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electricgg · 28 days ago

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Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land

Chapter 5: Get Along With The Voices Inside Of My Head

Masterlist

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 (Here!) / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9 /

Adolescence is a broad concept.

It is the period of transition between childhood and adulthood. It includes big changes, from the body to how they relate to the outside world.

It also qualifies as the most painful and awkward stage in somebody’s life, which comes hand in hand with pushing boundaries and breaking scheduled patterns.

Patterns that Timothy Drake had taken years to figure out and were now as broken as the old vase he had hidden from Alfred for the past two years.

He didn’t like it. Not one bit.

Clicking furiously at the wide keyboard of the batcomputer before rolling away in his chair with a frustrated groan, Tim rubbed his face roughly with his still-gloved hands, as if the action itself could take his mind off the subject that has been bothering him for the past four days (not that he would ever admit to himself how much it was bothering him).

That girl.

Jesus, where to even begin?

Not only had she disrupted her assigned schedule, but she had also flipped completely on her behaviour and structured habits.

(Y/N) Wayne had been an easy person to read. From the very moment her existence was revealed to the public eye. Way before he even became part of the family.

A child who had blocked trauma, shoved into the hands of a man who had just found out was her biological father.

A girl exposed to bloodthirsty reporters and paparazzi, developing a fear of the spotlight, and making her look like a fool in front of cameras.

A kid who got the moniker of ‘The Embarrassment of The Wayne’ and made sure to live up to that name.

There were four falls in water fountains, two dresses ripped off in the middle of galas, five accidental stumbles that injured multiple civilians, and multiple newspaper articles about whether she was truly related to Bruce once Damian took the public's attention with his introduction.

She was a walking hazard and a whole meal for the media vultures.

And that was only for the public, personality was a whole different beast.

She was meek, quiet, and too polite.

Too polite for Tim’s taste.

Always picking up his stray coffee cups (even when they were so dirty and he was pretty sure something was alive at the bottom of them). Looking over his shoulder, and asking him if he was getting any rest. Leaving him tea outside his door when he hadn’t left his desk for days. Asking him if he was eating. Asking him if he had taken a bath. Asking if he needed any help with a case.

Asking and asking and asking and asking and asking.

It infuriated him to no end.

It felt as if she was faking it. Nobody could care that much without wanting something in exchange. Not without an ulterior motive.

So he took some drastic measures.

Learning her routine was an easy task. She would wake up around four in the morning on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to do her extensive morning routine. Tuesdays and Thursdays, she would sleep in until seven in the morning.

In the early days, she would trim her hair ends and retouch her roots so her natural hair color was never in sight. Keeping the same length and not a hair out of place. She was very precise with it and took her time while doing so.

Next, she would take a shower and lock herself in her room for half an hour or so. He never knew why exactly, but it was something she always did. Without a single miss.

After that, she would wander around the manor until she reached the piano room. She would practice until Alfred came to find her for breakfast and take her to school.

Whenever Tim heard the piano in the morning, he knew it was time to either wake up or go to bed depending on which situation he found himself in.

If she didn’t touch the piano, he wouldn’t know what day it was. And depending on the day, he would know how long he would have to wait in his room so he wouldn’t have to listen to her obnoxious questions and see her wide eyes.

(Y/N) hasn’t touched the piano in the past four days.

And it was driving him mad.

“I just don’t get it! She loves hugs!”

Along with Dick’s pity party.

The older man was doing pull-ups by the training mats, still wearing his suit minus the mask. Grunting as he took deep breaths when his head reached over the metal bar he was hanging off.

“She runs at me the moment I come to visit. Every single time. And now she just doesn’t even look my way?”

Tim sighed, giving Dick a glance from the corner of his eye as hands slid off his face.

“When was the last time you even cared about such things?” he deadpanned, turning his chair to face the acrobat.

Dick had his own place. He didn’t live at the manor anymore, hadn’t for years. Tim could count with just one hand how many times Dick had come to visit them in the past three months.

Why was he acting like he knew her better than Tim himself?

“Since she did a switch on her personality!” he said before letting go of the pole and landing on his feet inside the mat.

Dick grunted as he stretched out his arms upwards, making his way towards the computer and picking up a cold water bottle on a nearby bench.

He shook his head, opening the cap and taking big, loud gulps from the bottle as Tim turned once again toward the computer with a roll of eyes.

“She is a completely different person, and don’t pretend you haven’t noticed too.”

Of course, he had. Because he actually lived with her.

Before he could snap back at him, a deep, gravely voice interrupted their conversation.

“What seems to be the problem here?” Bruce questioned, emerging from the zeta tube and pulling off his cowl. His footsteps echoed against the walls as he reached the two young men.

They didn’t even hear the zeta tubes powering up.

Dick crossed his arms with a glare pointed towards the bat, leaning against the table while Tim gave the man a simple side eye.

That made Bruce lift an eyebrow, not expecting that reaction from the boys.

Everyone had been acting strangely as of late.

And he was getting tired of not knowing why.

“Would any of you care to explain what has you both unfocused and distracted?”

“We’re not distracted…” Tim muttered while tapping on his keyboard, hoping that Bruce would leave the subject alone.

“It’s nothing.” Dick shrugged, moving his gaze to the side.

“If that’s true,” the older man grunted while glancing between the two of them. “Then why are we still trying to figure out the missing kids case?”

That made the boys sigh and grunt under their breaths.

True, they haven’t been able to find any other clues on the case. It was all leading to dead ends. No similarities between. Schools, families, extracurriculars, age, neighborhoods, parents' jobs, and even the locations of disappearances did not link to one another.

There was no way the cases could be linked to one another. Too many differences.

And yet, they couldn’t ignore their gut telling them that they had to be connected.

But what?

“It’s just… You know who.” Dick said while rubbing the back of his neck with an awkard air as Bruce questioning gaze landed on him.

“No, I do not who you are refering to.” his stern and direct tone making Tim and Dick share side glances.

Tim spun around on his chair, facing Bruce with a deadpan expression. “It’s (Y/N). He refers to (Y/N).”

Silence fell between them.

“...What about her?” Bruce dragged the question. Shoulders tense and eyes sharp.

“Jeez, I don’t know?!” Dick snapped back, lifiting himself up and moving his arms around as he talked. “Maybe because she has been acting like a different person, refuses to talk to me, or even look my way, and even curses like a sailor?!”

He whipped his head towards Tim, pointing at him with his index finger.

“How does she even know curse words? She is too young to know those words!”

While Dick continued on his ranting, Tim simply spun back to the computer. He was controlling himself from snapping at Dick, since he was acting as if she was some kind of little kid that he knew everything about.

And also, because he was pissed at Bruce. Since he knew very well that the man was not aware of what had been happening in his own house, with his own kids.

“He wouldn’t know, Dick. Bruce has been out for the past few days.” Too busy with some Justice League business. Kon had mentioned on their last call the other day that it had to do with the ruler of Genosha. Something about an alliance of sorts.

The older boy came to a stop from his rant to look at the too quiet man. He suddenly found himself rubbing the bridge of his nose and looking way older than he was.

“...Bruce.”

The man sighed tiredly, covering his mouth and looking at the floor. A deep hum leaving his throat.

“You have seen her, right?”

Tim smiled smugly to himself at the answering silence behind him.

His family always forgets how petty he can be.

╰───────────✧──────────────╮

“How about this one?”

“ .. / -.. --- -. .----. - / .-.. .. -.- . / .. - “

The young girl groaned as she threw out another old cardigan over the overgrown pile of clothes lying by the bed. It varied from shirts, pants, dresses, and many other clothes that she had been fishing out of the old wardrobe for the past three hours.

Who knew a ghost could be picky with what her old body could and couldn’t wear?

It all started when the only way to communicate with Wayne’s Ghost (whom she was calling from now on until she found a better nickname) was by the flickering of the light from her lamp.

It was simple at first. One flicker meant yes, and two flickers meant no. But it left her unsatisfied and also limited communication. She wanted to have a real conversation with someone who understood what she was actually going through. Which leads to the next step.

Learning Morse code.

It wasn’t hard! After borrowing a few books from the library about the subject (which she did only after she was sure none of the weird guys were wandering around the manor), and speed-reading through the pages, she had learned Morse code in under five hours of relentless reading.

She was not sure if that was normal, but nothing about her situation was normal.

Looking now at the very empty closet, a sense of sadness began building at the pit of her stomach.

Even with her permission, it felt invasive to take out something so personal just to make space for her own stuff.

Especially after listening to the recordings.

Those words were still rumbling in between her ears.

