#is it worse that the roles he filled (robin and jason) end up being filled by two separate people? (damian and jason)

[brucewaynehater101]

I will never have enough of that angst where Tim purposefully sets himself up to be Jason's actual placeholder. He doesn't "replace" Jason because that would imply Tim has worth as himself. No, he becomes what Jason was. He allows himself to be called by the dead Robin's name both in and out of mask. He lets a grieving family pretend he's someone else.

Tim becomes useful. Not because he's Tim, but because he reminds them of Jason.

[aingeal98]

Re: your post about Tim vs Steph's treatment as Robin, I've had an inarticulate theory rolling around in my head for a while now that the REAL divider between the relatively uncontroversial robins in mainstream fandom (Tim and Dick) and the controversial, 'bad kid' robins (Steph, Jason and Damian) is- leaving aside social and contextual factors for a minute and just focusing on characterization-...the fact that they're the robins who refuse to lick Batman's wounds, in a sense. They're rarely there to comfort him when he's being an angsty jerk. After all, they're the kid in this relationship, they need his guidance or at least cooperation, why should they go above and beyond when he's being difficult? Versus Dick and Tim who definitely have breaking points with bruce but who sit through a lot of bullshit with the guy and generally consider it their responsibility to make sure he's okay. <- that summary isn't necessarily a 1 to 1 reflection of how each Robin thinks, it's just broad strokes from my pov as a reader btw

Idk, there's probably a better, more comprehensive way to look at it, but I think about this a lot. Like bc Batman is the main character of the whole mythos, good robins are the ones who kiss his booboos, and bad robins are the ones who need that kind of comfort and patience for themself.

I think there's a lot of textual evidence backing this up tbh. Dick and Tim are without a doubt the "parentified" Robins who consider it their responsibility to deal with Batman's bullshit as opposed to making Batman deal with them. And there's nothing inherently wrong with displaying the different roles children end up filling in toxic families but far too many writers glorify it as a good thing. A thing that makes a Robin Good and Smart and it's like well no! The people buying into his bullshit and enabling him the most are actually doing the least good in terms of healthy long term growth for Batman! And that's fine if you're writing batman as a cycle of abuse forever spiralling and getting worse but when the narrative clearly thinks licking his boots is the right thing to do and anyone that doesn't is silly and childish and not fit to be a hero... Yeah it's sucks.

Like stories where batman does something incredibly cruel and stupid that makes everyone doubt him (instead of just. Communicating.) and then his plan ends up working and all the Robins and heroes that defended Batman for being an asshole are hyped up by the narrative because WE never doubted Batgod! He always knows best! Yeah I hate those stories.

So yeah, fully agree with your analysis. Thanks for the ask!

[headcans-oneshots-and-stuff]

Momma is a badass?

Fandom: DC Pairing: Bruce Wayne x Batmom!reader (in the background) Word count: 1.4k Summary: Your Children don’t know about a big part of your past, but when the situation calls for it, they find out, one way or anotherm Requested by a hydrated Anon: since the request are kinda open. Can i request something where batmom was a former suicide squad member, now dating batman and the batkids dont know? Maybe they are in a dangerous fight against someone and the suicide squad helps them? only if this is okay for you. No pressure or something. Stay hydrated love

Your children knew that you were a great fighter, one that could hold herself against Bruce easily, and they knew that you had been a vigilante long before you had met their father and fallen into the more domestic role of a part-time event-organizer and a full-time momma at day and a crime fighter at night. Sometimes they had tried to ask you and Bruce about what you had done for the most of your early adulthood, but they never found out anything about what happened between your 18th and 25th birthday. A few of them - mostly Tim, Steph and Damian - had thought about finding out the old-fashioned way, but everytime they seriously considered it they remembered that not once since you had taken them in as your children have you breached their privacy without a very, very good reason. So they quickly started to forget about it again and face their own problems. What none of your children had expected was that that blank on your resume was going to be filled on what was supposed to be an easy mission in Gotham’s Docks. You and Bruce were the ones who went, Tim on the Comms, only to find that three of the most dangerous and violent - but in themselves alone relatively small - crime families had “bonded” together to defeat the one thing that kept them from ‘rising to their true size’: Your family. The two of you were good, years of beating and defeating big baddies have shown so much, but not even the two of you were good enough to defeat the small army that was attacking you now. Under the hail of bullets that were raining down on you, a few of them hitting your body armour, but luckily not you, you barely managed to dive for cover behind a metal pillar. Looking over you were relieved to find Bruce behind cover too, seemingly not hurt. He nodded at you, most likely having the same thoughts about you, before talking to you and Tim over the Comms. “Red, we need everyone here asap, this is at least a code blue situation.” “Code blue? I thought this was just a quick in-and-out,” Tim asked surprised. “Just do it, no time to explain,” Bruce grunted as he threw a Batarang at a particularly bold individual that tried to break his cover, disarming him quickly and knocking him unconscious. “I contacted everyone, Nightwing and Red Hood are on their way, ETA is at least ten minute. Robin is preparing and will be there in five. Oracle is going to take over the Comms as soon as she’s online from her homebase and then I’ll hurry over with Black Bat. The others will try to come, but are indispensable at the moment,” Tim informed you and you could hear the almost inhumane quick tapping of his keyboard in the background. Before you had the chance to answer you noticed the small circular object rolling towards you and just almost managed to kick it away and shield yourself with your cape. “We don’t have enough time to wait for all of them!” you shouted over the sound of another explosion and when you looked over at Bruce you almost saw the internal conversation, “They’re on a mission not far from here, they could be here in five minutes.” “Who are you talking about?” Tim asked, but you and your husband just ignored him. “Do it!” Bruce said after he had to dive for a new cover when the pillar he was standing behind got damaged by another granate. Not waiting another second you pulled out a small button that was protected by a glass hood. You clicked the glass hood off and pushed the button, a little relief flooding you when you saw the blinking light below it implicate that the signal was received. Now you just had to survive long enough for your help to arrive. Tim and Cassandra, closely followed by Damian, arrived shortly after, but even with the five of you, you weren’t remotely able to do more than hold yourself against the seemingly never ending attack that got worse with every minute. When you heard the flapping of a chopper somewhere above you, you could have wept with joy, but soon got pulled back into reality when a bigger explosion rang through your ears and debris from the newly bombed open roof missed you by literal inches. After making sure neither your husband, not your children were hurt badly, you looked up to find that the chopper was not the one you had hoped for when you were looking directly into the barrel of a bomb launcher. The thought of retreating filled your mind, but before you could suggest, you saw the opposing chopper blow up in a haze of fire before a very familiar crazy laugh filled your ears - even if it was still half a mile or so away. More explosions rang through the enemy lines and the shift in power was immediately feelable. You had just won the upper hand. Five ropes were lowered around you and soon after you found yourself surrounded by your former team - or rather one version of it, the suicide squad never really being one to keep stagnate. “Did ‘ya miss us sugar?” Harley crackled as she fell around your neck, hugging you with one arm while the other was occupied with shooting an enemy that had been charging at the six of you. “You wouldn’t believe how much,” you smiled and - after quickly greeting the rest of the team - got back to fighting. Dick and Jason joined the fight shortly before the end - before your win - and were surprised by the people who were fighting in such a harmony with their mother that it looked like they had been fighting with you for years, but with the fight still going on they had little time to care about it too much. The twelve of you together had an easy time fighting against the gangs and it only took a few minutes more before you left unconscious, dead (the suicide squad had no no-killing rule after all) and tied up gang members for the police to lock up. The squad's chopper had been severely damaged during the fight so the five went with you to a second-emergency base on the outskirts of Gotham to wait for Waller to send them a pick-up, leaving you with a bit of time to catch up with your old mates. While you were laughing and talking to Harley, Rick, Floyd, Digger and Tatsu like you were old friends who haven’t seen each other in a while, Bruce standing a few feet behind you - keeping up his grim persona, but not stopping you from interacting with the (mostly) villains - your children were at the other side of the room completely dumbfounded at the way their mother was acting.

