#tim has put the batfam above himself way too many times
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The entire superman family has at one point just picked up one of the batfam and flown them in the sky to force them to rest.
Bats were such active creatures. And each of the batfam never rested, never took breaks. It was like Gotham was constantly humming to them, constantly talking to them on where to go and who to help.
The city was always colourful, always too many sounds from different directions, explosions of light and crimes that kept each of them moving no matter how long it had been, no matter how injured they were.
It started when Kon was frustrated.
Heād noticed Tim hadnāt gotten any sleep for the past week or so, the other man contently focused on tracking down seventy three gang members all by himself. He was also working on a plan to frame three mafia families to land them behind bars, and solve twelve unsolved mysteries somehow related with the whole mess.
And heās tried so hard to reason with Tim. To try and trick him into taking a nap. But he swore Tim could hear something in the city he couldnāt. Gotham and the bats communicated with sonar, he speculated because somehow Tim always had somewhere to go, somewhere to be.
So when heās had enough, he just swooped up the other man, flying high enough that the sound of the city disappeared. It was bright and clamouring one second, silent and dark the next.
Timās tense, heās probably yelling at Kon to put him down and smacking him with the pole but Kon couldnāt hear him over trying to figure out what to do next that wouldnāt earn him a kryptonite shaped hole in his chest.
But after a few minutes he shivers, curling closer to Kon as the winds whip past them. And in the silence of the night, as time slowly ticks by, he notices Timās grip on his shoulder slowly lessening, before it finally falls slack.
He waits for a bit, listening to Timās heartbeat until it finally steadies and slows, gently cradling the other man as he silently slips into the manor, and sets him down in bed. He does let the other bats know Timās asleep (theyāre an overprotective bunch although very few would actually admit it)
And when heās back with Superman, Clark grumbling about how heās so close to just knocking Bruce out himself, Kon just gives him the same advice. Gothamās sonar is silenced, everything else falling silent.
And it works.
Somehow, if you disconnect the bats from their city for more than five minutes each, every single one of them will succumb to sleep. Itās like all the noise and constant rush thatās been in their minds is flipped off and theyāre left above their worries, nothing pressing to keep them moving so they drop fast asleep.
Supergirl jokes that theyāre like actual bats in that way. You hang them up high when itās time for them to rest. None of the batfam is amused.
#batman#jason todd#dick grayson#red hood#nightwing#bruce wayne#headcanons#damian wayne#tim drake#batfam#superman family#konner kent#conner kent#kon#superboy#red robin#superman
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Interactions I've had with my cousins + Batfam pt.2
Tim or Damian: *Making fun of Dick*
Dick: oh, kids, haha, am I rite?
Jason: *makes fun of Dick*
Dick: *lunges for the throat*
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Dick actually considers putting Jason back in the ground when Damian holds his hand instead of Dick's to cross the street
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Dick: Hey, Dami, can I have a gummy worm?
Damian: Sure :)
Jason: Can I have one too?
Damian: Of course <3
*Dick and Jason eat ONE (1) gummy worm each*
Damian: Bruce, can you buy me another bag of gummy worms? Dick and Jason ate all of mine š¢š„ŗ
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Dick never sees the adult table on the holidays because he has to sit next to Tim and Damian to make sure they don't kill each other or whoever's near them (and cut their food)
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Steph: Dick! Jason's not letting me play foosball!
Tim: Dick! Jason kicked me!
Damian: Dick! Jason hit me!
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*Tim and Steph playing kitchen*
Tim: *cooking*
Steph: *grabs some cutlery and leaves it on the counter*
Tim: hn *puts it back in it's place*
Steph: *plays with some toy food and leaves it on the floor*
Tim: HN >:( *puts it back in the cupboard*
Steph: *leaves "dirty" dishes on the counter instead of putting them in the sink*
Tim: Get out of my kitchen
(it's Steph's kitchen)
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The ABSOLUTE HORROR that is taking all of them to the arcade (or anywhere for that matter, but it's harder to keep them still at the arcade).
Steph chooses a game first, then Damian, then Tim, then Cass, then Jason.
Steph
Pros: Understands that she has to stay close to Dick, has no problem holding hands, quick to choose a game
Cons: Chooses the racing games that 1) are only for 1 player, 2) are on the opposite side of the arcade of where all the other games are, and 3) take way too long
Damian
Pros: Has no problem sharing his game most of the time with enough convincing (and I mean games where you have to throw balls and stuff, so more than one person can throw a ball at the same time)
Cons: Does NOT understand that he has to stay close to Dick, WON'T hold hands, WILL wander off, takes AGES to choose a game
Tim
Pros: Quick to choose a game, chooses cheap games (not on purpose, but it's still appreciated)
Cons: Impacient, gets mad when it's not his turn, wanders off, complains A LOT
Cass
Pros: Considerate, patiently awaits her turn, won't complain about anything, keeps an eye on Steph at all times
Cons: WAY too considerate, you can never tell if she actually wanted that game or if she just picked it because it was nearby or because it could be shared, won't tell you if something's wrong, doesn't talk and always stays at the back of the group, so Dick has to make sure she's still there every 5 seconds
Jason
Pros: Can sort of manage himself, won't throw a tantrum if it's not his turn (because even he knows he's too old for that, not because he's above such behaviour), will obey Dick when it's made clear he means business
Cons: Wanders off because he thinks he is SO grown up and he doesn't need supervision, lets the others wander off, chooses expensive games, Dick has to make sure he doesn't take the arcade card because he WILL spend all their credits on his favourite game which is the most expensive BY FAR and only lasts like 10 seconds, WILL get pissy if he doesn't get as many games as the others
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#dc comics#jason todd#dick grayson#tim drake#damian wayne#stephanie brown#cassandra cain#batfam#batfamily
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Maribat March 2021 - Half time
In my AO3 account I am also updating the 'A playboy billionaire, an ambassador and the secret love-child' title, and sometimes I add(ed) commentary why I write something the way I do.
Masterlist
From the last fifty days here is all the plus note:
First day
In Red Robin (2009-2011) comics Vicki Vale was a little bit too noisy for her own good, that's why I used her personal annoyance against Bruce Wayne in this story.
Third day
Vanessa Rios was an assistant district attorney in Gotham in the Robin (1993-2009) run. Here I am using her as the Wayne's legal team head. Tamara Fox, Lucius Fox's daughter, is friends with Tim Drake in Red Robin (2009-2011) comics and here too. Also she is an intern with the HR department who knows about the BatFam alteregos.
Fifth day
In the comics, Alfred always followed Bruce to his 'trips' (in 'Batman and Son' to London, 'Batman & Robin Annual' to an scavenger hunt, in 'Batman Inc.' to every country where they found representatives...) However because of Damian's unpredictable behaviour he stayed at the manor with the children in this story.
Sixth day
So Young Justice thing is a little complicated to me if I dare to say something about it. There was the 'Young Justice: The Secret' and its sequels. Then there were 'The New52' and 'DC Rebirth' era, plus the animation show. And they all are kind of okay..ish, furthermore I wanted to keep the principles like the main members (Tim Drake, Connor Kent, Bart Allen and Cassie Sandsmark), however I never liked their too childish behavior in some of the works (and the mixing with 'The Titans). So in this story, here, they are more adult..ish, but more relaxed and cheerful than 'The Titans' ever was (like in comics, not in the shows).
Eighth day
In the 'Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir' show they showed Lila as a manipulator without any remorse, which got me to think she has antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). I am not a doctor but I had some basic lesson in psychology, and I have a natural curiosity about things so I always research everything. With diagnosed ASPD the person has to be older then 18, however I read its symptoms can show up in childhood, and it can lead to an earlier diagnosis like 14-15 years old early.
In the case of Lila she deceives people and uses them (ā). Don't makes long term plans or thinking through about her behavior (ā), however has a set on some goal she wants to achieve (ā). She has a sense of superiority above of her classmates and adults in her environment (ā), nevertheless does't have any remorse or guilt to mistreat them (ā). Uses charisma and her fake charming persona to get something or someone (ā), however didn't value them more than tools or prizes (ā).
I didn't see any real aggressive behavior from Lila beside akumatizations (ā), but on its own I think it's enough evidence, that she has this disorder (and not the many that she claimed). In normal aggressive way Lila didn't show herself (like physical violence, loud angry outbursts, big fits in front of everyone) yet, rather she uses Akumatization to hide that kind of behavior (when Adrien tried to stand up she became willingly Chameleon, or the Heroe's Day, or Oni-Chan). So her Akumatised forms and helping to Hawkmoth are the evidences that she has aggressive behavior, however they are not the classic forms (but we also can remember the threatening in the bathroom, but I think that was more intimidation and showing her superiority then pure aggressiveness).
And I wanted that recreate and strengthen this 'fact' a little bit so it would be more obvious than in the show.
Ninth day
In the comics there are so many take on Bruce Wayne it's kind of hard to count it. We could list the Batman persona, when he kind of let his children do what they want within his no-kill-rule (like living alone at fourteen with bunch of other teenager - 'Teen Titans' or 'Young Justice' or as it looks like to go rough - Robin, Red Hood). And there is the obvious martyr-parent take, when he has to know everything about his children, but he is always silent about the important things ('Death of the family' - 'Batman and Robin: Born to kill' - 'The Hunt for Robin'). And one of my favorites the worried-tired father take, when he is kind of showing his emotions and trying to love his kids ('Super Sons' - 'Robin Rises' - 'Prelude to the Wedding: Nightwing vs. Hush' ...).
And I decided to use the last with a more active take from the first (like he lets everyone do their thing but he is monitoring them within reasons). In the comics there are many accusations about being someones father (with Julie Madison or Mariah Shelley), and here in my take he is trying to be responsible (for the sake of his children, mainly for Damian and Jason) and checks every claim out personally (so they also can do DNS test).
Tenth day
Alya CƩsaire is a complicated someone in the show. At first she is portrayed as a fierce helper for the protagonist, Marinette. She is stubborn and reckless, but royal to her best friends.
Then came Lila and the makers sharpened her stubborn tunnel vision. This I saw it first at the 'Lady Wifi' episode, when she clearly didn't remember about the first day, when Ladybug saved ChloƩ (or ignored it). After that she always fixated on 'Adrienette' (or everything else if it's interesting - Dark Cupid) when the girl, herself had other things to do (Princess Fragrance, Puppeteer 2, Reflektdoll 2, Timebreaker). So it was not that big surprise when her tunnel vision turned to Lila, and she (and everybody in her class) forgot about that they all met Jagged Stone and with his crocodile already.
Yeah, it's all true, however unlike Lila, Alya didn't show any other big social flaw. And she is 14 years old and middle child, which is kind of important in someone personality. She has to be a mature figure and a little child at the same time in her sibling's eyes. She has to compete attention in their parents eyes and be smart about it.
Moreover if we look at the Collège Françoise Dupont's students, they are all spoiled, not just Chloé or Lila or Adrien. Yes, they are not that bad like the three, but they are all sheltered to a certain degree. Their family don't have financial problems (famous chef, designers, mayor, famous bakery, curator in the most famous museum, police officer, famous pantomime, ...), plus they are all in a prestigious school where they can't meet people with everyday problems (and rich spoiled kid is not an everyday occurrence in my country). And beside some vision problems (Max, Sabrina) they are all healthy and the first time to meet a disability is when Lila arrived. So it's natural if they don't really know how to interact right with her (putting aside that whole lie thing).
And I think they, especial Alya, need first a little life experience, before they could be called responsible about their acts. And here I am trying to write it this kind of way, where they are all flawed, but they can learn from it.
Human being can be shallow and not perfect. These children only heard one perspective from Lila, and another from Marinette. In the show the makers not exactly specified about how well the classmates know Marinette and how depth Marinette and Alya friendship is, so there is already some trust issue.
Like yeah all of they are going to concerts, cinema, each others, however they didn't show so far any serious conservation between them (maybe the only exception is Adrien-Marinette combo). Until this year when Adrien and Alya got transferred in the class, the classmates don't even help Marinette with ChloƩ bullying. And one year friendship - how beautiful is it tho - is not that depth and stable, especially with that many secrets they have. And Lila 'charming' personality came into this still fragile relationship at the right time to prove this.
I am not saying that the makers is doing good to simplifies the relationships. Because rather they missed so many ziccers for the sake of promote new hero designs and the overwritten romantic scene, it's physical hurting me. But they are right that we are talking sheltered-traumatized-too naive kids, who sometimes had unearned magic powers (looking at ChloƩ, Alya, Kim).
And I didn't ever going the length of mentioning the adult characters. It's an other kind of wormhole.
Marinette was the only one who openly disobeyed Lila's wants. She stands up against her lies in the public so she is a real obstacle for Lila. While Adrien is only trying in the background without any witness (I don't say it's bad, because with some case it's better, but not here), and the boy is too valuable to Lila.
Lila already showed in the series she didn't stop with the lies and she is brave enough to ruin someone carrier with them (Marinette - 'Ladybug', Nathalie and Gorilla - 'Oni-Chan', Alya - 'Volpina'). And Adrien watched all of it in the front seat, and he kind of knows that Lila's main target here to discredit and broke Marinette/Ladybug (and Adrien, himself also, but it's his perspective and he is very sheltered and naive about it).
And this story she got another one to ruin. Bruce Wayne, himself. And as her fake charming side melts away in her anger as she is focusing more and more on her targets.
Eleventh day
Speed Force is one of the Seven Forces of the Universe. It grants the power of the speedsters. And some of them merged with it (for example Barry Allen). Speed Force has a direct connection to the time flow and with the Multiverse (or now Omniverse). The biggest event of it is the Flashpoint (2011) which started the New52 era. And Batman doesn't want to mix this kind of force with a really mysterious ancient magic.
Nightrunner's first appearance was in 2011 in Detective Comics Annual #12. Within the Batman Incorporated line Bruce recruited Bilal Asselah, French-Algerian citizen to represent Batman in Paris. Here he is a mentor/background assistant to the Team Miraculous and a representative of Batman Inc.
Fourteenth day
Wang Fu is not the most mature character in the show and I think it says it all. Being an 186 years old is the Great Guardian after he accidentally destroyed the temple, he is kind of shameful and amateur. And if we contrasted him with Batman... yeah. Batman is NOT happy and takes the control from the old master.
Fifteenth day
I know Cyborg, alias Victor Stone is currently shown as a founding member of the Justice League (since 2011), however I am prefer him more in the Titans. And it's not just because of the animation show form 2003, but also in the comics he is more himself with the first Titans then with the -all mighty- Justice League. And I also wanted him to have a little cameo in this story because in the Super Sons (2017-) he was kind of like a babysitter for the boys. And to me it's kind of funny how many times the bats short circuited him (Robin Rises, Super Sons: Parent Trap, ...).
Sixteenth day
Damian Wayne is a complicated character. For ten years he was teached to kill. He only learnt about his mother at eight. He only learnt about his father at ten. Thalia used him for anything from power play to plotting someone death. Bruce loves him, but he is so moronic about his own emotions it's kind of painful to read sometimes. And there is the thing where Damian is never enough, his mother cloned him (Heretic), his father has other wards (mainly Red Robin). Dick Grayson went incognito spying when the boy had finally a healthier relationship (Grayson: The Superspy). His best friend, Jon Kent was suddenly older then him (2018 Superman #16). Alfred was killed in front of him (2016 Batman #77). Yeah, Damian is a jerk, but he has every right to be a jerk in my opinion. And I wanted that recreate here as Lila is a liar and threatening his 'only' position as a blood son. His only weapon to prevent it to have a fit and doing what was teached to him.
Fulltime
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Iām almost more bothered by fics that donāt take an actively antagonistic stance towards Dickās character, because whatās so often viewed as a GOOD storyline for Dick in fanfics is just like.....100% connected to my issues with fanon.
What I mean is this:
So many Batfam fics, even when they think theyāre being kind or generous to Dickās character, treat any relationship Dick develops or demonstrates with Jason in-story as Dickās redemption arc, for being a shitty brother/person before a certain point.
And then on top of that, a ton of fics that include all the way through Damian by their starting point, then proceed to use any relationship (or attempt at one) between Dick and Tim.....as Dickās redemption arc, for being a shitty brother/person to Tim at the Robin-Red Robin transition.
And then on top of THAT, you have the Batfam fics that focus on post-Spyral interactions with his family as....Dickās redemption arc for being a shitty brother/person there, and during the Ric Grayson era we hadĀ āfix-it ficā after fic whose idea of fixing it was picking things up at some point after Dick got his memories back and then proceeding to write Dickās redemption arc for Ric being a shitty brother/person there. And even going all the way back to Bruce and Dickās era of estrangement before Tim came along, thereās still absurdly so many fics over the years dedicated to....Dick redeeming himself in other charactersā eyes for that chasm with absolutely no effort in the same fics shown towards having Bruce work towards any kind of remption for his own behavior.
Historically speaking, the vast majority of fics tagged as Dick Grayson, stretching back years and still very much present now as well, are almost predominantly ALL somehow some kind of redemption arc for Dick.....
Specifically in regards to events and dynamics which have absolutely no basis (or at most an extremely skewed and one-sided one) in the source material.Ā
In fact, in the majority of most of the situations Dickās beingĀ āredeemedā for in fanfics, he either did the complete OPPOSITE of what heās being punished/forced to make up for in fics, such as how his efforts in reaching out to Jason despite his own understandable bitterness stands in direct contradiction of the years of neglect and bitterness towards Jason that fics posit and theorize existed purely so that he has something TO redeem himself for in fics.....
Or then other times in the source material, heās the literal actual victim of the things that heās not only being held solely accountable and in need of redemption for in fics, like when he was beaten into going undercover for the sake of his family.....and then has to redeem himself for that in his familyās eyes......or when he was alienated, neglected and gaslit by his family while amnesiac.....and then has to redeem himself for that in his familyās eyes.....
And even in the cases where its SAID within a ficās narrative (or more accurately, usually its said in the comments sections of fics as fic authors respond to people being disgusted with Dick by sayingĀ āno donāt be too hard on himā and offering up justifications for Dickās actual actions and understanding for his POV that for some reason never make it into the actual text of fics), like, even then, at most these fics TELL us that the flaws of Dickās that theyāre focusing onĀ are understandable and its just human of him to be resentful of Jason as Robin, or overwhelmed and grief-stricken when he made Damian Robin at Timās expense, or traumatized and not thinking clearly when heĀ āagreedā to go undercover at Spyral.....
But meanwhile, what the fics actually SHOW us, beyond a few half-hearted defenses of Dick that usually are not at all substantiated by any other characters.....is Dick remorsefully doing the work of making up for the things he did so terribly, terribly wrong and that thereās actually no excuse for.
With this showing being a lot more evident and focused-upon than we ever see fics show Jason working towards earning Timās forgiveness and trust for almost killing him, or Damian doing the same, fics just skip past these things entirely to sayĀ āoh theyāre better nowā but like....with Dick....its like the only storyline a ton of writers have any interest in writing for Dick....
Is a redemption arc.
Actively focusing on and SHOWING Dick putting in the work of being apologetic, remorseful, self-loathing, and absolutely committed to doing better by his siblings even if they never actually forgive him - with whether or not he can eventuallyĀ āearnā his way to a positive relationship with them far from a given - and any and all of his positive attributes or the positives of his actual relationships with various characters all but completely ignored or glossed over, to keep the focus entirely on Dick learning to do better.....
Than the crimes or slights against his siblings that authors first manufactured or exaggerated or took completely out of context, just to HAVE a reason for Dick to need to do better in the first place.
As Iāve said many times before, anyone is free to do whatever they want with fanfic, its an innately transformative medium, but its always going to be significant and worth attention in my mind, that so much of the transformation from the source material when it comes to Dick Grayson is entirely focused around and committed to transforming him from a hero that everyone loves and respects, a guy that always does his best to go above and beyond for family even when he has understandable reasons not to, and the literal inspiration for almost every second generation hero out there, including his own successors......
Into a guy that most people canāt stand, regard as irrelevant to their own careers let alone anyone worth looking up to, and constantly letting people down, especially his family.
All while thereās little to no attention paid to all the reasons in the source material that other characters most definitely have things theyāve said or done to Dick Grayson that need or deserve redeeming for.
Like the physical violence every single member of his family except Duke has inflicted on him at some point.
Or the victim blaming thatās so ingrained into his storylines and reader receptions of his storylines that even the fics that tackle redeeming Jason, Tim, etc for their behavior towards Dick post-Spyral limit this particular redemption toĀ āweāre sorry we treated you badly when we didnāt know all the factsā instead ofĀ āweāre sorry we treated you badly, full stopā andĀ āweāre sorry we passed judgment without even TRYING to know what all the facts wereā andĀ āweāre sorry we display so little interest in your life or your traumas that even now when weāve been informed you actually died and had to be forced into pretending to stay dead, we have zero interest in exploring if thereās anything else we might be missing if we could miss out on the wholeĀ āoh you really DID dieā part in the first place, and forget about us actually owning and apologizing for the specifics of how our behavior towards you was unacceptable even if we HAD been right in our interpretation of events.ā
Or when mentions of the slutshaming and victim-blaming he endured during the Tarantula and Mirage storylines are limited to just that....mentions made of offscreen characters like Babs or the Titans.....with pretty much no stories I can think of, existing asĀ āredemption arcsā that tackle those characters actually working to redeem themselves for their behavior and trying to earn back Dickās broken trust in them. Its usually just Jason and/or others finding out, telling DickĀ āhey your friends shouldnāt have done that eitherā and then going off and murdering Mirage and Tarantula, the end, because....that fixes everything?
And forget about Bruce redeeming himself for his behavior - the way he works to put in the effort and fix things in so manyĀ āJason returns to the familyā fics - but even when actual mention is made of the things Bruce HAS done wrong to Dick or needs redeeming for, its mostly just waved off as ancient history that heās remorseful about but thereās no apparent need or effort to focus on Bruce putting that remorseful energy into action and actively on the page trying to bridge the gap he created in SO MANY storylines, again and again and again.Ā āBruce is just like that,ā a lot of stories shrug, about the time Bruce made Dick actually feel unwelcome in his own home and forced him to be the one to leave, unlike the wayĀ āits unacceptable for Dick to be like thisā energy is applied to stories about Dick forcing Tim to leave Wayne Manor....an action that has to be invented for a storyās purposes, of course, given that in the actual source story, Dick relocated himself and Damian to the penthouse anyway, and Wayne Manor was open and available to Tim and Dick never so much as implied otherwise.
Or look at how the adoption issue so often plays out....with it treated as though Bruce finally adopting Dick in adulthood justĀ āfixesā all the angst before that point, like it just overwrites everything he felt or experienced before and up until that.....with very little fandom energy paid to neither just castigating Bruce for not adopting Dick earlier or acting like adoption is a magic all-better now band-aid, but rather examining that both these things can coexist, and Dick can be happy and relieved and pleased to finally have the adoption he not-so-secretly wanted, even if only in adulthood, but that doesnāt mean the mental and emotional upset of his later teen years when he really, really, really could have used that declaration of being family rather than just a ward....like, thereās room for that to have still taken a toll and be worthy of awareness and regret on Bruceās part, not for taking so long to adopt Dick, but for the damage Dick felt and suffered through BECAUSE of it.Ā
Its not even about vilifying or punishing Bruce for this, because ironically, like....redemption arcs arenāt actually supposed to be just about punishment or whatever? Its about acknowledging where wrong was done and GETTING what that means for the person who was wronged.....even if it canāt be undone.
People can get this when its Dick being written as having the redemption arc.
So where the hell is this understanding of what actual redemption MEANS, when its Dick that other characters have things to make up for?
The funny, ironic, cognitive dissonant thing about Dick Grayson in fanfics, is the vast majority of his appearances and storylines all somehow come back towards being his redemption arc in some way or form.....
For the made-up or exaggerated fanon crimes applied to him in fic, but that HEāS usually the actual recipient of in canon.
See, its not an obsession with canon thatās the reason for the disconnect between Dick Grayson fans and the takes favored by fans of most other characters.
Its the fact that the transformative energy of fanfiction, in his case, so often is utilized to give HIM reason to tackle the redemption arcs that OTHER characters owe HIM, but that so many of these fans donāt WANT to write their own faves being subjected to.....because theyāre fans of these characters as heroes. They have no interest in reading or writing their favorite characters redeeming themselves for actions or behavior they personally donāt view as in character for them.
.....with the cognitive dissonant part in particular, being the way so many of these exact same fans turn around and express shock and bewilderment that Dickās fans are simlarly uninterested in wanting to read nothing but their favorite character redeeming himself for actions or behavior we personally donāt view as in character for him....because it usually isnāt, according to the original stories BEFORE fanfic transforms him from victim of other beloved characters into victimizer of them instead.
And lol, many of us donāt actually want to see him as victim of other beloved heroes either! Weāre in agreement there! Its why we come to fanfic instead of canon in the first place....to find stories where heās not casually and regularly mistreated by other characters we like. But instead we usually only find stories that take everything people donāt want to see other characters doing to him, and making him do it to others. Thatās not an improvement for us, lol! Thatās just taking one problem and exchanging it for another.Ā
Flipping the script to make Dick the victimizer instead of other characters only fixes things if the only concern is making sure those characters arenāt seen as victimizers.
The really annoying part is how so many people can be so clear and cognizant of not wanting this for their own faves....yet are surprised, dismissive and disdainful of Dickās fans....expressing the EXACT SAME FEELINGS.....about our own fave.
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I find Roy and Dick both having commitment issues so interesting because they seem to go about them differently. Dick tries to tie people to him (getting engaged when relationships get rough), and if that fails, then he runs, finds a new group of friends, and starts over. Roy doesn't let himself get tied down (prior to Lian) ever as a way to avoid commitment. It's just such a cool way to see similar issues regarding abandonment and commitment be approached in such different ways.
You bring up interesting ideasācomparing Dick and Royās attitudes in this way is very intriguing and something I hadnāt thought of before. But, to be honest, I kind of donāt agree with the idea that Dick and Roy have commitment issues? Iāve seen people say that before, but it doesnāt really click for me.Ā
I know I may be in the minority here but Iāve always thought that Dickās problem is quite the oppositeāthat he commits himself to too many things way too fully. He gives 100% to working with Batman, and to the Bludhaven police force, and to the Titans, and to whatever other obligations he has at the time, so much so that he over extends himself to the point of exhaustion and collapse.Ā
New Teen Titans #28
Titans Secret Files #1
Really, I just donāt get how Dick could possibly have commitment issues when he has devoted himself to so many teams: the JLA, the Titans, the Outsiders, even the Birds of Prey to an extent. Dick was known as the linchpin of the DCU; he had relationships with practically everyone. He doesnāt shy away from forming connections. There are so many examples I could give, but a good place to look at in particular would be Tim and Dickās relationship. Dick specifically reached out to Tim to form a relationship even though he didnāt have to. He treated Tim like a brother, and he made himself available whenever Tim was struggling and needed him (like when Tim was struggling with Stephanieās pregnancy, with the temptation to bring back his dead loved ones, with suicidal thoughts, etc.) Dick put a lot of work into forming and maintaining their relationship.Ā
JLA (1997) #121
And just look at his relationship with Batman as well...even when things are rocky between them, whenever Bruce asks for Nightwingās help, Nightwing will bend over backwards in order to deliver. He is extremely loyal to Bruce, most of the time at great personal cost.Ā
Batman #416
And let's be real here; Batman is emotionally distant the majority of the time, and if Nightwing didnāt reach out to Batman the two of them would not even really have a relationship! They would not talk lmao. Nightwing is the one who is committed to their relationship; he does all of the emotional labor so Bruce doesnāt have to. Nightwing gives a lot for very little in return, but he still keeps giving.Ā
And this is not just with the Batfam...he is very consistently there for the Titans. When Donna needs help discovering who she is and where she came from before Wonder Woman entered her life, Dick is the one to help her investigate. When Roy is desperate and needs help retrieving Lian from Cheshire, Dick is the one to beat Cheshire and reunite Roy with Lian. And Dick and Starfire were a couple for years, through lots of ups and downs, and very nearly married. These are not the actions of someone who is afraid to commit, lmao. Dick goes above and beyond for his relationships.Ā
I think that maybe Dick has a reputation for ārunning awayā as you say because of the fact that he moves around quite a bit: he goes to California with the Titans, and then heās a vigilante in New York, and then Chicago, and then Bludhaven, and so on. It can make him seem flighty. But @bigskydreamingĀ has has a post about thatĀ here, and I very much agree with what he has to say.Ā Dickās tendency to move around doesnāt strike me as avoidance, but rather a holdover from his life at the circus. Growing up at Halyās, Dick would constantly have been traveling. A circus is a business, so whenever things would get bad in a particular location for whatever reason, the circus would just move onward and forward. Halys wasnāt abandoning anything with this move, or running away, it was simply moving on in hopes that elsewhere things will be better.Ā It is not at all surprising that Dick would have that same mindset in his own life. When tragedy strikes, instead of getting bogged down by all the bad, Dick tends to try and move forward. Itās one of the things I enjoy most about him, one of the things that distinguishes him from Batman. And one of the best ways to move on is to change things up:Ā
And a good way to mix things up is to relocate. Itās not like location should matter that much to Dick. Even when he moves he can and does always go back to doing the exact same thing heās committed his entire life to doingāfighting crime. His family has the resources of a billionaire, his friends are superheroes who can fly and run faster than the speed of light, and it's not like he throws away his phone/communicator...he is not even slightly out of reach so heās not really running away from his friends/family...and oftentimes he ends up confronting the problems he was supposedly running away from regardless of his physical location. And the JLA has a teleporter. He can be anywhere he needs to be in an instant, so why does he need to stay in one spot? I donāt really see him living on the move as him running away.
And I donāt read as much about Roy I admit, so I wonāt be able to give as many specific examples, but it seems to be a similar thing with him too. After Royās father died, he was raised by Brave Bow. And then Brave Bow died, and he was raised by Ollie. It seems to me that his early life had little stability; he was passed from one person to the next and was always having to adjust to drastically different ways of life. In addition, a lot of his formative years were spent with the Navajoāa semi nomadic people. Royās Navajo upbringing very much influenced his outlook on life, so it would not be a surprise that he picked up their mindset of living somewhat on the move as well. And after spending his youth in flux, it really doesnāt surprise me at all that Roy isnāt tied down to places or jobs. Roy just wasnāt raised with a way of life that prioritizes settling down in one location, and for the most part he didnāt really have a choice but to move from one life to the next. But I donāt think any of that is representative of having commitment issues. Roy is very committed to Lian, as you mentioned, but even before that he was pretty much willing to do anything for the Titans. He has a really close relationship with Canary. And even in instances where I feel like Roy would be justified in ārunning awayā or taking a step back, Roy usually attempts to preserve and repair his relationships, like with Ollie and Jade. Even after Ollie responded poorly upon discovering his addiction, Roy still eventually reconciled with him, and Roy tries to have a relationship with Jade despite all the difficulties that come with that:Ā
I know that characters sometimes accuse Dick and Roy as having issues with commitment, and I can see where you are coming from anon, but I just donāt really think that they do when you look at the majority of the actions they take lmao. You mention issues with abandonment? I can see that more, considering that Bruce has fired Dick twice before for making mistakes (once with Two Face and the other time with Joker) and Ollie has canonically neglected his relationship Roy in the past, instead focusing on his love life. Really, I think the greater underlying issue for both of these characters is the fact that they both have pretty low self-esteem and donāt want to be a burden to those they love. But that is really a whole other post, this one is already too long!Ā
To summarize, in my opinion, Dick is someone who lives for connection, and someone who is incredibly dedicated and loyal to his friends and family. He has known that he wanted to be a hero since he was a kid, and he has remained committed to that goal for basically the entirety of his life. Similarly, Roy is very dedicated to his family and friends, and is willing to go to incredible lengths for the people important to him. He values his relationships enough to forgive almost anything. Neither of these characters strike me as people who have troubles committing to things; they strike me as characters who commit to causes and people with everything theyāve got.Ā
Thanks for telling me your perspective anon! You gave me a lot to think about.
EDIT: thanks @milfzatannazatara for the clarification about Roy! Ollie technically didnāt kick Roy out of the house, sinceĀ he was an adult and had already moved out.Ā
#ask#dick grayson#roy harper#nightwing#arsenal#speedy#red arrow#batman#character analysis#meta#long post#commitment issues#titans
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Zuko & the Waynes - Chapter 3
Batfam/ATLA au
Description: Ā Prince Zuko, pre-finding Aang, falls into Gotham City. After being adopted by Bruce Wayne, Zuko finds himself enjoying life in this strange world. Zuko Wayne has a family who loves him unconditionally. Zuko Wayne is a hero, saving the innocents of Gotham City every night. But Zuko soon finds himself at the center of a plot that threatens to destroy not only this new world he's come to love, but also the world he's trying to leave behind.
A/N: okay, so the members of the titans and young justice team are different in this au.
Young Justice: Tim Drake (Red Robin); Cassie Sandsmark (Wondergirl); Kon/Conner Kent (Superboy); Bart Allen (Impulse)
Titans: Dick Grayson (Nightwing); Koriand'r (Starfire); Garfield Logan (Beast Boy); Rachel Roth (Raven); Jaime Reyes (Blue Beetle); M'Gann M'orris (Miss Martian)
Chapter 2 | Masterlist
Chapter 3:
"So, you remember the plan?"
"Yeah, we got it," said Cassie into her earpiece, having to raise her voice to be heard over the pouring rain outside. "Don't worry about us, we're fine."
"Good to know," Tim responded into the comlink.
It was the night of the auction. Zuko was wearing a black suit while Cassie was wearing a red dress. Both had their masks on. Kon, also known as Superboy, was sitting in the driver's seat. He was acting as their chauffeur, and was there as backup in case anything went wrong. Zuko rolled his eyes as he heard a slurping sound in his com link, presumably from Tim taking a sip of coffee.
Ā "That was gross," Kon sighed. "Don't do that."Ā
Tim ignored him. "Proud of you both. Remember, if the wrong person gets their hands on the magyntite, not even Superman will be able to stop them." He paused. "No pressure, though.ā
"Wow, you're great at pep talks." Zuko adjusted the mask on his face, making sure it hid his scar. "You ready, Cassie?"
"I was born ready," Cassie responded with a grin. "Now, let's go, Henry."
"After you, Larissa." Zuko grabbed an umbrella and stepped out of the Ā self-driving black limousine they'd borrowed from Bruce. He went around to her side of the vehicle and opened her door for her. Cassie looped her arm through his, muttering a thank you as Zuko raised the umbrella above both of them. They walked into the casino.
Ā Just inside, a bouncer stepped in front of them. "How tall is the eagle's wingspan?"
"That means do magic," Tim said through the coms.
Ā "Uh," Zuko's mind raced as he tried to think of a spell on the spot. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" he finally said, and a ball of fire appeared over his closed fist. The bouncer nodded, and unhooked the red rope, allowing them to step inside.It was bright and loud and flashy, and Zuko had to stop for a moment to get his bearings.
Ā "You good?" Cassie whispered, placing a hand on his chest to steady him. "It's okay. Let's just go downstairs, follow me." She gently led him towards the back of this casino. Tim had told them that there was a staircase behind the bathrooms, and the basement was where the auction was taking place.They walked past the doors that said 'men' and 'woman' and opened the third door, revealing stairs going down to a concrete basement. "You okay now?" Cassie asked as they began to descend.Ā
Ā "Yeah," Zuko grunted. "I'm fine." They walked down a dark and damp hallway, a stark contrast to the bright lights and clean floors of the upper floor. The reached a huge room with a wrap around balcony overlooking the bottom floor. Many people, all wearing masks, were crowded together.Ā
"It's about to start, Mr. Henry," Cassie said. "Let's go sign in." The pair walked through the people until they reached the stairs leading to the bottom floor. Arms still linked, they walked down the stairs.Ā
"There's a ton of people here," Zuko mused. "I wonder what they all want to buy."Ā
Cassie shrugged. "Drugs. Artifacts. Who knows."Ā
They made their way to the middle of the throng of people and sat down in two of the chairs. The auction started soon after, and the words the auctioneer was saying sounded like white noise to Zuko. Finally, twenty minutes in, Tim's voice in his ear made Zuko flinch. "Magyntite is next," he said. "Be ready."
Sure enough, the man held up a silver briefcase. "Magyntite!" he yelled. "This drug is like Kobra Venom! Bulk up your muscles, lady and gentlemen. Do I hear... two million?" Zuko raised his hand and the same time another man did. The man glared at Zuko, who did the same.Back and forth this happened, Zuko and this man trying to get the magyntite. In the end, though, Zuko and Cassie got it for $45,000,000.
Ā "Holy crap," Cassie breathed as they walked back up the stairs. "That man wanted to kill you."Ā
Zuko hummed. "He isn't the only one."Ā
Cassie gave him an amused look."Is that so, Sir Henry?"
"Indeed it is, Lady Larissa."
Golden eyes gazed into blue for a second, both having small smiles on their faces.
Ā "Yo, you guys get it?"
"Uh, yeah," Cassie replied, breaking eye contact.Ā "Yeah, we're heading back now."Ā
Zuko's face reddened. He hadn't felt any feeling similar to that since Mai, when he was thirteen. He shook his head to clear it. Don't be stupid, he told himself. Don't even go there. No chance of that happening.
"You good?" Cassie asked, raising an eyebrow under her mask. Zuko cleared his throat and nodded a little too quickly.
"Me? I'm great. Splendid. Never been better!" he babbled. "Oh Agni, I bet Kon is going crazy! Uh, let's go see him!" He linked his arm with Cassie's and half-led half-drug her through the club and out the door.
"And the lovely couple returns!" Kon cheered as Zuko opened the door for Cassie. "I missed you! Tim told me I couldn't listen to my podcast because I had to stay alert so I've been bored out of my mind."
"Oh, poor baby!" Cassie mocked. "Do you need a massage and a nice cup of tea?"
"I do, actually."
"Too bad, Superbrat."
Ā Zuko looked out the window. He missed his uncle's tea.
Ā Only 11 more months.Ā
___
The next morning, Zuko, Duke and Damian were at the table eating breakfast. Zuko was about to put a piece of bacon in his mouth when he felt eyes on him. Looking up, he frowned as he met Duke's eyes. "What?
Duke's eyebrows were furrowed in disbelief. "Dude, it's 7:00 in the morning. Why are you already dressed?"Ā
Zuko blinked. While the others were in their pajamas- Duke in an old t-shirt and shorts and Damian in his silk robe -Zuko was in jeans and a Ralph Lauren button-up, his hair in a topknot. He would've put shoes on, if it weren't for Alfred's no-shoes-in-the-house rule. "I'm used to getting up at dawn and getting ready. It's what I've done for three years."
Duke shook his head. "You're making me feel like a slob, Zu."
Ā "You will not feel that way for long," Damian spoke up. "For I hear Drake coming down the stairs."Ā
Sure enough, Tim walked around the corner, staggering to the table. He was in an over sized black Superman shirt and his boxers with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. His long hair was a mess, and the circles under his eyes made it look as though he had been punched in the face. Ā Alfred pulled out a chair beside Zuko, a cup of coffee already in his hand. Tim stumbled towards the chair, looking as though he was about to pass out. He sat down in the chair slowly, and Alfred immediately put the cup of coffee in front of him. Tim blinked slowly, before picking up the coffee and bringing it to his lips.Ā
"Well," Duke chuckled. "I no longer feel like a slob."Ā
Damian wrinkled his nose, scoffing at Tim. "You are a disgrace, Drake. Have some self respect." Tim stared at him owl-eyed in response.
Ā "Just give him like ten minutes," Duke said. "Anyways! So I heard you went on a mission last ni-"
"Master Duke!" Alfred interrupted him sharply. "Might I remind you the rules of breakfast?"Ā
Duke seemed to shrink into himself as he answered in a small voice, "No vigilante talk at the breakfast table." Alfred nodded in approval before going back into the kitchen. Duke turned back to Zuko. "Later."
Zuko hummed in response.Ā
--
As soon as breakfast was over, Duke ran to Zuko excitedly. "So!? How'd it go?"
"It went fine," Zuko replied. "I mean, we went in, got the stuff and got back in the car."
"That's it? No fights?"
"No fights."
"What about Cassie? Any emotions?"Ā
Zuko coughed, his eyes widening. "What!? No! Don't be stupid!"
Duke laughed. "Dude, you're gonna have to get better at lying if you want to join the business."
"Which could start right now, if you want." Zuko and Duke whirled around to see Bruce holding a cup of coffee. "You've been here for a month. You can fight and you're smart. You're welcome to start training today, if you want."
Zuko's jaw dropped. "Uh, yeah! That'd be great!"Ā
Bruce smiled."Fantastic. Go get changed into something comfortable and we'll start."
Zuko practically sprinted to his room, but before he could change, his phone chimed.
Cassie Sandsmark: good morning doofus
.Zuko grinned in spite of himself.
Zuko Wayne: good morning!
Cassie Sandsmark: how'd you sleep?
Zuko Wayne: great but i don't know if tim slept at all he's barely alive right now
Cassie Sandsmark: sounds like tim
Cassie Sandsmark: so when u joining the hero business
Zuko Wayne: right now,, I'm about to start training
Cassie Sandsmark: YAY TELL ME HOW IT GOES
Zuko Wayne: of course
__
Training, Zuko decided, was difficult. It'd been a month since he'd started, and while he was improving, he was sore and sick of computers.Ā
"If I have to break another one of Tim's codes, I'll kill myself," he groaned, flopping on to the couch beside Damian, who nodded.Ā
"Every time Drake speaks, I want to kill myself." Zuko eyed him wearily.
"That's harsh."
"Such is reality." Damian flipped to the next page of the book he was reading. "So, your first patrol is tomorrow?"Ā
Zuko grinned."Yeah. I'm so excited." He sat up, cracking his knuckles. "Gonna be a blast."
"Are you finally adequate at lying?"Ā
Zuko winced. "It took me a while but yeah, I got it."
Ā "Good. We cannot have you exposing our secret." He looked up from his book. "Christmas is next month. Pennyworth instructed me to inform you that he needs a list of what you wish."
Zuko groaned. "I have no idea what I want."
"Well, figure it out," Damian replied. "Because if you do not, I'll have to listen to the complaining."
__
It was the night of his first patrol. Zuko turned to the mirror. His suit was a black kevlar lined jumpsuit with an obsidian utility belt and combat boots of the same color. There was a blue bat symbol across the chest, and a demon-type stage mask of the same color on his face. He looked at the blue gauntlet on his wrist and flexed his arm.
Dick whistled lowly. "Lookin' sharp, Zu."
Zuko grunted in response, but he couldn't stop the corners of his lips from twitching upwards.
"Good to see you suited up," Bruce said as he saw his son. He turned to the Bat Computer and typed something in. "Alright. Nightwing and Robin, you take the east side. Red Hood and Black Bat, you take the west. Red Robin, you take south. Blue Spirit and I will take north."
"You got it, boss man," said Jason with a mock salute. At that, the vigilantes headed out.
"Remember," Bruce began as he and Zuko got into the Batmobile. "Code names in the field." Zuko nodded.
"I won't forget, Batman."
"Good to hear, Blue Spirit."Ā
After a few minutes if driving, Oracle spoke. "Croc is robbing a store on the corner of North and Order," she said. "Blue Spirit and Batman are closest."
"We're on it," Bruce said, and sped up.Ā
They reached the corner in five minutes, and jumped out of the car.Ā "Croc!" Bruce yelled.
A huge reptilian humanoid turned toward the voice, and smiled. "Batman!" he chirped. "And who's this?"
"Blue Spirit," Zuko said stiffly.Ā
Killer Croc chuckled."New kid to destroy? I love that."Ā
Croc rushed him, snapping his jaws viciously. Zuko jumped into the air, doing a flip over the creature. Fire blasted out of his elbow and he punched Croc in the snout as he turned.Ā
Croc stumbled back. "Igniting your elbow to increase the force of your punch? Smart. Not smart enough." He ran towards Zuko again, claws outstretched, moving at inhuman speeds. Zuko ducked under his claws and gave an uppercut with the same advantage into his stomach. Croc was thrown into the air by the force. Before he could land, Zuko sent a blast of fire at him, engulfing him in flames. Croc screamed and fell to the ground, charred and smoking.
Ā "He's still alive," Bruce said gruffly. "Not bad. I'll call Gordon." Zuko's chest swelled with pride, but he simply nodded.Ā
"There's a robbery at the R&D center of Enterprises," Oracle said suddenly.
"Blue Spirit and I are going to check it out," Bruce answered.
"10-4," Dick replied. "Call if you need backup." Bruce grunted in response and, gesturing for Zuko to follow, jumped back into the Batmobile before speeding off.
"R&D?" Zuko echoed what Oracle had said earlier. "What's that?"
"It's the Research and Development Center," Bruce replied. "It's where we store Batman Inc. tech that's still in production."
"Oh."
āThat's right. If anyone succeeds in getting their hands on what's in there-"
"-They'll get their hands on everything." Zuko bit the inside of his cheek. "It's fine. We can do this."
A hint of a smile ghosted across Bruce's lips, so small that Zuko wasn't sure if it'd even been there in the first place.
__
The Research and Development Center of Wayne Enterprises was primarily used to develop advancements in technology. These advancements ranged from more effective cancer treatments to new engines for vehicles.The blueprints listed the building as being eight stories. Unbeknownst to the majority of WE's employees, there was a basement. A basement hidden far below the actual building, so far below than an express elevator was needed. This basement was where the technology for Batman Inc. was developed.
Unlike the secret basement of Falcone's club, this basement was in pristine condition. It had a hospital feel to it, with white flooring, walls, and ceiling.Ā
Bruce and Zuko had just grappled down the elevator shaft was landed at the end of one of the basement's hallways."The only alarm that's been triggered was the entry alarm," said Bruce. "The rooms where the... merchandise are kept have separate alarm systems. Can you tell me what this means, Blue Spirit?"
"The intruder either doesn't know what exactly is down here, or they just haven't managed to get into the rooms yet." Zuko frowned. "Wait, if they figured out this place was here then that means they definitely know what's down here. So then they haven't found the location of the 'merchandise.'"
"And you believe that to be the most probable scenario?"
"Well... yeah. I mean, unless they managed to bypass the alarm system. But that's impossible, this place is un-hackable ever since that incident with Ra's al Ghul. The security system is invincible. Right?"
"Rule of thumb, Blue Spirit," Bruce grunted, raising his arm closer to his face to he could activate his gauntlet. "Nothing is invincible. Everything has a weakness. Some are harder to find than others, but the only thing that is truly invincible is God Himself. And I don't think He would have any reason to break into Wayne Enterprises."
"Okay, but they tripped the alarm when they came in," Zuko pointed out. "So they must not have been able to hack the system."
"Unless they want us here."
Zuko sucked in his teeth. "So that's what you think? This is a trap?"
"It isn't a trap if we know about it," Bruce countered. "Here, I'm pulling up the motion sensors." Sure enough, the holographic screen coming from the gauntlet showed motion in room 121.
"Is that one of the rooms?" Zuko asked.Ā
Bruce nodded."Yes." He and Zuko started to run in the direction of the before mentioned room. "There's very dangerous technology in there. We need to stop this intruder now." The two were sprinting, taking twists and turns through the winding hallways until Bruce stuck his arm out, signaling for Zuko to stop. In front of them was room 121, the door ajar.
"Holy crap," Zuko whispered. "They hacked us."
"They hacked us," Bruce echoed. "And now they're going to pay. Manuever 13. Be cautious." Bruce rolled a metal ball into the room, and it exploded into smoke Using the smoke as cover, Zuko and Bruce dashed into the room.Ā
Using the heat signatures to see through the smoke, Zuko jumped forward, swinging down his broadswords in arc. His eyes widened as they hit air; the person had disappeared."What-" he broke off as someone landed a hit to his spine. Zuko whirled around, kicking out at his attacker, yet his foot hit air as the assailant dodged again.
"A teleporter?" he muttered. A laugh hit his ears, and the assailant landed another hit to the back of his head. Zuko tried to return the hit with one of his own but, of course, he missed.So far, Zuko noticed, they were teleporting closely around him. They were staying in close proximity with him. It would be hard to deduce where exactly they would strike, unless he limited their options.
Zuko stomped on the ground, and a ring of fire flared up around him. The attacker led out a gut wrenching scream as they were caught in the flames.He caught a glimpse of a person in a black suit clutching their arm before they teleported above his head, aiming a dropkick above him.
Ā But Zuko had anticipated this. He grabbed their leg from above and slammed them on the ground. They landed with a crack and coughed.
"You just broke my spine, you asshole," the person wheezed. They were still now, and Zuko could see she was a girl with long brown hair in a wine-colored robe.Ā
Zuko gulped, forcing down the rising panic at the girl's words. "Maybe you shouldn't have tried to break my skull."
The girl shrugged. "Just following orders."
"Who are you!?" Zuko snarled. "Tell me! Who are you and what do you want with this technology!?"
"Well, if you must know," the girl said, pain evident in her voice despite her calm tone. "I am but a servant of The Lady of the Dual Skies."
"The Lady of the Dual Skies?" Zuko echoed. "What does that mean?"
"Nothing's taken," Bruce said as he crossed his arms from where he stood behind Zuko. "Nothing has even been tampered with. You clearly weren't looking for anything here. So what did you want?"
"The Lady does not permit me speaking with anybody but you." The girl was speaking directly to Zuko, not sparing Bruce a glance. "She has something she wishes you to know."
Zuko narrowed his eyes behind his mask. "And what would that be?"
The girl grinned wickedly. "She says she'll see you soon."
With that, a portal opened up under the girl and she disappeared in a flash of purple light.
#batfam#batfamily#zuko#prince zuko#atla#a:tla#avatar#aang#katara#sokka#suki#azula#toph#kataang#atla au#atla fanfic#mai#ty lee#uncle iroh#bruce wayne#tim drake#damian wayne#dick grayson#nightwing#robin#red robin#jason todd#red hood#duke thomas#signal
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Iām a bit of an outsider but it seems like the 90ās were a very paradoxical time for dc because from everything Iāve read Wally and Kyleās runs are right bangers but like...Iāve also heard...other things about how other characters were written thats...less than flattering.
Itās okay the thing is lol that it depends on the character itself. The 90s was actually going to be a swap over and retiring period that well it didnāt happen. So here is my character break downs of the take over characters.
--
The Flash
Wally was a silver age character. He was Barryās legacy and Flash was already a legacy from golden age Jay Garrick. Wally took over in the late 80s. Barry was gone and Wally took up his mantle. The Flash Team knew this was coming.
He got an entire series about himself settling into his own without really anyone to help him. Rudy and Mary were terrible. Barry and Iris were dead. It was Wally and some friends he made.
Wally remained the solo Flash until 2010 ish when they brought back Barry. But Wally is currently the Flash again and hopefully DC will stop harming my baby boy.Ā
--
Batman & Robin
Dick Grayson was growing up. And post crisis Bruce went from a overprotective father who Dick wanted space from to an abusive manipulative father who Dick was essentially running from.
Nightwing was Dick coming into his own. Connection to Clarkās mythos. At this point Dick was both a legacy to Bruce and Clark.
But Robin oh Robin. That was a symbol that didnāt fit with their new dark(er) Knight. So Golden Age Robin had to die. But Dick is busy.
Well who was just Robin right before Crisis? The Dick Grayson copy- Jason Todd.
So they bring back Jason and give him a quick revamp. They make him all chirpy and happy so Golden Age. But dark enough that heās similar enough to NTT age Dick. Then they kill him. Like okay people say it was the vote but DC always wanted Jason or more accurately Golden Age Robin dead.
Which paved way for Tim Drakeās Robin. Someone who was made for this new darker Bruce. But would have also been paired with Dickās more efficent Batman. However this failed when Azrael fucked hard with Timās character and bolstered Timās importance beyond the normal Robin levels.Ā
He was there to validate every bullshit thing Bruce was doing. He was there to validate child soldiers and reset the narrative from partner to general and soldier.
The issue for many fans comes from Timās character being a dork who siphoned off Dickās chip on his shoulder colder more analytical mind.
Tim was just super eager and happy to help. (His backstory was pretty much just Bette Kane redone as a friend pointed out to me)
So Dick started to morph into happy big brother here. But the Batfam was changed in Crisis so the Batfam angle didnāt fit.
Dick wasnāt as hostile to Jason as some people would think but they werenāt close.
Dick was very close to Tim. I think original Tim paired with non altered Dick was a very good pair who worked well together.
Itās just when Tim became more and more popular he was given the traits that made Dick so popular and work so well.
Dick gave back the mantle to Bruce and Tim well Tim get siphoning more and more of Dick as time went on.Ā
Barely recognizable to their 90s and before counterparts
--
Green Lantern
Kyle is actually more controversial than I might lead people on this blog to believe lol. Due to my undying and biased love for him.
He came in as a character who was going to put a new spin on Green Lantern. He was younger and fresher faced. But Halās Parallax arc as many might not know was quick as fuck. He just turned evil after Coast City and went for Genocide.Ā
Kyle was yeeted the ring and he went in to try and help save the world. Kyle was the one who talked down Hal. Hal handed him the ring and said youāre the green lantern. The passing of the torch really.Ā
But Kyle wasnāt beloved by everyone. Many people found his entry too quick. They thought he was too good with the ring too quick. They didnāt like his character. Thought he was too emotional to be a GL not enough Will. Lotās of different takes.Ā
Also Guy and John were there and many people would have preferred to see them if it wasnāt gonna be Hal.Ā
Kyle and Donna was another thing that was alienating. Many people would have preferred to see her with Roy (plus I hate her with Kyle but thatās me)Ā
Kyle remained the sole GA until 2005 ish so about 10 years. And he continues to be a major player to this day.
--
Green Arrow
Chuck Dixon hated Ollie and wanted him dead. So in came Connor Hawke. Ollieās bastard son and a really talented martial artist that Ollie met at the Ashram.Ā
Ollie acted ooc as fuck during this run but he died in a plane crash.Ā
And Conn took over his place as the Green Arrow. Roy was doing Checkmate and Titans stuff anyways but no one asked him.Ā
Connor is my baby boy my favorite DC character. But he also wasnāt that popular.Ā
Obviously racism. They couldnāt even agree on a skin color. Many people were turned away by the perceivedĀ āpreachinessā of you know bringing up real world issues.Ā
A lot of people also didnāt like Conn being presented as a better martial artist than a lot of the Batfam (the fanon bias has always been strong)Ā
He was main GA until 2001 when Ollie came back.Ā
--
Superboy
Okay we got Kon way back when Clark ate it and then he was sort of here. Younger than the above kids but obviously the intended take over for Clark.Ā
But then Clark came back. And it was just the take over didnāt happen here.Ā
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Peaceful Afternoon - Family Bonding