˖˖˖˖˖˖˖˖˖˖—》✧《—˖˖˖˖˖˖˖˖˖˖˖

Diary Entry: Year 4

“Today, Mister Alfred got me a letter and some gifts from my mom. I don’t know how she got them out of the hospital, but I’m sure Uncle had something to do with it. I’ll write to him and hopefully get Alfred to send it.”

“I’m sure he and Father are not talking to each other yet.”

“I get it. Kinda. He did bad things. But he’s always been nice to me and never fails to send gifts on my birthday. And it’s always expensive stuff too!”

“Sometimes, I wish he were the one to take me in. And it makes me feel bad because I know Father is trying to do the best for me and the family.”

“I wish I weren’t so hard to handle. Maybe, that way, they wouldn’t be so busy all the time and spend time with me.”

“...It’s my tenth birthday today. Alfred got me new pencils and paints. Mom sent me a necklace with a card explaining what it meant, and many of her old clothes, too. And uncle got me a green jacket that’s way too big on me, but it’s cozy at least. I’m sure I can grow into it.”

“Father’s been locked in his office since last night. I knocked a couple of times, but he didn’t answer. He’s probably tired. I’m sure he’ll remember this time.”

“Dick promised to bring ice cream today too, but he hasn’t answered my calls today. He could be stuck on a case, too, so I understand he’s busy.”

“And Jason left some cookies outside my room this morning. I ate them before breakfast, but Alfred doesn’t know it yet, so shhh!!”

“Besides that, this year wasn’t so bad. I got good grades at school and got to visit Mom a couple of times, too. In the last visit, the guards let us talk without the glass window between us. I was happy to be able to hug her again after so long.”

“...I miss her a lot. I miss our old house too. The manor is big and all, but it’s very cold.”

“And lonely.”

“I shouldn’t complain… Father has done everything to give me a good life. But I wish Mom would get better and come back for me.”

“...I want my mom back. I want her back so bad, and it makes me sad, too.”

“I think that could be my wish this year. Wish for my mom to get better soon.”

“I think it’s a good wish for this year, right?”

˖˖˖˖˖˖˖˖˖˖—》✧《—˖˖˖˖˖˖˖˖˖˖˖

Yeah, that made her tear up and take a couple of breaks in between listening to the recordings.

Mom was a strong word.

It made her heart tight, and so many overwhelming feelings flooded over her.

Warmth from tight hugs. Soothing lullabies in a language she could not place. Soft fingers running through her hair. Loving words in a voice she couldn’t put a face to. But she knew who it was. It wasn’t hard to figure it out.

She also wanted her mom back.

The flickering of the lamp on her nightstand made her wipe away any stray tears, sniffling her nose with the back of her hand and taking a deep breath.

“Alright, I’m fine. Totally fine.” She muttered to herself as she looked at the closet once again.

On the far corner, a deep green jacket caught her attention.

She took it out of the closet, holding it by the hanger as she looked at the piece of clothing with a growing smile.

On the tag of the neck, the initials U.H. in a very fancy font stood out. The young girl had the feeling that this was one of the gifts of the recordings had mentioned.

It was a forest green, with two vertical white stripes running down the sleeves until they reached the cuffs. The material was lightweight, with a soft fabric on the inside, but breathable. It had a total of four pockets, two outside and two inside on each side.

Without thinking about it too much, she took it off the hanger and put the jacket on.

When she turned to the mirror, there was a grin on her lips.

It fitted almost perfectly. It was a bit long on the sleeves, but she could roll them a bit, and it would look stylish either way.

As she messed around with the zipper and the neck of the jacket, she rambled to her companion out loud about the look.

“I know it’s a gift from your Uncle, and I’m trying to find my style, so if you don’t want me to keep it on, that’s totally fine by-”

The lights flickered brightly.

“ -.- . . .--. / .. - .-.-.- / .. - / .-.. --- --- -.- ... / .-- .- -.-- / -... . - - . .-. / --- -. / -.-- --- ..- .-.-.- “

She was stunned for a few moments. Then, a soft smile and glassy eyes reflected in the mirror, fingers playing with the hems of the soft fabric.

“Thank you.”

A sharp, cold breeze ruffled her hair, making her laugh and swipe at the empty air around her.

╰───────────✧──────────────╮

“-and I need the report of her latest appointment sent straight to my mail, is that clear?”

When the meek assistant agreed to his demands, Bruce hung up the call with an exasperated exhale. Leaning back on his chair as he calmed down his anger and frustration.

The incompetence of Gotham Central Hospital personnel was something to be studied.

It wasn’t exactly their fault. He hasn’t been in touch about Bianca’s case for about a year now, but he had been expecting that the staff had been taking care of her and keeping up with her mental state.

Especially after the last incident involving her.

And that was another incoming headache.

The boys had been acting out of sorts throughout the week. Dick had been actively coming to the manor so often due to current case in his hands and his sudden need to share some of time with (Y/N). Tim is frustrated over not getting any proper sleep and not finding any sort of shared link in the case. And Damian was… well, he kept mostly to himself, but he could see something was bothering him by how much he was muttering and slamming the training dummies harder than usual.

And then, there was (Y/N).

Bruce could admit he wasn’t a great dad. All of his children could testify and give proof of it.

But he knew he had failed her, especially when it came to being a father.

And it wasn’t her fault at all. It was all on him.

Because he was a coward who couldn’t face a child who bore the face of the people he had failed to help.

It wasn’t an excuse, but it was a reason.

Which was why he always paid for packages of gray contact lenses and expensive black hair dye.

If Bianca were in her right mind, she would have shot him right in the head without hesitation for allowing their girl to change herself simply because he couldn’t look her in the eye.

‘...maybe it isn’t too late to fix this.’

Bruce rubbed his face, feeling the stubble on his jaw since he hadn’t shaved in the past few days. The negotiations with Erik Lehnsherr had been draining, and with lots of conditions on how the Justice League could set foot on the country without getting blown up on the spot.

Even then, they weren’t able to reach an agreement.

A sudden notification made his phone vibrate, taking his mind off his deep thoughts.

It was from the hospital. Bianca’s current lab tests and consults, attached to the mail. That made him relax a little bit.

Until his sight focused on the sender.

Gotham Central Hospital: Psych Ward

All of the reports for the police and files they had been searching for the case, there wasn’t a single document from the hospitals. Medical issues, birth certificates, laboratory analysis, and vaccines up to date.

They hadn’t searched for medical history yet.

Bruce got up from his chair and quickly made his way back to the cave, a thought hiding in the back of his head as the case took hold of his priorities once again.

She can wait. I will make it right, but she can wait.

╰───────────✧──────────────╮

By the time she was done, it was almost 10:30 PM.

She wasn’t planning on throwing all the clothes away, even if Wayne had told her she could do it. It would be a waste to do so, and at the moment, she didn’t have a style in mind that would suit her yet. So, for now, she would have to use some of the clothes that Wayne agreed to let her keep.

The pattern of shades of green was pretty obvious, but she wasn’t gonna complain. It felt right to use green.

Which was why she didn’t take off the jacket from the moment she put it on.

Instead of shoving all the discarded clothes into trash bags, she put them into boxes that Alfred got her once he knew what she was doing with the clothes.

��A change of style and removing old things is a sign of new beginnings, my dear. Don’t feel shame for it.”

That old man was easily becoming her favorite person in the world.

After Billy, of course.

And her ghost companion, too.

…and maybe her mom as well-

A sharp knock at the door broke her away from the difficult task of tapping the boxes that were overflowing with clothes. She didn’t move from her spot on the floor, sitting with her legs crossed and fingers with pieces of tape stuck on them.

It was usually Alfred who always knocked and asked to be let in before opening the door. The other guys, thankfully, hadn’t come to look for her at her room in the past few days.

So, whoever knocked at her door wasn’t someone she knew.

“Hell, no,” she muttered while cutting another stripe of tape with her teeth, glaring at the door as if it had offended her.

“I ain’t talking to anybody. I’m too tired to handle their issues.”

Sticking the stripe over the absolute abstract monstrosity on top of the box (better safe than sorry. Wayne had already told her it was too much tape, but she wasn’t risking the box busting open while taking it to the thrift store tomorrow with Alfred after her follow-up visit with Dr. Vidal.) Curiosity began to creep into the back of her head.

Wayne hadn’t said anything for a while, maybe she was resting. ( Do ghosts go to sleep? Do they even need sleep?)

It wasn’t Alfred, for sure. He would have said something, and a few minutes had already passed by.

The gremlin? (Nah, he was still pissed off about the orange juice thing. His fault for being too slow to reach for it.)

The pale hallway ghost? (Pretty sure he only stuck to his room, judging by the pile of dishes outside a door a few halls down.)

Not Touchy Guy, probably. (Almost biting his finger off yesterday was enough warning unless he was THAT stupid.)

