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vera-bees-hyperfixations · 3 months ago

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My Dick Grayson/Nightwing Headcanons

Warring! I've only read about him in fanfics and researching info. I've never read a comic on this man in my live.

DICK GRAYSON

Dick knows how to cook, not that fancy level they(Alfred and Jason) can do, but that homemade style that reminds you of your grandma, it's not perfect, or pretty, but it's hearty

Dick is also a mother hen, but in the way of big brother mode

Dick is the sibling you go to pour your heart out to with little to no judgement

He's who you go to when you can't sleep and so he takes for a drive outside the city to watch the stars. Rather you talk or not,

He deals with seasonal depression, but knows how to hide it(most times too well) (he's is seeking help and going to therapy, unlike someone)

He has the biggest temper out of the family. Due to going to therapy, he knows how to manage it better and not lash out.

He is one the family fears the most, whether that's good or bad, it's a fact no one acknowledges.

Will always ignore his own needs over his family

Big on boundaries. Teaching, encouraging and help enforcing them with family members

He sometimes joins Harley, Selina, and Ivy for girls night. (He is always invited three times a month that's mandatory.)

He goes to every ballet performance Cass in is, he makes it a sibling weekend for him and Steph.

He loves to express himself through his clothes. If he's happy, colorful clothes, if its a low energy day, darker or muted colors.

He is always cold, so he hugs Bruce or Jason to use them as his personal heater, it's why you'll see him wearing a hoodie or sweater in the middle of summer and not sweating.

Very tactile, but respects everyones boundaries.

Volunteers at different shelters, 3 times a week

Visits his circus family at least twice a year, he tries for 6 more times then not. Most he's gotten in a year was 13

Dick has a healthy life out of vigilantism and real friends as a civilian

He loves to swim, if he has free time and you can't find him doing gymnastics he's swim

Big dancer, loves to dance with Cass in the ballroom or studio

LOVES fantasy movies, shows and books

NIGHTWING

Nightwing is THE Teen hero support. Every hero from his generation and under look up to him

If a teen hero needs help for an adult, the first person they call is Nightwing

Always carries some snacks on him to give to kids or victims

Also stickers, so many hero and pun stickers.

He blasts music while patrolling, much to Batman's annoyance. You'd think that means he gets noticed by goons and villains, hell even civilians, yet somehow he never does.

Loves to do combo attacks with Spoiler and Black Bat

Whenever Harley starts chaos, Nightwing can always just have a chat with her, getting her to stop. On the rare occasion he'll join in on her mayhem. Usually when The Big Bat is out of town, and some of his siblings.

Gotham knows their Wonder Boy is not as innocent as the Bat still believes he is.

Gotham has the rumor that Nightwing killed the Joker. Crime Alley knows he did, but the lunatic is a cockroach and won't stay dead.

When kids are around, Nightwing makes himself noticeable and becomes even more dramatic with his stunts. Giving any kid a show to remember.

Due to Deathstroke's training, Nightwing is as good a shot as Red Hood when it comes to guns. Nightwing prefers a sniper, while Hood prefers pistols.

Gotham citizens are known to able to find Nightwing perched on the weirdest places or he's weirdly perched on anything in Gotham.

Due to his upbringing, he has been able to keep a connection with Crime Alley residents as Nightwing.

When Jason died, for a year Nightwing patrolled Crime Alley, right under the Big Bat's nose. No one in the Bay Family know that happened, not even Oracle or Red Robin. All of Crime Alley remember though.

Nightwing went by a different name for that year patrolling Crime Alley. He took the name Wolfram, his "suit" was similar to Red Hood's; armored chest-piece/top, cargo pants, and steel-toed combat boots. His mask is not bat-issued, and sometimes he also wore a high-grade lower face mask. The colors are black, red, gold and green.

When Jason was Robin it was a known fact by the goons, do not maim Robin or Bludhaven's hero will find you. It got worse when Tim became Robin, it turned into do not seriously injury and maim Robin or Nightwing will find you, and you wont be found again.

Due to vigilantism, he learned the art of sleeping while standing up and having his eyes open. It freaks everyone out.

Every Bat deals with cold cases, Nightwing focuses on SA Cold Cases

When Bruce is needed as a civilian but Batman is need for the Justice League, Nightwing takes his place as Batman, he can mimic Batman's voice so well it can (and has) trick the JL founders. (Thank you Agent A for the lessons)

#dick grayson #nightwing #dc #dick grayson headcanon #nightwing headcanon #dc headcanon #batfamily #Vera's Version

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blu3-ja3 · 5 months ago

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Chapter 3

Tim's POV

This isn't how this was supposed to go! Damnit! I'm running through a maze of underground tunnels carrying Damian, who feels so incredibly small and weak in my arms. My heart is pounding in my chest as I instruct Damian on trying to contact Dick or Jason while I navigate through the sewers of Gotham hoping desperately to find a way to lose our pursuers. Diana help me, I made a horrible call and now Damian is paying for it.

It's been a week since Jillian Rodriguez was kidnapped and the body of Amila Gomez was discovered. There hasn't been any new kidnappings but there have been a total of 4 bodies recovered and identified. Each one was a missing girl: Amila Gomez, Sarah Lawson, Lily Temalt, and Emily Golden. 5, 6, 7, and 8 years old respectively.

Bruce finally found a lead after the Oracle systems tracked the exterminators van to a location outside of Gotham and had left this morning with Selina to go investigate. While all the bat kids have kept a distance from the case, we have learned a few things... We're a family of detectives it can't be helped. The girls each had high amounts of altered fear toxin in their systems and Raven was able to identify the carvings, for what only Bruce and Selina know.

Damian and I were on patrol together, he had helped me come across a lead for a minor case of unlabeled crates coming into Gotham Bay. Dick thought it was okay to split off for a moment to help Steph and Cass with something and allowed us to go ahead of him to investigate. Kon was away on a mission helping Bart with something and Jason hasn't cleared himself to go out on patrols, so he's helping Barbara with Oracle business. While sitting and watching more unlabeled creates be unloaded and stored I spotted something, a familiar rug from camera footage outside of Jillian's apartment. I informed Damian and he agreed that we should get a closer look at what was in the crates as well as who was bringing them in.

We were smart about it, slipping into the building and staying in a far corner in the shadows. Damian was too short to open one of the crates so he stood as our look out and took detailed descriptions of those moving the crates. The second I opened the box there was a flash of strange energy, something we very rarely encountered in Gotham... Magic. I reacted quickly and grabbed the edge of my cape pulling it to block myself and Damian who I'd grabbed and pulled into my chest.

There were shouts of alarm and rapidly approaching footsteps, I reached into the box quickly and pulled out a smaller box. I quickly opened it while Damian covered me beating away the henchmen while I quickly picked the lock on the smaller box. Once opened I grabbed the three vials and stored them away in the pouch with the most cushioning so the vials don't break. I turned around just in time to watch Damian get hit and fly back against the open crate, a surge of dark purple energy hitting him in the chest.

I felt my heart drop into my stomach as I quickly scrambled over to Damian and lifted him up to my chest, holding him tightly as I heard my little brother struggling to breath. I moved quickly, rushing and taking cover behind a series of stacked crates as more people moved closer on either side of us. I spotted the drainage grate instantly and formed a rough plan as best as I could. Letting Damian's legs rest on my thigh I used the free hand to remove a series of smoke pellets and a flash pellet. I turned and tossed the flash pellet over the stacked crates before tossing one on either side of us and then in front of us.

Once the smoke and scared shouts filled the area I grabbed Damian bridal style again and rushed towards the grate. Setting Damian down to lean against me I removed the grate, thankful that it came up with ease. I picked up Damian and jumped down and was preparing to cover up our escape route when I heard a woman yelling that we're in the grates. Instead I tightened my grip on Damian and started running through the drainage tunnel. That's how we got to where we are now, lost in Gotham's underground sewers and drainage system.

"Robins! Where are you?"Dick's voice came through my coms, static making it difficult to hear properly. I dodged left as a bullet grazed my shoulder and Damian let out the smallest cry I've ever heard from him. Damian isn't weak, I've seen him get hit and continue like it's nothing, it took months for Bruce to get through to Damian about getting injuries properly treated.

"Put me down," Damian whispered, it sounded strained like he was trying to be louder but couldn't. Another bullet grazes me this time near my hip, I tuck Damian's body closer, try to make him smaller.

"No, you can barely speak let alone run," I say while ducking through another sewer tunnel making another sharp turn and slipping, turning my body so only I slam into the wall before continuing my mad dash.

"Leave me, hide me somewhere and come back. I'm slowing you down," Damian wheezed as he spoke, I looked down at him for only a moment before stealing myself.

"Sorry little bird but I can't do that, you're too hurt gotta get you out of here... Plus Nightwing and Bat would throw a fit if I came to the cave without you." I smiled down at Damian, we had a rough start. I'd only been Robin again for a few years, finally off the bench after Joker got a hold of me. Then Damian showed up and over night it felt like everything changed, Bruce wanted Damian to be Robin. He said it would teach him morals, Bruce told me about Red Robin and I happily accepted after talking to Dick.

