#until she becomes batgirl then she's fine

[not-another-robin]

More big brother Bruce :]

[axstoria]

Bruce Wayne realizes that in all his intelligence, in all the warps and twists of the natural world, the one thing he cannot stop is time. He can't stop his little ones from slipping through his fingers like sand.

He respects Dick for who he has grown to become. He's a young man with his own city to protect, the founder of several teams, the "big brother" of young heroes, and an inspiration to all.

However, Bruce still sees the little boy who clung to his legs and hid under his cape. The one who did backflips off banisters and handstands while on the roof talking with Gordon. The one who assured him Barbara wasn't a threat, but an ally when she appeared as Batgirl. The one with stars in his eyes and a vengeance nothing could quell.

His boy's grown up. His first son has left the nest. He doesn't know how to cope with it.

Jason is still his baby in his eyes. He still sees the boy fascinated with everything, reading and learning as much as he could cram into his schedule. The boy who, if given the chance, would drop everything to help someone else. The one who baked with Alfred and would fall asleep in front of the Batcomputer. The one who didn't do patrols on school nights. The one who could have been anything.

He still sees his baby in the tall, wide figure that haunts the streets, securing Crime Alley. He sees the kind spirit and loving heart, even if it is buried under mounds of muscle and fury.

Bruce wishes he could go back and fix his early days with Tim.

He regrets the yelling and screaming, the constant attachment. He hates the way he acted back then, Tim standing in as a parental figure, even though both of them never referred to it as that. He was young, he shouldn't have had to take care of a grown adult.

He wishes he could have nurtured that brilliant mind of his from an early age, aiding the boy instead of allowing him to do it all by himself. He wants to go back and make little Tim feel loved and wanted, wants to adopt him from an earlier age—and, yes, he'd fight the Drakes on it. He loves this boy.

Steph was a mistake that could have easily been avoided.

Had he not been so harsh, and she a little more obedient, then everything could have worked out. She would have stayed Robin for more than 2 months, and everything would have been fine.

He wishes he could go back and tell her, "I'm proud of you," after long patrols. And maybe he wishes he could have adopted her, but to this day, she refuses.

He doesn't push.

Damian hurts his heart.

His own flesh and blood that he didn't even know existed until he was 10. Bruce yearns to turn back the clock and hold the infant his son once was in his arms, wants to hear soft coos and harsh cries, aches to watch his little face relax with sleep.

It kills Bruce to know that this is the one child he could have had that he could have seen grow up from stage 1. He could have seen first steps, first words, first laugh—instead, he was forced to retrain his boy to live a normal life. He had to make sure his baby wasn't forever scarred by what he had left him to go through.

The greatest shock of all to him is that he won't live forever.

One day, there will be no more Batman, no more Bruce Wayne. Some day, people will forget his name and his parents and the work he did. The League's members with a longer lifespan will find someone else to fill the space he leaves behind.

His kids will grow up and have children of their own, and his name will get lost in translation. Some day, people will only know his name by the bricks on buildings with Funded by Bruce Wayne etched on them.

Bruce Wayne—in all his intellectual capability and physical prowess, all his resilience and compassion— cannot stand forever, and he thinks that is the thing that haunts him the most.

So, he forces himself to love life as it is now. He'll call Dick and ask how life is, and bump into Jason at the library, and help Tim with cases, and take Steph shopping, and learn Arabic for Damian.

He'll do everything in his power to make the life he has last.

[puppetwoman17]

Would you ever expand upon your joker junior thoughts more? I think that was such a well written idea and would love to hear what else you think about it

Oh my god yes. 100000% YES!

That post before was more of an idea vomit, didn’t cover all of what I thought, so I’m happy to hear someone wants to hear more.

So, JJ’s always been a tough convo for Tim. Obviously. But it’s not just because of how traumatizing the Joker can be, or about the shocks and psychological torture. It also reminds him of a grim time in his life. With Bruce still going through the motions post-Jason’s death, and Dick frequently spending all his time in Bludhaven, he hadn’t been watched much. Save for Babs, ofc.

That’s actually why they’re so close. She’s much more emotionally competent thanks to her dad, lol.

JJ wasn’t only a big thing for Tim, but for Gotham too. In a place like this, it wasn’t hard for whispers from the Joker’s men to travel to civilians and cops. Everyone knew why Robin was nowhere to be seen. Everyone knew why Batgirl looked the way she did, agitated and worried. Everyone knew why the cops searched that same warehouse over and over, never allowing anyone inside.

Which was also why no one was happy to see Nightwing, very obviously the first Robin, return after yet another sabbatical in Bludhaven. Of course, that stopped a little after everyone collectively realized that, oh crap, he doesn’t even know!

This begins a collective effort by the more clear-minded people of Gotham to NOT disclose anything JJ related. There has to be a reason, right? No way were they going to force Robin #3 to disclose anything he didn’t wait to. It didn’t hurt that a year or two later, a mysterious figure named Oracle began effectively making every news article or picture related to JJ disappear.

Everyone holds their breaths for the next few months. What if what happened to the second Robin happened to him? What if he was too crippled to go back out?

As the Batfamily grows bigger, it becomes way clearer that Robin #3 hasn’t said a WORD. Not even after they grow closer, when the screaming and murder attempts and arguments cease. He doesn’t say a word, so no one else does either.

Tim goes to great lengths to medicate himself against any variant of Joker venom or gas. The familiar smells just… bring things back to the surface.

He tries not to act like Jason whenever the Joker gets out of Arkham. It’s already hard for everyone to hold him back from killing the monster. Jason doesn’t need some second-rate copy of his trauma trying to get sympathy. Unlike Jason, he didn’t die. He didn’t come back differently, or lose footing on his life, his job, whatever.

It would just be better if Tim acted as aloof and concentrated as he always did. Not make a big scene, and follow Batman’s orders to a T. No need to worry anyone.

Honestly, the only reason no one notices the literal war going on in this boy’s head is because he doesn’t want to cause a scene.

Oh, and if you’re wondering what he says when one of the bats finds him the next night, still avoiding them…

Yeah, he full on denies EVERYTHING. Looks whoever it is, Jason, Steph, Dick, straight in the eye and says that what they saw was fake. Edited. Something to threaten Bruce with years ago. Tim just ran because…because…Anyway, he’s fine. Don’t worry about Tim Drake. He’s fine.

Babs groans over the comms when everyone hounds on her to tell them everything. Like hell is she gonna tell them a single thing until she has Tim’s full permission.

[ekat-fandom-blog]

Assassins AU Prompt

Bruce didn't know how it happened, but his children were all sent to kill him. He had no clue how he convinced them not to.

Dick had been a new Talon sent out on his second mission. Brucie Wayne should have been an easy target. Bruce had noticed him though. Had decided to try to help the child. It shouldn't have worked, but it did.

Jason had been part of a new murder cult pretending to be a home for wayward orphans. Someone had paid them to send a couple of the child assassins to a fundraiser for Gotham's orphanages and kill 3 of the most well-known philanthropists attending. Which of course included Bruce. Jason had somehow snuck a tire iron into the event. It was a bit funny. It also helped his Brucie persona when Jason let him adopt him.

Tim was used by his parents for years as a way of getting rid of competitors. It was only natural that they'd eventually send him to get rid of the CEO of Wayne Enterprise. Tim's plan was perfect and would have worked if he'd not gotten cold feet at the last minute, destroying the slow acting poison (that wouldn't have had noticable side effects until it was too late) in front of Bruce and confessing the plot then and there.

Cass was sent by David Cain to kill Batman, which was both a nice change of pace and same-old same-old. Cass would have succeeded if she wasn't so tired of killing people. It also helped that Batman (and Batgirl) genuinely seemed to want to help her. Was concerned for her.

Damian was sent by Talia to kill his father so he could become the true heir of the Bat and the League of Shadows with the stipulation that if he was unable to do so within a week, to not return at all. Damian failed. That's fine though, eventually he found he was happier with his Father than he'd been with the League.

Duke's gang had almost taken things too far when they decided they needed to take things into their own hands and get rid of the corrupt elite of Gotham.

[mamawasatesttube]

Cass cain and kon for hcs (separately or together go wild)

Headcanon A:  realistic

they are both nonbinary. cass grew up without language to even begin to describe gender - what the hell is a "boy" or a "girl"? she uses she/her because it's what she's used to, but if everyone had used he/him for her at first, she'd have been fine with that too. it's all just words and none of it makes sense to her. she is just... herself. none of the words and little boxes they delineate make sense to her. it's lonely and frustrating. kon meanwhile is so, so conscious of how he's perceived and what little boxes he's supposed to fit within. he represses any feelings that are out of line with those boxes, but he gets really in his head about it sometimes. which is also lonely, and frustrating.

they both kind of end up exploring that together. it's a slow process, but kon is very easy for cass to open up to, because he always waits so patiently and is happy to fill silences for her. (he makes her laugh. he's one of the first people she ever knew who just wanted to make her laugh.) and he doesn't mind if it takes her a while to figure out the right words to describe things. in turn, she's good at reading him and hearing all the words he doesn't say. they stargaze together a lot.

Headcanon B: while it may not be realistic it is hilarious

they're both affection-starved and they both understand each other on a really profound level, which means they're both aware the other is affection-starved. what this means: they're completely platonic friends who cuddle and occasionally kiss. what this means: there's a whole romcom plot in which tim and steph witness cass smacking kon's ass and going "thanks babygirl <3" when he gives her a slice of fresh pie a la mode, and (not unreasonably) think hey what the fuck. when did they become a thing??? shenanigans ensue.

Headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends

finding out she lost brenda and all her friends in bludhaven was already hard enough. when tim (in tears) told her that they'd also lost kon, barely any time at all later, she shut down and was entirely nonverbal for three full days. how many loved ones is she supposed to outlive? how many? and why must they die when she lives? she's already taken a life - surely if anyone deserves to die, it's her. not him. he was made to be a weapon just like her, but he rose above it. she didn't, not until she'd already done the unforgivable. why did he have to die? why does she have to live? why? why?

Headcanon D: unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own.

throws evil cass mind control arc out the fucking window. bye get out of here. honestly i haven't worked out Exactly how i want to fix that whole era (bc like, it gave her the impetus to leave batgirl to steph, so SOMETHING still has to happen), but i think she should have been on the cruise with dick and tim and bruce... haha wait unless she didn't want to go on a cruise bc it reminded her of how she and kon met and that grief was still too close... and then some shit happened to her when they werent there and she was alone bc she didnt wanna go... hmmm... this could be something!!

[boughkeeperdain]

The fact its literally an in universe joke

I like to think Jason makes these jokes all of the time as a way to spite Bruce and his 'replacement'. Moreso Bruce. He pretends thats the only reason for it (definitely not a way to cover up his feelings about it and the pain he felt when he thought no one cared)

When Dick first hears one I bet he's fine until he's safely away at home and then he just kinda breaks. Not only would it be a reminder of who he used to be and that legacy, it's a reminder of when they lost Jason which was not a good time for anyone in the family to put it lightly

Tim's just a cynic at this point. He doesn't particularly care for it but all it does is feed his insecurities that he's the only Robin that Bruce himself didn't choose, and that it got taken away from him so easily (I've heard that it was dick that took it from him when Bruce was dead? I'm not the clearest on that I still need to research it)

Steph isn't as bothered by it as the others, purely because she's had the legacy of batgirl to live up to as well as Robin and now is making her way as her own hero. Which unlike Dick wasn't just an act of rebelling or getting some space.

Damian (as untouchable as he may seem) is affected by it because he is the fifth one to hold the mantle. He didn't really pave his own way to become it because he's Bruce's son, in his opinion anyway. He has so much to prove to live up to it but even then when will it be his turn to pass on the mantle to yet another Robin?

Bruce I think is the most affected of all. He'd tell no one, bevause he's emotionally stunted, but its literally a reminder of some of his biggest failures. They're his children and he has deeply hurt them all, as much good as he has done for them. It acts as a reminder of everything wrong he's done and how quickly they all grew up, or missed out on it in Jason's case

Though none of them tell anyone any of this because of course they art Bruce's children. And they can laugh at the joke it just doesn't hit right with them sometimes

[therealtsk]

What is the Brown family pre-Flashpoint characterization vs post-?

hoo boy. So, disclaimers, while I've read a LOT of comics, I have not in fact read all of the ones where a member of the Brown Family appears (mostly because I just don't have the heart to put myself through Batman and Robin Eternal, along with some of Dixon's notoriously sexist writing in his Robin run), but I think I've read enough to make a decently informative post on this. Let's go by characters.

Stephanie Brown.

Probably the one that most people noticed, Stephanie Brown in her pre-Flashpoint characterization is one that has (right up until a certain...event...) a lot of grit to her. While she's still the victim of Dixon's notorious attitudes towards women, she's still allowed to be competent, holding her own in a fight quite handily, especially in her own Batgirl run, where she's able to take on League of Assassin members without too much trouble at all.

Her major, I would argue defining characteristic, is that she does not give up. Ever. Her dad tells her to quit. Tim Drake tells her to quit. Fucking Batman tells her to quit. Multiple times!

Stephanie Brown does not give up. Ever. When the going gets tough, she shrugs, puts on her eggplant outfit, and kicks ass.

Post-Flashpoint? Stephanie is constantly made out to be unreliable, unable to handle herself, constantly needing other people to pull her out of trouble. She loses fights she simply wouldn't have before (although to be entirely fair, this is a problem literally every batfam member has from N52 onward but that's another post) But worse than that, post-Flashpoint Stephanie gives up. 

This scene is genuinely insulting- it's definitive proof that DC's writers from N52 onwards have never understood Stephanie Brown, and never plan to (yes, I know she does come back later, but the fact this happened at all is the point.) This is utterly antithetical to Stephanie Brown as a character, and spits in the face of everything she stands for.

Crystal Brown This is actually the main reason I decided to start writing sins of the father (working on chapter two in conjunction with this), because the treatment of Crystal Brown in Post-Flashpoint DC comics is just insulting- and a major disservice to Steph! Her relationship with her mom is essential to her arc. Crystal Brown starts out as a woman who's got a supervillain as a husband. She's struggling with him, with near-poverty, and with a drug addiction that seriously impedes her ability to be a good mom.

But like daughter, she doesn't give up. In fact, Crystal Brown kicks Arthur Brown out of her life and picks herself up, manages to quit her habits, and becomes a well-respected nurse at Gotham City West Mercy Hospital. Her defining characteristic is that she loves her daughter, even if it took some time for her to get her act together.

Post-Flashpoint Crystal Brown is not that. Hell, she's barely a character. When Steph calls her, desperate, afraid of her newly-learned-of criminal father, Crystal’s response is to lie to her daughter, and then call her husband and tell him Stephanie knows about his plan. 

Sure, she doesn't want him to kill her, but this is so wildly out of character for Crystal that this is basically an entirely different person. And it leaves Stephanie without a single parent who cares about her, since Bruce sure has hell hasn't stepped up in Rebirth. Steph doesn't have any positive role models in her life in Rebirth, leaving her bereft of really any consistent form of love and encouragement outside of maybe Cass, but even that relationship is a hollow shell of what it was previously. 

Arthur Brown. 

So Arthur’s the one who’s arguably changed the least, because abusive asshole is hard to get wrong, but he does feel like he’s lost all consistency in Rebirth. Before, he's a smug, arrogant asshole who doesn't give a damn about his family beyond how he can use them.

In Batman Eternal he’s…well, fine, but in Batgirls he’s…nearly unrecognizable, even from his characterization in the previous issues. 

Like seriously, what was going on here? Arthur's never given a single damn about Steph aside from literally using her as part of a plan to get rich. But anyway. TLDR; All three lost nuance, Steph used to be more competent and had an actual character arc, Crystal used to have an actual character and was an inspiring story of overcoming addiction, and Arthur used to feel like a consistent villain instead of a one-off whack job.

[michaels-office-hours]

This guy is rotting my brain out of my skull I swear

Convo between me and @sealmonger that happened to spawn a discussion that lasted until 4 am

Everything but the last doodle? We talked about XD

Even her tenth birthday where Harvey pulls in favors and shows her a whole tour of his lair and what to do during a kidnapping, where Batman “saves” her from him. Then the police station where she also met Robin and Batgirl. And finally they watched a court case where the old prosecutor couldn’t help himself but take over for the slackard against Barbara Gordon.

(Her mother was always wary of her brother… even cut him out of the family when he was too busy with his career. It’s only when her daughter takes a likening to him that she finally restarts the relationship with her estranged brother. She isn’t surprised when her daughter takes after him. Only mildly worried)

So of course the lil girl goes and becomes a prosecutor too, much to Two Face’s chagrin. But she does a good job, and is a lot like him.

And also gets treated like the coffee girl… and a uhm… let’s just say someone you could call on.

She had a lil accident when she finally got her first case, but didn’t read the fine print about being a good girl and letting the bad man go. Cut up her right side pretty bad. Uncle Harvey went killing that day.

She’s still good, thanks to him though, she nearly threw away her pretty ribbon, along with her childhood dream of fixing Gothem. Hiding behind her bleached hair, and scowling at the rotten world.

But the kindness she’d shown to her uncle, as a little child? Paid her back.

He pushed her hair back, and pinned it with a little bow barrette. And told her she was a fighter.

After that she stopped wearing the clothes everyone thought a pretty thing like her should wear, and wore what she liked. She wasn’t shy to get in faces, and get loud, or show her temper.

Eventually she finds a cop and settles down with him, very much her own woman. And Uncle Harvey checks in sometimes to make sure it stays that way.

Carla Summers >:]

[jenn0wow]

Nightwing finds out about Oracle quick fic

In this AU, Barbara has a chronic illness/pain that causes her to stop being Batgirl and to become Oracle in secret. Dick has big fight with Barbara due to her still trying to push herself despite her pain, and so for a few years, they aren’t close until Oracle is forced to work with Nightwing. Only the Birds of Prey know Oracle is Barbara. Also they’re like technically exes in this but not really because they never really dated (perhaps it was a situationship, an emotional affair, ya know)

(Also Solomon is not Solomon Grundy, but just a place holder name for some Gotham villain kinda guy. I’m too lazy to change it lol)

—————

Barbara turned around in her chair and saw him coming towards her. Why today? Today wasn’t a good day. She stood up slowly from her seat. Her joints hurt.

“Oracle? Oracle, are you there? I lost the signal on him. Maybe you could—“

Barbara in a hushed tone said, “He’s here.”

Nightwing looked around. “Here? Where’s here? My here—“ he stopped talking when he heard a muffled deep voice in his ear.

“This is a swanky set up you got here.” The man said to Barbara. “I thought you’d look scarier, but I guess it’s easy to hide behind a screen.”

“I have this placed rigged, Solomon.” That was a lie. She honestly didn’t think she’d ever be in danger, here, at the Clock Tower. “Don’t come closer.”

Dick listened in. “Oracle? What’s happening? Oracle?” He started to pace on the rooftop.

“You wouldn’t dare ruin this, little girl.” He said. “This is all you have, right? You wouldn’t want it all ruined?”

“Computers I can rebuild.” Barbara said. “You of all people know there are things that can’t be rebuilt.”

Jack Solomon’s brow crinkled. His rage takes him over. He charges toward her. Barbara moves as fast as should could out of his way. Barbara lands on her knee, feeling a sharp pain go up her leg. She muffles a grunt with the grit of her teeth. Dick could hear it though.