…So who?

Before she could think about too much, in the blink of an eye, she stood before the door with a hand already on the handle. A few papers flew off behind her, the gush of wind making the bell wind chime hanging by the window sound off.

Seems like her own body acts before she even finishes the thought.

‘Gotta get a grip on that, too,’ she noted while biting her lips inward, opening the door slowly, and looking into the hallway.

It was empty and dark. Not a person on sight.

Rolling her eyes as she began to close the door once again, her gaze landed on the floor.

Leaning against the wall by her door, on the floor lay a purple backpack.

She leaned forward and picked it up, noticing how heavy it was with a small grunt. Before going back into her room, she looked back into the hall, waiting for someone to pop by or something.

It didn’t happen.

Once she was back in her room, she climbed on the bed and opened the backpack. It was brand new, the material without a single scratch or dirt on it. And the books inside it as well, the smell of fresh paper and ink emitting from it. In the front pocket, she found something that made her open her mouth in shock.

A phone. A brand new phone.

She quickly turned it on, easily excited over having something like that on her hands.

‘I never had a phone before! Thank you, whoever you are! I owe you big!’

It didn’t have a lot of apps or stuff. The picture roll was still there, judging by the thousands of pics in there. But it had only one contact registered on it.

Jay.

Said contact also had sent a message.

‘Take care of your stuff. You need books to pass your classes.’

‘And stay out of trouble’

That made her snort, scratching her cheek while looking down at the text and at the bag. A smile grew on her lips at the thoughtful gift.

And then it was wiped out when the sudden realization hit her.

“Fuck, I forgot about school!”

╰───────────✧──────────────╮

Author's Note: Hello everyone! Hope everyone is doing amazing and well. My trip was great, I really needed to disconnect for bit before facing finals weeks (which I haven't cried yet so it's a big success!!) Lots of important details in this chapter and I can't wait to see what y'all think about and come up with lol. I'll add on the translation to the morse code later bc I'm posting this at 1:40 in the morning and i got a final presentation in the afternoon, so wish me luck!! Sending lots of hugs and love, GG✨

Morse Code Translation:

( .. / -.. --- -. .----. - / .-.. .. -.- . / .. -) I don't like it.

(-.- . . .--. / .. - .-.-.- / .. - / .-.. --- --- -.- … / .-- .- -.-- / -… . - - . .-. / --- -. / -.-- --- ..- .-.-.-) Keep it. It looks way better on you.

Tag List:

@bat1212 @kneelforloki @1abi @galaxypurplerose @yhin-gg @cxcilla @momentomoribitch @stargirl404 @initial-ari @welpthisisboring @icefox8155 @bunniotomia @alittlelostmoonchild @devotedlyshamelessdetective @shycreatorreview @nirvanaxx1942 @soulsire @ryuushou @rinkydinkythinky @lithiumval @ithoughtthinks @reeyy0-2 @cssammyyarts @lordbugs @ilovecoffe0 @kore-of-the-underworld @fortunatelydifferentqueen

Bonus Memes:

#platonic yandere #yan batfam #yandere batboys #yandere batfamily #neglected reader #platonic batfam #ancient dreams in a modern land #mutant reader #x-men #yandere #yandere batfam x reader #yandere batfam #platonic yandere batfam #yandere batfamily x reader #batfamily x reader #batfam x neglected reader #batfam x reader #Spotify

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confessedlyfannish · 1 year ago

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Writing Prompt #11

It's an innocent ("please," Jason sneers, "there's nothing innocent about a plagiaristic propaganda machine encouraging minors to dance for sick ol' pervs while it spews misogynistic hate speech.'"

"okay, boomer,"

"the fuck did you just call me, replacement?") TikTok, one of those ones that kind of simmers in the background for a few weeks until someone with a decent enough following posts it on the Platform Formerly Known as Twitter and from there it seriously catches traction, blowing up until Tim knocks on Bruce's office door, phone in hand. Damian stands behind him, arms crossed and clearly simmering.

Bruce, fresh off a series of zoom conferences, raises an eyebrow.

"Okay, so you haven't seen it," Tim decides, striding forward.

Bruce's eyebrow jumps a smidge higher, on the edge of concern, as Tim thrusts his phone into his grasp.

"So," he begins, reaching over to refresh the mobile page "there's a video that's been making the rounds on Twitter and—well you should probably see it," He sighs over Damian's scoff as he clicks through the pop-up asking him to sign in or join TikTok, and presses "Watch Again", unmuting the video.

🎶 "Doo, badoo-badoo-badoo Badoo-badoo-badoo-badoo,"🎶 an upbeat background song hums as someone, presumably a student, films a school hallway with their phone. They walk past students talking near their lockers, some of whom flash peace signs and silly grins as the camera swings their way before continuing on.

But the main point Bruce gets stuck on is the all lowercase white text at the center of the screen that an automated woman's voice awkwardly narrates:

"when you go to school with bruce wayne's other long lost lovechild"

The student filming comes up behind a much taller student who faces away from him, in conversation with a black haired pale teenaged girl. She spots the cameraman and shoots him a confused, disgruntled look, saying something to the boy who then turns around.

Bruce quietly observes as the camera zooms in on a boy around Tim's page, possibly older. Tall and broad-shouldered, with a strong jaw, he raises an eyebrow at the one filming, looking beyond the camera, pitch black hair with blue undertones falling into his blue eyes. The camera momentarily zooms too far into those eyes then abruptly pulls back as he quirks a puzzled smile at the viewer, mouthing out an easily understandable "hi?".

The TikTok ends and seamlessly transitions to a person balancing their cat on an exercise ball with minimal success and this time Bruce presses the Watch Again button. The heart on the right side claims 750k likes.

Damian scoffs, louder, as it ends. "Clearly it is a hoax, but it has been popular among my classmates."

"The board hasn't made much noise about it—" Tim starts.

"And they won't," Bruce says, lifting his eyes from his phone. "Wayne Industries doesn't give statements on videos like these, no matter how viral they become. I've been getting lovechild claims since before I adopted Dick."

Which Tim knows, which is why his insistence on showing Bruce this one raises his hackles. He pins Tim down with a stare and despite Tim's perfected PR mask, he can see Tim is unsettled.

"B...he really, really looks like you." Tim admits. Damian scoffs for a third time and Tim shoots him a glare, "I get it, you don't see it, but you haven't seen the pictures of Bruce when he was younger."

"I don't need to!" Damian says angrily. "You're all being ridiculous!"

"All?" Bruce asks. Tim shifts awkwardly. "The family group chat has been talking," he says.

"I see," Bruce says. Because he does. Many claim Damian to be his doppelganger, but the boy actually favors Talia not just in skin tone but in the shape and color of his eyes, as well as the soft slope of her mouth and ears. Whether those features will sharpen once he goes through puberty is anyone's guess.

But this young man has Bruce's eyes. Martha's eyes.

That night they have a suspiciously full house for dinner, with even Jason dropping in, but no one says anything until Barbara wheels in for dessert, carrying a manila folder on her lap.

"What?" she says, when everyone stares. "Dick told me it was crème brûlée today!"

Bruce extends a hand wordlessly, and Barbara sheepishly hands the folder over.

"Bruce," she says, before he can open it, "I wouldn't have looked into this normally, but,"

"Just say it," Jason says, leaning back in his chair. "Take away the gray hairs, the receding hairline, and the wrinkles and the kid's a dead match."

"Take it back, Todd," Damian growls, "Father has a very full head of hair!"

"Not to mention a failed track record at keeping it in his pants, Exhibit A," Jason continues, pointing a fork at Damian, "oh wait," he says gleefully, "kid is definitely 18, so I guess that would make you Exhibit B!"

The table erupts, cutlery tinkling as Damian gets a knee up on the table to hurl himself at a cackling Todd, Dick jumping up to grab him as the others lean out of the way—

"Ahem!" Everyone stops cold as Alfred stands in the doorway, porcelain ramekins of crème brûlée stacked perfectly on a silver tray. Under his gaze, everyone sits back down, Damian and Jason both quietly uttering a "Sorry Alfie/Alfred," as they straighten up.

Bruce is oblivious to the chaos, Barbara biting her lip beside him as he stares blankly inside the folder at the printed copy of an adoption certificate.

Two days and several million likes later, another TikTok goes viral from the same user. Caught in the moment as whoever is filming runs up to the group, the same young man is chatting with a blonde in a red letterman jacket, a partially formed crowd around them. Even with one leg still in the cafeteria table, he towers over everyone.

"—sh. Look, we're all possibly Bruce Wayne's son!" the boy snarks. He has his hands out, palms up as if he's making a great point, and as he looks around he catches sight of the cameraman and his smirk drops.