It took some time to get used to each other, honestly me and Jason have more trouble getting along than me and Damian. But Cass helped me and Damian see eye to eye and we've gotten along better for it. So no I won't leave him behind when he's so weak and fragile, especially because we don't know what that magic did to him.

"Red Robin! Where are you? Where's Robin?" Once again Dick's voice buzzed over the comms, Damian reached up and tapped the electronic in my ear and I heard the click of my mic being activated.

"Nightwing! I'm in the sewers! Robin was hit by something, magic but I don't know what it did to him!" I look down at the boy in my arms before continuing, "I have him with me but we're being pursued!" The hand holding my mic open falls limply and so does the rest of Damian's body. Panic grips my chest as I slip into a small alcove and slide to a stop before crying out.

"Superboy! Help!" Tears burn my eyes as I clutch Damian closer to my chest, I look up as the wall to my left crumbles away. I look up to see Kon floating above the ruins Bart jumps off of his back but before he can say anything I rush to him and Kon.

"Take him to the cave, he needs help!" I gently hand Kon Damian's small form and he nods, not questioning anything for a second before he flies away just as fast as he appeared. I turn to Bart fully prepared to ask him to carry me to the cave when I'm hit with a flash of searing hot pain in my back, I feel my body slamming into something solid before crumbling to the ground.

I suck in a desperate breath as I look up to see a familiar figure, the woman from Jillian's drawing. I had read through Jillian's dream journal but all of it made very little sense, she kept writing about how she was trapped but she wanted to stay trapped. The scared woman wouldn't leave her alone. I'd stop paying attention to it and thought Jillian's dreams had very little to do with her kidnapping. Same with the drawings.

I caught my breath after a moment and stood up, ignoring Bart's worried buzzing. I reach for and extend my bo staff and crouch ready to fight the woman before me. Bart fell into a ready stance also, the Scared woman smiled wickedly before moving her hands in a few quick gestures. Another beam of dark purple energy careened towards me but I dodged ready for it. I launched myself towards the woman alongside Bart, every time I thought either of us would land a blow she seemed to have moved.

"You two are so very cute with your darling attempts to fight me but it's useless," She smiled mockingly as I snarled and launched myself at her again. She seemed to be agitated at that because instead of just dodging she started to make strange gestures again. She used both her hands to draw another symbol in the air before clapping her hands together and appearing in-between them as she pulled them apart was a strange rift.

"Let's make this a fair fight hmm? Enjoy playing with my pet, little ones!" She says as she turns back towards me and fires another blast of purple energy. I barely dodge and watch as from the rift behind her a strange humanoid form slithers out. They're tall and lithe with grey skin and no features. The creature lunges towards Bart at extreme speed. I have to refocus on the scared woman before I get hit again.

"What do you know about the disappearances in Gotham? Where are the missing girls?" I growl as I lunge at her sweeping my leg out and once again the scared woman wasn't where I thought she was. Every time she's only a few inches to the right, enough for me to miss my hits. That sparks an idea, I dodge back as another shot of purple flies past me.

I rush back towards her and swing at her with my bo staff, like I expected she is a few inches to the right. When my bo staff hits the ground I let it bounce and swing towards the scared woman, this time I feel the weight of it hitting her. I take the opportunity to start landing as many punches and kicks as I can. Each one lands and all the woman seems to be able to do is block.

There's a loud bang and a second later I crumple forwards as a bullet hits my lower back, another gun shot and this time it hits my right shoulder. The scared woman takes the opportunity and hits me with a blast of magic, hitting my chest and throwing me back. I land hard enough to have the wind knocked out of me as I slide across the cement walkway of the sewers. I look up to see the man from Jillian's drawings smiling down at me, as I hear Bart screaming out my name. I see the scared woman hovering over me smiling down at me before she speaks.

"You want to know what I know hmm? I'll tell you this, Gotham is about to change and one of those girls will be at the center of it all." She laughs as she makes a series of hand gestures and grabs the man before they both disappear.

I have a moment to lay there, everything is too painful to move. I can feel the thrumming of my own blood in my ears and the warmth of it as it causes my suit to stick to me. There's a cluster of voices and suddenly Dick is standing over me and calling out orders. Bart appears next to me as well as Kon, then I'm being lifted and I try not to scream as Kon's TTK holds me. My chest and back burn in a nauseating way and it takes all my effort not to pass out. Dick barks out more orders but then the world blurs and I'm in the cave.

I'm back in the cave on a table with John Constantine standing next to Alfred and Bruce. I faintly hear movement and what I assume to be voices before it all just kinda fades away...

Jillian's POV

I focus on my breathing, that's been the only thing I can do when this happens. I've screamed myself hoarse and I can't cry because I'm so dehydrated. But eventually it all stops and I'm left feeling empty, the pain from whatever strange magic they're using on us stops. I can feel the things they've carved into my skin humming faintly, I let my head fall back against the stone that they have me tied to and close my eyes as exhaustion racks my body.

"Has she come for her vessel yet?" A feminine voice asks from somewhere above me. I look up to see the woman who has haunted my dreams since the disappearances started, who I've only heard be referred to as Lady Am.

"No my lady but another chain has been broken. Sadly it was at a cost," one of the hooded figures speaks up as they all bow.

"Do what has been done before, go up into Gotham and dump the body into the sewer," Am speaks as she walks closer to me, I watch as one of her hands reaches out for me but I flinch away.

"Leave, I wish to talk with our candidates for our Lady." I can hear the footfalls of people leaving the room, then Lady Am snaps and I'm sitting at a long table with multiple other girls. All of whom I've learned are younger than me, we're bound to our chairs as Lady Am appears at the head of the table holding a familiar silver box.

"Hello girls, how are you all doing today?" She asks, not a single word is spoken as we all sit here. Naked, hungry, tired and hurting, I look down and see the strange cravings on my body still faintly glowing. Like they've done every time this happens, I feel a cool breeze that is wonderfully refreshing as everything burns.

"Jillian, I see you're still our prime candidate for our Lady to take as a vessel," the scared woman smiles at me as she walks around the table injecting each girl. Yet again she leaves me for last, "Let us see if we can't coax our Lady a little closer and you a little further shall we?"

I try to thrash against my restraints but it's no use as I feel the needle sink into my neck. The cool liquid flowing under my skin would be relieving if it wasn't for the spike in my heart rate and the anticipation of what's to come next. I feel my mouth go dry and my vision blurs as a pounding headache begins behind my eyes. I close them only for a moment.

When I open them again I'm in a familiar lightless void, so dark that my skin seems to glow. I let myself float here, knowing that if she wants to talk she will appear. I let myself enjoy the reprieve from everything, the crazy cult, the torture, the death, all of it slips into the far back of my mind as I drift comfortably. I can't even tell if my eyes are open or closed as I let myself relax.

"Child, look behind you..." A soothing comforting voice calls out. It's a voice I've heard many times over the past few years, she's only grown more frequent as time has passed. I listen to her and turn myself around. I expect to see her, in all her ethereal and eldritch beauty but instead I see a distant faintly glowing light.

"Go, he needs your help..." Like I'm being pulled by a rope I start drifting forwards, as I move forwards I see a shape before me becomes more clear, more defined. Details began to emerge as I drift closer and closer to... Timothy Drake-Wayne?

"Yes child, you know him... He still needs your help... Will you help him?" I know I can't really speak, more my thoughts are being read and she speaks to me through that. I simply nod and hold out my hand.

It's not the first time this has happened, if I black out during a ritual I'll wake up here. I'll be surrounded by motes of light and when I get closer they're one of the younger girls who's been here with me. Usually though they aren't as bright or they're extremely dim and I'm told to help them. There isn't much I can do beyond this to help them, so I try to do what I can here.

Like before I reach out and gently place one hand on the center of his chest and the other on the center of his back. Suddenly his eyes fly open and he looks at me, I immediately remove my hand and force myself back.

"Where am I? What's going on? Who- wait? Jillian?" Tim looks around confused as I raise a hand to say hello.

"I don't really know where we are or what's going on. I'm sorry for touching you, I was trying to help," I can't feel a mouth moving nor my throat vibrating but I can hear the words echo as though they were.

"You child are in my domain, my embrace and protection. Why you've been sent here I don't know but it seems you are capable." The voice rings out from everywhere and nowhere all at once, it's both in my head and not.

Suddenly there's a face in the shadows, that weird uncanny feeling as the more I focus on it the less it's there. When I turn to look away it seems to disappear only to slowly fade back in the same place I'm looking. There aren't any features but at the same time there are many defined features and faces. There's no light from them but somehow they are darker than the void around us.

"Are... Are you seeing that?" Tim spins around to face the opposite direction before looking at me, I nod and try to smile but again I don't know if I have a mouth or not.

"No you don't, it's weird... This is weird, what the hell is going on?" I shrug because honestly I don't have the faintest clue, the only reason I don't freak out anymore is because this has been happening to me for months now.

