#Duke of Definition

[waveoftheocean]

wahoo finished this in time for superbat week day 5: tired dads!!

[violent138]

Tim, muting the comms: "I'm telling you, Batman's onto us."

Stephanie: "We need to distract him. Maybe someone should fake an emergency."

Duke, stopping Tim: "No! That never ends well--"

Bruce: "Hello? Can you guys hear me?"

Dick, impatient as he hacks: "Someone say anything already before he shows up."

Bruce: "What's--"

Dick: "Trained by Batman and you guys are the worst liars--"

Jason: "Shut it." *clears throat*

Jason, to Bruce over comms: "Don't worry about it, we'll be home soon, Dad."

Bruce: ....

Bruce: "Alright, see you in a bit."

Jason: *ends call*

Dick, Duke, Steph: ...

Tim: "Am I evil for saying I'm a little impressed?"

[garpen]

Duke: You are so lucky you're my favorite little brother

Damian: Thank you?

Damian: Wait, I'm your ONLY younger brother

Duke: Take what you can get man, your my favorite little brother-even if it's on a technicality.

Damian: Tt that's just like saying Cassandra is our favorite sister when she's out ONLY sister.

Duke: Exactly, now you get it!

[casscainmainly]

A Collection of My Favourite Duke Thomas Thoughts

We Are Robin #1 // We Are Robin #2 // We Are Robin #6 // We Are Robin #7 // Batman & The Signal #1 // Batman & The Signal #2 // Batman & The Signal #3 // The Cursed Wheel

[ktkat99]

Slightly Crack Batfam AU

Duke, shortly after being adopted, finds an old demon summoning circle burned into the floor under a rug in one of the rooms.

That, combined with some of the literature he finds laying around, leads him to conclude that someone in his new family is secretly a demon and he starts trying to figure out who.

Could it be Bruce, the literal demon of the night?

Dick, who bends and flips effortlessly in ways no normal human could?

Jason seems the most likely, as he climbed out of his own grave, but to be fair, he'd never actually seen Tim sleep.

And then there was Damian.

He never would have guessed that the demon is actually Alfred, summoned by a desperate, distraught Bruce the night of his parents' deaths.

Originally, their deal was just for Alfred to help Bruce get his revenge.

The reason he stuck around, though?

He realized he needed to make sure that Bruce and his collection of equally crazy orphans stayed OUT of the afterlife (and therefore AWAY from the throne of hell, which he has no doubt someone would eventually take) and decided to stay on as their oddly perfect butler.

[prlssprfctn]

AU, where Priest!Jason Todd keeps receiving random quests from the alternative universe, who are very, very persistent on getting his advice.

At some point, Jason stops getting surprised by the absolute unexplainable events in his hometown. He died and came back — so, what are some guests from the other realities for him? Absolutely nothing. He already helped that girl once, Traci. She also appeared out of nowhere.

And Jason... well, Father Jason is all about helping people, not asking questions.

That's why, when he sees a strange flash of light outside the church and hears heavy steps, coming closer to the confessional, he makes sure not to be too curious. Curiousity leads people to wrong paths sometimes.

'Jason?' The low, rumbling voice asks.

It reminds him of Thomas Wayne's a little but softer.

Thomas is not necessarily his friend, but they smoke sometimes together since Jason once accidentally found bleeding out Batman at the stairs leading to his church. He is a nice man.

'You shall call me Father Todd,' Jason fixes the guest methodically. 'How can I help you, my child?'

The man lets out a soft, amused laughter, and Jason hears him dragging his heavy body inside the booth before plopping on the cold, wooden seat.

'I am not here to confess,' the man warns. 'But I might need an advice.'

'An ask for help is also a confession in a way; sometimes, a bolder one,' Jason replies. 'I will do my best to guide you, my child. Tell me more about the issue you are facing.'

'I... I have a son,' the man starts slowly. 'I hurt him a lot in the past. And I don't know how to fix this.'

Jason hums, encouraging him to continue. They talk for the rest of the night. The mysterious guest leaves pleased.

