#and I've only seen duke in a couple fics

[rubydubydoo122]

Jason gets de-aged because I've seen fics of Tim or Dick being de-aged, and Bruce losing his memory, but no one has realized the potential for angst if you de-age Jason.

Zatanna had something come up. So of all people she could have sent to replace her, she sent Constantine. Bruce really didn’t know if his luck could get any worse. At least 15 year old Jason liked his accent. 

Constantine was a really capable sorcerer, he was just really hard to work with. Worse than Hal Jordan. Though, if they wanted to get Jason back to normal, they would have to accept Constantine. 

“Hey, Batman! Go back down into the cave, and send Bruce up. I want him instead of Brood and Gloom.”

Bruce was suddenly brought back to the breakfast table. In all of his 41 years of living, he had never seen Alfred smile this big, “That’s my boy.”

Jason beamed at that.

Bruce’s phone pinged. He didn’t even have to look to know it was Dick sending him a ‘Rule #2’ . That’s all his messages with Dick consisted of. Mostly rule #2’s, some rule #3’s, and the occasional rule #1. All in all, Bruce was doing relatively good. He was definitely avoiding Jason more, but if he was around him too much, the only thought that started to fill his brain was his cooling body in his arms. So he toed the line. And he doesn’t think Jason noticed all that much, because whenever Bruce wasn’t with him, one of his children was.

“Constantine’s coming instead of Zatanna.” Bruce finally said, “I think I should be allowed to brood a little bit.”

“ Don’t get your knickers in a twist , old man.” Jason actually had a really good Liverpool British accent, “Mr. Constantine’s not that bad.”

“I just hate magic.” Bruce didn’t grumble. He was too old to grumble like a toddler.

Jason looked himself over and then put a hand to his chest in fake offense.

Bruce’s phone pinged again, “Dick, will you stop that!” 

But it wasn’t Dick, because Dick was holding a fork and knife in his hands and mid-bite.

Bruce dug out his phone.

“ Is the bloke with the sparkly fingas here? ”

That earned a snicker from Duke, Dick and Tim.

Bruce stood up at the same time Tim said, “I’ll give you five dollars if you say that to his face.”

“Oh! Abso–”

“..Lutely not, Jason. To the cave. Let's go.”

Jason slid out of his chair without noise and followed.

Constantine was already in the cave, and smoking a cigarette. 

“Hi, Mr. Constantine!” Jason practically glided down the stairs, as Bruce strode down at a normal pace.

“Hello there, Jason. I reckon you were a bit taller the last time I saw you. Bruce.”

“Constantine. I’m assuming Zatanna filled you in?”

“Yeah yeah yeah. I’m offended you didn’t call me first. I thought we were mates.”

Bruce just raised an eyebrow. Constantine squirmed a bit, and Jason shot Bruce a grin. A grin that was so reminiscent of the way Jason used to look at him after he cuffed a bad guy. Before Fellipe Garzona had fallen off that roof. Before Gloria Stanson had hung herself.

“Alrighty! Let's check out what kinda curse you’ve got going on. Brucie, would you mind taking a couple steps back, love?”

He did, and as soon as Bruce was out of range, Jason was surrounded in a dome of golden runes. Bruce didn’t miss the way Constantine frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

“The little birdie here has a lot of magic knotted all up together.” Constantine started searching through the runes, “Was it you or the Demon child that– Aha, knew it was you. Your soul’s got dimensional ripples.”

Jason frowned, “Heh?”

Bruce blinked, Dimensional ripples? Clark, Lois, and Jonathan had somehow been transported to this dimension before their souls had merged with their counterparts… who had died. Was that what happened with Jason? Maybe he should talk to Barry when all of this is over.

“And you’ve got some leftover Lazaru– Blimey! You have access to the All-Blade?”

Jason shrugged, “I don’t really like beyblades.”

“That’s not what the All-Blade is. It’s–” A set of runes began to glow, and the borderline fangirl look on Constantine’s face immediately dropped. “Jesus...”

“I have access to Jesus?” Jason touched his forehead, then his left shoulder and then his right, “Thank you, father, son, and the holy spirit. Amen.”

Bruce ignored Jason’s prayer, “What’s wrong?”

The dome of runes disappeared, “...I’ve got good news and bad news?”

He gave Constantine a look.

“Um, good news is, the spell looks like it’ll wear off on its own…” Constantine tried for a sheepish smile, but immediately dropped it, “bad news is, it isn’t supposed to? The magic is interacting with the dimensional ripples, and I can’t touch any of it because it’d be like…”

“Disarming a bomb?” Jason supplied. And Bruce had to suppress the urge to flinch at that analogy.

“Yes. Yes exactly, but one wrong move–”

“Boom.” He mimicked an explosion with his hands. ”But you said it’ll wear off on its own, so it’s fine. Right?”

Constantine winced and a ringing was starting to form in Bruce’s ears as he grabbed Constantine by the tie and started dragging him up the stairs.

“Stay here, Jason.”

“Bruce–”

“I said stay !” Jason flinched at his tone, but Bruce and Constantine were already in the study. “Explain.”

Constantine fixed his tie, “Whatever magic he got hit with didn’t just affect him physically, it also affected his soul. I think, if we’re going off of what happened to Clark and Lois, his soul merged together with his soul from an alternate dimension, causing it to be all… rippley. I can’t fully tell what it’s going to do, but in a couple of days, it looks like it’ll in about two or three days? There’s a 50/50 chance– or I guess, a 25/25/50 chance– that he’s going to either go back to normal, stay this way or…”

It was the 25th. two days from today would make it…

The 27th of April.

It suddenly felt like the ground underneath them was turning or tilting, or hell, both.

Bruce had gotten him back. He’d gotten him back, he can’t leave again. He can’t lose him again, he can’t die again.

Jason found it very rude that Bruce and Constantine were obviously leaving him out of the conversation about him. It completely baffles him how Bruce was raised by Alfred, yet had no manners. He wasn’t even subtle about it. 

Constantine said the spell would wear off. So why did he look like he was about to say something was wrong. Like really wrong. Sure, trying to tamper with whatever was going on would be… bad, but they weren’t gonna mess with it. They would just wait for it to wear off.

Would he physically go back to normal, but he would never remember the past five years? Or was he slowly going to become younger and younger until he was just a literal fetus flopping around on a table? 

Why won’t anyone tell him anything? It would be so much easier if they did. 

Jason eyed the Batcomputer and then the stairs. There was no one else here, no one to stop him from learning by himself.

He opened up the batcomputer, and the first thing he noticed was that everything was filed differently. Instead of being alphabetical, the missions were sorted into who had the mission and the date. For some reason, Jason’s folder had the least amount of missions under it, even though the folder itself was older than Duke’s. 

Still, he clicked on it, only to find that the oldest mission was less than a year ago. Not helpful.

Maybe if these were sorted recently, some of the older mission reports that he did with Bruce would be in Bruce’s folder.

