#dick is still classic child robin

[buhbyebabyblue]

nobody robined more than tim drake. R.I.P to the others (literally and also not literally) but he is just so Robin™️ they just can’t compare

[feartoxinjelloshot]

clipsverse SWAP AU! for fun! character elaboration under the cut because it gets kind of wordy:

selina's deal is pretty straightforward: she has the typical “saw parents die as a child" backstory, but she’s obviously not a millionare so she’s operating out of some kind of condemned underground parking lot... somewhere. authentic gotham grunge i guess. she’s a functioning alcoholic and i am obsessed with her. she's a hardboiled detective like batman, but tends to be a bit more cynical - sort of like if rorschach from watchmen was a normal person and also didn't hate sex. firefly is her "guy in the chair" similar to what alfred is to batman in canon, minus the surrogate parent part, obviously. public opinion is pretty split on if the bat is a man or a woman under there. i don't really have swap ideas for the robins ironed out, but i'm thinking that cass and stephanie are her robin and red hood equivalents (cass being dick, stephanie being jason). cass would have an allblack bird theme going on, so she might be "crow" or "blackbird" instead of robin. dunno what stephanie's red hood rendition is like. purple hood? i'll figure it out eventually.

bruce’s parents are alive, but he has a terrible relationship with them and with his own wealth so he mitigates the guilt complex by dressing up as a cat to steal and redistribute resources to people who actually need it. he could probably do that in daylight but there is something very wrong with him. i don't think his dumb slutty playboy persona is entirely genuine even without his parents' deaths, but he does lean into it more and incorporate parts of it into his vigilante persona over time. i think this version of bruce is just generally very lonely under the surface. he tries to be normal in his daytime life and he's very bad at it - theft aside, in a certain sense being the cat(man? woman?) is his own break for freedom; he felt a need to plunge himself far into the deep end of what normal society calls a 'freak'. ...writing it out like this, we're probably lucky he didn't start killing people. fortunately batman isn't really that kind of guy in any universe.

meanwhile on the other side of the rails: ivy! her deal is slightly unformed right now due to the fact that the hatter and the joker also swap places in this au - so the hatter is a dangerous, evil mastermind intent on controlling gotham to suit their whims, and the joker is... just a harmless silly little guy. yeah. i don't have swap-hatter's exact personality ironed out yet, so detailing his and ivy's dynamic would be difficult, but i can say that while she is his loyal second-in-command at his table of advisors, she is also plotting against him. ivy is a consistent loner in both mainline cv and here, and while she doesn't have the same tumultuous, antagonistic, emotional relationship with him as harley does with the joker, she is also frankly not interested in being his number one until the end of time. she wants to do it herself and she wants to do it right. this is an ivy who, in lieu of her own world-altering gift, is scraping tooth and nail to successfully supersede the most powerful entity she can her her hands on. the hatter is blissfully unaware of this - we can't all be perfect.

harley, for her part, is very tame in comparison. she mirrors ivy's canonical backstory pretty closely: an esteemed scientist studying stem cell relations who was denied funding, mocked, and forced to experiment on herself to prove a point, unwittingly connecting herself to a worldwide hive-mind of plantlife. this version of harley, while still dressed as a scientist, is far more surface-level emotionally volatile than mainline ivy, more impulsive and irrational, and probably willing to lean much farther into the classic poison ivy reputation as a villainous seductress, to varying degrees of honesty and success. it takes ivy an incredible degree of patience and control to maintain the mental and physical balance she strikes with the green, and this version of harley has far less of both. she lets it use her body as a conduit of earthly rage and she lets the poison infect her skin and organs until mottled and decaying. she's not unhappy, but she's not exactly stable, either.

jonathan is a mysterious, faux-sleazy lounge singer who lost his left arm to a snake bite infection as a child and thereafter became obsessed with the symbolism of the balance of life via games, tricks and questions - winning and losing, birth and death, etc. the ouroboros is a common symbol in his theatrics. he possesses a certain degree of social confidence that the mainline jonathan has never quite been capable of - while he doesn't have the same fervent need for attention as edward, he takes a compulsory delight in the mental influence he achieves on small crowds and will employ many avenues to get ahold of it. he's certainly not outgoing: he keeps almost entirely to himself offstage, uninterested in fame outside of his show persona. unlike mainline jonathan who views the scarecrow as a genuine self-inflicted diety, this jon sees his persona as more of a mantle or responsibility that he must take on in order to discover new truths about the world. like his canon counterpart he is asexual and uninterested in sex, but i imagine that he has less qualms about leading people on as an act to get what he wants from them. he's not terribly famous in his singing career, but he's become a bit of an underground legend for his resolute 1920s-inspired style and occasional genuine debonair charm.

edward in comparison is not nearly as ritualistically compelled as mainline scarecrow, but he’s far less cagey about his own machinations and his mental relationship to them: he lives in a tricked-out barn somewhere on the far outskirts of gotham, and he spends his time as a propmaster creating elaborate saw-trap-esque haunted houses and escape rooms to invoke panic in his “guests”. he wanders the halls of his own houses along with the guests, repairing and tinkering, or just scaring the shit out of them. he also makes a genuine living by making and selling cosplay props and other related objects online; he's developed a bit of an internet presence through this channel, though he's not as fixated on it as the mainline riddler would be. he still craves spectacle and attention, but he's more of a "quality over quantity" guy according to his own standards and is rarely happy with the work he creates, hence the endless roundabout of creation and reinvention.

[fantastic-nonsense]

im soso curious, i need to know... why is tim a child of apollo? bless u for not going with fanon<3

[referencing how I decided who the Batfam's godly parents were in my PJO AU WIP]

People like to sort him into Athena because DC has spent the last few years emphasizing how smart he is and how he's better at the more “cerebral” and detective aspects of the job. But Tim’s most prominent pre-reboot traits are not actually his detective or tech skills: they’re his reckless, impulsive bravery, his ability to analyze and think very quickly on his feet in dangerous situations, and his "power of friendship" idealism.

He's a people person; it's one of his greatest strengths. Tim is like...physically incapable of going somewhere and not making at least one friend while he's there. Hell, when he ran off to travel the world on his "fuck you, I'll find Bruce on my own" trip he still managed to pick up his own little crew of assassin friends along the way. Making connections and talking to people and relying on others for help is how he successfully navigates being a hero, as he himself notes on multiple occasions:

"Did you think I was going to run all around the city, desperately trying to save everyone all by myself? I'm not Batman. I have friends." -Red Robin #12

Tim loves his family and friends, and losing so many people he's close to within such a small timespan sends him off the deep end in multiple ways (trying to clone Kon, fighting Dick to get the Lazarus water, isolating himself from everyone, fighting with Dick and running off to find proof that Bruce was alive on his own, etc).

At his core, Tim is an idealist who becomes a hero for no other reason than a) a broken man needs help and a broken family needs mending and b) if Dick won't go back to being Robin he might as well do it, because someone has to be Robin. He sees what will happen if Bruce stays on the path he's on and says "no. I'm not going to let that happen." He's a hero because someone has to help, and he's able and available to do so. He doesn't work on cold hard logic and facts. He works off of gut instinct and then uses his big brain to go find facts and logical conclusions that support those instincts.

Tim was never going to be an Athena child.

So I started thinking. At first, I wanted him to be a Hermes child; it seemed right to frame his parentage around being the child of the messenger of the gods given how he became Robin. But that's not really him, either. Apollo, within the scope of both classical mythology and the PJO-verse's depiction of him and his children, fits him better.

While modern culture tends to zero in a lot on Apollo's status as the god of music, poetry, and the arts (for good reason), Apollo in classical Greek mythology was first and foremost known as the god who (for lack of a better term) helps his people. He's the god of the sun, of light, of medicine and healing, of prophecy, of truth.

Tim comes into Bruce's life at a time when Bruce is at his absolute lowest point. Jason is dead. He's estranged from Dick. He's failing in his mission to save Gotham. He's highkey passively suicidal. And Tim takes it upon himself to fix that. And he does it by being a solid, bright, stable presence in Bruce's life and an extremely blunt, truthful messenger of the future he sees: Batman needs a Robin, and if Bruce doesn't have one he's going to die.

And I didn't abandon his intelligence in the calculations: Apollo is also the god of rational thinking, order, and knowledge, contrasting and working in harmony with Dionysus (the god of irrationality, chaos, and passion). He was also known to be the god whose job it was to interpret the will of Zeus to humankind, which I thought was appropriate for a boy who spends quite a lot of his time being the living communication translator between Bruce and everyone around him.

So. Apollo child.

............also I thought it was funny to make the god of youth the father of the boy DC refuses to allow to age.

[detectivemarvelingcomics]

Not Your Classic Vigilante [Ch. 12]

Alternate Dimension AU TW: Language, Light Alcohol, Attempted Kidnapping, CW: OC Use, See the OC Guide [Here] Genre: Drama, Action, Angst, Light Comedy Pairing: Batfamily & Batsis!Reader, OC x Reader YN Pronouns: Female (She/Her) Word Count: 9.9K

(12/?) [First] | [Previous] | [Next] [DC Masterlist] | [Not Your Classic Vigilante Masterlist]

Notes: Not my inner Jason Todd fan coming out in this one lmfao

Disclaimer: This series is originally by @fandom-meanderer who is a close friend of mine, but she has since fallen out of her Tumblr days and asked me to finish a few series for her, hence why I am now in ownership of the Not Your Classic Vigilante series, I hope I can still live up to her writing as I rewrite this series! (I promise not to change too much, hehe)

2009

“(Y/N), this is Jason, he’ll be staying with us for a while.” Your father told you this one day. A boy stood behind him, and you could see the trouble behind his eyes. Or maybe it was more of the way he looked down on you, sure he was a head or two taller but that doesn’t mean he could act that way, or at least that’s what your mom always told you, don’t let people look down on you for being you. So, you matched his ego, as best as a child could at least.

“Isn’t this the boy who tried to steal your tires?” You asked him.

“Hey,” the boy snarked.

“Be nice,” your father said sternly. Your’s and Jason’s mouths zipped shut. Bruce looked between you both. “Jason, Alfred will show you to your room, (Y/N), behave.” His voice, although stern, had a warm familiarity to it, one that threw Jason for a loop. Then, Bruce marched off to his office to do whatever Wayne work he needed, leaving you and Jason behind.

“And who are you supposed to be?” You huffed with your arms crossed. Jason only stuck his tongue out toward you and walked over to follow Alfred up the stairs. You, now fuming, followed after him. “Hey! I asked you a question!” You demanded an answer.

“He’s the new Robin, Miss (Y/N),” Alfred explains.

“New one? What happened to Dick?”

“He’s spending more time with the Titans,” Alfred explains. “Now, your father expects you to get along with Master Todd, or to at least be civil with him,” Alfred implores.

“Father?!” Jason gasps.

“Get along?!” You two clearly had different priorities.

“Yes, now, go, Miss (Y/N), make sure Master Todd is comfortable,” Alfred says before walking off. “And, before you say anything, I will know if you ignore him,” he says and you pouted in response.

“Fine,” you grumbled while dragging the dufflebags in.

“I can do it myself,” Jason took them from your grasp and hauled them in.

“Alfred told me to help!”

“I don’t need help!”

“I don’t care! You haven’t seen Alfred when you don’t listen!” You grabbed the other bag. “Geez, what’s in here? Rocks?”

“None of your business!” Jason pulls that one in too and pushes you out of his room, shutting the door once you are out, but it was timed wrong, and the door hit the back of your head harshly. Your eyes blacked out for a second, and your vision didn’t come back until you were on the floor.

“Ow!” You winced loudly and glared behind you, but the door remained closed. You looked down at the floor, tears pooling in your eyes. “You’re such a meanie, I’m gonna tell dad,” you sniffled before running off.

Though, if you had decided to look back just a bit longer, you would’ve seen that Jason opened the door as soon as he heard you shout, and was already a foot out the door to check if you were okay before you ran off.

“Geez, she’s such a spoiled baby,” Jason huffs. If you ran off like that, you’d be fine. He told himself this as he walked back into his room to unpack, and he told himself this as he kept unpacking, but the more he told himself the more worried he got. “Ugh, I hate it here already,” he walked out, wandering the halls of Wayne Manor. He didn’t even know where to start, though. He’d just arrived here today and now he’s on some goosechase to find his whatever’s daughter. “Hey, uh… (Y/N)? Where are you?” He calls absently. “You okay?” He listened closely, trying to see if he could hear you anywhere. He’s always wanted a little sister, but now that there was one in front of him he’s not too sure, he didn’t know they would be so… whiny. Then, luckily for him, he heard your voice in one of the rooms and he followed it before opening the door carefully and only a little. You were standing in front of a telephone, your back to the door and both hands holding it while you spoke to someone on the phone.

“Hello, I am calling from the Batcave, can you hand the phone to Nightwing please?” You rocked on your heels, standing atop a dangrous pile of books that wobbled every time you did so. “Hi, Dick, when are you coming home?” You asked quietly. Jason couldn’t hear the other end of the conversation. “He’s mean…” your voice was so fragile. “Dad and Alfred told me to be nice, but I don’t think he likes me.” You waited for a bit, probably listening to Dick. “I know we just met, but it wasn’t like this when we met… what do you mean it was exactly like this? Nuh uh! At least you were trying, I was the one being mean then but I know better now… well, yeah, I know not everyone can be like you! But… I miss you, come home soon, okay?” You waited for a bit again. “Okay. I’ll be nice to him, I promise. Bye bye,” you hung up the phone, leaning forward slightly to reach where you were supposed to but it back and, just as Jason thought, the books slipped under you, and he was running inside faster than he could think, catching you by the shoulders before you could fall forward and slam your head on the desk.