In a week after that, another guest drops by. This time, it is a young man who keeps tapping his feet nervously and persistently cracks jokes straight until Jason gently tells him to lay on him all his burdens. This makes him snap and break down crying. Richard — or so he calls himself — never asks for advice, but he confesses in all things he had done; and then for things he didn't. Jason hears him out, reassuring that half of those wasn't even his fault, and they pray together that night through the thin wall dividing them. Richard tells him that it was a while he felt himself this free before leaving. Jason never hears from him again.

A seemingly young boy visits next. He is amused for the most of the time, but Jason still patiently talks him through the casualties of ceremonies like this, deciding not to get mad at a teenager — he was no better at that age. Somewhere in between long pauses and questions, Timothy suddenly starts talking quietly about his parents; about how they were religious, but he never understood their faith. Not really.

He says he misses him, and he wishes he could turn time back to agree on following his mom in the church in these rare days they were not working. They sit together for a while, and Jason allows him to reminisce about his parents. Tim leaves, thanking him for being heard.

Jason accepts a few more strange quests. A kid with the vocabulary of an ancient creature that admits that he is not even Christian — Jason still offers him an ear telling him it doesn’t matter; not when a child of God needs advice — a silent girl that speaks in short sentences and asks how to get rid of regret and guilt following her around for years, and then, a total opposite one: a blabbering and giggling girl that ends up talking with him about her mom. He swears, at some point Duke, the kid from Narrows that he has over with his family on Sundays, visits him too; just, somehow, an older one. Even that doesn't cause Father Todd to ask questions.

...Not until someone enters the confessional with a strange, animal-like cautiousness.

'So, you are the one they visit all the time, huh?' The stranger comments, his voice... his voice surprisingly familiar. 'Father Todd.'

If there is a slight mocking intonation in the low voice, then Jason prefers to ignore it.

'That would be me, yes. How can I help you, my child?'

'Well, well, Father Todd... Riddle me this...'

The more the unknown boy speaks, the more nauseous Jason feels. He knows this story; he remembers finding Catherine dead, he remembers stealing tires — and even though the boy by the other side found a family, while he didn’t, the death and reborn he speaks about, is still something Jason relates to.

For the first time since he started to get strange visitors, Jason indulges himself — he allows curiosity to take over.

The visitor is in the middle of casually, almost intentionally so, retelling how he woke up in the casket, when Jason walks out of his part of booth, and unceremoniously opens the opposite side of it, facing a boy in the red armour. He hugs a big, intimidating helmet, and when their eyes meet, Jason freezes, despite knowing an answer all along.

It is him. Of course, it is him.

'Jesus fucking Christ, ruining the very little privacy this place has, in our Catholic house?' The other Jason mocks him, leaning slightly forward. 'I expected more from us. I am hurt.'

Father Todd just sighs.

Nothing could ever prepare him for needing to... accept a confession from himself. Yet, he is here, staring at the scruffy youth with a wolf-like smile who is so obviously lost behind all these fake bravado that it hurts.

'Behave,' he purses lips in a thin line before closing the door in his face again.

He doesn't need to see to know that a surprised expression touched his sharp features.

Jason makes his way back to his side of confessional, and clears up his throat again.

'I apologise. Please, you shall resume your story.'

The other Jason is silent for a while. He thinks the boy might leave — they had it in themselves, after all; leaving when being met with an unexpected touch of gentleness from others, instead of rage — but then, he doesn't.

His voice lacks all mockery and amusement when he speaks up again, the words lacing in a tale of sorrow and regrets.

And Father Todd... answers, of course. He is not here to ask questions, after all. He is all about helping people.

And who, if not Jason Todd, knows that there is no one but higher forces and themselves, who can help them through their toughest times?

[daydreamerwonderkid]

The Batboys in Grandma's furs.

Obligatory click for better quality

You do NOT have permission to repost my art.

Bonus Damian under cut

[windybluebelles]

The JL has to get involved with DeathStroke for whatever reason, and all the old Titans outright refuse to let any of the kid hero’s work on this case.

The kids are outraged,

“Why can’t we help?”

“We’re trained!”

“Do you not trust us?”

And the Titans just have to be like,

“No, no! We trust you guys! Of course we do, it’s just that that guys a pedophile.”

Dead silence.

Remember, the titans in this are no older than late twenties. Their mentors know for a fact that they went up against Slade when they were teenagers, there’s not many ways that the Titans could know with this much certainty that he is a nonce without the JL also knowing.

