he loves.

[gffa]

10, 13, 14 for DC? My answers are pit madness, Tim Drake or Jason Todd, and Cass using ASL. I’m curious to hear your hot takes lol

10. worst part of fanon Ohhhhh, how do I choose. I oscillate a lot with various ones, but my current least favorite fanon thing is the hyersexualizing/objectification of Dick Grayson. A lot of fandom is really, really good about not doing this! But the focus on his ass as a selling point of the character is not suddenly great and wonderful just because we're doing it to a man now instead of a woman. The character himself is not overtly sexualizing--he's flirty (but how much of that is just that he's friendly and charming?) and he clearly likes sex, but he does so in the context of genuine relationships, and neither he nor the other characters really focus on his body parts, and I'm not super comfortable when fandom does it. (To be fair, I think we need to unpack the way women are treated in comics waaaaaay more than we need to focus on Dick's character's treatment, but also I just don't think I'll ever be onboard with it, either.) 13. worst blorboficiation YOU ARE GOING TO GET ME IN TROUBLE but it absolutely is Tim. And I'm not entirely opposed, in the sense that my Blorboifcation is my jam when I'm doing it, you know? So why shouldn't the exact same thing apply to other characters? Let them Blorboize their Blorbos to their hearts content! But I do find myself sliding right off a lot of Tim fic that doesn't let him be a horrible little gremlin man who is just as obnoxious and stubborn as the rest of his family, who is capable of making mistakes or doing some really fucked up things because he knows they're necessary. Tim is allowed to go through rough patches and not come out having handled them perfectly, he is allowed to push people away, to be unfair to people, to have his entire world upended and be less than perfect, while still being sympathetic because baby boy was Going Through It and needs more love. There's a lot of fic that I've read that has great Blorboification of Tim, I am so down for exploring his issues with self-worth, I've just also seen it go overboard a lot in a way that's not for me. (And they would probably say the exact same thing about my Blorboification and they'd probably be equally right! 😂) 14. that one thing you see in fics all the time Sooooo many fanon nicknames! And that's not necessarily a bad thing, many of them are ones that I enjoy (I will fight anyone who tries to take away "baby bat", SHUT UP, I LOVE THAT ONE), I just kind of want to side-eye people sometimes and check, "We all know we're making this up and it's not really how the comics characters usually talk to each other, right?" before we get right back to using them anyway because they're fun.

[lurkinglurkerwholurks]

Battle Royal

First posted: June 8, 2018

Focuses on: The BatFam as seen by Clark Kent

My favorite bookmark: "Good grief this is perfect"

Tier: Bottom half at best in terms of metrics

This is my "behind the scenes" series where I indulge myself frightfully by annotating my fics. Link to the fic itself above. Thoughts below the cut.

The title is on purpose. It's a pun. Not a battle royale but a literal battle royal, since it's a battle of pop princesses.

I got the idea for this one at work. I don't remember if it came from a conversation with my single coworker who also loved BatFam (and didn't know I wrote fic), or if we had a separate conversation and the creative juices kept flowing after I went back to my cube. I just know where I was when the pieces came together. (And then I had to jot note in my phone and wait because there was no time to write at work.)

Clark Kent was a firm believer that a home was imprinted by the emotions of its family. Step in the front door and the atmosphere of a place would fill your lungs and whisper secrets in your ear about the lives of the people who claimed it. Not all buildings could speak like this, or even all houses, but homes? Homes spoke.

This was my first time writing Clark. This was not my first time—or last—starting a fic with a bunch if philosophic rambling. It's kind of my thing at this point. Sorrynotsorry I guess.

Clark had felt the change again when Dick had left, storming off in high dudgeon to Bludhaven and Nightwing. 

I still haven't figured out how much of Dick's growing-up involved fights and tension and genuine falling out vs. just... the regular strain of adulthood and change. I waffle. In many ways, the Manor was far more expressive than its owner, and Clark appreciated the aid it gave in decoding the veritable sphinx he called a friend. In times of crisis, the bits Clark gleaned from the Manor gave him context and insight. In times of tranquility, he basked in the confirmation that all was well.

