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Chapter 3:

Two weeks had passed since the incident with the Joker Gang, and Tim was still not allowed to leave the manor.

He protested to Bruce, but he was firm in not letting him back into the field until he had fully healed.

Seeing Tim's frustration, Alfred explained that Bruce was only doing this for his own wellbeing.

Tim doubted that, but a part of him wondered if Bruce was genuinely just concerned for his safety.

There were times where Tim had caught Bruce staring at him with a mixture of worry and relief on his face.

The cynical side of him quickly dashed that hope as he realized that Bruce probably just didn't want to ruin Batman's reputation by losing another Robin.

Tim knew the importance of reputation, his parents had made that very clear to him.

His mind drifted back to when he was six years old. He remembered saying something a bit too bluntly to an important looking man in a business suit.

He'd forgotten what he said, but he remembered the punishment he got because of it.

He was isolated in his room for three days, with meals being sent up to him via staff, who were ordered not to talk to him.

He remembered that his parents reasoning was that he should learn that there will be consequences for ruining their relationship with an important benefactor of their archaeological digs.

Tim felt a pang of unreasonable anger at the memory.

He flushed in disappointment after, as he realized he was mad at his dead parents for punishing him when he acted out of line as a child.

What sort of a son was he?

Alfred noticed him stiffen and suggested that he take a walk around the Wayne estate to clear his mind.

Tim just nodded and went up to get his camera. He might as well do something productive.

A few hours of blissfully ignoring his problems did wonders for his mood, until he was rudely brought back down to earth as he came across Jason's grave.

He had loved Jason. Even if they had never met, Jason had left a huge impact on Tim's life.

Tim may have figured out Dick's identity as Robin at the tender age of three, but he didn't actually join Batman and Robin in their nightly jaunts until he was nine.

By that time, Jason had already established himself as the next Robin.

Jason was his Robin.

His heart shattered when he realized that Jason had died.

He didn't want to disrespect Jason's passing, but someone had to rein Batman in.

Tim paused his train of thought and stepped closer to the grave.

Something felt off, the dirt on the grave felt too fresh.

To the untrained eye, it seemed normal, but Tim's detective senses were roused.

Had someone disturbed it? That couldn't have been possible. Bruce kept a close eye on the estate to ensure no one breaks in.

Tim took a few steps back, and snapped a picture of the grave. His emotions took a back seat as the gears in his mind began to turn.

If anyone had somehow managed to disturb Jason's grave, they must have been very skilled, which leaves out any petty grave robbers.

Tim grabbed his miniature detective kit that he had gotten used to carrying around with him after running into a few cases as a civilian.

All Tim needed was confirmation that nothing had happened to Jason's grave, that's all.

"Sorry about this Jay." Tim muttered under his breath as he quickly chipped off a few pieces of the gravestone. He could use them to run a DNA test when he was back at the batcave.

Tim hurried back into the manor to run his tests.

The DNA analysis came back as positive for Talia Al Ghul.

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In the marked au, the ages for the batfamily are;

Dick: 21

Jason: 16

Tim: 13

Barbara: 24

Cassandra: 17

Duke: 11

Damian: 6

Stephanie: 14

Bruce: 30

Alfred: 54

I aged Damian up a bit from three to six. I also made the age gap between the kids a bit less for plot reasons. Also, I just think their dynamic works better that way.

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Their sibling relationship is so iconic.

Also you can tell that this took place in Gotham.

Because in any other place, the robber would have been begging to be released by Red Hood and that he would never do such a thing again.

While in Gotham he's like; "yo, if you're busy can you let me get back to robbing this place?"

LMAO Jason holding a goon up against a glass display and telling him to be quiet so he can watch the televising of Dick's award ceremony is hilarious, THAT'S HIS BROTHER, YOUR HONOR, NOW SHUT UP HE'S TRYING TO LISTEN

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We all know Batman somehow keeps finding children in the strangest of places, but I want this to apply to the rest of the Batfam as well.

Dick is great with kids and was frequently a babysitter for Lian.

We all know that Jason's great with kids. There have been multiple occasions where the Crime Alley street kids have called him Dad on accident.

Tim likes kids, but has no clue how to interact with them. Like he went to lamaze classes with Stephanie, I feel like he would read up on child psychology and try to apply it to every child he meets.

Damian is a child, and while he can grumble sometimes about having to interact with his lessers, he's always observing them and learning how to act like a kid.

Cassandra honestly gets along better with young children than she does with adults. While grownups have complicated social rules, children are more straightforward.

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I love Daring's sport clothes.

Little things I made for my Au 🚙💨

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Yes, this represents Daring so well!

