#how many fucking robins do we need DC?????

[gayshitanddadjokes]

Drake Winston is the hottest Robin prove me wrong

[nanenna]

Title: The Parent Trap Fandoms: Batman (DC Comics) and Danny Phantom Ships: None AUs: Demon Twins Warnings: Character injury, discussions of death.

Summary: It was just an ordinary night on patrol until...

“We need an evac,” Dick said, cutting the chatter off, “bird down.”

“Spoiler, you’re the closest to the cave. Nightwing, who’s with you?” Barb asked, “And how bad is the injury?”

“Robin,” Dick replied with some confusion before adding on with confidence, “a leg injury, we’re pretty sure it’s broken.”

“Robin?” Tim couldn’t help blurting out, looking over at Damian next to him, perched on his bike in full Robin costume. “But here’s right here, with me.”

---

Damian had been acting strange for the week or so. Rather, Robin had been acting strange for the last week. Not many people actually lived full time in the manor anymore, but everyone agreed that during the day he was his usual self. During patrols, however, he was simply a little… off. Like tonight for instance: Batman was away from Gotham on official Justice League business and Nightwing had agreed to cover his usual patrol route; normally Robin would tag along with Nightwing, giving the excuse that he needed to make sure Dick did the route correctly while everyone knew the demon brat really just wanted to spend more time with his favorite brother. But tonight…

“I will be joining you on your case, Drake.”

“You will?” Tim asked skeptically. Dick had already suited up and left, yet instead of scrambling to go catch up here Damian was, already all suited up, demanding to join Tim of all people.

“You are doing a stake out for street racers, correct? What will you do when they inevitably split to lose you?”

He sadly had a point, having someone else there would help. “Are you going to stab me?”

Robin didn't say anything, simply stood there and stared Tim down.

After standing there for a full minute, Tim sighed and headed for the vehicle bay, Robin hot on his heels. Without another word they donned helmets and slung legs over their bikes. Weird, but not unheard of, just another thing that was a little off. Not that Tim was entirely unhappy, he wanted a chance to observe Damian’s behavior. Even if he thought Dick was more likely to get Damian to open up.

…

And Tim was bored. The first half of patrol was quiet and uneventful, the street racers hadn’t shown up at their usual time/place yet, and Damian hadn’t said a damn thing the whole night. It’d just been the two of them riding around, not finding anything that needed their attention, and just being… normal. At least the usual chatter from the others was there to keep him company.

“We need an evac,” Dick said, cutting the chatter off, “bird down.”

There was a moment of silence.

“Spoiler, you’re the closest to the cave. Nightwing, who’s with you?” Barb asked, “And how bad is the injury?”

“Robin,” Dick replied with some confusion before adding on with confidence, “a leg injury, we’re pretty sure it’s broken.”

“Robin?” Tim couldn’t help blurting out, looking over at Damian next to him, perched on his bike in full Robin costume. “But here’s right here, with me.” The shadows around them grew deeper, seemed to sharpen.

“What? No, I’m looking right at him.”

“Well so am I!” 

“I’ve got your cams up and… well shit,” Barb murmured.

“Oracle,” Damian? Robin? Some imposter? said into the quiet comms, a hand up to his helmet, “send me Nightwing’s location.”

“Robin,” Oracle started, only to be interrupted.

“We’re in sector 36,” Damian? Robin? Some imposter? replied, going so far as to give longitude and latitude coordinates and a description of the building roof they’re on.

“Copy that,” Damian? Robin? Some imposter? said before revving his bike’s engine and taking off.

Tim would never admit to nearly losing him due to sheer shock. Too busy screaming “What the fuck” in his own head to remember he needed to follow, but follow he did. This… this might explain Damian’s strange behavior over the past couple weeks. If there was an imposter running around with them, but they would have surely noticed, right?

“We can’t have everyone abandoning their patrols!” Barb said in clear frustration. Heard clearly because the chatter was still gone, nothing but dead silence. You would think everyone would be demanding answers, peppering the Robins with non-stop questions. Hell, Tim wanted to, but he was too busy keeping his bike under him as he chased after his Robin.

“Red Robin and I are on motorcycles,” Damian? Robin? Some imposter? told Barb, “which means we have the small vehicle first aid kits, including analgesics, splints, and extra bandages.”

“We could use the splints,” Dick said faintly.

“And doing first aid before evac arrives means less time faffing about once Spoiler arrives.”

Tim nearly crashed, barely righting his bike. To hear Damian’s voice say “faffing about” was just… weird. Does that mean Tim’s Robin was the imposter?

“You all are faffing about right now,” Damian? Robin? Some imposter? grumbled before hissing.

“Stay still,” Dick chided.

Okay, so maybe “faffing” was a phrase Damian had recently learned from a classmate or something, Tim sure didn’t know. And oh thank god, they must have arrived. Damian? Robin? Some imposter? was parked on the sidewalk, helmet already off and just pulling the field kit from the bike’s storage. He didn’t even spare Tim a glance, simply looked up at the very tall building, looked down at his grapple, shrugged, put the grapple away, and then lifted off the ground and into the air.

“Shit,” Tim said softly but with feeling.

“What?” Barb asked, clearly very tense.

“I think my Robin was the imposter, he just flew up the building. Like Kryptonian flew.” Is this Jon? Were he and Damian pulling a Bruce and Clark? Except it couldn’t be, Jon had started packing on muscles while Damian was still in the lanky growing-taller-before-filling-out stage.

“Really, akhi?” Damian? Robin? Some imposter? asked in exasperation.

“Hey, the jig is well and truly up at this point,” Damian? Robin? Some imposter? replied.

Okay, that was really weird to hear in Damian’s voice. And oh wait, maybe Tim should get up there too.

“Oh shit, there really is two of them!” Dick said in shock. “Uh… hello there… other Robin?”

“Hello Nightwing, I brought the kit. I…” Damian paused, then sighed into the comm, “akhi, what did you do?”

Damian tsked, “Nothing for you to worry about.”

“Your leg is broken!” Damian yelled.

“Did you see that with your x-ray vision?” Damian asked.

“Contrary to popular belief, I’m not Kryptonian,” Damian replied. “I don’t have x-ray vision.”

“Sure sound Kryptonian,” Tim muttered under his breath. The Robin that flew had slipped into a faint Midwestern drawl that reminded him of Clark.

“Can you just give me the kit?” Dick asked both warily and wearily.

“Right, yes. Here.” 

Tim had made it onto the roof by that point, just in time to watch one of the Robins hand over the kit to Nightwing before kneeling next to the other Robin, who had his leg stretched out in front of him while he sat half propped up on his elbows. The laying down Robin (the real one? The one that hasn’t shown any meta powers yet, anyway. Is one of them the real Robin or were they both imposters?) let himself fall fully on his back and held a hand out. The meta(?) Robin kneeled next to him and took his hand. “You’re going to be okay.”

“I am more worried about you, you’re not used to this.”

“Yeah, normally I’m the only one getting hurt, and I usually don’t have bones when that happens.” Imposter Robin laughed at that.

“What the fuck?” Tim said under his breath, what does that mean?

“Focus,” Dick chided as Tim came to join him in tending to Damian’s(?) injury.

“Batcopter ETA five minutes,” Barb said. “Agent A has the medbay prepped.”

Imposter Robin flinched at that. Odd.

“Focus,” Dick hissed. “Save the mystery for after we get our downed bird home.”

Tim almost pointed out they couldn't be sure either Robin was even the real one, but a scathing look from Dick that burned even through the domino white outs had Tim snapping his mouth shut. Instead he nodded and set about helping Dick set and splint Robin's leg.

Steph arrived right on time, between Dick, imposter Robin, and Tim they got the real(?) Robin loaded onto the batcopter. Then the imposter pulled something from his costume and tossed it at Dick.

“Keys?” Dick asked.

“We gotta get Robin's bike back to the cave somehow.” He hopped into the batcopter and settled next to the injured Robin.

Dick held out the keys, “And as Robin shouldn’t-”

“No,” the imposter interrupted. “I’m not leaving him.”

Seems it was Tim’s turn to be the voice of reason. He put a hand on Dick’s shoulder, “Robin trusts him, we’ll meet them back at the cave in a minute.” If the injured Robin even was the real Damian, if the imposter didn’t use his unknown powers to escape, if any slew of unpredictable situations. Holy hell, Tim could see why Bruce was so paranoid about knowing everything about everyone. He’d be in the middle of three panic attacks and an existential crisis on top of a heart attack if he were here right now. But he wasn’t, thankfully. Instead Tim pulled Dick away from the batcopter so Steph could take back off and head to the cave.

Soon Dick and Tim were on their respective bikes, Nightwing looking ridiculous on Robin’s candy apple red paint job, and were zooming through the streets at a pace that was while fast still gave Tim time to actually think. He went back over everything the two Robins had said since Nightwing had called in for an evac. And then it hit him.

“Akhi.”

“What about it?” Dick asked.

“It’s what they called each other.”

“Brother,” Cass added in her soft voice.

“Right, in Arabic. They called each other brother. And recently Robin told us about his twin brother.”

“Are you telling us that Robin’s twin brother came back from the dead and decided to just… join us on patrol?” Dick asked in disbelief.

“He told us several weeks ago, and has been acting odd on patrol for nearly two weeks now. If when he told us was when he found out, or at least started planning this, then they had a few weeks for Robin to give his twin a crash course on us before pulling this stunt.”

There was muffled laughter in the comms, but Tim wasn’t sure who.

“But why?” Oracle asked.

“A prank?” Dick asked.

“A test of some kind,” Tim said in a monotone. There was a double tap on the comm, Cass’s form of nonverbal agreement.

“The batcopter has arrived back at the cave,” Oracle informed them. Everyone else grew quiet, waiting for whatever was about to happen to happen.

“... -nk went too far,” Damian (or his twin?) was saying into the comm.

“TT, it did not,” Damian replied.

“You couldn’t taste their emotions,” okay that was the twin, and what a weird way to phrase that, “they were really scared.”