I like fics that play with the Manor as an Entity. This is as close as I've gotten to doing that myself. Bless Clark, he needs all the help he can get.

Clark and Bruce sat in the den, quiet conversation forgotten, as they listened to the brawl happening several doors down and a floor away.

I hate spatial orientation. Hate hate hate it. Trying to figure out where things and people should be and then keeping track of it all is such a headache.

It was a source of endless mystery to Clark how Bruce could stalk out of a room in chinos and a turtleneck and still somehow leave the impression of a cape billowing in his wake. Clark had asked Lois once if he was capable of doing the same thing. Lois had laughed herself nearly as blue as his tights.

So much googling of what rich people wear. And also what colors on Superman's costume go where.

There's a typo in this fic. I see it. I am not fixing it because that would tempt me to fix other things. But I see it. My fingertips itch.

Clark had once had the misfortune of pulling Damian out of a brawl. Damian had bit him. The bite hadn’t even left teethmarks, of course, but both Damian and Clark had been so embarrassed that it had taken weeks before the Waynes and Kents could get together without the teasing driving both participants into a full-body blush.

I forgot about this part. I am delighted with myself.

Clark raised one eyebrow, one Kon often used and Tim would be able to decipher with ease. What in the world? Clark was less fluent in Wayne-speak—Bruce wasn’t known for his communication skills, verbal or non—but he caught the gist as Tim widened his eyes slightly, gave his head a small shake, and then shrugged one shoulder eloquently. No frikkin’ idea.

My whole family is decently skilled at this. I remember being little and watching my parents communicate across a room and being so intrigued by the entire exchange. So of course I gave it to the Waynes and of course if Bruce does it, Clark would have learned at least a little.

Though not shouted, Bruce’s command was forceful enough that all four boys startled. Clark came close as well but managed to stop himself. When Bruce sounded that much like a dad, sometimes it was hard not to react like a kid.

I like this line, too.

Honestly, there were sometimes when Dick seemed like the metahuman instead of Clark. After all, Clark might be able to lift an airplane over his head, but could he bend over backward and look between his own feet? No, no he could not.

I just looked. Zootopia had been out a couple years by now, so the cadence makes sense. But also, this is just how I gripe at myself sometimes.

Dick shrugged and shifted his weight. Jason howled with rage as a window-rattling fart blasted in the general direction of his face. “Boys!” Now Bruce sounded more exasperated than stern, and Clark choked down laughter. “Dick, get off your brother. Jason, don’t stab Dick.”

This may be the most juvenile and cartoonish of all my fics. I am unashamed.

“Do you mean to tell me that you destroyed your grandmother’s Neoclassical coffee table over a disagreement over teenie-bopper pop stars?”

More googling about expensive furniture. Likely while sitting on my own IKEA couch.

I also had to do so much pop star googling. Dick's and Jason's points are pulled directly from some article somewhere that was trying to argue who was the best. But also, note, my first profanity, because "It's Britney, bitch" had to be done. It just had to.

To the side, Tim lifted a finger. “Uh, I like Mil—”

Obviously, Dick and Jason are the two older children, and at the time I wrote them at closer in age than the others (not what I do now), so they got the 90s pop queens, which meant Tim's and Damian's picks needed to be more modern. Tim's had to be cringe, so tada. Miley Cyrus.

“Miss Grande has a four-octave range and more class in her perfectly sculpted pinky finger than you have in your entire stunted body, and you will speak of her with respect.”

Now in 2023 I wish I'd given Damian a less problematic idol, but she made sense at the time. Also the aforementioned coworker was a stan, so it felt appropriate.

A solid hour of yelling was a therapeutic experience, much more so than, say, getting into a fistfight with a chainsmoker dressed like a flightless bird.

Gotham is such an absurd place, when you really think about it.

“I don’t understand modern music anymore. It’s all double-step and rat traps.” 

Dubstep and trap music, Bruce. Dubstep and trap music.

“Give me Debbie Gibson any day.” “Huh,” Clark mused as he passed his friend. “I always preferred Tiffany.”

More googling to find out who the Britney vs. Xtina were back in the day.

From somewhere deep in the Manor, Cassandra trilled, “Shakira, Shakiraaaaa!”