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And that braincell is firmly grasped by Darling.

caught in 4K

they share one braincell

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Yess! This fits so perfectly!

this may sound a bit like a convoluted theory, but i don't think darling was originally apple's princess charming. and i don't mean i don't think the writers originally planned it — i mean, i think that in-universe darling was not supposed to be the one who saved apple.

i do think that daring was actually apple's original prince. however, when raven decided to give everyone their page rather than having them sign it, they gained the ability to change their stories without even trying or knowing they were doing so.

apple is a lesbian, and so with her newfound freedom, her story automatically rewired itself into having a woman be her true love rather than a man. same with daring — instead of saving apple, his destiny was then changed to be with rosabella, someone who he could genuinely fall in love with.

essentially, i'm saying there's two types of love in ever after: the romances that come with your destiny (apple & daring) and a soulmate relationship that only comes into existence when you take your destiny into your own hands (apple & darling, ashlynn & hunter, daring & rosabella).

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I headcanon Daring as having OCD.

It developed from the immense pressure from both his family and Snow White to be the perfect prince charming for Apple.

When he was a kid, he was messy and his hair and clothes were unkempt. This all changed when he was engaged to Apple at the age of 10.

His hair must always be neatly combed, his clothes fashionable and neat. His mannerisms befitting of the next King White.

After getting frequently scolded for being messy, he began to keep a mirror on hand, so that he could check his appearance from time to time.

That turned into; "I must have some kind of reflective surface on me at all times, if I don't check it, I'm a mess and everyone is secretly judging me."

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Screw it.

I'm starting a Daring Charming fanfic even though my Batfamily fanfic hasn't even been fully plot out.

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If I ever get around to writing a Daring Charming fic for ever after High, I'm going to give him so much characterization the series left out.

He had so much potential and people just treat him like he's some himbo.

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I don't understand why anyone bothers with shipping in jjk.

With the way Gege's going I don't think there's going to be two characters left to ship.

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Imagine different fandoms as countries.

Recent fan news would be like;

Due to the lack of quality Western animation recently because of a writer's strike stalling production, the United States of Anime have been slowly expanding their borders, either by buying land from other fandom or taking them by force.

Eastern fandoms in general have been growing with the rise of Manhwas and Danmei.

The former hubs of western fandom such the Potterverse or the Superwholock union are in decline.

Potterverse because the series has essentially ended due to author controversy, and the SWS Union because of the controversial end of one of 1/3 of it's fandom.

There is still hope for the Western fandoms with new fandoms being created for Good Omens and Our Flag Means Death.

On the other hand there's an equal rise in fandoms in the USA with the rise of JJK (although there have been reports of riots in the fanspace due to a very popular character being killed off) and Chainsaw man.

There have even been reports that the Old Hetalia fandom is not actually dead.

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In the Marked AU, is it generally known what the batmark means? Do marked people and their relatives know from the start that they are to be protectors, or do they have to discover it themselves along the way? And does the mark mean you have to be a vigilante or can you protect Gotham some other way?

Having the mark means that you're in the vigilante business in some way, shape or form. Whether it's being a vigilante yourself, or helping vigilantes in the background like Alfred.

So far, the average person doesn't know what the mark means, they just think it's an odd birthmark.

The only reason the batfamily knows about it is because, Bruce specifically started to research the mark and made the connection between it and the vigilante business.

But even then, not much is known about it, other than the fact that it's related to one of Gotham's many curses.

The marked person usually doesn't know why they are marked, they just feel a strong urge to be a vigilante or end up in situations where they have to be a vigilante. It's basically a canon event for them.

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Chapter 2:

The first time Bruce's heart shattered, he saw his parents shot dead in front of him.

The second time his heart shattered, he was carrying Jason's broken body out of a destroyed warehouse.

After Jason's death, Bruce's mind would not let him rest. He didn't deserve to, not after failing his son that badly.

Sounds of Jason screaming for Bruce, mixed with the Joker's cacophony of gory clangs of crowbar cracking bone, were etched into his mind.

His thoughts took over his life.

He should've noticed that Jason had left to go meet up with his so called "mother".

He needed to be better, Gotham needed to be safer.

He will make Gotham safe.

It started with him cracking down on the Joker gang, but then he started to expand the list, any criminal who hurt kids would face his wrath.

All he would see in his mind's eye as he punched them to bloody unconsciousness was the Joker's face.

Batman might have broken his oath if he had caught sight of Joker during those days.

In the middle of the haze filled bloodbath that was Bruce's life after Jason's death, he somehow managed to miss a curious pair of eyes following him from rooftop to rooftop.

The first time he met Tim, Bruce flinched.

Another dark haired child with determination sparking in his eyes.

He can't do this again.

It got worse when he said he wanted to be Robin.

"Batman needs a Robin." He stated matter of factly.

Even though his hands trembled his eyes were locked with Bruce's own.

Tim was scared but determined.

"Robin's done, he's dead. No one else can be Robin again." Bruce croaked out. The kid's face looked crestfallen.

Good, maybe he'll avoid Batman from now on.

Bruce should've known it wouldn't be that easy. Tim had somehow managed to get Dick on his side.

How he managed to do that was a mystery, as Bruce himself was iced out of Dick's life.

Their communication being brief and work related.

The final straw was when Alfred managed to corner him in the library.

Jason's favourite spot in the manor.

"Master Bruce, you cannot keep avoiding young master Tim forever." Alfred stated

"It's for his own good Alfred." Bruce snapped not even looking up at him.