The adults just kinda look at their kids in horror, the Titans realise that they never really told anyone but eachother to avoid deathstroke. In an attempt to be reassuring they tell them,

“Don’t worry! He’s only really into kids in capes”

As in, he’s only into kids that are hero’s or villains.

Shockingly not very reassuring when they were child superheros.

In another attempt to reassure them, someone else pipes up-

“It’s only really kids with dark hair and shorts!”

Nightwing and Raven both kick that guy as they realise what they just said.

Another person (God they should really just leave it as it is) decides to tell the heros,

“No! He was also into Terra! She’s blonde”

Batman is just kinda stood in shock cause, oh my god, that man has been near all of his kids.

This is almost definitely really inaccurate but I just wanted my thoughts out here.

Really really really OOC characters, sorry gang

[spacedace]

I've seen the concept of Jason being adopted by various people other than Bruce while he was still a little tire stealing Crime Ally kid a few times, but I've yet to see anyone put forth the idea of Duke and his family taking him in.

Like, depending on the continuity Jason and Duke are only like 4 or 5 years apart in age, and we know for a fact that Duke was a terrifyingly brilliant kid already shaping up to be able to take down the Riddler in a battle of wits at the age of 9. Now throw in protective older brother Jason into that mix who didn't think twice about trying to steal the tires off the Batmobile and then try and hit Batman with a damn tire iron when he was caught.

Just imagine how terrifying it would be with the two of them growing up constantly feeding each other's unhinged Fight God and the Devil in a Waffle House Parking Lot at 3am and Win energy. Imagine the chaos they would cause. The terror they would strike into the hearts of their enemies- all before Duke ever even gor his powers.

They would be unstoppable. Just a pair of two of the smartest motherfuckers you've ever met who know they're smarter than you, and the only thing sharper than their minds are their vicious verbal take downs.

Also I just have the imagine in my head of Doug Thomas, half asleep early one Saturday morning stumbling into the kitchen after following the smell of breakfast to see his 8 year old son happily stuffing the most delicious looking pancakes imaginable into his mouth. Blinking in confusion as he realizes it's not his beloved wife cooking but some scrawny kid in worn out clothes, covered in engine grease and bruises manning the stove like a seasoned line cook - complete with the most foul mouthed swearing even Doug, a construction worker, has ever heard in his life and a cigarette tucked behind the kids ear.

And Doug has a moment where he's just staring, full on Who's Goddamn White Baby is That? when Duke pipes up to explain:

"This is Jason! I caught him trying to steal your catalytic converter this morning. His mom's dead and his dad is a deadbeat so he's gonna stay with us now!"

And oh. Well. Shit. He knows that look in his son's eye. Knows he's already lost the fight before it evan began. It looks like it's theirs. It's their god damn white baby now.

He's gonna have to call Elaine.

(Elaine, for her part, goes through the full range of human emotions when she gets home to realize that the boy Duke has decided they're adopting is the Todd boy Elaine has been trying to track down for months now.

She's Jason's social worker, not that she's been able to really do her job and help him when he's managed to stay under the radar of every single vaguely responsible adult in a ten mile radius. The one time he had been picked up by one of the few decent cops in the city and Elaine thought she was going to be able to finally finally help him, Jason had managed to climb out of a window of the precinct bathroom and disappear into the night.

He'd managed to steal the hubcaps of six different patrol vehicles while he was at it. Just to rub it in that there was nothing they could do to stop him.

Point was, the kid has been her damn white whale for almost a year. And now she walks into her home after a maddening unhelpful phone call with Doug about needing paperwork to adopt a child only to find the boy she'd spent so long looking for teaching Duke how to take apart and reassemble their toaster in the living room.

She isn't sure if she wants to laugh or cry.

She is sure that there's no way she's going to be able to convince Duke that they can't just adopt his new friend, not when she can tell that both boys have already gotten attached to each other in the scarce few hours they've known one other. Or when her husband is just sitting there eating delicious pancakes with such resignation in his eyes.)

[thenightwolf51]

"Danny was born a Wayne" AU except he's Bruce's grand uncle. The result of a one time drunken affair, shortly before Kenneth Wayne's death, to a young unmarried woman who gave the baby up for adoption.