“Oracle!” Dick yelled. He was looking out at Gotham, wondering where she was, trying to picture what was happening. “Tell me where you are.”

Barbara gets up, balling her fists up tight until her nails are deep into her palm. “I’ve got this.” She ended the call. Listening to him made her feel too vulnerable. She didn’t need that now.

Solomon tosses her chair towards her and she dodges. “You’re on borrowed time, Solomon.” She yelled at him. “Fighting me won’t change that.”

“You’re right.” He said, walking towards her. “But, it sure will make me feel better in the moment.” He slipped on a pair of brass knuckles onto his hand and grinned.

He charged at her once again and she steadied her breath. She charged at him, ignoring the pain in her legs. Pretending she was fine. Pretending she had a cowl on.

Nightwing ran his hand through his hair, unsure what to do. Call birds of prey? He didn’t have any other ideas.

“Dinah.” He steadied his voice.

“You’re lucky I answered.” She said dryly. “What do you want?”

“Oracles in trouble.”

“What do you mean? What?” Her voice turned frantic. “What did you do?”

“We were trailing Jack Solomon and somehow he’s there. He found her. I need to get there.”

“Oh my god, fuck. Hel and I aren’t in Gotham. Oh my god. She told me it was bad day too.”

“What?” A bad day? Dick didn’t know what that meant, but didn’t care right now to ask further.

“God, I—I’m calling her. Bye.” Dinah hung up.

“Just tell me where she is!” Dick leaned back on the chimney behind him.

Barbara dodged his punches, catching one punch and twisting his arm back. He stumbled a bit, but it didn’t do much to phase him. He grabbed her arm and tosses her against the wall.

“Barbara.” Dinah said. “Barbara, are you still—“

“I’m fine.” She coughed. Her hands were shaking. “This isn’t your mission to worry about. I’ve got this.”

“Don’t say shit like that!”

Barbara dodged a punch, and tumbled to the ground.

“Why are you calling? How do you know?” Barbara said.

“Fucking Dick Grayson. What do you expect after you ended your call with you getting beat up?”

“I don’t get beat up.”

“You know you can’t last much longer. Not when you aren’t feeling good. I can’t lose you.” Dinah’s voice cracked. “I’m going to tell him where you are.”

“Don’t!” She yelled. Distracted by her own fear, she missed the boot that lunged into her stomach.

The call ended. She can’t let him save her. She can’t let him see her like this. She didn’t care how much her body hurt. She didn’t care how much she could lose.

Dick ran into the room, expecting to see Solomon in front of him. A fight in progress. But, he didn’t see anything at first. He could hear heavy breathing.

He walked around the corner. Barbara, bloody and bruised, was standing over top of Jack Solomon who was in worse shape—unconscious.

At first, Dick couldn’t recognize her out of shock, but then he saw a batarang loosely between her fingers. Blood dripped off of its point. It drops to the floor as her knees give out.

Dick watched—unable to speak. Unable to process everything. Unable to understand why she, of all people, was in front of him.

Barbara was shaking. Her ears ringing. She grabbed herself, hugging herself as if it would help. All she could do was scream. It didn’t even make her feel better, but it felt…right.

Dick stepped closer. “Barbara.” He said, not loud enough as she continues to wail.

He kneeled down behind her. He hovered a hand near her shoulder, hesitant to touch her. “Barbara….” He said again.

She clenched her arms harder and continued to cry. It’s all she could do. It’s all she could respond to pain and adrenaline in her body.

He placed his hand on her back gently. She jerked away out of instinctual fear, she couldn’t take much more. “Barbara it’s okay. It’s okay.” He grabbed on to side, and pulled himself closer until he had wrapped himself around her. He felt her trembling under him.

All he gently applied pressure around her body, but he tried to be aware of her injuries. With everything running through his head, all he could think was, this used to make her feel better.

It did make her feel better which both angered and relieved her. Barbara told herself she didn’t need him, but in all honesty, she didn’t want it to be any other person.

After a few moments of heaving, she quieted down. Her body continued to tremble.

“I didn’t want you to find out like this.” She said quietly.

“You didn’t want me to find out at all.” Dick said quietly. “Why?”

“There are things you never told me.” Barbara said, her voice still shaking.

“Don’t…” Dick closed his eyes for a moment. He didn’t want to argue now. “I’m…just glad you’re okay…I’m gonna call for back up to get Solomon out of here.”

“You’re going to tell them?” She said, silently.

“I don’t know how to keep it a secret.” Dick said.

“You can take Solomon out and—“

“I’m not leaving you alone. Not like this.”

Barbara furrowed her brow. “Bring me my wheelchair.”

Dick was hesitant to leave her alone on the ground. She was still shaking a little, but he got up and rolled over her wheelchair. He held his hand out, but she ignored it and pulled herself up slowly, gritting her teeth until she was seated.

Barbara placed her hands on the wheels. “I don’t want to see them….” She then slowly wheeled herself to the bathroom.

[colorfulyetsinful]

As like all my other hcs I wrote this on my phone (actually wrote this while at work but let’s not this about that too hard). I wanted to go into more detail, but thought that’ll make it confusing and just choose to do it like this.

This is just something I think about when overwhelmed bc it’s helps distract me. I mostly think about it from a jondami perspective bc why not.

I might do more about this, if 5 ppl like this. Sorry if this doesn’t make sense :(

Enjoy!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reverse Batfam hc

Duke was the first adopted after his parents died from the joker

he’s still “the signal” but that’s a little later”

Damian joins in after, he’s the oldest of the Wayne kids

Duke looked up to Damian and was a little self conscious of his place in the family

he ended up getting g shot by joker and became oracle (he still calls himself the signal)

Jon is 3 years older then Damian

they met the same way with Damian trying to kidnap him to fight

they didn’t really say they were friends but they were friends

they form the teen titans when Damian was 14

the members are raven and beast boy ofc, then Colin and jon, and maps….kathy, maya, djinn II and Conner queen joining later

Jon is the oldest

Jon started dating Jay (Damian had a crush on Jon)

they broke up later and Damian was in a secret relationship with Colin (not really secret they just never out right said it)

Jon left the team after he graduated high school wanting to focus more on school

(the team kinda disbanded a little after with Kathy taking over for a bit)

Damian gave up being Robin after getting in a fight with Bruce

Joined a cult fight ring where he met back with Conner and met flatline

him and Colin also broke up (it was mutual with just a bit of awkwardness)

Tim became Robin after finding out Batman’s identity and the little shit was so desperate he put his family in danger just to get Batman’s attention (fucking dumbass)

Damian comes back to Gotham with a new Robin and he goes to Jon bc Jon was his comfort

they formed the titans again (with the added few)

Kon is born and Jon learns to be a big brother

He also makes it a good idea to introduce kon and Tim

Damian does not like Tim

he regrets it after Tim is kidnapped by the joker and is tortured to becoming joker Jr and ended up falling to his death

anyways he dies and Damian regrets not being there to at least help guide him

Bruce is destroyed, he was just starting to like Tim and his company only for that to happen to him (he didn’t really accept Tim bc of how he put himself in danger and only took tim in bc his parent were in hiding in another country) (imagine the phone call they got)

Kon also dies around this time

Jon and Damian pull apart from the team and eachother

Jon forced to become Superman after his father dies from doomsday

Damian “retiring” from heroing and going back to the legue of assassins

(he’s actually to keep an eye on his grandfather)

Bruce meets Jason and takes him in

he doesn’t tell Jason about Batman but Jason is a smart kid so he finds out eventually

Bruce is more protective over Jason so he doesn’t make him Robin right away

Damian comes back right on time when Bruce starts training Jason, he heckles Bruce a bit but starts train Jason as well so whatever happened to Tim never happens with him

Jason and Damian become a bit more closer

Stephanie joins the family as batgirl

She was friends with Tim when he was still alive

she met Batman the same way in the comics

Cassandra was adopted before Tim and was batgirl for a while until she was shot in the leg (she’s fine just was benched for a while)

Damian and Taven start dating

and Raven ends up pregnant (more on that later)

Damian and her broke up before find out tho and that’s when him and Jon were getting closer

Tim comes back to life bc ra’s Al Goul (?) wanted to use his body as a vessel and even trained him

Tim lost his memory after coming back to life, but gain it slowly through time

Fully comes back when kon comes back to life and rushes over to get Tim out before Tim’s soul can be switched

then ended up blowing up the base while escaping

They join a life of crime with Tim going through his mad scientist/villain arc

him and Jon got a Bonnie and Clyde thing going on

Also tried to kill Jason after coming back to Gotham bc he felt like Jason didn’t deserve to be Robin

Speaking of Gotham, he try’s to come back looking for his parent, only to find out they were killed by the riddler (of all ppl) and that kicked off his villain arc

Jon finds out about Kon being alive and when he asked kon why he’s doing the thing he’s doing, Kon’s just like “I rather be with Tim then the person who left me to die”

it kills Jon bc he tried everything he could to protect Kon that day but got there too late

it’s worse for jon bc he’s still grieving over the lost of Damian, and running tge titans again with the addition of Bart, kara, Cassie, and cissie

man’s is stresssd to no end

Back to Damian, he’s not actually dead, he got sent to the underworld by his grandfather after he failed the soul switch, so Ra’s went back to his og choice of a vessel.

