#Duke: it is not the same thing

[a-blind-bat]

I am a firm believer of the headcannon that Duke Thomas is a nerd

He makes references of his favorite sci-fi TV shows that half the people him around don’t get. He’s gotten his WAR group to try DND and he loves to find the hardest puzzles for him to solve. He collects niche video games and could explain the entire timeline of the Star Wars universe. He thinks all of that is nullified by him not collecting trading cards though. It is not

Duke: you know I could be way worse, I could collect trading cards

Jason: you own a physical copy of every single street fighter

[flwrkid14]

Everyone Wants to Be Tim Drake’s Favorite Brother

Being Tim Drake’s favorite isn’t just about bragging rights—it’s about power, perks, and an almost supernatural level of protection.

It starts with the little things. Tim isn’t one for grand gestures, but when he cares about someone, it’s obvious. He listens—really listens—to the small comments, the things others might forget. That offhand remark about a snack you miss? Tim’s already on his way to get it for you. Complaining that your suit’s not fitting quite right? Tim’s hands-on with upgrades by morning. If you're Tim’s favorite, it’s a constant stream of thoughtful gestures. Gear gets upgraded, favorite books and gadgets mysteriously show up, and Tim’s always thinking of how he can make your life easier.

But being Tim’s favorite is more than just gifts. It’s the way Tim treats you, the way he prioritizes you over everything else. Tim listens when you vent, has your back during arguments, even when you’re wrong, and somehow—somehow—he gets Bruce to listen to you more than anyone else.

Bruce listens to everyone, of course. He’s the Bat. But when Tim speaks, it’s different. Bruce doesn’t just hear Tim—he acts. Whether it’s adjusting mission plans, reevaluating tactics, or considering Gotham’s crime trends. He’ll mention something, and suddenly, Bruce is shifting his approach. No one else seems to have that pull over him. Tim has a way of cutting through Bruce’s stubbornness that no one else can match. It’s not lost on anyone that when you’re Tim’s favorite, Bruce seems to listen to you more, too.

And then, there’s the most dangerous perk of all: Tim’s wrath.

Everyone in Gotham has learned to fear the consequences of hurting anyone Tim cares about. They all remember how Janet Drake, Tim’s mother, was exactly the same. Janet didn’t just love fiercely; she made people fear the consequences of betraying her affection. She’d build strong alliances and maintain an iron grip on them, ensuring no one dared to harm those she called her own. She had a reputation for turning the tables in ways that left lasting marks on Gotham’s criminals, so it’s no surprise that Tim inherited the same instincts. The last time one of his favorites got hurt in Gotham, the Rogue responsible learned the hard way that crossing a Drake isn’t something you do lightly. That night, the Rogue barely escaped with his life, and the damage he caused was felt across Gotham for weeks.

The rumors from that time still make the rounds. Red Robin hunted that Rogue down, dismantling supply lines and ruining their operations in ways no one else could, using connections no one could have anticipated for him to have. He sent a message—a warning—one that still echoes through Gotham’s criminal world. After that, the Rogues were far more cautious when it came to hurting anyone Red Robin seemed particularly attached to.

These days, the Rogues are more careful. If they can see who Tim’s favorite is, they back off. Patrols get easier. The punches are pulled. The threats don’t carry the same weight. It's almost comical. Once, Jason caught Riddler mid-riddle and swore he saw him glance over his shoulder like he was checking for something—and then mutter, “Not worth it,” before retreating.

Of course, everyone’s gotten a taste of these perks at some point.

Jason remembers his time as Tim’s favorite. When he first came back, Tim went above and beyond. His gear was upgraded constantly, his safehouses were restocked with his favorite things, and there were custom modifications to everything. Tim even managed to reclaim all his old safehouses from the GCPD archives with no problem. Jason never openly admitted it, but he savored every moment. It felt good to be cared for like that.

Cass had it too when she struggled to reconnect with the family. Tim stuck close, quietly offering his support—whether it was with training or just sitting together. She didn’t ask for a suit upgrade, just mentioned how bulky it was in passing, and Tim designed a new one for her the following week, fitting it perfectly to her style. And as for the Rogues? They couldn't run away fast enough when she showed up.