(Whether the Fenton's, and therefore Amity, were just ahead of their times or the DC timeline is shifted a bit so that DP happens in its cannon era is up to you. Dealers choice, though now that i know about her i just love badass widowed prohibition leader Laura Elizabeth Wayne)

Danny grows up knowing hes adopted and loved by the Fentons but something (dealer's choice) happens and he loses his family and friends (maybe the whole town goes too?). In an attempt to avoid a Dan situation he flees into the Infinite Realm and doesn't stop.

He just wanders, time passes in its weird Realms way, not that Danny truly notices. A protector spirit thats lossed everything it protected. Its a wonder he doesn't fade and he actually might've if it wasn't for his human side.

But its a tug at his core that brings him from his near catatonic wandering. Gone before he can even understand it but enough to shake him back to himself. Enough to know that hes nowhere near ready to go anywhere familiar so he continues on, his wandering no less pointless but at least he's aware again.

What feels like a relatively short time later he gets another tug, and this time he manages to follow it.

He follows it invisibly through a natural portal that drops him somewhere in New Jersey and all the way to a fancy hospital room in the gloomiest city he's ever seen.

In there he sees his half brother Patrick Wayne, though he wont figure out their connection for a few more years, holding little Agatha. She's adorable in her little dress and pigtails and her sweet face causes that familiar tug he recognizes from what must have been six years ago given the girls age.

Then a nurse comes in and hands a little bundle to what must be the mother (whos name i cant find) and Danny takes one look at the little core tugger who brought him here and just melts. Even without knowing yet that this is his last remaining family, his instincts latch on and he vows to protect and care for the Waynes.

And he does.

He finds his forgetful brother's documents and keeps Aggy company when everyone else is busy and soothes baby Thomas so his poor sister-in-law can get some more sleep. He ices fevers and bruised knees and helps on later games of hide and seek.

He very rarely becomes visible and only to the children. His grief over the Fenton's convinces him its better to protect his new family from the shadows.

Danny explores every inch of the manor, including secret passages and an underground cave system. He claims a forgotten room in the back of the attic as his own, which over the years fill up with knickknacks, heirlooms, and pictures of the family. Even a gift or two from Agatha, who hadn't stopped believing in their shadowy guardian like her brother did when Danny felt they were too old to see him without drawing suspicion.

The manor becomes his haunt and he always knows where each family member is within it. And when any guests have some no good intentions.

And when baby Bruce is born tugging at his core and with the bluest little eyes, he welcomes the fussy little thing. And makes sure dear Martha never knows just how fussy baby Bruce really is, otherwise she might've never had a full nights sleep.

Danny blames himself for not being there when Thomas and Martha die, and promises to never leave Bruces side, practically becoming the boy's living shadow. Watching over him as he gets older, secretly aiding him in his training. Danny feels a bit of pride when Bruce takes some inspiration from the old stories Thomas told him of the shadowy Wayne family protector when creating his Batman identity, glad his nephew still remembers him even if he hasn't shown himself since the now young man was six.

Danny continues to protect and care for the family in a variety of ways over the years even as the family grows.

Lightening Alfred's workload, softening Dick's falls, calming Jason's temper both pre and post pit, hiding Tim's coffee when the boy hasn't slept in far too long, providing plenty of shadows and hiding nooks for Cass, helping Damian hide the litter of kittens he found.

And no one seems to know he's there, except maybe Cass and he's pretty sure Alfred has been know since he first started working for the family. No one knows, that is, until Duke Thomas moves in and lookes right at him watching invisibly from the sidelines.

(@omnicrafts @dcxdpdabbles @hdgnj @ailithnight @nelkcats @im-totally-not-an-alien-2 i dont know, the main point of all this is that Danny's been protecting the Wayne family for decades and no one, except maybe Alfred, knew until Duke moved in)

[alwaysless]

I love the progress the acoleetes are making in their relationship in the last chapters: Ada risks her life for Annabel, Prospero says bluntly that his conscience does not allow him to leave Montresor alone, Prospero rushes to Ada's aid without a moment's hesitation. It's great, I'm really glad to see them like this. But I'm worried that in contrast misfits` relationship might regress.