Raven ends up having her baby, (it’s a girl), they name her Lilith bc I’m so original

She look like raven with Damian’s hair and eyes (what baby is 75% demon and the rest human)

Damian comes back to the earth (4years older, even tho only a year has passed since he’s “died”)

the catch up is insane

him and Jon start dating and they co parent with raven and bb to raise Lilith

Tim has also calmed down after Damian smacks him to his senses

he’s still a little shit and now helps the batfam with any tech things

imagine Jason but more off his rockers then homicidal

Dick is the last to join, and he’s just a ball of sunshine

Damian gains an attachment to him (mostly bc he’s only 3-4 years older then his daughter)

did I mention Damian is such a good dad bc he’s such a good dad

Dick and Lilith are spoiled by the whole family even Tim

the rouges would think more the twice then to mess with them (they do not want to get on Tim’s bad side)

Dick is also start to create his own team of young justice with Wally, Roy, Lilith, Donna, and Garth

also Jon and Damian are engaged

Ages!!

Damian - 28 (supposed to be 24) (the oldest)

Duke - 22 (second oldest)

Tim - 21 (physical, mentally he’s 19) (legally died at the age of 14)

Jason - 16 (try’s so hard to be edgy and is getting closer to tim)

Dick - 13 (the youngest)

Cass - 15

Steph - 17

Lilith - 9-10

Kent:

Jon - 26-27

Kon - 21 (technically 9)

Kara - 19

Others:

Raven, Kathy, Djinn, Jay, and bb - 25-26

Colin, Maps, Maya, Conner -23-24

Bart - 22

Cassie and cissie - 20

Wally, Roy and Donna - 11-12

Garth - 13

(I think that’s everyone I mentioned)

Names!!!

Damian - Ghoul

Duke - signal

Tim - Red

Jason -Redwing

Dick - robin

(Damian was never Robin bc that name was originally dick’s, it’s what his parent would call him, so I don’t think they’ll use Robin if Dick was never the first robin)

(Bruce used batkid bc he’s so original)

Seph is spoiler, to batgirl back to spoiler

Cass is batgirl, to blackbat

[schrijverr]

Growing Pains [Dick's POV] 5

Chapter 5 out of 6

Dick knows who Barbara is under the mask, Barbara doesn't. This causes some strange interactions as their friendship develops.

In this chapter, Dick tries to navigate school with his only friend being Barbara, though she doesn't know it. Something that isn't always so easy.

On AO3.