“You like the taste of fear.”

Wow, Damian, really not helping with how creepy your long dead twin is being.

“Well yeah, obviously, it’s delicious. That doesn’t mean it’s okay to go around purposefully scaring your family.”

Fear is delicious?!

“What does it matter? As you said, ‘the jig is up’ and the prank is over. We will have to explain ourselves when the others arrive.”

“Others like me?” Steph asked cheerfully.

“Great, time for the great bat interrogation,” the twin said with exactly zero enthusiasm.

“Not until Master Damian has been seen to,” Alfred said. Tim could just see the raised eyebrow.

Tim tuned the rest out as those actually in the cave set about the logistics of getting Damian moved to the medbay.

“He can taste fear?” Tim asked incredulously.

“You know as much as the rest of us,” Dick said back.

“Does that make him an empath? He said he’s not Kryptonian, would that make his power suite closer to a Marian? Wait, neither Talia nor Bruce have the meta gene, how’d he even get powers?”

“Maybe he got them from the Lazarus Pits?”

There was a snort in the comms, “Then why didn’t I get powers?”

“Hood? What’re you doing on our comms?” Dick sounded far too delighted.

“I have an alert set up for whenever your chatter stops, it’s always a bad sign.”

“Fair enough, you heading to the cave to meet the demon brat’s long lost twin?”

There was a scoff from Jason, “Of course!”

“Everyone’s headed for the cave,” Oracle said with a tone of defeat.

“Stuck in ops?” Dick asked.

“Well someone has to keep an ear on things while the rest of you get to go have fun.”

“We’ll keep our comms on.”

“You don’t have a choice.”

Tim and Dick both laughed at that. Fortunately they arrived back at the cave at that point, quickly parking their bikes and all but running over to the medbay. Steph was standing just outside the door, clearly keeping an eye on things while Alfred and the twin fussed over Damian. Tim and Dick went to go join Steph at the door, none of them willing to risk Alfred’s wrath should they get in his way. Cass joined them shortly after, all four staring as Alfred finished up what he could do for Damian. The demon brat was laid out on a medical cot, his costume set to the side, down to just the thin layer worn under the armor, mask already removed.

“Leslie has been called, she’ll be here in the morning with the necessary supplies. I’m afraid you will have to remain here until then, Master Damian.”

Damian tsked, but otherwise said nothing.

“And now I do believe we are all owed an explanation.” Alfred turned ever so slightly as his attention turned to Damian’s twin.

Damian responded by struggling in his bed.

“What are you doing, akhi?” the twin asked, clearly exasperated.

“I will be sitting up for this,” Damian snarled.

Without a word Alfred handed Damian the bed’s controls, allowing him to slowly raise himself into a reclined sitting position. Alfred raised a brow as if to ask if that would do, Damian only glowered at the wall.

The twin started pulling his domino off. Damian tsked yet again and handed his twin a wipe to help pull the mask off. “Ancients,” the twin said, which Dick mouthed in confusion, “you lot sure do love your theming. And I thought the ghosts had it bad.”

“Ghosts?” Tim mouthed, exchanging quick, confused glances with Dick.

“So yeah, hi. I’m Danny, Damian’s long lost twin.” The twin, now known as Danny, said with a little wave after he got the domino off. And there was no denying that he was Damian’s twin, he had Damian’s face in every feature save his eyes. While Damian clearly had Talia’s eyes, Danny’s were all Bruce.

“Everyone, this is my brother, Danyal Al Ghul Wayne.”

“Legally not my name anymore.”

“Legally?” Tim asked.

“Yeah, I got adopted!” Danny grinned again, all sunshine and cheer that was so wrong when he had Damian’s face.

Tim snorted, Bruce’s kid had been adopted. Oh things just got complicated but the irony of Brucie being on the other end of a kid getting adopted was still a fun kind of irony. Or maybe Tim had gotten to the everything-is-hilarious stage of sleep depravation.

“So what is your legal name?” Dick asked.

“Um… I’m not sure I should tell you that.” Danny fidgeted nervously. “Not yet anyway. I mean, Bruce… uh… our father? Isn’t here and like… shouldn’t he be told? Too? Or first? Honestly I’d rather just be able to tell everyone at the same time rather than having to go over the whole thing every time someone new walks in the door.”

As if he had timed it to happen that way, Jason came roaring into the cave on his bike. There was a collective sigh as everyone crowding around the outside of the door knew they’d have to wait for Jason to get there before things could continue, even if he had been listening in along with Oracle on his way in.

Danny’s face lit up as Jason, still wearing his full Red Hood gear, came into view. He whooped and threw both hands in the air as he ran out the door, somehow not even touching any of the vigilantes crowded in the way.

Jason stopped dead, his own hands raised up halfway in front of him as if unsure what to do. Danny just slapped both of Jason’s with his own in a kind of low five, then bounced excitedly in place. “Undead solidarity, yeah!”

“Uh… what?” Jason’s modulated voice asked in its usual monotone.

“I’ve been dying to meet you!”

“Heh, have you? Were you dead set on meeting the best?”

Damian groaned, “Stop encouraging Danyal’s insipid sense of humor.”

“Yeah, you’re the best!” Danny continued as if Damian hadn’t said a thing, “My favorite new brother!”

Dick gasped and clutched his chest.

Jason pointed at him and laughed as he slung an arm over Danny’s shoulders. “I see you are a kid of taste. How do you feel about Jane Austen.”

Danny winced, “My dude, I’m a guy in high school.”

“And so was I once, but we can’t all have my impeccable taste.” He started walking Danny back over to the medbay. “Anyway, Bruce shouldn’t be back until tomorrow afternoon, we really going to wait that long for the whole story?”

Danny winced, then cursed quietly under his breath. “We’ll have to, something just came up.”

Everyone frowned at that, “What do you mean?” Damian asked.

“The real deal got into a fight and uh… they’re pretty strong. I think I’m gonna need to recombine.”

“What?” Jason said, it was hard to tell if the flatness was his own voice or the modulator.

“Oh uh… I’m a… what’s that word again… doppelganger! That’s it. The main body’s back home and,” he winced again, a bruise blooming across his cheek in real time. No, in double time, it was like watching a time lapse of a bruise blooming and slowly starting to heal. “Look, having my attention and powers split like this is normally fine, a good way to keep my powers in check for fighting normal humans actually. But uh… let’s see… I think I’m fighting Plasmius?”

“We don’t know who that is,” Damian said with a sigh. “He keeps saying names of people or things like I’ll know what it means.”

“It means I can’t afford to have my attention and powers split over two bodies, so I’m about to poof. Sorry. But I’ll be back tomorrow, summon me after school Dami?”

“Summon?” Everyone but the twins asked in confusion.

“Of course, Danyal. Good luck fighting your rogue.”

“I think the fruit loop counts as my arch nemesis, unfortunately. But I gotta sorta slide back, can’t have all of tonight’s memories and my half of the power hit me all at once. This might look a little freaky, but it’s normal and I’m fine I promise.”

Jason unslung his arm from Danny’s shoulder and took a step to the side. They all gawked as Danny closed his eyes and breathed out slowly, his breath frosting in what should be warm air. His face, the only part of him not covered by the Robin costume, started to go invisible at the same time his skin and hair started to gray. Then he was gone and the costume was left behind, slumping to the floor in a pile.

Everyone stood there for a moment, staring at the colorful pile of armor, then they all turned to look at Damian.

“TT, don’t ask me. I still don’t have a full list of everything he can do.”

---

Tim, along with everyone else, was at the manor the next afternoon. And he did mean everyone, even Kate, Harper, and Cullen were there. Hell, even Jason was there, on time no less. Damian had put “17:30 sharp” in the family (minus Bruce) chat and they knew he meant it. They were crowded into one of the larger sitting rooms, every chair filled save a chaise lounge that had been reserved for Damian. The boy of the hour arrived right on time, with five minutes leeway to set everything up.

“So tell me again who you want to introduce us to, chum?” Bruce asked as he followed behind Damian. Alfred brought up the rear, a plate of fresh cookies in hand.

“I haven't told you yet, Father. Have some patience, it will all make sense soon.” Damian settled on the lounge, setting his crutches to lean against it before pulling something out of his pocket. It was a small metal container, he popped it open and pulled out what appeared to be a bright green handkerchief. Very bright green, possible letting off light, neon toxic green. Duke made a soft surprised sound. Damian spread the cloth out on the coffee table in front of him and smoothed it out.

“Damian,” Bruce said carefully, “what is that?”

“A summoning circle, obviously.”

Wait, Danny was serious about being summoned?

“Can… can you even summon living people?” Dick leaned over from where he was perched on the couch’s arm to whisper to Cass, who was perched behind Tim on the couch’s back. Tim and Cass both shrugged.

“Damian, dealing with the occult is very dangerous.”

“It’s quite safe, Father.” Damian pointed down at the white markings on the handkerchief, “Since all the sigils are on here permanently there is no chance of making a mistake drawing them by hand. This group here is his name, this circle can summon one person and one person only. The rest of these are for protection. And this spot here,” Damian tapped on a small circle within the outer ring, “is to activate it. It does require a single drop of blood, it was the safest way to make the circle.”

“Blood?” Bruce asked flatly.

“It will make sense when I call him, do you trust me?”

“I’m not sure I trust whoever this “him” is,” Bruce grumbled.

“But do you trust me, Father?”

Bruce sighed, “You promise whoever this is means us no harm?”

“Of course, I promise.”

“I met the young man last night,” Alfred said as he placed the plate of cookies in the circle. “I found him to be polite and sincere.”

“So this is to do with whatever happened last night that I can’t get any of you to tell me about?”

“We want to explain it ourselves,” Damian said firmly. Then he pulled out a batarang and carefully poked a finger. “Blood of my blood, I call forth the spirit of my brother, Danyal.” He touched the drop of blood to the handkerchief, which lit up as the air around them shifted. 