"Wait hold on, Jillian where are you? Have you seen the other girls? Who has you held?" Tim reaches out and grabs my shoulders spinning me so I can look at him.

"Underground, there are cave entrances everywhere but I can hear rushing water sometimes. I've seen the girls, yes but I don't see them for long. Sometimes they'll appear here but I've never been able to talk to them. I don't know the man's name but the woman is called Lady Am, if you go to my apartment I have sketches of them and a dream journal that has everything I know written in it." Tim nods as his arms fall to his sides.

I watch as there's a shift, suddenly there's color where there wasn't before but there was. I know there was but now suddenly it's changed. A man rushes towards us, he's clothed and for the first time I realize me and Tim have the weird Barbie and Ken dolls going on with our bodies.

"Sorry kids soul shunting is a bitch like that! I haven't the faintest clue where we are but I'm here to get you out... Well really I was here for him but I can grab you too," I pull away from the man's touch, instinctual and out of habit.

"What will happen to us when you pull us out?" Tim asks and I'm curious too.

"Well you'll go into your body, your friend over here will become... Well it's hard to say some people manifest fully formed and some manifest as a sort of orb. Either way she'll instinctively move towards her body wherever it is." I look around and realize that the strange face is gone, that she's gone.

"If you take me with you, you'd have to follow me fast. This cult has been trying to do this exact thing and the only reason they haven't is because she's been preventing Lady Am from doing... Well I guess this or something like this." I spin around to look one final time just to be certain, she's gone and the only reason she leaves is to prevent Lady Am from getting to me again.

"Okay then you ready kids? This is going to be a hell of an experience, you'll likely pass out and that's okay!" The British man smiles before reaching out, placing a hand on mine and Tim's shoulder before shoving us backwards.

It's like being dunked in ice water without warning, all the air escapes my lungs except I haven't been breathing and I'm not breathing now. But for whatever reason I feel like I'm on the precarious edge of suffocation, I try desperately to bring the non-existent air into my lungs and it doesn't work. I try to move my body and it doesn't respond, I feel puking but nothing comes. All of the sensations all at once makes my brain feel like it's going to explode. Like I'm about to be ripped apart at the seams.

And when it gets to be too much and not enough all at once, it stops. Black, nothing.

Part 1 /// Previous /// Next

Cursed Gotham Masterpost

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pinkiemachine · 1 year ago

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GOTHAM FILES: SEASON 9

Talia is back.

Damian’s five years will be up soon. Just three months left. She trusts that he’s learned much from his father, and that he’s more than ready to come back to the Shadows. Back to Ra’s. Back to his birthright. His destiny. Damian says yes… but he secretly doesn’t know anymore. Everything… everything’s gotten so messed up lately. His mom and dad aren’t married… they’re fighting on opposite sides of this immense, ideological war… Bruce proposed to Selina… but he… he doesn’t want a step mom. He just wishes Bruce and Talia could… actually be a couple… be his parents… that way he wouldn’t have to choose between them.

Anyway… he has three months to figure out what he’s gonna do.

In the meantime, Bruce and Selina are beginning wedding plans. The whole superhero world is buzzing with excitement… except for Damian, of course. He can’t stand hanging around the Manor right now… he can’t stand being around Jason, who’s still in the honeymoon phase of dating Artemis… Tim and Steph are a definite nope… Barbara just found someone new, so no… Cass is too adjacent to Steph… there’s some Teen Titans drama regarding Aquagirl and Blue Beetle—pass… and even being around Dick and Star and his niece, Mar’i, is proving to be too much of a happy scene. There’s that new guy, Duke… he’s been staying at the Manor and training under Bruce… but Damian doesn’t know him very well. The only person he can stand to be around is Jon. His only close friend—aside from his numerous pets, that is. There’s less and less crime in Gotham these days… less and less to do… fewer things to distract himself with. Bruce will be holding a gala soon, showing off his new plan, partially thought up by Tim, to have Wayne Enterprises fund a massive project that will help rebuild Gotham after the last few battles kinda wrecked a lot of stuff. It looks like they’re getting close to achieving what they set out to do: clean up the streets of Gotham. And after that… Damian doesn’t know what’ll happen. But he’s probably… not gonna be around to see it. Soon, he’ll have to say goodbye to Jon… and Bruce… and his pets… and Dick… and everyone else.

His wallowing will have to be put on hold though.

That secret organisation from last season? They’re back. And they’ve got it out for Bruce Wayne. An assassin tried to murder him in broad daylight, and Bruce wants to know why. He takes a step back from the wedding stuff to investigate and then, suddenly—poof. Batman’s gone. Again. The crew assembles to look for him. They know that without a body, he could very well still be alive. They scour Gotham, every disgusting nook and cranny, every sewer, every high rise, every park and back alley, but they come up empty.

See, Bruce had been poking the hornet’s nest when he went out looking for answers. This particular hornet’s nest is called: The Court of Owls. An old folk tale that goes a little something like this:

Beware the court of owls,

That watches all the time,

Ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch,

Behind granite and lime,

They watch you at the hearth,

They watch you in your bed,

Speak not a whispered of them,

Or else they’ll send the Talon for your head…

But the Court is all too real, they’re an illuminati style organisation that’s been pulling the strings of Gotham for hundreds of years, and they have a problem with both Bruce Wayne and Batman. He’s been meddling with their plans for far too long. Sure, they’re grateful that the Dark Knight helped establish some order in the city, but now he’s exceeded his usefulness. They kidnap him and try to do away with him, but Bruce’s resolve to see his kids again—to get back to Selina—pulls him through their tortures and he defeats this “Talon” assassin and escapes, back to the Manor.

Everyone is relieved that Bruce is alive, but the fight isn’t over yet. The Court has an ace up their sleeve.

First of all, they have more than one Talon. They have a whole army. Second, they don’t need to get at Bruce directly… there’s someone else in his inner circle whom they can manipulate.

Do you remember, waaaaaaay back in season 1, the circus Dick Grayson came from? Remember how I said they were accustomed to making some shady deals with people? Well, it wasn’t that they were coerced into doing those bad things, and they weren’t just petty criminals either… the Ringmaster is secretly a member of the Court. And John and Mary Grayson were also affiliated with them. If Dick had stayed at Haley’s Circus… if he hadn’t been adopted by Bruce… there’s a high chance that they would have scooped him up and turned him into one of their Talons.

The Court remembers all of this, and they’ve come to collect their dues. They launch an attack on Gotham, sending Talons everywhere, causing mayhem and mass destruction, separating the BatFam, and when the dust settles, Dick is nowhere to be found. Hold the wedding planning, hold everything! We’ve gotta get Dick back!

(Oh, and in case anyone was wondering why we haven’t seen other superheroes popping up in Gotham, like Superman flying in to help save the day, it’s because Gotham is an anti-superpower city. People who use superpowers get either fined or arrested.)

Anyway, back to the story. Dick gets brainwashed into doing the Court’s bidding and becoming a Talon, and through Dick, they discover Batman’s real identity. They discover EVERYONE’S secret identities! Now, the BatFamily must do everything in their power to not only get Dick back, but also take down the Court for good. Not even one person can escape and let their secrets out! Everyone—and I mean everyone—comes together for this battle, untangling the massive web of lies and deals and connections and schemes and crimes the Court has been involved with over the years, and putting an end to their regime.

The Court faces a powerful threat… there’s squabbling amongst the leaders… disorder and cacophony. That’s when one man rises above the rest. A man who’s tired of arguing. A man who doesn’t like to share power. A man who sees these Court Members as… inferior beings. He poisons everyone—all the members of the Court (not including the Talons)—and now the only person in Gotham who knows all of the Superheroes’ secret identities… is Ra’s Al Ghul. He takes command of the Talons, and of Dick, and tells Damian that his time is up. The League of Shadows has never been more powerful. And see, Damian won’t have to say goodbye to his brother, or his father, they’ll be coming with them. Willingly or otherwise. Damian can have whatever he wants, he’s going to be prince of the world soon. All they need to do is commit mass genocide! No biggie!

But Damian refuses.

It’s the single hardest decision he’s ever had to make… but he says no. He will not be the next Demon’s Head. He refuses his birthright, he refuses his destiny, and chooses to put an end to all of this insanity. He chooses life and liberty for all mankind! Not for his own sake, but for theirs!

The final battle begins. Grandfather vs grandson.

And it ends…

…with Dick being freed…

…with the Court of Owls being disbanded and dissolved…

…and with Damian putting a sword through his grandfather’s heart.

The final life of Damian Wayne. After this, he vows that he will never again steal a human life.

And now, Talia comes to him asking if he will lead the Shadows… she asks if Damian will come with her�� but he says… even though it’ll be harder… and even though he still wishes Bruce and Talia weren’t separated… that he’s staying with his father. This is goodbye. Talia reminds him that this will force her hand. She will have no choice but to host the Tournament. Damian knows full well. But it’s none of his concern any longer. He goes back home with his family, ready to face his future with Bruce… and Selina.