Ships: none

Warnings: none

~~~~

Chapter 5: Natural Ally

Barbara is a little weird, Dick decides after a few days of studying her. His first day had been less successful, but with B’s training he has become subtler in studying her and his mess up was useful for something, because he figured out to drop his ‘friends’.

Dick doesn’t like any of them and it seems Conrad and his little gang are more than happy to drop him when he doesn’t want to fall in line.

Having to adjust to being high society has been really strange, but having Robin helps. He saves his anger and excitement for the night, when he can jump off roofs and whoop as loudly as he can and be as annoying as possible. Keeping that safe makes the performance easier.

However, he knows these people aren’t his people and the more he learns about the socialite life, the harder it is to relate to them. So, he kind of floats along, friendly enough to get along with everyone, but not really befriending anyone.

He’s also not planning on befriending Barbara either. Out of everyone, she’s most likely to get his experiences, also not raised with wealth and, not to mention, a sidekick like him. But she’s still on probation in his book. He’s watching her.

And without her noticing too! Suck on that, he can totally be sneaky (and no, he’s not still sulky about when she managed to sneak up on him!).

After their near miss altercation, he’s determined to mean mug her again, just a little, but of course Alfred has to make him feel a little bad about it. So, he acts as normal as he can while he broods and is glad he did so when the guilty feeling creeps up when he realizes they’ve been excluding her.

He convinced B to give her a grappler too, but he wants it to be perfect. It’s a peace offering and a sorry, so it needs to be good. So when they’re in Mrs. Holland’s class, there is a moment where they can talk, he takes the opportunity. “What’s your favorite color?”

“What?” Barbara says, sounding appalled.

Dick’s guilt grows a little, she parades in a purple version of Bruce’s costume, of course he should have known that already. As apologetically as he can, he says: “Oh, yeah, of course, sorry, I should know.”

He turns back to the front in embarrassment and it’s not until Barbara taps him on the shoulder and asks: “Are you okay?” that he remembers that she doesn’t know he is Robin.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he says, quickly trying to hide his stupidity behind politeness like he does whenever he’s out as Dick Grayson, letting out a relieved breath when Barbara seems to buy it.

Though she does scrutinize Dick the next day. He doesn’t know if she caught on – and a stupid part of him kind of hopes she has, he wants a friend – so he just sends her a smile and says nothing, letting her interpret it as she wants.

Apparently she interprets it as him being Dick and not Robin, which is good. They still don’t trust her, not entirely, not with that. It’s good that his mistake flew under the radar. But still.

He and Barbara have been getting closer- well, he and Batgirl have. They make fun of B together and take out bad guys. She’s his friend and she’s right there! He just can’t talk to her. Which means he’s all alone. Friendless.

It’s a little sad. He’s not used to it. He’s used to a loud circus filled with people, making new friends in every city or town they went to. But here, all stationary in a big mansion with only Bruce and Alfred and no friends at school… it’s lonely.

So after their run in with the Commissioner, Dick wants to make her happy. Cheer her up. So, he asks Alfred to pack him some cookies.

He doesn’t even think about it. In that moment it’s natural that he would want to do something nice, just like he made B get out of there after the comment. Barbara is his teammate (though he still loathes to admit that sometimes), of course he wants her to smile again.

When he comes in the next day, Barbara looks tired. Dick is tired too – comes with the territory of being a hero – but she looks tired-tired. Not just stay up late tired, but emotional tired. It’s an emotion Dick has come to know well this year.

So, he doesn’t even think when he turns around, cookie in hand, only for her to snap: “What?”

Okay, rude, he knows she is still sometimes a little jealous or something, but he’s been working on it. No need to get mad. However, he knows she’s been through a lot, she’s deflecting onto him, just like he did to Bruce when he found out about Batman and Tony Zucco. (See Alfred, he listens when you try to counsel him.) So, he just holds up the cookie and says: “I have an extra cookie.”

“Congratulations?” Barbara shoots back sarcastically.

Now Dick is taken aback. He thought they were becoming friends, but now she’s shutting him out again. Did he do something? She seemed okay with him last night, so what changed?

Then it hits him and he quickly tries to save himself: “No, I mean, would you like one? You look tired.”

“Wow, thanks,” Barbara says and Dick cringes, this is not at all how this was meant to go. He just wanted to do something nice to cheer her up and all he’s done is make her hate him. That’s not the plan.

Dick is grasping at air, not as good as Bruce at sweet talking yet, so he has nothing to say to get him out of the pit he created. Fortunately, Barbara speaks again first. “But I would like a cookie.”

“Here you go,” Dick says, relieved, giving her the cookie, feeling some satisfaction when Barbara takes the first bite and seems to unclench a little. Mission success.

“Thanks,” she says.

“You’re welcome,” he replies, turning back to the lesson to hide her from Mrs. Holland, so she can eat the cookie in class and to give her space. Dick Grayson is not her friend, Robin is, she doesn’t want to hear from him now.

After that incident, he tries to be more mindful of it. It’s no good breaking their secrecy just because he wants a friend. So, life goes on as normal and Dick and Barbara are strangers.

That is until Poison Ivy throws Barbara off a roof and Dick is nearly too late to save her. He can’t do that. He doesn’t want to. When he comes home with Bruce that evening, he says: “Barbara should be in the know.”

Bruce gives him a look – not a mean one, not a dismissive one, just curious – and asks: “What’s the reasoning?”

Dick likes that about Bruce, he’s always willing to hear him out. He’s not his dad, not really. He won’t ever be his dad – well, not soon anyway – he’s too young and inexperienced. He doesn’t treat Dick like a son, he treats him like an equal and, honestly, Dick can use that right about now.

“She totally figured it out already,” Dick exclaims. “She always figures it out before me, there is no way she doesn’t know. Pretending she doesn’t for your ego won’t help. We need to work together better, getting her on the com system will help, but Alfred is on there too. So, she’ll need to know, right?”

“Alright, next patrol we’ll tell her,” Bruce agrees and some nerves that he hadn’t been aware of are soothed by that answer.

“Whoo!” he cheers, because cheering and being happy about that is better than thinking about how she looked when she fell. How they looked when they fell.

“But wait until patrol,” Bruce warns. “We- we had an encounter as Batgirl and Bruce. She might not believe without seeing and you never know who’s listening.”

“Alright,” Dick agrees easily. He can totally wait until patrol. Then he tastes the blood in the mouth, mixing with Alfred’s cookie and he wrinkles his nose as he says: “I think one of those plant monsters punched out one of my teeth.”

So, Dick spends the morning classes at the dentist to get checked out, luckily discovering that it was a baby tooth with an X-ray photo.

He’s happy when he gets to school in time for the break and even happier to see Barbara, alive and well. Sometimes it’s nice to have the reassurances and today he needs it especially. So, he walks over to her table, ready to sit down only for her to-

“No.”

“No?” Dick repeats, unsure where the no came from. Is she still mad about him getting mad? No, right? They were good when they parted, he made sure they were good. So why the no?

“No,” Barbara repeats, sounding more firm. “I don’t know why you’re obsessed with me, but no. Not in the mood. Scram.”

Hurt. That was the emotion Dick felt. They had had a rocky start, sure, but last night was their big finale, right? They finally got each other. What had happened between then and now that made her act like this? Unable to hide all of those thoughts whirling around in his head, he softly says: “I just want to be friends.”

“Why?” Barbara asks.

Dick frowns, isn’t that obvious? So, he shoots back: “What do you mean why?”

“What do you mean with what do you mean?” Barbara says, her brow furrowed as she watches him, before suddenly her eyes widen, as if she realizes something.

It hits Dick that he was wrong. She hadn’t figured it out- well, she has now. He gave it away and now she knows and they’re staring at each other. A stalemate.

If he doesn’t say something soon, she might and then Bruce will get mad because he was supposed to wait for patrol and not spill the beans, because who knows who might be listening. She can’t, under any circumstances, mention their night life.

So, he panics and quickly says: “You’re right, I’m being weird. My bad,” and prepares to make a hasty retreat. He can try again tomorrow.

Before he can successfully get away, however, Barbara stops him: “No, I was being rude. Sit down.”

That’s an order if he’s ever heard one and while Robin has never listened to Batgirl giving an order, he isn’t being Robin right now and despite his screw up, he does want to befriend Barbara. It’s only natural, right? She’s his ally. His backup. His friend.

It’s quiet.

And awkward.

Dick is terrible at awkward silences, so he tries to find something to say that won’t put her on the sidekick topic, but also isn’t too out of place. In the end he settles on: “So, uhm, what is your favorite color anyway?”

Barbara laughs and he mentally facepalms, though he can’t help but be happy that Barbara is happy again, not sad like she was last night. He also likes that he gets to see her eyes as she looks at him and smiles. “Purple. It’s purple,” she answers.

Ha, he thinks, called it!

[cotlfanficspromptsblog]

COTL SOTF Fanfic(Reboot)

Chapter 2 : "Start Again in Love"

1-17-24

Day 41 of Midsummonar Cult

"Twas another Sunny Day in The Midsummonar Cult, and after Yesterday's Huge Change in The Cult with Everyone in it becoming accustomed to having sin in their souls and bodies without even noticing. nerveless there was not only new currency in the cult with sin, but there were new kinds of traits within members joining, some followers falling in love with each or even becoming arch enemies/rivals with each other to even getting drunk at the drinkhouse together and possibly fighting each other with other members egging them on.

But despite all of these new changes into the cult, there was only one person that always was faithful towards Lambert and even married them but felt lonely deep down was his beloved batdemoness wife Samantha Bloodsucker.

Sammi recently has felt that she doesn't have her own special partner in a relationship aside from her being married to the leader himself. while she was still besties with Lady D. & M3gan they themselves have changed together and became girlfriends together with their very similar interest and hobbies they like doing! but other than that Sammi felt happy for her Besties becoming Lovers she herself felt she wanted the same love fling they got but with someone else that the leader doesn't pay much attention to.

Lambert saw his Darling Wife looking pretty blue and went over to her to see what's wrong and how he could help her with her sadness on this fine sunny afternoon.

L : *clears throat* Oh my darling Sammi, what's wrong my dear why so blue?

S : *giggles* Oh hi Lamby, I'm okay.. it's just i feel pretty gloomy today that's all.. *sighs*

L : Well Sammi, do you wanna tell me cmon babe you can trust me after all i'm your faithful husband & leader!

S : Alright i'll tell you..

Samantha took a soft inhale to breathe in her reflexes all the while Lambert smiled passionately and watched a bit before she was finished taking her breathing exercises. Finally Sammi exhaled softly and soon enough spat out her gloomy feeling towards the kind lamb.

S : So.. Lamby, Recently i've noticed ever since M3gan & Lady Dimmi got together and became girlfriends romantically aswell as everyone else besides me having a special someone to be with for eternity aside from you as my husband..

Basically what i'm saying Lamby is can you matchmake me with another lonely follower that i could be with romantically for me?

L : Why of course Sammi, anything for you my darling *kisses cheek*

Samantha smiled & squealed with happiness and glee and hugged Lambert tightly so much so until the poor lamb couldn't breathe.

Lambert tried to gasp for air, thankfully Sammi noticed right away and let go of the lamb so he could breathe comfortably.

L : *gasps & exhales* Thanks Sammi, Anyways tell what are you looking for in a partner for romance for you honey?