Summary: What's the best way to calm down a bunch of crazed little bats? Apparently, a Lord of the Rings marathon.
Word Count: 2088
Notes: Hello! I'm slowly working my way to completing @3ambirdāās batfam bingo. This is just fluff and Bruce being a good dad, because we're all in need of some comfort. Enjoy!
Bruce stepped into his home with an already loosened tie and his blazer in hands, handing it to Alfred as soon as he saw the man.
āRough day in the office, sir?ā The butler asks as he gently flattens and hangs the clothing piece on the coat rack at the entrance lounge.
āYes.ā He sighed, rubbing his temples āIs there any chance you could bring me some of your tea? I feel a headache coming.ā
āA warm cup of tea will be coming right up, master Wayne.ā
āThank you Alfred.ā He smiles at the man āIāll be in the TV lounge.ā
āSir, I must warn you that the kids are watching TV at the moment.ā Alfred says.
āOh?ā Bruce raises an eyebrow āAre they being too loud?ā
Alfred thinks for a moment.
āThey are unusually quiet sir.ā He answers āIād be careful around them.ā
āWell,ā The man tilts his head to the side āIāll check on them. If Iām no longer there, then Iāll be in my room.ā
āVery well master Wayne.ā Alfred smiles āIt should only take a moment.ā
Bruce walks slowly to the TV lounge, examining all of his homeās details on the way ; the complicated patterns on the wallpaper, the ripples of the carpets, the harshness of the fabrics the curtains were made of. Removing his tie completely, he rolls it around his fingers carefully and sticks it in his pockets, right before walking into the room heād been looking for. He wasnāt sure on what he was expecting to see, but the scene in front of him had him pleasantly surprised.
Dick sat at the left corner of the couch, being the one closest to the door, with Duke sitting on the ground directly in front of him, eyes closed as Dick massaged his scalp and neck. Damian sat quietly next to his oldest brother, sketching a new art piece. Cass sat by the youngestās side, sharing a blanket and cuddling up with Tim. Jason, who was also sitting on the floor, had Timās legs thrown over his shoulders as he squeezed his brotherās calves lightly, eyes glued on the TV.
āHey B.ā Dick smiled at him softly and Duke opened his eyes to look at the man āRough day?ā
āA little.ā He breathes deeply as he rubs the back of his neck āWhat are you kids doing?ā
āNothinā much.ā Dick spoke again āThere was a Lord of The Rings marathon on TV, so we just... left it there. I think todayās been rough on everybody.ā
āI see.ā Bruce nods āDo you mind if I join you?ā A bunch of ānoās and āgo aheadās were slightly murmured as Bruce sat down on the armchair close to Timās end of the couch. The man took a quick glance at the TV āHave they already-ā
āShhh.ā Tim interrupts āDonāt spoil it for Cass.ā
āAh, Alright. Iām sorry.ā He sets his eyes on his (unfortunately) not-so-little girl, noticing how Cass seemed a little pale āIs everything alright Cass? You seem a bit... off.ā
She nods.
āCramps.ā Dick explains from across the couch, rubbing his own belly, right above his pubic bone, just to drive the point home.
āOh.ā Bruce blushes a little.
āCāmon, old man,ā Jason teases, tapping his leg āDonāt get all flustered over your daughterās period.ā
āIām not flustered, I just... didnāt mean to be invasive.ā He straightens his posture.
āI donāt mind talking about it.ā Cass says, with a small smile āItās okay.ā
āThatās good.ā The man replies, leaning back on the armchair.
It only takes Alfred a few seconds to come in with the tea after that. All of them quickly recognize the scent of his medicinal blend, having needed it many times before.
āHeadache?ā Dick asks āI can give you a massage if you want to.ā
āYeah, just take my spot.ā Duke offers.
āDonāt worry boys.ā Bruce smiles āThe tea helps enough by itself.ā
āAlright. But if you change your mind...ā Duke says, allowing his sentence to trail off as he relaxes into Dickās touch once again.
Bruce canāt help but gawk at the filmās beautiful scenery. The only members of the family that didnāt care much for the movie were Damian and Duke, for different reasons. The younger boy wasnāt particularly fond of fantastic stories with surreal elements, finding them silly more often than not. Although he could stand Lord of The Rings, he never really made it through the whole thing, getting bored, distracted, or falling asleep halfway through it.
Duke had much milder feelings. He had watched it once and that was enough. He didnāt see any reason to rewatch such a long movie. However, Duke didnāt seem to hate the idea of having it on while he received head scratches and massages from his cuddly brothers. Bruce smiled to himself at that, looking at how Dick and him got along well, at least in moments like this.
His eyes wandered back to Cass. She seemed endlessly entertained by the movie, sometimes whispering questions about the plot to one of her brothers. She was hugging one of Timās arms, head resting on his shoulder. He occasionally turned around to nuzzle his face into her hair. The teen had a habit of doing that to just about anyone he felt comfortable enough to touch when given the chance.
Jason seemed equally entertained. He loved a good story, whether it came in the form of a book, a movie or a TV show. Bruce noticed that whenever he was having a hard time he revisited his favorites, seeking the comfort of predictability, so it made sense that he was watching this today, after Dickās statement. Jason counted Timās toes mindlessly, giving each of them a light squeeze before moving on to the next, starting it all over again once he reached both of his pinkies.
Bruceās eyes set on his oldest son again. His little circus boy, Dick. Noticing how he had grown into a good man made his heart swell with joy, even if the emotion came with a prick of pain. His little boy, all grown up, caring for his younger siblings. Bruce couldnāt believe how lucky he was to have found them. How lucky he was for having such an amazing family, how lucky he was that they had accepted him as their father.
Bruce was sure he was the happiest man alive. His heart was filled with love, to the point where it spilled out through his eyes, getting Dickās attention.
āYou big sap.ā He mouthed at the man, no sound coming out through his lips. Bruce wiped a lonely tear away from his face with a smile, bringing his attention back to the movie. Dick knew him too well by now.
Bruce pressed his hands together under his chin, trying to hide the love that insisted on falling down his cheeks.
Eventually, the man dozed off in the middle of the first movie. He woke up when they were halfway through the second, looking at his watch and being taken aback by the time. He looked around, noticing that Damian was now asleep on Dickās lap and Duke had brought out his computer, sitting at the armchair opposed to Bruceās, brow furrowed in concentration. Jason was still on the floor, eyes fixed on the TV, but had moved on from Timās feet, using his limited knowledge on pressure points to help with Cassā cramps, carefully pressing her feet while both of them paid attention to the movie. Tim had also fallen asleep, head hanging back on the couch and one arm around his sisterās shoulders.
Bruce checked the watch again, biting the inside of his lips. They should be getting ready for patrol by now and yet... he didnāt feel like it was fair to pull his kids away from this moment of tranquility. Dickās eyes met his.
āItās okay.ā His son reassured him in a whisper.
āNo.ā Bruce says in a soft tone āYou guys take the night off. Iāll call up Batwoman and Spoiler, we should be able to cover enough ground if Oracle is able to put in a little extra work.ā
āB, itās okay, Iāll go with you.ā Dick replies, voice still quiet so as not to disturb the kid sleeping with his head on his lap āIāll just tuck Dami in and we can go.ā
āNo, please.ā Bruce stands up āThis is clearly a rare moment. You need to enjoy it Dick. Weāll be fine.ā
āB,ā Dick insists āI need this just as much as you do.ā
āAre you talking about patrol or...ā
āBoth.ā Dick looks up at him āIām tagging along, whether you want me there or not.ā
āAlright then.ā Bruce nods.
āGreat.ā Dick smiles āNow letās take this sleepy boy to his bed.ā
Slowly, he slips out from under Damian, carefully picking him up.
āHmn donāt... I can walk...ā Damian murmurs, face already buried in Dickās neck.
āIām sure you can.ā Dick chuckled, adjusting the boyās weight, one hand around his brother's waist and the other under his thighs, supporting him. The kid wrapped his arms around his brotherās neck lazily, with a weak and loose grip, almost falling asleep again in his oldest brotherās hands.
That wasnāt lost on Bruceās eyes, who walked behind them, hands in his pockets. The man opens the door for his kids, waiting patiently next to the bed as Dick removes Damianās shoes and pulls the blankets over his body. Both of them pressed a quick kiss to the boyās forehead before walking out of the bedroom.
āDamian has really warmed up to you, hasnāt he?ā Bruce starts.
āI guess so.ā Dick shrugs, smiling at the ground āHeās a good kid, heās just been through a lot. I try to remind him he doesnāt have to do things by himself all the time anymore. That he can lean on us.ā
āThat seems to be working.ā Bruce smiles at his son, who retributed the look with some uncertainty āHey, I mean it.ā
āI know you do, itās just...ā Dick sighs āSometimes all of this can feel... a little hopeless.ā
āI can understand that.ā He looks at his son. Bruce can understand that so well āBut itās in the little things, you know? Like right now,ā He keeps going, lookin at his own shoes as they make a turn on the manorās endless hallways āThe way Damian allowed you to carry him, that was...ā Bruce takes a deep breath, shaking his head slightly āHe is being vulnerable around you.ā
āYou think so?ā Dick asked, biting the inside of his lips.
āI know so. His arms,ā Bruce says āWhen he threw them around your neck, he didnāt do so to hold on or to balance himself. Damian trusted you to hold him, and simply relaxed into your grip.ā
Dick raised his eyebrows as he walked through the officeās door.
āYou notice a lot of details.ā Dick smiled.
āWhat can I say? I canāt turn the detective skills off.ā He chuckles, joined by Dickās snort āI really wish I could be more like you to him.ā He stops walking.
āWhat are you talking about, B?ā Dick frowns a little.
āI wish I knew how to be... caring.ā Bruce sighs āI have no clue on how you ended up as good at it as you are today, considering⦠well, everything. But Iām glad you did. At least they have someone who knows how to... hold them. Iām sorry that I couldnāt do the same for you.ā
Dick swallows.
āHey, um, donāt beat yourself up over this kind of thing, okay?ā He lightly touches his fatherās arm āYou are caring Bruce. You did hold me.ā He pursed his lips. Both of them had teary eyes now.
āNot like I should have.ā
āNo oneās perfect. But you were there when I needed you, and thatās what counts.ā
āStop.ā Bruce says, biting the insides of his mouth so hard he could taste blood āStop... making excuses for me, Dick. Iām... Iām apologizing.ā He takes in a deep breath āI know that all the damage I may have caused you wonāt magically go away because I recognize that itās there, but for whatās worth, Iāll try to do better. To be better for you.ā
Suddenly, Dick surges forward, wrapping his arms around Bruce. As they hugged, Bruce could feel his son crying.
āThank you.ā Dick whispers āThank you. I love you, dad.ā
āI love you too, son.ā Bruce whispers back, turning his head to plant a kiss on his cheek āSo much.ā
Hey! If you got here, please consider reblogging. It would mean the world to me. Also, if youād like to be tagged in future works, just shoot me a message.
Take care friend!
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Iām writing this fic about the Batfamily and Iām afraid of writing them as OOC. If you are able to, could you please give some tips on each of the Batfamās personalities and characteristics? To specify, Dick, Jason, Tim, Steph, Cass, Babs, Damian, and Duke are the characters Iām using. It would be really helpful! Thank you!!
This is a tricky question, because I donāt know the story of your fic to help you in any specific way. So if after this you wanna DM me for more specific help on how to work things out, Iāll be there to help you right away unless Iām doing something, but I have no plans.
Iām going to go from easiest for me to do to least easiest, because I obviously know Tim the best, but even then, itās hard, because going off the characterās you are choosing, itās set during the part of the timeline were he went OOC, but Iāll do my best just to say his general character so you can use that as a base for things. Like how he was developed in his origin and all that, and notable characteristics heās had as he grew while still in character. With some that even if they werenāt around with some of those characters, would apply to them.
His is also going to be the longest, like way too long, because heās a way more nuanced and complex character than anyone ever gives him credit for. So he takes a lot longer to explains by a freaking large margin. Like sorry if itās too big, I just kept saying more as more came to mind because I feel like his nuances are what makes him interesting and easy to right. Once you get a hang of his nuances, and you get used to it, it makes it easier to put yourself into his mindset to how he works, which makes him easier to write as well.
(THIS IS AN INCREDIBLY LONG POST, AND I APOLOGIZE. I just really wanted to be thorough and give contexts to stuff. Itās less of tips and more of an overly long description of what I know about each character and whatās in-character and whatās not going off of how the characterās were developed to be, and not counting the out of character writing. So really sorry about this being so freaking long)
Tim:
Timās origin right off the back is having met Dick at a very very young age, I donāt think he could even strongly walk yet, so Iāmma say three. He was instantly attached to Dick, he just admired him instantly just for giving him affection. He was his hero. But he was also there the day Dickās parents died, which traumatized Tim and gave him nightmares for years. But being able to remember that night so thoroughly, he remembered a specific move that Dick could do that very few could, and thatās how he found out Dick was Batman, and logically, Bruce Wayne was Batman.
Thereās a large misconception that as a little kid, Tim followed Batman and Robin around, but that was not the case. At least not physically and literally followed them around. Closest being when I believe he happened to come across Batman in his origin story, and purposely did his best detective work to figure out where Dick would be.
As shown several times but most strongly in his origin, but wasnāt as strong the more he went on, heās sort of socially oblivious to whatās considered normal or not, or what other people are thinking of him.
For instance he just knocked on Starfireās and Dickās apartment, asked Kori (Starfire) if Dick was home because he needed his help, and when she said no, just bolted even when Kori asked his name. Just concerning the crap out of her. Even when he first met Dick, he just wouldnāt say his name becauseĀ āNO TIMEā, he just squirmed around place to place on his bike being completely oblivious of himself. In his first miniseries he searches up information on Clyde (a former government agent he saved and befriends) that he shouldnāt have, unaware that thatād obviously be crossing a line for some people. Even taking his girlfriend to a car show, where there was a lot of bikini models around, and it didnāt even occur to him what itād look like he was there for. He was just genuinely bubbly to see the cars.
He doesnāt do any of those sorts of things out of malice, heās always just presented as being incredibly oblivious of himself quite a bit. Most likely from not having his parents around that much as his childhood progressed, and typically just living in boarding schools, or with a nanny. So he didnāt really developed right as one interpretation, and another being (that was actually almost confirmed if it wasnāt for Tim getting a writer before another could say it) is that heās on the Autism spectrum. Which is technically verified, as he has many symptoms of Aspergerās. But that isnāt technically canon, as it never got to be officially said. But itās valid enough.
Timās main strength is his detective work, he also knows how to use a computer to his advantage. Many modern comics act as if Tim is a master hacker who could hack into anything. But he actually mostly used them for detective work, and small hack jobs, some of which he failed. He seemed to have learned more about hacking from Barbara, or at least some what implied, as Babs let him help her build a big computer, or something of that sort.
He also took karate as a kid, and is implied to have also taken gymnastics. Itās stated that heās actually really good at gymnastics by Alfred in Timās origin, but his fighting skills, despite the karate lessons he had previously taken, isnāt as good as the others. Hence his staff, and having to be clever in how he goes about a fight.
How Tim operates as far as emotionally or mentally depends too. Sometimes heāll go straight from the heart and get himself in trouble, but other times heāll take his time to really plan something out for himself on the spot. It depends on how his emotions are at the time. If he was just picked on or beat up, heāll be more agitated, and if something really really bad that happened, he just go so far in he just beats the crap out of everyone as bad as he can. As shown by trying to apprehend someone that shot someone he knew at school, or Batman betraying his trust (in an honestly out of character story). If heās calmer though, or at least doing his best to be, heāll use his brain more before he starts. I think his talents in planning have been overstated for ages, because while heās good at it, heās not exactly the greatest or overall good. Just enough to work fine enough to get the job done.
One of his biggest mental weaknessās, is his constant insecurity. Somethings thatās so constantly on his mind is letting someone down, rather it be Batman or his dad Jack, or even Nightwing, or his team. The reason why Tim acted so different and more of a seriously brooding personality in Young Justice, was because he was so insecure about not having powers that he thought he had to push himself to his limits. So he used some Batman leadership tactics, and fought harder than he ever fought before just to seem like he was even worth having around. When by himself though, itās more of a sadness, an upset feeling in his gut. Tim has anxiety about things, rather or not heās good enough. Heās not a super confident person when it comes to himself. He doesnāt think much of him.
One editorial person answering fan questions in the back of comics as they used to, even described Tim as meek. He doesnāt brag or think much of himself as super according to it.
Heās also stated and shown to be internally scared quite a bit, even shaking when he first got his own Robin suit. Another occasion saying the cold water might excuse his shivering. Which goes along with his anxiety.
Another thing about him that is more low-key and not as noticed, is how Tim, even though he clearly thinks of himself as a kid, heck even the letter column above says so, he has also said since being Robin heās never had time to be a kid. But he is also still a kid.
As they specified his voice a bit more, he tended to use heck, Holy crud, dang, fudge, weenie, and even Pus Bucket (a reference to Ghost Busters) as his choice of cussing (if that even remotely counts).
And even if itās not noticeable at first, is shown as having a secret teddy bear that he kept hidden under his mattress so I assume no one would see it.
Heās also a pretty innocent kid despite what all he sees. His mind doesnāt go to the gutter. He trusts people far faster than he should, even trusting Lady Shiva, the worldās most dangerous woman and know criminal right away.
Even Timās step-mother saying so out-loud. Showing that this is also the case in his personal life as well.
It also goes along with his social obliviousness. This stuff being rounded into not having any street smarts, which was a main theme for Tim directly in his first miniseries. As well as being naive.
Of course as life went on that wasnāt the case as much, but in the above screenshot, Dana (his step-mom) is saying that as Tim is already 16.
Tim in-general also being a super hero fanboy. As a kid he watched the news, clipped out the papers on them, collected, and even drew his own Batman art (and potentially) others to put on his wall.
Timās general behavior while socializing also depends on his emotions at the time. Heās normally very nice and friendly, when not super depressed or down on himself heās bubbly. But heās also still a kid, he can pout when heās hurt, and passive aggressive to people he doesnāt like. Examples being, literally not listening to a jock that picks on his friends, an over-arrogant jerk he met in France, and even Steph because she kept being reckless and flirting with him when he didnāt like it.
Nothing straight up insults, but just generally passive aggressive, give them a clue he doesnāt like them very much even if it never worked. He just wants them to go away, unless theyāre a straight up bully. Tim, if itās no one he specifically knows that will invade his personal life, will beat up bullies. He really canāt stand a bully.
Another thing about Tim is that even though heās an introvert typically, heās also not very shy. A shy kid wouldnāt travel miles on a bike (and I freaking hope busses) to meet someone he barely knows because he believes in Batman needing a Robin. He also stands up to bullies, and unless heās really uncomfortable could talk to about anyone. He even slept in only his briefs and undershirt in the house of someone he doesnāt know, with two people he also barely knows. With that example also probably adding up to the socially oblivious part of his personality.
As far as his relationships go, he canonically thinks of the Bat-Family as his family. Dick calls Tim his little brother, Babs treats Tim as her baby brother as well as acting like his/ Aunt/ Mom depending on the situation (I think Tim fell asleep on her couch after eating pizza while using his cape as a blanket and drooling. So Momās a stretch but still), Bruce is his distant but still father figure, Alfred is his grandpa (who he actually plays video games with), even Cass to an extent treating Tim as a baby brother as well.
He is very much the baby of the family. And Tim talks to them about personal stuff (bar Cass cause he was scared of her in the beginning), most of them from Alfred and Dick, to the mute hunchback in the Batcave Harold (who is a real character and I love him). He was always collecting advice from where ever he could get it.