A figure began floating up from the circle, glowing white hair that waved as if they were under water, ashen skin, glowing Lazarus green eyes, a wide smile filled with sharp fangs. This… this wasn’t Danny, was this? The figure seemed to be wearing some kind of black jumpsuit, white gloves picking up the plate of cookies as they passed through the plate. They had no legs, after the belt the body just continued in a long tapering tail that ended like whisps of smoke. They were glowing, they were slightly see through! What was going on?

This wasn’t the boy they’d met last night.

“Father, my brother. Danyal, our father.” Damian paused, then added on, “And the rest of our family.”

“Hi,” the figure chirped, then seemed to shrink into himself as he looked around. “I uh… prefer to be called Danny. The only people who full name me are usually trying to kill me. Or send me to detention.”

That was Damian’s, or rather Danny’s voice alright. Even still had the faint midwestern drawal.

“Why do you look so different?” Dick asked in shock.

“It’s… a long story. Which I’m supposed to tell everyone.” Danny shrunk further into himself, looking miserable. “Please stop being so scared.”

“They are simply adjusting to your unfamiliar form, they will get over it,” Damian said firmly, glaring at everyone in the room.

“It’s not just fear, Dami, they’re horrified.”

“Sit down, eat your cookies. Alfred worked hard on those.” Damian patted the empty space next to him on the chaise lounge. 

Danny turned and spun in place to sit down, looked down at where his tail was curled up under him, made a sour face, then the tail was suddenly replaced by a pair of legs tucked under him. He shoved a cookie into his mouth, now sporting normal teeth from what little Tim could see. “S’good,” Danny slurred, glancing over at Alfred who merely nodded his approval.

“Some time ago,” Damian started, as if that wasn’t the most vague way to start, “I summoned Danyal the first time. I am aware it was foolish, I will not hear about it.”

“I called him dumb already,” Danny added in. “I mean, I had to go find someone to explain how the circles work and what makes them safe or dangerous first, but yeah, I called him dumb. Then I had some friends help me make this,” Danny reached over and tapped the handkerchief, “then I went to three trusted uh… mentors? I guess I’d call them? And made sure with each of them this thing is legit before giving it to Dami.”

Bruce hadn’t moved, still standing in front of the coffee table, slack jawed, staring blankly down at Danny and Damian.

“Is he okay?” Danny stage whispered to Damian.

“Perhaps keeping it a surprise was not the optimal option.”

That seemed to snap Bruce out of it, “I think I need to sit down.”

Dick hopped up to guide Bruce to the nearest open seat, which happened to be the chaise lounge. Danny quickly flew up and moved to float cross legged in the air just on the other side of Damian, as if he were sitting in some invisible chair. He munched another cookie before offering the plate to Damian, who took a cookie for himself.

Once Bruce and Dick had settled back down, Damian decided to continue the story. “More recently I needed to do a covert investigation, but I couldn’t allow any of you know.”

“You what?” Bruce asked, clearly upset.

“I know, he still hasn’t even told me what it was. And I had to cover for him!” Danny sounded so offended.

“I had Danyal take my place in patrol while I was away.”

“When?” Bruce asked, voice dipping down as he leveled a steely glare at Damian.

“You never noticed, I think that speaks for itself. So as a test-”

Cass and Tim bumped fists.

“-Danyal has been joining us on patrols for the last twelve days.”

“Almost made it the full two weeks too,” Danny said airily. “That reminds me, you owe me fifty bucks.”

“What? No!” Damian shot back angrily. “They found out before the two weeks were up, clearly I won that bet and you owe me!”

“They didn’t figure it out, that part of the bet is a draw at best for you. No, the fifty is because you’re the reason they found out. It seems awfully suspicious you got into some kind of accident right before the deadline, how did you break your leg again?”

“I did not break my leg on purpose just to win a meaningless bet!”

“Okay, both of you need to calm down,” Bruce said, looking unsure if he needed to step between the two squabbling boys. “You… had a bet?”

“I bet fifty bucks I wouldn’t give myself away before the two weeks were up, Damian bet fifty bucks you’d figure me out before two weeks. And they didn’t figure it out.” Danny turned to glare at Damian as he said that last part.

“Fine,” Damian conceded with a pout. “I shall venmo you your winnings.”

The ghost floating in front of them has a venmo. The ghost floating in front of them has a use for US currency. What is going on? Is Tim hallucinating?

Damian’s pout deepened, “I am still disappointed in you all for not noticing a whole extra person joining our patrols.”

“In my defense, I don’t patrol with you guys,” Duke joked.

“In our defense, we were suspicious,” Tim added.

Bruce sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Damian, we had no way of even expecting you to switch places with your long lost dead twin.” Bruce paused, then looked over at Danny. “How did you pull that off? No offense Danny, but you are very easy to tell apart right now.”

“Oh, that’s because I can do this.” A bright flash of light washed over Danny, changing him back to the boy Tim had met the night before, only wearing baggy casual clothes instead of brightly colored armor.

Duke yelped and covered his eyes, “A little more warning next time? Damn, that was bright!”

“Oops, sorry.”

“Oh thank god, I was so worried,” Steph murmured from next to Tim.

“Well that was flashy,” Dick said.

Bruce seemed broken again, staring at the now living, black haired, blue eyed boy sitting cross legged in the air next to Damian.

“Okay, so what the fuck was all that?” Jason asked, motioning to Danny. “Are you dead or aren’t you? Because you don’t look dead right now.”

“Neither do you,” Danny snarked back.

“I’m not dead though.”

“You sure?”

“Not anymore,” Jason said stubbornly.

“No one ever comes all the way back, not anyone who was dead dead.”

“Please stop,” Bruce begged. Dick whimpered in agreement.

Danny ducked into his shoulders again, grinning sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“Since it would be inconvenient for Robin to be missing at the same time I have a broken leg,” Damian said as a clear subject change, “and we have a perfect stand in who’s already proven himself in the field, Danyal has kindly offered to cover for me for the next few nights.”

“I managed to soup Plasmius last night, so that gives me two, three days max of not having to worry about his schemes. My friends can cover for me during the night so long as I’m still back home during the day. Unless a rabid ancient show up, anyway.”

“What does any of that even mean?” Tim begged.

“We could use some context,” Dick added.

“Right, I guess this is when the life story portion starts,” Danny said with a sigh.

“Perhaps you would prefer to talk over dinner?” Alfred asked from the room’s doorway.

“Dinner sounds great!” Danny cheered as he hopped to his feet, now firmly on the floor. “I’m not sure talking about dying and coming back is the best dinner conversation though,” Danny said absently as he and Bruce helped Damian to his feet.

“Alfred usually has a strict no work talk at the dinner table rule,” Tim teased.

“I think he can make an exception for someone’s life story,” Duke laughed. There were several murmurs of agreement.

“Alright, well I guess we can start with the first time I died,” Danny said as the group slowly filed out of the sitting room and towards the dining room.

[rubydubydoo122]

As much as I hate to say it, and as much as I love Jason ToddI'm gonna need DC to kill him again, and keep him dead this time.

Now before you come at me, let me explain why I think this. Jason Todd is a character that while alive will always be connected to Gotham, and because of his differing morals with Batman, he will always be in a cycle of conflict with him. We saw it in UTRH, we saw it in RHATO, we saw it in Gotham Wars. Because Jason isn't a villain (I feel like in UTRH he was an anti-hero, and any actions that didn't align with the morals he set during that time is because he was villainized by Batman) Bruce's actions feel overtly brutal (batarang to the neck, beating him so har his helmet broke, chemically altering him to feel fear) especially since it's towards his SON the one he claims to have mourned. It's a vicious cycle that isn't fair to Jason, and it's major character assassination of Bruce. It's overdone and I am sick and tired of it, but I do not see either characters backing down from their moral stances.

Now you might be thinking, just because Bruce and Jason don't get along doesn't mean they can't make up-- they've tried. Multiple time. Every time Jason and Bruce take a step in the direction of being close to each other again, Bruce becomes a control freak and abuses Jason like he's his own personal punching bag, and there's only so many times someone can forgive someone before enough is enough.

But I still haven't explained why specifically I think Jason should die again. And it's because of two reasons. Jason deserves peace, and as long as he's a ghost walking on earth, he won't be able to get that. Also because it would make Great Angst. We all know Bruce would break if he lost Jason again. He's going to push everyone away, and if you're going to have Bruce push everyone away, give him consequences for his actions.but we saw how protective Dick got during Gotham Wars. Just imagine Dick walking up towards Bruce and saying, "It might've been my fault last time for not picking up his calls, but this time, you can't deny that this, is all your fault." "How dare you! He was my son!" "You lost him once, and when he came back you treated him worse than any of the loonies in Arkham. You don't miss him at all. You only feel guilty because of your goddamned savior complex. You only treat him like your son when he's dead."

and while we're at it, maybe Tim can have a complete crisis. He had to pick up the pieces of Bruce in the aftermath of Jason's death last time, and look where that got him. All of his friends and family died. He was never truly recognized for guiding Bruce out of the dark, and we all know that Tim is one inconvenience from killing a bitch. Maybe this is it. I actually think it would be hilarious for Tim to take up the Red Hood mantle, Only to screw with Bruce. Because he knows that's what Jason would've wanted.

Have Damian afraid of what Bruce has become in guilt. Have Damians castle of worship for his father come tumbling down, because Damian always knew his father loved all of the previous Robins more than him, and if his father no longer wanted them, what was stopping Bruce from sending him back to the League.

Like DC if you're going to use Jason as a catalyst for an event, kill him off again. last time it was on a whim. This time, do it on purpose. This time, give his death a purpose. This time, make sure his death changes something, because god, Bruce has fucked up so much.