Part 10 (FINALE) 👇

Part 8 👇

#dc #dc comics #batman #bat family #Bruce wayne #Damian wayne #robin #court of owls #talia al ghul #ra’s al ghul #the league of assassins #the league of shadows #dick grayson #nightwing #Jonathan kent #Superboy

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femmehaljordan · 1 month ago

Note

Other instances of trope & fandom subversion within my writing, if you're curious

Coffee lover Tim: Nope, not a chance of that. That boy drinks caffeinated tea at best, and actively despises the bean juice.

Pit Madness: I'm not sure if I've shared this before, but the way I write Pit Madness is more akin to mild to moderate anger issues that start off difficult to control, but as you grow more used to that burning anger, you learn how to control it, until it's barely noticeable. The name also comes from Ra's repeatedly using the Pit over countless centuries, infecting his mind with that same anger over and over until he's lost himself to it. Jason, on the other hand? Nah, he had that under control before he ever made his way back to Gotham. And even if he didn't, I also use the concept of bloodlust from Legends (in which killing the person who killed you will put an end to the anger), and Jason later ends up offing Joker, so...

Mute Cass: not a fucking chance in the world. Maybe from the very beginning, when she first meets everyone, but afterwards? Within a couple years, she's a chatterbox. She loves to talk, loves this new and confusing form of language, because now she can speak with and understand the people around her.

Red Hood Tim: I cannot tell you with a burning passion how much I hate the idea of Tim as a Red Hood or Red Hood style figure when Steph is right fucking there. I highly doubt that if Tim died and came back, he'd do anything other than "immediately escape and return to Gotham". But Steph, on the other hand, it's super easy (for me, anyways) to imagine her falling into vengeance and having to claw her way back out of that hole.

Stray Tim: I'm of the mindset that literally any other of the main Robins would be a better Stray candidate, and I'll prove it by introducing simple, basic ways it could happen (all while every way I've seen Stray Tim involves a hell of a lot of finagling). Dick? Easy, Selina's there when the Flying Graysons become the Falling Graysons. Jason? Same deal, she finds a small, malnourished child trying to steal Batman's tires, thinks it's funny, and takes him in. Steph? They met during War Games, and she was briefly mentored by her and Eiko during Rebirth, pick your poison. Damian? He and Bruce get into fights a lot, so I can imagine him running off to Selina to seek comfort and advice and a large swarm of kitties to cuddle, before she smirks to herself and goes "I know the best way to piss him off".

I'm sure there are way more concepts that I've forgotten, don't know about, or just haven't done, but this ask is getting kind of long already, so I'll leave it here for now.

STRAY STEPH.

#dc #dc comics

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zahri-melitor · 8 months ago

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New(ish) Comics:

Batman #153: for one glorious second I wondered: is that Joe Public?!???? And then I came back down to reality. But it was a fun second.

Also I am definitely getting the Batman: Family vibes from this that some other people mentioned.

DC All In Special #1: I’ve got to say, for a supposedly ‘we invited everyone’ list of characters for Justice League Unlimited, I knew who they all were and it’s mostly people who have pretty regular appearances (plus Firestorm and Doctor Fate). Practically everyone on page here has starred in a title within the last two years! There were deeper cut appearances in Task Force VII!

Otherwise…apparently Darkseid bonding with the Spectre created the Absolute Universe? Sure. I don’t think this needed an explanation beyond ‘it’s an Elseworld’ but you do you.

Birds of Prey #14: I love how comfy Babs looks in this art (and how Cass clearly got fashion tips from Selina for this).

Onyx and Grace are a fun pair up together.

More seriously though: this feels like more of a post-Crisis style BOP mission. Not quite a Dixon one, but edging into it. I’m tentatively excited.

Shazam! #16: Look who’s here! Who could it be who has bright green speech boxes and an inflated personal ego? That’s right! It’s time for Mister Mind! (I don’t like the new artist sorry)

The Nice House by the Sea #3: the entanglement of the pasts of the two houses becomes even more complex!

The Warlord #70: we find out we are over 100 years into the future and the world has been poisoned by toxic waste and global warming! Much of humanity has moved into the Hollow Earth to escape! The people who took over Skartaris are now starting to recolonise the outer planet. It’s all very dystopian oil-crisis.

#z canon read throughs #newish comics

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gffa · 2 years ago

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Oh. Oh no. For the first time in my life pretty much ever I think I'm vaguely interested in a Batman vs Joker comic. This is a humiliating turn of events for me. It's never a good idea to get pre-invested in the potential of a DC comics storyline, that way only ever lies disappointment and "I don't know what I expected" because I should know better. But I can't help it! I took ten years off and came back to a DC that's better than when I left it! I have hope in my heart! And, for all that Gotham War ended with a whimper rather than a bang, I still can see so much potential. Imagine what a real shakeup of the dynamics in the Batfam would look like! I don't believe for a second that they'd do it, but imagine if they actually had Dick in the role of being the family leader, except as Nightwing this time instead of stepping into Batman's boots. He wouldn't want to be the patriarch in the same way Bruce was, but he's about the same age as Bruce was when Bruce adopted him, so imagine the tasty tasty parallels they could do with Dick suddenly in charge of a feral gremlin charge of his own (Damian), some actual support both emotionally and on the streets (Tim and Barbara), a team he actually would be able to call on for help when he needed it (Jason, Steph, Cass, Duke), that in some ways he has it easier than Bruce did, he's not as wrapped up in his own pain in the same way, but in other ways it's harder, he doesn't have Alfred, he has so many moving pieces that are all clashing and aren't necessarily going to listen to him (Steph and Cass and Duke aren't loyal to him the way he was loyal to Bruce)(and then there would be Jason's *waves hands* everything) and it would be out of his control that he'd feel responsible for and it would be a conflict between setting himself up in Bludhaven versus how Gotham still needs the team, not just Bruce being an asshole out there on his own--and god, running into Bruce, always wondering if he approves of Dick's style of leadership versus "You don't get a vote on whether to approve or not." There is SO MUCH that could be done with it! I can't help kind of being fond of the Gotham War set-up, because I like drama and I like Bruce's up and down character arc, and I like a complicated, sharp-edged Bruce who does inexcusable things because his brain is fucked up and lying to him, even when I know it'll disappoint me. But also. I was reading Batman #139 and oh, oh no, oh noooo, I'm interested in "Mindbomb" as a story--as a Joker story!--because it really is the perfect time for it, isn't it? Bruce has been overwhelmed for months now, he's in such a bad place mentally and emotionally that he's letting his fears of loss win and pushing his entire family away, he's doing horrible things to them because he can't handle loving them like he does, so he's separated himself from them, all while he thinks he's in control, but he's not, his brain is absolutely lying to him, and it's hissing in his ear to strip everything that Bruce loves away from himself and so that only Batman is left. Zur-En-Arrh is right there. "I'm in control!" Bruce screams in his own mind, all while Zur just rips through him and so easily takes over. Bruce has no control, he is so, so wrong about all of this, and oh boy the Joker is getting exactly what he wants, isn't he? No more annoying riff raff to get in the way or for Batman to care more about than him. No more Selina, no more kids, no more friends, no more loved ones--just Zur-En-Arrh, the most "pure" Batman in the Joker's eyes, now it's just the two of them. And that's everything Joker has ever wanted. And I don't want to find that to be an interesting extension of everything that led up to and during Gotham War, but crap yeah okay that's kind of a well-timed story when I look at it through that lens. I know I shouldn't get my hopes up, I'm going to be disappointed in wherever this goes, but dammit. The story kind of got me.

#lumi.txt #dc #batfam #bruce wayne #joker #batman 2016 #tuesday spoilers

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gamesception · 2 years ago

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Sception Reads Cass Cain #29

Robin (1993) #86 writer: Ed Brubaker art: Jacob & Arnold Pander

Birds of Prey (1999) #27 writer: Chuck Dixon pencils: N. Steven Harris

Catwoman (1993) #90 writer: Bronwyn Carlton pencils: Mike Lilly

Last time we looked at Batgirls sort of stand alone tie in to the Officer Down crossover, which ended with Cass abandoning her solo detective efforts on the case to meet up with the rest of the clan. This time we see her showing up as a side character in the crossover proper, already in progress. She doesn't have too big a role in things, though, so I think it's fair to cram her remaining Officer Down appearances into a single post.

Robin 86 covers the bat crew learning about Gordon being shot and collecting at the hospital to comfort Babs and start to plan. Batman gets real grumpy about it, attacking a random thug when he first hears about Gordon, hitting Dick when he tries to hold Bruce back, and then just brooding over Gordon's unconscious body while the rest are sent out to actually catch the shooter.

Cass is there for some of that, but not really saying or doing too much, so we're mostly looking at the art. Iirc, the Pander Bros are new artists to this retrospective. So how's their Cass?