"Ah Mac, c'mon dude not again—" and the TikTok ends.

#danny phantom #batman #dp x dc #dp x dc au #dp x dc prompt #dp x dc crossover #bruce wayne #jason todd #danny fenton #my writing

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occasionalsnippets · 5 months ago

Note

I like to know more about Damian and Talia's relationship with fd au reader

Taglist: @dragondevinity, @lonely-star2044, @sheep-from-rad, @ilxandra, @thethingwiththefeathers, @star-wars-lycanwing-bat, @sackofsadstuff, @zonked-times, @paastaboi, @venfia, @fantasy-angelo, @linaisadream

Talia keeps tabs on her beloved so obviously, she's well aware of when Bruce takes in a new Robin. And with that Robin comes an unexpected variable, his blood sister.

You do not catch her eye, not at first. Not until she finds Jason Todd and dunks him in a Lazarus pit. Not until she finds you being Robin while your little brother rests within the walls of Wayne manor. Not until you become the CEO of the failing Drake Industries.

The first thing of note, Jason Todd recognizes you and your brother. The pits are unpredictable in their effects and even she was uncertain of about much Jason Todd would remember after being taken out. Yet he knew of you. The feelings are vague, ambiguous at best but never malevolent. It is enough to curb some of his anger at being replaced.

It gives him enough stability that she introduces him to Damian.

The one thing that is blatantly obvious is that you care deeply for your brother, for Timothy Drake. The two of you are more affectionate than any other pair of siblings she has seen and certainly closer than she is with any of her own siblings.

The best indicator that you are Robin and not your brother is that you play. Not in some childish innocent way but rather sharply and precisely. You dance around the points you want to make but the meaning is clear nevertheless. She has been very careful to conceal Damian's existence from her beloved but he has not escaped your notice. Yet, you haven’t told Bruce. How curious.

Perhaps it is that curiosity that drives her to meet you as yourself and not as Robin. Her father takes an interest in your brother. She takes an interest in you.

Talia finds herself waiting in your office at Drake Industries on a weekday afternoon. There’s a pleasantly soft melody being played on a CD somewhere. When you enter, there is no surprise, only a slightest trace of amusement.

Without the mask, you are still every bit as sharp and cold as her favourite blades. It's a delight to have a conversation with you.

A thought arises. You would make a lovely sibling for her Damian.

She is under no delusion that Damian will settle nicely with Bruce at first but with you there to ease the transition, it just might work out better than anticipated. She may even introduce him sooner than she had originally planned.

You, on the other hand, have no idea why Talia Al Ghul of all people keeps showing up at your office. You guys don't really do much other than gossip (and occasionally, you fight off the assassins she sends) but it's become something of a routine. It's weird. You take it in stride.

As for Damian, there were several things his mother had told him before she left him on his father's doorstep. The first of which was that you were to become his sister.

There is no reason to doubt his mother's words. You spend most nights at the manor, you attend family dinners and you are very involved with the family's night life. In addition, you hold great influence over the household, enough to block his attempts at claiming his rightful role as Robin.

You are endlessly helpful in integrating him into the family. He is... reluctantly grateful for your assistance. The others are uncertain of what to do with him. Grayson and father coddle him. Todd does not remain within the manor often. Cain and Drake are distrustful. You remain steadfast and steady.

He can see why mother is fond of you. You are an acceptable sibling. Strong willed. Successful. Far better than the other riff raff father keeps around.

Eventually he does come around to everyone else, though he remains jealous of Tim who clearly holds your affection and the position of Robin. You tell him that it’s Tim’s decision whether he’ll pass on the title or not so he does end up somewhat playing nice with him.

You remain near the center of his life. He continues to go to you for advice, he hands you his marked tests and preens when you praise him, you allow him into the Batcave and teach him about the comms system, and so on.

And then, he finds out you do not consider yourself to be family. You call yourself Tim’s sister but not his. Damian’s first emotion is anger, then betrayal, then jealousy.

Are you simply dense? Have the others done something to make you believe you are unworthy? If so, it must be rectified. Immediately.

His mother had said that you were to be his sister and Damian Al Ghul-Wayne won’t accept anything less than what he is due.

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come-see-our-show · 1 year ago

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I saw an early screening of the Mean Girls movie last night, so here is a summary of my thoughts, comparing the movie musical to the Broadway musical, which I was lucky enough to see live in 2018!

Changed that I liked:

The usage of social media in the Broadway show made it very clear that it was written by adults who didn’t know much about Gen-Z. It was probably one of the worst parts of the show in my opinion. But Tina Fey must have done her research since 2018, because the way the movie uses TikTok, memes, vlogging, and FaceTime to push the story forward worked VERY well. I think there were some influencer cameos, but it didn’t feel they were included to show how “young and hip” they were, It actually added authenticity.

The diversity within the cast and changing last names to reflect the characters’ backgrounds (Karen Smith ➡️ Karen Shetty, Janis Sarkisian ➡️ Janis 'Imi'ike)

Cutting down “Meet the Plastics.” It’s a very exposition-heavy song and doesn’t need to be super long, even though the full version is quite catchy and fun.

All of the new jokes landed so well, probably because Tina Fey’s writing style is better suited for the screen as opposed to the stage.

This is more of a comparison of the musical vs. the original film, but a big change was The Plastics’ weaponized wokeness (which I talk about here).

The production design for most of the songs was very different. The stage musical has a lot of rock songs, which were changed to a pop sound for the movie. I personally prefer rock musicals, but it was a good way to give the movie a separate identity from its predecessor so it doesn’t risk becoming a carbon copy. It worked on some songs (“Someone Gets Hurt” and “World Burn”) but not on others (“A Cautionary Tale” and “Revenge Party”).

Cutting the joke about Regina’s ass being big. It was a very low-brow joke, which I’m not a fan of, and was just really immature. Thank God that was changed to her falling, which still shows her being embarrassed without her body being the joke.

Explicitly making Janis a lesbian! (It’s only implied in the stage show with “It’s not even true… I only have one butt”) And she goes to prom with a girl while Damien dances with a boy! ALSO THERE’S REJANIS LORE AND IT’S SO HEARTBREAKING I LOVE IT

megan thee stallion just… being there

Miss Norbury and Principal Duvall being a couple and owning a dog together!!!

As a low mezzo, I appreciated whoever decided to lower the key for “I’d Rather Be Me.” I felt very represented 🩷

Having Cady be raised in a single-parent household so it focuses in more on her relationship with her mom. Jenna Fischer was so motherly and sincere and brought a warmth to the movie. Their scene together near the end made me emotional (you’re never too old to ask your parent to stay with you until you fall asleep) (also this is my request to make jenna fischer my mom)

Changes that I didn’t like:

Cutting BOTH of Damian’s solos??? (SHE’S LEAVING!!!!!!!! JUST LIKE MY DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Cutting “More Is Better.” It wasn’t necessarily a memorable song, but it did give both Cady and Aaron more depth, both as separate characters and within their relationship.

While cutting some of the songs helped with pacing, cutting HALF of the score made me forget that it was a musical sometimes, which sucks because I really like musicals!!!

Other stuff:

The movie was marketed horribly. One of my friends didn’t even know it was gonna be a musical because there were no songs in the trailers 💀 (Also, this isn’t just a Mean Girls problem. The Color Purple also didn’t have any songs in the trailer. I didn’t even know Wonka was a musical until I saw it in theaters, so that was a bit of a shock.) If you’re producing a musical movie, maybe your focus groups should be musical fans, because that’s still a HUGE market.

Auliʻi Cravalho’s voice is STUNNING! She and Jaquel Spivey had great chemistry and their friendship felt so genuine!

The opening and ending transitions from the garage were everything to me

The EDITING

Angourie Rice is a great actor and fit Cady perfectly… except for her singing. Out of the entire cast she was easily the weakest in terms of vocals and it was pretty disappointing since she’s the LEAD. I could barely hear her in the new song “What Ifs” because of how quiet and breathy she was. I think it’s a better written song compared to “Roar” though.

Jon Hamm cameo!

Ashley Park cameo!

I cannot stress enough how funny this movie was. I was probably laughing louder than everyone else in the theatre.

I lost my shit during “Meet the Plastics” when Regina unzipped her jacket and Cady was staring at her boobs. She’s just like me fr 🏳️‍🌈

I know that Regina is a horrible person but I couldn’t find it in me to dislike her in the slightest. She just served too much cunt 😩

Christopher Briney is a good actor, but I don't think he was the right choice for Aaron Samuels. I would hate to ridicule anyone for their looks, but it still plays an important part in casting. Aaron is supposed to be a somewhat naive, wholesome, hot jock (and Regina has high standards, so he better be a fucking model). Briney is definitely a cutie, but gives off “smoldering badboy with a secret sensitive side” energy, which isn’t what Aaron should be.