“Geez, (Y/N), you’re just asking to get hurt!” He shouts.

“Nuh uh!”

“Why did you think that was safe anyway?!” He places you on the ground and you zip your mouth shut.

“My older brother says that if I can’t say anything nice then I shouldn’t say anything at all,” you shook your head.

“Hello? I just saved your life!”

“You should’ve just let me fall so the front part of my brain gets smushed too!”

“You’re such a brat!”

“You’re a jerk!”

“I don’t even know what I was thinking coming here to check on you!”

“Me neither!”

“Fine, I’m leaving!”

“Fine!”

“Fine!” Jason leaves first and you jump on the couch. A few seconds later, the door cracks open just slightly.

“How does the back of your head feel?” Jason asks without walking in.

“Alfred put ice on it earlier, it’s okay… I told him I fell down the stairs,” you said quietly and you heard Jason laugh outside, but quickly he stopped.

“Did you tell Bruce?”

“… no.” And you had no intention of actually telling him either.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

~

2022

“Alright, exam 2,” you clapped your hands together and looked among the crowd of students. “As you’ve all known, this is a mock hunt. Behind me is a controlled part of the woods and standing along the perimeter of the circle are various other knights to make sure you don’t get lost and bigger monsters don’t come in. To pass exam 2 and to enter the Knighthood, you must return with a specific beast, alive or dead is up to you. Right now, Marion is handing out tile cards with the beast you are to find,” as you instructed this, Damian took the circular card from Marion and flipped it over. Behind it looked to be a fox-like creature with antennae on it’s head and between its ears. “Does everyone have a card? Okay then, go!” You blew the whistle and the teens rushed past you and into the forest, all of them running for a head start on the competition, while Damian stayed behind. You looked at him in a way to ask what the hold up was.

“Just letting them have a chance first,” he says.

“Wow, so chilvalrous,” you chuckled.

“Alright, I think even Niers caught something by now,” he rolls his shoulders back and sports a confident smirk.

“Niers? Oh, baby brother’s making friends now, huh?”

“Friends might be pushing it but if I’m planning on staying here for a while I’d might as well get close to some people.”

“Right… huh?” Your smile falls and you turn to him, but he was already running off into the forest. Staying? Oh no. No, no, he can’t stay here, not when he has a life set up for him in Gotham already.

“Whoa, you look worried,” Carter walks up to you and hands you a water bottle.

“I think Damian wants to stay here with me,” you muttered.

“Is that so bad?”

“Yeah, very.”

“Why? You two seem really close, everyone’s talking about how quickly he ran through the first exam, and I’m pretty sure he’s about to ace this one too, he’ll be a good addition.”

“He’s a teenager, Carter.”

“So are all of them,” he nods toward the forest.

“He has a good thing going for him in 617.”

“So did you.”

“But… argh,” you groaned and dragged a hand down your face. “They’re looking for him right now, I bet. Our family.”

“And they won’t find him,” Carter shakes his head. “They don’t have the tech.”

“I know that, but… I don’t know, I just have this weird nagging feeling that there’s this big picture that we’re both missing, you know?” You bit the tip of your thumb, but eventually you shook it off. “Whatever, we’ll just wait for the recruits to come back,” you dismissed the notion, but Carter wasn’t too convinced. You could tell from the way he shifted his weight onto one leg and about the wary glance he gave you but, with multiple easrs listening, he knew not to say anything more.

~

2010

Your feet rocked back and forth, peeking from behind the curtain to see who was in the crowd. You really didn’t expect much though, your dad was always busy at this time, your mom too, Dick was always preoccupied with the Titans nowadays, and even Alfred had a family event to go to.

Then again, there was Jason. But he wasn’t really interested in anything you did, he was more focused on whatever it was that Robins did, always sticking around by your dad, always training, and even when he wasn’t you didn’t want to bother him since it was so rare he’d get a day off anyway. Plus, he was probably patrolling tonight with your dad, so you didn’t even bother to ask him.

But, it would’ve been nice if even one of your family members showed up today. You felt a wave of stage fright wash over you when you looked at the piano, a small hobby you’d picked up when you heard your dad listening to a piano album in his office one day, and you were as enchanted by it as he was. When you expressed interest in it he was quick to find you a tutor so you could excel, and you were always grateful for that. If only he had the time to see the result, though. You couldn’t be upset, though.

It was kind of cool, having your dad be a superhero, that is, it just wasn’t cool that you couldn’t brag about it at all. And it was even cooler that your brothers were as fantastic as they were, you’d always watch with silent awe whenever they’d train and you’d always cry when one of them would come home hurt, and every time your dad promised you that they would return home alive. At your age, maybe, you just couldn’t fathom the idea of them not coming home at all.

“(Y/N) Wayne, Tchaikovsky’s Valse Sentimentale,” your tutor announces. You walked onto the stage carefully, ignoring the stares as you did so, but soon you had to turn to the audience, not because you had to, no, but because of the commotion you heard suddenly. The door opened quickly and someone rushed in, obviously disheveled and patting the stray hairs down while he smoothened out his suit.

“Sorry, sorry, excuse me,” Jason ducked his head and walked quickly down the aisle, he walks in front of a few people. And you felt your heart soar. He came, he came to see your recital, and as soon as he was situated, he waved at you and shot you a thumbs up, and you grinned at him, curtseying quickly before sitting at the piano bench. Your hands rested on top of the keys and you took a deep breath before starting the song.

Now that you thought about it, while your hands moved across the piano in a way that was impressive for your age, every time you practiced this song Jason was in the room with you. As soon as you’d enter he’d follow after you, say something to tease you and get your riled up, before disappearing for a moment, only to come back soon after with a book in his hands while you practiced. And every time he saw you focused on a piece he’d never say anything, he’d only ever chime up after he noticed you taking a break, and once you fell back into your practice he’d stop again. But he was there. And you never really thought about it until now, as he watched among this crowd of strangers. He’s probably heard this melody enough times to know how to play it himself, and still every quick look at him showed you that he was as impressed as the rest of the audience.

And when you finished the piece, his cheers were the loudest. As soon as you hit the last chord he was out of his seat cheering for you, and sure, it was embarrassing, his voice seemed to bounce off the stage, but it made your whole chest fill with warmth. You stood up from the bench and curtseyed again before walking backstage.

“(Y/N)! Over here!” Jason was quick to follow you and your tutor noticed the interaction.

“Oh! He’s my brother,” you pointed him out and the tutor nodded.

“Here, I gotcha something, kiddo,” Jason pulled out a pink rose and handed it to you. “I saw someone giving them out in front of the auditorium, so I figured I’d get one for you,” he says. Then he pulls out another one. “And this one’s from Dick, he couldn’t make it, but he told me to get one for him,” he says.

“Thanks, Jay,” you smiled. You looked behind him.

“Bruce isn’t here,” he says. “Something came up,” he quickly adds.

“That’s okay, I figured dad wasn’t going to come anyway,” you shrugged and held onto the two roses tightly. “Thank you for coming! You didn’t have to.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course, you didn’t even invite me,” he says sarcastically.

“I didn’t think you’d want to come,” you frowned. Jason hesitates and takes a deep breath before he rubs the top of your head with a playful roughness. “Hey! It took forever to do that!”

“Of course I want to come! You’re my little sister!” He says and you inhale sharply.

“I’m your what?” You asked him quietly. For a year now you’d been trying to get closer to him, for a year you’ve spent time with him whenever you could and whenever he didn’t chase you out of his room, just because you didn’t want him to feel alone in that big wide mansion. You didn’t want him to feel the same loneliness you felt. And just now, at this moment, you felt seen. You’d considered Jason a brother the day you met him, your father was never the kind to just bring anyone in, and being together this long only solidified that bond in your head, but never did you hear Jason acknowledge it until now.

“Aw, geez, don’t make me say it again,” Jason’s cheeks dust with a light pink and you smiled, a real one this time that even reached your eyes. Jason side eyed you and sighed. “I didn’t think I even needed to say it, you’re my sister,” he repeats. “And, I’m here to fulfill older brother duties, so why don’t we go grab ice cream?” A mischievous smirk rises on his face and you gave him a confident nod.

“Yes! Definitely!” You were almost too excited. You’d always seen your friends go out with their families after school and you always had that secret hope that one day you’d see your dad come out of the car instead of Alfred, and when Dick moved in you had hoped he’d be the same, and sure sometimes your mom picked you up but she was never the kind to take you around Gotham, nor was it even safe to do so, but now? After your recital? This is like a dream come true!

“Good, I know a place,” Jason pulls your coat out of his backpack and wraps it around your shoulders. “Just hold onto me, yeah? Just in case.”

“Yes!” You pushed your arms through the sleeves and followed close behind him out of the auditorium.

Maybe you did take Jason for granted sometimes, you weren’t really being fair to him sometimes. There would be days you’d compare him to Dick, but that wasn’t something you should have done. They were two different people, you knew that. Dick, he’s a good brother, but when it comes to being in a team and a leader he had to put the Titans first and you understood that even if you wished he chose you instead. Jason, now that you really thought of it, he always put you first. He came here today, and you knew that he didn’t have to. You could see his very poor attempts at hiding the bruises on his hands and arms while you held his hand to walk across the street, you saw the way his face winced when you first grabbed onto it. Even the suit he wore had mud caked on the bottom of the trousers that was messily wiped off.

After that day, Jason seemed to be the one to pick you up more often than Alfred. No matter how beat up he would get, or how busy patrol was, ice cream after school was a must.

~

2022

So you all waited, each knight staring into the woods with bated breath. And as the hour passed with small talk and careful glances, it was only natural that everyone grew tense.

“The recruits should be running back by now,” you looked at your watch. Carter leans in toward you, checking the time as well.

“Yeah, just about,” he agrees.

“Damian should’ve been here by now,” you added quickly after. Sure, he was in new territory, but you knew him well enough to know that he would’ve adapted quickly so… where is he? “Actually, where is anyone?” You asked.

“It’s a little too quiet,” Carter looks into the woods. You pulled your phone out and Dailed Alex’s number, it took a while before it finally connected.

“(Y/N), we might have a problem.” And that was enough to get you to charge in.

“Cap! Wait! We can’t just interfere!” Carter called after you. He looked to the other knights behind him and rubbed his head harshly. “Henry! You’re in charge, if any of the recruits come back tell them to wait out here,” Carter ran after you as soon as Henry nodded.

“Tell me the situation, Alex!” You said.

“High level beast, knocked out a few of our guys already, I don’t know the full details yet but I’m en route too.”

“Have you seen Damian?!”

“No, I’ve been keeping an eye out for him too.”

“Dammit,” your eyes were scanning the area constantly. “Damn,” you skid to a stop just as a daemon charged past you and bang it quickly fell to the ground with a bullet wound shot through. Carter took this chance to catch up with you, handing you the rifle and urging you to keep running.

“That definitely shouldn’t have been here,” you watched the daemon struggle one last time before stilling completely. “Damian?!” There was no response. You knew he could handle himself, usually, but that anxiety you had for your siblings never went away. The way your heart would clench at the thought of either of them getting hurt, either of them getting abandoned, it terrified you. And the monsters here are so different from the ones in Gotham. At least in Gotham they talk, here they just kill. No rhyme, no reason, just horror.

And you just sent your brother out here to get one of them. Stupid. He barely knows how any of this world works.

Becoming an older sibling was something you never really thought about, it came naturally to you according to Tim and according to Dick you were perfect at it. But never did it stop that fear. Whatever fear you had for your older brothers, the way it increased ten-fold after what happened to Jason, and the way it grew when you saw the first Robin who was younger than you… how the hell did those two do it. At least you knew Tim and the others could handle themselves, but what about you?

You who could hardly defend yourself, you who would call them straight home just to help you with something as mundane as getting rid of a spider, for all you knew they could have been fighting some intergalactic monster and then there you were, at home and safe.

And now here you were, aiming your rifle at the daemon twice your size. Oh, how Dick would have a heart attack if he saw you now, and how Jason would cry. Even seeing the way Damian’s shock manifested was enough to make your heart heavy once again.

The sister they once knew was gone, and only you remained.

~

2012

“Dad?” You walked into the bat cave, your hands automatically rubbed your arms up and down. Would it kill him to put a heater down here?

“What is it, (Y/N)?” He was at the bat computer, neither looking at you and just barely acknowledging you. You kicked at nothing in particular.

“Where’s Jason?” Your question cut through the silence of the cave. You were used to your brothers being gone for a good chunk of time, and usually they told you an approximate time of when they’d be back. And this was no exception, right before Jason had left he had told you he’d be back in a week tops, he even promised it. He promised because there was a book signing that you both wanted to go to, to be honest you hadn’t even heard of the author, you just wanted to do something with him, anything. He’s just been so busy, in and out with missions and always off doing something that you couldn’t follow him into. But it’s been a month now. Whenever the missions would run long you’d usually get a postcard or a call from them, but it’s been silent on his end. He wasn’t picking up his phone or answering your texts. Alfred only eyed you warily before turning to your father.