Bruce’s most recent mission was called “Fun Sized Jason”. Guess that would be him. Jason clicked on it and… Bruce is a much sadder man than Jason had given him credit for. And Jason was currently upset at Bruce for snapping at him, and Bruce had obviously snapped because he was being broody. This man. Couldn’t even follow his own rules.

Rule #3 Don’t let Jason know something’s up between your relationship with him 

What was ‘up’ between him and Bruce? If anything, Bruce has been a lot more patient with him.

Unless Bruce was acting. And Bruce could act, Jason had seen him at Galas.

No. He couldn’t have been. Bruce had said he’d give him the world. And he said it in the way that made Jason know he was telling nothing but the truth. 

But that first night Bruce wouldn’t even look at him.

No. Bruce had to have been telling the truth.

But the longing and the guilt and regret… Maybe Jason had done something to Bruce, the same way he did something to Tim and Damian. Jason still didn’t know what exactly that was, just that he felt bad about it.

Jason exited out of that mission statement and started scrolling down to April of 2018. And there were a lot of cases. A part of Jason was glad they were re-organised by date because it would’ve taken a lot more work to try to figure out the name of the file, and then find the file.

Ethiopia: Sheila Haywood, the Joker, and Jason Todd – 4/24/2018- 4/27/2018

Bingo. The first date lined up with the last date in his notebook. He double clicked on it, when a locked symbol came up followed by a space for a password.

Great. Just perfect. 

He tried the password Bruce used on most things.

Wrong.

Bruce’s birthday?

Wrong again.

Jason’s Birthday. Since the file seemed to be about him.

Oh yeah! Who has the best guessing skills? Jason does. He did a little victory spin in the chair, but when he went to look back at the computer, there was a Tim shaped wall blocking his view.

He tried to look around him, but Tim shifted to block him again.

“Timmy, Timbooo, my favorite brother-o. You’re blocking my view, Hermano.”

Tim gave him a look that was scarily similar to Bruce’s bat-glare. 

Jason tried to look around him again, but suddenly, he was being tossed over Tim’s shoulder, and they were moving farther and farther from the computer.

“Hey! I was obviously in the middle of something!”

Tim snorted, as he started up the stairs. “I could bring up a spreadsheet of all the times you’ve done this to me. We’d be here for hours.”

Jason licked his finger and twisted so that he could stick it in his ear. Good news was, it made Tim let Jason go. Bad news was, it made Tim let Jason go, and sent Jason tumbling down the cave’s stairs.

“Jason!”

Lucky for Jason, he was a fast recoverer, and made an immediate beeline to the computer. 

After escaping Arkham Asylum, The Joker had made his way to Ethiopia. Jason had come across the information that Sheila Haywood was his birth mother. Haywood had been a doctor who was working at a refugee camp, also located in Ethiopia. Without my knowledge or Alfred’s, Jason traveled to meet up with his mother. 

Jason and I had managed to cross paths in Ethiopia, when we soon learned that Haywood was being held ‘hostage’ by the Joker. I went to go check on some other thing that had come up, and I had told Jason to stay put, but instead he had gone to attempt to save Haywood. Which led to Jason getting hurt by the Joker.

Jason started to scroll down more, the screen went black.

Tim was standing next to the outlet with the power cord in his hand.

Suddenly all the scars on his hand looked interesting, “Is.. Are most of my scars from the Joker?”

Jason heard Tim’s feet shuffle across the flood of the batcave, “I don’t think I’m the person you should be having this conversation with.”

“But it was bad enough to the point where I needed a Lazarus pit to get better. It was bad enough to the point where I had to stop being Robin.” Because why else would Tim start hanging around the manor when he was 13? Why else would Bruce adopt him? “And you were Robin after me?”

A beat, “Yes.”

He thought back to the conversation he had in the bathroom with Tim, “So, I didn’t grow out of being Robin. I was… forced into retirement. By the Joker.”

“That’s… the easy way of putting it.” Tim took one of Jason’s hands, “I want to show you something.”

They both went over to the locker area and Tim opened his locker and pulled out a shoe box from the top. “I guess since you knew I was a little stalker back in the day, there should be no reason for me to feel embarrassed for showing you these.” He moved to the bench and opened the lid. 

Inside the box were a bunch of photos of Batman and Robin. Of Bruce and Jason. Tim handed him a couple. The first one was of Jason when he had just become Robin. He was talking animatedly while walking with a teenage girl. He remembers that night.  Her name was Angela, and she had been followed for a couple of blocks by a bunch of older guys, and Jason couldn’t let her go home alone. Not with how cruel the streets could be. 

The next one was of Jason cradling a baby. The mom had been separated from the baby during an Ivy attack. 

The last one Tim had handed to him was of Batman and Robin in an Alley. They had just taken down a bunch of thugs, and Jason was talking with the two kids, Gavin and Evan, while Batman was farther off, with a fond smile on his face, looking at Jason. 

“Robin is the light to Batman’s darkness. Hope to his fear. Every Robin gave light, but out of all of us, you shined the brightest. You were the people’s Robin, you cared about them so much, like each and every one of them are your brothers and sisters.” Tim pointed at the picture in Jason’s hand, “Your light was so bright, you made Batman smile. And that isn’t the only picture I have like that.” He put his hand on Jason’s elbow, “I could never come close to the Robin you were, but I always tried. You were like the Sun. And I could never take your place. Not really, but I tried my best to do what I thought you would. To make you proud. Even though… you didn’t really like me when you found out.”

“No. I like you. It’s just…” Jason could feel his eyes burn, “If I got hurt, really bad, bad enough to the point where I couldn’t be Robin anymore, why would Bruce let there be another one? When- When it could happen again? Or even worse. ”

Tim closed his eyes, “When the Joker did what he did to you, it sent him down a dark path. He was barely holding back his punches and he was barely dodging them either. Batman needed a Robin and—“

“I wasn’t there.”

“No! Jason, it wasn’t your fault. You were going through some of the worst moments of your life, it wasn’t your job at that time to be Robin, or emotionally babysit Bruce while he fought crime to deal with his trauma.”

“But you were, what? 13 at the time with no legal obligations to him. It shouldn’t have been your job either.”

Tim blinked, “ah, fuck.” He sat criss cross on the bench and turned so he was fully facing Jason, “point is, it was just a bad time. Bruce kicked Dick out of the Manor, The Joker had diplomatic immunity, which still does not make sense to me, but then he was sent back to Arkham. Bane broke Bruce’s back, some psycho took over being Batman and would not let Dick and I in the cave, but then Bruce got better and became Batman again. Superman died, but then he came back. Then Bruce got framed for murder, and then the riddler and clayface teamed up with this whole convoluted plot which involved Clayface showing up as you and trying to kill us and Bruce probably needed therapy, but he was too much of a stubborn ass to ever actually go.” Tim finally took a breath. 

Jason blinked, “That’s a really rough five years.”

Tim groaned and leaned his head on Jason’s shoulder, “That was only two.” 