The fantasy sequences (Stupid With Love, Revenge Party, October 3rd). I LOVE when movie musicals USE the medium to tell stories in a way that they can’t on a stage!!!

THE CHOREO!!! Everyone freezing then shaking in “Someone Get Hurt” AHHHH that entire number was HYPNOTIZING!!!!!!!!!!! My friend told me the choreographer’s name is Kyle Hanagami, so shout out to him. (also reneé rapp was so fucking hot while singing that oh my lord)

I will be calling my pimples “face breasts” from now on (avantika ilysm)

DAMIAN’S FRENCH COVER OF THE ICARLY THEME SONG 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

why was there a 0.5 camera shot of cady during revenge party 💀

“I’d Rather Be Me” was so much fun and I felt so fucking empowered. And the transition from the song to the bus was just *chef’s kiss*

“donut worry i am still your freend” 🥺

Lindsay Lohan cameo!!!!!!!!!

NOT ENOUGH RENEÉ RAPP 😭😭

Overall, the movie was not perfect, but the Broadway show already had plenty of flaws, so it’s understandably how that would affect the adaptation. I still a LOT of fun and would definitely see it again. Go stream Snow Angel by Reneé Rapp. i love women 🥰🥰🥰

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smilesheartshugs · 8 months ago

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Gender shenanigans ideas with the bat fam:

Tim and Cas are both enby in the sense that “yeah people put me in this box but I don’t really have another box to go to so might as well be this.”

Jason never felt comfortable in his skin, but it wasn’t until be got dunked in the magical green buff juice. After the rage has cleared up and he’s in an area where he could stop and think he realizes that he may not be a boy. But because of his physique and how necessary he is for crime ally he doesn’t think he can change it. He doesn’t even let himself try out other pronouns. *no he can’t be a girl what are you talking about? Girls can wear the pretty skirts and he can’t*

Dick is gender fluid though usually male or male adjacent. He feels comfortable in his own skin and wears what ever he wants whenever he wants.

Duke was very very young when he found out he was trans and his parents let him transition so you that he just kinda forgets that he’s not cis. No one knows he’s trans but he just genuinely forgets to tell people. He’s been doing his own testosterone for like two years before his parents got jokerized so it kinda just fell through the cracks. He doesn’t feel the need to tell people either he’s just kinda there.

Babs is mtf and confident with her self.

Steph thought she could be enby for a period of time but she’s a cis girly pop. She just doesn’t like being treated like she’s less than and has no interest in “traditional female value” (cough cough misogyny)

Damian is a guy, he has never thought to question his gender. He was told he was a guy since birth so clearly he must be a guy right? Right?? Well he’s obviously not a girl, not that he hates wearing skirts or makeup he’s just not a girl so that means he’s a guy.

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ghostly-bat · 1 month ago

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jondami hc / au (adding to the Dr. Damian au)

So I've been listening to some of the song suggestions but the love me not by Ravyn Lenae song has been looping in my thoughts. I was thinking: while I hate the convoluted case of the volcano age up event but a way to keep it and smooth it over- keep the original age difference of 2-3 years, except the trip happens when Jon is 15 -> Jon is gone the whole summer, after everyone panicking and spending weeks trying to find him but to him, he's been stuck for 2 1/2 years. Damian has been going crazy especially, because thats his best friend & honestly it would be stellar if the timing of this concedes with the passing of Alfred, double whammy of two of his people are gone (supposedly)

Jon returns, now 17, and cue damian going into the fall season becoming as a college and both grappling their own griefs (Jon losing *two* years of his life. Damian grappling with the lost of Alfred and Jon, only to get Jon back). Damian taken time off from superheroing because losing his go-to partner and a grandfather figure too during his transition period of leaving the Robin mantle just... kinda made him freeze. He spent his summer, when not searching for Jon or mourning, throwing himself in volunteer work at a clinic-- discovering a new passion / distraction: working with people as Damian (Al Ghul) Wayne.

So anyways. Fall Semester. Jon always been bright, so its not that steep of an adjustment but he deciding on future and hanging around Damian as a result, bc his college campus is remote from the adults in their lives. Jon is also processing his feelings because previously he had this crush but now... it seems more possible. And this is where that song really inspires me? Jon trapped between being there as a friend, getting so many mixed signals (because Damian is starting to have feelings too but he's conflicted) and realizing that hm. Maybe this is #more?

And then its a slow burn. The two go through college, Damian speeding through to medical school, officially retiring from superheroing in his junior year. The two fight, forgive, date other people-- but theyre epitome "its hard to see you but I wish you were right here" yearners, so their relationships keeps failing. Jon picks up the Superman mantle as Clark begins his retirement transition. It's not until theyre in their mid 20s does their relationship takes off into the romantic.

Damian begins working at a clinic during his medical residency in an underprivileged area, becoming known in the area of his initiatives and quietly funding people's medical procedures who aren't covered by insurance. Jon visits often, and before long the two start rooming in the city -> oh my god they were roommates. Jon is doing his masters (i know people would say journalism but I was thinking Literature 🥹 with goals to be a college instructor in the future). Damian is the first confess and cue a much needed super kiss, lifting off the ground and all.

I have to flesh out more but 🙂‍↕️ these two would be the silliest will-they-wont-they, the kings of codependency even when they fight. Jon pouts like his mother but fusses about Damian and whether he eaten yet and maybe he should go pick up his favorite for lunch (but totally wont leave a nice little note and poem like he usually does >:(). Damian, when he's mad at Jon these days, is the master of silence treatment but... also he's doing little tasks that indicates he's still caring for him. Jon's suits are perfectly pressed. The kitchen is stocked with his favorite snacks. His papers and notes are neatly stacked, with the squeak in his chair fixed.

They both crack and apologize at the same time. Cue laughter and then a quiet "let's not do that again" 🙂‍↕️ they will argue again. They know they will. But in that moment, theres the relief of knowing the other wasnt actually mad and they missed each other SO much. This is during their slow burn era:)

!!?!! Anon if you ever write this I promise to give you one big fat kiss ugh! It's giving romcom and I'm seated 😤

#it's also so realistic too! I love everything about this!#ask #Jondami #damijon

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makemeyourvillixn · 4 months ago