“Remember that time Waller almost blew up your head because you thought it was a good idea to play pranks in the base?” you asked laughing, the others joining you. “Yeah, well, how was I supposed to know she’d react to a bit of water like that,” Dagger shrugged, but smiled at the memory. “Can’t believe it’s been so long already since I left, it feels like yesterday I almost cut your eyes out,” you smiled - you much like Katana not having been there as a criminal, but rather as a guard yourself. “Hey, if you want back, we’d gladly take you in, I still think Waller considered planting a bomb in your head just so that you would come back and bring some order back,” Rick shrugged, but you just shook your head. “Thank you, but no thank you, I have a life here now. Also I don’t think Hubby would like that too much,” you giggled a little and blew a kiss at Bruce, who responded only with a stern nod in an interaction that your children would have usually found hilarious if they weren’t so occupied with staring. “Ya’know sugah, Ah love attention, Ah really do, but even Ah get uncomfortable if dah little batlings keep on starin’ like tha’,” Harley nudged your shoulder and nodded into the direction of your children. “Oh, don’t mind my little ones, they just didn’t know about my time at the suicide squad,” you shrugged, well aware that you were going to have a lot to explain later on.

[gothamstodd]

hi there love!🥺 I was wondering if I could request a jason todd x reader, perhaps a little enemies-to-lovers trope with some angst resulting in an uber fluffy n sweet love confession(‘: thank you so so much!! have a lovely day!

ah!! thank you! I gotchu ;;;)

-

“Bet you can’t beat me back to the cave, Hood.” You grinned, glancing over at Jason with a grin. He looked back at you from beneath his domino, the helmet tucked under his arm. He was panting, sweat shining on his brow from the fight the two of you had just won.

“You’re on.” He dropped the cigarette he’d only just lit, crushing it beneath the twisting toe of his boot.

“Ugh.” You swung your leg over your bike, “That is such a turn off.” You said, glancing at the crushed cigarette on the wet pavement, disgust wrinkling your brow.

“Luckily, you’re one of the only people in Gotham outside of my family that I don’t want to fuck.” He replied, putting his helmet back on.

You rolled your eyes, “You’re such an asshole.” You scoffed, revving your engine impatiently. 

“You like it.” He sang, finally mounting his motorcycle.

“Ready,” You said together, the action practiced and familiar, “Set,”

The wheels of Jason’s bike screamed on the pavement and drowned out your betrayed yell, “Hey!”

You set off after him. “That’s cheating, Red.” You growled into the comm.

“You didn’t see it coming?” He asked, laughter in his voice. “I thought you were supposed to be a ‘great detective’ just like the rest of these assholes.”

You took a sharp turn off the road, the sound of your engine echoing on the walls of the alleyway you’d entered and roaring in your ears. A few more turns and you were pulling back onto the mainanz road, just in time to cut Jason off.

“Hey!” He yelled, echoing the inflection you’d had only minutes ago, “Shortcuts are against the rules!”

“C’mon.” You grinned, weaving around a minivan, “You didn’t see that coming?”

“Oh,” He groaned, “Fuck you.”

“Could we keep the banter to a minimum, you two?” Dick’s voice crackled to life on the comms, he was manning the computer while Alfred and Barbara were busy, “It’s worse than watching you suck face.”

Jason made a gagging sound, “They wish.”

“Please.” You sneered, “Get over yourself.”

“Never-” The end of Jason’s response was cut off by a bout of static and a strong ringing in your ear.

“Hood?” You spoke almost at the same time as Dick, panic in your voice.

Grunts and crashes greeted you on the other side.

“Red Hood, report.” You spat, eyeing the road carefully before taking a hard u-turn around a median. 

Relief filled your gut when his voice pulled past the static, “Busy- argh!” It was quickly pulled away by the yell of pain that hit your ear. You searched both sides of the road for Jason, but there was no sign of shining red or battered brown leather.

“Jason?” He asked, almost softly. There was no response. You pulled of the road and brought your bike to a stop. “Wing, can you track his comm?”

“Working on it.” He replied, the sound of a keyboard clacking softly following his nervous words. “Okay, take the next left, he’s about a block down.” You set off again, speeding toward the the intersection. “Need me to call in back up?”

“I don’t know yet.” You answered, anxiety making your breath shake. “Give me just a minute.” 

Turning onto the street Dick had described, you immediately caught sight of it, Jason’s motorcycle on it’s side, an armored truck turned to block the road, and cars stopped on either side.

“Yeah.” You said into your comm. On top of the truck stood Two Face, a massive gun in his arm and henchmen scattered around the clearing. “We need back up.”

You described the scene in front of you to Dick, still unnoticed by Two Face and his crew. Finally, your eyes landed on Jason, laying prone on top of the truck in front of Two Face, the villain’s shining dress-shoe pressing down on his chest. 

All thought of strategy and planning flew out the window and you found yourself throwing a shuriken hard at the man’s good ear.

He ducked away as the large cut began oozing blood. “You bats are like cockroaches.” He growled, “When you see one, there’s bound to be a flock.” He aimed his gun at you but you were already diving for cover behind the corner of a building. A spray of bullets followed your leap to safety, tearing apart the concrete at your feet. 