Remember last time how I mentioned how depicting cass as a shadowy silhouette or trying to convey how she moves was more effective at making her spooky and intimidating than emphasizing the stitches in her mask or just giving her an angry face or whatever? This is the kind of stuff I was talking about there. Not enough to have stitches over the mouth, the Panders make her entire suit stitched together, like Catwoman in Batman Returns. They also drop her chunky yellow utility belt - and frequently also the yellow bat-symbol on her chest, though that might be a colorist issue.

I don't think they do a bad job exactly, apart from their super angular cartoony style not really clicking with me, but that's an aesthetic preference, not a judgment on quality. But the lack of facial expression in their Cass really hurts here.

I mean, at least there's some body language & physicality put into comforting Babs here, and it's nice that Babs looks to Cass in this one panel/moment here.

And I also like this bit, where Cass is the first to notice that Bruce is already in the room with Jim.

...

So Catwoman was seen at the scene where Gordon was shot, and they were feuding recently, so she's the prime suspect even if gun murder isn't really her style. The bat crew, minus Bruce, try to track her down, eventually leading to them interrupting a museum heist, but it turns out to be Harley Quinn running interference for Selina.

I like N. Steven Harris's general style more than the Panders, but he makes some weird decisions with Cass.

Combat Heels? Really?

This is a writing thing, so more on Dixon than Harris again, but...

has the memo not yet gotten around that Cass can talk now? She could just ask 'where is Catwoman'?

are we supposed to believe she can write the word 'woman' but not the word 'cat'? The cat part she has to draw?

This is kind of silly and ridiculous.

Mostly she's just kind of standing around in group shots in this one, and she looks fine.

The only real character beat Cass gets in this one is this extra and unnecessary kick at Harley Quinn at the end. Kind of mean spirited, which doesn't exactly fit Cass's usual character, but she's frustrated and her friend is hurting so I can't exactly say lashing out like this is exactly out of character either.

...

The last issue with Harley Quinn was mostly just spinning wheels to spread the crossover to one more title, Catwoman 90 actually advances the plot with the crew tracking Selina down, capturing her, and getting her version of the story - that another cop shot the commissioner.

Is Mike Lilly also a new artist for Cass? 3 for 3 new artists this week? I probably like his version of Batgirl the best out of the three today, but it does suffer noticeably from 'only knows how to draw one body type for female characters' syndrome.

It's a cute line I guess, but Selina has met Cass before. They had a whole little side adventure.

That's-not-Cass body measurements aside, Lilly does a great job of portraying just how athletic and acrobatic Cass is in just a few panels, how overwhelming her skill is in a physical confrontation. Selina pretty easily slipped past Dick, Tim, and Jean-Paul before this, but she just can't shake Cass.

Later on Cass is also the one who retrieves the shooter's gun from the vent Selina stowed it in:

Nice to see her and Jean-Paul working together in a nod to some of the No Man's Land stuff.

....

Overall three new artistic takes on Cass-Batgirl, and while I have my gripes about each none of them are bad exactly. It's nice that she's here for the crossover event, not left out entirely, and the writing teams remember enough of her character that she's making a show of consoling Barbara, or just naturally teaming up with Jean-Paul. It's also nice that she's treated as the most physically adept member of the bat team.

On the other hand, I'm not sure word has gotten around that she can talk now? The whole point of making her able to talk was so that she didn't fall into the vaguely racial trope of the silent faceless ninja, but that's still very much the role she's filling here.

I'd also mentioned earlier in discussing No Man's Land and more broadly the characterization of Bruce at the time kind of fell into a recurring rut. Something bad would happen that would remind Bruce of how little control he really had over the random injustice of the world, something that would put him back in the headspace of that little boy watching his parents murdered in front of him, and in response he would emotionally seize up and push his surrogate family away, only to later re-(re-re-re-)learn that he can't just do everything on his own and isolating himself only makes things worse and found family is good and he needs to rely on his friends, etc etc.

Officer Down is the start of another of these cycles, and while Gordon survives his injuries, he does retire. And Bruce's behavior towards the others while he's afraid Gordon will die is obnoxious enough that Alfred quits? To teach him a lesson by isolating him? Seems suspect, but whatever. Bruce just in general gets more grumpy and obnoxious for a while in a way that feels pretty repetitive with No Mans Land, a rut that continues to repeat going forward well after the writers seem to have tired of it.

And as a Cass fan it's kind of frustrating, because, again, her entire character concept was designed in dialog with exactly this version of Bruce, and the arc that it felt at the time she was building towards would have given the writers a natural way to write Bruce out of this rut.

It sort of writes itself - something happends that forces Bruce to acknowledge Cass's murder - maybe she finally breaks down and confesses it to him directly. He doesn't take it well, it leads to conflict between them, expanding out into conflict with the rest of the team. Eventually this conflict forces Bruce and Cass to confront and overcome their internalized guilt issues together, probably while physically fighting each other. The resolution of this forces Bruce to acknowledge that it's unprocessed guilt - not anger - that's been driving him to push everyone away. In offering Cass the forgiveness she needs he also learns to forgive himself, and comes out of the whole thing as more mellow and better-socially-adjusted batman, one who at the very least turns to his found family in a crisis instead of always reflexively pushing them away.

Bits and pieces of this narrative show up here and there going forward, but the whole arc never really coalesces. And while eventually there was a shift to a less grumpy and self-isolating Batman, I don't remember any particular catharsis bringing him to that point - though to be fair I wouldn't have seen it if it didn't involve Cass, so *shrug*.

#cassandra cain #sception reads cassandra cain #batgirl

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to-the-stars8 · 1 year ago

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personal headcanons? here i come😉:

Tim is nonbinary, and the batfam gives no shit to anyone who dare to oppose it

How Tim discover it? Well, Barbara, Cass and Steph once persuade him to try on a red dress when he's out shopping with them, and Lana Del Ray's Summertime Sadness was playing at that time, Tim got indulged with the lyrics 'I got my red dress on tonight' 'Done my hair up real big, beauty queen style' - he didn't cut his hair for a while so he looks exactly a beauty when he put on a red dress and the girls applause for him so damn hard

Tim got 30+ contacts from different modeling agency that day

Tim did feel panic the first time he feels being nonbinary, after all, he's didn't do well when he found out he's bi, but that okay, the batfam got him

Kate help him a lot, Jason too, though he's like, 'Always know you're one, just wondering how long you're gonna realize

Tim: IS THAT WHY YOU'VE BEEN SENDING ME LGBTQ+ BROCHURE?!

Fun fact: Jason works in a lgbtq+ community formed by Harley and Ivy, after knowing Tim's Bi, he feels like someone needs to learn more, and he wants to, so he goes

Damian didn't react too well, but didn't act out of line too, he just point out fact he can't understand the concepts

Jason slapped himself and gave the entire batfam concept and knowledge about lgbtq+ that night, with the Kents, Harley and Ivy, whatever anti-heros on good terms with them

Cass and Steph suddenly announce they're les and has been together, Jason and Barbara and Harley and Ivy and Selina all punch each other's arms and like laughing off the rest for not figuring out when they're the detectives

Dick actually some sort of figures out but he feels like he hasn't been long enough by the kids side so he doesn't know how to react

Dick gets the best brother hug that day

Damian punched quite a lot in schools with Jon, because someone is badmouthing his sibling (though he wouldn't admit Tim's brother) for being part of lgbtq+

Bruce like, 'I am dissappoint for the school's being', subtly approve Damian

Damian gets the best cookies from Alfred that day

Omg I loved these head canons!! I honestly love it when the batfamily is just being a normal family and supporting each other 🥹

#asks #send asks

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batbaffle · 1 year ago

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woops i kept forgetting to elaborate on this. basically most of the comic events are still canon but card games are added in too for funsies.

of course that means card game related crime + having to duel criminals, similar to 5ds (card games on motorcycles are a must). im also choosing to include vrains style VR because imagine all the cyber crime shenanigans.

a majority of vigilante characters and major villains are gonna have at least one deck in addition to their canon skills. generally their vigilante deck is gonna be different from their civilian deck (if they have one) for identity reasons. their costumes are gonna have some alterations to match the aesthetic of their deck, but i havent gotten around to drawing those yet.

im also gonna give some characters the psychic duelist powers and duel spirit seer powers, just havent picked who.

some of the deck assignments i have so far are:

robin!dick - perfomapal/performage - mostly inherited from his parents. the circus theme is pretty self explanatory. does not get passed down to other robins, it's unique to dick's robin.

batman!bruce - destiny hero - again, pretty obvious choice if you're familiar with it. ed phoenix plays them and he's yugioh's equivalent of batman. its the edgier not evil alternative to elemental heroes. it has a literal batsignal card. the fuckin tea time card!!

civie!jason - mishmash collection of random cards he acquired. technically not a legal deck. he's not really interested in the game but has cards for convenience anyway.

robin!jason - elemental hero - provided by bruce. sorta becomes the default robin deck since it's less unique than dick's robin deck, and it pairs well with batman's deck in tag duels.