[devine-fem]

what got you into batjokes and what draws you to them as a pairing?

oh my GOD A BATJOKES ASK. anyway. it was telltale batman. like even lego batman was too silly for me to even care and out of every version of batjokes, i think lego batman falls flat for me. WHEN I FOUND TELLTALE BATMAN IT CHANGED MY LIFE. when i played that game it was the catalyst for my love for dc. ive never seen more tragic gay people in my life. in telltale instead of the joker being a maniac, it goes off of that idea that he doesn't have a backstory and basically his role is switched with harley. harley is the joker and joker is more harley, including the obsessive love and abusive tendencies. joker is likable guy, hes actually just genuinely mentally ill with a few identifiable illnesses. when he gets nervous, he laughs, he doesnt like to be blamed for things, hes sometimes irrational and jumps to conclusions but theres moments where hes just trying to do some good even though hes not taken seriously. its somewhat relatable even. if you pick a curtain route you get a curtain ending which entails that bruce tries so hard to make the joker something hes not. just the fact that he tries SO hard to keep his code while having joker has basically a glorified robin. theres so many basic romance tropes and honestly, i argue that they were genuinely in love with each other in that game because if you reject selina you get scenes with joker instead and the game dev comfirmed that joker is bi in the game and batman's whatever you make him. watching their relationships and the concepts of their character clash in such a tragic way and then the ending where it all was just like..." whyd we even do this, it was bound to blow up like this... " like they had to prove something to themselves which brought both of them down in the most tragic way. WHEN I

TELL YOU I CRIED LIKE A BABY at the end of the game thinking about bruce and jokers relationship and how fucking SADD it was. my friends actually LAUGHED at me cause i cried literally nine times that night and i dont cry at games but something about that really grabbed me in and PULLED on my heart so bad. from then i went on a rampage researching anything batman and joker related and realized their relationship has always been homoerotic like this. something about the villian x anti hero trope really pulled me in. even though i hate this trope, fanon batjokes was something else entirely. just the idea of having someone be made to be your opposite. their constant dance and twisted love for each other I UGHHHH the desperation of it all, the drama, how much theyre willing to twist their words and beliefs, EVEN betraying the people theyre close to just for the other. oh other ships PALE in comparison to batjokes and toxic codependency and it saddens me how dead it is because its my second favorite ship under jondami. wish there was more content because its a REALLY good ship. and im very normal about them btw ugh thank you for the ask, i need this lowkey

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes.

BNHA

bloody, but unbowed by redrobin1989

“I’m sure you all have a cause that means something to you, something you want to help change." Aizawa said, addressing the class. "For the next few days, I want you to think about what it is you believe in and do a short presentation for the class on Friday."

It's Advocacy Week for Yuuei's hero students and it gives Midoriya Izuku a lot to think about about what kind of hero he wants Deku to be.

DC (Batfamily)

The Fishbowl by LordLuxury

Dick’s goal for Thanksgiving (code named Operation F.I.S.H.): A family outing to the aquarium.

It feels achievable - everyone has been getting along better lately, Jason is spiraling closer, Cass is coming home. But there is a lot of unspoken hurt in every direction, and Dick’s own position in the family is shakier than ever since Bruce returned.

If Dick wants to realize his dream of family bonding, there will have to be many painful conversations between all parties. Dick’s own secrets will need to surface, the ones he has long kept submerged, the ones he will fight to sink forever.

(Or: Where Bruce is just a bit darker, even less emotionally available, and treats everyone a little worse, and how they all fix their family anyway.)

family helps family by RedHoodie19

Tim never learned how to swim.

Being slung over Red Hood’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes as the crime lord walked toward the Gotham docks seemed like a good time to learn, though.

Whumptober 2021 prompt #11 - drowning.

Stranger Things

The One in Which a Time Loop is Fucking Exhausting. by badpancake

It’s the first time in a while that he doesn’t know what comes next. He’s dove into the water hundreds of times. Screamed as his flesh was torn apart, heard Master of Puppets in the distance and held back tears. Felt Max’s cold, small hand in his as she laid in the hospital bed. There are things that always happen, no matter how hard he tries: El doesn’t arrive in time. Eddie dies. Max is put in a coma.

Steve fails. They lose.

“Steve, how many loops have you been through?”

His head is nodding, and his eyes are watery, and Eddie has approached him like a spooked animal.

“I lost count.”

AKA: The one where Steve Harrington is stuck in a time loop, and Eddie Munson is really fucking hard to save, or: fuck Volume 2, these bitches are in love.

it's his party (and i'll fall if i want to) by formosus_iniquis

“Who invited us to this party anyway?”

"Well I invited you," the ‘you should know this already dingus’ hangs in the air, not needing to even be said, "and Steve invited me."

"Steve?" She nods, but even death couldn't stop him now,

"Harrington? Steve Harrington? King Steve? Steve "the Hair" Harrington? Steve "Big House, No Parents" Harrington? Steve "Sex God" Harrington?"

"I am certain you made at least those last two up. Yes, Steve "Lady Killer" Harrington invited me to his party."

"Are we about to be Carrie'd?"

hometown blues by pukner

The quarantine over a Post-Vecna Hawkins has been provisionally lifted, allowing family to come home and visit those who didn't leave even after the world got cracked open.

Which is how Gareth Emerson keeps running into Steve Fucking Harrington and hearing a dead man on the radio. Dorothea Harrington comes home only to find her house filled with strangers and aforementioned dead man. And Vickie Summers is getting swept off her feet by Robin Buckley.

Meanwhile, Steve and Eddie continue to be the Most Insufferable Couple In Hawkins.

the secret i have learned by Crykea

It takes some new additions to the party for the gang to realize that something has been off with Steve for quite a while now. They help him together and, in doing so, strengthen themselves as a family. Steve lets himself be cared for, remembers important people from his past, and finally allows himself to move on in some of the ways he never thought he could.

[khionefr0st]

I am exhausted of people like this, so just let me rant here for a bit because this is such a bad faith way to put Tim's very valid trauma and also very conveniently attributing this to DC somehow pushing a Tim agenda instead of his actual character neglect.

Tim did not "replace" Damian's solo. Tim got a solo after over a decade, during which Damian got several series with Robin as a main character, and Damian is very much still in an on-going series where he is the protagonist.

Tim is fucking possessed in this scene. He didn't even want to say all that shit, and even if he did? he STILL has a right to be hurt after everything he went through. His dad was gone, Robin was taken away from him by the same kid who tried to kill him multiple times for it, and he was also still a kid who was hurting but the people he was closest to were either dead or didn't know how to give him what he needed to the point that he had to look for it in the worst of places. To make him out to be the bad guy when he was clearly going through all that pain he wasn't even planning on bringing up? Honestly, piss off.

3. The reason Tim's Robin now is because he is so woefully underdeveloped. Had he been getting solos or more Tim-centric comics over the years, he would definitely be Red Robin.

To make Tim the enemy is so fucking pointless, and god do I say that as a Damian stan as well. We are not fighting on opposite sides here. Tim fans want Tim developed as his own hero as much as Damian fans want Damian back as Robin. Many Tim fans even acknowledge that making him Robin again is a detriment to his character.

And yes, Damian's writing is still racist. It still needs improvement. He still needs new character conflicts besides having to prove himself repeatedly to Bruce because of his upbringing in a brown household. Acknowledging Tim's own shitty character development doesn't mean those things aren't true because they are not. mutually. exclusive.

This is all so stupid because we all want the same thing. So stop pointing fingers at Tim and start setting shit on fire at DC editorial. That's all.

[zeroducks-2]

Zero, I need to rant about DC's mistreatment of my son.

Why can't Tim craft his own identity outside of Robin and Batman? Every other member in the Batfamily (not Damian just yet but idk if DC wants to do that considering all their writers are pushing for him to be either Ra's Heir or Batman's heir) who has been Robin is has distanced their new heroic identity away from their time as Robin.

For whatever reasons, the writers seem to be allergic to Tim growing as a character and stepping away from his identity of Robin. They couldn't even give him an original NAME. WTF IS RED ROBIN?? I'm so pressed about it because a alias is so important and unique to the hero and mostly tied to the core of their character, origin, or development.

Bruce chose Batman because he feared bats, and he wanted to be the fear that scared straight the criminals of Gotham.

Dick chose Robin because it was a way to carry on his parent's memory and legacy, and Nightwing was chosen due to Superman (Someone who Dick looks up to) telling Dick about the Kryptonian myth of Nightwing and Flamebird.

Clark got his superman alias from his father, one of the only parting gifts he has from him.

So Timmy, my dude, wtf is Red Robin about? I feel like it's such a cop out to him as a character. Like, we get why Robin was so important to him due to him being a freaky little lonely fanboy. But during his Robin run, he grew so so so much. Why would the DC Writers not let his growth show? Why also reduce and retie his identity to Robin?

Tim is known to be a great detective, it's one of his shining marks as a Batman protegee. Ra's al Ghul even states that Tim is a better detective than The Batman himself. Hell, when Tim was 14 he discovered that Dick was Nightwing and Robin, because his freaky loner obsession and past trauma of witnessing the flying Grayson's murder made him connect the dots when Dick was flipping and doing acrobatic feats that no one but an extremely skilled and gifted acrobat could do (Tricks that have only been successfully done by a fucking FLYING GRAYSON - note how silly and girlie pop Dick was for that one).

Like, fr DC, why not tie Tim's new identity with his amazing detective skills?

Honestly, I think DC could have taken some inspiration from an Edgar Allan Poe character and given Tim a detective-associated. Because, Poe's character C. Auguste Dupin, is literally the first ever detective we see in fiction and the backbone of how so many other detective character's created.

Like a name that inspired from the first ever detective himself would be so damn cool. And it would tie into Tim's origin as I'm pretty sure Tim is the first person who actually discovered Dick and Bruce's identities with just his raw and untrained detective skills. So a name like New August would be so damn cool.

Or hell, if DC didn't want to be even that level of creativity into his name and stick with the bird theme (because we all remember the Drake incident so well). Nightingale would be a cool (given not so original) name unless they wanted to spell it like Knightingale. They're one of the few birds who hunt at night, and it could also be a call back to the nurse Florence Nightingale who was a badass and known for the Nightingale theory of nursing:

"A nurse must use her brain, heart and hands to create healing environments"

AS IF that could translate into the hero world. Mister-Dropped-Out-Of-Med-School-Bruce-Wayne is foaming at the mouth.