“You have to tell her eventually,” he says quietly. His voice, however, echoed around you. Your father stayed still. Was his breath actually shaking? 

“Tell me what?” You took a shaky step toward him. Your father, however, remained silent. 

“Master Bruce,” Alfred says again. “He’s her brother as much as he is your son,” he says. He stands up and removes his mask so you could see him completely. It was amazing, as soon as the mask came off, there was your father. He walked to you slowly and put a hand on your shoulder.

“I don’t…” his voice was choked up. “I don’t expect you to understand this yet, (Y/N),” he says.

“Where is my brother?” You asked him again. By now, you were fully aware of what your father and your siblings did at night. You always had an idea from what they’d tell you, and it was only recently that you heard the details. You had found out on accident, actually, when Jason tumbled in late one night into your room on accident. He miscounted the windows, his room was right next to yours, after all, and that night you happened to be up late watching a TV Show, so imagine your surprise when your brother landed beaten on your rug. You knew that what they did was dangerous. But you trusted your father enough to keep them safe until the end, he always did, he promised you he would. But his silence scared you.

“I think… Dick would’ve been better at telling you this,” he sighed and dragged a tired hand down his face until it covered his mouth. He looked to Alfred, who only shook his head. “Jason’s dead, (Y/N).” He was always so blunt, but something about what he said terrified you.

“Master Bruce, at least try to be more gentle with your words,” Alfred says. Bruce held his hand up to stop him.

“She deserves to know the truth,” Bruce says. “She was closer to him than I ever could be.”

“The relationship between siblings is far different than the relationship between father and son,” Alfred shakes his head.

“Did I hear you wrong?” You asked, your own voice was wavering. Bruce reached out to you again and his hands held onto your shoulders awkwardly, then his hands came down in front of him instead. It was a solemn sight, one you weren’t used to seeing on him.

“No, (Y/N), you heard me right. His body should be flying in by tomorrow,” he says. You shook your head again. Why did he sound like that? Why did he sound so… heartless?

“You promised.”

“I know I did!” His voice roared and you stepped further away from him. “(Y/N), I’m sorry.”

“No, no… it’s…” you stopped the words before they came out. It’s your fault. You wanted to tell him that so badly, but just by seeing the way he was now, you knew the truth, or at least you hoped you did. He wouldn’t have let Jason die, he wasn’t a monster. “I’m gonna go.”

“Where? It’s late, (Y/N).”

“Mom’s.”

“It’s dangerous in that neighborhood at this time.”

“I don’t… I can’t be here right now, dad,” you shook your head and, before your father could say anything more, you turned around and left the cave.

“Miss (Y/N), please, stay tonight, you can go to your mother in the morning,” Alfred was the one to follow you, why wasn’t it your dad?

“I don’t want to be here right now,” you pulled your jacket from the coat rack.

“I know it’s hard, Miss (Y/N), but no one can protect you right now,” Alfred insists. No one? At all? Dick’s busy, you know that, and you know he doesn’t like coming home anymore, but your dad is sitting at the computer right now not doing anything as far as you know. “Miss (Y/N), Jason wouldn’t want you to act this way.”

“Well, he’s not here to tell me that anymore, is he?” You rubbed the tears out of your eyes before they had a chance to roll down your face.

“(Y/N),” Alfred calls to you again, more stern this time, and you pivoted on your heel.

“I don’t want to talk about it, okay?!” You burst. Alfred only sighs and hands you your scarf.

“At least stay safe on your way there, I’ll drive you to your mothers,” he says. “It’s dangerous for a young girl such as yourself to be walking alone in Gotham,” he implores. You looked at your hands. Pristine. Near perfect. And whenever you thought about Jason’s, whenever you would hold onto his hands when you were younger, you never thought about how rough they were compared to yours.

“Okay, Alfred,” you wrapped the scarf around your neck. You were young, but you were no stranger to death. It seemed to surround this family. Your father’s enemies, Dick’s parents, and now Jason. You hated to admit that death was as much a part of this family as you were. “Thanks, Alfred,” you followed him out. You didn’t want to think about it. Because no matter how bad things got, Jason always came home. And now you have to deal with the new reality that the last memory you had of him was his back, because you were too tired to wake up properly to say goodbye.

Goodbye. You didn’t even get to say goodbye. You wonder what his last thoughts were.

~

2022

Damian, meanwhile, was occupied.

“Niers! Duck!” Damian shouts. As soon as Niers bows his head, Damian pulled the knife from his belt and flung it at the beast who towered over him. And the beast roared, louder than before, it shook the forest around it and it instilled fear into the all the recruits who had bound together. It’s eyes were crazed, bloodshot, and frantically searching the group for whatever. As soon as the larger monsters came out, all of the recruits were quick to regroup, something about strength in numbers. But that plan backfired because now an impenetrable fear shook the group, and it debilitated everyone except for the one who has seen much worse.

“Where are the Knights? They should be here by now!” Retta’s hands dug through her hair and Damian watched her carefully. Sometimes, he forgot that it wasn’t normal for him to be used to these situations. Whatever frustration he felt from this huge group not being able to find it in themselves to step up to action he tried to push down. The beast snarled, staring into Damian’s eyes and locking him into a face off.

Damian takes a deep breath, it wasn’t moving, it was almost like it was studying him the same way he studied it.

“Hugo, hand me your sword,” Damian says quietly. Hugo was still. “Hugo, give it to me.”

“It’s mine, I can’t,” Hugo says.

“Do you want to die?” He hisses. Hugo flinches and, with some hesitation, hands him the sword. Damian takes a step closer to the beast and it growls, causing him to flinch back for a moment before regaining his composure. Slowly, now, he approached the monster. Just moments ago it was on a rampage, striking fear into the recruits and even injuring a few in its rage, but now it was still, the commotion had died down, and the beast had been in a guarded stance since then.

And then it roared. It roared and charged the group. And Damian held the sword up, ready to strike, but he didn’t get the chance. Not when the array of magic circles surrounded the monster and the bang of a shotgun rang out. The bullet lodged into the beast’s shoulder and the magic circles kept it in place.

“Recruits! Fall back!” Your voice was commanding, but it was a welcome sound to the teens who had seen a true monster for the first time.

“Follow me!” Carter’s voice was next, sword at the ready just in case. “How long can you hold it, Xander?” Carter turns to Alex, who was too focused to respond. Alex’s hands shook as he brought them together, bringing the magic circles surrounding the creature closer to bridge the gaps.

“Just go, we’ll follow close behind,” you answered for him, reloading the shotgun and holding it up.

“Sister, wait!” Damian shouted before you could take the shot. “It’s not dangerous! It’s just scared!” Damian shouts. You looked at him, and you took a deep breath, then you brought your finger to your lips as if to tell him to be quiet. So Damian shut his mouth.

“Monster’s feel no emotions, Damian,” you said loudly to negate his previous statement in front of the other teens. “Fall back with the rest,” you aimed your rifle again, noticably hitting a nonvital spot. Damian nodded and followed the others away from the scene.

“I can’t hold it for long, (Y/N),” Alex says.

“I know, just give me enough time to look at it,” you answered. You slung the rifle across your back and approached the beast, and soon it stopped struggling. It stared at you and you looked around for any sort of identification and… bingo. The dog tags were near hidden by the beast’s fur but you could just barely make out the writing on it. MM-93. “Okay, break!” You backed up and Alex separated his hands, causing the magic circles to separate entirely before dissapating. The beast breathes heavily, staring at you intently, before whimpering, turning around, and leaving.

“Damian figured it out fast.”

“He’s a bright kid, that one,” you huffed.

“Let’s head back, we’ll tell them that the beast as subdued,” Alex catches his breath.

“Should I just pity induct them all in?” You asked.

“That seems rather unfair,” Alex shakes his head. “We’ll review the footage of the test and go off of that.”

“How the hell did it get close anyway? Who’s in charge of this sector?” You asked him, keeping your guard up in case more daemons were around.

“I was,” Alex answered quietly. You shot him a worried look.

“Losing your touch so soon?” You tried to joke.

“Somehow, it slipped through my radar, nothing can do that,” Alex responds. “Whatever it is, whoever they are, they’re getting smarter,” Alex was on edge. “What’s your theory, (Y/N)?”

“I know they’re human, and that’s about it. Mixing human and beast DNA, it’s…” you couldn’t find the right word for it.

“You don’t need to say it,” Alex shakes his head. “The one we have in captivity right now, I know you went to see it earlier, how’s its progress?”

“Slow, it’s been near impossible to get any samples from it,” you shook your head.

“And its identity?”

“Unknown,” you shook your head. “We’ll discover more later,” you nodded, ending the subject as you and Alex left the woods.

“Recruits, good job,” you said after mustering a confident facade. “There was an unforseen circumstance, and you responded well. Usually many people would run away and think only of themselves, but instead you came together, and that thinking is commendable. We’ll review the scouter’s notes and whatever footage we have to grade all of you equally since we were unable to fully complete the test, return home until then, you’ll hear from us soon,” you instructed. But the air was still tense. “The beast has been taken care of, carefully,” you finally said, and some people seemed relieved while others seemed skeptical. Regardless, they slowly dispersed, except for a small group that had found their way to your kid brother.

“You should talk to them,” Carter urges.

“Yeah, yeah,” you handed him your rifle and approached the group. “So why are you all hanging around?” You asked. For the most part they seemed awestruck that you were even looking at them.

“I believe they’re big fans of yours, sister,” Damian says with a snarky tone.

“I still can’t believe your sister is the Captain Wayne,” Lowen whispers.

“What? Want an autograph?” You joked.

“Could you?” Retta’s eyes shone. You didn’t think they were serious, but when they pulled out pieces of paper you were surprised, hell, you never even did this in your last universe.

“Uh… sure?” You took a pen and scribbled a messy signature on all of them. “I’m sorry about that scare earlier, our job is to control the testing environment and yet multiple high-level beasts found their way in, it’s good that you’re all uninjured,” you said.

“Damian was cooler though!” Niers chimes in. “He was ready to fight the daemon before you all showed up!”

“Was he now? I believe it,” you nodded. “Actually, now that I’m really looking at you all, you’re staying in the dormitories, right?”

“How’d you know?” Luciana asks.

“Well, I am close with your siblings,” you smiled. “And you’ve all been grouped together since Academy days so I know of your faces,” you nodded. “Except for you, Hugo, new addition?” You turned to Retta.

“Uh, ah,” she stammers. “Yeah! New addition,” she brings him closer to the group.

“Good on you all then, I’ll just grab Damian,” your hand habitually rubs the top of his head and he glares at you.

“Don’t embarrass me, sister.”

“Oh, please, it’s part of the job description,” you grinned. “Go then, don’t let us hold you up,” you urged the group to disperse and, once they did, your expression fell.

“You’re smart for that,” Damian says.

“For what?”

“Alleviating the mood,” he says.

“Of course, it was an error on our part, we can’t have them shaken up for something they’re not responsible for. Plus, we don’t want people thinking the Guard has lost their touch,” you said. Alex and Carter make their way over to the two of you. “We’re heading back, I have a lot to train this one for if he’s going to be staying awhile,” you said.

“Naturally, Captain, we’ll handle things here,” Alex reassures you.

“Leave the report on my desk, I’ll handle it tomorrow,” you nodded. “Damian, let’s go, I’m about to crash course you on everything you need to know to make it here.”

“Right…” Damian nods. “I’m ready.”

~

2015

The mask was still stuffy no matter how often he wore it. But, if it kept his identity a secret the best, then it would have to do. With vigilant eyes and ears, he stood above Gotham city. It was almost the exact same as when he left, and that was a problem. One he would have to deal with himself if Bruce couldn’t. But, amidst the grumbles and schemes, there was one voice that seemed to echo above the others.

“Do you even know who I am?!” That voice stopped Jason dead in his tracks. He looked around him. No, how could this be possible? “Aw, hell, I didn’t think I’d ever use that line,” the voice slurred. Jason ran toward that voice and immediately saw you. You were trying to tug your arm away from whoever was holding it. “Get your… Get your hands off of me, asshole,” you tried to yank it again, but your drunk stupor hindered you. Jason turned away, he had things to do, important things. Besides… he was sure Dick would’ve come running to help you.

But that didn’t stop him from watching from a distance. Why weren’t you fighting back? Where’s Dick? Or anyone? Were you out alone? Hell… wait. Jason did the math in his head and, once it clicked, he was behind you and the stranger in moments. You had completely passed out while the man tried to lug you along with him, but he stopped his movements when he heard the click of a gun behind him.

“Who the fuck?” The man turns around and Jason didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. “Fuck you, who do you think you are? Do you know who I am?” The man shouts while he clasps his side. Jason paid no mind, instead he hauled you over his shoulder. “Fine, take the bitch for-” Jason only responded by kicking him against the wall before continuing out of the alley. He adjusted you enough that you were slumped against his back, holding onto the back of your knees securely while your arms hung loosely over his shoulders. Then, as if this wasn’t enough, he suddenly felt you sniff his shoulder.

“(Y/N), are you kidding me?!” Jason nearly drops you.

“Ooh… you know who I am too?” You asked. “Mm… Sauvage Men’s Cologne, I didn’t know vigilantes cared for what they smelled like,” your words were laced together.