Heās also intensely morally operated. He hates killing. He said he took an oath to let himself be killed before ever killing, getting PTSD from feeling responsible for a death, and even crying when he had genuinely thought Bruce killed someone.
As far as how he tries to present himself, he is constantly doing his best to take everything as seriously as he can, even shunning himself when he starts to stop taking things as serious, he wants to be seen as serious, trustworthy, and reliable desperately so he doesnāt let anyone down. He is constantly hard of himself, and is always trying to be what he thinks Batman wants him to be. Which is were a lot of his anxieties from. Even trying to think of what Batman or Dick would do because he regards them so highly. Even calling Bruce the great man heās ever known I believe during one of his post-origin pre-Robin appearances.
Heās naive and oblivious of himself, as well as childish in some areas (I think his nanny yelled at him once for it), but overall what he tries to hardest at is taking everything seriously as possible, and using his brain as much as he can. He may not be the most mature, often actually handling situations very immaturely, but he does his best to at least seem like heās mature, and to an extent he actually can be genuinely very mature, or at least as much as a naive oblivious child can be.
Dick:
This ones a lot shorter probably, because I donāt read him as much, but still have a good handle on him.
I think heās a character very few always write correctly, because they ride too much into the friendly, compassionate guy. Which, compassion being his main motivator in how he goes about as much as he can, and heās incredibly friendly, heās also a very angsty and angry person deep down.
Heās a perfectionist, a trait fics tend to give to Tim more, but actually belongs to Dick. He gets really hard on himself when he thinks he messed something up badly, having nightmares over it, he doesnāt like himself when he messes up something badly. And even if heās not a naturally angry person, when he is angry, he can be VERY VERY angry.
And until Batman writers in the early 00s started it, I wouldnāt even had considered him all that chatty. He had some jokes in him, was very light hearted when not in distress or mad, but as he was developed by Marv Wolfman, who basically created the Dick that has remained the base for him ever since, he was relatively a generally calm guy when he wasnāt emotional.
He was polite, a charming guy, the type of person you want to bring home to your parents basically. He dressed well. Did his best to keep people accommodated.Ā
He wasnāt a goofy, constant jokester thatād talk your ear off or keep begging for hugs.Ā
Heās not that kind of guy. Heās just a gentlemen.
Heās also not that much of a thot. Heās aĀ āwait till itās rightā sort of guy when it comes to sex.
Heād do anything in the world he could to make sure his friends felt right too, and that they were okay.
But all this doesnāt mean heās not just a one note personality. Depending on how bad he feels like he messed up, heāll distance himself from people, stop caring as much about his appearance, get more violent and mean. He also doesnāt take well to Batmanās nonsense, heās probably the person he got specifically mad at the most. He didnāt like the way Batman went about stuff after a while. He had complicated feelings towards him.
Despite people nowadays just thinking of Dick being Batmanās son officially, adopted, end of. That wasnāt exactly their relationship. Dick had a complicated relationship with Bruce. Part of him looked at Bruce as a big brother, and another half a dad, and he wasnāt even adopted, just a ward. Something that Dick was actually quite insecure about, till apparently he got adopted as a grown adult man (which I dunno is true or an edit, but Iāve seen it somewhere).
Dickās relationship with Tim is pure big bro baby bro. He was very protective of Tim, calling him the closest thing to a brother he ever had, and little brother, before they were ever even officially brothers. Heād push Tim out of the way in times of big trouble, make him stand back, ruffled his hair all the time, and loved teasing him. But when they started off, Dick just sort of thought Tim was a weird annoying kid, given that Tim was acting so screwy during his origin, Dick really didnāt know what to make of him, but the closer they got, they got very very close. Dick cared a lot about Tim a ton once they got accommodated. Tim would even call Dick on the phone just to talk to him about anything from his day to his problems. Tim could count on Dick to help when ever he could. Tim was Dickās dweebie baby brother who he took care of when needed. Even teaching Tim how to wash clothes personally since Tim didnāt have a clue.Ā
I donāt think him and Jason really had a relationship. He gave him a number to talk about stuff like Robin angst, and a few pics show they hanged out at least once or twice, but nothing suggests they were close. It seems like Dick was hard on himself, because Jason died before they could get close. After the Red Hood, Dickās just kind of a-- dick to Jason, and Tim was too, but I donāt consider that in-character. Neither Tim nor Dick would be even remotely okay about the killing, but I canāt picture them treating him like heās a joke and less than trash. Too much emotional baggage there. Tim would be distant to Jason, and Dick would be uncomfortable and conflicted. Thatās my guesses on a more accurate relationship.
Dickās always had a really big crush on Babs ever since he was a kid to the point they were stuck in a small area together and Dick lost dignity over-- I dunno, puberty effecting him. Thereās no way I can put that thatās comfortable. But Dick has a crush on Babs, that got put into a romantic relationship both ways when they aged down Babs, but for some people the relationship is relatively gross because of the age gap, and feeling the need to age down a character like Babs, who just looked at Dick like a kid, to just date him. Itās complicated, and I dunno enough about them besides that exactly. Iām not the guy to ask on that.
He doesnāt have a proper relationship with either Duke or Steph, but it doesnāt seem like Dickās ever been the fondest of Steph. And Dukeās new, and they only ever been around each other in fan service moments. So I donāt think he has a real actual relationship with Duke.
Dick and Cass despite I donāt think ever being shown much together, also had a sweet relationship. With Dick doing his best to make sure his sister (before she was adopted, but Dick treated her as one nevertheless much like Tim as Dickās baby brother) was comfortable, acting goofy, and toĀ me coming across as if heās always really wanted a sister. But they werenāt super close, but thereās enough there to say that they easily could become close.
Dick and Damian was mentor mentoree, and to a large extent Dick was Damianās father figure as Bruce was dead. As written by Damianās creator, Dick didnāt seem to like Damian at all in the beginning, but as Dick could realize and understand his responsibilities more, they did gain a closer bond. Dick would put Damian in line (besides when bad writers were too afraid to make Damian seem like heās in the wrong fully), sometimes even the hard way, and could be very proud of him. They arenāt big bro little bro like how some current writers act for pandering purposes. But they did grow to be close, even if Damianās naturally really emotionally distant. Dick always wanted the best for Damian, even if he couldnāt always handle it the right way or knew what to do. He was a guy in his early to mid 20s with the responsibilities of reraising a 10 year old kid that was raised and abused by a cult, who can blame him.
Damian
Iām kind of just getting Damian out of the way, because to be frank, heās been a really crappily written character since his origin, because he personality just absolutely switches between every writer, and heās just so badly written that way.
But Iāll go off of what I believe to be what his writer wanted, since thatās the most accurate you can get.
Damian was raised and abused in a cult. That dictates a lot of how he thinks.
He was not close to his mother (which is out of character for Talia, and they later switched that after the reboot, but to be frank if Talia was always in-character Damian wouldnāt exist as we know him. Heād be a total different person and character). And he seemed to despise the way his dad goes about things. He seemed very indifferent and had his mood set to angry in general when he first met.
Which made it all the weirder when an issue later Damian seems to want his parents to be together, despite making it clear he doesnāt even like or think much of either one of them at all.
He was also very entitled, because despite being treated as an experiment some of the time, he was also treated as a prince the other half of the time. He thought the world was his, and he deserved everything.
He nearly killed Tim because he thought he deserved being Robin, as Tim was just adopted and not aĀ ārealā son. Seemingly he thought that was what he had to do to have his dad accept him and treat him as he thought he should.
He also seems to think heās above Jason as well.
Heās also shown as sexist and homophobic.
He was brash and reckless about everything. Had a talented in just about everything just because of how he was raised, and goes off on his own to do stuff, because I assume he thinks everyone else holds him back.
After Dick though, Damian learned to not be a murderer (which I also think he mightāve learned before cause he wants to live with Bruce, Itās a little weird and not given enough time to actually be developed fully in an easy to digest way. Which is another reason why I think heās such a poorly written character), also more reserved, and reckless.
As he was originally intended, he was very tall and not cute. His height being around 5ā²2 to 5ā²4 at age 10. Meaning he was an inch taller than Tim was at 13 when Damian was 10 off of that first one, and only an inch shorter than Tim at the age heĀ met him, where Tim was 17 going on 18. It may not be drawn that way, but you also have to remember this is 00s and beyond era DC Comics were Tim despite being described as looking 12 got drawn as big as Dick sometimes. Donāt always use the art to go off of certain information. I say he wasnāt intended to be cute, because thereās a scene were he was at a gala, where a woman clearly wanting to gold-dig Gotham Cityās most eligible Bachelor Bruce Wayne by getting close to her son, but she immediately backed away when she saw him.
Which sounds harsh, but Damianās also basically theĀ āanti-Robinā, he was everything a Robin wasnāt meant to be and he was intended to just die and thatās it. Hence why he was with Dick to keep the Batman and Robin dynamic intact, just in reverse. As you can see, they completely forgot what made Damian interesting when his character gained some consistency with his creator.
Damianās development was that he grew a actual caring heart even if he still carried the generally same personality. He was dismissive of people, sexually harassed Steph, was generally anti-social-esque.Ā
And honestly because every writer after (even the one everyone seems to think is his best writer, which I massively agree times a billion and infinite more) just kept reverting him, again and again, even when they wrote stories with character development, it was gone again. And applied a whole bunch of traits that arenāt like Damian in the slightest, so if you pay attention. Ya can tell Damianās not Damian, heās literally not even a shell of his self. They just painted another one to look kind of like him, and even then they donāt do that because he freaking looks completely different some of the time. They botched him so much.
But that was the main thing about Damian.Ā
I think one reason he got close to Dick and no one else was because Damian from his origin (no matter how poorly written they showed it), always wanted to have a proper parent. Which it seemed he could never have. And Dick grew to serve that purpose, as Dick was the one teaching him lessons, and making sure he was actually safe.
But of course later on DC Comics literally forgot everything that was letting him slowly become a better character. So that sucks.
I partially came into this fandom because of Damian. So when I actually got to read him, I was so freaking miserable after. I genuinely wanted to like him so bad, even voicing that to people I was chatting too as I read the comics, but I literally just couldnāt see why anyone cared for his comics. I donāt think any of them are fully well-written.
But it did help me grasp what Damianās suppose to be like as I could tell what heās suppose to be and not suppose to be, much like how I learned about Timās actual personality vs the one writers that donāt care about him write.
Steph
Just doing this one to get a more negatively centered one out of the way, because I struggle to find any personality traits I deem actually likable when put under context.
Because sheās full of her self, reckless, cynical, more or less sexually harassed Tim, kissing him against his wishes (and before ya say Tim did that first. itās a little less offensive when Tim didnāt do it sexually or romantically. That was just for a dumb trope. A reward kiss. Itās still gross, but itās a different context thatās less directly offensive), goes behind peopleās backs sometimes, can be emotionally abusive, and shows signs of physically abusive.
So I donāt exactly find her super likable. And her spot in the Bat-Family was so contrived, that often nowadays I just donāt pay attention her anymore, but in fairness a lot of thatās just cause she has crazy stans that start fights that were barely there, be hypocritical, and group bully folks. So itās relatively hard for me to wanna look at her these days.
But to be more specific before she seems like an actual freaking demon woman or what ever. Some of that doesnāt come across as bad compared to what it could be. Besides the emotional abuse, that was just a thing and the comics and people just elected to ignore it even though that was written by her creator.
Sheās reckless in a way where she clearly doesnāt have proper training to make sure no one or herself gets hurt. Sheās been shown causing herself to get hurt or underestimate stuff. She also doesnāt listen to people that know more about what they do, and she usually relies on luck to get by.
Sheās full of herself, because she more or less says sheās an adrenaline junkie, and might just be beating up bad guys because she finds it really fun and exciting. She likes the thrill. And tries to put a title of super hero on herself sometimes, because she tries to seem heroric as she does it. She also does it to make up for her dad, which is more admirable, but behavior wise and focus wise itās more pinned on her just being an adrenaline junkie.
She also just constantly just flirt with Tim even when he didnāt want it. Which is what sexual harassment is. She also kissed him for her own satisfaction twice, once nearly getting them both killed cause people were shooting at them, and another as them and other people were close to freezing to death because they were stuck under snow. That kind of behavior able to be under sexual assault given the context for her kisses was just for herself. Even the time she tried to say it was to make up for Timās reward kiss, she quickly makes it obvious it was just because sheās very sexually attracted to him.
She also just nearly lets criminals die a lot becauseĀ āWhatās one more lifeā, and seems to not care much for the lesson of not killing, specifically her dad. Like she still has the moral standard not to kill, but compared to the others itās not one she takes as serious. She learned her lesson on being cynical, but itās still ingrained in her personality.
I also have a whole very long post on why her relationship with Tim doesnāt work, and how she was abusive. I donāt feel like going over that again but thatās a thing.
Besides Tim she has no real relationship with the others besides Cass, which is another relationship I donāt fully understand, because Steph borderline insults her, and Cass thinks she gets in the way so much she just fractures Stephās jaw to knock her out. They gave them some admittedly cute moments, but itās never felt right to me. Always felt forced and pandery, but itās a thing. Theyāve played tag each other, and talked about how both of their parents are abusive.
She also had one with in Batgirl, but the best I can describe that is, she helps Steph so she doesnāt hurt herself, and she can be pretty gruff sometimes, but is also caring. itās just kind of a been there done that sort of thing.
A lot of Batgirl is sort of forced. Bat-Family has reasonable criticisms of her, writer does something to make them more unlikable so readers still like Steph, Steph proves them wrong, they respect her. Itās a formula for a few stories in her Batgirl run.
People have also said her and Damian have a sibling relationship, but I donāt agree with that. Damian sexually harassed her and kept looking at her boobs. Damian had a crush on her, but he was also a stubborn entitled jerk to her. Steph just got back at Damian by making him dress as a normal kid to embarrass him, and when she saw Damian never played before got him to jump on a bouncy castle. Besides generic banter thatās about it. And given Damianās personality, they never did anything like that bouncy castle thing again. Itās a really big stretch to call that sibling-like. And even the stuff you could stretch is still doesnāt pay attention to the Damian talking about her boobs constantly thing. Parts of it was just pandery, as a lot of that Batgirl run was.
So I donāt overall have a good opinion of her. Sheās perseverance and doesnāt give up, and wonāt take no for an answer, but given the context itās not in a good way besides saving Timās and others lifes a few times.
Babs
Despite having read her a lot I donāt know her a lot, because sheās typically always the other character in things. The lady that gets the information.
So I only know a few things about her.
She has the perseverance and wonāt take no traits, but in a more positive context. She has no use of her legs but that doesnāt stop her from fighting crime and helping people.
Sheās a serious, and mature personality. Every case is very seriously to her, besides a few Tim got into because they were just very goofy.
She can also joke a lot. She has a very teasing personality in her as well. Especially with Tim, she seemed to find Tim really cute and loved teasing him.