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Thinking about Bad Blood and where the story's gone since then and came up with this. Might continue it, idk. Enjoy!!

~~~~

The night had been long; what started off fun had turned sour for more than one reason. By the time he’d made it to the back, he’d managed to avoid the family for now. It’d only be a matter of time, likely, until he couldn’t but for now his head and heart were elsewhere.

He found her tucked away in a corner, already back in street clothes, sitting on one of the travel crates that hadn’t been packed up yet. Her shoulders were tense and there was a scowl as she started to look up.

“Hey boo,” the scowl faded but now he noticed the wetness lingering in her eyes. Taking a chance, Jey claimed a spot beside her. “You did good tonight.”

The scowl came back as Rhea wiped her eyes. “I got distracted.”

“Maybe a little. Still doesn’t mean you weren’t good,” he lightly nudged her shoulder. “That was a pretty good Uso Splash.” Cathy and Naomi had both teased him in the box seats when Rhea had transitioned from the Eddie Gurrero shimmy to his yeet and borrowed from his move set. It was discreet but he saw the corner of her lips twitch up at the compliment.

They sat there for a moment in silence.

“Jey…”

“It’s alright,” he spoke quietly. “I meant it when I told Jackie O that we can take it slow. If you ain’t ready, it’s alright. I’m still gonna be right here cheering you on. If you need a shoulder, need an ear, whatever. I ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

Her voice seemed to catch in her throat. “If I’m never ready?”

He wrapped one arm loosely around her shoulders, squeezing lightly. “That’s alright too.” She leaned into his side and he felt the faint brush of her lips against his cheek before she rested her head on his shoulder. Eventually Damian found the two of them and Rhea let go to head off with her twin for the night.

When Jey got to his own hotel, he settled in and checked his phone one more time. There were texts from Jimmy that he’d deal with later and one from Naomi asking if they were doing breakfast on the road the next morning and how many. He sent her back a quick ‘just me’ before ignoring the text thread and checking the Instagram notification.

Rhea had shared the video he’d posted of her entrance earlier that night with a teary eyed and a kiss emoji.

With a small smile, he set his phone aside for the night.

#jey uso #rhea ripley #jhea #jhea fanfiction

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zahri-melitor · 2 months ago

Note

If you were to break the period since Flashpoint up into 3-4 eras, specifically based on how they handle Batfamily relationships with each other and the broader DC, how would you do it? (If such a question interests you.) Also, what dynamics would you highlight as shorthand for that era?

I've had a play around with it, and while I can break things down into more micro trends, there's really no reason not to use the New 52-Rebirth-Infinite Frontier breakdown for the post Flashpoint relationship differences.

If I were being picky, I'd probably start the current era at Joker War in 2020 rather than at Infinite Frontier proper as a better Batfamily marker in and of itself, but we're only talking a couple of months difference either way.

New 52 (2011-2016):

Basically, this is the 'characters don't feel like themselves' era, because the dynamics have so wildly shifted for almost everyone (Damian and Kate excepted). It's a period that feels extremely focused on everyone's relationships to Bruce in particular, with only one or maybe two other major interpersonal relationships shown outside of that.

So you see everyone generally grouped into pairs even during events. Jason mostly appears with Tim. Dick spends time with Damian or with Barbara. And so on. They don't get jumbled up together in different combinations much, or have opportunities where a bigger group are working together.

There is a pivot around mid 2014 in this era (around issues #30-34) that moves various Bat characters back to feeling like they have interpersonal relationships, rather than largely being satellites around Bruce: Robin Rises, the two Eternals, and Robin War in particular are the best examples of this. And a lot of that has to do with the fact Bruce from Zero Year onwards sort of stops being an active character in the broader books, as we transition into particularly Superheavy onwards.

But generally, a lot of this whole era feels really empty in terms of Batfamily relationships that are not with Bruce, and part of that is because it's so uncertain which ones we're expected to be assuming from Flashpoint still exist (and then with those assumptions often destroyed by writers contradicting each other), and part of it is that they don't really have proper crossovers until Batman Eternal. Sure, The Court of Owls and Death of the Family happen before them, but both are heavily focused on Bruce and simultaneously keep everyone from interacting with each other much.

In terms of how the Batfamily reads: it feels VERY pared down. Only Bruce, Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian and Babs are relevant, and Tim's only barely so. Other characters might move in and out of storylines but they don't really have any attachments to the rest.

Rebirth to Joker War (2016-2020):

I think the most noticeable thing about this period in terms of Batfamily relationships is the tension it has from trying to re-expand the timeline back out.

Some characters (like Jason and Damian and Kate) have personalities and relationships that are essentially identical to their n52 ones, or only with a minor "we added back in all the most relevant preboot stories" change. Some characters (like Tim) got rebuilt into their preboot form, but with everything that happened earlier being hazy. A lot of the others (like Dick and Barbara and Bruce) were uneasy grafts: Dick had his childhood with Bruce back but he and Babs were still only about 22, not the age they actually were at the end of preboot. The age gap between Jason and Tim remained out to about 4 years, while Tim to Damian tightened to about 3 years.

There was a lot that was sort of in a hazy 'we are taking vibes from this but there's no certainty' for characters, because there were only a few hard reboots and mostly everyone was just repointing characters in the direction of their preboot personalities and relationships, rather than explicitly kicking n52 out of continuity.

So it felt like a lot of interpersonal relationships were once again a go, but they got reruns to re-establish them for audiences. We literally see plots like Tim Seeley redoing the Dick and Helena romance so that they could once again be exes, we see Barbara and Jason Bard retreading and recreating their pre-COIE relationship status, we see Cass needing to establish relationships with everyone, we see Tim have to explicitly have Zatanna remove a block so he can remember Young Justice, etc.

There is also very much a focus on a nuclear family read of found family. It's Bruce And His Kids, and the most obvious encapsulation of this is everything around Tom King's Batman run and its focus on the BatCat wedding. The more complicated relationships between characters who mentored each other or had relationships that weren't referenced off Bruce still hadn't really returned. You get the impression that Dick and Tim are brothers as Bruce is both of their father and they were both Robins, rather than because they have a whole personal relationship that doesn't require Bruce at all, and so on.

There was also a lot of book siloing going on, honestly. The start of Rebirth assigned every Bat character Their Title (or maybe at most 2) and that character largely did not appear outside of their assigned title, and when they did it was mostly only cameos. So we got to see various Bats mixing when assigned to the same title, but they didn't cross over much.

There's also the difficulty with the period that both Tim and Dick cumulatively spend a lot of time off page and out of the rest of the Bat books between Mr Oz and Ric Grayson, and Damian was in the process of disappearing off right when 5G got canned. So there's not really many solid points during the whole 5 years when everyone is actually around at the same time, which also consistently leaves a gap in various dynamics.

Infinite Frontier Onwards (2021-now)

If I'm frank, the era since Joker War ended and DiDio's firing has been characterised by a lot of writers spending a lot of time re-establishing the primacy of pre-Flashpoint for character backstories, personalities and relationships (not you, Jason).

If Rebirth was DC trying to work out how to attach the fandom's favourite character traits, personalities and storylines, back onto characters who had been stripped down, IF onwards has been a lot of outright "we've stopped trying to make things line up and have soft rebooted everything. For preboot characters you SHOULD be able to jump on to their current stories if the last thing you read was before Flashpoint".

So, via the 'all possible backstories are accessible to choose from' we have seen a lot of straight out restoration of old dynamics. Not everyone got restored immediately; Dick got his everything back in 2020 while Cass had to wait until 2023, for example. But characters now actually have relationships with each other again that don't require them to think about Bruce! Tim and Babs can be thick as thieves in Nightwing in a story because they have lots of history together! Barbara and Cass have a proper big/little sister relationship again! People call Barbara for help and information! Dick can hate Jean-Paul and know why he feels that way!

The Future:

The final question to ask is "so when does the Infinite Frontier era end?" in terms of Batfamily, and I think the answer is that we're currently at a transition point that will become more clear in a year or so as to whether we're shifting out of it right now.

In particular, the vibes of what is happening around Batman as a title right now feels like we're about to hit a shakeup.

Characters have pretty much all now integrated where they were as of Flashpoint into their modern characterisation and are starting to move forward in stories again, rather than spending lots of time re-establishing things.

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bluejaysandblackbats · 4 months ago

Text

Keepsafes

Fandom: Batman, DC Comics

Summary: AU where Martha and Thomas survive, and they adopt the batkids.

Chapters: 36/?

Characters: Bruce Wayne, Thomas Wayne, Martha Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Harvey Dent, Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain, David Cain, Talia al Ghul, Damian Wayne, Jason Todd, Tim Drake

Relationships: Thomas Wayne/Martha Wayne/Alfred Pennyworth, BruHarvey, BruTalia

Additional Tags: Canon Divergent AU, Hurt/Comfort, Bruce Wayne is Not Batman, Angst, Alfred Pennyworth Knows All, Bruce Wayne Only Has One Child, Bruce Wayne is Not An Only Child, Bi Bruce Wayne