To conclude, fuck DC and fuck them for doing my TimTam dirty. Let him be his own man :/

I don't agree with all of this but Tim does deserve better that's true. He's sort of stuck in limbo and his growth should have happened a long time ago tbh.

He could have been Flamebird like Dick is Nightwing to name one. Dick has always been his inspiration. Maybe Red Robin for a time (since back then he and Dick had grown apart), and then Flamebird after they reconciled.

It's sad because some of the main things with Tim are that love for him is conditional because of his shitty parents, and that he has a hard time crafting his own identity, and DC doesn't let him grow out of any of this and keeps using him as a chew toy. It's sad.

(and no being queer isn't character development)

[azol-otl]

While I know that Jason interacts with Harvey Dent in Task Force Z and that he had arcs with Black Mask and Penguin in rhato, I wish that dc would explore what he thinks of these men more thoroughly and with respect or at least references to his pre-flashpoint history with them.

Because one of Jason’s big points for why killing would be the better option is the amount of bodies afterwards is not? Why are the lives of innocents worth less than their murderers or their hypothetical redemption?

Jason saved Black Mask’s life as Robin. He is the reason Sionis was alive to do everything he did. It would be so interesting to see that fact eat Jason up inside. That because he saved this man’s life, Sionis was able to become someone that ruins lives whether they be his clientele (which Catherine would have been) or his workers (which Willis would have been).  Sionis is basically one of the biggest threats to kids like Jason was, but also one of the biggest threats to Park Row and from what we’ve seen he’s made himself a pillar of Gotham’s underworld, meaning that he can’t just be killed because the fallout would be catastrophic.

With Penguin, well the story was retconned and will never be touched again because it paints Bruce is a negative light, but back in the day he used to just be a jewel thief. None of this organized crime business he mostly stole stuff. And at one point he actually tried to go straight. And Bruce didn’t believe him despite Jason arguing that Penguin was genuinely turning a new leaf. Instead he gets thrown into jail and it’s kind of fucked up in the way comics are and after Jason’s death he along with several other rogues end up taking a level in depravity and competence. So we could honestly have this be Penguin’s “Then Let Me Be Evil” point. We could have him be both a reason why Bruce hangs so hard onto redemption (because he didn’t believe someone before and they came out worse) but also as a symbol to Jason about how the system doesn’t work and was never designed to work. Because Penguin came out worse and for a long time basically flaunts the fact that he’s a criminal with a thin veneer of legality that works because of his money.

And with Harvey, well. Harvey is Bruce’s friend. A very close friend that Bruce should remember every time they are clashing. Bruce remembers Harvey Dent the district attorney. He remembers a good person. Not only that but Harvey’s been pretty consistent in the fact that he very much needs help. He’s had a couple of arcs across different media where he is ‘cured’ (which is its own can of worms)  and how in the end it didn’t matter because he became Two-Face again. And this should infuriate Jason because Harvey murdered Willis. Harvey is one of the reasons Jason’s life sucked so much! Without Willis he and Catherine didn’t have enough money to survive! Even if Jason didn’t like Willis or if the abuse retcons stick, he knows that without Willis they couldn’t survive. And Harvey had him killed! Harvey should be Bruce’s longshot, the man Bruce never gives up on, and he should be a symbol of Bruce’s selfishness to Jason because how many people ended up the same as him because of Harvey.

(Side Note: I love how when Jason says “Only him” referring to the Joker, he brings up Harvey who caused a lot of grief, Penguin who got worse in the system, and Crane who doesn’t even see people as people. Like these guys are obviously not good and Jason’s like, “Not even these horrible people causing suffering, just the clown.”)

On the other side I want to see Jason interact with Killer Croc and Ivy as well. 

Croc’s one of those characters who’s actually been treated pretty nicely after flashpoint and while that is wild it could also be used. We know he has chilled out since his debut (though is he still a cannibal? I’m really not sure). He’s canonically Roy’s AA sponsor (which again, wild as shit. But even with how Roy’s been handled I love the idea that he was at such a low point he was trying to commit “Suicide by Croc” which honestly feels like something vigilantes do (continue to fight with little care to themselves and hope someone takes them out in a way they’d still be viewed as a hero for)). He has been drafted into the Suicide Squad (which again, another way to show that the system doesn’t work because good lord is Task Force X so many human right violations [but also something I can see the actual U.S. government doing]). So he’s killed a ton of people but he’s also pretty much “Out of my territory and you’re fine”, saved someone close to Jason, and generally not in Jason’s way. Like how would Croc file into Jason’s morality? Does it even matter? 

And with Ivy, well... She’s right. Corporations are absolutely destroying the planet, and if anything Gotham’s like one of the worst at it considering all the weird chemicals and shit. Like the way Ivy goes about it is both wrong and absurdly incompetent, but she has the right idea. No Man’s Land has been retconned but the event was kind of Ivy’s first steps into anti-villain as far as I’m aware of (until Harley Quinn exploded in popularity and just absorbed her into her sphere). How does Jason act with someone who does bad shit but if reigned back a little, would cause way more good than bad in the long run. Or does he only care about the ‘right now’?

Uhhh, this was really long and consists of mostly word vomit but tldr; Jason should interact with the rogues besides the clowns and everyone adjacent to them because they either tie into his morals or history and that’d be cool.

[sardonic-sprite]

Helloooooooooooooooooooooooo. It was Timmy's bday yesterday! So here's a question:

What do you think are some things about Tim that Jason is fond of ?

Also, what are some of your favorite things about Tim??

(you can answer either or both or neither upto you!)

Happy Birthday to my baby boy Timmy! 🎂🎉🥳

Oooh, interesting questions.

Jason: I think Jason would have a fondness for Tim’s geekiness because it often complements his own nerdiness quite nicely. He's fondly EXASPERATED by Tim’s pitiful physical/mental self-care habits, and he'd never admit it, but taking care of Tim makes him feel useful and proud -- it's proof he can still heal, he's not reduced to harm. He secretly admires Tim's strength of will. This kid figures out what's necessary and come hell or high water he does that thing, from becoming Robin to NOT becoming a supervillain. Jason's made peace with his own moral code by now, but I don't think that stops him from wondering who he'd be if he were more like Tim, or who Tim would have become if put through Jason's experiences. Jason is fond of watching Tim interact with Damian because the mix of catty rivalry, roundabout empathy, and ferocious love is something Jason's sure Tim learned from HIM, not Dick. But most of all, I think Jason's fond of Tim's forgiving heart. He will never really understand it, and sometimes he can't help but call it naive, but the way Tim can look Jason in the eyes and tell him "I forgive you. I love you" even after everything Jason did to him... It might just be the most undeserved and yet most treasured gift Jason's ever been given.

Me: My favorite thing about Tim Drake is how much I can torture him 😁👍

Ok, I'm mostly kidding. Tim Drake... is complex and interesting. He contains multitudes. There's fanon and canon, and different writers' fanon and canon. Who the fuck is Tim Drake, like, actually?

As I understand it, DC designed him to be the Everyman Robin. As fic writers, we take certain details and hints and blow them up for that sweet sweet angst, but at least in the beginning of "Tim Drake" he actually was a pretty normal, albeit genius, kid. And as much as I enjoy making his early life hell, I want to actually celebrate the Everyman origins today.

Because here's the thing. Not many of us are orphaned circus performers. I hope and pray not many of us have fended for our own lives homeless on dangerous streets at young ages. I highly doubt we've had to go to war against our own fathers, and I'm pretty damn sure none of us have been raised by immortal megalomaniacs in assassin cults.

But being raised by two working parents and sometimes a nanny in a stable household, balancing extracurriculars and grades? Yeah. A lot of people, at least in what I assume was the target demographic for Tim's comics when he was created, can relate to that.

And that's what I love about Tim. He's so normal, a self-insert for the handwavy general reader, AND YET.

He becomes a superhero.

He didn't even set out to. All he set out to do was give the other heroes pep talks and a reinstated sense of purpose. But when that wasn't enough, when the heroes weren't strong enough, this little everyman boy decides that he's going to do it, and then he DOES.

Not for glory. Not for vanity. Not for his own sense of purpose. Just because it's needed. Just because he wants to help make his world a little less broken.

I love Tim Drake because he is proof that you don't need to be great to have a great effect on your world.

Are any of us gonna become superheroes? No. Are we gonna lose spleens to supervillains? God, I hope not. But can we look around and decide to roll up our sleeves and care for others, no matter whether the Greats are failing? Yeah. Yeah, I think we can, and if we have the strength, we should.

Tim Drake, at his very core, is just a normal kid who loves others and wants to help them. Even when it's hard. Even when it hurts him.

If he can do it, I can too.

And that is an encouraging thought.

[franollie]

you said you were looking for asks so i thought i'd jump in with: 3 (or 5, whichever you'd prefer) favourite comics ever? if you're feeling fancy, two lists, one in terms of quality of the actual comic, and one in terms of character moments etc

Ok so i'll make a list of my top 10 and say why (i'm also not exclusively doing DC comics but they are the majority):

Batgirl (2000): do i even have to explain this one? the art and visual storytelling makes me ill, the way it explores cass's character through her relationship with established characters like bruce and babs, the way cass is so fucking unhinged, the mother-daughter comparisons with shiva&babs vs the father-daughter comparisons between cain&bruce AASSFHFKSDF. ILL.