“Then it was probably a… shittier five years.” Jason patted his head, “Thanks, Tim.”

Tim glanced at Jason, “For what? I literally just trauma dumped on you.”

Jason shrugged, “Yeah, but you also gave me more information about what the hell is going on around here than anyone has in the past two days. Maybe a lot of the things that happened sound horrible, but it’s better than not knowing. Ya know?”

Jason felt Tim nod, “I’m sorry we’ve been keeping it all from you. It’s not something Bruce likes to talk about, and for Dick being the next adult who isn’t emotionally constipated, he evades certain topics like the plague.”

Jason snorted, “Wanna know something I’ve been completely baffled by?”

Tim sat up, “What?”

“Dick isn’t… wallowed up in angst. Him and Bruce haven’t had a single argument, and Dick…he’s a lot different. So is Bruce.” Jason thought about it for a moment, “Am I different too?”

Tim smirked and dug out his phone, “Mentally, Emotionally, or Physically?” Tim angled the phone so Jason could see, and it was a picture of a man, kneeling and talking to a little girl. There was a red helmet on the floor, but the man had a domino that covered his eyes. Tim swiped to the next one, of older Jason helping an old lady across the street. He swiped again to a photo of him holding Damian in a firefighter’s hold. “You might be a lot rougher around the edges, but everyone changes with time, especially with the things you’ve gone through. Yeah, you might be different, but I think you’re still the same in the ways that it counts.”

Jason looked at the photo. Without the domino, or the helmet he could really see how he had grown into his features, “I look a lot like my papi,” He looked back at Tim, and then pointed upwards to where Bruce had gone, “But I think I learned how to help from my dad.”

[shewolfofvilnius]

@tealfling posted a thing about which of their Tavs would have kids, and it seemed like fun and I need to stay away so here we go. (Warning, Tavaria will spoil at least two plotlines in a future 3rd fic I've only written the first three chapters of). Sofija (redeemed half-elf fem durge) & Shadowheart absolutely do not have kids. They're not compatible like that biologically, Sof is terrified of Bhaal trying to get back at her through any potential family, and Selunite Shadowheart with saved parents has enough family baggage that it just doesn't happen. (Sofija is seen in a one-shot fic, Sisters' Redemption)

Melyna (very evil fem drow durge who still told Bhaal to kick rocks) & Minthara actually wind up adopting two daughters and raise them as their own from infancy. Rather than the constant betrayal of a typical Drow house, theirs is one of strength in unity. At onepoint before rebuking Bhaal, Scleritas Fel suggested there might be a way for the two women to have a kid naturally, but that never came about. I've never written Melyna.

Furiella (Bard, cambion-turned-tiefling) and Wyll adopt Yenna immediately in both endings, though she winds up staying with Jaheira's family for a while during the 'save Karlach' ending. (I played both Blade and Duke endings). Duke Wyll + Furiella also adopt Lily Aurora as noted in the epilogue, and I HC that Tav becomes pregnant a couple of years later in both endings, causing Wyll no end of panic and causing him to hang up his blade for a while in that ending. Furiella and Wyll get a one-shot, Family (Re)Union, set in Act 3, where it's clear they're adopting Yenna. Tavaria (tiefling rogue turned bard turned druid/ranger) and Rolan. The Tav you've seen me post obsessively about and is in the majority of my long fics. After the pair move to Reithwin so Tav can resume her dreams and goals as a master farmer, and with the town needing a teacher and archmage, the pair wind up adopting Ide and Umi. Tavaria is aggressively on preventatives to prevent a pregnancy since she has to teach an entire town how to farm and obv it's intensely physical, but a couple of years after they move there, she finally has enough help and they decide to try for a baby, with her working through as much of the pregnancy as she can. They have a second baby ~3 years later. (Tav stars in Lost and Found, is a main secondary character in the Lia-focused Wild Magic, and will be the co-star of an untitled fic following her and Rolan to Reithwin to farm)

[multidimensionalmusicalmess]

A bunch of praise of Olivia Barnett-Legh's performance of one specific scene, and of the west end revival's version of Heather Chandler in general

(This post is copied over from Reddit; I wrote it there originally because I was shadowbanned here.)

Disclaimer: I've never seen a portrayal of Chandler I didn't enjoy, and each actor brings at least one unique and brilliant thing to the role. While Olivia is my personal favorite for the reasons below, I don't mean by comparing her to other actors to in any way disparage those other actors, and this post is obviously my opinion, not fact. Also, I am very gay, and am biased towards any version of the show that makes it easier to read things in a gay manner.

Additional disclaimer: I will be extrapolating way too much from small details in this post. But isn't that the grand tradition of musical theater fandom?

Okay! So, despite being in the Heathers fandom for... way, way too long, to the point that I named myself Heather after Chandler a few years ago, I only got to see the show live for the first time a couple months ago in August. I was lucky enough to see the last West End revival cast with Miracle Chance, George Renshaw, and Olivia Barnet-Legh, and I adored Olivia's portrayal in particular so much that it singlehandedly got me back into the fandom and inspired a (so far) 50k word fic I've been writing ever since.

To preface, I'll talk a bit about what this particular production of the show does for Heather Chandler—if nothing else, because a lot of people seem unfamiliar with it, and it's worth being familiar with. Generally speaking, while the 2014 off-Broadway production made Chandler an entirely villainous and external presence, the latest version of the show has done a lot to bring the story a bit more in line with the movie, in which Veronica and Chandler were close friends before the story even began. In the 2014 production, Chandler's death is barely a tragic event, and it certainly isn't seen as one by the other characters (except perhaps McNamara). Veronica says after Blue that she doesn't feel as bad about Chandler's death as she should, and they share little chemistry other than that of enemies. It makes the line "I just killed my best friend" ring very hollow, for all the other merits of the original show.

This is radically changed in the latest production. Listing all of the ways the two characters have been made closer would take too long, so I'll just go over the big ones. Firstly, the line about not feeling guilty is cut, and replaced with an earlier and much more sincere "I feel bad. Heather was a human being, and we killed her" right after The Me Inside of Me. The croquet scene is made longer and changed from awkward and tense to playful and relatively friendly (except, obviously, Chandler's interaction with Duke). Several of Chandler's more confrontational lines with Veronica are cut (such as "You're doing it wrong!"). 'Ghost Heather' is given significantly more stage time, and, most importantly, shares a genuine rapport with Veronica. The two talk together in the background of multiple scenes (such as during Martha's added conversation with Fleming before Shine A Light) in what looks like an amicable way, and—my personal favorite—after the new conversation between Chandler and Veronica after You're Welcome (formerly Blue), rather than delighting in Veronica's suffering at the hands of Duke, Kurt, and Ram, Chandler actively gets between Duke and Veronica, in what (in most performances I've seen) reads as an attempt to protect her, or at least possessive jealousy. Granted, she does eventually give up and join in the song, but, well, she's still Heather Chandler.