S : Well.. *Blushes Shyly* I'm looking for the type of romantic partner who's single, feels lonely as i and most of all is just as trustful, faithful and as kind as you Lamby!

Lambert then brought out a little notepad to write down his's Wife's own Request for a Romantic Partner which Sammi herself checked in his notepad and gave him both a thumbs up and a kiss for gratitude!

Later on Lambert and Sammi then were sitting together on a bench, eyeing on Sammi's Perfect Partner for herself to be with.. at first Sammi saw her 2 Besties M3gan & Dimmi happily skipping together in the base and kissing & snuggling together in their shared shelter bedroom. the poor lavender batgirl felt heartbroken to see her two besties being happy together on the outside and was so focused on them both and not only the 2 girls but other cultist couples aswell..

on The Left Sammi saw the bishops & their chosen partners of Romance, Leshy & Dan were in the Farm growing fresh crops and smiling happily at each other while laughing, while Heket & Witness Agaress were cooking in the Kitchen or least Heket was the Head Chef of The Day while her GF W.Agaress watched her swooningly and loverlike at her marvelous cooking while other followers stood in line for their own meals..

on Sammi's Right, she saw Kallamar in the Sick Bay due to his weak stomach being nursed by his Darling GF Beelzebub who was taking his temperature all the while the cowardly squid smiled weakly but happily back at her with a thermometer in his mouth. and right next to them was Shamura & their BF Focalor happily snuggling while reading ancient books of the Old Faith together with a Blanket covering the two spiders cozily and warmlike.

Lambert was looking at his poor wife's face which already was flooding with tears of sadness, jealously, envy and most especially depression and heartbreak which the lamb then hugged his saddened and sobbing wife while sammi looked at lamb's kind comforting look in his eyes as she smiled while he grabbed a handkerchief with the crown's eye on it as a act of kindness and honesty

L : Hey Sammi, Here borrow my handkerchief, it'll make you feel better and you wanna talk about it alone... i'll let you let your feelings out on my wool which i don't mind *chuckles*

Sammi then grabbed the lamb's handkerchief and blew her nose which sounded like a quiet honk noise of a elephant's trunk.. and soon kissed her husband while they both awkwardly sat together quietly as the rest of the cult seemed like a blur in the background..

S : Thanks so much Lamby, your so kind.. I just don't know if i could find someone in the cult who loves me like yourself.. but i guess that'll never happen.. *sobs*

Just as all hope seemed lost for love in Sammi's Eyes & Heart, Suddenly a Adorable Purple & Magenta Pink Colored Butterfly Follower was walking around until she saw Sammi and The Leader sitting together but with The Butterfly Girl saw Sammi crying and sad which she ran towards her and came into her view..

Hey are you okay, do you need anything Miss..?

S : *sobs & cries* Oh hi.. don't mind me i'm just a lonely batdemoness who's never gonna have a special someone on vday..

Hey it's okay, i'm single and lonely too! and to me your just my type and your quite a lucky girl to be married to the leader such as yourself..

S : *sniffs* Really? your quite right about that *giggles*

The 2 Purple Gals came together for a comforting hug even though they both just met in person it felt for the both of them they already known each other for years.. despite it being on Valentines Day!

The Purple & Pink Butterfly then politely introduced herself to Samantha with Sammi doing the Same to her.

Oh I'm Midge Butterfree by the way, nice to meet you! your name?

S : Oh Why nice to meet you Midge Butterfree, I'm Samantha Bloodsucker but Everyone calls me Sammi!

M : Sammi Huh? very beautiful Name and i love bat demons very incredible creatures!

S : Oh same here but mine are butterflies *blushes*

Soon Enough both Sammi & Midge found their match on Vday and was all thanks to their beloved faithful leader Lambert and Samantha herself for having confidence in herself for trying to find a partner which had a somewhat successful mission..

But for the rest of the Day Sammi & Midge then became pretty fast friends to possibly a cute couple in a few weeks after vday which soon enough The two purple girls were officially GFs that day with Both of Sammi's Besties M3gan & Lady Dimistru aswell as her Husband Lamby & the Others all happy for them with their wedding being planned on a very special day which was their anniversary of Vday.

After that Day Sammi and Midge slept in their own Shared Bedroom Shelter the next night and Sammi whispered something to her half sleep..

S : Hey. Midge um.. may i ask you a question?

M : sure babe, what is it?

S : Midge, i want to mate with you in the mating tent?

M : Oh my God!, Yes! I sure will in the morning. okay?

S : Oh yes, of course, tomorrow morning.. *squeals happily* Goodnight Midgey..

M : Goodnight Sammi! Love you

S : love you more. *yawns*

the happy couple went to sleep awaiting for their first ever baby to be born into the cult with lambert being quite excited and nervous about the situation but went back to sleep eitherway thinking of his own plan on telling samantha his feeling on children..

TBC..

[sinkingtime]

Wait wait wait wait. You just inspired a new AU, which I will tentatively call "child soldierless", i.e. what if everyone joined Batman as an adult.

Because that wage worker? That's Jason. He just happened to have been wearing a red hoodie at the time.

He does leverage his newfound rep into a succesful criminal career, but eventually gets in too deep and goes to the Bat for help. Bruce had forgotten, and didn't even notice he was down one batmobile. He does help, and Red Hood does join up.

Barbara is easy, basically free. The old halloween party, Batgirl cosplay, party crashers, that all works just fine if she's an adult.

Or alternatively, if we want Oracle: she always wanted to be a cop like her dad, the (ideally jokerless but that's not crucial) accident happened and now she can't, so Batman gives her a job. In this version I guess Jim helped set that up? Would be nice.

Dick's also easy. The Graysons were murdered on his 18th birthday, because he was specifically being framed for it. Batman and Robin's first outing is now to help clear his name.

I guess I have to acknowledge that he used the family's colours and called himself Robin, but I really wanna move him into Nightwing without breaking up the batfamily or getting another Robin, because:

Kate and Betty Kane were originally invented to be Bruce and Dick's love interests, respectively. Obviously the former can no longer do that, having become his cousin and also gay, but Betty still can. And wikipedia lists her as Flamebird, which is the identity of Nightwing's sidekick, so of course I want them to join up for that reason.

I guess Kate had always been Batwoman? Her family became Bruce's closest family after the Monarch Theatre Deal, they trained together, etc. And then Betty always wanted to join up, she never let her because she was "too young" but eventually they admit she's not anymore. Something like that, I guess.

Tim's not gonna be costumed. Instead he got a private eye agency, Red Drake Investigations. He tries to research the batfamily more or less to test himself. Didn't really expect to uncover their identities so easily. He sends Wayne Manor a file with his findings, the weaknesses that let him figure it all out and how they can improve their security.

At first Batman worries this'll be a new villain, but it ends up becoming an ally.

The League of Assassins also doesn't use children. They do train them, but there are no missions until they're old enough. Talia's idea, Ra's keeps telling himself it's just a phase, she'll get over it one of these decades.

Damian turns out to be a good person despite everything, so that all his targets either manage to escape or there is nothing left of their bodies. At first it seems to be fine, since nepotism, but eventually it becomes clear even he is subject to judgement, leaving him no choice but to fake his death and run away to Gotham.

If Dick's not given up the "Robin" mantle yet, I guess this is the time?

Helena and Stephanie were childhood friends, as well as daughters of rival crime bosses. The two families are more civil than they'd normally be, for their sake. Maybe their fathers joke about "if only you'd had a son instead", sometimes.

But the mafia princesses also hate crime, and they team up to destroy both their organizations. This works, but it leaves them homeless, whereupon the batfamily takes them in.

Cass was the one to kill Damian. They thought it'd be fine, since he was a failure, but it quickly become clear that his grandfather still cared, despite everything. Talia had no choice but to hunt her down, to avenge her son. The last thing she told her was "go to Gotham, seek the Bat".

She didn't know he was enjoying even more nepotism, she just thought he was a good choice for former assassins to be given asylum, and a new purpose. And she's right.

I also want her to think Damian is the only one in the group that has never killed anyone. With their various criminal backgrounds and personal tragedies and whatnot, plus the fact that she hardly ever talks, it shouldn't be too difficult to maintain that misunderstanding.

Duke was a repairman for the company that happens to maintain the bat-signal. He was doing that during a stormy night when lightning hit it, then arced to him, giving him his powers. That thing probably contained illegal radioactive materials or something.

“commandeered” bruce that’s just stealing. bruce that’s grand theft auto. bruce.

[greenjacketwhitehatdocmui]

Superman and Frank Miller--Some Thoughts

I like Superman. A lot of people do. He can be inspiration or aspirational. Some see him as a savior, but I see him as a kid from Kansas who's just trying to do right.

Some people don't like Superman. That's fine; they're entitled to their opinion. They have a plethora of reasons why they don't like him, and I'm willing to just let them have their way.

And then there's Frank Miller's depiction of Superman in his Dark Knight Trilogy.

(Yes, there's a trilogy: The Dark Knight Returns, The Dark Knight Strikes Back, and The Master Race. Most people have read the first series. A great many people have read the second series and have regretted it. Fewer people have read the last series and generally liked it.)

Now, thoughts and spoilers below the cut. TL;DR: Frank Miller went from "deconstruct" to "let's go wild" to "OK, let's reconstruct Big Blue again."

In The Dark Knight Returns, Superman was depicted as a government stooge. He's a "yes sir, yes sir, three bags full" kind of obedience to the President. It's in obeying orders that he gets hit with an atomic bomb that nearly kills him. He's barely recovered when he's ordered to kill Batman.

In a fight that many Batman fans (and more than a few Superman haters) have latched on to, Batman defeats a weakened Superman with cunning, kryptonite, and the knowledge that Superman is holding back, unwilling to kill. The battle strains Batman's heart to the breaking point, and he apparently dies.

(Bruce isn't dead, of course. He's near death when he's buried, thanks to some pharmacological trickery.)

Clark hears Bruce's heartbeat and winks knowingly to Bruce's accomplice, Cassie, aka Robin. This shows that even though Bruce and Clark came to blows, they both consider each other friends.

(Again, a lot of Superman haters latched on to the fight and went "hur hur, Superman is a wimp. Batman rocks. There's a bit more nuance, but hey.)

In The Dark Knight Strikes Back, we find that Superman was coerced into becoming a government pawn. I won't go into too much detail here, but honestly, the story is a bit of a train wreck. We're introduced to Lara, his daughter by Wonder Woman (Lois apparently died some time ago).

One of the disturbing images I remember when I skimmed this book is that of Superman and Lara looking down at the Earth. It's disturbing in that Superman sounds more alien and detached while talking to Lara.

In The Dark Knight: The Master Race, a group of Kryptonians are freed from the bottle city of Kandor by the Atom. Unfortunately, this group isn't on humanity's side. They dispose of those remaining in the bottle and the Atom (or so they believe).

Lara, feeling that she doesn't belong on Earth, goes with these zealots, believing that they represent Krypton. And because they now have powers, the Kryptonians give Earth an ultimatum: Surrender or die.

Superman goes to intercept them, but Lara brutally beats him. He refuses to raise a hand against her (unlike her mother, Diana--but then, Amazons are very hands-on with their training). Superman is imprisoned in dark matter until Cassie (now Batgirl) frees him.

During the time he was trapped, centuries passed by. Whatever doubts and misgivings he may have had are settled. He knows what he has to do.