“Well, I didn’t know daughters of billionaires just went around barhopping when they’re underage.”

“I’m not underage!”

“Yes you are!”

“How would you know?” He felt your glare, but he just shook his head and you knocked against his helmet.

“Why not take this off? Isn’t it stuffy?” You asked.

“No.”

“Ugh, you’re stubborn,” you rocked back and forth and Jason nearly lost his balance. “You know what? Now that I say that, I only knew one other person who wore Sauvage!”

“Yeah, yeah-”

“But I always told Jason that it made him smell old,” you laughed.

“It did not!”

“Oh! You know Jason too then?” You pulled your phone out and held it in front of his face.

“Jesus, (Y/N),” Jason groans.

“Look, look, this is me and my brother, like, three years ago,” you showed him a picture of the two of you. Jason’s shoulders relaxed now, he hadn’t seen that picture for a while. It was taken by Dick at one of the galas, you’d somehow pranked him by shoving his face into cake and, while he was not amused in any way, you laughed until you couldn’t breathe. “Wait, sorry, that’s a shitty picture of us, I swear I have nicer ones,” you tried to scroll through your phone, but the more pictures you went through the more embarrassing they got.

“Why the hell do you have so many pictures of m— of him?” He asks.

“Why not? He’s my brother.”

“Was.”

“Is,” you corrected him. “Death doesn’t separate people, people do,” you knocked your head against his shoulder. Then he heard you snoring. Jason groaned again and readjusted you along his back, he didn’t even know where to take you, really, he just couldn’t leave you there. Imagine this sight, the Red fucking Hood carrying (Y/N) Wayne to god knows where. He wasn’t stupid enough to just drop you off at the manor but…

He instead found himself struggling up the fire escape of a much too tall apartment complex. Six flights in, he paused and took a deep breath.

“The shit I do for you, (Y/N),” he curses and presses on until he reaches the top floor. He bends down to set you on the patio bench, but somehow you found a way to cling onto him. “Come on, (Y/N), let go.”

“Jay?” Your voice slurred. “Your finally home, that’s good,” you spoke to yourself mainly.

“I’m not Jason.”

“I know,” you muttered while Jason tried to put you down again. “But you remind me of him, so let me just pretend, okay?” You yawned.

“Jason Todd’s dead,” he says harshly. “Let go, (Y/N),” he pulls you off of him and stretches his aching back. He sits down at the other bench and your eyes remained closed. “What… what would you do if he was still alive?”

“Smack him.”

“Why?!” Jason’s head whipped toward you.

“Fucker missed my recital… it wasn’t even worth playing the piano anymore,” you adjusted yourself so you were comfortable.

“You love playing the piano,” he said softly.

“I loved spending time with him,” you corrected. “Some of the only times I saw him and we weren’t arguing were when I practiced,” you slung your arm over your eyes.

“Did you miss him?”

“Always, he’s my brother,” your voice was slow. “He wouldn’t miss me though.”

“Why do you say that?”

“All I ever did was annoy him,” you tried to sit up, but your spinning head kept you plastered to the chair. “He would always complain about how much of a hassle it was to watch over me, he hated when he had to play babysitter. He always wanted to…” you hesitated, “he always preferred being with my dad. My dad does some cool stuff as a job and Jay always cared about that more, having to do anything with me was a drag for him. So, I miss him, a lot, but I know he’s having the time of his life without me.”

Jason listened carefully to your rant, and at one point, you just quiet, not necessarily expecting a response at all. Your words sunk into a whisper, and soon they became snores. He did miss you. He’d always wanted a little sister, and to him you were the best one he could have ever had. Any chance he got he would brag about you to his teammates. Watching over you was one of his favorite things to do, he could take a break from patrolling, and he could spend time with you. Someone who was fundamentally so different from him. He who grew up on the streets and you who was born with a silver spoon.

“What about your other brother?”

“Dick? Oh... we don’t talk much anymore,” you shook your head.

“What?! Why?”

“He moved,” you shrugged. “And he has his own thing going on, I can’t bother him with dumb stuff like…” you zipped you lips shut.

“Like what?”

“Like changing my tires…” you mumbled. Jason’s shoulders slumped. “Or fixing my faucet, or… or picking me up from a party I didn’t even want to go to… I can’t even call him anymore because he’s so busy, he never answers,” you kept ranting. “And I don’t want to bother him, everyone has their own thing going on, and plus I have Google so I can figure things out, I always do.”

“Aren’t you rich? Why isn’t your dad helping you?”

“Oh, dad doesn’t give a fuck about me,” you laughed. “I renounced the family business for good and now… now it’s like I don’t even exist to him,” you scoffed. “I mean, you saw me, I was way out past midnight with some stranger, and dad never checked up on me once. Even now, I’m here with you, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, but that’s different.”

“How so? You’re still a stranger,” you shrugged. Your phone rang and you looked down at it.

“That your brother?”

“Yeah, Timmy,” you yawned.

“Timmy?”

“Mmhmm…” you declined the call and turned over on your stomach.

“At least answer the phone!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine…” you waved him off. “Good night,” your breathing evened out.

“At least one of us is sleeping soundly,” he leans against the balcony. He glanced at the sun rising over the harbor and he shakes his head. One night wasted, apparently. He makes a move to remove his helmet, but stops as soon as he notices the woman staring right at him.

Selina was frozen in her spot, her glass of water had shattered under her a while ago now. Did she just witness the Red Hood bring her daughter up to her balcony? Apparently so. The Red Hood only turned and left the way he came, but not before writing something down and placing it into your hands. She was outside in seconds, she looked down the fire escape, but the new vigilante was out of sight. Besides that, she moved to you. You were out like a light, but aside from that it didn’t look like you were hurt anywhere. No, if anything, this was the heaviest she’d seen you sleep in a long time. Curiosity got the best of her, though, so she took a look at the note.

‘If you ever need to pretend again.’ And a series of numbers.

~

2022

“Alright, baby, let’s see this,” Jason swings the pocket watch in his hand and cracks it open, taking some time to stare at it’s face. He turned it to the side, looking at the overlapping hands on it, and he was just about to twist the knob when Tim interrupted him.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Jason, don’t play with that thing,” Tim snatches it from his hands. “We don’t know what it could do yet or how it works,” he says.

“Okay? And how are we going to figure that out if we just stare at it?” He takes it back.

“Jason, I’m serious, this is the only lead we have on those two, if you break it then we’ll be back to square zero,” Tim grabs the chain.

“Tim, chill out, it’s fine!” Jason strengthens his hold on the watch.

“No! Jason, I have to study this before it breaks!” Tim tugs on it.

“It won’t break!” Jason tugs back.

“It might!”

“It won’t!” And, once Jason tugged it for the last time, a bright light surrounded both of them.

When the light had subsided, both of them collapsed onto the ground, Tim landing hard enough on Jason that the latter slammed his head onto the asphalt. The pocket watch tumbled out of Jason’s hand and landed a few feet away from him broken.

“Ow…” Jason rubbed his head harshly. “Yo, Tim, you good?” Jason pushes himself off of the ground and helps Tim up next.

“Other than a headache, I’m fine… where are we?” Tim rubs his head too before looking around. The two seemed to have landed in an alleyway, the bright skies were pierced by tall buildings with winding fire escapes and various other powerlines and, shockingly, someone zipping above them on a flying skateboard.

“Wherever it is… I’m pretty sure it’s not Gotham,” Jason says after shaking off the initial shock. 

“Aw, hell, Jason, I knew you’d break it!” Tim picks up the pocket watch, the various hands on its face had bent and broken on impact with the ground, and the front of the pocket watch was marred with scratches. Tim swallows harshly, but before he could speak any more a shrill scream behind them caused both of the boys to assume an offensive stance.

“Oh my god!” The woman shouts, trying to tug her purse away from a burglar.

“Ha, basic,” Jason steps forward and punches the burglar square in the jaw, the latter knocking out and dropping the purse in the process, which Tim easily caught and handed back to the woman.

“Are you alright?” Tim asks, but the woman shies away, clutching her purse tighter, and runs off just in time for a whistle to be heard next.

“Hey! You two! Stay right where you are!” The voice shouts next and Jason and Tim turned around just as an officer approached them.

“Right over here, officer,” Jason points at the knocked out criminal, a smug and confident grin on his face.

Only for the officer to handcuff Tim first.

“Excessive violence with probable cause is against the law, young men, you’re coming with me. State your names now,” he makes a move to handcuff Jason next, but he’s quick to move out of the way, although the officer was quicker.

“Don’t tell him our fucking names, Tim!”

“Christ, Jason!”

“Tim and Jason, okay,” the officer scribbles down both names.

“Dammit.”

“Fuck.”

“Follow me, boys, I just have a few questions,” the officer says.

“We can just knock him out and run for it,” Jason whispers to his brother. Tim shakes his head.

“No way, we have to play it safe for now, figure out where we are.”

“I can hear you both, you know,” the officer glances back. Jason groans and Tim elbows him on the side. “We’ll sort things out in the precinct, until then, you have a right to remain silent,” the officer began to list of their rights and Tim could only groan while Jason rolled his eyes.

And when the two were unceremoniously thrown into a cell, they were even more annoyed.

“What kind of fucked up justice system is this that we get punished for helping someone out?” Jason grumbles.

“You dislocated the guy’s jaw,” Tim grimaces.

“We always do shit like that in Gotham.”

“But we’re not in Gotham, Jason,” Tim reminds him. “I have no idea where we are, for all we know we could be in a whole other dimension with no way of going back because you broke the one lead we had!”

“I didn’t break it!”

“You did!”

“We did!” Jason corrects him. Tim just shouts in frustration and buries his head in his hands. “Man… if I was going to get jailed for anything I would’ve hoped it would’ve been for something cooler than punching a thief,” Jason crosses his arms. “Why are you so quiet?”

“I’m trying to find out how I’m going to survive with you of all people.”

“You little shit,” Jason spits.

“I don’t even want to deal with you right now!” Tim’s hands tense up around his head and he takes a calming breath.

“Alright. What’s fucking you up?” Jason crosses his arms and Tim huffs.

“Nothing!” He shakes his head. “Something, maybe.”

“Okay, hit me then,” Jason adjusts so that he could fully face Tim. 

“Figuratively or literally?”

“Whichever one,” Jason shrugs. “You’re taking this whole thing a little too hard, Tim.”

“Don’t you want to find (Y/N) and Damian?”

“Of course, I do! But, Tim, chill out. Nothing will come out of us freaking, and the more time we spend doing that, the more time those two could be stuck somewhere dangerous,” Jason says. “So what is it, Tim? What’s on your mind?”

“It’s just…” he huffs. “I feel like if I didn’t… if I didn’t confront (Y/N) so early on maybe she would have stayed longer is all…” he says quietly. Jason leans back against the wall. “I know it hit all of us hard, when (Y/N) passed away, and when she came back, if that was even her, I don’t know I just…” Tim grabs the pocket watch. “I felt so relieved, like we all had a chance at a do over, but you should have seen the look on her face, Jason, when I asked her,” he says.

“What did she do?”

“She didn’t care,” Tim mutters. “Like… like she’s been back for a while, but she never thought to come back here. And when I did see her here she looked so disappointed, I can’t place it, when I saw her she looked upset not relieved, not happy, not…” he shakes his head. “I don’t know, I keep hearing that you knew her best, what do you think?”

“Me? I knew her best? Try Dick!” Jason’s jaw drops.

“Dick was the one who told me that!” Tim says. “Hell, I thought I knew her best, but even now I wonder why she does certain things and you always have the answer! So, what do you think, Jason? Why wouldn’t she have wanted to come home?”

“Well, was this ever really her home?” He asks.

“Of course it was!”

“I don’t think so,” Jason rocks on the chair now. “Even when I first got there, she’d been there longer than I was and she was still so uncomfortable in the manor,” he shakes his head. “Wanna know what I think? I think we all owe her some sympathy. I wasn’t here for the big fight that happened with her and Bruce, when she renounced being a vigilante, but I do know that that changed everything,” he says. “She already felt alienated in that house before, so putting it out there, maybe, was the final nail in the coffin.”

“That fight…” Tim mumbles. “You’re right, it was really big.”

“What exactly happened?”

“Well… I don’t know the details myself, I was just starting as a Robin too, and I think I blocked out a lot of it. To be honest, I think Dick would remember more than I do. I just remember we came back from a mission, it was rough, I had bandages all over already and when (Y/N) saw me she lost it. I’ve never seen or heard of her standing up to Bruce until that night. And Bruce took it well, he was really careful about his responses until (Y/N) said that one thing and then…” Tim caught himself. “It’s not your fault, Jason. You were dead, and she was angry.”

“What did (Y/N) say?” Jason’s voice was low.

“She asked ‘why are you repeating what happened to Jason?’” Tim said quietly. “Then, more arguing, and (Y/N) finally said ‘if death is so okay with you then I don’t want to be next in line. I will never be a vigilante.’ And I don’t remember much more after that, who wants to remember their sister shouting like that? Dick had to break them up.”

“Metal,” Jason shrugs.

“Jason! I’m trying to open up for why I care so much!”

“And I’m applauding my younger sister for standing up to the guy, she was always afraid to do it.”

“And the second time she did she died.”

“Don’t say it like that,” Jason sneers.