"Is it now? The boy's been running around with barely a jacket on in this cold, doing dangerous detective work to try and gain your approval." Alfred replied with a pointed stare.

"I tried to dissuade him." Bruce muttered.

"He's marked, you know that won't work." He sighed.

"Alfred I can't make him Robin, end of discussion." He replied in a frustrated huff.

In the end Alfred got his way.

He always did.

But the feeling wasn't the same. He didn't feel proud or happy when he saw Robin in the field anymore. Just relief that he's survived another day.

He kept a close eye on Tim as well, checking in via comms during patrol and spying in his bedroom to ensure that he hadn't snuck off into the chilly Gotham night.

He can't fail another Robin.

Until he did.

Tim had been caught by the Joker gang and he didn't even trust Bruce enough to call for help. He had multiple bruises and a dislocated shoulder.

He got away alive, but it could've gone worse.

Much worse.

Should he ban Tim from being Robin, should he tell his parents?

No that won't work, the Drakes barely seem involved in their son's life, Tim would probably find a way to circumvent the ban. The kid was too stubborn for his own good.

He was getting a headache.

Bruce rubbed his mark absently as he pondered on what to do.

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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Batman - All Media Types, Batman (Comics), Batman and Robin (Comics), Batman: Wayne Family Adventures (Webcomic), Robin (Comics), Red Robin (Comics) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Relationships: Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Tim Drake & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown & Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown & Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Damian Wayne Characters: Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain, Alfred Pennyworth, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Ra's al Ghul, Talia al Ghul Additional Tags: Angst with a Happy Ending, Batfamily Shenanigans (DCU), Batfamily (DCU), Protective Batfamily (DCU), Tim Drake Has Self-Worth Issues, Tim Drake has the self preservation instincts of a wet paper bag Summary:

Tim Drake is benched from being Robin, so he decides to ignore Bruce's orders and infiltrate the league by himself. In the process he may just learn how to be a part of a family.

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Tim Drake Acquires Three (3) Siblings:

Chapter 1:

It was the Joker's fault.

Tim hadn't intended to be captured by the Joker gang. He was just there to do a routine patrol, stop a couple muggings and be on his merry way.

Instead, he managed to fall face first into an ambush set to capture Robin. He managed to fight off the joker lackeys and got away with only a few scrapes and bruises, maybe a dislocated shoulder as well.

When he got back to the cave, he didn't know what he was expecting, maybe a grunt of approval, or if he was really lucky, a pat on the head for doing his job well.

That wasn't what happened.

He got benched.

Indefinitely.

Officially, the reason was so that he could fully heal before returning to the field.

Unofficially, it was so that Bruce could re-evaluate whether having a Robin at all was a good idea.

He knew he wasn't as good as Dick or Jason, judging from how friendly Bruce used to be when out on patrol with them.

Tim had proof.

Photos upon photos of Dick climbing on Batman while B silently smiled, or pictures with Jason where he would get a pat on the back with a "good work, chum." tacked on.

Tim got none of that.

The most he got from Bruce were grunts of affirmation meaning that he had heard what Tim had said, or the occasional soft 'hrn' which meant that he was thinking.

He knew he wasn't wanted. He knew that Bruce had chosen the other two while all he had done was push himself into the life of a man grieving the loss of his son.

A flash of shame shot through him as he thought of the first time he cornered Bruce to give him the elevator pitch on why he needed a Robin.

B gave him a batglare so full of venom that Tim thought his skin would be stripped off his flesh.

"Robin's done, he's dead. No one else can be Robin again." Was the curt reply.

Tim winced at his own stupidity when he heard that. Of course Bruce would think he was trying to replace Jason. He needed to clear this up immediately.

But Tim was never great with words. His second attempt may as well have had him arguing with a brick wall. The second he opened his mouth, Batman grappled away without even hearing a word he said.

But Batman needed a Robin. So he went to the one person who understood this better than anyone else; Dick Grayson, the first Robin, or as he was known as now, Nightwing.

The trip to Bludhaven was hard, but convincing Dick was harder. He was almost as vehemently against the idea of there being another Robin as Batman was. 

After assuring him that he had no intention of taking Jason's place and showing him all the graphs and statistics he had on how violent Batman was becoming, Dick finally relented.

Even with Dick's support, it had been a pain to convince Bruce. It was ultimately Alfred's approval of him that allowed him to become Robin.

However, his trials didn't end there. Every decision he made, every step he took was scrutinized by Batman. He had to prove himself everyday that he was capable of being Robin.

Today, he thought he'd done well. He'd fought off his attackers, he kept his head down and didn't make a fuss.

He didn't even call for back up lest he interrupt Bruce while he was doing something important.

Tim didn't understand why he was benched.

But then it clicked. 

Dick or Jason wouldn't have gotten caught in the first place. All this time he thought he'd done well when in reality he was miles behind where they used to be.

Tim felt cold as he ate his dinner. Bruce excused himself and went up to his bedroom.

At Alfred's behest, he went to bed as well.

If his tears stained the pillow, no one else needed to know.