Which leads to this sequence where Superman deals with the rogue Kryptonians:

Beware the wrath of a gentle man, indeed. And in the end, when the threat is over, Lara agrees to learn the value of humanity from him as Clark Kent.

(Yes, I am leaving out a lot of plot details. I apologize, but this is pretty long already.)

I can't say that I like a lot of Frank Miller's work--especially when he decides to cut loose. But I do respect that, in the end, he reconstructed what he tore down. He left things on a hopeful note.

Thoughts? Questions?

--Doc

[ragingbookdragon]

Batsis Meet The Batboys

Batsis x Batfamily One-Shot

Word Count: 4.1K Warnings: Explicit Language, Angst

Author's Note: Y'all, I am slowly but surely making good on that promise to get all my stories reposted--also editing them so they're nice and neat! Enjoy! -Thorne

Dick:

She hummed in amusement as her father grunted and begrudgingly passed over another five into the man’s hand. “You know…it’s good to know that my perfect father actually sucks at something.” She turned and popped a piece of cotton candy into her mouth. “And it’s carnival games.”

He grunted again when he missed the balloon, and he handed her the darts. “Why don’t you try it, sweetheart?”

She handed him the cotton candy with a grin and took the darts, holding one up and making the repeated motion of throwing it. She couldn’t help but feel a little cocky as she asked, “Dad, if I get this, what toy do you want?”

She nodded to the bat in the corner. “I was thinking about the stuffed bat. Eh, dad?” He glared at her, but she laughed as she tossed the weighted dart, watching as it hit center and she pointed to the bat. “I’ll take that one.”

The man handed it to her, and they walked off; she held it up to her father. “Here. A bat for Batman,” she quipped, and he grunted at her.

“That isn’t funny, (Y/N).”

She shrugged and retorted, “It’s a little funny. You just have no sense of humor because you’re a stick in the mud.” (Y/N) shoved the stuffed animal in her backpack before reaching up and taking her father’s hand; she glanced down at her wristwatch on the opposite hand and said, “The performances don’t start for another twenty minutes. Want to go look at something else? I saw one of those spinning car rides. We could do that.”

When he didn’t give her response, she looked back up at him to see him staring off into the distance, his eyes set on the Wayne Enterprises tower. “Dad? You okay?”

He blinked as if startled from his thoughts and he directed his gaze down at her and after a few moments, he nodded. “Just thinking.”

“Penny for your thoughts.”

“I haven’t spent a lot of time with you.” He frowned and squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry, (Y/N). I haven’t been a good—”

She cut him off with a ‘pfft’. “Dad, it’s alright. I’m not angry.” (Y/N) squeezed his hand in return. “I might be young, but I’m not an idiot. I know being a dad is new for you, especially since you didn’t get to watch me grow up the first decade of my life. But what matters is that you’re here now, and you’re doing the best you can. And that’s all I ask of you.”

At her little speech, he was stunned, and after a moment he knelt down and hugged her. “I love you, sweetheart.”

(Y/N) returned the hug, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, though they were so big and broad that she couldn’t meet her hands around his back. “I love you too, dad.”

Happening to glance over his shoulder, she immediately gasped. “Dad!”

He let her go, immediately moving to protect her. “What? What is it?”

(Y/N) pointed towards a costumed family walking and greeting the people. “It’s the Flying Grayson’s!” She grabbed his hand and tugged him along in their direction. “Let’s get a picture with them!” She could hear her father chuckle behind her, but he followed, and they stepped up to the family.

(Y/N) waved at them. “Hi Mister and Missus Grayson! Can we get a picture with you?”

The man and woman smiled at them and nodded, and a boy a couple years younger than her stepped up.

He stuck out his hand. “Hi, I’m Richard Grayson. But you can call me Dick.”

(Y/N) took his hand and shook it. “(Y/N) Wayne. Nice to meet you, Dick.” She gestured to her father. “This is my dad, Bruce Wayne.”

Her father smiled and tipped his head towards the boy before handing the camera to someone and stepping beside her. She and Dick had become friends instantaneously as they slung their arms around each other’s necks, their grins cheesy and wide.

The camera flashed and the man handed Bruce the camera, and (Y/N) nodded to the family. “Thank you for taking a picture with us.” They started to walk away, but she stopped them, motioning to her dad. “Can my dad take a picture of the three of you? I know it seems a little weird, but it’d be cool to have a picture of you guys, and one with you.” They nodded at her request and she gestured to her father, watching him take the photo of the family. “Thank you!”

They waved and walked off, leaving them, and she turned to Bruce. “Wanna go find seats?” He nodded, and they began moving in the direction of the tent.

***

Time seemed to grind to a halt as (Y/N)’s heart stopped in her chest as she watched them slam into the ground. Chaos filled the tent in mere seconds, people screaming, children crying, and her father grabbed her arm. “(Y/N)—”

She nodded and pulled her arm away, already starting to make her way from her seat. “I’ve got him. Go.” She didn’t wait for his reply, hopping the seats until her feet hit the dirt ground and she broke into a sprint towards the sobbing boy in the center.

She twisted her feet and slid on the ground next to him, her heart tightened when he gazed up at her, sky blue eyes wide in agony. (Y/N) reached out, wrapping her arms around him. “I’ve got you Dick. I’ve got you kid.”

She felt his arms come around her middle as his head burrowed in her shoulder; his entire body shook with every heart-wrenching sob, and (Y/N) raised one of her hands, running it through his hair as she whispered repeatedly, “I’ve got you.”

(Y/N) heard GCPD officers shouting, and she looked up, seeing her father standing beside them. “Batman,” she whispered softly.

He glanced at her before kneeling beside them and blocking the way of the fallen couple. “You two shouldn’t look at this anymore.”

She nodded and squeezed the boy on the shoulder. “Dick. We need to get away from here.”

“I can’t…leave them.” He pulled back, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I’m…all alone.”

(Y/N) shook her head, and placed a hand on his cheek. “I’m here, Dick. You’re not alone.” His face pinched as a new round of tears sprouted in his eyes and he lowered his head, the sobs wracking his body, and she gazed up at her father’s face, knowing the agony behind the white slits. “You’re not alone.”

Jason:

She walked alongside her father, tugging at the collar of her suit. “Can’t we make a suit that doesn’t choke me as much as this collar does? I feel like I’ve got one of Ivy’s vines wrapped around my throat.” He didn’t say anything and she rolled her eyes. “Fine. Fine. Ignore me. I see how it is.”

“You’re the one who designed your suit, Batgirl. I told you to choose breathable fabric but you refused and said you wanted adequate protection like mine.”

She blinked and glared at him. “Do you get some sick pleasure from repeating my apparent failures?” He chuckled lightly, and she looked around. “Whatever…I still think you shouldn’t have parked in Crime Alley. You know there’s always trouble here.”

“The Batmobile is fine,” he said, voice tired as if he’d answered the question a hundred times before—he had.

(Y/N) hummed, nodding to the car a few feet ahead of them and quipped, “Oh, so the kid jacking the tires off it is completely normal?”

Her father looked at her split second before turning to see it, his eyes widening in disbelief as he muttered, “I don’t believe what I’m seeing.” He moved soundlessly towards the boy, her following.

“Got to give it to him. It takes some big balls to jack the Batman’s ride,” she admired and he grunted, though she knew he was in agreement, and they walked up on the oblivious boy.

She watched her father pull his ‘Put-The-Fear-Of-Batman-Into-‘Em’ stance and he cleared his throat with an exaggerated, ‘ahem’. (Y/N) snorted at the way the boy jerked, twisting to see them staring at him; she swore he’d shit himself the way the fear bled into his eyes.

Her father glared at the kid. “You do realize that’s the Batmobile, right?”

The boy’s face pinched, and he tipped his head up, his voice haughty. “Duh. You do realize you parked your car in Crime Alley, right?” (Y/N) barked a laugh, but quickly coughed when her father turned his glower to her, and he turned back to the boy just in time to see him swinging the tire iron.

“Bad move, hotshot.” Her words fell on deaf ears as she watched her father catch the tool and grip the boy by the front of his hoodie, picking him up off the ground a few feet.

He squirmed, legs kicking out for few seconds before spitting, “You want to beat up on a kid, go enlist in the GCPD like every other bully in this city.”

(Y/N) saw the gears turning in her father’s head as he leaned in, his face inches apart from the boys as he demanded, “I’m only going to ask you this once…So give some serious thought to your answer.”

The boy craned his neck, eyes narrowed as he asked, “What it is?”

Her father gave him a smirk. “Are you hungry?” The boy’s brows furrowed in suspicion, and within the next ten minutes, they were sitting on the hood of the Batmobile eating burgers and fries and sipping on milkshakes.

At one point, she’d reached over and grabbed the boy’s hands; he looked up at her and she nodded to his burger. “Slow down, Jason. You’ll eat your hand at this rate.”

He snorted but nodded, eating a little slower than before as he said, “Sorry. This is the closest thing to a home-cooked meal since I’ve had a home.” He paused and looked out at the city. “It’s funny…I was here once, looking for Wayne Manor.” He looked between them. “I was trying to case the place, but I got lost.”

Bruce looked down at the boy and questioned, “Why do you think it’s okay to steal from people?”

Jason scoffed at his question. “Are you kidding me? Look at this view.” He motioned to the buildings in the distance. “Freaking ‘Billionaire Playboy’ thinks he’s the king of the world. Pfft.”

(Y/N) elbowed him in the ribs and quipped, “Oh honey, he doesn’t think he is. He knows he is.”

The two of them cackled, but the solemn look from her father made their laughter fall short and he said, “Sometimes you just have to give people a chance Jason…they’ll usually surprise you.”

Her father’s words made Jason pause, and she saw him sink into deep thought. After a few moments, she leaned across Jason and nudged her father.

He looked at her and she tipped her head to Jason. “Does this mean he’s coming home with us?” Her father looked at him and back to her, then nodded and she shifted her arm, grinning as she wrapped it around Jason’s neck. “Well then, welcome to the family…little brother.”

Tim:

She could sense the boy following her, and after a few moments, she realized he wasn’t giving up. It wasn’t just some coincidence that they were on the same path—he wanted something from her. She glanced over her shoulder before ducking into the shadows of an alley, waiting for him to follow.

Sure enough, he stepped into the opening of the alley, looking for her, then he shook his head and stamped his foot on the ground. “No-no-no. I was so close to finding her.” He sighed and his shoulders fell in defeat as he visibly deflated.

She stepped behind him and gripped his shoulder in an steel-tight grasp, inquiring, “Why are you following me, kid?”

The kid gasped like he’d been shot as his knees collapsed beneath him, falling from her grip and to the ground. He rolled and gazed up at her with a mixture of shock and wonder as he breathed, “Batgirl.”

She glared down at him and demanded, “Answer my question before I call GCPD for you being out past curfew. Why. Are. You. Following. Me.”

He swallowed thickly before nodding rapidly. “Right. You see, I’ve been looking for you, Batgirl.”

“Yeah, I got that from the tailing. What I wanna know is, why?”

“I need to talk to you about Batman.”

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion at the mention of her father. “What’s a scrawny-ass kid like you, need to talk about Batman with me for?”

His mouth opened, then it snapped shut and he seemed to think on his answer for a moment. He looked at his hands and whispered, “It’s about your brother…Jason Todd.”

Hearing her deceased brother’s name knocked the air from her lungs and she barely managed to get the word ‘what?’ out without sucking in a breath.

He glanced up at her. “I know who you are Miss Way—”

(Y/N)’s hand shot out and she slapped it over his mouth before shaking her head. “Don’t say my name. You don’t know who’s listening.” He went silent as she removed her hand and held it out for him. “C’mon. If you know who I am then that means you know everyone’s identity.”