“I know it’s selfish of me to say it, but I wanted to spend more time with her,” Tim says. “I was juggling so much with being a Robin, my family, and school that I didn’t get to really sit with her,” he says. “And she was always there for me. She would move schedules around and drop things last minute if I called but if she called me? God, it was her or the Titans and you know how that goes. So when I saw her in the manor, and all, I just wanted to talk to her. But, no, instead my skeptical ass chased her out before I could even apologize.”

“Well, your skeptical ass was right, so we can’t be mad at that,” Jason says. “Who knows what goes on in that kid’s mind? I don’t even know, if she wanted to do something it was easier for me to help her rather than stop her, you know? That’s Dick’s thing. I’d rather I know what the hell she was up to so I’d know when to step in,” he shrugs. “Maybe this is another one of those things, some crazy escapade. I know when I came back to life shit was crazy, I didn’t know who I was, I didn’t know why I was here, maybe it’s the same for her, who knows?” Jason grumbles.

“Maybe you should ask her yourself.” Tim and Jason turn toward the front of the cell, and Damian crossed his arms.

“It’s your lucky day, boys, you’re getting bailed out,” the guard huffs next to him. “Next time, don’t leave your ID screens at home,” the guard nudges his head to the side, signaling for them to get out of the cell. Once Tim walks out, the guard shoves the box with their belongings into his arms.

“Right, yeah, of course, officer! We’ll remember to bring them next time,” Jason says a little too loudly. The guard pushes them out of the door and into the waiting room in between.

“Damian! Holy shit, man, we’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Jason exclaims. Tim looks at the pocket watch, trying to piece together the connection.

“Well, I’m here,” Damian says nonchalantly. “Didn’t think I’d run into Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum though.”

“Geez, at least have some tact, we almost went crazy because we had no leads,” Tim says.

“Actually, yeah, you’re a little too calm and collected right now, just what have you been up to?” Jason asks skeptically. “And what’s up with the fit?” Jason raises an eyebrow, just now noticing the uniform Damian was wearing.

“I just had a little help, is all,” Damian mutters. “Anyway, I’m just here to pick you two up, we’ll share notes on the way.”

Not Your Classic Vigilante: @gabytodd @peachydokii @marshmallow12435 @f0leysgurl @luminaaz @lolsnack @akuri-shinsou @pansinspace @time-shardz @lovely-maryj @urminebutidontwantyou @y3oudsc 

If you want to be added to either tag list or removed just send me a reply to this post, and ask, or a DM and I’ll add you as soon as possible!

[sliipppy]

Because I am insane and sleep deprived, here is my attempt to make sense of the batfamily ages and what I believe they are currently at, with full explanations. Fair warning, although I have done like, legit research and have reasonings, some of these still fit into headcanons.

Bruce - 45

Dick - 28

Babs - 30

Jason - 23

Tim - 21

Steph - 22

Cass - 23

Damian - 14

Duke - 17

Bruce is the oldest, obviously. However, when he first adopts Dick he is still young himself. Hence why along with their father-son relationship, they sorta have a brotherly relationship. (Specfically in classic comics, Bruce would often refer to him as a brother. ) I like how it complicates their relationship and how it shows he wasn't really ready to nessicarily handle a child. I like to hc that he got adopted at 8, which would make Bruce 25 when he adopted him.

It was difficult to settle on this age because the age in which Dick became Robin has been changed so many times. Originally, he was 7. New Teen Titans says he was 8. Other comics say he was 10, 12, and even 15. I feel like most people say 8, and for the sake of my own agenda, I'm saying 8, and you can not stop me.

I think 28 is a good age for Dick. Babs similarly should be around his age as they grew up together (at least in newer canon since she used to be quite a bit older.), but she's always been portrayed as older even when around her age, and to kinda account for the weirdness surrounding her age I put her as 30. She becomes Batgirl at 18, and likely becomes Oracle when she's in her 20s, probably around 23.

Batman tells Cass multiple times in Batgirl 2000 that she and Jason were the same age, so that makes it easier to rule the two together. Addiontally, Cass, Steph, and Tim are all around the same age range, Cass being the oldest, so that makes things easier too. Cass starts operating as Batgirl at 18 which would make Tim around 16 when she takes the cowl. This works since Tim became Robin at around 13 and he had been Robin for a good amount of time before Cass became Batgirl. I think it's a litttle longer than I'd like. But whatever. I was considering ignoring canon and saying he becomes Robin at 14, because I think 2 years as Robin before Cass rather than 3 is more fitting but whatever. It does fit since Tim was introduced way earlier than Cass, however real time doesn't really affect these ages. Anyways, big sister Cass supremacy I think people forget she's one of the oldest. I think she might have been de-aged to be around Tim's age but FUCK that she was originally Jason's age and this is my headcanon and I like to thing N52 didn't fuck everything up in my happy Tumblr space.

We know Steph is 1 year older than Tim because she's a freshman in college during Batgirl 2009, and he's a high-school dropout in Red Robin 2009 as he searches for Bruce. Stephanie becomes Spoiler at 15, and Robin at 16. She comes back when she's around 17-18. This lands our 2000s trio with ages at 23(Cass), 22(Steph), and 21(Tim).

Jason is a mess. At least I thought he would be, but it actually turned out kinda perfect. We know Jason and Cass are the same age, so he's at 23 with her. He becomes Robin at 12, and dies at 15. He comes back as Red Hood at 18 and was dead for around 3 years. Jason Todd is 18 when he comes back to life because right before War Games, Bruce takes Cass to Jason's grave, on his 18th birthday!!! and of course the event that acts as a sort of aftermath to War Games is Under the Red Hood so Jason is 18 when he first becomes Red Hood. Cass is still a fairly new character when UTRH happens, so i think her being 18-19 when he comes back fits well. Tim being around 16 kinda fits nice too as hes around the same age as Jason when he died. I think Steph being so close in age also helps since so many parallels are drawn between the two.

Detective Comics #790

Duke is still a teenager, and he is regarded to be one of the youngest bats, but still quite a bit older than Damian. In We are Robin, Duke is 16, as shown in the who are the robins bonus art. He is still a newer character and hasn't been Signal for long. I assume that by the time Batman and the Signal rolls around, he's 17 and is still currently 17.

We are Robin #4

I'm pretty sure Damian was 14 in Robin (2021) but I could be wrong it's been a while since I've read it and I never finished it so idk if he ever aged since then. He became Robin at 10, so in those 4 years, he's obviously grown and matured a lot, but I mean, who doesn't those are formative years. I was gonna bump him up to 15. However, this doesn't work. He is supposed to be 10 while Tim is 17. (Babs says he's ten during Batgirl 2009, and we established Tim is 17 during this.) To keep it consistent with the others, I'm keeping Damian at 14.

Batgirl 2009 #17

Feel free to correct anything I said here if it's incorrect. I am not perfect nor all-knowing. Also I'm horrible with math and numbers so I probably fucked something up here so feel free to make fun of me for that. Or you can make fun of the issues I have below.

Issues :

Dick can't be Robin at 8 if I stick with these ages because that would mean at the time Tim is 1 which means he wouldn't even be able to remember the show which means he would never be Robin.

I would've liked Bruce to be a little younger when first taking Dick in, but also I think Bruce is at his best when he's a middle aged man and I didn't want him to be below 45 because I wanted him to be on his late 40's.

It's hard to characterized Duke after We Are Robin because he's supposed to he a teenager, however he was 16 in We Are Robin and it feels like he should have been Signal for a bit longer than that. This isn't as big of a deal, because I still think it's believable for him to have only been signal for about a year, and it's mainly just DC inconsistency, but it still bugs me.

Damian's entire age is sorta messy and there's definitely issues with it lol.

I think Cass' age is around the same as Tim's post 52 to fit with him since their the same generation. But i chose to ignore that, and you can't stop me I choose what canon I want.

ヽ(o´3`o)ﾉ

Anyways, if you've read all of this, I fear you might be a little crazy. However, thank you!!!!!! Feel free to like leave your own opinion/headcanons. I LOVE hearing them. Thank you! Bye!

[frozenangelcosplay]

The Case for Jimmywing

You can skip to “Let’s start at the beginning” for the actual content of what I’m analyzing.

So about a year and a half ago, I happened upon a trade paperback of “Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen: who killed Jimmy Olsen” at a comic book store we regularly drive an hour just to go to. I found the coat tail riding title self deprecating and hilarious and it instantly became a favorite of mine. And it fucking ruined my life.

For a split second I mistook Jimmy Olsen for being part of Nightwing’s “Ginger Harem” as they call it. I thought “he had to be, right? Like statistically?” He’s part of the young adult demographic, or ‘gen 2’ as I call them, he and Dick are both huge parts of Clark’s life to the extent where they gotta at least be friends, and no one would be shocked if he was one of the redhead’s Dick’s “collected” as they say. So why the hell was there nothing on the internet falling for this obvious set up?

(For context the human geography of fandom behavior is of high interest to me)

This was quite a bit of an anomaly, so I set out for some research. I brushed over results from the silver age initially and saw there was just one panel coming up with both of them in present art style (a twenty years in the future thing). It was more of a Jimmy Olsen cameo than anything where all I learned is they’re not familiar these days. I still liked the idea though and if I left my digging there I probably would’ve let it go a while ago. But then I looked INTO the silver age stuff and OH BOY IS THERE A LOT TO UNPACK HERE.

Long story short, they were written as close friends for years and I feel like DC is trying to gaslight me personally into pretending it didn’t happen. There’s a lot of potential to pick up where they left off with everything that’s happened in their stories since but there’s little to no sign of taking advantage of that anytime soon.

Let’s start at the beginning…

In 1940 both Batman and Superman separately acquired child sidekicks. A pair of eyes in the story the same age of the target audience’s to see themselves in and relate to. Robin would make his debut in the comics as Batman’s sidekick, would be Bruce Wayne’s legal ward, and also dawn combat training, gadgets, and a costumed vigilante identity. Jimmy Olsen would be a cub reporter at the daily planet where Clark Kent worked (a position specified beyond it’s dictionary definition as a teen internship position in “Superman Smashes the Klan”, which is set in the radio show cannon) and help at Superman’s side as himself.

Later, particularly with the classic comic run “World’s Finest”, in a world much less saturated with superheroes, let alone sidekicks, than we have today, the sidekicks of the stars of these comics easily became close friends. Most notable adventure by today’s standard would be World’s finest # 195, probably due to it’s shock and meme value cover of Batman and Superman making their sidekicks dig their own graves.

A personal favorite of mine would be World’s Finest #141 where the sidekicks run away to an island and fake their deaths, making it the first of at least twice they do that together (another being near the end of #195). Here they establish a secret hideout in the mountains in an abandoned observatory to keep souvenirs from their respective mentor’s adventures, and some of their own. (Notably two dummies of themselves Batman and Superman had just used to get back at them for pulling this stunt).

In Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen, Jimmy has also filled in for Robin twice. First time was to get Jimmy into the Mystery analysts (#111), second was to settle a bet after Robin beat him in a “Young Man of the Year” pageant (#130). In #111 this is where Robin trained Jimmy in combat, and some gadget use so he’s got that under his belt now enough to do it all again at least.

Also quick fun fact before I move on, Jimmy knew Robin and Batman’s secret identities LONG before he knew Superman’s. In World’s Finest #144, due to the fact that Jimmy was radiating kryptonite, he and Robin switched mentors and Batman pretty much immediately told him that he was Bruce Wayne, and Dick Grayson was Robin (told with Robin’s approval). A bit of an anomaly, but it carried forth in continuity.

Anyway, if you try to look up any shared adventure’s in recent comics, you’ll unceremoniously get nothing. I mentioned earlier Jimmy’s cameo in “Nightwing the New Order”, and there’s also like two crossed paths in the current World’s Finest run (a flashback continuity) and it just seemed like their dynamic then was just that Robin was relatively annoyed with Jimmy for being the one to debunk Mr. Mxyzptlk and Batmite’s disguises. (Rude?!)

I can’t find ANYTHING that explains this drift. My estimate would be that their dynamic died out some time between Dick joining the Titans and becoming Nightwing. But still remains a glaring connection.

Nightwing and Flamebird

So the first time that the Nightwing mantle debuted it was Superman as Nightwing with Jimmy as Flamebird. They went as these heroes into the bottle city of Kandor on multiple occasions. At the time they modeled these personas off of two kinds of birds found in Kandor, taking inspiration from Batman and Robin. The people of Kandor were convinced that Superman was actively refusing to grow the city again, and deemed him an enemy, which justified the disguises.

You still see this referenced every now and then, usually in museums and stuff, in fact, remember that observatory hideout? Statues and/or costumes of Superman’s and Jimmy’s Nightwing and Flamebird are on prominent display. In fact, Robin and Jimmy landed on naming the place itself “The Eyrie”, because as Robin said:

“In a way, we’re both birds. You’ve been Flamebird, and I’m Robin. So let’s call it the Eyrie!”

They revisit it now and then, but it seems to have been forgotten at this point.

Now since then there have been multiple pairs of Nightwings and Flamebirds. Obviously we know Dick Grayson is THE Nightwing and has been for a long time. The most consistent Flamebird however would be Bette Kane, and here’s where this gets interesting.