The New Teen Titans: this one holds a lot of nostalgia for me because it was one of the first comics I read! They were the first team i really latched onto and by extension the first characters i really felt strongly about. Rereading it as an adult and seeing how it still holds up is soooo incredibly satisfying (dickkory was baby's first otp)

Spinning by Tillie Walden: technically cheating because this is a graphic novel but I'm counting it because it's included under the umbrella of sequential art. it's a autobiographical graphic novel about tillie walden's experience growing up a lesbian in the south (of the US) through their relationship with figure skating. i really relate to it and it's a massive inspiration for me and i think everyone should read it

Impulse (1995): ...i'm audhd...it hits a very special and specific place in my heart...but in all seriousness i love the shape language and the character dynamics. god the cast is soooo fun

Robin & Batman: i love introspection and this whole comic is just Dick Grayson introspection. The way it covers Dick's emotional state post his parents death and how Bruce didn't really know how to help Dick outside of guiding him in channeling his grief into being a vigilante makes me insane...also the alfred characterization in this...the implication that he thinks he made the wrong choice by enabling Bruce and wanting to rectify that by not enabling Dick...

Spider-Gwen (2015): The art and concept is what drew me into this comic. I've been a spiderman fan since I was a little kid and the idea of gwen stacy being the spider person...AND SHE WAS A DANCER.. i was hooked. I love gwen as a character on a meta level and in general; she's my girl

Convergence Batgirl: listen...the implications this comic has about steph and cass's relationship...the "what do my eye's say" scene...lovers. teeny tiny baby run but im still counting it as a comic

...Is it cheating to say Young Justice 98? Imma say Young Justice 98: it was a gateway to me finding a bunch of characters that are now my faves. It shines a spotlight on characters we don't see all that often (like Cissie, Cassie, Anita--girl i miss you) I think about this comic constantly

Tea Dragon Society: another graphic novel! this is a comfort read for me! it's cozy it's sapphic it's a low-stakes

Batman/Huntress Cry for Blood: again this feels like kind of cheating BUT its my list so this is what I'm going with. This was my introduction to Helena and omg the feelings i have about her because of this comic...she makes me bonkers...the things i'd do for this woman

Bonus: JLI (i have not ever finished this one but i've started it many times and i love it i just need to actually finish it)

[on-leatheredwings]

damn..... at least i was smart enough to copy it

--

talia hating you with passion just to slowly warm up to you cus you make her son happy (smth which was considered nearly impossible).... yummy...... 🤤

sadly, i don't can't fully get into comics right now since I'm kinda busy with uni and paperwork but the stuff I've read so far was fun

my only question is WHy there are so many of them?!?? good for the fans ig but how am i supposed to read it without a guide??

I remember picking up some Batman and Robin volume where Batman turned out to be Dick. "is Bruce dead or something?" i thought jokingly.... 😔

Yes. Yes, he was dead, as i quickly found out..... At least now i put more thoughts into what i pick up to read

about btd - if your only problem is the artstyle you may check out The Price of Flesh. it was created by one of btd artists (the one who drew the fox guy) and it's relatively new, so the visuals are way better

no like getting into comics is genuinely so ridiculous and dumb lmao .... like the only way to read them is to go by like... character i guess?

if u wanna read damian, read batman and robin by tomasi and all its related runs, robin 2021 ... to read tim, read a lonely place for dying, robin '91, a lot of 90s batman also has tim as robin but not all-- UGH ITS SO FRUSTRATING.... kinda why i was a cartoons-and-video-games-only girlie back in 2017-2020 like i just need less options/more streamlined progression 😭😭😭😭

there are guides out there BUT OH LORD WHY DO WE EVEN NEED ONE... GUIDES TO READ MANGAS ARE LIKE: START AT CHAPTER 1. :)

AND YEAH NGL I FORGOT BRUCE WAS FR DEAD FOR A SECOND IN THE 2010'S AND DICK WAS BATMAN WHILE DAMIAN WAS ROBIN. LMFAOOO....

and hmmmmm !?!? ill check out tpof :3

something that makes me laugh is how bruce really should be like fucking 60-70 but so he can keep being batman, he's just eternally 40s-very early 50s. i think canonically the timeline from dick > jason > jason DYING > tim > jason COMING BACK > steph's small robin stint > damian > duke/cass is like. 10 years. which is kind of insane considering the decades of content. they would have to undergo these arcs EVERY DAMN DAY FOR THIS TO MAKE SENSE 😭

if dc was brave they'd retire batman and have cass take over while damian does more growing to inherit (altho he shouldn't . imo.) and what the fuck is tim doing

ppl are kinda fine with it but i feel him going robin > red robin > drake > robin is such a lame regression. he should have his own identity. red robin was already too much like robin, but now hes just ROBIN while damian is also robin. which is fine without context, im okay with multiple robins but come on can tim be his own hero now.

so yeah in general i just pick and choose what arcs i wanna read... i was huge into injustice back in the day which was an alternate universe games/comics canon. its rlly simpler living that way 🚬

[zahri-melitor]

Anyway (after summarising all the best bits of all the books) my feelings on Chuck Dixon are just so conflicted. Fortunately for me I am an adult who has gone through “the writer I really enjoy is a Terrible Person and in hindsight some of their views are really weird” enough times by now that I can allow myself to bring nuance to the situation.

Because, it’s Chuck Dixon! If you read 90s and early 2000s Bat comics you’re reading a LOT of Dixon. He wrote some of my favourite characters through my favourite eras for them, and he’s a continuity and crossover king. So, of course I like his material.

He wrote stories I am completely unreasonably in love with. Batgirl: Year One. Brotherhood of the Fist. Nightwing #6, #16, #25, #55-58. Birds of Prey #8. Hunt for Oracle. The three issues immediately after Joker Last Laugh in Robin #96, Nightwing #63 and BoP #32 where Tim and Ted Kord run around in the Bug tidying a lot of loose ends (escaped villains) up. Robin #34, where Tim spends the entire issue ducking Helena at a school Shakespeare in the Park trip. The bit of Legacy in ‘Tec #701 and Robin #33 where Dick, Babs, Helena and Tim team up to take out Talia Al Ghul and the boat of Internet (even as Bruce and Bane have a boring punchup elsewhere).

He’s also a conservative who’s gotten more and more reactionary in his old age and even back in peak mid 90s was writing heavy personal opinions into his work. Don’t do drugs, kids! Don’t have underage sex! You should definitely keep that pregnancy and give the kid up for adoption! Almost all my gang kids are Black! (Also. So many funerals. I cannot spell out how many funerals of kids Tim went to in his run of Robin. Kids got punished by the narrative a lot. We TALK a lot about the Identity Crisis-War Games conflict that had Tim go to Jack Drake, Stephanie Brown and Darla Aquista’s funerals on three consecutive days, but go back to Dixon’s Robin and he’s dealing with another dead classmate ever 10 issues or so for a while there)

But given I’ve just done a strict in order read through from 1989 onwards and I’m up to 2009, it’s notable how much more I started sighing every time I saw Dixon listed as a writer on an issue after 2003 and the end of the Dixon domination era. Some of his stuff after this is still fun but it starts to stand out more as weird when not every second issue I’m reading is written by Dixon. (Have to say though, parts of his 2007 Batman and the Outsiders run were hugely entertaining, even as I side-eyed quite a bit of the characterisation. Well. The parts that involved Francine Langstrom, Salah Miandad, Rex, and the bit with Cass and Tatsu together, generally, were entertaining).

So yeah. Not to stan a guy who in the present day is tied up with Vox fucking Day et al, but wow did a lot of conservatives lose their minds and become a LOT worse as general society trends moved further out of their viewpoint. And Dixon is definitely in that category.

I’d need a very solid reason to pick up anything Dixon has written in the past 10 years (and ‘Robin 80th Anniversary issue’ does count for ‘solid reason’), but he’s 100% worth reading back in his prime Bat days, as long as you’re aware of his little hobbyhorses and ready to roll your eyes when the writer on board opinion gets too obvious. There’s a reason he was writing so much material back then, and it’s not just because he was a reliable writer who could turn around a script on the correct date.

(But also it’s perfectly ok if you never ever let him write another comic, DC, we are all JUST FINE with that)

[evilwickedme]

I’ve been seeing a lot of posts lately about how fanon treats Tim compared to Damian and Jason, which is fine, but they’re looking at it through the lens of “good victims” vs “bad victims” in response to trauma and I don’t think that’s the right way to do it. I don’t think we should be looking at it like that because 1. All three of those characters have trauma and comparing trauma is gross and 2. applying real life psychology to inconsistently written fictional characters feels pointless lol. Damian and Jason are written super inconsistently and trying to tie their characters into one specific framework is borderline impossible lol. Sometimes Jason is written as a good person who has inner demons but other times he’s written as a psychopath who tries to murder his family and gleefully tries to shoot children so I don’t think it’s super productive to label him as one or the other. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Ok I'll be real with you I'm not 100% sure what you're getting at! I think you're saying that Tim is positioned as the good victim and Damian and Jason are positioned as the bad victims, although correct me if I'm wrong.

I definitely have a lot of thoughts when it comes to victimhood and the batfam, especially Jason. I saw a TikTok recently that put something I've thought for a while now into words, which is that Jason - Red Hood - is a victim's power fantasy. Like, Bruce is very much a male power fantasy, and Spider-Man and Captain America are Jewish power fantasies, and Jason is over here with his anger and trauma and it just feels so familiar. I don't relate to Jason the most out of the batfam - I feel like Tim's experiences as a whole are much more relatable to me - but I for sure see myself in that aspect of Jason's character.

I think the dynamic of "bad victim" vs "good victim" is flawed in the first place, and dare I say it - yet another aspect of cultural xtianity that has made it into fandom and our culture at large. Purity culture is based in Christianity, and a natural result of it is the idea that victims must be flawless and well behaved, or they must be at fault.

Honestly we see this in DC's constant rewriting of Jason's Robin days - post UTRH comics, esp post n52 comics, are constantly retconning him into being the angry Robin, a boy who was angry and damaged and no good from the beginning, which of course is not true at all - he was a fucking nerd, for real. He loved school and doing homework and going to museums and he only had two notable cases of violence, one extremely close to his death, and the other is in the first issue of A Death in the Family - you know, the story in which he was killed off. Afai can remember RHatO n52 and rebirth and urban legends: cheer all try to present this - almost as if to make Jason's death less tragic, make it seem inevitable. When Bruce calls Jason "broken" in a hologram in battle for the cowl it's this claim that he was mentally unstable and shouldn't have ever been Robin, something that was only brought up in ADitF.