(As a side note, all of these scenes between Veronica and Ghost Heather have an enormous amount of visible dialogue that isn't audible to the audience, and while I know that there probably aren't set lines in the script there, I would kill to hear what the characters are saying to each other)

All this sets the stage, so to speak: The most recent version of musical Heather Chandler is, while still arrogant and mean, much less cruel, and seems to share a mutual affection with Veronica. So, where does Olivia come into this?

First off, I'm incredibly biased towards her performance because she's gorgeous, has a ridiculous and entertaining voice, is a head taller than Veronica, and plays the gayest version of Chandler I've ever seen. But that goes without saying, and this production was really gay for plenty of other reasons anyway (particularly at the show I saw, where Veronica sang "A hot girl smiled at me" in Big Fun).

What stuck out to me most, though, and the reason I love her performance, is how she plays Heather after her death, especially the part of The Me Inside of Me clipped above.

It's long been a subject of speculation whether Heather Chandler's appearances after she dies are her literal ghost, or a figment of Veronica's imagination. Generally, I think it ends up largely down to acting decisions, and most actors make it pretty ambiguous (though there's been a shift towards the ghost end of the spectrum in later productions when compared to the 2014 one; Olivia, for instance, is far from the only actor to physically drag Veronica around during Never Shut Up Again).

Olivia, though, leans harder into the ghost interpretation than anyone else I've seen. I won't say she confirms it—that's impossible without script changes—but she heavily implies it, most notably in the above scene.

There are a few ways actors tend to play this part of The Me Inside of Me (the section most open to individual interpretation). Some, like Charissa Hogeland from the famous 2014 bootleg, Maddison Firth from the proshot, or Jodie Steele from the first West End run, mostly stand around being indignant and smug, which does undeniably work for the character. Others, like Emma Kingston (also from this revival), plays it very contemplatively, which I also like.

But Olivia panics. Her Chandler reacts exactly as I'd expect her to react to as if she were actually a ghost and had actually just discovered that nobody at the school who used to worship her could see her anymore, and I adore this for several reasons.

The first and most subjective reason is that it's extremely angsty. I read a lot of fanfiction, and seeing someone play Chandler in a way that felt like it stretches the boundaries of what the script allows for is brilliant. It makes the scene very sad in a satisfying way.

More importantly, this sadness radically alters the tone of the song, and by extension a large part of the show, in a way that I'd argue improves it. In most performances, The Me Inside of Me is a comic song. It's darkly comic, of course—this is Heathers—but the complete misunderstanding of Chandler's character, and Chandler's reaction to it, is mostly just funny.

Olivia's running around and trying to get people to notice her during the second chorus changes (a large part of) the song from darkly funny to outright eerie. Her escalating panic and terrified expression, plus her horrified reaction to the suicide note, suck most of the positivity out of the scene. Of course, it does still end with her being overjoyed at the attention, because that's how the show goes—but the influence of this part stays there, and its influence is apparent in every other scene she has as a ghost.

It impacts more than just her, though. Frequently, I've seen people criticize the musical for making JD seem too justified in his actions. Some dislike the addition of You're Welcome because they feel it casts Kurt and Ram as people who deserved to die; some dislike the emphasis on his tragic backstory in general. I don't agree with this critique, personally; I love sad, sympathetic JD. However, I do agree that the musical has often suffered from not showing negative consequences of the murders. Sure, Veronica says she regrets Chandler's death, but besides Duke's coup, it can be hard to see why her death or those of Kurt and Ram are really so bad. Olivia's performance during The Me Inside of Me, and to a lesser extent later on, makes immediately clear the tragedy of Chandler's death; it's obvious to the audience that, despite how united the school suddenly is, nothing good is happening here.

The biggest influence all of this has on the show, though, is how it changes Veronica's relationship with Chandler. Of course, no matter how you interpret things, they were clearly some degree of close in this version of the story; even if Chandler is a hallucination, Veronica cares about her enough to hallucinate everyday conversations with her. If Chandler isn't, though, and is really there—as Olivia's performance implies at every turn—then those interactions mean so much more. They mean that Chandler values Veronica enough to spend time talking to and in physical contact with the person who indirectly killed her, and, though we don't see much of their dynamic together before Heather's death, they imply that they really were close; or, alternatively, that Chandler is spending time with the person she condemned to social execution because nobody can see her anymore and she feels like it. It means, in short, that everything she does after her death can be taken as evidence about Heather Chandler, rather than about Veronica's stressed-out mind.

Now, obviously, I'm extrapolating a lot of meaning from a very short scene. I'm also praising Olivia's performance specifically when many of the elements that contribute to the ghost interpretation of Chandler are scripted, and thus shared by everyone who plays her in this production.

But, honestly, I'd just never seen anyone play Chandler's realization that she's dead remotely like this before, and I was really excited by it when I saw the show; I figured I might as well share some of that excitement with other fans. Hopefully the more fandom-minded among you (that is, people inclined to engage with fics) can see why I find this version of the character so fascinating, and those who aren’t can at least be amused by my extremely long post.

[evilwickedme]

What ships do you like with all the Bats?

All of the bats???? Damn

So starting with Bruce, my fav ship for him is probably batcat. I just think they're cute and she's a great character. But superbat and superwonderbat do have their appeal - again I'll say my main problem with this is I literally cannot picture a Clark who isn't in love with Lois, but polyamory fixes this for the most part in theory. In practice anytime I've read anything superbat either Clark has been gay or clois aren't together for some reason and it always low-key throws me off

As for Dick there aren't many people I don't ship him with it honestly? Certainly I can work with any ship that's even sort of mainstream. So birdflash, dickbabs, dickory, dickroy, etc. As long as it's not incest or Slade Wilson, I could conceivably go for it

For Jason I'm basically strictly JayRoy and joyfire, with the occasional jaytemis thrown in there. Idk I don't vibe with most of his canon love interests

Tim's a canon bicycle honestly but uh timkon obviously, timber, timsteph, timberkon, timpulse, timbartkon, core four as a ship, I can and have vibed with all of them in fic

We've already covered timsteph but obviously I also like stephcass!! Beyond that I honestly don't know enough about Cass or Steph to ship them with anybody else tho. I know Cass has gone on a couple of dates with Kon and that's a no from me but beyond that I have nothing. If they have insane chemistry with other characters please send the relevant panels my way!

Damian's still a bby for real he's 14 but damijon is literally so obvious and it helps that poisonivory has written some really good fic for them

Again I don't know enough about Duke's supporting cast to ship him with anyone, let me know if there's anyone notable

Kate deserves better than dating a cop but I have no opinion on her girlfriends beyond that

Like I said I like dickbabs just fine but dinahbabs seems like a great ship, I've only seen them in the background of backgrounds of fics but I should look into them more

Idk anything about the Rows or the Foxes or Terry

Did I miss any of the Bats? I feel like that was literally everyone but this family is so big

Oh actually, as a bonus: Thomas Wayne/Martha Wayne/Alfred Pennyworth throuple, thank you and good night

[aethersea]

This isn’t going on ao3 until the whole fic is finished, but that’s going to take a thousand years and I’m pleased with this and want to show it to people. So here you all go! A very special first in Duke’s vigilante career <3

Duke is 15 here, Steph is 18, Cass is 19, and Tim is 17.