I pretty much only have panels of her and Tim besides a rare few maybe, cause as I said sheās mostly a side character helping out.
I have read Birds of Prey but that was possible a year or two ago, and I didnāt really pay attention so Iām not as sure.
Sheās very leaderly, and will direct the traffic so to say. Sheās a magnificent detective and hacker. Stands up for herself. Inquisitive. Her mind always seems to be thinking of the next thing to think about.
Sheās a character I canāt talk about as well without it being one dimensional.
Cass
Cass is another character I donāt have the best grasp on but been trying to learn because sheās probably my second favorite Batkid even if I donāt understand her as strongly. But I do get a lot of her basic personality, and a bit of the nuances, even if Iām not ultra confident on it yet.
Sheās quirky, she knows how to tease, but she can also be a bit objective based unless sheās bored it seems, like she does watch TV, but when she has a goal she will not stop until the goal is done. Sheās a fully compassionate person as well, she sees little kid needing help, she helps little kid.
Also given her upraising she can be more socially oblivious than anyone else, even Tim. Sheās walked around an apartment she was sharing with others butt naked. I think she accidentally flirted with Babs (not a shippy thing, itās a, Cass said a thing she didnāt understand thing), because she couldnāt tell the difference between a platonic thing and cheesy romantic thing as she watched TV.Ā
She doesnāt always listen. She will just beat by her own drum unless she believes in something someone else said more.
Given her mind wasnāt raised to be socializing, a lot of this stuff makes sense and is kind of obvious when you think about it.
Cass can also be very stubborn when she has a goal, even when itās against someone elseās wishes.
Sheās mostly been a loner by herself, but she has grown to seem to genuinely like having company around to bond with.
Sheās been shown being protective of Tim. Literally carrying him out of a fight zone.
Babsās is more or less her mom.
Dick and Stephās Iāve described before.
Distant with Alfred, but Alfred will occasionally drop by to help out. Theyāre still carrying if they arenāt as connected as others.
Not gonna lie I canāt remember her relationship with Bruce.
But thatās some of the basics and slight nuances of Batgirl. Iām still in the early part of learning about her. So Iāll probably understand her more later on. I genuinely really like her though. I like how she isnāt a one dimensional character like some writers make her out to be. Sheās genuinely really fun to read.
Jason
I actually know Jason quite a bit because I made a big long post about his time as Robin (post-crisis only, not counting the scripts written before the 80s reboot, or anything inconsistent).
Heās anti-authority, angry, cusses, smokes, violent, murderous tendencies, aggressive, but also has a genuine heroic spirit, is appreciative of the opportunities he was able to have, loved being able to learn especially, had insecurities, and a lot of his violence was in the name of being a more aggressive way of justice. Heād never hurt an innocent.
A lot of this is explain by the fact he was raised on the streets more or less.
When ever he got especially violent was because of a bad guy hurting or killing an innocent or committing abusive acts of any sort. He probably seen a lot of bad stuff on the streets and doesnāt handle it.
Heās pretty decently cynical because of thinking thatās the best way to deal with it.
He was also moody, but after his upbringing thatās to be expected, and unlike what some thinks, Batman was actually understanding and did his best to help Jason back even if he didnāt get it as first.
Jason isnāt a villain, he is a pure anti-hero, he wants to help, he loves to help, when he feels like he should help he does. He just has his own way of doing it that lots donāt agree with.
When he became the Red Hood, all of this stuff just became amplified because of the traumatic event he went through and the feeling of not being avenged and abandoned again.
Where as before heād nearly kill people, he outright does now with even left empathy. He had a sack of decapitated head once just so other criminals knew he wasnāt playing around.Ā
However his moodiness came out in different ways. He was actually a very calm, chill personality as the Red Hood, until his traumas got poked at, where heād go back into his angry bitter ways, but to a more unstoppable way. Heād be more violent, more angry, more inconsolable, more unstable.
As the Red Hood, he is a very far ahead planner and tactition. People always call Tim the planner, but to me Jason is the planner and tactition of the group. He had a large plan that took a while to do, but caused him to accomplish a lot in a short time. Tim does it in the moment or moments before and does a fine enough job, but he isnāt a good leader. Dick is a good planner tactition and leader, but it can also just be shortly before he does something. Jason thinks very far ahead and how people will react and think, how to get under their skin, what will piss them off, what will give him what he once etc.
When heās not unstable, heās calm and collected, and is always trying to get under peopleās skin. Not in a large over the top way, but just a bit. In an almost charming sort of way. A sly way. He pokes buttons when heās calm and collected.
As to be expected his relationship with the Bat-Family is complicated. Heās mostly just in the Bat-Family almost purely because of his past in it, more than what he is currently. Heās more of a loner type that will get help when needed, but until the New 52 said otherwise, heās not much of a team player as he mostly works by himself.
Bat-Family wants him to get better, but at the same time I think they recognize itās gonna take a lot for Jason to get better, and since Jason is dangerous it creates a lot of overwhelming feelings. Bruce is upset at himself and is almost grieving Jason all over again, Dick has regrets he never had a chance to know him till then, and Timās relationship has been so varied and never really felt right, Iād sayĀ most likely Tim would be scared of Jason, and upset at him. Jason was a Robin that killed. Going off of how Tim reacted to thinking Batman killed, heād probably be genuinely miserable at the thought of what Jason became, and be distant from him.
Jason is sly and hard to read unless heās emotional.
Duke
Duke is the hardest to say anything for, because heās the newest, most obscure (even tho he is gaining quick prominence), and so therefore has less to go off of. Not helped by a lot of writers making him very two dimensional at best a lot of the time.
He is a natural leader, a dare-devil, very willing to put his life on the line at any time, and passionate and almost stubborn about helping people. He wants to save people, and heās always wanting to help, because he wants to make his neighborhood a better place.
And thatās almost all I can say, because having read his mini-series he doesnāt have many character traits, and WE ARE ROBIN, where he was introduced and I got that from was short lived.
Heās only with the other Batkids when they really wanna pander, so I canāt even accurately say anything, and the few times you could make a guess itās not in-character for the other. So heās just hard to tell. Besides Cass.
I think heād naturally get along with Bruce, Dick, and Tim, and heās shown being closest to Cass in the Outsiders series. Considering Cass a sister I believe. They console in each other, care about each other, worry about each other, and look after each other. Thatās the closest relationship he has.
But itās hard to say a lot for him.
AGES:
To be blunt I canāt say with full accuracy because thereās so many inconsistencies plus reboots.
But Iāll go into oldest to youngest, because some donāt realize some ages.
Dick, was 21 when Tim was 13
Jason was 18 when Tim was 15
Cass is the same age if not older than Jason
Steph is two years older than Tim
I believe Duke is around the same age as Steph
and Tim and Damianās ages off of that is pretty obvious.
--
Sorry this is so freaking long, but like I said, just DM me. Iām about to watch a movie, but Iāll get back to you as soon as possible. I at least hope this helped some, and if itās too long, just message me because itāll probably be less overwhelming then.
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Jon Kent and Damian Wayne in the Young Justice Animated Series
Itās been a good long while since Young Justice: Outsiders came out, so I feel like I can finally write about this without worrying about tagging spoilers and ruining lives or something. This is something I thought about the second this episode aired, and Iāve been waiting to write it. So here it goes!
Young Justice: Outsiders was obviously exciting for many reasons, but some of the most excitement came from introductions of well beloved characters, such as Jason Todd and Damian Wayne (seen in Episode 6) and Jon Kent (seen in Episode 9). Anyone who follows Super Sons already knows that this is a massive deal, because it establishes that Damian and Jon both exist in the same animated timeline for the very first time, as well as it being Jonās animated debut.