“Hopefully.” You murmured to yourself, letting a few more shurikens loose around the corner. Two-Face’s shrieks of pain echoed on the Gotham sky scrapers. You snuck around the building and behind a henchman on the other side, catching him by surprise and quickly disarming him before knocking him to the ground.

“One down, six to go.” You said into your comm.

“Robin, Spoiler and I are about one minute away.” Tim’s voice reached your ear.

“They’re heavily armed.” You warned, though ease began to slip back into you at Tim’s assurance.

There was a pained grunt from the other side of the road, “Two down.” Stephanie chirped.

“You’re fast, Spoiler.” You smiled, coming up behind another gunman.

“You know me.” You could practically hear the smirk in her voice, along with more crashes and grunts, signaling the arrival of Tim and Damian.

Their affirmations that the remaining four gunmen were on their way to unconsciousness gave you the confidence to move out into the open. “Two Face is mine this time.” You snarled, beginning to climb up the back of the truck.

“Actually, pretty sure he’s mine.” When you poked your head over the top, you found Jason standing there instead of Two-Face, their roles reversed with the rogue at his feet.

“You’re okay.” You hefted a relieved sigh, pushing yourself on top of the truck. “You scared me, asshole.”

“So you do care.” He teased, you could tell he was grinning beneath the hood.

“Don’t get used to it.” You exhaled, cheeks heating up in embarrassment.

“I won’t- ungh.” Hardly a moment passed and he’d fallen to his knees, gloved hand pressing into his side.

You rushed forward, kneeling at his side. “Jason!” Blood was rushing through you again with the same worry that had filled you when static had first hit your ear from his line, pumping erratically through your veins.

You shoved the helmet from his head, pressing two fingers to his neck in search of a pulse. “What’s wrong? Where are you hurt?” You demanded.

He lifted his hands from his side to reveal blood drooling sluggishly over his body. “It’s just a graze.” He answered weakly.

He groaned when you pressed your hands to it, shoving down on the injury with harsh determination. “When did this happen?”

“I wanted to take a short cut.” He chuckled, stomach jumping under your hands with each weakening laugh. “Got a little off track.”

You shook with some raging concoction of emotions; anger, worry, nerves. “You asshole.” You shook your head.

Tim was at your side in a second, stony faced as he helped move Jason down to Damian and Steph’s waiting arms. Together you maneuvered him into the back of the bat mobile, trying to ignore the whimpers of pain that fell over his lips at the sensation of being jostled. Within moments, Tim was speeding down the streets and you were leaning over Jason, still pressing your hands into his wound.

“Hey.” He caught your attention with the gentle word, its tone out of character, soft.

“What?” You asked, brow furrowed as you met his eyes.

He flushed, trying to push away the urge to look away and keep his mouth shut. “Before I... uh, kick it-”

“You’re not going to ‘kick it’.” You pressed, scanning his face desperately. “We’re on our way to Leslie’s, you’re going to be fine.”

He shook his head, ignoring your words, “I should tell you,” 

“Now’s not the time to tease, Jason.”  You squeezed your eyes shut for a moment, feeling tears pricking at them and hating the sensation.

You felt his gloved fingers around your wrist, slick with blood as he gripped onto you. “No, I’m serious.” He grunted, staring hard into your eyes. He paused for a moment, pulling a trembling breath through his teeth, “I like you.”

You wanted to lift your hand to hit him, “Jason, I know you never actually hated me,” You sighed, “It’s just banter. You are such an ass-”

He interrupted you, sitting up in a feat of determined strength to press his lips desperately to yours. You kissed him back without even a moment’s hesitation, the feeling of his lips on yours throwing waves of electricity down your skin, a childish giddiness filling up your gut.

“Oh.” Your cheeks flushed as he fell back into the seat beneath him, panting softly with a lopsided grin on his face.

“Yeah.” He replied wearily and his eyes flicked shut.

-

He’s fine btw. I just didn’t know how to write that part lol. I hope you liked it!

GIVE ME A PROMPT

[anxiousnerdwritings]

How about yandere platonic jason ,with new bat family member

Yandere Platonic!Jason x Batfam!Reader

When Jason is first introduced to you, probably on patrol, he thinks that your just another Robin and nothing more. But as he gets to know you and spends more time around you, he'll catch himself progressively getting attached. Jason isn't too happy about this new development, but that won't last long.

One night while you and Bruce are on patrol, shit ends up hitting the fan pretty quickly and you're seperated from Bruce, causing you to be in a really bad situation, but before anything more can happen, someone intervenes.

The next thing you remember is waking up back in the manor, with Alfred tending to your wounds. You're very much confused, but Alfred fills you in, telling you how Master Todd had come in the nick of time to save you and was the reason you were alive now.

Jason is beyond pissed, he couldn't fucking believe that Bruce had left you on your own. What was his problem? Did he want to lose another Robin? It's in this moment when Jason realizes Bruce isn't good for you, he won't keep you safe, and how Jason has to take this into his own hands.

Now Jason knows he's not a 100% or really a good role model but he'll sure as hell keep you safe, safer than Bruce will.

Jason definitely doesn't like that you're working with Bruce and he'll openly voice it. He'll try to put a wedge between the both of you, making you second guess Bruce and whether he'll really be there for when you need.

If you arent fully aware of Jason's time as Robin, he'll use that to his advantage, twisting things to make Bruce look even worse. Jason honestly believes that he has your best interests at heart, compared to Bruce.

If you're still somehow working with Bruce, Jason will always show up while you're out on patrol. He never tells you why he's there, just keeping to hanging around wherever you are. He doesn't like you being out on your own.

Jason still has a lot of trauma from what Joker did to him and that adds to him wanting to get you away from Bruce all the more. He just wants to keep you from going through what he went through.

If you do start drifting over to Jason more, you won't be doing anything alone again. Jason knows what it's like to be and feel alone and he doesn't want you feeling like that.

Jason is going to be highly protective of you, he isn't going to let anything happen to you. Whatever friends, acquaintance or love interest you have, Jason is going to look into them. He'll probably blackmail them into avoiding you, maybe even gettting rid of them all together, or keeping you from seeing them. Jason is going to be more paranoid about the people in your life, he isn't going to take the risk of anyone, even family, hurting you.

If you do get involved with the Joker somehow, Jason won't hesitate to kill him. Even if Bruce is there trying to stop him like he had before, Jason isn't going listen. He'll be so enraged and only seeing red, that he doesn't care who it is, if they're in his way of protecting you and keeping you safe, there is no saving them.