rh!jason - vendread - zombies!!! city setting!!!! vengeance theme!!!! very good fit imo.

civie!babs or batgirl!babs i havent decided yet - spellbook for library reasons.

oracle!babs - altergeist - obligatory hacker girl deck. why not.

robin!tim - elemental hero/vision hero - similar to the robin!jason deck but upgraded with the addition of vision heros and some stronger elemental heros.

spoiler!steph - junk/scrap - supposed to reflect all the DIY gear she had when starting out. she can be yusei coded as a treat <3

catwoman!selina - i dont think i need to tell you what kind of deck she would play. we all know it's going to be a cat deck. come on

and some characters who explicitly do not have a deck are:

civie!bruce - pretends not to know how to play the game. what even is a duel monster?

early!cass - i know it's very common to joke about yugioh players not knowing how to read, but this is a bit much. she might get a deck later on tho.

joker - doesnt have a dedicated deck of his own, but he may use random one-off decks sometimes. specifically stolen decks. imagine how insufferable an actual deck designed by joker would be. i don't wanna deal with that.

anyone wanna hear about my batman yugioh au

#im very much open to deck suggestions #please give deck suggestions lol #ygo bat au

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bifairywife · 3 years ago

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jaystephroy concept:

fashion industry au 🚶🖋️📸

i had way too much fun conceptualising all of this so i'll be posting some edits to help visualize (and explain a bit) this au <33

imagine: jason as a model, steph as a fashion designer, and roy as a photographer - it's basically a power trio in the fashion world

jason is one of the top models of wayne enterprises' fashion branch alongside dick and cass, it's kind of a family business. they all got their share of modelling (tim ultimately decided to go with marketing, damian initiated making a sub-branch for pet clothes, and duke decided to help out with the creatives team in making commercials + social media posts).

steph made her first spoiler costume, so it's safe to assume she designed it too. plus her cute lil red headband as robin? cute and iconic, a statement piece none of the previous robins ever bothered to have. and if you check the notes on her clothing style in wfa, it'll totally solidify my point:

highlights from the notes: young and trendy, likes to customize her clothes → this is a girl that has style and someone you'd want in the designing team (+ in canon she's a good cartoonist too, she got the drawing skills)

now onto roy, i'll admit my thought process really just went: "well he's an archer, right? so he has good eyesight and he can quickly have a good scope of his surroundings taking into account of its details while he's at it - so that'll make him a good photographer." for the sake of this au, i want him on team wayne enterprises already.

some notes on jason:

with dick on men's formal wear & undergarments (hehe) and cass on women's athletic and formal wear, jason got the men's casual and athletic wear covered.

he's been planning on dropping his modelling gig. he's interested in a career change with helping out in a different aspect in the company's fashion branch. but with his popularity, it's a risky move to pursue it.

between him, dick, and cass - jason's surprisingly the best trendsetter. dick can be flat out embarrassing sometimes and although cass is iconic, she's a whole new league of her own for being able to be the only one that can really carry a look the way she does (some can copy her, but they don't hold a candle to her). the looks jason serve on his own is a mix of classic and functional - which is why leather jackets are never out of style in gotham.

some notes on steph:

steph couldn't afford fashion school but she was discovered by selina. she's under a sort of apprenticeship with her (selina gets what steph is going through and she wants someone to take over for her now that she wants to focus on designing jewelry).

she's also very active on social media. she's got a super cute and semi-consistent theme on instagram (featuring a mix of her works and shots of herself), and her stories are a mix of aesthetic shots of her designing process or photos of her snacks.

steph is closest with cass. when she started out, selina assigned her as one of cass' designers. steph and cass work together often and they easily bonded.

steph is also close to tim and duke. she gives them insights on how to appeal to the audience better, and they help her be updated to current trends.

some notes on roy:

i always hc roy as the type of guy that enjoys travelling a lot. he's originally a landscape photographer, doing a lot of mountain-hiking and rock-climbing which are risky but worth it for the view. problem is: he got into an accident so those activities need to be put on halt.

he still wanted to continue photography though. even if oliver doesn't play favourites, he doesn't want to work for queen industries where people can assume he got in the "easy way" so he picked the next best company: wayne enterprises.

he's a generally friendly guy, so having to work with new people was a breeze. the problem lies with how different this particular genre of photography is. he's so used to snapping photos of landscapes that focusing on people (and clothes) is an entirely different level.

#i was gonna make a dnd-esque concept about them first but it's so hard to find pics for it 😭😭#jaysteph #jayroy #jaystephroy #jayroysteph #jason todd #stephanie brown #roy harper #red hood #the spoiler #red arrow #dc comics #polyamourous #polyamory #summer.txt

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themaribatpit · 4 years ago

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Fiasco At The Wayne Gala

Author’s note: This story was written by DC Fanboy and proofread by Maribat fangirl, as a reaction to Style Queen. Maribat fangirl has been hard at work on Chapter 6 of “Hanging by a Thread”, while DC fanboy needed a break from the angst. This is the result, enjoy.

Content warning: A dash of Chloe salt, mostly Audrey managing to piss off everyone. Ships: Jason Todd / Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Dick Grayson / Barbara Gordon, Cassandra Cain / Stephanie Brown, Tim Drake / Bernard Dowd (mentioned), Bruce Wayne / Selina Kyle.

Fiasco at the Wayne Gala

Jason stood at the driveway to Wayne Manor, bored out of his mind as he waited for Marinette to arrive. Another Wayne Gala was underway, with Gotham’s elite pouring into Wayne Manor. Marinette said she would be arriving with her roommate, Zoe. He took out his phone and messaged his girlfriend asking where she was. He was interrupted from his thoughts when a rude woman cleared her throat in front of him. Jason was just able to look up from his phone before he was berated for not paying attention to her.

“You! Valet! How dare you play on your phone when you should be attending to us guests?” the woman screeched. Jason cringed and immediately placed his phone back into his pocket, just as he was about to argue with this banshee that he wasn’t a valet, he was rudely interrupted again with another screech. “How unprofessional! Notify Bruce Wayne that I, Audrey Bourgeois have arrived,” she waved her hand as if to shoo him away. “Now go and park the car before I fire you.” She tossed her keys to Jason, before promptly walking away with her chin held snobbishly high.

Jason looked down at the keys in his hands. He looked at the woman walking away and then towards her car, a jet black convertible. He walked around the vehicle, admiring the exquisite European sports car. A mischievous grin grew on his face as he looked back at the keys in his hand, he jumped in over the door into the car and started its engine. It roared to life, Jason couldn’t resist stamping both his feet on the accelerator and brakes at the same time. The tyres screeched from the friction, spewing smoke behind him. He then spun around, performing a doughnut around the driveway. He left behind a trail of black tyre markings on the asphalt below. Jason stomped his foot onto the accelerator, all the way to the bottom. The engine roared in response with an immediate burst of power, rocketing him out of Wayne Manor, speeding off into the distance.

Meanwhile, Dick waited for the cloakroom attendant to return. In his hands he held Barbara’s coat. Him being the gentleman that he was, he volunteered to bring it to the cloakroom for her. As he patiently waited at the counter, he heard a throat being cleared behind him. He chose to ignore it but then the voice grew louder. He elected to ignore it again, but the person behind him then shouted “You!”

Dick turned in surprise, he looked around to the source of the voice, a woman wearing a black, white and gold ball gown with a white fur coat in her arms. Beside her was, what he assumed to be, her daughter. She wore a matching dress and an entitled look on her face. He looked around, thinking and hoping she was trying to talk to someone else.

The woman then threw her coat at Dick, it draped over his head completely. He looked as if he was wearing an expensive ghost costume, as the coat hung over his head. The rude woman continued, “Now put this in the cloakroom, bring me the ticket when you are done and make sure nothing happens to it.” Dick didn’t say anything at that moment, he hadn’t fully registered what had just happened. “It is an expensive Arctic Fox coat, if anything were to happen to it I will make sure Mr. Wayne fires you.” She stomped off with her daughter in tow, the two walked past Barbara with Haley napping on her lap. The two scoff in disgust at the sight of the dog, “Disgusting, don't you think?” Audrey asked her daughter.

Chloe repeated the sentiment, “Absolutely, Mother.”

Audrey nodded towards her daughter in approval before turning back to face Barbara, “Now get that mangy, misshapen mutt out of here before we file a complaint and get that thing put down!” she threatened before walking away.

Haley whimpered from the scary lady’s yelling, Barbara’s eyes narrowed as her hands moved to cover Haley’s floppy ears, “Oh no you did not just threaten Haley.”

“Where did she go? I can’t see.” Dick asked, the coat still covering his head.

Tim stood near the food table, enjoying canapés and several other hors d'oeuvre while waiting for his date, Bernard, to arrive at the gala. A loud voice caught his attention mid bite, “Is that you Timothy? Oh it is you.” He looked up from his plate to see an obnoxious woman wearing sunglasses indoors, at night.

“Do you remember me? I’m your Aunt Audrey.” the woman spoke.