Chapter Thirty-Six: Pomegranates

Thomas wrote in his journal while he sat in on Dick’s class at the Academy. Dick yawned and stretched his legs as he fidgeted in his chair, tugging at his collar and struggling to kick off his oxfords without leaning forward to untie them. The teacher’s jaw tightened, and he cleared his throat before looking at Dick and Thomas. Thomas nodded and took Dick outside. The assistant teacher took over the class while the instructor stepped outside to speak with them. “I figured out the issue,” Thomas stated.

“You can’t be��. Dr. Wayne, you haven’t looked up from your notes all morning,” the teacher complained.

“Let him stand in the very back. He’s got eyes like an eagle, and I’d suggest shooting him a rapid-fire question every now and then to keep him present. Dick, what did Mr. Taylor say before we left the classroom?” Thomas questioned.

“Genre is the type of story and theme is the message behind the story,” Dick repeated.

“He’s bored. He’s restless. Let him stand. Let him stretch or stand on his head. Throw him a few questions. Dick’s smart. He’s probably gifted, but we’ll revisit that another day. For now, I’d like to talk to my s—. I want to speak with Dick for a moment to ensure that he transitions back into class without any hiccups,” Thomas whispered.

Mr. Taylor took a deep breath and nodded before returning to the classroom. “You were gonna call me your son. Why didn’t you?” Dick asked with his arms crossed.

“I love you, but I don’t want you to feel obligated to—.”

Dick hugged him. “I hope you tell me what you’re writing in that journal later,” Dick replied.

“Blurbs… Little ideas for books until one of them becomes a book,” Thomas answered.

Dick let go and looked at Thomas. “You’re not pushy enough. You were the mayor. You stood up for me today and didn’t have to. You can do all that, but you can’t tell me you want to be my dad or write a book. I love you too, but you’ve gotta speak up for yourself,” Dick replied, “My dad would’ve said the same thing… And I think he would’ve liked you.” Before Thomas could process any of what Dick said, Dick slipped back into the classroom, and he had to follow.

Gilda brought Harvey’s lunch to the office and sat with him, letting him gripe about paperwork and missed phone calls. “Is the salad okay?” Gilda asked. Harvey looked up and smiled for her.

“Thank you, Gilda. I love a good apple salad. Sorry, I don’t mean to be so irritable. How was your day?” Harvey asked.

“I got hired to design for the Drake House remodel. They’ve got a little boy, and they’re taking him overseas on an excavation trip. Isn’t that exciting? Too bad he won’t remember the whole thing,” Gilda answered.

“And why won’t he?” Harvey asked.

“He’s two,” Gilda replied as she held back a laugh. “Harvey, you know something? It’s almost May.”

“But it’s not August yet… And I wanna hit you with a proposal—.”

“Not here,” Gilda replied, “Not like—.”

“Gilda, I was wondering if you’d like to go on a little vacation in May. Maybe we can talk about it without any distractions… What do you think?” Harvey replied.

Gilda lit up. “You’re joking. Tell me you’re joking—.”

“Nuh-uh. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately, but I think a vacation would be great for us,” Harvey replied as he tossed his pasta in the microwave.

Gilda cocked her head as she stared at his microwave. “When’d you get that? Don’t you have a microwave in the breakroom?” Gilda questioned.

“I don’t wanna get caught up in conversation, and I run the risk of the lunch bandit taking—.”

Someone knocked on the door. “Package!” one of the women from the mailroom announced.

“Come in,” Harvey stated.

She set the package on Harvey’s desk, and Gilda stared at Harvey. “Who is Leda?” Gilda asked.

“Leda is Bruce’s cousin from Germany. She’s a cookbook author,” Harvey replied as he passed Gilda the boxcutter from inside his desk. She opened the box and pulled out two books. The first was a children’s chapter book called, Cousin Gregor’s Castle , and an illustrated cookbook called, Family Portrait Cookbook . “Oh, how nice. She gave us two copies of each. We can read in bed together again.”

“Wait, is Cousin Gregor’s Castle about Bruce?” Gilda questioned.

“Gregor looks like Bruce did when we were kids. It could be about him. We could read that one first,” Harvey suggested.

In the weeks to follow, Dick started sneaking into Bruce’s room and sleeping under his bed. Bruce pretended not to notice until he couldn’t sleep. “This monster under my bed routine is getting old. And it gets cold under there,” Bruce whispered as he stared at the ceiling.

“How do you know it’s cold down here? It’s the middle of the summer,” Dick mumbled.

“Because I used to hide down there,” Bruce replied.

“From what?” Dick questioned in reply. He wriggled out and climbed under Bruce’s blankets, which startled Bruce a bit. He wasn’t used to being so close to Dick or anyone other than his parents or Harvey.

“My thoughts… ‘Your memory is a monster; you forget—it doesn’t.’ Have you ever read that one?” Bruce asked. Dick shook his head. “It’s a good book. I’ll loan it to you some time.”

“What were you reading tonight?” Dick asked.

“ A House of Pomegranates ,” Bruce answered, “It’s a good collection of stories, but they’re a bit dark.” Dick nestled close. “Why are you haunting me every night?”

Dick sighed and looked at Bruce. They never completely met eyes, but Dick knew Bruce was watching him.

“Do you think you’d kill the guy who shot your mom and dad if you found him?” Dick asked.

Bruce laced his fingers together and placed them on his chest. “I used to think so… Maybe if they didn’t live. But, I’m not so mad anymore. They stopped traveling to be with me more because of it. In a way, I can’t be mad at how things turned out. I’m stronger for it, and I’ve got my parents—.”

“If you didn’t have them, though… If he took them from you, wouldn’t you want him to die? If he was capable of doing it again… would you kill him?” Dick interrupted.

“Maybe. Maybe I’d see him tomorrow and think about what could’ve happened. Maybe I’d think about how careless he was. I might kill him if that were the case. I don’t know. That’s a hard question to answer, Dick. You never know what you’re capable of until it happens.

“Have you spoken to Harvey? I know he’s just a paralegal, but he’ll—.”

“I’ll be fourteen by then. That’s three years. I can’t wait that long—.”

“How would you kill him?” Bruce interrupted.

“What?” Dick questioned in reply.

“Tell me. I know you’ve thought about it. What does it look like in your mind? How do you do it? Really tell me what it feels like in your mind,” Bruce answered with building intensity.

Dick shut his eyes and sighed as he thought about it. “I’d want to beat the shit out of him with a bat. Break his bones,” Dick replied.

“He might live… And that’s so messy and loud. Chances are you’d only get a few hits in if and I mean if you caught him off guard somewhere. And the blood. He’ll probably spit up blood all over your shoes... And can you handle the squelching and crunching as the bat hits his flesh? How long can you hit him? How long can you keep up the stamina and the force required to break and kill a grown man? What if he screams and cries and begs? What if he doesn’t say anything at all?” Bruce replied.

“Or maybe I’ll shoot him. It’s not hard to get a gun,” Dick replied.

“What kind? I don’t doubt you could handle the kickback… But how’s your aim? How fast can you run away from the scene? What sort of bullets are you using?” Bruce questioned.

“I’ll catch him off guard and strangle him with something,” Dick answered with a trembling voice.

Bruce made a soft noise before sitting up. “Okay. Get behind me real quick. I wanna see—.”

“I don’t wanna—.”

“Just for pretend. Just to see how it’d work,” Bruce whispered, “Come on. And grab that scarf on my nightstand.” Dick swallowed hard and obeyed. He held the scarf underneath Bruce’s chin. “Already, you’re wrong. You have to be quick, and you’ve gotta get it either wrapped or twisted to where you won’t get rope burn from him pulling it out of your hand. The distance is okay, but how are you gonna get up there? How are you gonna handle him gurgling and wheezing and clawing?” Bruce mimicked the noises, and Dick started trembling.

“Bruce, cut it out,” Dick whimpered.

“I’m just showing you… And you’ll have to hold him even after he hits the ground to make sure he’s really dead. He might shit himself. People do that when they die. It’s awful,” Bruce stated in a clear and unemotional tone of voice before making another few gasping and wheezing sounds for dramatic effect.

Dick started to cry as he dropped the scarf. “Stop it… I don’t want to hear anymore,” Dick sobbed. Bruce softened as Dick tried to leave, and he pulled him into a hug.

“You’re not a killer. This guy isn’t the Bogeyman you think he is. He might’ve taken your parents, but he left behind a witness. He’s a chump. That guy is garbage. He’s scum… And I feel sorry for him because he’ll never be half the man that you are. It’s sad,” Bruce whispered, “You should cry for him because he’s empty. You’re too full of love to kill.” Dick sobbed into Bruce’s sweatshirt as Bruce held him tight.

Once Dick calmed down, he looked up at Bruce. “Can I sleep in here?” Dick asked.

“Mhm… And I’m sorry for all of that, but I had to scare you a little bit,” Bruce apologized.

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infpravenclaw5w4idkwhatelse · 5 months ago

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Apparently its just in my brain rn but I wanted to make this list for me or for anyone out there who gets into editing before I do (pleas please please idk how to edit and unless I hyper fixate hard enough, I probably won’t take the time to learn lmao) but anyway this is a list of the Robins and songs (by Taylor Swift so there’s a theme and the list has a finite end) that I desperately need an edit of them with.

Stephanie brown- the man (literally can’t hear the song without thinking of her), mad woman (I can see this with interspersed scenes of her father, fighting villains specifically black mask, and Bruce)

Jason Todd- my tears ricochet (absolutely devastating w/ under the red hood, specifically comic version iykyk the difference between that and the movie), haunted (I need this with Bruce and dick and Tim’s reaction to his death), bigger than the whole sky (similar to haunted but more resigned? And still more about characters responding to his death but still His Death), who’s afraid of little old me (red hood transitional period. You see the vision? I know you do.) look what you made me do (obviously. I keep imagining him listening to this song while being the red hood and it’s great), the Great War (just. The imagery. There’s so much potential here. “maybe it’s the past that’s talking, screaming from the crypt, telling me to punish you for things you never did” with a cut to Batman and Joker would go so hard)