“DUKE!”

Steph pounded up the grand staircase before her voice had finished echoing through the entrance hall. “Duke!” she bellowed again as she reached the landing and paused, bouncing in place as she waited for her improvised Marco Polo to bear fruit. Bruce’s stupid mansion was too big to go tearing through the whole thing looking for Duke, but she was sorely tempted anyway. This couldn’t wait. It was just too good.

“Duke!” she yelled one more time, just to be sure. A door snapped open in the hall to her left. Steph darted over to the hallway entrance, but it was only Tim. He stuck his head out of a door halfway down the hall, just far enough to give Steph an exasperated glare.

“Where’s Duke?” she demanded before he had time to open his mouth. “Is he with you? Babs said he’d be here. I need to ambush him.”

Tim regarded her with suspicion. “Why?”

“Because!” Steph rocked on the balls of her feet, unable to contain her glee. “We’re doing creative writing in English class. And today we swapped pieces for peer review.”

Tim’s eyes widened. “He got a story?”

“He got a banger. Hall of Fame material.”

Tim lit up in delight. “Cass,” he called into the room, “Duke got his first story!”

“But where is he?” Steph insisted, even as Cass popped out from behind Tim so they stacked like cartoon characters.

“Training with B,” Tim answered, and Steph was gone.

She made it to the bottom of the grand staircase before Cass tackled her. She went down with a shriek, rolled to absorb the impact, and somehow ended up flat on her back with Cass straddling her.

“Thanks for not doing that on the stairs,” Steph wheezed.

Cass frowned at her, a little offended, which meant, Of course I wouldn’t do that on the stairs.

“I appreciate it,” Steph assured her. “I like having unbroken ribs.”

Tim slid down the banister and landed neatly beside them. “No starting without us,” he ordered.

Steph raised her hands in surrender. Cass booped her on the nose and pulled her to her feet.

“So how come you two are up here, anyway?” Steph asked as they set off at a frustratingly sedate pace. She turned to walk backwards in front of them so they’d all fit in the hallway that led to the study. 

Tim shrugged. “Everyone needs Batman Bonding Time when they start out. We don’t want to get in the way.” 

Cass snagged an arm around his waist to pull him close and smacked an aggressively wet kiss on his cheek, which meant, And I needed Timmy Bonding Time!

“Eww! Cass!” Tim shoved her away, but he was laughing, and Cass was smug as she let him go. Steph laughed too as she turned back around to swing into the study and bound over to the grandfather clock. 

Steph didn’t run down the stairs to the Batcave, because those things were a goddamn menace and, as previously mentioned, she liked her bones best when they were intact. But she did jump the last few steps and race to the training mats, yelling, “Duke! Duke! Duke! Duke!” the whole time.

Duke and Bruce were sparring with bo staffs. They’d been at it for a while, judging by the state of their shirts. Duke turned to stare at Steph’s approach in shock, and Bruce reached out to tap him with the staff for his inattention. Duke realized what he was doing and lunged around to block at the last second—sloppy, but effective, and Bruce gave a grudging nod.

Steph grabbed Duke by the shoulders. “Duke. Drop everything. This is a very special occasion.”

Duke started to smile, but he knew her well enough by now that the smile was wary. “What’s up?”

“You’ll see,” she promised, and explained to Bruce, “I had English class today. Creative Writing.”

Bruce looked abruptly pained. “This isn’t going to be like the bubblegum one, is it? Because Duke and I have three more sets to get through just with the staff, and I’m not stopping for that kind of drivel.”

“Absolutely not, this one is quality. And it’s Duke’s first!” She swung around behind Duke and squished her face up next to his. “A boy’s first time is a precious thing, B,” she said piously. “We have to make it good for him.”

Duke’s skin was too dark to show a blush, but Steph could feel his cheek heating next to hers. “Now I know you’re not saying what it sounds like you’re saying,” he said, trying to sound threatening. “So what the hell are you talking about?” This was sufficiently adorable that Steph kissed him on the cheek, which he met with a deeply sardonic look.

“Language,” Bruce said automatically. Steph snorted and stuck her tongue out at him. 

Bruce sighed deeply and looked to the stalactites in supplication, because he was a massive drama queen. By this point Cass and Tim had reached the mats and were watching the proceedings with matching smirks. Bruce shook his head in disgust. “Alright, alright, I know when I’m outnumbered.” He reached for Duke’s bo staff. “This better be good, though. Duke is doing well today, and you shouldn’t interrupt a good sparring session halfway through like this.”

Steph beamed at him. An honest compliment, unprompted, and no one was even bleeding out? He really was growing as a person! She glanced sidelong at Duke and found him trying very hard to look like he was too cool to be pleased at the praise. She giggled and kissed his cheek again.

Bruce shook his head and went to put away the staffs. Steph steered Duke toward the couches Bruce had finally installed down here after she’d mocked him one too many times for his sad man cave with its sad lack of real furniture. They were squashy, ugly things, hideously comfortable, and probably cost ten thousand dollars each. They’d only been bled on a little.

Steph pushed Duke down onto the center of one of the couches. Cass and Tim plopped down on either side of him, Tim with his legs on Duke’s lap, Cass with her head snuggled on his shoulder. Duke, as ever, tolerated this manhandling with equanimity, and only looked a little worried when Tim said solemnly, “We’re holding you down so you can’t escape.” If there were ever a prize for Most Chill Bat, Duke would win it hands down. Steph reflected, not for the first time, that she should really hurry up and start doing annual family award ceremonies. Damian would absolutely hate it. It would be worth it for that alone.

Bruce started to flee toward the stairs, but Steph intercepted him with an, “Absolutely not, Bruce, this is a solemn rite of passage for all Bats—all supers, even. You can’t skip out on this, what kind of a mentor would that make you?”

“One who would like to get some actual work done,” he grumbled, but it was perfunctory and they all knew it. Steph could and would badger him into staying. It was far more efficient to just give in now and save them all the time.

Brue sat on a squashy armchair next to the squashy couch and raised his eyebrows expectantly at Steph. She grinned at him, and turned that grin on the others as well with a theatrical sweep of her arm. “I have gathered you all here today,” she declared, “to celebrate a very special occasion. Now as we all know, there comes a time in every young crime-fighter’s life when they at last get the public recognition they deserve.”

“Whether they like it or not,” Tim muttered. 

“Shut up, you love it. Although,” Steph conceded, “your first was not as cool as mine.”

“Yours was a disgrace,” Tim protested. “I don’t know why you even like it, it was awful.” Cass wrinkled her nose in agreement.

“Mine was a masterpiece and I have it framed, so there.”

“She does,” Tim told Duke. “She won’t let us take it down.”