Tim cringed internally, remembering the woman from past events. A horrible woman if he remembered correctly, always sucking up to his parents, pretending to be their friend. Most of all he remembered the constant attempts at matchmaking, doing whatever she could to pawn her daughter off to the Drake family to gain their favour. He quickly swallowed the appetizer in his mouth and answered “Hello Aunt Audrey.” with a strained smile. His mind was in a flurry, trying to think of a plan to get rid of her.

“Oh how handsome you’ve grown, why don't you spend time with my daughter? I brought her here today.” she suggested, her voice devoid of any sincerity.

Tim slowly backed off, looking around the room hoping to think of a plan to get her to leave him alone. “Well...you see…” he tried to stall for time. He then spotted a familiar plume of blonde hair standing near the performing band and rushed towards her. “Steph! You gotta help me!” he croaked.

She turned in surprise, “Tim? You okay? What's wrong?”

“Pretend to be my date” he blurted out.

“What?” she cried incredulously, “No, I’m dating Cass. What would Bernard say?” she responded angrily.

“Please, I’m begging you. At least until this crazy woman leaves me alone,” Tim explained, “she’s been trying to hook me up with her daughter for years.” Tim grabbed on to her arms and gave her a shake.

“What is this, some kind of fake dating storyline? Did I wake up in one of your K-Dramas?” She answered in a voice dripping with sarcasm. She then peered over his shoulder to see two women in hot pursuit, shoving guests aside. She was already feeling her mood sour from their presence.

“You owe me for this, understand?” Stephanie said, her fingers jabbed Tim in the chest before she pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Thanks, I’ll pay you back some day.” Tim then held out his elbow for Stephanie, which she held on to.

Tim and Steph slowly walked up to Audrey, “Aunt Audrey, I’d like to meet my girlfriend Stephanie Brown.” He gestures towards his friend. Stephanie then kissed Tim in the cheek, trying her absolute best to not show just how irritated she was at the whole situation.

Audrey’s eyes twitched at the sight, but it was unnoticeable under her sunglasses. “Nice to meet you too Stephanie.” she greeted, venom dripping from her voice. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I will attend to other guests. It was nice meeting you again Timothy.” She then stomped away with Chloe in tow.

The two then breathed a sigh of relief as they were left alone, “I need a drink” groaned Stephanie, as she held onto her forehead. “I just hope that Cass didn't see....that.” She turned around to see Cassandra Cain right behind the two, a frown on her face.

Both Tim and Steph both held up their hands, attempting to placate the girl in front of them. “Tim needed a fake date to get rid of a crazy old hag.” explained Steph, as quickly and concisely as she could. Stephanie gave Tim the evil eye, thinking of all the ways she would hurt him if his fiasco cost her her relationship with Cass.

Cass spun her finger on the side of her head. Tim and Steph released a breath they both had been holding, worried of what Cass’ reaction would be. Fortunately for them, Cass was able to see the whole thing. From watching Tim’s desperate plea, to the subtle signs of discomfort as the two spoke to Ms. Bourgeois.

Damian clung to the edges of the party, he detested these events. However, as the son of Gotham’s Billionaire he had no choice but to attend. He wandered around, hands in his pockets, he hoped he could find a familiar face in a sea of strangers. Perhaps Gordon or Grayson would let him pet Haley, it would at least help pass the time better.

For someone unaware of who he was, one could possibly mistake him for a delinquent. Then again, he was the grandson of the Demon. He spotted the dog on Gordon's lap, and made his way towards her. He was then intercepted by a raging woman pointing her finger at him and calling him a trespasser and an intruder.

The gall of this woman, he clenched his teeth and yelled back. "Shut up you hag, I live here!"

The woman expressed a loud gasp, "How dare you call me that? Do you know who I am? I am Audrey Bourgeois, director of Style Queen."

Damian rolled his eyes, "What? A magazine giving fashion advice to shriveled old hags like you?" he shot back.

Audrey Bourgeois snapped, she yelled at the boy at the top of the voice "How dare you!"

Damian shouted back "How dare YOU! Do you know who I am?"

Their shouting match had drawn the entire attention of the ball room, eyes drawn to the argument unraveling before them. Tim and Dick walked closer, hoping to get a clear view of what was happening, and to intervene if necessary. Who knows what would happen with Damian around?

Alfred ignored the chaos unraveling around him as he pushed a food trolley through the ball room. However, a young woman with blonde hair rushed in front of his trolley. "May I help you?" He asked.

"My mother is being harassed by some miscreant, go get rid of him." Chloe growled towards the butler.

"Very well." Alfred complied and began walking to the two shouting their lungs off.

Damian spots the two former Robins approaching and calls out to them, "Grayson, Drake, tell her who I am and get rid of her."

Both Tim and Dick narrowed their eyes, annoyed about how all attention was now on the two of them. The two looked at each other, annoyed at their younger sibling.

Tim had a plan to redirect that attention and knock Hell Spawn down a peg, "Who are you?" he asked.

This infuriated Damian, he roared "Traitor!" and was about to throw fists at Tim before Alfred stepped in between them.

"Please, let us all calm down and enjoy this fine evening." Alfred attempted to calm the entire situation.

"Not until you get rid of him!" Audrey yelled, pointing her finger accusingly at Damian.

"I'm afraid I can't do that Madam." Alfred deadpanned.

Audrey stomped her foot in anger, then she pointed threateningly at Alfred. "You're fired!" she yelled.

Alfred sighs and answers in a monotone voice "Madam, with all due respect, I don't work for you. I work for Master Wayne, and in turn I also work for the young Master Wayne." He gestured to Damian, who stood there angrily with his arms crossed.

Audrey Bourgeois recoiled in shock, she attempted to come up with a retort. Alfred continued, "As per the young master's wishes, please leave the premises immediately."

Audrey gritted her teeth, "Fine. Call the valet to bring my car over." She commanded before marching off.

Alfred and Damian looked at each other, intrigued at the request for a valet. "Pennyworth, we don't have a valet for this evening, do we?" asked Damian.

"No Master Damian, though I suspect we may have a case of grand theft auto on our hands. I shall go check the cameras for our culprit.” Alfred furrowed his eyebrows and left for the Batcave.

Marinette and Zoe stood near a window. Marinette was worried, Jason was supposed to be at the party. He did not answer any of her calls or reply to any of her messages. She paced about, worried Jason was away dealing with an emergency.

Zoe on the other hand was red with embarrassment and shame. She was unfortunately related to the two wrecking balls tearing their way through the gala. She hoped to any and every deity above that they would prevent her mother from noticing her. However, this was to no avail as Zoe was spun around forcefully.

"...Zoe! Why did you not greet your dear mother?" Yelled Audrey.

Zoe began sweating bullets trying to think of an answer while being berated by her mother and half-sister. "I-I uh, I just got here." She shakily attempted to explain herself.

"What are you doing here Marinette?" Growled Chloe, annoyed at how such a clumsy girl would be even invited to this event.

Marinette put the phone back into her purse, "I was supposed to be here with my boyfriend, but I can't find him and he won't answer the phone."

Chloe laughed at the girl's plight, "Who would even date a loser like you? Any sane person would leave you."

Marinette gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, much to Chloe’s delight. Her contained rage and shame were interrupted as Audrey began complaining about a valet.

"Where is my car? Where is that damn stupid valet?" Audrey shouted.

Zoe and Marinette looked at each other, confused at the mention of a valet. "There was a valet?" Marinette asked nervously.

"Of course there was." Audrey told her.

"Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous," ranted Chloe, "He did not even dress properly and now he can't even deliver mother's car. Where is the idiot with the white streak of hair?"

Marinette and Zoe raised an eyebrow at the specific mention of a white streak of hair.

"At least it explains what Jason is up to." Marinette thought to herself, "They won't be getting the car back for a while, if at all."

Alfred had reviewed footage of the driveway earlier that evening, and had discovered Jason was the culprit. Alfred sighed as he picked up the telephone and attempted to call Jason. Just like Marinette, Jason was not answering his calls. Alfred then contacted Jason through his Bat Communicator.

"What's the emergency, Alfred?" Answered Jason.

Alfred could hear the sound of a roaring engine and wind whipping through the air over the communicator. "Master Todd, you are the emergency. Please return the automobile to the manor.

"Alright, I will if you bake me two dozen cookies. Just for me and no one else." Negotiated Jason.

"Very well, Master Todd." agreed Alfred "Now please return the vehicle." Alfred closed the call and made his way to the ballroom.

Jason turned the steering wheel of the car harshly, sending it to a tight drift, making a turn back towards Wayne Manor. "Alright you two, we're getting cookies!" he yelled to his passengers beside him.

"Yaaaaay" cheered Roy along with Lian on his lap.

Back in the ballroom, Alfred asked the guests to quiet down for he was making an announcement. "Esteemed guests, allow me to introduce Bruce Wayne.'' He stepped aside and gestured to Bruce atop the stairs with Selena Kyle. The two slowly walked down the stairs, and thanked each of their guests for attending the gala.