While Iām obviously extremely excited for the possibility of a Super Sons animated moment, it got me thinking. The screen shots above show that Damian and Jon are both infants, likely somewhere around one (1) year old. This is completely different from the three (3) year age difference weāre used to, and while this difference might not seem like that big of a deal to some people, it has the capacity to completely change their character dynamics.
Letās start by looking at Damian:

We all know Damianās backstory by now; raised in the League of Assassins by Raās and Talia Al Ghul, until he was ten (10) years old, when he moved to Gotham to live with Bruce Wayne. It was at this point that he became Robin. This is a pretty concrete point in Damianās character, and is very unlikely to change. At some point in the YJ series, he needs to become Robin. But lets take a minute to think about what kind of person he was at that age: arrogant, violent, stubborn, and desperately trying to prove his worth to a father he just met. At this point, he was a killer, and regularly fought with just about every member of the Batfam, Bruce and Dick in particular, as he tried to break the habits heād been brought up with.Ā
In the context of YJ, we can assume that Dick would at some point bring Damian along to join the Team, but the question is, at what age? Damian joining almost immediately fits pretty well with how quickly he was introduced to the Teen Titans. But, at that age, he was hardly a team player. It wasnāt until he was about thirteen (13) that he really started developing actual friendships. However, the age Damian joins the Team - in my opinion at least - would depend very heavily on when the otherĀ āNext Generationā heroes join.Ā
This brings us to Jon:

Jon is known for being the complete antithesis to Damian. Rather than being raised to be a loyal machine, he was raised to be a loyal friend. Jon is a character who puts family first, and thinks of his friends as family. Heās truly a breath of childish fresh air in an industry that loves feeding us doom and gloom. While he is beloved by the majority of the fanbase, other characters were very apprehensive about him when he first got into the hero business at ten (10) years old; not-so-coincidentally, the same age as Damian.Ā
However, Jon is also the character in DC comics with the most amount of pressure on him. You imagine being the son of Superman for a moment, and growing up knowing that every single person you meet expects you to one day take over that title. Do you think youād be able to handle that? Let alone at ten years old? I certainly canāt. Yet it seems like Jon doesnāt actually realize just how heavy that weight on his shoulders is.
While Supers are known for being power houses, and every team seems to want one, Jon was a kid, and very new to his abilities. He was unpolished; constantly making mistakes, misjudging his own strength, overshooting his speed and flight, and who could possibly forget when he lost control Manchester Black, or when he went full Super Nova and nearly killed the Teen Titans? It became very clear at the end of the first Super Sons run that Damian was actually the only other young hero that trusted Jon, which is why they continued to function as the newest take on a dynamic duo.Ā
How does this all come back to Young Justice: Outsiders? Well itās actually very simple. All of that mistrust that characters were going to have in Jon was immediately erased the second the series did this:
Right here is the next generation of the Team. We all know it, and unlike previous heroes, this is the first generation thatās growing up together. Unlike every other iteration of the Justice League, Teen Titans, Young Justice, and literally every other team you can think of, these kids are all going to grow up watching each otherās powers come in. Theyāre going to know each otherās weaknesses and flaws, from weekly play dates, birthday parties, and any other hero-family get-together; some of them might even end up going to the same schools in this universe. Yes, Jon is the youngest out of them, but that just means that every single one of these kiddos is going to watch him grow up, knowing that S on his chest will always be there.
Letās think about what we know about Jon again. Heās charismatic, funny, loyal and true, and has this uncanny ability to be able to talk to literally anyone, regardless of who the are, where theyāre from, or what circumstance heās in. You know what those traits line up perfectly with? A natural born leader.Ā
Growing up in this environment, where all these super kids play all the time, itās so easy to imagine Jon growing up and being this larger than life personality that everyone just naturally seems to listen to. Jon would be the kid coming up with new games to play, and teaching them to everyone else. He would be one of the team captains when they play kickball, soccer, or any other sport. He would be genuinely interested in everyoneās hobbies and skills. He would be the one everyone turns to when they need someone to talk to. If someoneās unsure about him, chances are theyāll just do what everyone does; take one look at that S on his chest and just start listening.Ā

The series progresses. Thereās another time skip, and Damian and Jon are now both ten years old, taking on their respective superhero mantels for the first time. As all young heroes in this series eventually do, they join the Team. Perhaps around the same time, perhaps Damian joins a few months before hand, or vice versa. But that doesnāt matter, because the effect will be exactly the same.
Damian is harsh. Heās vindictive, and unemphatic; the exact opposite of what everyone expects a Robin to be. He refuses to take orders, and is very clearly trying to fight his was to the top of the food chain. Plus, he comes right in and kicks Tim Drake out of the Robin title, someone who could very likely be the current leader. Chances are, everyone would hate Damian from the get-go. Meanwhile, everyone would be looking forward to the day Jon joins. They all knew he would. It was just a matter of time.Ā
Rather than being introduced to each other with a clear difference in experience like in the comics, Jon and Damian are now on relatively even playing fields because theyāre the same age. Damian would have more combat skills, but Jonās already an integral part of the group, and heās a fast learner. Obviously they would but heads, likely even more than they did in Supers Sons.Ā

One of the biggest debates we see in every single season of YJ isĀ āOk, but whoās in charge?ā This would undoubtedly come up as Damian flat out refuses that listen to any leadership if he doesnāt deem them worthy. Even at ten (10) years old, he would likely be fighting for that position of head honcho, because at this point in his life, Damianās driving forces are his ego and his ambition. Unfortunately for him, at ten (10) years old, with thatĀ personality, and after having justĀ left the League of Assassins, heās completely untrustworthy.Ā
Jon on the other hand is a perfect candidate for eventual leader. Everyone would have followed Kon, the Superboy before him, to the ends of the Earth. Superman led the Justice League at one point, plus heās, you know, Superman. Here weāve got that legendās kid, with all the makings to eventually take over the whole operation. Heās young, and pretty green, but chances are every single person on the team would have it in the back of their minds that this kid was born to lead.Ā
The biggest problem? Jon has a tendency to crack under pressure, and second guess himself. There is a chance that Damian rushing to be in charge would force Jon to be pushed forward far too quickly, long before heās ready. Meanwhile, Damianās smart as sin. No one on the Team would be able to deny that Damianās a perfect strategist, who analyses and memorizes every skill set and strength of the people he has to work with. He can come up with a flawless plan at the drop of a hat. Meanwhile, Jon would be the kind of person to lead with his heart, and build morale on a foundation of morals and trust.
Thatās going to be the conflict between Damian and Jon in Young Justice because of how they were introduced in the series, and with their lack of age gap. Damian doesnāt have the time to grow and gain everyoneās trust before Jon becomes Superboy, where as Jon wouldnāt have the chance to learn before getting pushed into leadership positions he isnāt ready for. Theyāre likely going to but heads even more than before, and right now, thereās no way to tell if they will ever be able to achieve the friendship they have in the comics, or if theyāll be stuck as rivals.
Is it too early to make assumptions? Yeah. Probably. Who knows what the writers have planned. But I donāt think thereās any way to doubt the conflict they just created for themselves.
#supersons#jon kent#damian wayne#robin#superboy#young justice#yj#yjs3#batfam#superfam#dick grayson#nightwing#jason todd#red hood#tim drake#red robin#superman#clark kent#lois lane#talia al ghul#Ra's al Ghul#teen titans#conner kent#kon el#super sons#dc#dc comics#damijon#jondami#young justice outsiders
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family and (mis)fortune
or, tommy merlyn accidentally part-time joins the batfam
hello, please enjoy and have mercy, pretty much all of my batfam knowledge is informed either by batman: the animated series or tumblr posts. be gentle with me, i know so little about jason todd, iām doing my best
this meta developed over whatsaspp in messages to @andyouweremine, @acheaptrickandacheesyoneline, and @storiesofimagination
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Just a fun little notion to mull over: Malcolm Merlyn dies/disappears (hallelujah) in the two years after his wifeās death and leaving his child behind. Accident and happenstance bring Tommy Merlyn, orphan, to the attention of Bruce Wayne. And thus Tommy becomes a part time foster sibling to the batfam
(lol the above was supposed to be it, the end, literally the entire whole thing, but then all the rest happened)
Like. Say Bruce (probably he knew Rebecca?) takes over custody of Tommy. For the sake of the boy and his clear attachment to the Queens, especially Oliver, Bruce has Tommy enrolled as a boarding student at Starling Academy. So the boys still get to spend the school year together, and sometimes in the summer or over holidays Oliver visits in Gotham
And Tommy is pretty much just a part time addition to the Bruce Wayne orphans-who-eerily-resemble-me collection, so itās several years before he catches on even a little to what Bruce and older foster brother Dick get up to after dark
But eventually he DOES find out. And maybe he doesnāt suit up too, but Bruce canāt have one of his kids knowing about Batman and not prepared to protect himself so he gets a lot of the same training
(Meanwhile Tommy grows up with siblings and a father figure(s)āheyyy Alfredāwho show him care and donāt abuse him. And maybe even therapy. But also he gets to maintain his closeness to Oliver and even Thea because he still spends most of the year in Starling)
As a better adjusted dude all around Tommy is probably a moderately better influence on Oliver. Like he canāt change everything but maybe things are mitigated. Then the gambit still goes down (probably Malcolm didnāt actually die after all? He just went deep into the league or whatever and continued to influence things in Starling towards the Undertaking from the shadows?)
In the wake of that Tommy moves to Starling full time and insists to everyone including Bruce that Oliver is still alive etc etc. he doesnāt give up hope (although also maybe he doesnāt get involved with Laurel? Maybe.) and then Oliver actually comes back
More or less most of canon stuff goes on except now you have a Tommy who eats breakfast casually with Batman and multiple Robins and has training and has been inside the Batcave and knows what it looks like when someone he loves is not doing a great job of a) hiding how deeply traumatized they are and b) concealing their vigilante side gig
(@acheaptrickandacheesyoneline contributed: "Oliver, you need to get better excuses"
"Excuses for what?"
"Like that. Right there"
To which i responded: āLook I know the reckless playboy thing seems like an awesome cover story at first but trust me, if you donāt balance it right it just makes everything more work than itās worthā)
Bruce calling Tommy ostensibly just to check in with his foster son but non-covertly actually sniffing around about this murderous new vigilante in Starling
Tommy very awkwardly and transparently lying that he has no idea who it could possibly be
Tommy tries to crack bad jokes about how he just seems to attract cape and cowl types to wherever he lives and Bruce heaving the longest sigh on record because Tommy and Dick really are way too similar for Bruceās mental health
Also in this headcanon Bruce was definitely like early 20s when he took in Dick so he was like maaayyybe 27 when he took in Tommy. Putting him younger than 40 or just over at time of Oliverās return. So Bruce is like barely older than Diggle
Okay my math wasnāt great. So if Dick is a few years older than Tommy and Oliver and Bruce adopted him at like 22, letās say Bruce is 24 when Rebecca dies and Tommy is 8... 26 when he takes custody of Tommy... which means heās actually like 43 at time of Oliver coming back from the dead (subject to change, iām bad at math!)
The way I picture it is that Bruce knew Rebecca (maybe their families knew each other??) and went to her funeral, where he observed the lost looking, clearly devastated eight year old that widower Malcolm was too busy brooding furiously to attend to. Bruce never liked Malcolm. Theyād met a few times over the years and he always thought Rebecca could have done better. Malcolm always stuck Bruce as oily and shark eyed. Something cold and hungry under the surface of his charming facade. But Rebecca seemed happy with him so it wasnāt his business
That boy though. The image of that grieving boy, his whole world snatched away and not even a kindly butler to hold his hand at the graveside, that stays with Bruce, nags at him. He checks up on the remaining Merlyns from a distance after returning to Gotham. Heās unsettled and unhappy when he learns Malcolm has run off, leaving his young son behind with some hired help and power of attorney vested in his friend Robert Queen. He follows the situation for two years. When Malcolm returns heās hopeful Tommyās life will go better than Bruceās did, but Malcolm only leaves again all too soon. And then he disappears. His plane goes down or something (who even cares as long as Malcolm is gone-zo, pfft bye bitch). And Tommy is truly alone, an orphan in name as well as circumstance now
Bruce knows thereās no other family to claim Tommy. He knows the boy is staying with the Queens at the moment, that Robert has guardianship, but itās also apparent theyāre in no rush to formalize the situation to anything more permanent. Bruce decides to go to Starling himself and see what will become of Tommy
Itās immediately obvious the Queens are a mess. Infidelity and fighting and periodic separation between Moira and Robert. Moira is just recently pregnant. And she seems anxious and uneasy about Tommy. Even as she does seem to care about him, she also seems determined to keep him at armās length. However itās just as obvious that despite all this, Tommy and the Queen boy might as well be brothers for as close as they are
Itās clearly not an ideal situation. Bruce being Bruce decides heās just gonna fix things. But when Moira catches wind of it she goes oddly protective and it leads to a face off between the two of them. Moira hits Bruce about being too young, unmarried, having no prior relationship with Tommy, living so far from everything Tommy knows.Ā
Bruce hits back with brutal truths, the killing blow that Moira clearly has no intention of making Tommy part of her own family. Robert may have slightly more ground to stand on, but ultimately they all know that if the Queen marriage falls apart, itās not Robert who would take custody of Tommy in the aftermath of another family disintegration
And so with the cooperation of Moira and Robert and a lot of money, Bruce becomes Tommyās legal guardian and works out with the Queens an arrangement that has Tommy in boarding at the same school Oliver attends and charges Moira and Robert to act in loco parentis for daily or immediate matters. Moira will eventually unclench and let Tommy connect easily with Oliver and even Thea, because with Malcolm gone she doesnāt have that fear about her baby girl and her secret half brother putting her family at risk
And then @storiesofimagination was sad that there would be less Thea/Tommy sibling shenanigans in this AU, to which I said:
Oh but there will still be plenty of that! Because Tommy spends most of his school years largely in Starling and a lottttt of time at the Queen home. And Moira isnāt as uneasy about Tommy adoring Thea and vice versa because with Malcolm gone/presumed dead sheās less worried about her indiscretion being exposed
So @andyouweremine asked if Dick and Oliver get along
Dick is a few years older than Tommy and Oliver so he probably didnāt spend loads of time with them during Oliverās visits? Not none though. Tommy thinks Dick is absurdly cool so Oliver might have been a little bit jealous but also thinks Dick is cool. Dick almost definitely thrives on the fact that living human beings think he is cool
But yeah. Dick. Dick is probably weird about Tommy at first. Is this a threat? A rival? Nope itās a shy goofy kid who thinks Dick is way funnier than Bruce does and looks up to him and heās only around for holidays and summers so heās the best part time little brother ever
They get on like a house on fire probably. So many bad jokes. So many. Bruce probably hides from the puns down in the Batcave even when thereās no mission because Dick can either hang out with Tommy or annoy Bruce in the super secret crime fighting lair but not both
Tommy loves the hell out of Alfred. Heās like Raisa, only Tommy gets to keep him
Alfred is just pleased to have a charge he doesnāt have to semi regularly do sutures for
If weāre going full batfam, Tommy and Jason probably canāt stand each other most of the time, but itās mostly because Jason is extremely prickly and acts out wildly (younger days, obv)
Years later when Tim arrives on the scene, Tommy delights in being the older brother at last. They donāt have tons in common but they get along well enough
AND THEN, because @andyouweremine campaigned to ship Tommy/Dick because both Tommy Merlyn and Dick Grayson are as bi as they come:
Tommy would absolutely have the worldās most awkward crush on Dick at least in his teens. He so would though. Dick would probably be his bisexual awakening. Oliver would get sick of hearing about it. Tommy just looks up one day at like 14-15 while Dick is tooling around the house doing dumb acrobatic impressive-feats-of-athletic-dumbassery and thereās all those taut muscles and a flash of rock hard abs and suddenly Tommy needs to go to his bunk excuse himself to his bedroom to freak out privately that apparently he also likes boys now and ugh WHY THIS ONE
(later in life heāll somewhat bitterly lament that his type seems to be ātaboo.ā probably he mentions this to Jason when they are both adults and sharing a beer and doing some extremely rare bonding, and Jason shoots him one hell of a side eye like āPlease tell me youāre not into underage girls because I will kill you and I wonāt feel bad.ā
And Tommy barks a mortified laugh and says āNo. Jesus Christ, no, I mean peopleāadult people!āthat I should stay away from, because I should know better or theyād never be into me or, uh,ā sweating nervously, hoping his face isnāt telegraphing DICK GRAYSONĀ or OLIVER QUEEN to someone trained by the actual Batman, āother reasons.ā)
And you know, Tommy probably doesnāt find out about his foster dad and foster brother being Batman and Robin until heās like 16-17. So right before Dick stops being Robin/Jason arrives on scene
Not telling Oliver about kills him
And heās probably torn between reactions. Excited/in awe that his found family are actual superheroes. A little self conscious and insecure that his found family are superheroes but heās just... him. Stressed that Bruce and Dick are regularly putting themselves in danger. A little off balance and hurt because Bruce Dick and Alfred have all been keeping this secret from him for years
Eventually he knows why they didnāt tell him. Because itās so hard not to tell Oliver. He doesnāt actually want to brag to the world and heās not dumb enough to just accidentally give it away, but not telling Oliver is excruciating, and Oliver can probably tell thereās something Tommy is hiding from him all of a sudden.Ā
It probably puts a new and awful strain on their relationship, but Tommy finally puts the words together to beg Oliver to understand that he has to keep someone elseās secret. That itās important and not his to tell and that thatās the only reason he wouldnāt tell Oliver something. Things are still stiff for a little while but Oliver accepts it eventually. Especially after Tommy likens it to how just because Tommy has told Oliver heās bi it wouldnāt be okay for Oliver to tell somebody else Tommy was bi without Tommyās permission
And so, after Tommy finds out that heās part of the actual batfam, Bruce makes him train. Not to take up a mask but to be prepared to protect himself if what he now knows were ever to endanger him
Tommy actually doesnāt want to take up a mask. Heās never been a big āfamily businessā guy, even if he did intern at Wayne enterprises last summer
The strain of keeping Bruceās secret from Oliver was bad enough. Tommy canāt imagine keeping it secret from Oliver if that same secret was his own
(After all, Tommy may have interned at Wayne enterprises but so did Oliver. He stayed with the Waynes the whole summer and Bruce was never more stressed out in his life over things not directly related to costumed villainy)
--
@memcjo @klaus-hargreeves-katz @its-a-pygmy-puffle @keabbs @princesssarcastia @obscure-sentimentalist
#tommy merlyn#oliver queen#batfam#bruce wayne#dick grayson#jason todd#arrow#the batfam tommy au#family and (mis)fortune au#more to inevitably come (someday)#sorry i almost forgot to tag folks!!!#happy (early) birthday from me to you#fam au
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Red Wedding
Summary: The land is aglow on this day. The citizens of Gotham and visitors from far and wide have come to celebrate, the Red Wedding. Timothy and Todd's wedding and even sour ties are laid aside.
A lot of things are left ambiguous here but what is certain is their history and the setting. It's possibly low fantasy category. But definitely not the Red wedding you might be thinking of.
AN: fluff, past rivalry, marriage, fantasy, low fantasy
My fill for the batfam bingo
==============
Crimson streamed above the proceeding crowds as they came from far and wide. Banners and blooms stained the walls and plastered the grounds as if the stones themselves were covered in blood, a grim visual if it werenāt for the celebratory event in which they represented.
A Red Wedding for the Red Ones. After years of war and turmoil, their everlasting love would finally culminate on this day. The Prince of Blood and Majesty and his Knight of Fire and Passion, to be forever wed and bonded.
Many came bearing the two gifts of gold and roses, the two things that both Timothy and Todd loved so very much. But these gifts would not be received yet, as the veil still stood, draped between them and the world.
And they too, would not bear witness to one another until it was time to come before God and sanctify their union.
However, Brave Jason still felt the anxiety, an unfamiliar boiling within his gut. He would not regret this decision, no, but the very thought of bearing them both to the strangers and friends alike was a nauseating notion.
He had almost wished they had run off to their own private wedding where no one would interrupt them or watch with such expectant eyes.
āCome, Jason, do stop fretting and let me help you into the armor.ā
Despite the frown, he obeyed and stood in front of Richard though not without some choice words.
āI do not understand this, why would we need the entire land to come bear witness to our wedding?ā
Richard, the bastard, laughed at his distress as he fumbled with the straps and holds, unused to so much armor and one of such troublesome a make. He really should call for help, but Richard had inherited some of the Kingās stubbornness during his time growing up with the man heād come to call Father.
āI do swear, you and dear Timothy are certainly made for each other, not long ago did he protest the same.ā
āWhat is there to say? Both he and I are more sensible and practical than most of our family.ā
āHush, do not be like that. Bruce has long awaited a day as this when you both would find yourselves the happiness you deserve,ā Grayson tugged harshly on the strap that held the breastplate in place, āGranted, he did not quite expect you both to find that in each other, but he certainly could not be happier.ā
āNor I, Richard,ā Jason said, thinking back wistfully when he finally laid the blade aside and instead pressed his hand against the porcelain of Timothyās skin, his blue eyes pierced through the green haze that clouded Toddās mind, finally breaking through the spell of death and hatred. It took many years for their fight to cease and for their anger to turn to passion, and many years more for their bond to take root and grow.
āNor I,ā he said one more time.
āCome, I believe we are finished.ā
āI hope you have not made a mess of this, if we are to be united before hundreds of thousands, I would prefer to not humiliate myself the moment I step outside. And Lord forbid I do so as I stand before my love.ā
āCalm yourself, such little faith in my skill.ā
āYour skills are narrow, Richard, and donning armor sits outside of your realm of expertise. Might I remind you of when you once believed our King had gained forty pounds as you failed to put on his plackart?ā
Richard threw his head backwards, amusement and memories dancing through his deep blue eyes, āAnd he had, I could swear it!ā
Even Jason could not hold the smile that tugged at his lips. Graysonās love of humor was indeed infectious and Todd, for one, was glad for it.
Unbeknownst to the men both, the King had stood by the door, watching them both with a soft smile and an indiscernible expression that seemed to cross between the lines of fondness and concern. Grayson nodded his greeting and graciously vacated the room, leaving both the groom and the King.
Bruce said not a word as approached, his steps terrifyingly light for a man of his build and bulk. This, Jason could understand, was where his love learned his light-footedness, perfected further into Timothyās signature phantom steps that never failed to unnerve and awe all who witnessed him.
A large hand reached towards the armor and tugged, earning a grunt from the King as he inspected Richardās handiwork.
āThere is much room for improvement,ā he says curtly.
āSo I have told him.ā
Much to his surprise, Bruce began to fix the armor himself, in the stead of servants despite it being unheard of for the King to ever engage in such a menial task.
āWould it not be better to call for the servants, your majesty?ā Jason remarked with a raised brow.
āThere is no need, I missed donning armor for another that was not myself.ā
And so the King worked in silence as Jason swallowed and allowed him this luxury just once, though it did not quash his nerves. He may be a man who loved the simple things once in a blue moon, but it was usually against the tradition for King to indulge a subject like so. Still, it would not do to deny him either.
āI...it is difficult to believe this,ā Jason finally said as he finally remembered the words he held for too long.
āBelieve what?ā
āThat you...would be so gracious as to allow me to ask for Timothyās hand. I expected...much disdain.ā
Bruce reworked the strap that held the pauldrons together, tugging firmly but gentle to avoid injury, āI, also, can hardly believe myself. For the longest time, I feared that your misplaced rage would destroy my son as it was destroying you. I feared for him. Timothy is strong but he is also vulnerable.ā
The King's eyes glanced up briefly to meet Jason's, āHe would give up his life in a heartbeat, if it meant saving you.ā
āThe knowledge of that burns me still.ā
Jason could not honestly deny the guilt that still ate him from time to time, the voice of regret strongest on the quietest of nights. But each time, the crystal blue of his darling Timothyās eyes would pull him back from the edge of the shadow. A strong warrior, a loving Prince and a passionate companion. He was indeed a blessed man.
A heavy hand set on his shoulder as Bruceās eyes bored into his own, not full of shame and disappointment but relief, joy and pride. His death had changed the man as it did to those who knew him as bright young man with the dream of becoming a knight. But though his return had brought them all pain, it also brought redemption.
āI would do the same, for you Jason,ā he said, memories of grief and loss flashed across like a shadow across the sea, āI am glad that you have returned to us and that you at last, found happiness.ā
āAnd I will be forever grateful, for welcoming me home, for all that you have done, Bruce.ā
Bruce gave a gentle squeeze of his shoulder and patted the boy, now a knight. Though many things were yet unsaid, they had time still to discuss it, āCome, it is time, we shanāt keep your husband-to-be waiting.ā
They made their way along the passage, draped over with red cloth depicting battles of valor and depictions of creatures and magnificent beast embossed in gold as the King had requested, just as he had also commissioned silk and fine veils to be laid across Timothyās own path, with soaring birds, phoenices and roses embroidered into the fabric. An idea that Barbara herself developed, and would have incorporated into her own wedding if the color had not been blue. Though she certainly could not complain as Richard had purchased for her the most magnificent blue gown. Bruce struggled to avoid bursting with glee, as he imagined the expression Todd would wear when he laid eyes on Tim in his own wedding wear, one that had been painstakingly designed by his daughters, further realized by the talents of his son Damian, who had taken a surprising interest in tailoring and dressmaking. A welcome break from the swords and knives and little else.
The finally reached their end of their respective paths, all that lead to this one moment. Their highest appointed head of the palace, Pennyworth was given the honor of addressing the crowd
āMy dear friends, Ladies and gentlemen from afar. We gather here today to witness a most joyous occasion, one of undying love and loyalty. We have see many bonds form and fall where there was nothing to hold fast, but today, we bear witness to one forged in fire and strengthened in blood. Sanctified in holy passion before our Lord. Come bear witness to the union of our Prince Timothy and our Brave Knight returned Todd!ā
Cheers erupted from the crowd as the veils and curtains were finally raised, revealing Jason and Timothy, facing each other on either side of the altars. The moment Jason had at last gazed upon his love, his breath was stolen away.
Before him stood Timothy, dressed in rose red breeches that fit into black boots that reached past his knees, displaying long shapely legs. A gold embroidered, wine overcoat that was cut sharply, further accentuated his tight, lean figure fanning out ever so slightly so as not to hug too tightly to his hips, somehow adding to the allure of their slimness. Trailing behind him, perhaps the most breathtaking piece was the cape that settled on the pads of his shoulders. Catching the wind, they distended revealing red wings that caught the light, a tribute to his title and bloodline. Lastly, crowning his raven hair was a wreath of gold and silver feather that gave the image of wings sprouting from his beneath his locks. An angel in red, an appropriate image indeed. He must discuss this with the ladies at some time in the future.
For now, if the armor didnāt make a fool of him, then his own traitor mind did, as Jason was certain his mouth was still wide and gaping. Eyes matching to take in every detail. He mustnāt me the only one.
Finally, with a nudge, he collected himself and approached the altar, Timothy also taking his place beside him, smile bright and lovely. The words were a blur but he remembers clearly the moment the question was pressed.
āWill you take Prince Timothy of Drake-Wayne forevermore to be your husband?ā
āI do,ā he replied without hesitation.
āAnd do you, Prince Timothy take this loyal Knight Jason Todd of the Order to be your own, husband forevermore?ā
A breath, āAlways and forever.ā
āWith this, you are now joined together in the strength of the Lord, may he guide you side by side to the end of days.ā
Overjoyed and unable to contain himself, Jason wrapped his arms around his now husbandās waist just as Timothy threw his own to pull his love close for a tender kiss. Cheers erupted from the crowds. Tears flowed with joy that not even Bruce could quite contain.
A magnificent pair they were indeed, that even after years of strife, their love had only grown. And even as the cheers and praises rose above, both cared little but for the one he held in his arms. Jason and Timothy, together for eternity.
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I love everyone in the batfam no matter how problematic, but the Rhato 25 discourse bothered me. As a Bruce fan I didn't like the complete crucifixion of his character by the Jason diehards. Personally I feel Bruce was justified (the brutality felt like a publicity stunt for shock value, which I didn't like), but seeing these same fans (that hate Bruce for daring to hurt their fav) then celebrate when Jason did the exact same thing to Damian in the teen titans annual. It's so hypocritical.
Oh, Anon, I fear you inadvertently put the finger on the exact thing I despise about current storylines. I agree in that theyāre taking the shock value too far and that every character suffers for it.
Frankly, I have more of a problem with what the fans are served than with how they reacted to it.
Fair warning, Iām gonna get very critical with the writing of the two events Anon mentioned. Iād be extra interested to hear about those events from the perspective of someone who actually enjoyed them, but itās not worth your good mood if reading a post basically trashing said storylines upsets you.
Iāll respectfully disagree about Bruceās behavior towards Jason. It was excessively brutal and nothing justified it. The scene can be summed up to shock value, to the point it would need to be entirely rewritten to exonerate Bruce. Jason relapsed into lethal force for understandable reasons. Even if we consider nothing excuses Jason; even in an alternative scenario where heād have shot the Penguin out of the blue, Bruceās behavior would be plain wrong.
Bruce went after him, assaulted him, and kept on beating him while Jason wasnāt defending himself.
Letās forget this was Jason for a second. This is not the kind of violence Bruce should resort to against any criminal. I donāt just mean that hey, this isnāt ideal morally speaking, I mean that Bruce Wayne, as a character, as the man who was always written to believe in redemption/rehabilitation, as the man who willed never to use lethal or even unnecessary force, canāt do this and pretend to be remotely what Bruceās character is supposed to represent. I hate it every time Bruce is written to use that kind of empty violence, preboot or reboot. Miller went down that road too and it never fulfilled my idea of entertainment.
Then you add on the fact that Jasonās his son, and it makes it all so much worse. Bruce legit puts the blame on Jason, not only during the confrontation (āI told you if you left me itād be your choiceā), but also in a later issue when Lobdell serves us a disastrous attempt at a reconciliation scene. āI love you but you deserved a kick in the ass.ā Like, I donāt think Lobdell couldāve portrayed a more abusive father-figure if he wanted to.
As a comparison, have similar confrontations between Bruce and Dick in preboot.