“In back tunnel,” Cass said, pointing. “Bruce said, too awful to look at daily, can’t have up in the Cave. Steph said, fine, and put in his locker. Compromise: put in Jason’s favorite entrance.”

“I did not agree to this compromise,” Bruce interjected. This was a blatant lie, because if he had such a big problem with it he’d have left the thing up in his locker and suffered in stoic silence. Duke knew it, too, judging by the look he shared with Tim. 

Steph giggled again. “Whatever you say, old man.” She slung her backpack off her shoulder and pulled out a yellow folder. “But today isn’t about you. And so, without further ado, I present to you—” Steph flipped open the folder and pulled out a stack of pages with a great rustling and flapping of paper—“A Guiding Light.”

“This is a long one, huh,” Bruce sighed. 

Tim kicked him in the ankle. “Shut up and cherish your newest kid.”

“I’m not his kid,” Duke said immediately. Steph held out a hand and Duke high-fived her. Bruce made no answer to this, just sat there and looked uncomfortable.

“Alright!” Steph cleared her throat dramatically and struck a pose. “It was not,” she declaimed, “a dark and stormy night.”

“Promising,” Bruce said drily. Tim kicked him in the ankle again.

“It was dark,” Steph continued, gesturing grandly with her free hand, “and storming, but the sun shone on behind the clouds. Not that the boy crouched between the crumbling gargoyles on Stevens Street would have guessed it, if he hadn’t known in his very core that it had not yet crossed the horizon.

“The Signal had never needed fair skies to find the sun.”

“The what?” Duke asked faintly.

Steph cackled, unable to keep a straight face. “You heard me!”

Tim and Cass jostled him, laughing as well. “It’s your first fanfiction!” Tim crowed.

Cass patted him on the head. “Congratulations.”

“Found organically, in the wild,” Tim said. “That’s the rule, actually—you can’t go looking for the stories, they have to just come to you.”

“Well you can,” Steph corrected, “Babs and I do it all the time, it just doesn’t count for the game. And you can’t go looking for someone’s first.”

Cass nodded. “First is special.”

“Huh,” Duke said weakly. The flummoxed shock on his face was morphing quickly into mortification. He eyed Tim’s legs over his lap as if he were seriously considering making a break for it.

“This one is very special,” Steph assured him. “You got a great one for your first, you’ll see.”

“Lucky me.”

Cass giggled and poked Duke in the ribs. Tim ruffled his hair. This had no actual effect, with how short Duke kept his hair, but it’s the thought that counts. Bruce watched them with that soft little smile he got around his kids when he thought no one was looking at him. It was Steph’s favorite thing about Bruce, that little smile, and most of the reason she would trust him with just about anything. But that was a fact that she would take to her grave, because unlike some people she was not an absolute sap.

“Alright.” Duke squared his shoulders, bracing himself. “I’m ready. Hit me, Steph.”

Steph snapped a salute. “You got it, chief.” 

“From the top,” Tim suggested. Cass nodded. 

Steph shot off another salute, struck a dramatic pose, waggled her eyebrows at Duke, and began again.

[cupids-chamber]

since we r talking about manhwa's any reccomendations

YES Pulls a smug Azul Face. BRO IM VERY VERY PICKY. But I tried being open-minded here. But I could have added more here but like I think it would be too long!

"Daisy(Lisabel)" I kind of have favoritism on this manwha because of the plot line, and the refreshing couple. The couple talk out their issues easily, their open with one another and overall see each other as equals. That's very rare in manwha. This manwha is a refreshing change compared to other manwha's.

"Marry me, again my husband" please I recently started this and I love it so much! The main couple are amazing and the brother... I want... Gimme.. Regardless the plot is enticing and really hope the best for the main couple. Especially after you read the first few chapters..

"The Black Haired Princess" I love this manwha so much, easily in my top manwha's. It's my comfort manwha! The duo is funny but not only that wholesome. They both seem to have no interest in love yet its cute how they develop into a romance.

"Grand Duke, It Was a Mistake!" My dream relationship with Vil Ok all jokes aside. In manwha's we usually see a obsessively or drunk-in-love ml or fl. But having both so in love is rare, and I don't think I've seen it! Except this one! Usually one person loves the other possessively so it's cute and refreshing to see both main characters love each other that much!

"Abandoned wife has a new husband." It's amazing, the ml helps the fl a lot, overcoming her trauma. He helped her out of a very difficult situation. And It's honestly sweet seeing their relationship build slowly but surely.

SPECIAL MENTIONS

"I Became the Wife of the Monstrous Crown Prince" Personally I read the novel a bit and I love it! I haven't focused on the manwha as much but if it's following the novel, which from what I've seen it is! It'll be good! I haven't finished the novel but the couple is cute, honestly just some wholesome, bit angst? Very mild but tooth-rotting couple fluff. (From childhood!)

"Miss Not-So Sidekick" Ok so this manwha is a comedy, but it's so much fun! The main couple is hilarious, their dynamic was worth reading. If you're into comedy and romance this manwha is for you!

"Who made me a princess" Personally I don't enjoy this as much as some other manwha's. But I know a good chunk of the community love this manwha, in fact it was the first thing I wrote a fic about! So you should check it out!

"The Villainess Reverses the Hourglass" One of the first things I read, (I think?!) And like I can't decide if it should go on special mentions or on top. But I recommend it! Hell I even read the novel for it, just to speed up and know the plot. (Not the epilogue I think? I got bored heh-heh)

THERE IS MORE BUT I GOTTA STOP

[mrs-cavill-wife]

Forbidden Witch (3/?)

Pairing: Charles Brandon x Female Reader (Cassandra of Boudicca)

Warning: Fantasy. Language. Forbidden Love. Tell me if I miss something.

Author's Note: Yay, our sorceress is back! I'm so so so sorry for taking so long to back to this Fanfic. I've been sick, my mind got "blocked" and stuff but I'm back to it and sorry if this one is short. yes, I decided she'll have purple eyes. Hope you guys enjoy it, if you do, like, reblog and/or comment. I'm all ears to feedback.

Tag List: @lexyvaldez26 @thereisa8ella @natura1phenomenon @mrsavery @number1chonie @themanfromu @littlefreya @legendarywizarddetective @lovingbearherringhairdo @zealoushound @deangal-101 @everydaymultifandom @rmtndew @summersong69 @jgtfvhsg @tellingyouastory @sillyrabbit81 @nuggsmum @pussyverson @oh-for-fic-sake @foodieforthoughts @fanficlover91 @r-t-doll @its--fandom--darling @poledancingdinos @hlkwrites

Cassandra's POV

Soft knocks woke me up from my messy dreams. I blinked my eyes a few times getting used to the light. I sat up in bed and stretched my body looking around a little confused. Sometimes I have dreams so messed up that I forget where I really am, but within seconds, everything was fresh in my memory. Days ago, I saved a child, a boy, who was swimming in a river in the middle of the night. On the way back to his house, I found out that he is a prince, from the kingdom of Aluma, and since then, out of gratitude, I have been here, in a beautiful large and comfortable room, in the castle.