Audrey Bourgeois pushed past several attendees to get a closer look. Other guests gave her space, not wanting to incur her wrath. As she reached Bruce Wayne, she shoved Selena aside and wrapped herself around Bruce's arm. Taking extra attention to make sure her chest rubbed against his arm.

Zoe sped to the bathroom in absolute shame after watching her mother attempt to flirt with Bruce Wayne. Marinette remained by the window, waiting for Jason’s return. She was then approached by Alfred, holding a small basket of fresh cookies. “Good evening Ms. Dupain-Cheng, I just spoke to Master Todd, he is on his way.”

Marinette glanced at Audrey Bourgeois still attempting to flirt with Bruce, “the sooner he gets here the sooner she leaves.” she comments. She notices the cookies in the basket. “Can I have a cookie?” she asked, salivating at Alfred’s baking. Tikki peeked out from her small bag, enticed by the smell of the cookies.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to ask Master Todd, I made these in order to entice him to return the car. Undamaged, I hope.” Alfred explains.

Fortunately Jason arrived at that moment, with Roy and Lian in tow, their hairs were messy from the wind. Alfred gave Marinette the basket of cookies and asked her to give them to Jason while he notified Ms. Bourgeois that her car had arrived. “Jason, where have you been? I've been trying to call you all night!” Marinette yelled.

Jason scratched the back of his head, “about that, some crazy lady thought I was a valet.”

Marinette crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, “I heard. But that doesn't mean you can take her car.” she huffed.

“ ‘Sup Little Wing,” Dick greeted Jason, “heard about your joyride from Alfred. How was it?”

“Awesome,” Jason replied, reaching into the basket of cookies. Roy, Lian and Tikki were already enjoying their share.

“Now that you’re back, that crazy woman can now go.” Dick said

“What did she do?” asked Jason curiously, hoping there would be a good story.

“For starters, she thought I was the cloakroom attendant. She threw her coat over my face, she pissed Babs off by calling Haley a ‘Misshapen Mutt’. Then she tried to hook her daughter up with Tim. On top of that, she managed to royally piss off Damian.” Explained Dick.

Jason’s jaw dropped while chewing his cookie, a few crumbs landing on the floor. Before doing a spit-take with the cookie in his mouth, he burst out laughing.

Meanwhile Alfred walked up to Audrey Bourgeois, who was still clinging onto Bruce Wayne as if her life depended on it. “Ahem, Madam Bourgeois, your automobile has arrived. Please kindly leave the premises.” interrupted Alfred.

“Come now, Brucie Darling. Are you really going to send me away after all we have been through?” Audrey asked coyly.

Bruce took a deep breath, “Ms. Bourgeois, please leave. As you can see my date, Ms. Kyle, has been very patient with you.” He points with his thumb behind him towards a glaring Selena.

Audrey growled loudly, “Fine, we are leaving.” She stomped out the front door. “You, Valet! What took you so long?” she demanded an explanation from Jason.

Jason spoke to her with his mouth full, spewing crumbs everywhere. “Having dinner, what's it to you?”

Audrey and Chloe recoiled at Jason’s bad manners, as a force of habit Audrey yelled back “I’ll have you fired for this.”

Jason continued undeterred, still answering with his mouth full of cookies. “Well shit, too bad.”

Frustrated at his aloof response, the two quickly got into the car and drove off. Everyone but the two Bourgeois noticed a large scratch and several dents along the side of the sports car as it drove away. “Yeah, uh, forget you saw that. Let’s get back to the party shall we?” suggested Jason. Everyone laughed hysterically at the wild night, now that the human wrecking ball had left.

As Marinette walked back into the manor, she pouted at Jason for keeping her waiting. “Come on now Pixie, are you still mad at me?” Jason asked.

“Yes, you stole someone’s car, drove off to who knows where. You didn’t answer any of my messages or calls. I was really looking forward to enjoying the Gala with you.” Marinette complained.

Jason ran in front of Marinette, stopping her in her tracks. “Look I’ll make it up to you Pixie, I promise. How about a dance then? The night is still young.” Jason said, offering his hand to Marinette.

Marinette contemplates for a moment before reaching out to hold his hand. “Fine, but this doesn’t mean I forgive you yet.”

The two then walked to the centre of the ballroom and danced the night away.

#jasonette #maribat chloe salt #maribat #ml x dc #dc x ml

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zahri-melitor · 2 years ago

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Newish Comics, Regular Edition (thank you extremely early spoilers meaning I spent yesterday on the Gotham War stuff, this is a big edition and I’ve been holding myself back from touching these for FOUR WHOLE WEEKS):

Birds of Prey #1: Righto so as I read this my levels of trust are building just slightly. There is at least reasoning being built into this scenario. Also I note the note that this is post Green Arrow #6

The list!!! I’ve already ranted about this but I want to note how IMMACULATE the order of “Shiva, Selina, Talia?, Cheshire?” is. Shiva’s the obvious starting point. She’s heavily associated with Sin, she’s an actual Bird of Prey from several team lineups, there’s the whole Dinah and Shiva relationship… Dinah would consider this. Jumping to Selina next, as someone who again has had multiple BoP appearances, is known to ally up if asked, exists in the antihero spectrum, Dinah’s probably also now aware she’s been looking after Lian. Then Talia. I am unaware of Talia being associated with any BoP team lineup ever but she’s an obvious next place for thoughts to go. Talia has Views and if you’re looking at dangerous people who can help with an extraction rescue she’s an option. Then finally, Cheshire. Who Dinah full well knows would cause ALL LEVELS of drama if Dinah asked her to go after Sin given everything around Lian, but is willing to consider it anyway for a moment there.

I do adore the art style in this, DC’s really putting out some stunning LOOKING books at the moment, also the old fashioned comics style and colour here are giving me vibes of the Black Canary 1991 run.

“What’s more important than a sister” remains excellent, Barda and Cass together is just amazing, and I’m interested in what happens with Zealot and Meridian. I understand why Harley’s there even if I don’t like it, and it’s largely approached better than I expected (I just can’t summon the energy to care about that fight scene, it’s establishing stuff to jury rig a reason for Harley to be here at all, I just don’t care about Harley enough, though does Harley have a secret past with the Dava Sborsc ‘collect all the single punches’ form of martial arts?)

My actual big question is: Sin is SIXTEEN? I mean I know we’ve had 2.5 reboots since the last time she was on page in comics, but she was approximately 10 years old after One Year Later. She was in PRIMARY SCHOOL. That’s even faster aging than Damian! (I guess we could stretch the point to her being 11-12, but it feels older than she was depicted)

Blue Beetle #1: The thing I MOST adore about using that JLI picture for Ted is that even with this comic set in the current present, Ted was on the team with a proper USSR Red Rocket. Ted you were a superhero 32 years ago?

Also amused we got a zany Charlton Comics era villain back.

RED BEETLE IS BACK!!! Oh no. Also almost impossible for it to be Paco given various reboots, so… (I’m sure Ted is fine. They’re not killing him off permanently in the first issue of this)

Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville #1: BEA! TORA! “Each day is a gift, and I get to share it with my best friend!” (Howling. I’m howling. They’re going to spend this entire mini baiting us all aren’t they)

…Martha immediately starts comparing Fire & Ice to her and Jonathan. “Gorilla Grodd’s little sister” (whose name appears to be Linka Grodd? And who is queer).

NOOOO THEY’RE BREAKING UP! AND THEY WEREN’T EVEN TOGETHER! YOU TWO JUST LESBIANED YOURSELVES INTO A BUSINESS TOGETHER! AND A TWELVE MONTH LEASE!

“Abandoned by my best friend, maybe the only true friend I’ve known.” (Get a room together)

AWW YEAH AMBUSH BUG!!

I am going to thoroughly enjoy this BECAUSE the entire run will be queerbait and hopefully Bea and Tora might finally get to kiss or something in issue 6. I am ready for this. Just gals being pals.

City Boy #4: this remains outstanding in my opinion. I really like what they’re doing with Cameron, and they’re making using Darkseid actually make sense. Also Chemo blowing up Bludhaven has been recanonised!

Shazam! #3: “Dan Mora an alien?” bookmark ahhahahaha. The background details are where Mora really has fun.

NOT THE AUDITORS.

This just remains silly fun (the Moon Emperor?) so I’m enjoying it.

Warlord #18: this week in the land of Skartaris we apparently DID manage to get out of 500km of desert in a single issue. Amazing work, Grell.

Travis once again using his gun. How many bullets left, Travis, how many. Can you make more?

Then they get attacked by the BLOODMOON and kidnapped by space aliens for breeding purposes. After running away from a T-rex.

And then…TRAVIS MORGAN BONDAGE SCENE. I’ve missed these, Grell, how have you been coping?

Travis gets transmuted into a minotaur. This will clearly only go well. (Sadly it gets fixed like three pages later)

Tara saves the day twice because Tara’s actually more competent than Travis.

#z canon read throughs #newish comics

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