All of this is DC's attempt to make Jason a "bad victim". Red Hood!Jason is angry not bc of his death traumatizing him, but bc he was always broken. The reality is, the reason Jason's death affected Bruce so much and the reason UTRH was so impactful WAS Jason being such a joyful, trusting child. He wanted so much to belong, to be good, to be magic, and instead he was betrayed by his own mother, brutalized, and then left to die. If there was such a thing as a good victim or a bad victim - which there isn't, because being a victim is a neutral act, and nobody deserves to be traumatized, even if they're the worst person on earth - Jason was absolutely a "good victim". That's the whole fucking point.

I don't know as much about Damian as I do about Jason, but I feel like Damian needs less retconning to be presented as a "bad victim". He's introduced as a violent boy who attacks Tim and doesn't trust anyone and having taken in so many of the LoA's teachings. I think it's insane how much the fandom tends to stick to this early characterization; unlike the situation with Jason, where DC is actively trying to pretend that he's always been rotten, for the most part the actual comics have really let him grow as a person and I'm really looking forward to reading Robin (2021) (I already have vol 1 I just need to like. Get around to it).

The truth is Damian was a deeply traumatized and brainwashed child who needed a supportive environment and Dick really tried to give him that, which was so instrumental in his development. I feel for him so much and it's really saddening to see the way many people treat him in the fandom. At least Jason made the choice to become a villain as an adult. Damian's just a kid, even now, and he'd never been shown another option.

As for Tim - God, I've said this before, but I fucking hate how woobified he's become in fan spaces. Guy's intelligent, sarcastic, independent, and yeah, honestly? Not always been treated the best. His biodad wasn't exactly great. Bruce gaslit him on his birthday and Alfred just went along with it. Dick and him were so close, and then after Bruce "died" everything just fell apart between them. But also like. Idk I feel like people often take his agency and character away from him. Originally Tim was supposed to be the normal kid. Robin was basically a nine to five - he was there to do a job, and he wasn't ever supposed to be part of the family, esp considering how recent Jason's death was when he became Robin. That just sort of... Happened. Dick treated him like a brother from the first, yes, but Bruce didn't treat him like a son, and Tim wasn't looking for a father. I don't remember where I saw this, but somebody pointed out that Tim basically never lived in the manor. I think he feels very deeply for the people he loves, and that's why he was so distant at first from the batfam - he didn't want to create a connection that would be severed eventually anyway when he stopped being Robin (again, was initially supposed to be a temporary gig!). We see this most obviously because he did get attached, and then Kon, Bart, Steph, his dad, and Bruce all died - or "died" - and he low-key lost it. And like...

Okay I've sort of lost the plot, but I guess basically what I'm saying here is that I'm not saying that Tim isn't deeply traumatized himself, but I don't really see the things that traumatized him the most as victimizing. Like... He and his dad were working on rebuilding their relationship, for better or for worse. Before Bruce died, he was doing pretty well as part of the family. He's, unfortunately, back to being Bruce's Robin. So like - what is he a victim of that he's being treated as a good victim? But then you read the most popular Tim centered fics and you're like, oh, okay. So we're just projecting here.

Like, were Jack and Janet drake amazing parents? Again, no, and he expresses extreme frustration with the constant moving and boarding schools and at a certain point jack confiscates his tv and jack forces him to stop being Robin because it's dangerous. But none of this is anywhere close to the abuse that's portrayed in woobified!Tim fics. Like my God, some of that shit is AWFUL. Many of them are extraordinarily well written and deal with the abuse they inflict on Tim extremely well. But it's, at least as far as I can tell, made up. Positioning Tim as a "good victim" is so fucking easy when you're making up the abuse in the first place.

Idk I guess the main problem here is that the idea of good victim and bad victim are ridiculously harmful in the first place, but then there's also just the fact that none of this characterization is based in canon - whether bc of DC's attempts to erase history with Jason, bc character development is routinely ignored with Damian (not to say that it's low-key because of racism, but... It's low-key because of racism), or bc it's straight up made up.

But, again. Y'all. Just do not moralize victimhood. Nobody deserves to be abused or mistreated or fucking murdered (except the joker, bc as I've said before, he has such a high fictional kill count it's like the equivalent of killing a Nazi and I stand by that).

Anyway thanks for asking, sorry for taking a few days I just had to think about it and also apparently write a full scroll of text. I tried to break it up into readable chunks instead of the wall of text I originally wrote it as but it's still just. So long. Anyway much love

[electricprincess96]

God I despise everything about this Jason Todd Red Hood design and I do not understand why DC continue to cling to it like their life depends on it.

It's removed everything that visually made Red Hood stand out as a unique design. Like you can remove one or two of the sort of main elements of Jason's Red Hood design and get away with it but this removes all of them.

He no longer has a helmet, something that was a stable of all Red Hoods not just Jason. We can nitpick the specifics of the Helmet (the Used Tampon Helmet from Grant Morrisons run is a crime against humanity) BUT Red Hood should always have a Helmet.

He no longer has his leather jacket which was sort of what really set Jason's Red Hood apart from the Jokers. Where the Jokers Red Hood looked like a wannabe magician, Jason's looked like a Biker Gang Leader.

They've changed his Bat Symbol to some weird hybrid of the OG Red Hood Symbol and a Bat and it just looks ugly and hasn't caught on, people continue to use the Red Bat to represent Jason's Symbol specifically because it works. There's something poetic and sad about the fact Jason is the black sheep of the family and yet he's the only ex-Robin wearing a Bat Symbol.

And he no longer has his guns. Now people will argue in order to get back in Bruce's good graces he needed to lose the guns. I disagree since losing the guns hasn't got him back in Bruce's good graces and in fact their relationship has been better at previous points in their relationship even when Jason was still using the guns. Bruce works with police officers on a regular basis and had a relationship with Talia who uses guns. Bruce himself doesn't like using guns HOWEVER its the killing that's the real issue, not the guns.

Plus while the crowbar is a hilarious joke once or twice having that be Jason's weapon of choice just proves DC don't know what to do with him beyond continually referencing his death. It's an impractical weapon of choice for a vigilante, it doesn't set him apart from the other Robin's enough and it's just overall not a great choice for Jason's character.

Oh also this design is just ugly. Like I don't find the fucking Mortal Kombat mask to be very visually interesting or appealing, the not-bat Symbol is weirdly ugly to me and I hate the fact the sleevless jacket thing he's wearing looks like he found it on the streets. Like how did Jason go from being one of the most armoured up members of the Bat Fam to looking like he's just walked out the local gym and shoved a mask on? Like the whole design looks weak and flimsy is arguably the main issue.

And I don't know why it needed changing when THIS is what he had before and it was already perfect. Like sure I have major issues with some of the storylines during the Rebirth run HOWEVER this design which is just a cleaner more streamlined version of his New 52 design was already perfect. This is to Red Hood what the current Nightwing costume is to Nightwing, it is the definitive design. When I think of Jason Todd's Red Hood this is what I think and I know many people agree with me cause this is the version that often gets adapted by fans in fan works.

Basically I don't actually have a point to this post I just really wanted to complain about the Mortal Kombat Jason design since it makes me visibly annoyed whenever I see it.

[dukeaubergine]

Thinking about how I’ve repeatedly written fics that tackle the Dick-taking-Robin-from-Tim debacle, and what I keep chewing on there, and how a lot of other fanfics that tackle it so often fall short for me (many of them very good fics).

DC was blatantly trying to shoehorn several characters into specific roles and plot paths at that time, and did not do so gracefully. They left a lot of things unsaid, skipped over, probably because a lot of this was contradictory to earlier established characterizations, and detail might’ve invited nitpicking (nevermind that fans prodded at the OOC’ness anyway).

One of the nonexistent scenes is Dick talking to Tim about his decision to take the Robin mantle from Tim and give it to Damian. We aren’t shown Dick’s reasoning (at least beforehand, for all I know there could be some internal monologue or external dialogue in Dick’s Batman run), we aren’t shown him even telling Tim. Instead we get a cold open on Tim saying he isn’t doing okay, Dick dismissing what he’s saying, and Damian showing up in the Robin suit.

Now, fans could insert a scene before that where Dick tells Tim what he’s decided, so that it isn’t just sprung on him like this. Or even Dick asking for Tim’s input with Damian, but ultimately pulling the Batman card to make a unilateral decision Tim disagrees with. That cold open could’ve actually been the tail end of a longer discussion.

That’s not canon, but it doesn’t contradict canon either.

We mostly don’t, though. We mostly take the scene at face value and interpret it as Damian’s appearance being the first Tim learns of Dick’s decision. Many fics have Tim & Dick have a conversation (or sometimes just Dick having an internal monologue, or a talk with someone else) about Dick’s actions several months or years later, in which Dick reveals what his reasons for taking the mantle away were, in addition to “Damian needs it” (because that’s already his stated reason in canon).

And every single time, no matter how emotional the scene, how compelling his explanation, how cathartic the ensuing tearful hug may be, every single time I’m thinking, “Then why didn’t you just fucking say so when you did it? Why didn’t you just talk to Tim?”

There’s a lot that bothers me about what Dick did, but apparently that’s the big thing for me. He didn’t involve Tim in the decision. He didn’t talk to him. Dick didn’t ask Tim for help and he shut him out of a decision regarding Tim’s own mantle.

Especially combined with Dick telling Tim that he sees them as equals. Because either Dick is being a complete idiot who doesn’t see the contradiction of viewing someone as an equal yet acting as though he has the authority to take that person’s mantle away without so much as a by-your-leave, or he’s lying out his ass, or he’s so used to Bruce calling the Justice League, other adult heroes, etc ‘equals’ but not genuinely treating them as such that Dick has a completely warped idea of what equals means and doesn’t realize it. That in his head there’s equals as applies to everyone else, and ‘equals’ as applies to Batman.