So there’s a full Krytonian legend surrounding Nightwing and Flamebird, from what I can tell, different versions, from heroes to gods etc. The most complete version I can only find on the wiki, so if you know where it’s from please let me know!

Here’s the link: https://superman.fandom.com/wiki/Nightwing_and_Flamebird

Here’s the quote:

“The true Flamebird is a massive, flaming dragon-like creature from deep in Krypton's past. The bird's partner is Nightwing, who is also its mate and opposite.

Among the early Kryptonian Gods, Flamebird was charged by almighty Rao with constantly refreshing the world by burning down the new creations of her brother, Vohc-The-Builder. She did so, but there was no hostility between the two; Vohc was grateful that Flamebird constantly pushed him to reimagine his works.

However, to help his friend, Nightwing, Vohc made it possible for him to meet flamebird. As such those two fell in love. Vohc's next creation was a monument representing all of his love for Flamebird. While Flamebird truly admired and appreciated the work, she fulfilled her duty to Rao by burning it down. This time Vohc actually begged for this work to be saved, but Flamebird ignored him. This destroyed much of Vohc and changed him into Vohc-The-Breaker. (Comic Series: Action Comics)

In each cycle, the Nightwing and the Flamebird are reborn, and must find each other. Also in each cycle, they are betrayed by a friend and killed.”

It cites action comics but I can’t narrow it down. My guess is that it came up when Thara Ak-Var and Chris Kent held the mantles.

So Bette Kane initially took up the Flamebird mantle to get Dick’s attention (while he was still Robin). He rejected her and it didn’t really work out which in the grand scheme of all things considered, makes sense thematically in a “pushing fate” kind of way. She was Flamebird for a while after that, even seen fighting beside Dick Grayson’s Nightwing every now and then, but hasn’t been Flamebird since before rebirth so currently no one seems to hold the mantle at present (technically).

So where does that leave Flamebird now?

Well this year, two interesting things have come up. One, in the new cartoon “My Adventures with Superman”, Jimmy is Flamebird again in the form of a username for his conspiracy blog. As of now, he just seemed to come up with it cause it sounds cool, so unless they pull out a “what a coincidence” or back story of how he found the name, that’s probably the extent of Flamebird’s roll there.

The second is in Action Comics #1058 where Kara reveals that Nightwing and Flamebird is actually the fable of the House of El. Each Krytonian house had a fable and this one is spesific to Superman and his family.

Now from here on out this is all just my thinking. “Theory” would even be a strong word implying that I legitimately think this is what is going on. Call this “if I were in charge of this story this is how this would go”

So what now?

Dick as a fated Nightwing makes so much sense for him. Pretty much all of his best qualities as a person can be seen in Superman and in it’s been said time and time again that he got the title from him. There’s that connection. That has my thinking that Nightwing and Flamebird would have a strong connection to the House of El, i.e., Superman. We know Nightwing is Dick, we know Dick looks up to Superman like, frankly most of the time, a better dad than Bruce. Low bar, but still.

And with this connection in mind, and all the history stated earlier with not just Jimmy’s long history with not just Dick, but Superman as well, he seems like the obvious choice to me. They state over and over again how Jimmy proves his loyalty, he’ll charge into danger like it’s nothing (a trait I personally think he picked up from Lois) and he is always such a fun narrator when handed the mic. He’s earned it.

As far as the ship goes, aside from it potentially being a huge payoff for a sixty year old saga of legends of love, heroism, and fate, the dynamics of their modern personalities would be unparalleled.

Over all its fricken WEIRD that their dynamic was just randomly forgotten like that, especially with everything built around them that you’d think would have them at least cross paths. I don’t hold not having a romantic relationship between them against DC, nor do I ever expect them to ever take that route any times soon, but come on man why aren’t they at least friends anymore?

[lazaruspiss]

What ur fav Batman-adjacent character says about you (WARNING: not to be taken seriously)

Batman: there's like three different wildly different divisions of y'all. dude bros who only watch the movies, tumblrinas who only read the fic, and people who want to study this fucked up old man like a bug.

Robin (Dick): a sucker for the classics. you're either pretty wholesome or fucking deranged (affectionate).

Nightwing: gay and/or trauma. not applicable to new52 fans. i don't know who that Nightwing is. never met that man before in my life.

Robin (Jason): really into poetry. probably processing a lot of not-so-good things.

Red Hood: gay and/or trauma (but you're still into poetry). either really eloquent and well thought out or one of the shittiest people I've ever met in my life. most are the former, don't think about it too hard.

Robin (Tim): "he was a sk8r boi, she said c u l8r boi". you're a late 90s/early 00s kid and/or enjoyer. probably at least a mild Nightwing fan by extention of Tim's whole deal.

Red Robin: you're sad, tired, and need someone to project onto. or you're just into femboys. the most likely to get into the weirdest fandom beef.

Robin (...Tim? Again?): what's happening in there (new52)??

Robin (Damian): you have more patience than others for difficult kids. or you just read a fanfic with his edges sanded off and have never met a human child before.

Batgirl (Babs): you need to grow up a little. or you only read new52. are you okay?

Oracle: you like a woman who is a bit /too/ mean to you. you've also been completely done dirty by DC and i send you my sincere condolences.

Robin (Steph): you're a bit of a goofball, and you may or may not have a complicated relationship with an older man.

Batgirl (Steph): I'll be real with you, I keep forgetting that even happened. I think she gets called flat chested and mistaken for Damian's girlfriend or something? I'm so sorry.

Spoiler: you want to kill your dad and go out for milkshakes with the gang after.

Batgirl (Cass): "...tumblrinas who only read the fic, [or] people who want to study this fucked up [woman] like a bug." sometimes the two are distinguishable by whether or not they acknowledge her as an adult.

Orphan: same as prior, but you like Batman less.

Batwoman: woman-liker. probably a bit representation starved.

Alfred: you're either trying too hard to be different or you haven't spent enough time with your grandparents to realize that they're probably just as fucked up as everyone else.

[aduncanrant]

Nightwing Movie

Soo, I see how troubled this topic is so here is my take.

First, let's see what I wouldn't make: For the love of god please don't make Dick incompetent. It's like this man has been fighting crime since he was twelve in the most conservative runs in comics or since he is eight/nine in my favorites. Do you really think that man would be like "I don't know how to be without Batman"? Like really? In some runs, he stops crime by himself just about the time he starts working as Robin (not an expert but I can think of Robin: First Year and how he fights that school of assassins when he is fired as Robin, IN HIS FIRST YEAR) and he has lead the Teen Titans since he is twelve/thirteen.

And I get it there's this trope in movies of making a character relatable for the audience. But we have so many movies with the same thing: A normal dude overcomes his self-worth problems and becomes actually someone for in the next movie to be a normal dude again. I HATE that trope. And I get it this is actually the story of Robin in comics, he exists to be a reflection of the readers, but that doesn't make him average. Actually the opposite: he is extraordinary. But that doesn't mean I don't want to make him flawed. But I want something different than fighting and detective incompetence.

Second: I wouldn't make yet another Robin grow to be Nightwing. Yeah! I know! This is like THE movie most people want, but I think that to make it work it has to be attached to the whole Titans run and a deeper intervention of Batman that I would like to evade. I'm thinking about a movie to introduce the public to the concept of Nightwing, not a full flesh cinematic universe attached (in that case I would have first a long timeline of Robin, Teen Titans, Nightwing, Titans, Batman, etc).

But I want to preserve the full world of superheroes living in a relationship with him (Am I making sense?) but the center being Nightwing himself, not the other heroes. They exist, and we have enough references to make the fans have fun searching all of them. But we don't have Batman or the Titans entering the story and intervening more than Nightwing himself.

So let's introduce the things I would do: I think the perfect point to get into Nightwing lore is with the introduction of Blüdhaven but not as a Robin gets into Blüdhaven and surfaces as Nightwing but as a Nightwing finally finding what that mantle actually means. A way that is different from Gotham and Batman.

My first scene would be deep in the night, everything in high contrast cyan and the darkest black you could find. He would jump towards some buildings gaining height till he reaches a big skyscraper (close shot to the mouth smiling) and the emblem in his chest to move through the night like a bird soaring in the sky as he descents from so high above that anyone would call it a certain death. It would be a good start, like to see how he is different and add that thing of he liking the adrenaline. He throws a line toward a much smaller building and reaches a street.

A group of criminals can be seen in the alley and behind only Nightwing eyes can be seen. Long story short this is where we have to show his fighting abilities (WITHOUT him needing to be saved by anyone) I would like to give a spin to the classical punch and go with heavy grounds in Aikido, like I don't want him to fall in his back like ever, his fighting style has to look like a dance. And obviously, he will have the jumps and turns of an acrobat. The shot is intersected but mostly red shots of Robin fighting alongside Batman.

I'd like the shots to form a continuous scene between the two timelines to show that no matter the change of colors he is still the same child he was back then. The nail in the coffin is when he reports to Batman through the coms. Showing that even now he is still in the shadow of the bat (without the senseless bickering that the authors usually have them do).

The next scene starts with him entering a room from the window. Here the colors normalize and we have a room with a lot of oranges and browns. I wanna keep the naturally disorganized nature of Dick, which also conveys the fact that he has not his personal life in order too. There can be a feast for fans to look out for easter eggs, like photos and items, that stuff.

Oracle's voice comes from the comes as he undresses himself for the night. She tells him that the intel says those men come from a mob in Blüdhaven, and he agrees to investigate the town the next day. Roll the introduction credits (side note I'd love it to be a dripping cyan stain that moves around the screen revealing characters in one gradient color, a little like the Teen Titans cartoon intro?).

Part 2

[scorchedhearth]

I've seen many "if you could change Jason's story, how would you change it." post from many people and i always like your takes about Jason so i was wondering what your version would be like

i wouldn’t change it, at least not in any major way, because what i like about jason is the turned-wrong story and his anger as red hood. i have no interest in robin!jason or jason never died aus because his death and resurrection are the most entertaining part of the character to me. i would change the way it is told, the classicism in how his story was treated and the ‘jason was an angry robin’ narrative you see in current canon because it’s bullshit and the tragedy of his story works only if he was a normal and kind child who was robbed of his chance of a happy future

i would keep pretty much all of his backstory, parents who try their best to raise and love him but fall prey to their poverty, a father falling into crime to help bring money and a mother falling into addiction and struggling with it and taking care of the family and the both of them eventually dying because of that. i’d keep jason living in the streets of gotham, him jacking the batmobile’s wheels, helping bruce with a robbery, being taken into the manor, and eventually becoming robin. he would keep the good relationships with everyone there, dick included, do well in school and live an as normal and happy life as possible.

i know jason’s death was controversial at the time but i’d keep that too, and how it went down, him feeling restless over the months preceding it, with all the findings he does about his family as well as struggling with his sense of justice and what they do with the gotham justice system as batman and robin (thinking about the garzonas case and gloria stanson and how he sees the victims before a legal system that won’t do enough, will never do enough, because imo that ties nicely into the current views he has on justice and the ethics of vigilantism and crime-fighting which are an extreme version of an answer of those questions he had as robin), trying to find his mother, saving her, being tricked, all that is good.

i’d keep the lost days and utrh red hood characterization because i think it’s good, i like jason’s hypocrisy and over competence and i like how his goal blinds him and makes him obsessive, i like how ruthless he is and the fact that he’s an unlikable asshole who messes with people he cares about. i like this take on crime fighting and vigilantism and i think you can do many interesting things with it in a story, especially put in contrast with how heroes traditionally act, the whole ‘ill control crime because you can’t stop it, that’s the right way’

the only major change i’d bring is in utrh and specifically the ending because i don’t think bruce would do that, i don’t think he’d cut his son’s throat over the joker. and as much as i’d love to have bruce kill the joker and see the fallout of that, mainly how pointless it all is and how it doesn’t solve any of jason conundrum and his anger and grief and would instead leave everyone dissatisfied (your dad did this to appease you only because you asked him to, is it truly genuine? can you take this as proof enough of his love if you pushed him to? vs. bruce struggling with having taken a life and how this jason isn’t the son he used to know), as much as i’d want to see that i ultimately don’t think bruce would do it and more importantly i don’t want him to because batman is the no kill rule and the no gun rule, those are fundamental to his character

i do like the movie ending more because of this: bruce turns around and in the same breath turns a blind eye to whatever will happen and is ready to let jason do it, to let him kill the joker which is a good compromise to the ultimatum he put on the table and also doesn’t solve anything because yeah, the joker is dead, great, but a/ bruce didn’t do the one thing jason thought would prove his love for him, so it’s disappointing to him and still make him feel like it wasn’t enough, that he's not loved enough and shows him he'll never get what he wants from bruce and b/ bruce will never get his son back because this killing of the joker in front of him would burns any bridges between them and solidifies the death of his son to him, thus sticking them further in this looping spiral of grief for people who are very much alive but dead to them, people they used to know and still see when looking at each other even if they don’t exist anymore and will never be real again

so jason got what he wanted and still everyone involved has lost and dealing with that aftermath for everyone involved will be fun, bruce struggling to accept this new jason and even treating him as a villain for lack of a better idea about how to deal with this situation and jason growing increasingly pissed with bruce and still doing things like the ollie and mia attack or going to mess in bludhaven with dick, except its not from a place of ‘see me and accept me’ but ‘see me and suffer from witnessing who i am’ towards bruce

the other change i’d have is progressively making him less focused on bruce and more on gotham after the confrontation. i think the daddy issues are important for his comeback, it’s why he does this in the first place, but after the terrible revelation that he has lost his father for good and he’ll never get him back and the subsequent acting out and making him suffer for it because man, that frontal lobe was not finished developing, i want jason to distance himself from the batfam as an entity and focus more on gotham and being the other side of bruce’s coin. he has as many rights to fight for the city as bruce and it would be interesting to see them clash over being in the same city given their different backgrounds and views on justice. i do want to see his unhealthy attachment to the city on pages and how it influences him, how he can never stay away for long and will never leave it. and there’s the whole ‘hate is the other side of love’ and jason growing neutral about bruce and the batfam, having cordial work relationships where no one tries to reach out anymore would hurt even more than the desperate attempts at gaining attention and love

as for what comes after that, i’ve got this post and i still stand by this for what i want for jason as a character in current comics, i think he works better cut off from the batfam as a unit and acting as an antagonist/a character to put in opposition to heroes like dick, cass or steph because of his ethics/morals/views on justice, and yes, the kill rule but not only, also things like working with a team/other. red hood works are a character foil and if jason were to evolve from that role, i want him to shed the red hood moniker and really make it clear he’s moving past that role for something new (for what i have no idea, i suck at coming up with superheroes alias, but something different, something he made for himself instead of taking from someone else)

[zahri-melitor]

Recent reads discussion:

Gotham Central: I really enjoyed this for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it was a Rucka-Brubaker collaboration. They’re both great writers and one of the reasons their Batman-‘Tec runs worked really well together is they understand how to write around each other. This helped fill out the department - by each having their own detective teams to write it made the department feel busier as they handed stories back and forth. Next, 2003-2006 was a smart time to put out a cop book in Gotham. There was a real resurgence in police procedurals around that time, so having one in the Batman office makes sense.