Right now, they all suspect Duke to be the favorite. Tim’s always inviting him to collaborate on tech projects or sharing valuable intel. And Duke has started receiving gifts that seem to show up at just the right moment—books, custom gadgets, and even the occasional throwback cereal he mentioned in passing. Tim’s also been there for him every step of the way, making sure he’s always in the loop, collaborating on projects, and taking the time to make Duke feel seen.

“You know,” Duke said one night, stirring his soup casually, “Scarecrow’s been weirdly quiet lately.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Jason said with a raised eyebrow. “What did you do?”

Duke blinked. “Nothing.”

Jason shot Tim a look. “What did you do?”

Tim’s smirk was all the answer Jason needed.

And that’s the thing—being Tim’s favorite isn’t just about attention or gear. It’s about something more. It’s about protection. Once you’re Tim’s favorite, the world seems like it can’t touch you. And everyone knows it.

They’ve all had their time as Tim’s favorite. Jason, Cass, even Damian had his moment. But once you’re no longer the favorite, it’s hard not to crave it again.

Jason lingers in the Batcave, pretending to talk about his gear but subtly hinting at upgrades Tim could add to it.

Damian scoffs at the idea of being prioritized, but Tim catches him comparing his gear to Duke’s own, new and improved gear, muttering to himself, “It’s adequate,” like it’s an insult.

Dick tries to remain above it all—he’s the eldest, after all. He doesn’t need Tim’s attention. But when he sees Tim working behind the scenes, tinkering with Duke’s gear or offering an unexpected assist to Jason, there’s that ache of longing for when he was the center of Tim’s world.

In the end, they’ll never say it, but every single one of them secretly wants to be Tim’s favorite. Because when Tim Drake decides you’re his favorite, you’re not just cared for—you’re protected and given an unwavering loyalty that makes you feel untouchable in Gotham.

And in Gotham, where danger is always close, nothing is more powerful than the protection and devotion of a Drake.

[aalghul]

once again thinking about jason as duke’s robin. he’s ~4 years younger than jason, and that puts him at 8-12 during Jason’s time as robin. that’s prime time to get attached to your local kid vigilante before your own life goes downhill.

and if we try to keep duke’s meeting with bruce in zero year + duke’s age (so he can remember the meeting and hold that conversation with bruce), he has to be around 8. if he starts following batman through the news at that time because of the mess that just happened, the robin he sees is probably jason. I’ve literally connected the dots

[mocking-the-bird]

If Tim and Steph decide that 7am is time for sibling bonding activities, it'll be so, even if the sibling they're bonding with is trying to get some goddamn sleep

[kaveat]

Can we have some more bilingual Damian Wayne moments please?

They did it a little in older comics with him speaking in his own language as well as Cantonese in one comic panel I can remember. Besides those two and English I don’t know what other languages he speaks, but at minimum it’s three, though I feel like the league would’ve probably trained him in more.

Still I haven’t seen it as often and it makes me sad, because as a bilingual person with many bilingual friends the fuck ups are usually hilarious.

Like with Damian especially I feel like he would overcorrect cause the English language has so many exceptions to it’s very loosely defined gramma rules and he’s such a perfectionist that he would stick to that shit even after finding out it’s wrong, I also think it would drive him a little bit insane cause it’s technically right, but it also isn’t (not speaking from experience at all).

Also while we’re at it let’s just throw the rest of the Batfam in there cause I’m pretty sure they all speak at least one other language. I want a comic panel like the scene in Umbrella Academy where Diego and Ben start arguing in Spanish and Korean respectively except it’s eight kids all screaming (or signing) at each other in several languages some of which aren’t even human.

[seleneprince]

So, after going back to my reincarnations manwha phase and thanks to @la-patrona-magdalena's beautiful reincarnation au work, Don't Look At Me! (sí esto es culpa tuya pendeja) i'm afraid my head just got more ideas for drafts instead of finishing the ones i already have (i swear i haven't forgotten my other works, i write a little of each everyday, i just have the attention span of a fish hshshsh)

Anyway, to no one's surprise, my favourites are the ones about modern day people waking up as a novel's villainess or secondary character, and the ones where those same characters reincarnate in the past after dying. And so, to avoid that fate, they decide to take different decisions and sometimes atone for their mistakes against other characters, unknowingly changing the whole plot towards them.