They already had two bones of contention last season: the escape plan and the conflict between Lenore and Duke, which they never solved properly. In fact, I think Duke is now strongly reconsidering his friendship with Lenore. In the last chapters of the first season, he behaved strangely. The scene where they discuss Lenore's curse on the balcony, and she gives him the letter... is pretty creepy. The atmosphere is extremely tense, and the last time Duke and Lenore were on the balcony together, he literally tried to kill her wife. And this frame.

The threshold splits them exactly in the middle. I don't like it, I really don't like it.

When they discuss her escape plan, Duke stays silent until the last moment, until Lenore asks him directly, and even then he hesitates at first, he doesn't answer her right away, although in the end he expresses absolute support.

But why? Duke was Lenore's most active supporter in the first half of the season, always easily accepting her reckless antics and taking part in it himself. He liked their role as rebellious troublemakers. However, now his enthusiasm has noticeably dried up. He's changed now. He's doubtful.

I think this may be due to the fact that he recalled his death. It was hardly an accident. Apparently, it was staged by his... stage companion, I suppose. Duke was killed by someone he probably trusted, with whom he had played a lot of shows. He was betrayed. And now, quite predictably, he may have trust issues. Especially after the failed assassination attempt, when Duke realized that his methods could be very different from Lenore`s and she was not exactly the kind of leader who shared his values.

By the way, yes, let's talk about leadership among the misfits. Do you remember this scene?

The misfits are waiting for Lenore's opinion on their hideout, her voice is decisive, and although she does not understand why, she accept the assigned role of leader.

Now let's take a look here. Does that ring a bell?

Now Duke's opinion becomes decisive. They're all waiting for him to say something. Including Lenore. Of course, they were always equal for her, and the role of leader was only a formality, but from the point of view of the story composition, this is a noticeable shift in dynamics, and I'm worried about what it will lead to.

I'm not saying that Duke will go up against Lenore, but it would definitely be interesting. It would break my heart, but I would take a look. Because let's be honest: Lenore trusts these people more than she should in a survival game. She's known them for less than a week. Her tendency to see the best in people and give them a chance just has to play a cruel joke with her sooner or later, especially under the circumstances.

If the acoleetes are really starting to get closer, then the misfits, on the contrary, are dangerously close to split. That would be a curious inversion.

[transmasculinizing]

"dick, jason, tim and damien r the batboys" those guys r fucking birds. dukes costume is an actual bat thus making him more of a 'batboy' then bruces other sons. he is a batboy stop being weird (racist)

[majosullivan]

Hmmm…thoughts are definitely being had… whether they are anything of substance is for a later day

[skawdia]

"Well, you look like yourself, but you're somebody else, only it ain't on the surface"

(flora cash - You're Somebody Else)

Vampire-Ascendant-Astarion always shows up to Grand Duke Wyll's parties uninvited. Wyll is not amused that his ex keeps trying to seduce him.

close-up under the cut!

[moxiepower2]

I think we should give Duke it a bit more leeway for his actions and general attitude in Ch 121. It was a tense situation where he had to think VERY QUICKLY. Yes, it was wrong for him to throw Pluto out as bait without warning. Yes, he should’ve treated Eulalie with more courtesy/respect instead acting like she’s incompetent/a child and assuming that she’s probably going to fuck up. But to be fair, Duke had all of what maybe 2-3 MINUTES?? to come up with a plan before the Stag found them. Also, the hounds were already in the room when he was telling Eulalie her part of the plan which is why he ran out of time to explain Pluto’s part (to be honest, I still think he could have tried to give Pluto at least a brief heads-up though, instead of the “do you trust me?” bit)

And let’s not forget they all saw Will get impaled by said Stag that’s chasing them MINUTES ago and it was only YESTERDAY that Duke was chained up inside a wall slowly suffocating (and of course, they had to run into MONTY of all people earlier). It’s pretty understandable that in Season 2 he’s stressed the hell out, paranoid, and irritable. And while paranoia and occasionally being a jerk are definitely part of Duke’s overall character, WE ARE NOT seeing a Normal Duke here. This is Duke at his absolute WORST. This is a Duke that had already reached his limit YESTERDAY and now has to worry about dying AGAIN and on top of possibly losing his friends. This is a Duke in full survival “let’s just get the fuck to the arboretum NOW” mode and all the normal niceties and charm have gone to the wayside