It also had a really good launching pad: the one/two hit of NML followed by Officer Down put the GCPD into an interesting situation where the most visible Gotham cops were out of the picture (Gordon, Bullock) plus there was a bunch of turnover following NML. This gave a nice mostly blank slate for the two to build a police department on (and let Rucka revisit what is clearly one of his favourite NML storylines - Montoya and Two-Face’s relationship).

I don’t think as a title it would work as well now, and it would need to interrogate different things. But focusing on the GCPD solving crimes despite Batman in a period when Bruce WAS on one of his downswings worked well. It was across the other events going around it enough that references work - Helena WOULD drop in to talk to the cop who has family mafia connections about a case. Brubaker WOULD write a Catwoman storyline from the other perspective. The Dead Robins case is all the more gripping for occurring during the second half of URTH, because what if it WAS Jason. Plus, Renee’s slow descent into leaving to police is really well illustrated all throughout - these days you go into the story to watch it, but at the time you’d have been hanging waiting to see what happened.

It’s rightly praised. Right team, right title, right time.

Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity: another first meetings story. The interesting aspect of it being the Trinity rather than Superman/Batman is that the title didn’t lean into the classic echo panels that every good “we’re exactly the same/nothing alike” World’s Finest team up can’t help but run (I love that trope so much). There still WERE some parallel moments but not nearly as heavy handed and needing to focus on all THREE relationships.

It had an interesting choice of villains. Ra’s Al Ghul, Bizarro and a very young Artemis were an unbalanced set (Ra’s obviously running rings around the other two), but still took the time to let everyone get in the mix.

I also notice just the SLIGHTEST bit of processing going on here given that Clark gets to avert a 9/11 moment at LexCorp tower. Well, it was 2003.

I enjoyed it. It’s not my favourite first meeting for these three but it was a solid one.

Robin & Batman: first of all, the art on this is just so dreamlike, which is good for a retelling of an event that’s been covered and recovered so many times.

Dick’s first missions, first meeting with the Teen Titans, and the origin of his uniform is a story they love to tell and retell.

I really enjoyed that the story grasped the level of how absolutely broken-headed both Bruce and Dick are, and Bruce’s habit of crossing boundaries but thinking it’s for your own good.

I liked that this was a strong reinterpretation, rather than a redo of other versions. That said, it was a bit TOO self-aware and fusion for my taste.

The constant references to Nightwing were one thing, as was the constant Bruce and Alfred debate of child v child soldier v son. I get the meta you’re playing with, but it’s possible to be a little less blatant in it.

But the way the story merged a whole bunch of other events into this one was rather “I see what you’re doing but I’m unsure if I like it”. Stealing from Jason, Tim AND Damian’s Robin periods, particularly things that were specifically linked to THEM rubs me a bit the wrong way.

I’m resigned to the inevitable long pants but DICK DIDN’T HAVE LONG PANTS.

Waylon Jones is linked to Jason’s pre-Crisis circus origin, not Dick’s. It feels a bit icky to graft him onto Dick’s (also the altered setup of how Haly’s worked).

I did like that the trap was a reinterpretation of the Hanging Judge trap (though honestly just redo Two-Face for me again, I like that story).

D&D is Tim’s thing. I promise you you can come up with a group activity for Dick to join his classmates in that isn’t heavily linked to one of the other kids.

Equally I’m pretty sure only Damian was ever a Gotham Academy kid. It actually amuses me that all the boys largely went to very different schools (though Damian’s now at one of Tim’s!)

Those quibbles aside, it’s a good retelling. I just don’t like it when comics go ahead and merge character traits belonging to other Robins into each other - it’s lazy and it confuses newer readers.

[zeroducks-2]

(newbie anon) thank you so much for the answer!! i will most definitely scroll through the tags you pointed out, just like you advised later after work! i did read and just finished the slade in tt03 meta that you linked, though.

i wanted to say, i agree completely with what you said in it by the way. while i am new to the comics, i did watch some of the animations series as i grew up, including tt03. i remember being creeped out and scared whenever he showed up on screen, and the fear that he ignited was not the kind of dramatic “oh noo he is gonna try to kill the good guys!!”, but it was the kind of fear that i/most people get when watching a horror-ghost movie, and i just wanted to run and get away from it.

also, while following the series, at one point i began to wonder “is it just me or slade is so obsessed with robin, in a very weird and creepy way..” but i was a teen back then, didnt have much/any critical reading therefore didnt catch the sexual subtexts/undertones of his actions.

anyway, for now, i only have one question, which is that: what is your reading/take on dick’s character? i was a marvel comics fan, so i understand the inconsistencies of characterization in comics, especially when you add the reboots etc into it. it’s basically a contradiction all over, multiple readings/characterizations based on which canon that you pick. but there must be a consistency in the writing from their initial creation (especially for character as old as dick, during classic era) to the current era.

(and for me, i judge & shape my reading based on that. what characterization did they have initially—from the classic era, and which stay consistent to that purpose)

ahh sorry this got very long :”) thank you so much for your answer once again!

Hello again, sorry it took me a while to get back to you. You ask a difficult question and I had to think about it a lot (then RL also got in the way you know how it is), and to be honest I'm still not sure how to answer!

Dick has been written in so many different ways that I can't pinpoint a constant. I read him as the first child of an abusive guardian, who can't really ever break free of the trauma bonding. I also read him as extremely parentified and in charge of the emotional well-being of his family, and of having shoulders broad enough to carry it (unfortunately for him). Surely I prefer when he's written as empathetic and emotionally intelligent rather than when he broods and acts brash, but that really changes according to who's handling him at the moment in the "canon continuity", or in any given DC byproduct like the videogames, WFA or an animated movie.

My main thing with Dick is that I associate him with emotional vulnerability, selflessness, hope, and the strength to keep going despite everything. As toxic as their relationship tends to be, Dick was the light of hope for Bruce and allowed him to keep going and find something worth fighting for. He chose the name Nightwing after a Kryptonian hero and then decided to become a beacon of hope for Bludhaven, a city so full of violence it was even worse than Gotham. He's a symbol among vigilantes and heroes alike and I guess he's a symbol for the DC fandom as well in a way.

My take on Dick is also that he's destined to never truly be happy unless everyone around him is happy, but this will never happen because the moment he manages to make everyone happy, he leaves to find another situation like that. This is because being a vigilante in DC comics is a sysiphean task - Jason can never go past his trauma of dying and having been unavenged, Damian can never free himself from the shackles of his heritage, Bruce can never stop being Batman because the same villains will keep haunting Gotham, and he will never elaborate the loss of his parents. Dick can never stop looking for the happiness and carefreeness he had from when he was a circus kid, unable to find his own center and inner peace, and so he will keep guiding young and old heroes on their paths without ever truly reaching his personal happiness and fulfillment.

I'm not sure this was the answer you were hoping to get, sorry if I went on a bit of a tirade. Again welcome to the fandom!

[the-kr8tor]

One last thing before I go:

Dick Grayson/Nightwing

-Pretty

-Manwhore

-So nice

-Golden boy

-Pretty

-Damian would still be a child menace

-Silly

-Can bond over mutual trauma

-Acrobat

-Fun romantic

-Protective

-Golden retriever

(+(If Evangeline has blue eyes) They can both wear blue)

-Steve Rogers

-Baby, babe, sweetheart, any silly nickname

-Can be besties w Starfire

but

-Oldest sibling (prolly has ✨communication issues✨)

-Could be spooked ab settling down (only for a while tho)

-Can be a manchild

-Womanizer

-Name

-Would let you die to save the world

-Steve Rogers (can be boring)

-Can't really see him as anything other than mid/late 20s

-----

Jason Todd/Red Hood

-Sweet

-Classic romantic

-Clingy

-Protective

-German shepherd

-Switch up

-Will read you to sleep

-So loyal

-'Touch her I'll kill you'

-Would save you over the world

-Silly

(+(if she has white hair)Mutual white hair)

-Bucky Barnes

-Built like a fucking beast

-Damian still in his demonspawn era

-Doll, chipmunk, sweetheart

-Potential for some good angst

-Prolly his first relationship (so fucking cute and awkward)

but

-Could be overprotective

-Secretive

-Runs a cartel/drug ring/smth idk

-Bucky Barnes

-Not rly a lot of dynamics to play w outside of the Batfam

-Could be overbearing

-----

Damian Wayne/Robin

-Switch up

-Can possibly be child menaces for a little bit

-Loyal af

-Damian Al Ghul (> possessive)

-Enemies to lovers

-Beloved, idiot, any Arabic nickname

-Demon head! Damian

-Very territorial cat

-Natasha Romanoff

-Artist (will draw his S/O fight me)

-A decent amount of dynamics outside of his family

-So much potential for the best angst/fluff

-Evangeline would be best friends w Jon

-Pretty

-Could be clingy

-Batcow therapy

but

-Can be annoying/ooc if done wrong

-Robin

-Idk what her design would be

-I like guard dog energy more than cat energy most of the time

-Lacks the 'can strangle a full grown man with brute strength alone but treats you like you're made of porcelain' aspect of the switch up compared to Jason

-Maybe too not-clingy (not Demon head! Damian tho)

I made a list :D

It was honestly fun lol

You got them to the T!!!

May I add for the con on dick?

-cop

-he's a cop

- HE'S A COP

Also I laughed so hard at the 'name' bc that is so real 🤣🤣🤣

I still vote for Jason!!!

[methylphenidatedreams]

Okay don’t remember all the details of my dream but here are the bare bones: there had been like four or five movies produced about Hannah Montana and Elle Woods fighting over a man and each movie took place in a different vacation destination except for the last one which was in space. And they were all musicals. The third one was in the giant opulent hotel that was attacked by mutated penguins created by the Penguin and some evil lady who tried to feed me to them but Batman and Robin saved me and the Mayor, Jack Harkness.

All of the Doctor Whos knew each other and had a group chat/group FaceTimed/visited each other regularly (I guess it was like a bigeneration thing and only the most recent Doctor got the tardis), including an old lady who was apparently an even earlier female doctor from before whitttaker from forgotten some tv movie. Also 13 was a child for some reason so this lady was taking care of her. 13 had gotten put in time out but the old lady wasn’t doing a very good job watching her because she was the prime minister and trying to figure out a way to call a general election from her old fashioned desktop computer so that Jack Harkness could become prime minister instead. I think. I don’t really know how the British government works.

Anyways, back to me who was also the 16th doctor who and more importantly Steven Universe. Even though he was the most recent version of the Doctor Steven wasn’t allowed to own the tardis because he was child and was instead in the custody of all the other doctors, like 13 was. Recently he had been backpacking with 15 and he was still really dirty and he wanted a shower so he let Jason think he had been kidnapped so that they’d let him use their shower.

Bruce, Dick, and Jason lived in either a trailer or just a really small house together. It was cute and inside walls were all white and decorated like a grandma. I’m not sure who it was that was helping Batman out at the hotel earlier since I thought it was classic Robin but both Dick and Jason were adults. Actually I guess they don’t really matter since they were no real help against the apocalypse.

There were these giant like pterodactyls who kinda looked like Sutekh but without the dog qualities, just the six empty eyes and long snoot filled with sharp teeth and they had no ears so they looked kinda like skulls but with green slimy skin. They were aliens I guess and they were here to eat everyone except their culture caused them to respect mated pairs but only people who were legally married. So you could get married for convenience (not dying) but you’d still HAVE to get a priest.