Jason may even keep you locked up in his apartment or safe house just to keep you from continuing being a hero or a vigilante. You're not going to die on him, he won't let you, and he'll be damned if you turn into what he's become.

[bat-losers-inc]

Song of Cassandra: Chapter 1

Warnings: Family Drama, Family Issues, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Emotional Baggage, and Child Neglect

Summary: What is Batman without a Robin? Everyone in the family makes jokes about the ‘dead robins club’, but Dick and Jason really do have measures set in place for the day Bruce loses sight of what’s really important. They won’t let Bruce sacrifice another Robin for the cause, even if that means separating Robin from Batman for good.

Pairings: Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown/Tim Drake, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Bruce Wayne, and Dick Grayson & Jason Todd

                              _____________________________________

“To select a victim, to adorn it, and to drive it towards the enemies to be killed by them in time of crisis - such is the ancient rite of substitution.” — The War That Killed Achilles by Caroline Alexander

The bone-saw pinwheeled through the air and smashed into the stone facade beside them. The event wouldn’t have been nearly so noteworthy if Dick hadn’t just yanked Damian out of its path only a second ago.

“Hey, Robin,” Jason called, “get your head in the game before you lose it completely!”

In front of them, Red Hood had swapped out his dual guns for a set of brass knuckles. All around him the Dollotrons and their improvised weapons fell to the ground.

Not helping, Jason.

Robin’s domino mask hid multitudes behind its whiteout lenses. Dick read what he could from the pinched lines of Damian’s mouth and the taut muscles in his neck which trembled through each unsteady swallow. He could feel the effort it was taking him to reign it in.

“Robin, you good?” He placed a hand on the kid’s shoulder and tried to draw his attention back from wherever his mind had just drifted off to. It wasn’t the first time that he’d asked that question tonight and he doubted that it would be the last.

“Fine,” Damian replied but jerked free of his grip with a suddenness that could only mean his pride had been bruised.

Damian snatched the fallen bone-saw up off the pavement and hurled it back into the mass of flailing limbs where it sliced deep into a Dollotron’s shoulder and sent the man staggering.

“Incapacitate only, Robin!” Batman’s voice boomed over the noise of the brawl unfolding before them.

The hope was that they could save at least a few of Professor Pyg’s failed creations if they got them prompt medical attention. Robin, however, had been one-step behind the entire evening—breaking with their predetermined strategies and acting on reflex more than anything. Dick could only chalk so much up to rustiness from being out of the field.

As Robin ducked back into the fray, he had no choice but to follow him in the hopes of preventing further bloodshed. It was going to be a long night.

Back in the cave, he watched Damian unbuckle the utility belt from his waist, his uniform glowing brightly in the cave’s dim interior. His movements were calm, but the distracted look in his eyes betrayed him outright. It was much too soon for him to be back in the field after his death at the hands of the Heretic and subsequent resurrection and it showed on patrol this evening.

Dare he say it, but tonight Robin was... sloppy. And didn’t that just make it worse, he thought to himself, remembering Jason’s muttered comment earlier that night, you can’t blame Damian, the last thing he wants to do is disappoint his father.

Well, what the hell was a kid supposed to do when Batman was your father?  

Dick’s gaze cut to Bruce at the Batcomputer, oblivious to everything except finishing up his report of the night’s mission. He wanted to chuck an escrima stick at his stupid pointy head. But no matter how satisfying that would feel in the moment, it wouldn’t be productive. So instead Dick did the adult thing and waited impatiently for Damian and Tim to change out of their gear and head to their respective beds to sleep away the rest of the dark hours.

When they were alone with nothing but the clicking of keyboard keys to fill the silence, Dick cast a final confirmative glance Jason’s way. Jason raised his arm and tapped at the imaginary watch on his wrist.  

It was now or never. “Bruce, can we talk for a sec?”

Bruce turned in his chair and faced him. “About what?”

He took a breath and forced the words out before his confidence failed him. “I don’t think Damian should be back in the field.”

Bruce held up his hands, his expression transforming from mild to exhausted in a fraction of a second.  “Dick, no. We’ve discussed this. I’m not having this conversation again.”

Again, he said, like he’d ever really taken the time to listen to him the first time around.

“You agreed to give him time! We only just got him back and already you’re putting him back in the line of fire?”

He’d thought that would have been the last thing that Bruce would have done. They’d all witnessed how Damian’s death had driven Bruce to the edge, Jason especially. It had taken hours of persistence to get Jason to even agree to come here, let alone stand with him on this, after the stunt Bruce had pulled in Ethiopia.

Bruce sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose tightly. “I’m not putting him anywhere. I put the decision up to Damian and he told me he felt ready to put the uniform back on.”

Those walls that Damian had started to lower during their time working together were back up now that his father was around, but not before the damage had already been done. Dick had glimpsed the vulnerable side of Damian that just wanted to prove his worth. He couldn’t stand by and watch the kid get hurt, even if he had to step on Bruce’s toes to do it.

Jason pushed off the clothing lockers that he’d been leaning against for the past ten minutes and walked up behind Dick’s shoulder. “You sure he really meant that? Or was he just saying what he thought you wanted to hear?”

Bruce’s face was quickly losing its composure. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“I mean, he was raised knowing he was the son of Talia al Ghul and Batman. Not Bruce Wayne— Batman. He might not think he has a choice in putting on the cape unless someone tells him otherwise.”

“And you think I didn’t?” snapped Bruce. As quick as that anger appeared, it was snuffed out just as fast and replaced with a measured response. “Robin is the one thing that gives Damian purpose. I won’t take that away from him.”

“Can you honestly say that his actions tonight didn’t worry you?” asked Jason. “He can take down Dollotrons with his eyes closed, but tonight he was distracted almost to the point of defenselessness. If we didn’t tag along and babysit him the entire patrol he might have ended up in the med bay or worse.”

“I think it’s understandable that he’s having some trouble adjusting.”

Adjusting, Dick wanted to scream. Did you see the look on your kid’s face out there? He’s not adjusting to anything.

Jason sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck. “C’mon, B. You know I don’t stick my nose in things unless they’re serious. This is serious. We’re worried about him.”

Bruce glanced between them, eyeing them both critically. “Think back to when you both were Robin. Would you have appreciated someone coming in and telling me to bench you because they thought you weren’t ready for the role? Without even taking into consideration how you might feel about the matter.”

“We aren’t saying that—” said Dick.

“Are you sure? Because it seems like you only just made this mistake with Tim.