~

There are so many fan theories and fic scenarios that try to explain Dick’s decision and I have essentially the same reaction to all of them.

Dick thought Tim outgrew Robin: why didn’t he say so? And who the hell is he to decide that for Tim?

Dick was going to offer Tim the Nightwing mantle: why didn’t he say so?

Dick thought the Robin role was holding Tim back: why didn’t he say so? Why didn’t he express that view, and ask Tim how he sees the role and his own progress as a vigilante?

Dick thought being Robin was unhealthy for Tim: why didn’t he say so? And if he’s so concerned about Tim’s wellbeing, why is he outright dismissive when Tim says he’s not doing okay?

Dick thought Tim was suicidal and shouldn’t be in the field: you get that this is worse, right? You get that if Dick genuinely thinks Tim is suicidal, taking away something important to Tim, something that gives Tim a sense of purpose and control, without even a warning, let alone a discussion, let alone asking permission, and then not talking to Tim about his concerns for Tim, is horrifically dangerous and irresponsible?

Dick thought Tim would chafe being his subordinate: why didn’t he say so, beside the single “you’re my equal” line? Tim regularly acted independently as Robin ever since donning the mantle, and Dick was around enough to know that. Dick also knows that Tim became Robin to drag Bruce out of his destructive spiral; that wouldn’t have worked if Tim’s Robin was too subordinate to Batman.

Dick wanted a Robin that wasn’t an independent operator & that he could more actively mentor: why didn’t he say so? And why does that role need to be filled by Robin, instead of letting Tim continue as an independent Robin while Damian is the one to come up with or be given a new mantle?

~

None of these are things Dick actually said. The only canon explanation we get is “[Damian] is my responsibility now. You’re not my protege, Tim… you’re my equal. You’ll be okay. Left on his own, he’s going to kill someone. Again.”

None of the fan explanations are in there. The fans want Dick to care about Tim (like he had for years), while canon gave us Dick ignoring Tim’s (vocalized for once!) needs, to focus on Damian.

Tim flat out says “You said we’d be okay. My whole life has burnt down! Again! I don’t call this ‘okay’, Dick.”

Which gets Dick’s above response. None of what Dick says indicates he’s concerned for Tim. It’s in fact pretty easy to interpret this as Dick willfully pretending Tim isn’t doing as badly as Tim says, convincing himself that Tim will be fine without any help, because Dick’s overwhelmed with new responsibilites, his own grief, massive amounts of stress, and he’s spread too fucking thin.

Also it fucking kills me that during this conversation Dick has his back to Tim, reading something on the computer. Tim rarely lets anyone know when he’s having serious problems, and now that he is, his big brother won’t even look at him. Yeah, Dick is metaphorically sticking his fingers in his ears and humming because he cannot handle Tim being yet another person in his life who has needs.

“But there wasn’t any time to talk about it! Tim ran away from the manor after the Robin reveal, and then left town!”

Bzzzt WRONG.

Red Robin starts a nebulous amount of time after Battle for the Cowl. In BftC, Damian is shot and Tim is stabbed, both of them in the torso. By the start of RR, they’re ready for field work. Even with comic book humans healing faster than real people, this is several weeks later at MINIMUM.

It’s long enough for Damian to have a custom Robin suit made, because it’s blatantly a different one than what he went out in to search for Tim underground in BftC.

So why didn’t Dick use that time, in which it’s implied they’re all living in the manor together, to talk to Tim?

If Dick sees them as equals, sees Tim as his “closest ally”, why didn’t he ask Tim for help brainstorming ways to help Damian?

If Dick is actually concerned for Tim, if that’s why he took Robin away, like so many fics write, why didn’t he discuss those concerns with Tim during those weeks of recovery? Why is their fight on the outskirts of town the first time Dick tells Tim there’s a therapist in Metropolis he wants Tim to see? It makes more sense with the canon we get that Tim destroying a room and going off the grid is the moment Dick can’t keep pretending Tim is okay, hence only bringing up therapy now.

~

Dick calls Tim an equal but doesn’t treat him like one. He takes advantage of his Batman authority to take away Tim’s mantle and use it as a tool for the issues with Damian.

Dick previously cared about Tim and looked out for him. Now he ignores/dismisses when Tim vocalizes how badly he’s doing, not taking action until Tim runs away from home.

It sucks! The whole situation sucks! It feels incongruent with previous canon, it’s emotionally painful, and we really wanna fix it but no matter what non-canon reason we can come up with to make the Robin decision just as much about Dick’s perceptions of Tim’s needs as Damian’s, none of those reasons explain in any way why he didn’t talk to Tim about it first.

We could write fic where he did. We could say he asked Tim for help, they had a long discussion, ending with Dick making this choice that Tim disagrees with. That would still be pretty painful, but it would fit with what little canon gave us.

What we can’t do is write fic where Dick has a good reason not to talk to Tim about the decision. Because there is no good reason.

There are things Dick can tell himself are why he didn’t (doesn’t want to burden Tim with heavy decisions, doesn’t want to involve Tim in Damian issues because of past history, etc) but they aren’t actually good reasons.

So I continue reading fic & fan theories, writing my own fic, grumbling that none of these help with healing unless Dick flat out says, “I’m sorry. I should have talked to you.”

[zeroducks-2]

I have a confession: I kinda don't get people who LOVE characters like Stephanie, Duke or Jean Paul. Like,,, they are so boring and there's nothing interesting about them??? Made only to be a self-insert for readers?? Also, there are fans ready to literally tear you apart when you 1) don't consider Duke to be a member of the batfam and 2) don't mention Stephanie when you talk about The Four Robins. Which makes it even more crazy bc gurl,, you really that butthurted over a character as shallow as Bella from Twilight...?

It took me some time to decide how to go about answering this ask, because first and foremost I want to confirm that yes, it is unfair and gatekeepy to nag at people when "they don't consider Duke a member of the Batfamily", or if they don't mention Stephanie when one talks about The Four Robins.

First of all not everyone has read every DC story ever - I surely did not - and on the contrary, I suspect that the majority of casual DC fans don't even know about Jason, Tim and Damian, assuming there's just one Batman and one Robin (who they don't really know is even named Dick Grayson). Hell, when I read Under The Red Hood for the first time (and I did as it came out!), I had NO IDEA who Jason Todd was. I had read random ass comicbooks up to that point and I just assumed that there were "other Robins" after Dick went on to become Nightwing, but in a vague and non-contextualized way.

It's as simple as many people not knowing that Stephanie and Duke even exist (or they just saw them once in a fanart) because maybe they just read some random comics without any real context, or because they have been focused on the JLA and just recently got into Batman stuff, because they only know the "Batfam" through Young Justice, or for a number of other reasons. It's not on them to be knowledgeable on every single facet of the Batman lore, and no one should expect from a fan to just know ALL the characters like the back of their hands, and include them in the "batfam" scenarios always and all the time (also because one of the reason why people often don't know about Cass, Steph and Duke is because DC does not push them. Finding stories with these characters gets increasingly more difficult every year, thank fuck people don't know them). Or maybe they have read comicbooks with Stephanie and Duke and they decided they dislike them, which is also a totally fair reason not to include them in their art or whatever.

And to be honest, if we wanted to be coherent then we should fuss also with those who don't include Carrie Kelley among the Robins, but no one does that because Carrie isn't famous enough for people to whine about an "all Robins fanart" which doesn't include her (I personally don't care about Carrie, I'm saying this just to point out the hypocrisy).

It's as it usually goes. You want art with "all the Robins"? Pick up a pencil and draw it or commission an artist. You want comedy skits in written form, or mock-twitter posts or whatever to include Stephanie and Duke? Sit down, think of something funny and do it yourself, or again commission someone. Fan-creators aren't there to fulfill your needs about this or that aspect of a fandom, and there is not one single valid reason to harass them about it.

This though is completely unrelated to the fact that Stephanie, Duke and whoever else might be "bad characters" that you personally dislike. People like characters for an array of different reasons, even when these characters are shallow, inconsistent, not created according to the proper rules of characterization and narrative arcs. Sometimes the reason why people love a character is exactly because they are written to be as self-insert, but it can be literally anything and that is OK. It will often be reasons we don't understand or we disagree with, and that too is OK.

To name one, I personally have no idea how anyone who's older than 12 can genuinely enjoy a Harry Potter book, and I've been saying this since I was 13 myself (so around 15 years before JKR outed herself as a misogynistic piece of shit), but it is what it is - a lot of people like things that I don't enjoy and for reasons I don't understand, and I myself have learned to be OK with it a long time ago.

And let's be clear, I could very well make the case that Batman is a hyper-masculine macho fantasy with nothing to offer to the plot of a story. Or that Tim is a useless filler of a character without anything new to add to the narrative. Or that Dick is a repetitive, whiny bimbo whose plot-lines are always the same. And I LOVE those characters to BITS, they are my precious blorbos and I rather defend them tooth and nail against anyone who dares speak ill of them, but the truth is that criticizing a character is easy.

Take one flaw and make it bigger than any good thing about them, you can paint the most awful picture ever and you wouldn't even be wrong from your personal point of view. None of them is objectively perfect or even close to a narrative masterpiece, so go ahead and keep disliking Stephanie and Duke and Jean Luc, and whoever else doesn't tickle your fancy, but my suggestions is to stop focusing on "how is it even possible that people like them" because there will always be that one character you hate that people can't stop pouring love over. It is pretty much always best to shrug and move along when you see something you dislike, and instead spend your energy on the characters and stories you do like instead, and which make you have blorbo thoughts and butterflies in your stomach and whatever else makes you happy.

And if anyone who's reading this is someone who harasses people for not including Duke and Steph in the group fanarts - please don't. Leave artists be. You want that Robin!Steph artwork, go ahead and draw it yourself or pay for a commission, and stop being an ass to people because they didn't do the thing exactly as you wanted them to do it.