One lady showed the monsters her wedding band and he was like no idiot I know you’re divorced and she was like yeah I didn’t think that would work and then decapitated the monster at the exact second it lunged for her. She was cool I want a movie about her instead I had to watch a miscommunication trope as Steven tried to propose to someone but a bunch of ribbons appeared showing him tired down to other people but that was actually just the various partners his past incarnations had taken babe please.

Actually I think he might have been proposing to a mind wiped Rose but it doesn’t realize matter this was such a strange dream even for me. Also Mrs. Flood was there but she was called “The Flood”. I’ll update if I remember anything else.

[deathb1oomsarchive]

LIZZIE MALONEY

lizzie is an original character based in the stranger things fandom

influences for Lizzie come from stranger things , 80s horror movie tropes , the works of Stephen King , Pink Floyd’s the wall , 80s and 90s cult classics , and personal experiences.

lizzie was born in indianapolis , indiana. she was the second child of her parents josh and hazel maloney , being born two years after her brother daniel maloney. daniel was the golden child , with his straight As and athleticism. he was the apple of their mother's eye and their father's best friend. lizzie , on the other hand , had a rebellious streak and wanted to be everything her parents despised. despite this , lizzie was extremely close to both of her parents , though she was more her daddy's girl.

when lizzie was ten years old , her parents got divorced and her mother quickly remarried. lizzie wanted to live with her father , but the courts wouldn't allow it. instead , she moved into a newer house with her mother , brother , and new step father whose name was richard mullens. she quickly began calling him dick due to their strained relationship. where her parents were understanding and lenient with her acting out , dick was quick to ground her and insult her about her looks and the way she wanted to dress.

three years later , lizzie's father josh was offered an opportunity to work on an oil rig in alaska. he didn't want to leave his kids , but he needed the money so he took the job. this devastated lizzie as she'd been feeling like he was the only person on her side. once he was gone , it became more and more apparent that her mother and step father had been wanting to move away from indianapolis but josh had been standing in their way. with him gone , dick began talking more and more candidly about his work as a scientist and the fact that they were preparing to move to a small town outside of the city.

the family waited for daniel to graduate high school , with honors of course , before packing up and moving to hawkins. daniel planned to attend emerson college and live at home , working part time to try and save up to move out on his own. lizzie was forced to change schools during the summer between her sophomore and junior year.

after the events of season one , sam owens replaced martin brenner as the director of hawkins lab , and richard mullens replaced sam owens as one of the scientists on the project. after this promotion and the move , dick went from being an open book at the dinner table about whatever he was working on to being very secretive. lizzie , obviously , felt like this was a huge red flag but she was the only one in her household that apparently felt that way. she would bring up the fact that he never talked about work anymore and he would snap back with the fact that she never cared before.

because of this , she started snooping through his things and trying to find out what was going on in hawkins.

during season two , lizzie is sort of an outsider at the school. she isn't really interested in fitting in and keeps hoping her dad will move back to indianapolis and let her move back in with him. most of her free time is taken up by her snooping in her step father's things and trying to figure out what's going on with the kid who went missing last year , and the girl that's her age and still missing this year. when at school , she hangs around the same bad news people that eddie munson would hang around with. they don't become friends here , but they do know each other.

lizzie attended barb's funeral , and even cried for her.

during season three , lizzie got a job at the record store inside starcourt mall. she knew of steve harrington and robin buckley , having a couple classes with robin during the previous school year so they were mutual acquaintances. she also met and was friendly with nancy wheeler , and heather holloway was her first real friend in hawkins after the two found out they lived on the same block.

one night after everyone had gone to bed , lizzie was sneaking out of the house when she overheard her step father on a heated phone call in his home office. she heard him complaining about the damn sheriff , saying that he was causing problems and sticking his nose where it didn't belong. later in the conversation , he started talking about magnets and ' ruskies ' and collateral damage. unsure of what to do , she went to talk it out with heather. when she arrived at the holloway house , however , heather was there with billy and both were acting way too out of the ordinary. she refused to come in and talk with them with the door closed.

the next day , after tom holloway fires nancy and jonathan from the post , lizzie decided to reach out to nancy and talk to her about how weird heather had been acting. she wasn't super close with nancy , but she knew that nancy would be able to help her. nancy let her know that she was going up to the hospital to check on mrs. driscoll , and lizzie could meet her there if she wanted.

after telling nancy about the weird way that heather and billy were acting , she goes with them to the wheeler house to discuss with everyone what happened to billy in the sauna. this confirms , based on what lizzie saw , that heather is flayed just like billy and mrs. driscoll.

after leaving the wheeler's house , lizzie went home to try and talk some sense into her step father. she knew that he was involved , and he knew that she suspected him. her mother wasn't home at the time , so she felt comfortable enough to approach dick. she told him that people were getting hurt and she knew he had something to do with it. she told him that she'd made new friends and they knew everything she did and that it was his responsibility to stop it all from happening. his response was to slap her across her face and tell her that she was a child and children knew nothing. he went to grab her by the shoulder , but she backed away just in time. rather than wait around to argue with him , she ran away from the house and goes to hopper's cabin with everyone else. she's there when eleven / jane finds out that dustin is at starcourt mall , and she tags along with everyone for the final act.

after everything , lizzie goes back home to find that her step father had spun a web of lies for her mother. he claimed that he'd come home and caught her smoking and stealing cash from his desk. he said that she'd attacked him , and when he tried to defend himself he'd ' accidentally ' slapped her , and she ran off saying she would tell everyone that he'd slapped her for no reason. because of this , lizzie was grounded for the entire summer. they could do that because , ' as long as she was under their roof , she was still a child to them '.

because of this , lizzie wrote to her father asking for money to move out of dick's house. she knew her father , even though he was so far away , would believe her and help in any way that he could. two weeks later , josh showed up on their doorstep to help lizzie move out of her parents house. the only thing she was sure she could afford was a trailer in forest hills trailer park.

after the starcourt mall had burned down , the owner of the record store she'd been working in relocated to another building in the same part of town. he'd kept her on as one of the clerk's and so she never had a lapse in her salary. it was hard , but she was able to afford the trailer on her own. it was , however , two bedrooms in case she wanted to let a roommate move in.

lizzie is there to witness eddie's freak out after chrissy's attack , and helps hide him until he can run away. she spends half her time trying to protect eddie and the other half of her time helping everyone find out about chrissy's symptoms and how fred then and max now are experiencing the same thing.

later , lizzie stays with eddie and the others while he attempts to distract the demobats and watches alongside dustin as eddie sacrifices himself for them. she is there to comfort dustin during this and help him get to safety afterward.

lizzie has several homemade tattoos and piercings on her body , in places that are easy to hide from her parents.

lizzie is close with her older brother , despite the differing ways in which they were treated. he never let the better treatment go to his head and on several occasions , he stood up to dick for his sister.

short and sweet verses :

main verse , takes place after the events of season 4. lizzie is working full time at the record store in hawkins. she is also attending classes at the local community college , this is all she can afford now that her mother and step father have cut her off completely.

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Can You Deduce Where I Am Now?

by quotidian_void

As soon as he woke up after coming back from Titans Tower, the second Dick and Bruce stepped into the room, Tim had eagerly told them that Jason was alive and that he was Red Hood! They didn’t believe him, blaming it on lack of sleep and the haze being shot brought, but Tim was sure he saw Jason. Older, bigger, with a white streak in his fringe, but still Jason.

OR

Tim goes out to find Jason to bring his big brother back home. Jason... Jason has other matters to ponder on before deciding to back.

Words: 3181, Chapters: 1/4, Language: English

Series: Part 4 of Let Them Be Brothers

Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: Gen

Characters: Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Original Characters

Relationships: Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd

Additional Tags: Jason Todd is Red Hood, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Jason Todd Gets A Hug, Protective Jason Todd, Jason Todd-centric, Good Sibling Jason Todd, Hurt Jason Todd, BAMF Jason Todd, Jason Todd Feels, POV Jason Todd, Lazarus Pit Side Effects (DCU), Lazarus Pit Mad Jason Todd, Tim Drake is Robin, Hurt Tim Drake, Tim Drake Needs a Hug, Tim Drake Gets a Hug, Good Sibling Tim Drake, Tim Drake Has Issues, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Bruce Wayne Tries to Be a Good Parent, (cant decide between the two cuz i think both apply), Bruce Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Bruce Wayne Has Feelings, Jason Todd Angst, Good Sibling Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson Gets a Hug, Bruce Wayne Gets a Hug, Stitches, Torture, Implied/Referenced Torture, Past Torture, these three are different things, Electrocution, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trauma, Implied/Referenced Character Death, (jason's), Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Bad Parents Jack and Janet Drake, Tim Drake Joins the Batfamily Early, High School, Crime Boss Tim Drake, Crime Boss Jason Todd, mini mafia boss tim drake, (not so much now cuz he's too much in grief), Jason Todd Loves Classic Literature, Theater Nerd Jason Todd, Theater Nerd Tim Drake, Brotherly Love, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Angst, Jason Todd's Attack on Titans Tower, or more the aftermath of it, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst and Feels, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Hurt/Comfort

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/44255104

[havendance]

Tim joins the family early/Jason Todd never dies fic

I figured since I’m coming up on nearly a year of reading far to much batman fanfic, I might as well share some it with the rest of y’all. Doing this by trope because I was in the mood a week ago when I was tracking all of these down. Anyway, if you got any favorites in this genre that aren’t on this list, add them on! I’m always looking for more good fic to read.

Latchkey by goldkirk

55k, complete. This fic is one of those fandom classics and one of those central touchpoints for the genre. I don’t know enough to say for certain but anecdotally, I’ve seen a lot of fics drawing on it’s combination of baby-stalker!Tim, Tim befriending the Waynes, and getting adopted.

5 Times Tim Spends the Night at Wayne Manor + 1 Time He Comes Home by motleyfam

50k, complete. What it says on the tin. If you like sickfic, this is the one for you. Tim manages to get himself sick and/or injured in just about every chapter of this baby.

Belonged Here All Along by Raberba girl

25k, wip but the main story’s complete. Tim bluffs/gaslights his way into getting the bats to adopt him.

birds fly in every direction by distracted_dragon

170k, wip. Plotwise, in broad strokes this was inspired by and is pretty similar to Latchkey. You’ve got your baby-stalker!Tim, Tim befriending the Waynes, and Tim getting adopted. It does put it’s own spin on everything though and is definitely worth checking out!

Brother Wanted by Vamillepudding

10k, complete. A 13 year-old Jason does his level best to adopted a 10 year-old Tim after Tim puts an ad in the paper for a big brother.

Like a Hinge, Like a Wing by Ultrageekatlarge

25k, wip. As of the time of the post, this fic is still updating on a regular basis so the stats will probably become outdated sooner rather than later. Anyway, Jason doesn’t die, but Tim’s parents do and the family member who gets custody of him afterwards is slowly murdering him so Tim goes to the bats for help.

In this Town We Call Home by Vamillepudding

20k, complete. You’ve got your standard mix of baby-stalker!Tim, Tim befriending the Waynes, and adoption now with the added spice that the Drakes used Batman as a boogeyman and now Tim is kind of scared of Batman. Robin’s fine though!

On the Way Home by ignesfatuis

130k, complete. This one’s a little different than the rest of the fics in this list in that rather than taking place in a vaguely canon-ish universe, it takes place in a AU where there are wolf-shifters. Tim gets kidnapped, stuck in his wolf form, and is eventually rescued by the bats (who are also wolf-shifters).

Runaway Robin by DangerBeckett

10k, complete. Robin!Jason keeps running into baby-stalker!Tim on the roofs of Gotham. Very funny.

The Power of Family and this Stalker I found by JackHawksmoor

25k, wip. Technically, Jason did die in this one, he just came back at the earliest possible opportunity. Anyway, we’ve got baby-stalker Tim, we’ve got a Tim & Jason friendship, we’ve got a Dick and Bruce who’re dancing around each other and majorly miscommunicating. In other words, we’ve got all the good stuff. 

These Were their Crimes by Moe64

55k, complete. Unlike most of the works on this list, I haven’t finished reading this one yet, but from what I’ve read so far, it’s good! Jason doesn’t die, but Tim’s parents still do and now Tim and Step wander around Gotham at night to fight crime (Tim doing more of like a stalker/detective thing). 

Tim Pennyworth by April_Ace

10k, wip. Tim becomes Alfred’s foster child during Jason’s robin career. While this fic hasn’t been updated in a couple years, what there is now stands on it’s own quite well.

two against the world by carolinaa

35k, complete. Tim adopts a dog while out being a baby-stalker. Things escalate from there.

Fics that don’t quite fit the brief but that I still really like:

If I’m being honest, what goes on the main list or not is based almost solely off of vibes. Take that as you will.

Fairy Godbrother by envysparkler

30k, complete. The Tim joining the family early component of this is mainly in chapter 2, and is part of a larger plot where just about all the robins join the family early due to meddling from another dimension.

Surveillance by smilebackwards

7k, complete. Jason doesn’t die, and at the time this fic starts, Tim is seventeen, running around as a teenage stalker, and picking fights with Lex Luthor until he ends up tangled up in the Batfamily. Not on the main list mainly because Tim is nearly an adult.

The Man and The Nothing by Souliebird

5k, complete. 10 year old tim is being haunted by… something, and is just not doing well in general, so he goes to Batman for help.