Well...

Yandere! Batfam au where the former "villainesses" are Mrs Wayne, Batsis and Little Flower, Mrs Wayne's youngest daughter with another man. Stupid names, I know, but I can't exactly give them proper names yet. The plot about them is the same as my current au (because i love my ocs/reader-inserts too much and i always picture them when i imagine scenarios lol), except with a slight twist.

Mrs Wayne becomes known for being a snob, cruel woman who enjoys having power and uses it for her and her kids' benefit even at the expense of others. She has no qualms in enacting said power to humiliate others when she sees fit and even just to feed her ego. She's dangerous, twisted and too confident in her high-standing to realise her weaknesses. Her only redeeming quality in everyone's eyes is that she genuinely loves her daughters and has a good relationship with them.

Batsis, or the Wayne Heiress, is every inch of her mother's daughter. She acts like this stereotypical rich girl with everything handled to her in silver platter simply for being rich and pretty. She's manipulative and gets a kick out of treating people like pawns in her own secret games. A great actress who weaponises her looks and strong resemblance to Martha Wayne to twist the narrative in her favour and get away with anything she does. Her arrogance becomes her kryptonite.

And last, the Little Flower. Or just Flower. The youngest but not less dangerous. A spoiled and vain little brat used to being coddled and protected by both her mother and sister, growing up surrounded by luxury and a set of privileges that only belong to her through a stolen family name, which it's not actually hers. She charms grown ups with her innocent aura and cute smiles, but she hates when things don't go her way. And if determined, she can be as lethal as her mother. Her age is her allibi to avoid guilt for her acts. Until it doesn't work anymore.

Then surprise, the "protagonist" appears. It doesn't matter her name, for the fate is always the same. The Batfam become fond of her, obsessively so, and the villainesses, fearing their positions will be threatened, do everything in their power to get rid of the protagonist. Unfortunately, becaose of manwha logic, the girl survives everything and miraculously manages to get out by showing off how good and pure and so different she is from those three, slowly inserting herself in the narrative while they get pushed out away. Eventually, of course, the three of them meet their end. Mrs Wayne is murdered in a petty revenge plot, Batsis falls into a deadly trap because of her hubris and Little Flower dies in an accident. Their story seems over...until they come back, waking up in the past before shit went down.

Except it's not really them. The three new "villainesses" come from an alternative universe where they, well, they weren't great people either but things were definitely better than this one. Their memories are mixed with those of the real villainesses, and now it's up to them to prevent their horrible deaths and find a way to leave this forsaken family before the protagonist appears.

They do their damn best to avoid that fate, doing everything differently while also adapting to their new life and accidentally changing things. They're so focused on surviving that they don't realise their behaviour is drawing attention...too much attention. And the plot is going to change drastically as their family begins to notice them more. Will it be a good or bad change? The girls don't want to know.

But one thing they're sure of: This batfamily isn't the one they're used to...and they might not let them go so easily.

[endlesslytired]

[highlysusceptibletodisaster]

the thing about Bruce is that, while he truly believes he needs to be alone, he still craves to have people around him, because he needs to know he is really loved, so he is constantly pushing the people away of his life wanting and wishing and begging inside for them to come back to him, because, if they are coming back, that means he is actually loved, and he doesn't really know how to get out of this cycle.

[glitter-stained]

Okay you know what fuck this shit I'm tired, screw nuance actually. I think murder is okay now.

[thenonbinarydetective]

"There is canonical mischaracterization in the batfamily" and "they are nuanced characters that cannot be summed up in one word/phrase" are two things that can exist at the same time and more people need to remember that

[gothamite-rambler]

Stephanie (staring at a picture of Robin Hoodie): I don't think he did it... there's no way this fairly attractive rich man who likes Mcdonald's could have possibly done it.

Bruce glared at Stephanie for a second, but returned to reading reasoning to not respond.

Stephanie: You know what, even if he did do it...

Stephanie circled her hands together, then held out her arms, leaning back slightly.

Stephanie: You know what I mean?

Jason nodded in agreement as Bruce gave him a side glare, shaking his head in disappointment.

Duke: I... Okay, it's not right that the CEO got popped... but you piss someone off enough, like... some people though not all people will take matters into their own hands, but like...