The comment hit Dick like a slap to the face. “That was an entirely different situation—”

“You took Robin away from Tim when you thought he wasn’t in a position to handle the job anymore and gave it to Damian. Now you’re trying to take it away from Damian.”

“Robin was my mantle,” Dick said slowly, an anger months in the making rising in him. “I created it and I’m so sick of you telling me what bearing that name means or who that uniform gets passed down to like I don’t have any say in it! Especially with Damian. When you ‘died’ you left him with nothing. He was your blood son but you never bothered to give him a place in this family beyond that. So you want to talk about Damian’s place and his purpose ? Well, I gave those to him, not you.”

He thought you were going to be the one to take Robin away from him. He was so scared that his place in your legacy would be erased the moment you returned, despite all the work he had put in to change his nature.

Bruce was in his chair one second and standing over Dick in the next. “Despite what you might still believe, you’re no longer his guardian nor are you his mentor. You gave up the right to parent my child when I came back from the dead. I’m Batman and it’s time for you to go back to being Nightwing. Understood?”

Go back to not having a say, you mean, Dick thought to himself, remembering a time when all he wanted to do was go back to being Nightwing—to not have to make the hard choices. But not anymore. He’d been Batman and had a Robin of his own and those protective instincts don’t just magically turn off with a snap of the fingers.  

Sometimes I feel the need to protect him, even from you.

“I said is that clear?” Over four years since he’d worn the uniform and taken orders from Batman, but Dick’s body still jumped to attention like it did when he was Robin. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that even Jason wasn’t immune to that tone of voice.

He absolutely hated it.

“Crystal.”

Bruce’s cape whipped him in the legs on his way out.

“C’mon, get changed,” Jason placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded his head towards the exit, “I’ll buy you a drink.”

It would take more than a year for him to realize he should have tried harder.

                              _____________________________________

By the time Jason shoved into his apartment and kicked the door shut behind him, it was two hours short of daybreak. He jerked to a halt when he caught sight of him sitting in his living room, and clutched his apartment keys in one limp fist.

“Hey,” he said, voice a rough croak.

Dick stood up to greet him. “Sorry. I didn’t think to text you and I had a key—”

He paused when he caught sight of Jason’s face illuminated under the overhead lights. “What happened to you? I thought you went to talk to Steph.”

“I did,” Jason dropped his keys in the bowl by the front door. “Or at least I tried to. She was more interested in hitting something than having a heart to heart.”

It was too soon after Tim’s funeral for Stephanie to be back in the field. Even, Kate had suggested that Bruce intervene before someone got hurt on the job. Dick had wanted to laugh at her choice of phrase. Hurt? Didn’t she realize that the reason they were in this situation in the first place was because the stakes had risen way past that already?

Still, they all knew it was no good to try to force yourself back into the vigilante lifestyle before you were ready. Damian had proven that only a year or so ago and Gotham’s citizens had borne the brunt of his mistake. So Bruce had tried to step in, but it felt like all he’d really succeeded in doing was pouring salt into the gaping wound that Tim’s death had rent into their little family of heroes.

I’m so sick of you pretending like you care. Dick remembered the way Steph had flung those words at Bruce just hours ago. You only care when people can forgive you. Because all you really care about is continuing your stupid fucking mission!  

Dick could already make out the puffy bruised skin that circled his right eye and colored his cheekbone a dark purple. “Right, so the obvious conclusion was to offer up yourself as her human punching bag.”

“Better me than Bruce.”

Just the idea of it made him sad. Jason and his stupid martyr complex. The kicked-puppy of the family. “I disagree.”

There was an image that Dick couldn’t get out of his head. It lurked in the back of his mind, even now. Steph’s features pulled tight from anger and grief, her icy eyes staring holes into Bruce as she spat out, You keep pretending to care about me to what? Absolve you for what happened to Tim? Well, I don’t, Batman. I don’t absolve you!  

No, it should have been Bruce that bore the brunt of her violence. Bruce who sported a fractured cheekbone for the following week, a consistent reminder of his failings. Not his little brother who had warned them all time and time again about Bruce’s bad habits and all of the endless justifications he had to explain them away. Not Jason, who’d said Bruce shouldn’t be allowed to have sidekicks if he couldn’t keep them alive into adulthood—that if he wanted to fight crime so bad, let him, but keep the kids out of it.

Jason winced as he fingered the delicate skin around his eye. “We both know from past experience how unsatisfying it feels to go after him. It’s like punching a brick wall—he doesn’t give anything and it just ends up hurting you more in the long run.”

He knew Jason was right, but that still didn’t make it fair.  

Jason went to the freezer and pulled out a bag of frozen green beans which he pressed to his face with a relieved sigh. “What are you doing here, Dick?”

Jason never was one for small talk.

Dick stared at the bookshelf in the corner of Jason’s living, the titles on the spines were illegible to him all of a sudden like he was viewing them from a great distance. “Tim’s dead.”

“Yeah, I know. Alfred called me after it happened, same as you.”

“I can’t stop thinking about it.” Dick shook his head. “He was supposed to hang up the cape and go to college with Steph. I thought he was going to make it, but instead, he sacrificed himself on that rooftop for Bruce’s endless goddamn crusade.”

“Careful, Golden Boy. You’re sounding a little blasphemous there.”

“Good,” snapped Dick. “because I’m fucking angry. Angry that Bruce seems content to maintain the status quo while my siblings get blown up and stabbed and tortured.”

“You’re also grieving,” said Jason. “Which might explain why you’re slumming it around my place instead of spending time with Babs. When you work your way up to the bargaining stage I suggest trying Damian because I’m not helping you find a lazarus pit.”

“Fuck you,” he replied, but he couldn’t force any heat into the words. Not when his chest constricted again with that tight pain that stabbed at his lungs. He couldn’t stop the tears that pooled at the corners of his eyes and spilled over.

When he glanced up at Jason, the other boy was nothing but a watery figure standing out against the dark room. “Those missiles incinerated Tim into a pile of ash. There’s no body left for us to try to bring back this time.”

Jason squeezed his eyes shut tight like something was paining him. He didn’t go to Tim’s funeral, Dick remembered and wondered which stage of the grieving process he was on: denial or acceptance. Either way, it was clear that even he was having trouble hiding it behind that cock-sure snarky mask of his.

Jason shook his head slightly. “I think you should leave.”

“What?” Dick wiped furiously at his eyes. “Why?”

“Because I can’t tell you what you came over here to hear.”

“And what’s that?”