He nodded mutely and she clicked a button on her wrist; A few moments later, her bike pulled in front of the alley. “Get up. We need to go have a chat.” He took her hand, letting her haul him to his feet, and they walked over to the bike. (Y/N) climbed on before nodding to him. “Get on and hold on.” He followed her order, sitting in front of her, and she took off.

***

A few minutes later, they were stepping into one of the safe houses her dad set up around the city. She closed the door and flicked on the light, pulling the cowl off before gesturing to the table. “Sit.” He obeyed and she opened the refrigerator, pulling out two sodas. (Y/N) turned, taking the seat across from him and sliding his drink over. “Now. Who are you and how do you know about all this?”

He nodded and pulled out a giant book, placing it on the table. “My name is Timothy Jackson Drake, I’m thirteen, and I’ve been following the exploits of Batman, Batgirl, and Robin since I was two.”

(Y/N) cocked a brow at that. “Two’s a little young to be able to remember us.”

Tim looked at the book and nodded. “I know…but I have a photographic memory, and I remember the first time I saw Batman.”

“And that was?”

He paused and his voice quiet. “The night Dick Grayson’s parents were murdered.” (Y/N)’s eyes went wide, and he drew his eyes to hers. “I remember Dick swinging to the ground as his parents climbed the ladder. His mom went first, and his dad followed. Then…the rope snapped, and…they fell.”

Tim quieted considerably and she had to strain to hear him as he recounted, “I got scared, and I looked away. I couldn’t watch…then I heard the crash and Dick sobbing. And I saw you run down and hug him.” He met her gaze. “Then I saw this giant, dark shape falling towards you, and I thought it was going to hurt you two. But then I realized Batman wasn’t trying to hurt you…he was trying to help you both. And he went from being a monster…to becoming some great Dark Knight.”

Tim looked at her. “From them on, I’ve been having the same dream, over and over. I—”

(Y/N) raised a hand, stopping him. “When did you find out who we were?”

He nodded. “When I was nine, I was watching TV and I saw you and Dick, well, Robin and Batgirl. You—”

“Batgirl and Robin. In that order.” She pointed to herself with a face that could only be something akin to the ‘first-child-syndrome’. “I was first.”

A smile grew across Tim’s face and he nodded. “Right, Batgirl and Robin. Anyway, I saw you two on TV, and I watched Dick perform a quadruple somersault.” He grinned rather proudly of himself and declared, “I knew that somersault like I knew my own name. About six months later, Robin made his first appearance. And if Dick Grayson was Robin and Bruce Wayne’s ward, then Bruce Wayne was Batman, and you were Batgirl.” (Y/N) stared at Tim in shock, too stunned to even form words.

He shifted nervously under her gaze. “Um…Miss (Y/N)? Batgirl? Are you alright?”

(Y/N) blinked and shook her head as she muttered, “Holy shit, kid. What are you?”

“I—I’m sorry?”

She huffed a laugh and grinned at him. “You’ve got some damn good detective skills to have figured all that out.” Tim smiled sheepishly under the praise, then (Y/N) stood up from the table, stretching her arms over her head until she heard her joints pop, then she stared at him. “You got a place to sleep tonight?”

“I…no. Not at the moment.”

(Y/N) placed her hands on her hips and hummed. “And why’s that?”

“Well, in the course of looking for you, I’ve also been looking for Dick. But I can’t find him. He’s good at disappearing.”

She nodded and pointed to a room. “I know where Dick is. Go sleep in the guest room, and tomorrow we can go find him.”

As she walked past him, heading for her room, he questioned dubiously, “You’d do that for me?”

(Y/N) stopped and glanced over her shoulder. “Isn’t that what family does?”

Tim’s jaw went slack and he gaped at her as she stepped into her room and closed the door behind her.

Damian:

She shut the door behind her and locked it, though there really wasn’t any reason to considering the fact that no one could get into the manor, let alone across the front lawn without anyone inside knowing.

Hauling the bag up and over her shoulder, she found it odd that no one had greeted her yet and her oddity turned into unsettling when she didn’t hear anything.

She dropped her keys in the silver bowl on the side table and looked around the foyer. “Hello? Dad? Alfred? Timmy?” She stuck her head in the kitchen door. “Anyone home?”

There was no response and she hummed questioningly, knowing that on a Sunday, everyone was home relaxing. She made her way to the study and shifted the clock hands, watching as the entrance appeared, then she descended the steps into the cave. It was even quieter than usual, and she felt the hairs stand up on the back on her neck as she made her way to the Batcomputer.

She pushed a button on the keyboard, watching as the screen came to life and said, “Give me the most recent update.”

“Confirmation?” It replied.

“(Y/N) Wayne, Batgirl.”

The computer beeped for a moment. “(Y/N) Wayne. Batgirl. Access level high.” It paused. “Access granted. Welcome Batgirl.”

“Give me the most recent update.”

“Requested.” It processed the request then told her, “Talia al Ghul entered Gotham Bay approximately two days ago, leaving behind Damian al Ghul in Batman’s custody.”

Damian al Ghul? Who the hell is that? (Y/N) raised an eyebrow as she pushed another button. “Who is Damian al Ghul.”

“Damian al Ghul is the biological son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul. Conceived…month and day unknown…year was two-thousand-three.”

(Y/N) stared at the screen, not sure if she should feel shock that her dad had a second biological kid, or disgust that he slept with Talia to get one. All the sudden, her training kicked in and she felt someone behind her. She spun around, catching the blade of a sword coming at her. She looked down at a young child, no older than ten, glaring up at her. She’d seen pictures of her father when he was a child, and though he had Talia’s emerald green eyes and olive complexion, there was no mistaking the resemblance between him and her father.

Her eyes narrowed into slits as she shoved him away. “The hell are you doing?”

He raised the sword again and said, “Testing you.”

(Y/N) crossed her arms, her gaze curious. “For what purpose?”

He ran at her waving the sword. “To see if you are really father’s daughter.”

She chuckled at that and dodged each attempt to cut her. “Trust me short-stack, I’m Bruce Wayne’s kid.”

Her insult seemed to set him off and he swung the sword wildly. “I am not short!”

(Y/N) grunted as the blade grazed her arm, and she clenched her jaw. “Alright. I’m done entertaining you.”

She let him come to her, then she twisted, wrenching the sword from his grip before tossing it away and coming back around. She gripped him by the collar and used the momentum to slam him to the ground before pulling his arms behind him and putting her knee in his back.

It all happened within seconds, and he didn’t know how to respond other than to cry out in anger. “Let go!”

She pulled his arms tighter until he stopped squirming and she leaned down. “Take a chill pill, runt.” He still cried out in rage at the name, and she heard someone grunt a few feet from her.

“Let him up, (Y/N).”

She looked up to see her father and Alfred walking towards her. She obeyed, rolling away from the boy and to her feet. “I was wondering where you were.”

Bruce nodded to Damian, who was pulling himself off the floor in a rather heated fashion. “We were trying to find out where Damian had gone.”

(Y/N) eyed him for a moment before murmuring, “So, he really is your kid?”

Damian cut Bruce off, spitting, “Are you jealous?”

She looked at Damian and snorted. “Not even an ounce short-cake.” (Y/N) laughed at the way his face pinched in rage, and she turned to Bruce. “You just can’t help collecting them, can you?” He glared at her and she laughed, walking over and nudging him. “Smile a little, Scrooge. Your face will get stuck like that if you don’t.”

He sighed, and muttered, “I don’t know what to do with him.”

(Y/N) glanced at the boy who was picking up his sword. “Too angry?”

“Belligerent is more like it.”

She chuckled and patted his back. “Don’t worry. I’ve got him.”

“(Y/N) I don’t think—”

“Relax, dad. I handled Dick’s anger, didn’t I?”

“Damian’s got Dick beat by a longshot. I don’t think he knows any demeanor other than attack.”

(Y/N) waved as she walked towards Damian. “No one’s able to beat Dick’s anger. No one in a million years could reach the level of pissed off Dick Grayson stays at.” Bruce grinned as he watched (Y/N) take the sword and move Damian towards the stairs. “C’mon pint-sized. We’re going to explore Gotham.”

“I do not want to go.” He retorted, pulling away from her.

She grasped the back of his neck like a puppy and held him firmly as they walked and she quipped, “I don’t really give a fuck whether you want to or not. You’ve been raised by homicidal psychopaths since you were born.” She looked down at him. “You need to see the real world.”

“My grandfather and mother aren’t psychopaths!”

“Oh really? So killing people for money or because honor demands it, isn’t psychopathic traits? What about when Ra’s kills people because they disrespect him?”

“That is different!”

“I mean you don’t see me poppin’ caps in people’s asses when they call me a whore, do you?”

Bruce watched the two of them climb the stairs, arguing, and he sighed, sensing Alfred walk next to him.

“Almost reminds you of Master Dick and Miss (Y/N), doesn’t it Master Bruce?”

He looked at Alfred, then smiled and nodded. “In every way, shape, and form.”

Alfred smiled. “It is such a good thing that Miss (Y/N) is the oldest. The boys have needed her.”

“She’s their protector.”

Alfred paused, resting a hand on his shoulder; Bruce met his gaze and saw such a solemnity in them as he said, “She is everyone’s protector, Master Bruce. Even yours.” Alfred walked away, then Bruce turned and looked at the photo resting on the desk. It was the first photo he and (Y/N) had taken in their suits.

He smiled at it and nodded. “That she is.”

[aceofshitposts]

happy follower milestone!!! <3

for a prompt… hmmm. jaytim, first time one (or both) of them said “i love you”?

i imagine what you were going for was something cute and i apologize deeply. warning for just hurt, baby!!!

-

It happens slowly at first.

Tim forgets his keys, his wallet, leaves paperwork behind in the office unsigned. It's not like him to forget things like that but he chalks it up to stress, over work, sleepless nights.

Except it only starts to get worse.

"Red, BG needs help at Main and Sixth."

Tim startles from where he was apparently just staring into space. He was... doing something. Surely. But now he can't... doesn't matter. Steph, Steph needs his help.

And he has every intention of going except...

"Jesus, Red, I needed you twenty minutes ago!"

"I..." Tim trails off, blinking back the confusion he feels in his head.

"Ugh, whatever, it's fine, I handled it but for real-" Batgirl cuts herself off, her lips settling into a thin frown and blonde hair tumbling over her shoulders. Blonde?

Did Babs dye her hair? No, that isn't Babs' outfit either... Stephanie. How could Tim forget Steph??

"I think something's wrong with me," Tim says, horror dawning like the sun over the horizon.

There's Poison Ivy pollen in his system. Predictably, Tim doesn't even remember fighting Ivy recently.

She also happens to be extremely MIA.

"You can stay here, until we work out a cure," Bruce says and Tim doesn't have it in him to say he doesn't even know where else he'd go.

There's less to remember at the manor but that doesn't mean things don't keep slipping away. Tim starts writing things down. Anything, everything he can think of. From his mother's hair colour to the patrol route he used to take as Robin.

(Used to...? He still... Wait...)

"Do you know who I am today?"

Tim looks up from where he's been studying old photos.

"Jason Peter Todd, second Robin, current kind of crime lord Red Hood," Tim recites, counting off points on his fingers. "You bring me coffee at work and on patrol, sometimes."

Jason sits down heavily on the bed, causing Tim to bounce. "That's certainly an improvement over yesterday."

"It comes and goes," Tim shrugs, feigning indifference. He goes back to the photos, trying to remember where and when he took them... Robinson Park, maybe?

"Hey," Jason says, pulling Tim in until he collapses against Jason's side. "I know it's scary, but B is gonna find you a cure, alright?"

It hits Tim, suddenly, what if they don't? What if Tim is like this, worse than this for the rest of his life. Tim will fade away, living on only in the memories of the people he loved, and some blank slate will take his place.

It becomes suddenly important Jason knows. Knows exactly what Tim thinks, has thought, about him for years now. He can't let Jason think something of him that isn't true.

"Jay," Tim says, the urgency building like a coiled spring. "Even if I forget, you can't, okay? I love you so much."

Jason presses his face into Tim's hair. "I won't, Babybird. Promise."

Tim blinks.

"Promise what?"