[Batman (1940) #600]
So here thereās an actual fight. Dick is actively participating rather than being used as Bruceās punching-ball. Power-wise, theyāre equals.
You want a true equivalent to the scene between Jason and Bruce, where Dick suffers from a power-imbalance + Bruce being toxic?


[New Titans (1988) #55]
Note how it doesnāt go further than a punch because itās bad enough that way and doesnāt need to escalate further to drive the narrative home. Thereās no āI love you but you deserved a punchā bullshit later on either.
Even in Teen Titans: Year One where Bruce was particularly terrible (too much imo), heās brainwashed when he hits Dick and nothing in the story/framing exonerates Bruce for his global behavior.
Those confrontations had a place in their narratives other than shock value. Bruceās descent after Jasonās death, his mental state in Murderer/Fugitive. They illustrate how fucked up Bruce is at a specific moment due to specific events and context. Theyāre not casually dismissed afterwards by a hug and a dubious line. And again, they donāt require Bruce to beat Dick half to death to drive their point home.
By the way, this is reconciliation.


[Batman (1940) #605]
This is a component of the circle of abuse.

[Red Hood and the Outlaws (2016) #27]
āI love you. If only you werenāt so stubborn, you wouldnāt deserve an occasional kick in the ass. Like when I inflicted you severe physical trauma. But I love you anyway. Aaah, the woes of father-son relationships!ā
There was no narrative reason for Bruce to take it that far with Jason in rhato. Itās just physically more violent and emotionally less impactful, because itās so damn cheap and because it tries to pass abuse for a normal familial dissension that can be cured with a hug. I canāt get emotionally engaged with that kind of writing.
Itās a reboot, itās entitled to change characters, but itās simply not a Bruce I recognize nor one whose existence Iām particularly eager to acknowledge.
As for the Jason-Damian confrontationā¦
I donāt care that Jason didnāt want to fight and tried so hard to de-escalate the situation until Damian pulled out that mystery drama-box. I donāt care that Damianās a trained fighter. Frankly, I donāt care about the specifics. At the end of the day, an adult beat the shit out of a child. A child who was framed in earlier appearances to be his little brother. A writer/editorial team/whoever the hell made the conscious choice to put those characters in the specific situation where an adult would beat the shit of a child family member.
You know, for all that I hate TT#29 for its cheap violence (and Jasonās less than ideal portrayal), it at least had the decency to oppose two characters of roughly the same age. And in this continuity, Jason was revived to be a villain. I may not like it but itās expected that he acts villainous towards the fam, or Tim here. Plus Tim and Jason were never ever portrayed as brothers in post-crisis. Theyāre strangers. Them beating each other simply doesnāt have the same significance.
Have another preboot parallel where neither perpetrators are villains.

[Red Robin #14]
Here the writer puts Tim in a situation where he has to defend himself against a ten-year-old. Thereās a punch, and then the violence stops. Thatās it. Much like the preboot Dick-Bruce confrontations, it doesnāt need to be taken further. The story delivers its point without any ten-year-old getting beaten senseless by an older ally.
Seriously, how does thisā¦

[Batman (2016) #16]
ā¦exist in the same continuity as this?