“That everything’s gonna be alright. That Bruce is gonna change his ways.” Jason shrugged and tossed the bag of beans on the counter. “He might change a bit… adapt like he’s done in the past. But it won’t happen fast enough to stop another Robin from dying on the job.”

“You don’t know that.” Dick wanted to punch him for how cruelly and casually he said it.

“Don’t I?” Jason grabbed his Red Hood helmet up from where it rested on the kitchen counter and flung it at Dick’s chest like it was all the evidence he needed in the world. It was. “Just because you want someone to change, doesn’t mean they will.”

“Go to him with me. If we talk to him together we can make him listen—”

“The same way he listened to us before, with Damian? Like how he listened to Steph tonight? She yelled the harsh truth right in his face, even gave him an ultimatum. And she failed, just like you did, because the truth is that he doesn’t want to hear it.”

“We just have to try harder this time—”  

“Dick… please leave. I can’t do this with you right now and I won’t lie to you just to make you feel better.”

Dick threw Jason’s helmet onto the nearest piece of furniture. “You’re a piece of shit, you know that? I’m standing here trying to tell you that I need your help and you can’t even bring yourself to listen to me.”

“That’s because I’ve already learned this lesson. Just like Steph did tonight. And it’s a really simple one at that … if you love someone, you do what’s best for them even if it’s the hard choice. Damian, Cass, Steph, Duke… they won’t be ‘safe’ until they’re out of the lifestyle entirely. And it’s become increasingly clear that Bruce can’t, or won’t, give up being Batman so what makes you think he’s going to tell them to stop?”

Jason’s words were no different than the ones that occupied his thoughts of late. So why did it feel so much worse to hear them spoken out loud?

“I can’t lose another sibling, Jason. I won’t be able to take it. Please… there’s got to be something we can do.”

Jason hesitated, his eyes dropping to the kitchen counter. The sky was starting to lighten as dawn approached. In the ever-shifting dim of his apartment, it felt like ages before Jason finally spoke again. “I want to show you something. Maybe it will help.”

He walked past Dick to his bookcase and pulled a collection of books off the shelf, revealing a hole in the wall. “I started it about six months back for Steph. Her relationship with Bruce has always been rocky. I knew there might come a time when she went off to do the vigilante thing on her own.”

He reached in and pulled out a saran-wrapped package. “I want her to know that she had money waiting for her—to get a place of her own and new gear if she needs it.”

He tossed the package to Dick. It was a brick of cash, bundled into individual stacks with currency straps. Based on the various conditions of the bills it looks like Jason had swiped them during his many run-ins with Gotham’s criminal underbelly.

“You saved all this for her?” asked Dick.

Jason paused in placing the books back on the shelf and shrugged. “Well, yeah. We know how hard it is to go it alone—the way you have to swallow your pride and values at a certain point because you need Bruce’s help, or money, or his connections. Steph deserves better than that. If she made the decision to leave the fold, I want her to go and not look back.”

Jason leaned against the edge of the bookshelf. “It’s not much when you’re coming from Bruce Wayne’s trust fund, but maybe we could start doing the same for the others; Damian, Cass, Harper, Duke... What do you think?”

“There’s certainly enough dirty operations in Gotham to fund it, but we’d need a better place to store it than a hole in your wall.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Obviously.”

Dick’s mind was already racing with the possibilities. “And we don’t have to stop at cash. I’m sure we both have old safehouses that we don’t use and contacts with other superheroes and scientists that we can share—”

“Whoa, whoa! Dick…” Jason rubbed at his face. “What you’re talking about is building Batman’s resources from the ground up and not even that, doing it all in secret.”

“Are you saying we can’t do it?” asked Dick.

“Not necessarily—”

“Well if we have all the resources then why are we hesitating?” asked Dick.

He held out his hand. “So are we doing this?”

Jason took his hand. “I guess I officially have to stop calling you Golden Boy now.”

[writingblock101]

Growing Pains (Damian x Reader)

This is the first time I’ve written Damian! I hope y’all like it. In this fic, he’s 17. I found the picture on Google so I’m not sure who the original artists it (it was reposted from Pinterest and the artist wasn’t listed), but know that the art is not mine! 

Request for @idkmanicantenglish​ (thanks for your patience!):  Reader and Damian got in a fight while they were out in patrol, and when they go back to the Bat Cave, Damian ignores her and she goes to sleep in the guests room and later into the night Damian decides to go apologize because she was just trying to help him and he got mad for no reason

Words: 1,800

“I had it handled,” Robin growls, resheathing his katana. 

“Yeah, that looked handled,” You remark sarcastically, putting your knives away.  

“I was fine, I didn’t need a savior,” He storms past you. 

You roll your eyes but follow Robin. 

“It’s not that deep. I was just helping.” 

He whips around to glare at you. 

“Yeah, well, I didn’t need help.” 

“You know a thank you wouldn’t kill you!” 

“I can handle myself! I didn’t need your help!” Then Robin grapples to the next rooftop. 

“Trouble in paradise?” Nightwing asks in your ear. 

You groan. 

“You have no idea.” 

“Penny for your thoughts?” He offers. 

“Where are you?” 

“On top of Gotham City Bank. Come tell me about your boy problems,” Nightwing snickers. 

You roll your eyes, but shoot your grappling hook and head to Gotham City Bank to rant to Nightwing. 

“Hey, Falcon,” He greets as you land gracefully on the roof. “What’s troubling you?”

“Your stupid brother,” You grumble, sitting down next to Nightwing. 

He chuckles. 

“Yeah, you’re not the first person.”

“He’s been so pissy on patrol lately. It’s annoying.” 

“What happened?” 

Your shoulders slump.

“Robin crashed one of Dent’s meetups, but there were more guns than he anticipated so I helped him out but of course, he’s all pissed because he thinks that I think he can’t handle himself or something!” You cross your arms. “I know he’s capable, but geez, even Batman has back up!” 

Nightwing hums along, nodding his head. You continue ranting. 

“He’s been so touchy lately! Like any time I back him up or join him in a fight, he gets pissed! And I’m fed up with it! I don’t get pissy when he helps me out! I don’t get it! This had never been an issue until a few weeks ago and I’m over it!” 

“Have you tried talking to him about it?” Nightwing suggests but you scoft. 

“Come on, Wing. You know Robin. He’s more emotionally constipated than Batman. Talking it out isn’t exactly his strong suit.” 

“You’re right,” Nightwing agrees. “He’s stubborn with that kind of thing but you’re just going to have to corner him.” 

Your shoulders slump. 

“I know but I don’t want to.” 