"Come in"

I got out of bed and Lady Juliette entered my room, just like every morning. I should have stayed only one day, two at the most, but the hospitality, the politeness, the ambient, the treatment of the King and Queen, the happiness of that little runaway, I couldn't refuse to stay any longer.

I smiled at Juliette, watching her open the curtains and the huge windows that looked out onto a beautiful balcony. Then she approached the bed and I stood up as she bowed slightly.

"Good morning, Lady Cassandra. did you sleep well?"

I tilted my face playfully looking at her with mock disapproval and she smiled shyly.

"Oh Juliette, I've told you that we don't need cordiality. How long have i been here? A few weeks, probably months, we're confidants, already friends and I have no title."

She's still shy and started to make my bed and I helped her with the pillows.

"I know, my la.. Cassandra.. It's the orders, I'm just a lady-in-waiting, a helper, I must respect whoever is above me."

I got closer to her after we make the bed and held one of her hands.

"I'm not above anyone else, we're equal inside and I consider you my friend and I want you to act as such, do we agree?"

When I arrived, I was a little unsure, but in front of so many good people, I had nothing to fear. And to make things better, Juliette and I got closer over time. I never had great friends, I guess I never really cared. Since from my childhood in Boudicca, to Aretuza and then to whatever path fate takes me, it's always been me and Atlas, but at the moment, I'm very happy to have someone, who really responds when I speak, at least with words, and not neighs. Juliette smiled happily and went to the bathroom to prepare my bath.

I went to the balcony, the view was just incredible, the birds sang, the sun shone and burned against my skin, on the horizon, I could see part of the Kingdom, the village, but in the distance, mountains. I took a deep breath, basking in the morning scent, eyes hooded, just concentrating on the sounds, until Juliette informed me that the bath was ready.

As soon as I walked in, she left so I could take off my nightgown. We're friends but I still don't feel good about exposing myself like that.

After a relaxing bath with warm water, rose petals and sparkling foam. I put on a robe and found a tray on my bed with my breakfast. It had fruit, bread and juice. Normally, the king and queen would like me to join them at the dinner table, but today was different.

"The kitchen is quite busy, the king is having an old friend today. He is very excited, asked them to prepare the best dishes."

A couple of days ago, I heard some buzz in the hallways. A friend of the king was coming to visit him and it seemed he was creating a commotion around the servants. Maybe it's my imagination, but the ladies looked as fervent as a pan of boiling oil. At a dinner, the king said he would love to introduce me to one of his great friends, I just nodded.

That same night, the queen visited me in my room with a woman. A middle-aged seamstress, a few strands of gray, the queen said she was one of her favorite seamstresses and the most sought after in the kingdom and among her royal friends. She asked the woman and me to talk, and agree on nice clothes for me. I had been wearing dresses loaned to the queen for a while and she knew I didn't feel very comfortable so she contacted her seamstress.

Since today is a big day for the king, I had several options above my bed, my hair was already done with a simple braid. Time passed and I couldn't make up my mind. Juliette was nervous about my lateness, soon the king's friend would be there. For some reason, I felt more indecisive than ever, I almost didn't recognize myself.

But after so much choosing, he manages to make a decision. I looked in the mirror, admiring my necklace and my dress.

"Not that bad"

I walked downstairs with Juliette behind me on our way to the throne room. Madeline played with her son's blond strands while King Alexander chatted with some guards. The castle was cheerful, everyone seemed to want to give the guest the best reception.

As soon as she was seen by little Eric, he smiled and ran to me. I bent down a little and we hugged. Eric and I have bonded, he's an amazing kid with a thirst for adventure.

"Oh dear, look at you"

The queen approached me, looking me up and down and smiling as if I were blood of her blood. Her cheerful voice caught the attention of her husband, who approached, he took my hand and twirled me around making me feel a little shy.

"Cassandra, with all due respect, you look beautiful today."

Madeline and Juliette both chuckled softly at my blush, which also made the queen elbow her husband lightly, scolding him playfully.

Noises echoed in the distance, some voices, horses and carriages

The big door opened, one of the servants reported that the duke had arrived. The king released him, taking his queen's hand on his arm and inviting me to meet his friend at the castle entrance. I walked behind the royal couple with the little prince beside me, chattering about something I didn't hear, my hands sweating with every step I took.

When we arrived at the entrance, I could see two carriages. One loaded with suitcases, so I assumed the guest was in the other. The door of the second carriage opened and a man was the first to exit and suddenly, it was like everything had frozen around me.

The birds stopped singing, the wind got warmer, the sun didn't burn my skin, which was now chilled, my feet felt numb and my heart didn't slosh with blood. A brief deja vu flooded my mind, the memory of my imagination, every detail I imagined came alive and was right in front of me.

Tall man, defined body, strong, noble, fair skin, blue eyes.. like the sky in a spring morning, dark short hair like the night, lips that held perfect white tooth.. I am dreaming or..?

"Charles"

The king shouted happy. The handsome man bowed to the king but quickly the two of them ignored the formalities and embraced.

"How long?"

Charles. It's a good name. And his voice.. only two words left his mouth but that sound, it was like i heard a fire, hot, warming my frozen heart... but with some air of danger, like an unexpected fire that leaves you anchored. He complimented the queen and her son then took back his attention to the king that respectfully, put his hand on my back, approaching me to your friend.

"Charles, I want you to meet someone."

Alexander talked and Charles approached, finally he noticing me and our eyes crossed.

"That's Cassandra of Boudicca, the sorceress."

Charles eyes got wided while showed his beautiful smile, he delicately held my hand and softy pecked my knuckles without taking his eyes from my face.

"My lady."

He said directly at me and I could feel the air leaving my lungs.

"I am Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk"

I bent slightly, still looking at the being that came from my dreams.

"Wow daddy, she has purple eyes"

My body woke up to reality with a sweet childish voice. I looked down and beside Charles, there was a little girl, blue and curious eyes just like her father..

Wait a minute? Father? Did she really say.. daddy?

"Yes darlin, but it's not polite to look at people like that and point."

A beautiful young woman exits the carriage and stands beside Charles and the little girl, bowing towards the King and Queen.

"I've never met a sorceress before. It's a pleasure to meet you, Cassandra, and I'm sorry for my little curious daughter behavior"

Daughter..? So she and Charles..?

"I am Phoebe, Duchess of Suffolk, Charles wife and MacKenzie's mother."

Yes, they are..

A few seconds ago, I found myself in some kind of.. dream? and now, it felt like the beginning of a nightmare. It's actually quite real, just like the shiny ring on her finger.

Charles Brandon POV

As soon as I arrived, I was greeted by the king and his wife, and their little son. I greeted them, I missed them, Aluma, the castle, the memories at each place.

After the greetings, Alexander wanted to introduce me to someone I hadn't noticed at first. A beautiful woman, with a gorgeous dress, braid hair, her aura was mysterious, especially with those bright lavender color eyes, her expression looked frozen. I was able to confirm that that wasn't just what was cold, as soon as I touched her delicate hand, I felt her fingers tremble, her palm was sweaty.