It’s also important to note that while Duke DEFINITELY put Pluto and Eulalie at risk with his rushed plan, he still arguably took the biggest one himself by calling out to the Stag, PURPOSELY luring it with his own blood, and taking the brunt of all the chandelier glass flying everywhere. Considering all the back-and-forth they all had about the Wild Hunt tracking by smell before Duke had his “lightbulb moment”, I’m pretty sure he already planned on cutting himself in front of the Stag BEFORE he asked Eulalie to be bait

[mikachondria]

The Bats favourite barbie movies:

Dick - The Barbie Fairytopia series, entirely based on vibes. Forced each of his siblings to a marathon at least once. He's the biggest Bibble fan. One time his siblings gifted him a Bibble shower curtain and bathmat for his birthday as a joke but he uses both, because 1) he unironically loves it and 2) his siblings always get really exiting when they visit him and see, he hasn't changed them.

Jason - Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper, I will not elaborate. He's also a Princess and the Popstar hater because “They tried to rip off their own movie but somehow lost all the good parts in the process. Like yeah, give us two very privileged white girls in slightly different situations and compare it to the criticism of the social class differences in a monarchy.”

Yes, he gets defensive over it.

Tim - Barbie in the Nutcracker. One time when he was little, his parents couldn't come home on Christmas eve (I'm a Janet and Jack Drake slightly neglectful but still loving parents believer, they didn't forget him, their flight was just cancelled) so he searched up Christmas movies to watch alone. When his parents got home the next day they found him asleep on the sofa and the end credit scene frozen on the TV. They take him to see the real ballet a week later and after that, Barbie and the Nutcracker becomes a comfort movie for him. He thinks it's objectively not the best Barbie movie but the nostalgia just hits him every time he watches it. (When Cass got a role in the nutcracker ballet, he was so excited. She played a rat and loved the role)

Cass - Most people would probably think it would be a ballet related movie like Nutcracker, 12 Dancing Princesses or Swan Lake but it's actually Barbie as the Island Princess. She deeply relates to Ro growing up in isolation, struggling to adjust to society and speaking a language no one else understands, though Ro's story is much more lighthearted than her own. When Ro gets reunited with her mother, Cass cries every time because it reminds her of her own adoption and finally finding her place.

Duke - Barbie and the Diamond castle, again purely the vibes. He's convinced that Alexa and Liana are gay for each other and sees the guys as inconvenient plot devices (“They rode away from the princes on a literal rainbow bridge!”).

Also sometimes uses his powers to ride away on a rainbow bridge himself, just because he thinks it's funny. This is inspired by this post from @jello-jelly-coconut

Steph - Barbie in a Mermaid Tale. Partly vibes, partly because when she was younger, she sometimes wished to have a second life, a second home too just like Merliah, with a father who loved her and her mom instead of being absent/in jail.

She knows the lyrics and dance moves to Queen of the Waves by heart.

She also loves picking the illogical things in the movie apart (“The mermaids breathe underwater so they have to have gills, but they can also breath air, that means they are some mammal-fish hybrids which would make Merliah a hybrid of a hybrid”) but defends it with her life as soon as someone else criticises it because how dare they disrespect her favourite Barbie movie?

Damian - Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus. At first he refuses to watch any Barbie movies with his siblings at all, but agrees after weeks of them asking. He wants to watch something with a dragon but Barbie and Rapunzel is not available on any streaming platform at that time and they have to buy/borrow a physical copy so he settles for the next best thing, a pegasus. He has low expectations.

Then he sees Annika trying to adopt a polar bear cub in the first few minutes of the movie and immediately likes her.

He's hooked till the end and has to admit that he liked the movie.

He still refuses to watch other Barbie movies though, this time with the reason that they wouldn't be as good as Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus anyways so it would be a waste of time.

Barbara - Technically not a movie, but Barbie Life in the Dreamhouse. She always has a tab with the youtube playlist open and will watch episodes when patrol gets boring. One time she forgot to mute herself and got teased by the other batkids but then she started streaming the episodes for them on their phones during stakeouts and they shut up because they got invested. Bruce is not aware of this.

Barbara's favourite character is the closet.

Bruce - He's doesn't have a favourite Barbie movie (it's Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses)

Unfortunately I don't know enough about Kate, Luke, etc to assign them a movie but feel free to add to the list