[Teen Titans Annual 1 (2019)]
How is this a good way to portray familial dissensions/confrontations of any kind?
Youāre the writer. You decide if the 20 something is gonna throw hands with the 13 year old. You decide how the father figure reacts to the sonās actions. You decide how far each confrontation goes. You decide whether two characters that were explicitly portrayed as brothers are gonna bleed each other out. You decide whether the father figure is abusive. You decide what happens, how it happens, how itās resolved, and how every element is framed.
Physical violence is just another narrative tool that should be used to construct a story. You canāt just throw it in, dial it up to 11, and hope itāll make your scene impactful. It just proves you donāt know how to write a vivid scene without relying on cheap tricks.
Anon, I get your frustration, I donāt like whatās done of Bruce either. I made a post about his parental failures in preboot ( bat-lings.tumblr .com/post/180901354160/do-you-think-bruce-was-a-bad-father-im-starting); none of them ever reached rhatoās caricatural empty brutality. Bruce is less and less well received by fans as heās sometimes instrumentalized in sequences that donāt fit his character. Itās not fair on him.
But I canāt seem to disconnect with what we are given long enough to worry about how we react to it. And to be fair Iāve seen as many posts hating on Jasonās recent actions than hating on Bruceās.
Tbh bad writing/ooc-ness aside thereās little anyone can say to exonerate either character here. The fans are reacting vividly because theyāre faced with a story that has little else to sell other than vivid brutality. We all go āgasp!ā, pick sides, and thatās it. Itās hard to breed interesting discussion among fans with that configuration.
The good news is, each of those characters have seen better days, and not everything in reboot is as bad as the above sequences. Also we have fanfictions :D
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IGNās recent Bat-focused article (Batman: What Does Red Hood Need to Do to Get A Good Story?) praises fanfic writers and also is an amazing critique of how stagnant Jason has become under recent DC management and Iām so surprised at how good it is and how well thought out the solutions were
Hmmm. I just looked it up and I mean, Iām not trying to start anything but I both agree and disagree? Like, it makes some points for sure, I mean, its not like its saying things that I havenāt said a thousand times about Dick, like.....these characters need to be allowed access to a full range of emotions, both good and bad, in order to be fully fleshed out, so I mean yes on that premise alone I absolutely agree this is as true for Jason as it is for Dick or anyone else.
Tbh my only real criticism of the piece is it thinks Jason exists in a particular predicament the other characters arenāt in as well. And that I just donāt agree with, like they kinda lost me a bit with their first paragraph:
His complexities and moral ambiguity make him a compelling and distinct character among his more strait-laced Robin-brothers. Sadly, the character has seen little growth since his rage-filled reintroduction into comics. The āformer Robin becomes a villainā idea was enough for DC to coast on for a while but since rejoining the heroes, Red Hood has done little else.
First off, this may just be me being pedantic but Iām ALWAYS going to go fetch a grain of salt before continuing reading anything that pits Jason against his brothers in a war of his moral ambiguity against their strait-lacedness. Because to me, thatās just a fundamentally shallow view of the Batfam that caters to the idea that they each must have their own distinct niche in order to be fully viable individual characters, when a) no, and b) they donāt fit neatly into the niches people keep trying to slot them into and it never ends well for anybody.Ā
Like Jason is morally ambiguous in a lot of ways too, yes, but umm, even if we assume that the writer is only speaking of Dick, Tim and Damian, weāre talking a guy who beat the Joker to death with his bare hands and has ten assassins and mercenaries on his speed dial and who co-led the Outsiders, a guy who was deeply immersed in weighing the pros and cons of getting revenge for his father by getting Captain Boomerang killed and is forever being DMed by Raās because heās convinced he can get Tim to say He Has Some Points Actually, and the kid who was an assassin with a body count by age ten and who has struggled constantly ever since his debut to define his OWN personal view of morality that is not wholly predicated on what he was taught by any single individual.
And this is a big part of where I part ways with the article, because I think it falls into the same trap that a lot of people do by believing fanfic is inherently better by doing the same thing from just a different angle. Fanfic CAN be better than the canon, I absolutely believe that, I believe it is at times, but to do so, it has to like, BE BETTER. It has to do things differently, and not just paint a slightly different veneer over the same things. Like, pedantic though it might be, I outlined the above issue because its a mode of thinking the canon absolutely falls into again and again, and just like the writer of that article themselves, like....I think fandom as a whole is no different?Ā
Like, yes there are great stories about Jason out there, some writers have done great and interesting things with him, but that doesnāt mean thereās not a huge trend in fandom of doing the exact same thing I see here.....which is honestly a huge part of the exact same problem the article is decrying canon for......LIMITING Jason (and all the Batfam) by reducing them and their stories to finite niches as a way of spotlighting them as different from their siblings.....except theyāre not that different! And thatās okay! They donāt have to be! Families can have lots in common, families DO have lots in common due to like.....shared variables during their formative years.Ā
I mean Jason was heavily influenced by environmental factors in how and where he grew up before he ever met Batman, but like the article goes into itself, he was no less influenced by Bruce himself as his father figure.....which is something he absolutely has in common with his siblings, thus its not hard at all to see how his siblings could have similar complexities and moral struggles that stem from trying to reconcile Bruceās influence with the many other things and people that have influenced their childhoods.
And similarly, while the article is dead-on about Jasonās stagnancy....this is something that applies in equal measure to the rest of his family, because theyāre all facing the same issues in terms of how DC views and utilizes them, and fandom as much as it likes to condemn DC for doing just that....frequently does the same thing. Like, Jasonās stuck in canon, absolutely......but Dick keeps being popped out into his own microcosm to experience a couple years of stories that essentially turn him into completely different characters isolated from every communal part of his characterās history, and then ERASE everything thatās happened at the end of each of these stories and reset him to square one.....and thatās just a different kind of stagnancy that again, still never allows for actual character progression or development. Tim has LITERALLY been regressed back to Robin, like a hard reset thatās its own kind of stagnancy and Damian has had years of character development upended just to kick him back to where he started, effectively strip away all the connections heās developed at least in any meaningful way, etc.....and the same holds true for Babs and Cass and Steph and even Bruce himself IMO, in a lot of ways.
Its absolutely a problem, but its a problem that extends far beyond just Jason even if he is a great example of it. And its also a problem that extends into fic itself, and thatās why I donāt agree with a lot of the conclusions that article draws beyond just the fundamentalĀ āthese characters need to be allowed access to a full range of emotions.ā
Yes. That. That right there, THAT I think is crucial, but I think that writer needed to widen the scope a little to take in the full impact of what that actually MEANS for the characters....so as to not accidentally repeat the same problem theyāre being critical of by essentially arguing for a full range of emotions for Jason....while still defining or viewing Jason through a finite lens ofĀ āthe more morally ambiguous Bat character, at least as compared to his brothers.ā
Because its that last part thatās so detrimental, because it seems like such a little thing at first, until you realize that essentially its just putting a ceiling, a cap on how far those full ranges of emotions can be expressed. Like the problem with Dick Grayson in canon and fanon is NOT that he canāt be written with a full range of emotions.....its that his character absolutely can encompass a wide range of opinions and viewpoints and emotional stances fromĀ āI donāt believe in killing as a first optionā toĀ āI absolutely can, will, and have beaten a damn clown to death for joking about murdering my brotherā.....and he can still walk away as Dick Grayson after expressing both those things, because his character is big enough to include them both. HEāS not limited as a character, its canon writers and fandom writers that both heap artificial limitations of their OWN on him, say that his character is so defined in such a specific way that thereās no way for the latter expression of his character to actually be IN character.....and the fatal flaw here is fully fleshed out characters are never just one thing. They donāt fit in niches anymore than people do, and notice the problems we all run into when we try and pigeon hole people as being just one thing, like humans canāt be contradictory or act against their own self-interest or be hypocritical or evolve or even regress past prior viewpoints....basically, any time you try and sum up a human being in one line, no matter how accurate that description is, thereās still SOME things that are going to be left out of that picture.Ā
Now, these things donāt always have to matter that much, like if I look at a serial killer and say thatās a serial killer, like, I might be leaving out of the picture that once he helped an old lady across the street and didnāt kill her and he doesnāt even know why, and I for one, simply do not care that I leave that out of the picture. Its irrelevant to the big picture for me. I can acknowledge that it adds a smidgen of nuance to that particular picture and then go yeah but also I donāt care, nuance denied.
But in terms of fictional characters, these things that get left in the discard pile when we try and sum up characters as just one thing, like, they can be hugely significant, because characters unlike real people, are simply WHAT WE MAKE OF THEM. That stuff thatās been left out of the big picture look at that character because its stuff most people to DEFINE what that character looks like have deemed irrelevant....its still there, and still perfectly relevant for anyone who wants to pick that stuff up and make something of it, use it to change the overall picture or even just point to ways and places that picture can absolutely encompass and include these other elements and STILL fundamentally be that same picture, that same character.
And this isnāt to say that characters can never be written out of character, its to say that usually IMO what ACTUALLY makes the difference between something being out of character and something just being an unexpected but still valid character choice is just.....how these things are executed. The latter is when writers make the effort to JUSTIFY their character choice, to sell audiences on why and how this is absolutely something this character would do, to take them on a journey of what led the character to making this choice and let them see how those steps actually line up, thatās an actual journey that character might take. The former is when writers just donāt bother and are just like, well hereās a thing that character did, and you know it was in character because well thatās the character and thatās what I wrote them doing lol, what more do you want. No. Yawn. Next.
But the trick is if youāre going to try and make a character a SPECTRUM of emotions and choices rather than just a same datapoint recurring over and over again endlessly, a literal sticking point that never advances, never progresses, never changes......you have to actually give that character free range to utilize that spectrum of emotions and choices.....not just confine them to accessing all those possibilities but ONLY within a narrowly defined niche that is its own kind of limitation.
A character can START from a logline, absolutely. Can BEGIN in a narrative niche as a way to INTRODUCE them as seemingly different from their surroundings or their peers when they do not yet have the backstory, the evidence of past stories and character choices readers can use to interpret their actions or guess their choices.....but narrative niches, IMO, are meant to have a shelf life, an expiration date. Theyāre a seed for characters to grow FROM, to grow PAST, not return to over and over again.....because thatās when a niche just becomes another house that stagnancy built.
Anyway, thanks for the thoughts and the article mention.....it was an interesting exploration of thoughts for me even if I didnāt ultimately agree with a lot of what was already said....still a worthwhile read though I think and I mean hey, its cool if you still agree with it more even if I donāt, lol. This is just my take.
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Been having brainworms about a sort of Batfam Civil War (boo, hiss, overused trope that often relies on bad characterizationāI know, I know) that diverges during/right after Nightwing #152
#152, the Faces of Evil story, is essentially Raās throwing one big fit because he knows Bruce is dead. Worse still, no one is acknowledging that he died. And worst of all, Raās wasnāt the one who killed him. So I propose that for this AU, Raās simply decides that the way to rectify this is to bring Bruce back so their animosity can resume once again. I want him to pitch it to Dick, and crucially, I want Dick to say yes.
Lots more thoughts under the cut
At this point in the comics... no one can come out and say that either Bruce Wayne or Batman have died. Dick and Alfred and Tim have āBruce Wayneā issuing written statements from around the world. Then they have Thomas Elliot pretending to be Bruce. Because how do they explain Bruceās absence? But it means no real funeral. Even at the tiny memorial they host in Batman #687, Dick emphasizes that no one can know that the Batman isnāt the same. The mythos of Batman needs to continue. But at the same time, this must be really hard on Dick, who just lost his father. Who is being forced to compartmentalize his grief in favor of The Mission. For the seeds of the AU, Dick needs to want to be selfish, or at least to be tired of always being the bigger man.
Secondly, as of Nightwing #152, Dick still doesnāt want to be Batman! Or, in perhaps more generous terms, he canāt see himself taking Bruceās place. And to Dick at this point, thatās exactly what becoming Batman will be. Weāre still right before Battle for the Cowl, where he will accept that he will become Batman, but heās still wavering on the precipice here. But, to repeat above, Dick still very clearly believes in the necessity of Batman continuing. Heās just at an impasse.
Thirdly, thereās everyone else. This is a cheater one, and a bit broad, but Iām sure Dick is thinking about the way Bruce was holding things together. Think about Alfred in Batman #687, where heās talking about his own grief. Perhaps Dick is thinking about Tim, who has lost SO many people lately. In The Resurrection of Raās al Ghul, Dick speculates that he and Bruce may have missed just how far Timās grief has pushed him, and in this AU perhaps Dick anticipates that losing Bruce would be a bridge too far, rather than trusting that Tim would tell him when heās hit the breaking point. (As Red Robin will go to prove, Dick did miss just how bad Tim was doing, and Tim didnāt exactly communicate well in the depths of his grief) And then thereās Damian to think about too. At this point, Dick and Damian do not have a great relationship. I imagine that Dick is thinking that Bruceāsomeone Damian actually ostensibly respects, at leastāwould be able to handle this traumatized child so much better than he could.
Finally, justifying why I think this AU could be conceivable (as much as any AU needs to be conceivable) Dick DID want to put Bruce in a Lazarus Pit! He tried exactly that in Batman & Robin #7. It didnāt work, because it was a failed clone produced by Darkseidās Evil Factory. But Dick fully thought he was putting Bruce in a Lazarus Pit to be revived. He did it in front of Batwoman and Knight and Squire, and he monologues a lot about how he sees it as him saving Bruce. I know Dick has held a lot of opinions about Lazarus Pits in the past, and I wrote about why he may have changed it from as recently as Resurrection of Raās al Ghul to now, but this got too long so itās its own post.
I think Dick would at least consider Raās offering that very thing, especially because Raās has his own sort of code that he follows. Sure, Raās wants Bruce back so that he can kill him, but itās not like Raās is going to knife him as soon as Bruceās heart starts beating again. Raās respects Bruce, wants the honor of killing him right. Heās not going to bring him back so that he can then cheat. Raās wants to win, and for it to be satisfying it has to be as it was.
So this is the AU-as-premise, but for the civil war aspect, we have to wonder how all the other Gotham folks will respond to Dickās consideration of Raās plan.
I think Tim would go for it. He was already tempted by Lazarus in the past, and was talked down from the ledge by Dick. If Dick has also gone over that ledge, I think itās very likely that Tim will follow. Dick is one of Timās role models, at the end of the day, and I think that undergirds a lot. Besides, as Red Robin goes on to prove, Bruceās death does not put Tim in a great headspace for rational decision making.
Barbara, on the other hand, I think would be very against it. I feel like sheās the one who keeps trying to remind everyone that Raās is very evil, actually, and oh-my-god-Dick-youāre-making-a-deal-with-the-devil. Unfortunately, itās really easy for Dick to not listen to her, because sheās in Platinum Flats at this particular moment in time.
The majority of Dickās on-the-ground opposition comes from Cassandra, with whom he has butted heads a lot in the recent past. I know that I personally like to believe that they reconcile, especially by the time of Gates of Gotham, but I think Cass would absolutely be against putting Bruce in a Pit, and that rips the scab right off. (It would also be deliciously angsty for Tim to be pitted against Cassandra, who was his support system in Bludhaven while he was processing the grief of losing Stephanie and his dad) Cassandra has an entire lifetime of bad blood with the League and its goals, and she doesnāt trust it. Also in this AU Cass would get to be part of the āBattleā for the Cowl because I say so, and as a result it wouldnāt even really be a battle⦠except for Jason.
Jason, I think, would also be anti-pit, for reasons both obvious and not. Itās hard to come back to a world from which you died. Itās hard to come back to a world where you died and you have to face the grief of people who lost you and had to keep living themselves. And itās hard to question what your death meant. I think Jason will still try to seize the mantle of Batman in this AU, because he will see this as being an inflection moment to make something happen, to enact the change Bruce couldnāt after his own death. I donāt think he will fall into line with Barbara and Cassandra (because Cass canāt stand killers and Barbara has a million pounds of her own baggage) but heāll be against it operating on his own.
Iām not 100% sure which way Batwoman would fall, but I think sheād end up being on Dickās side. Kate seemed surprised by putting Batman in the Pit in B&R #7, but she didnāt fight it too much. She also has a history of friendship with Dick that she doesnāt have with other members of the Network.
Also on Barbaraās side, I think: Huntress. If Barbara goes back to Gotham for this, and we know Dinah ends up back in Gotham at least for the āmemorial,ā I think Helena will also head back. She wants to support Babs! (Do I know what happens to Charlie in this? Not at all. I guess she comes too, or goes off with Zinda) I think Helena will take a ālet him be in peace,ā sort of way, but this is also the woman who became The Bat in No Manās Land. She knows the power of the symbol of Batman, but she also knows that that void can be filled in other ways.
I think Damian would be in favor of reviving Burce, especially at this moment in the timeline. Talia has been keeping herself and Damian on the move in an attempt to protect them from Raās, but I could see them both coming into the fray as āRaās alternativesā for Dick and Tim, adding another wrinkle to the convolutedness of it all. Because I do think Damian and Talia would want Bruce back. I just donāt know if they would want Raās to be the one who does it.
Stephanie⦠poor Steph. Sheās in her āIām not a vigilanteā era, which is just code for āIām doing whatever I wantā era. I think her allegiance would be decided by whoever got to her firstāsheās been fired and mistreated by just about everyone involved, so maybe itās whoever can get to her and make her feel like a valuable addition to their team first. Or maybe she just tells them all to go to hell. And you know what? Good for her, either way.
This leaves the final players in this: Alfred and Selina. I just donāt know which way theyāll fall. I think theyād both want Bruce back more than just about anything, but I donāt know if theyād be willing to do this.
And then all the players are set and the train wreck begin! I donāt think this AU would be able to slide by as a āfailure to communicateā plotāI think a lot of the conflict would actually come from communicated philosophical differences. People will see a ārightā or āwrongā thing to do, and pick their sides based on that.
I donāt know if Iām going to write anything in this, but if any beloved mutuals or other internet strangers want to chime in, you are of course more than welcome.
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Batfam Content War: Halloween week edition: Fifth Prompt Haunting/Spooky/(Jack Fenton voice)GHOST!!
When thereās something something... insert parody of ghostbusters theme here... who you gonna call? GHOST DAMI! *budadadadat* Yeah okay another S/I Dami story, but with a twist~. Two takes, one male, who will appear again in tomorrowās death prompt (which will be a prequel to his part in this one), and one female, who already appeared the the celebration prompt day 2. Unimportant, but they reincarnated from the same person, but were raised/treated/acted differently, hence similar ideas here or there, but somewhat different personalities/outlooks.
Further information- Those who already read that prompt know fem!s/i!Dami has psychic powers, the male!s/i!Dami does not. He did, however get a healing factor- Iām not saying how, it will be revealed in tomorrowās story. Both timelines mix multiple continuities, so Steph (as Spoiler) and Cass (as Black Bat) are both... somewhere. Not near the building. Fighting... ninjas. Yes. Thatās why they arenāt there to stop Damian from dying. Because ninjas.
Also, to answer the question of- since the other two Batgirlās are no longer Batgirls, does this mean Barbra Gordon is Batgirl or Oracle. The answer is- Yes. As in- sheās both Oracle AND Batgirl, although she created an Oracle AI to assist her when she went back to being Batgirl, but she NEVER stopped being Oracle either because sheās awesome like that. Sheās also no where near the building because of ninjas. Iām not sure if you are aware of this, but there are a LOT of ninjas. Like, way too many for it to show realistic statistics.
Lastly, if someone wants to write from another characterās point of view for either of these, as long as you link it to this story, either the tumblr link or Fanfiction one once I submit it there, and then tell me about it so I can read it, you have my permission. To be fair, if I even make one or both of these into full multi chapter stories Iād probably include my own take on other peoples reactions, plus the lectures/yelling at Ghost!Dami for being a dummy head, but I wouldnāt mind seeing someone elseās belief on what would go through the minds of the characters.
Anyway, information done, now get ready for.... GHOST DAMI!
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āSo... Iām a ghost now... does this mean I still have to go to school even though Iām dead?ā I ask, raising an eyebrow as my botched up, age accelerated clone with a by FAR inferior healing factor tries to stab my ethereal form. I make a motion of brushing dust off my black and grey outfit- nope, not out as Robin. Nor Redbird- though I have been both of those too. This outfitās called Mocking Bird āAnd could you quit that? You already toyed with my physical body, longer than you thought due to my gaining a healing factor, thereās no need to attack my ghost on top of that- Iām actually somewhat impressed you managed to kill me despite my healing factor, by the way, I mean I was in too much pain to be impressed at the time, but now Iām without that pain itās actually quite a feat if I do say so myself.ā
I turn towards Bru-Da-Fath-Batman, no even thinking that they are the same person when in public, being dead shouldnāt change that rule, who is staring at me strangely. āYou still havenāt answered my previous question. Do you think the school would still require my attendance despite my no longer being alive, and do you think Father would let me?ā I ask, pretending Iām merely talking to a vigilante under Fatherās payroll and not Father himself.
Forgot to mention- I kinda hooked up a bunch of cameras and microphones weeks beforehand, and then today I hacked motherās broadcast and connected the audio and video of my fight with Heretic -and I didnāt turn on the stream until I was about to start that fight, in order to keep my siblingsā and fatherās identities secret at least-, plus streamed it online, linking the stream to multiple major news outlets prior to arriving at my place of death. It appears to still be running, since itās being show on the screen is shared with mother, actually. I... did remember to have the stream linked to Gordon and the Batcave so they could shut it off when necessary? Ah, they should know about it by now, plus Richard and Tim arenāt dumb enough to miss their being filmed live so as to not mess up their secret IDās, even though I did that to myself. To be fair, though, I thought Iād be at least badly injured, if not killed- which did happen- but I didnāt count on becoming a ghost. Speaking of-
Heretic is still swinging his sword through me. āIām a ghost. Thatās not going to work. Stop doing that.ā Batman seems to regained enough sense that he knocks the sword from his distracted opponent, who- is still trying to hit me even though Iām lacking a corporal body now. Well, at least Batman is under control of himself. Ah, Richar- I mean Nightwing is waking up. Iāll go bother him next, while also pointing out weāre being filmed.
It took me a week to get an answer to my question though- the answer was yes, as I was a ghost, I still did have to go to school despite being dead. Just like when Luthor stole those 40 cakes- it was just terrible.
Oh, and Colin, Jon, Maya and Suren all ganged up to yell at me. So did Maps and her little club... and Supergirl... and Huntress... Okay, basically everyone I knew yelled at me for getting myself killed. But hey, Iām a ghost. And thatās pretty cool- and Grandfatherās trying to kidnap my corpse, DANG IT!
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(Meanwhile, in the timeline where the celebrations prompt took place)
So first thing I noticed when the pain stopped was that I can still read minds. Second thing I noticed was that- nope, being able to read minds does not mean Iām still alive, in fact Iām deader than zombie- which is pretty dead. So... if Iām dead, how am I- ooooh, Iām a ghoooost, silly me. I psychically shut off the cameras I had previously set up, and the screen went back to showing just mother. And now that I wasnāt distracted by arrows sticking out of me-
**FWOOOSH** āSTRIKE! Into the wall with you, Heretic! Donāt you know itās a sin to kill a mockingbird?ā I grin cheekily, pointing him as my grey cloak goes SWOOSH as it flaps behind me- even though thereās no reason for it to as the wind shouldnāt be affecting me as Iām a ghost.
ā*Ahem*ā I freeze at that. Forgot Batman showed up shortly after I died. Keeping in mind that there were, in fact, people not in the know within seeing and possibly hearing distance, even if they arenāt exactly conscious right now- actually one of them is, but whatever- I remind myself that Batman is OBVIOUSLY not my father, and just an offshoot of multiple personality that takes over fatherās body from time to time, and as such a completely different person.
āHiya Batman. Kinda.... ruined my secret identity right before I died, ah well. Never good at keeping that thing anyway. Well, either of those things.ā I pause and strike a thinker pose- you know, those ones where you tilt your head slightly one way, and poke your chin with your index finger, pouting slightly? That one. āYou know, I wonder how Ivy and Harley will react to this. they didnāt exactly like mother anyway, especially after I told them about how I grew up. Plus Croc liked my cheesecake. I actually made one to give to him later this week- not possible now, I guess...ā He is sorta batglaring at me, sorta not. Probably because Fatherās upset thatĀ āDaddyās little girlā is dead, but also annoyed that I put myself in so much danger, and the fact that my being a ghost means he can lecture me about it. Which I SO do not want to deal with. ā... soooo, uh... Iām gonna just... head home if thatās okay with you?ā And thatās when Richard started to wake up.
I did end up getting lectured, not just by Father in Batman Modeā¢, Alfred, my siblings, my psudo siblings (Maya, Steph and Colin), my friends who didnāt count as psudo siblings, my civilian teachers from my attending school in my civilian persona, my few mentors from when I was growing up that ARENāT dead, everyone I worked with or got taught by as Robin or Redbird or Mockingbird that do not fit into the above categories, even Grandfather when he showed up to steal my corpse- and an additional one when I decided to blow up said corpse with my still working psychic powers. Hell, BATCOW got into the lecturing too, taking advantage of the fact my powers allow me to understand other languages, even animal ones- do NOT CALL ME A DISNEY PRINCESS I WILL FITE!- so basically I got lectured by everyone I knew.
Oooo, did you know ghosts could change their outfits with their minds? I found that out, so now I can wear anything I want, even if it doesnāt actually exist in the living world. Meaning FREE COSPLAY, without the hassle of putting the stuff on, or letting Steph (and sometimes Cass) use me as a doll.
Another good thing about being a ghost? Canāt fall asleep, nor do I need to, meaning no nightmares- which is good because I got brutally murdered. If I was brought back to the physical plain, Iād totally have nightmares, and that would ruin my mood, by, a lot. Enough so that I could miss the Halloween Ball! I was looking forward to that... I convinced Jon to be my ādateā for the night and everything... Ah well, no reason I canāt go as a ghost. I mean, itās not like Iāll be brought back to life, thus leading to traumatizing nightmares that would prevent me from wanting to leave the house, possibly even my room, now my bodyās been turned to mush, right? .... Right? Why are you looking at me like that, reader? Like you know something I donāt? Tell me! Please! Get back here and.... tell... me why....
... p...l....e...a...s...e....?
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nuuu Dami donāt cry! Nuuuuu I made her cry Iām a terrible person! TT^TT Especially since I wrote the celebrations one before this, but it takes place AFTER and she was so scared and confused and whyyyyyyyyy
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