Duke crunched the numbers in his head, then nodded.

Duke: Yeah, I see what you mean, Steph.

Stephanie: And if he's single and ready to mingle—

Bruce tossed a pillow at Stephanie's head, annoyed.

Bruce: I will call your mother and tell her how you're talking! Don't test me!

Bruce left the living room in a huff as Stephanie laughed, amused that she managed to anger the Dark Knight.

Stephanie: Jace, have you brought up he's being a hypocrite?

Jason: Numerous times before this and more after this.

Bruce (hearing them talk about him): THAT IS NOT THE SAME THING!

[andi-o-geyser]

“we’re doing another groundbreaking storyline with batman fighting his greatest enemy, the joker-” pack it up.

[lynx-224]

genuine question why is it such a huge plot point for mike to say i love you to el when he’s canonically a 14 year old freshman in high school

[thatfuckingduke]

various sona doodles

I think I will make a lore post for my Motorcity sona/self insert thing soon ? Perchance?

[coconut530]

BREAK THOSE CHAINS BOI

[necrotic-nephilim]

How do you think bruce would react to a Robin pile situation?

oooh this is a fun thought. i think it depends *entirely* if you're working with a morally stable Bruce or a Bruce who's a little fucked up and dead dove-ish. somehow, i think it's actually more fun if it's a completely stable Bruce bc that adds so much more drama and issues if Bruce is deeply unsettled by the idea. if it was maybe just Jason and Dick or Jason and Tim dating that's sort of understandable. Bruce knows that while he may see them all as his sons (except Steph bc do know Robin pile will *always* include Steph for me and tbh Cass too as an honorary member. they're all going in the pile.) but he understands that doesn't mean they see each other as brothers. he respects the nuanced and complicated relationships scattered across all of the Batfam.

but if all of them are *dating*? or at the very least sleeping together? that raises a lot of logistical red flags. the most obvious one is the age gap of it all- at the biggest gap you have Damian and Dick who are an easy fifteen years apart, meeting when Damian is a kid. not to mention how many of them have tried to kill each other at some point. it shouldn't work and Bruce doesn't like that it does. Bruce has a history of wanting to control the relationships of the Batkids when he disapproves. and so he'd absolutely try to break them up. at first, he paints it purely as a logistical issue. saying it's smartest not to bring feelings into work and that this is dangerous. i think it's especially fun if this happens at a time when Bruce doesn't approve of Steph or Jason so that *also* plays into it, he doesn't want either of them near the ones he currently considers to be his family. he says he wants to protect them and wants to keep them safe. he tries to appeal to who he thinks would be more logical and listen to him the most. first Dick, and then when that doesn't work, Tim. and when neither of them listen, i *do* think Bruce would stoop to the low of trying to break them up by fabricating internal conflict between them, hoping to divide and conquer the weird polycule it's become.

while i don't think Bruce would be jealous in the sense he wants to be included, i *do* think he's wildly dislike the Robins having this close bond that makes them trust each other implicitly more than they trust Bruce. they will defer to each other before him and clearly keep things from him. he'd despise that. it's an inner circle he's not let in on and it makes him lose aspects of control over some of them, especially Damian who's the youngest and his son, who Bruce deserves the most control over. he would drive himself mad about it. at first for genuine reasons over the perceived fucked up nature of the relationship (even when each of them have confirmed that it is entirely consensual and they're happy) and to protect them. but he becomes so bitter over being ignored. they openly prioritize each other over him when the truth comes out because they see no point in hiding it. and i could definitely see Jason gloating about how he's back in the family whether Bruce likes it or not. Bruce would be beyond pissed about it. he's just never recovering. trying to stop them gets nowhere, even if he manages to cause some internal conflict.

eventually, Bruce would be forced to accept it for fear he would lose all of them. but he's *not* going to be happy about it and he keeps making side comments, hoping to get through to one of them eventually. it doesn't work, but he's definitely not going to stop trying. i also think on some level it would just disgust him a little bit in a visceral way, since they're his kids to him and he doesn't like to picture them in that way. esp when Jason or Steph lean heavily into PDA just to fuck with him. ass grabs, cuddling, sloppy kisses, the whole nine yards. Bruce will not have a moment of peace.