“Why not?” 

“Because it’s just going to end in a fight! Something is up and he won’t tell me… But I don't know why! I want to help him and be there for him but…” Your voice lowers as you slump in further on yourself. “He doesn’t trust me.” 

“Seriously, Falcon? Robin not trust you? You’re the first person he’s ever truly let in!” Nightwing insists. “Talk to him, it sounds like he needs someone to be there for him.” 

“Well, that’s not going to happen tonight,” You snap. “I’m still pissed. No matter what’s going on, taking out on me isn’t cool.” 

“That’s fair,” He shrugs. “Robin is stubborn like that. I don’t know anyone else like that,” He sighs dramatically. 

“Shut up, Wing!” You hear Red Hood’s distant voice yell, getting you to crack a smile. 

“And we’ve got a smile,” Nightwing grins. “Don’t let Robin ruin the rest of your patrol. Go beat up a mugger or something.” 

“Thanks for the advice, Wing,” You smile then dive off the roof, letting the wind catch your cap and allow you to glide onto the next roof. 

. . . 

Your night improved after talking to Dick, but as you get closer to the Cave, you begin dreading to see Damian. He’s been so snappy lately and you’re tired of it. Whatever his issue is, he needs to handle it like an adult and stop taking it out on you. 

As your feet touch the ground, you decide you’re not talking to him tonight. Any necessary conversation can happen in the morning. Once you finish your debrief of the night with Bruce, you’re about to head upstairs to one of the guest bedrooms when Damian catches your arm. 

“Can we talk?” He asks. 

You pull your arm away from him, wishing he’d never hit that growth spirit that made him taller than Jason. You feel tiny in comparison despite spending your free nights beating up criminals much bigger than you. 

“What?” You snap. 

He sighs. 

“Are you mad at me?” 

You raise your eyebrows. What an amazing detective. 

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that since you flipped your shit at me in the warehouse?” 

“I had the situation under control,” He growls. “I was angry that you didn’t seem to trust me enough to handle it.” 

“I trust you, I was just helping.” 

“It was unnecessary, I had it handled.” 

“Well, it certainly made it go faster.” 

“You didn’t pop in to help with speed,” Damian snaps. “I’m not some helpless child. I can handle myself!” 

“I never said you couldn’t. I was just being backup.”

“I didn’t need a savior.” 

“Stop trying to put words in my mouth,” You snap. “I was just helping.” 

“I didn’t need your help!” 

“You were getting overwhelmed!” 

“I had it handled!” 

“No, you didn’t!” You yell. “I don’t give a shit who you were trained by Damian! You’re not bulletproof! And if I hadn’t stepped in tonight, you would’ve gotten shot!” 

“I’ve had worse,” Damian sneers. 

“That’s not the fucking point!” You snap. “If you’re going to stand here and be pissed at me for having your back then fine! I’d rather you be mad at me than be dead. And if that makes me an idiot, so be it!”

“If I had gotten shot, it would’ve been my own damn fault and I would have dealt with it! I don’t need you to be watching my every move!” 

“Your arrogance is going to get you killed if you can’t even accept help from someone who’s supposed to watch your back,” You growl. “That’s what all of us do, we look out for each other.” 

“Yeah, look out for each other, not babysit,” Damian snaps. 

“Fuck this, I’m going to bed. I don’t know what your deal has been lately but I’m tired of being your punching bag! So, when you’re ready to own up to your shit, you know where to find me,” Then you storm off. 

You cannot believe Damian has the audacity to accuse you of being a babysitter! For a long time, he felt he had to prove himself which he hid under a thick layer of arrogance, but you thought he was passed that! Apparently, he’s back to needing to prove himself to God knows who and has decided he’s going to take out any frustration about his shortcomings on you. 

Not anymore. You’re tired of this. If Damian thinks he can continue speaking to you that way, he’s got another thing coming. 

After showering, you go to bed in a guest room, still fuming. Usually, you sleep in Damian’s room, but after your argument tonight, you don’t want to be near him. You spend thirty minutes tossing and turning, unable to get comfortable or take your mind off your boyfriend. 

Seriously, what is his deal? Damian’s never spoken to you like that! You two always had mutual respect for each other since you were always the two youngest in the room. The pressure of living up to your predecessors could fade when it was you two because you both understood each other, so why Damian decided you were now babysitting him--

The door opens. You flip over, your back to the door, knowing exactly who just walked into the room. 

“Y/N,” He says quietly.

“What do you want, Damian?” You snap, refusing to face him. 

“I want to apologize.” 

You sit up in bed and face him with a clenched jaw. 

“For what?” You demand. 

“For tonight,” Damian admits, looking at you for a moment then looking away. 

“You’re going to have to be more specific than that,” You growl. 

He sighs. 

“I’m sorry for snapping at you and accusing you of not trusting me. You were just helping and you were right-- I was taking on too many men by myself.” 

You soften and pull back the covers, inviting Damian into bed. He crawls in bed, wrapping his arms around you. 

“What’s up with you, Dames?” You ask, leaning back against his chest. 

“What are you talking about?” 

You roll your eyes. 

“You know what I’m talking about. Why have you been so snappy on patrol lately?” 

He sighs, twirling a piece of your hair instead of answering for a moment. You wait, knowing he’ll answer you. Whatever is bothering him, Damian doesn’t want to admit. He’s ashamed, but he’ll get over his pride.  

“Grandfather called me.” 

You wince, unsure of the last time Damian spoke to his grandfather. You’re pretty sure it didn’t end well then either

“What did he say?” 

“He told me I’m wasting my time as a sidekick and that I could be a great ruler right now if I was not wasting my time with trivial matters.” 

You turn to face Damian, forcing him to look at you. 

“Damian, what you do is not trivial. You help people every night. You save lives. What you’re doing in Gotham is so much greater than anything you could be doing in the League of Assassins.”

“Doesn’t feel like that sometimes,” He mutters. “I get treated like a criminal here. At least there, I was respected.” 

“You were also murdering people,” You remind him.

“I know,” He goes silent, but you can tell something is still bothering him.

“Maybe you’ve outgrown Robin,” You suggest, resettling on his chest. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, everyone that has been Robin, after a certain point eventually became someone else of their own creation. Dick became Nightwing, Jason became Red Hood, Tim became Red Robin.” 

“Are you suggesting I quit as Robin?” 

You shrug. 

“I think you are starting to outgrow the role and need a new role to fill.” 

Damian is silent for a moment, mulling over your words. 

“Perhaps…” He agrees, resting his head on top of yours. “I don’t know what I would call myself.” 