Dick Grayson (there’s really no order to this list is there? Lol anyway.)- never grow up (focused on his relationships with his siblings and then after the bridge with the “wish I’d never grown up” with flashbacks to him as Robin oh my god I’d cry), 22 (idk it feels very early Nightwing to me. I need a happy one for him bc he deserves it. Just an edit of him winning and being iconic), New Romantics (in that same vein, with the titans because it’d be fun), the story of us and I forgot that you existed (him and B fighting because I feel people ignore that they do fight quite often and IFTYE especially feels the right amount of petty and sincere for him, you know?), last but not least (can you tell I love him) Style (this and any love interest he repeatedly dates, I was thinking specifically Barbara but I could also see kory, I just think this song is fun for any relationship that gets rebooted in multiple formats)

Tim Drake- enchanted (as itty bitty Tim Drake or Robin, meeting them at galas and Knowing or just working with the bats in the beginning when he was star struck), mirrorball (“I can change everything about me to fit in” …yeah. This is more a fanon interpretation but I read a really interesting fic where Jason comes back and meets Tim and all he can see is his and dick’s Robin mannerisms in him, and can’t find anything that’s just Tim’s until he’s too tired to pretend anymore and it’s stuck with me) you’re losing me (this would be a sad one of people generally looking over or hating him, specifically Bruce calling him Jason, finding out dick made Damian Robin, Damian and Jason verbally attacking him, the events that led to Red Robin) Tis the damn season (for when Red Robin arc is over and he’s still angry but doesn’t know what else to do)

Damian Wayne: a place in this world (it’s not his aesthetic, but the themes of the song are very raised-in-the-league-trying-to-be-a-functioning-family-member), the best day (with him and Dick generally him getting to be a kid, I’m not crying you are), mean (I think the “swords and weapons that you use against me”would be funny with him drawing assorted weapons on people), Innocent (“your string of lights is still bright to me oh, who you are is not where you’ve been” oh my god. I just feel like he needs someone to mean this about him) exile (Talia leaving him, even if she meant to do it for his own good, having to recon with not being in the league anymore), this is me trying (I don’t have words for this one, it’s a vibe)

Bonus:

Anti-hero: you can give all of them different verses that fit best, but I think they’d all sing the song and feel like it was them and I’d love to see an edit of them to it.

Epiphany: Alfred. You don’t even have to listen to it, just look at the lyrics and you’ll Get It.

robin: this I see for both Jason and Dick, so probably split between them.

Mastermind: first off, shameless TimSteph shipper, not even necessarily romantically, it’s just that they’re soulmates and I don’t care what canon says; I know that because they told me personally. Anyway the song is from both of their perspectives. They both think they’re the mastermind

State of Grace: also TimSteph. Fight me.

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musicfeedsmysoul12 · 4 months ago

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Trans Girl!Tim x Jason❤️♥️

1. Tim comes out when she is like 17. It’s after she dated Bernard. They broke up because she realized she’s a girl but he isn’t into women. They remained friends! But no romance. Tim doesn’t tell anyone she’s transitioning until Red Robin is spotted in a skirt.

2. There are the emotional ‘why didn’t you tell us’ moments but she kind of makes it clear it’s due to the fact she doesn’t fully consider them family. While yes, things were very complicated and messy, she was still the odd one out. Still left behind in favour of the others. She has lists of this and while she loves them she isn’t… well it’s hard. Que the family trying to make up for it.

3. Except Jason who never really saw her as family. But he does feel bad. So he begins hanging around her. The two slowly bond over their issues with the family. Bruce and Dick in particular. Damian joins in but it’s usually those two.

4. Tim kisses Jason first after a very long bitch fest over the treatment by Dick towards them. How they feel disposable to him. Jason kisses back.

5. It is a mess when it gets out and there are some accusations Jason tries to kill Dick for. Meanwhile Damian is just smug he was right.

#Batman #JayTim

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brucewaynehater101 · 1 year ago

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I hc Damian sees dick as more of a father then Bruce, my reasoning is that when Bruce was dead, dick was there for him and Damian already mourned that father and accepted dick as his dad.

and since in my brain Bruce causes most of the issues between the brothers, in a au where Bruce wasn’t rescued all the bats are happy and friendly to each other, dick is the older brother who’s basically their dad, Jason who’s very caring yet also insists he’s not (he has anger issues as well), Tim who can’t seem to fully grasp how much everyone cares for him but it’s getting better, and Damian who actually acts his age and not like a 20 year old man with murder problems (he still has murder issues but dicks made him realize that’s wrong)

There was probably quite a bit of an adjustment period in the beginning. When siblings are faced with a change in dynamics so that they need to rely upon each other instead of being pitted against one another, there tend to be big blowups and fights until they get the hang of things.

In this AU, it would be a bit hard to wrangle all the batkids into getting along. Does Tim never find that portrait that starts his search? Did Bruce actually die? Does Alfred find the portrait first and burn it so his family can finally be free (very ooc, but a cool concept)?

Tim finding out Bruce is alive is like a match near gasoline for him. He destroys all of his current relationships (justified or not) to save his dad.

There's also the grief aspect. The Battle of the Cowl could be seen as just the kids trying to find footing with the changes and the grief of loosing their dad.

It doesn't matter how much of a bastard Bruce is in this AU, the kids will still grieve his loss. If he was just unredeemable, they wouldn't have hung on so much. It doesn't matter how much Bruce hits them, verbally abuses them, manipulates, or abandons them when he turns around and acts like a good dad. He has good moments. That's the confusing and complicated aspect of it.

Bruce is the type of man to remember a fact his kids mentioned once off-handedly and distracted. He'd remember when they mentioned a childhood toy they loved but could never find again. He would spend months tracking down that company and hiring them to make they toy again if they didn't have any on hand. There's so much time, effort, and money he would put into such a notion, and he wouldn't make a big deal about it. The kid would probably just find it in their room one day and know it was Bruce.

Then he would turn around and try to convince the kid that all of their friends are out to get them and they can't trust anyone.

This AU would be hard to manage because only Dick is at the stage where he would be willing to give up on his dad. With the fallout of Robin, Dick moved on from unconditional love and belief in Bruce. He went to anger and hurt. He slowly healed those pains, but they were changed. Dick couldn't go back to how they were, but ultimately still loved his dad. Jason's death shattered their relationship. Even after Tim interfered, Dick would never be able to forgive Bruce for that. In the comics, he confronted Bruce about not being told about Jason's death. Bruce's response? He screamed at Dick, hit him, told him he shoulf have never had a partner, told Dick that he would've fired Jason in a few years like he did Dick, and then told Dick to hand his keys to the Manor to Alfred on his way out.

Bruce and Dick can go to therapy for years to work on their relationship, but Dick will never trust Bruce with his siblings again. He can trust the man on a battlefield, but he can't trust him at home.

Dick's love to Bruce, I hc, would turn to apathy, longing, and bitterness intermingled with spurts of reluctant fondness.

Jason, on the other hand, is pissed at Bruce, but he has too much passion to just let him go. It's a transition stage from love to anger to indifference. Through his reactions and actions during the Battle of the Cowl, it's obvious he still cares about Bruce somewhat. The opposite of love isn't hate. It's indifference. If he didn't somewhat care about Bruce, his death wouldn't impact him so much. I personally feel that the incident with Penguin and Gotham Wars is where Jason starts to become indifferent instead. To hate Bruce is to want to change him. It's to want him to be better because you know he can be. To be indifferent to him (outside of horrible actions the man commits) is to know he won't change. It's to give up on him.

Jason still remembers getting ice cream on patrol, sharing popcorn on the couch, reassuring promises of protection, and the laughter he could startle out of his dad. His anger and aggression against Bruce is because he believes that his dad could kill the Joker. He had believed that Bruce would have. Regardless on whether it was the right thing to do or whether a younger version would have wanted that, Jason had faith in Bruce. He ultimately considers his father to be a good guy. Perhaps someone that hurts Jason, but still a good guy.

Dick doesn't regard his father as such. He knows better.

The other kids are still at the love stage, where they rely on Batman and Bruce to be decent and a hero.

Tim may have complicated feelings about Bruce being his dad (how credible that is especially given their history), but he trusts Bruce to make the right decisions. That gospel has been shaken a few times, but it still holds.

Damian is still a child. Capable, kind, fierce, and strong, but still a child.

Cass was given the mission of the Bat by Bruce. He has shown her love and kindness others have not. She can see what he feels and intends to do even as he hurts others. He does not kill.

Barbara has Dick's back before she has Bruce's. Barbara is independent. She does not have the confidence in Bruce that the others do.

I hope Duke is enjoying his time with his parents free from bat drama.

Anyways, I do think the Bats would be better off if Tim hadn't found proof of Bruce's continued existence (it is not his fault that Bruce returned to do horrible shit. He is not to blame). Without it, there might not have been as big of a fallout between Tim and everyone else. There would have been lots of drama and fights between the remaining Bats, but they would eventually settle into a healthier unit.

If anyone wants more about any of this, feel free to send me another ask with what parts you'd like elaborated.

#dc comics #dc universe #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #damian wayne #bruce wayne #batfam #thank you for the ask!!!!

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