I cordially kissed her knuckles with my eyes still locked on her colorful eyes, I never saw something so pretty, so magical. Magic could be the right word to describe her, after all, she is a sorceress.

"This wonderful young lady saved our Eric."

Madeline said and my cheeks burned instantly. Charles laughed and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Still getting in trouble, Eric? You need to stop running away."

The king and I had a brief conversation, until Alexander invited us inside. We both decided to go riding, to remember the old days in battle. So I went up to mine and Phoebe's room to get ready as soon as the servants told us the bags were already there. We went upstairs and left Mackenzie and Eric running together.

Cassandra's POV

As soon as the King and Charles were getting ready to ride, I excused myself from the Queen and went to my room, without running, but walking as fast as I could.

I walked into my room and slammed the door, then leaning my back against it and laying my head back as my breathing was uneven.

How was someone I imagined, now, here? Face to face. There are many people with these features, but everything about it seemed so perfect, like when it turns a short story into a play, bringing people and events to life. He was a dream, but a dream I couldn't dream.

I jumped in fright feeling them knock on the door. I took a few deep breaths, trying not to look crazy, tried to look decent and slowly opened the door to find one of the servants.

"Yes?"

"My lady Cassandra. Your Majesty requests your presence in the stables. He would like you to join him and the duke to ride."

Oh great.. I don't think it would be polite to deny it so I nodded my head smiling a little uncomfortably.

"Tell him I'll be there in a few"

The servant bowed and left. I closed the door again and ran my hands through my face.

I'm not feeling myself anymore, feels like this man has awakened something in me, something difficult to control and I think I'll have to learn because I can't seem to get away from him and these confused sensations.

[mercurator98]

Many people have two main points about Duke.

1.) He is the new one, and thinks everyone in the family is crazy.

2.) Therefore he is the sane one.

There are a couple problems with these perspectives that I find hilarious. First off: in terms of insanity, most new members regard the family they join as nuts. Tim did in his early robin run, Jason has moments of self clarity. Stephanie has an entire dialogue of how messed up the family is in her head constantly.

I get it. New person joins family of vigilantes. Automatic reaction is "these people are crazy"

But to make that the pillar of Duke's interactions wastes him. He is such a detailed character. He is impulsive and compassionate and he's a kid. He's a little older than robin and much younger than Steph and he isn't used to this. I've seen him protraited as the new kid simultaneously assuming he has Bruce's support. He basically doesnt though. In current comics canon, Duke has as little support as Tim and Damian. Everyone is writing fics about the neglect, yet seems to be forgetting a major place of free real estate.

I recommend reading we are robin, and all star batman (the recent ones, not the old ones) it shines a great light on Duke's character.

I know fanon makes exceptions, but I have seen people say they can't get attached to him. But if you do some reading, you start to realize how truly similar he is to the fanon versions of the boys, and the canon versions for that matter.

As for the only sane member, I go back to my point that he is very young. He went after the flower villian with an amnesiac and a baseball bat. No mask. He started to lead the we are robin movement

He's a leader, just like the other bats. He could lead a team, he has before. It should be acknowledged that he isn't batclan. He's batfam.

[gnostic-heretic]

FUCKING THANK YOU!! I swear I've read so many fics where Russia out right calls people f*gs and tr*nnies given the current laws in Russia. It's disgusting and kinda spits in the face of the lgbtq+ of Russia. My wife put it best in saying that it'd make more sense and be less insulting for Russia to be closeted gay/trans. Same goes for period pieces. Lgbtq+ folk have always existed and I'm certain there were gay couples in the middle ages who wed in secret.

you’re preaching to the choir tbh this is a Good take... i have to admit i don’t read a lot of fanfiction with aph russia as a pov character BUT i can only imagine... ew

if you wanna know more about lgbt people in medieval times. this is so long so it’s going under the cut

tbh the persecution of lgbt people hit peak during the inquisition which means that we’re already at reformation vs counter-reformation times sooo post-medieval. and yes MANY people died. i’m not trying to deny it. however. first of all we only have trial records of those who were FOUND OUT and ACCUSED. so there’s a whole world we don’t know about (especially when it comes to lesbians since sodomy was seen as more of a men problem)honestly just because we are missing records of something it doesn’t mean it’s something that didn’t exist.secondly even if one was accused of sodomy... pal... at a certain point in the late middle ages more than half of the men of florence had been accused of “sodomy”. most of them got away with it or paid a fee and that was it. otherwise they would have burned like half of the city... not cool huhmost accusations were a smarmy power-move and not made out of moral outrage (unless someone was personally involved/someone’s family member was involved, then it became a matter of “it’s easier to get away with it if i say it was forced by the other person”). in other cases, someone could be completely str8 and yet be accused of sodomy- it was kinda like accusations of witchcraft really- and it wasn’t really as easy to prove as we might assume.

thirdly... as i said... especially in specific environments (especially in the upper classes, but also in some cases not- example from the records we have, “crossdressing” was more common with lower class people, possibly because it was easier to hide your identity/birth when you were not the son of the duke of the county of ‘stocazz) “sodomy” just like other “punishable sexual acts” (adultery, masturbation, sex before marriage) was... pretty much seen as not a big deal. like what people need to get about human history is that when a behavior is part of normal human sexuality you can condemn it as much as you want but it won’t go away. and people will just eventually think like... “yeah, this sure is happening”

tldr people knew that lgbt people existed- and more or less tolerated it, if they were not lgbt themselves. just like... at most points in post-xtian history i would say, lol. the victorian era was known for sexual repression: does it mean that people didn’t have sex? no, then i don’t see why we do not apply the same logic to lgbt people in the middle ages (oh wait i do know. it’s homo/transphobia)***by this i absolutely don’t mean to diminish historical homo/transphobia, i just mean ... to make a modern comparison, most homophobes are the “anyone can do what they want in their own bed as long as i don’t see it/think of the children/casually says a slur and thinks it’s funny” type of homophobes, not the “today i’m committing my fourth hate crime because all gays go to hell” type of homophobes... both bad, both make our lives hell not denying that, but you get my point4 and most important there’s also some p relevant records (though comparatively few) of people who, even back then, lived openly as lgbt and YES i am including the T. (i didn’t read shit tons of books about “””female crossdressers””” in history to endure people who deny that trans people existed even back then. in a book i read recently about a “crossdresser” called Giovanni/Caterina Vizzani there was the story of a trans man who managed to live his whole life as a monk and even get his gender recognized by authorities so if people could jot that down :^) when i say lgbt i mean lgbT)

but since history is full of these “exceptions” after a certain point it makes you wonder like... were they really that exceptional? or maybe medieval people were less... anal (lol) about these things than we think they were? more at 11 (i’m sorry if i’m not super coherent, it’s like half past midnight and i’m sick jdfhgjf)