“You don’t have to decide now, you have time. Talk to Bruce about it, maybe he has some suggestions, but for now, stop being rude on patrol.” 

He chuckles, hugging you tighter for a moment and kissing the top of your head. 

“Yes, Beloved.” 

“I love you, Damian. I don’t want anything to happen to you so it worries me when you brush stuff off by saying you’ve had worse.” 

“I know. I’m sorry, I just…” He trails off. 

You turn to look up at him, reaching up to stroke his face for a moment. 

“I know.” 

You get it. You and Damian have always understood each other in a way neither of you had ever experienced before meeting each other. It’s why you two worked as well as you did, even with both of your stubbornness and tough exteriors. 

He smiles fondly at you and kisses you. 

“I love you too,” Damian whispers back. 

This is the first time I’ve written for Damian so hopefully, I did okay! I’m not sure if Damian ever becomes someone else other than Batman, but it’s fanfiction. Keep an eye out for some future fics I’ve been working on! 

[queen-of-the-trash-planet-tm]

Knock Knock. Who’s There? (Jasonette) (continuation of The Most Vibriant Color)

Orange. Orange was the color of pill bottles, the eyes of vampiric bats in the night, and the tint of the orange plastics that polluted the earth. Orange was the color of a shirt Jason Todd was trying to pack. The voices finally broke him into going to Paris and now he needed to pack. Jason had no idea how long he would be there, but he also had no plans of returning to Gotham anytime soon. Dick walked into the room, “Dickie boy, what’s up?”

The older adoptee stared at his brother, “Are you sure you want to leave? You just got back.”

Jason didn’t just want to go, he needed to leave. If the pit madness didn’t drive him insane, the constant way Bruce and Dick treated him like he was a bomb just waiting to explode would. They claimed they missed him, mourned him, wept oh so many tears, but in the end they had just replaced him. Jason would never be Dick; he knew it; Bruce knew it; hell, Dick himself said he would never be good enough.

The steel blue orbs bore into Jason’s making him shift uncomfortably, “Then it will feel like I never came back,” he laughed but Dick found no humor in his words, “Listen Dick, I’m not you. I’m going to be fine.”

Jason wasn’t fine, not right now, not in Gotham. He was suffocating. Loneliness was a silent killer, one worse then the Joker. Jason knew it would kill him all over again if he didn’t do anything to stop it. Dick didn’t understand, he was the golden child. Dick was the first, the better Robin, the most charming, respectful, and kind one of the Bat’s kids. He lived a good life in the circus with his family and then immediately be adopted by one of, if not, the richest men in the world. Dick didn’t grow up on the streets, he wasn’t treated like an outsider in his adopted family, he wasn’t toyed with, frayed, bruised, ripped, or mutilated like Jason. A stranger in his own body is what Jason was.

All of these feeling were internalized of course. What’s the point of talking about the emptiness that plagued him, when everyone was already moved on? Jason had no purpose anymore. Why would Bruce miss one of his thousand kids? Jason was just another passion project... right? Did he serve any real purpose to begin with? All of these thoughts stuck with Jason. No matter how much he wished they would just go away, they would stay ever fervently whirling like a tornado inside Jason’s psyche. The only way to escape them was to leave. They’d have to, if they didn’t Jason didn’t know what he’d do. This is his last hope to try and just be a kid again. A luxury Jason was never given, this is the time where Jason reclaims the innocence that was stolen from him.

He swore it. He meant it. He was going to live it.

After Dick had finally left the room, Jason finished packing. This was the final piece to the puzzle that was Jason’s future. Gotham would lose Jason Todd again, this time by choice. What good did his return do anyway. Gotham could live without Red Hood, she could live without another troubled kid, she could live with one of her kids living without her. Gotham couldn’t live with one of her babies dying again in front of her. Paris craved chaos and by Kawamii was Jason going to raise hell while he’s there. Gotham knew this, so she passed one of her favorite boys to Paris in hopes of his life being preserved. Paris welcomed him with open arms too. What about a baker’s daughter?



Orange. A color of insincerity, empty calories, a color without substance. Orange was a color that would haunt Marinette. Everywhere she turned an Ex-friend and a liar would be there trying to gain her attention. The liar spun beautiful tales of her exploits, but she also created terrors to ruin Marinette. The pathetic excuse of a reporter pestered her into helping her tabloid of a blog, “Come on! Get me an interview with Ladybug!” She would shout, “I have to know about what happened with Rena and Carapace!”

“For the last time, Alya, I’m not in anyway, shape, or form obligated to help you. I’ve made myself very clear in stating that we aren’t friends. You talk bad about me, try to ruin my commission website, and on top of all of that you expe- no, demand something of me?!?” Marinette was furious. The insolence Alya repeatedly shown to her angered her to new bounds, “You think you are in a position to be speaking to me at this moment? Alya, I’m tired of this routine you have taken accustomed to falling into. Just because you forgot your own actions, doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten nor forgiven you for. If you come by the bakery again, I’ll put a restraining order on you in school and outside. You have become a stalker, I don’t want anything todo with you.” 

Marinette had to take deep breaths and close her eyes to calm herself down. 1... 2... 3... repeat. 1... 2... 3... repeat until calm. She could not risk akumitization, it was not an option. Ladybug couldn’t be compromised. Emotions are a luxury that Marinette cannot be awarded. Alya on the other hand, she had no control and abused that.

Once Marinette had opened her eyes, she saw a purple little butterfly touch and be absorbed by Alya’s frames. The exchange between the supervillain and Alya was brief, he didn’t have to say much before the glow of power overtook the glasses sporting journalist. Marinette thought to herself, ‘I can never catch a break, can I?’

Marinette ran, commanding the people to evacuate, to the nearest locker to hide and change in. Tikki has taken no time to change and showcase her new look. Ladybug had outgrown the red and black, polka dotted, skin tight, spandex. She was much too mature for that now. Ladybug was layered in body armor, away with the pigtails that feigned innocence. Her hair was now loosely pulled back by two braids with the rest of her hair down, now her suit was a majority of black. Marinette’s mask’s colors had been inverted. Ladybug was a guardian of the order, a leader, a symbol, she needed to update her look.

She existed the locker, yo-yo in hand. Ladybug swung to higher ground. She had no information on the powers of this akuma, it was time to play everyone’s favorite: the waiting game. This also allowed for Char Noir to get here in time. In the beginning Chat was a little pushy and childish, but after 5 years of fighting he became jaded and more serious in his role. He got himself a girlfriend that didn’t work out but she was there, became a better friend, and more importantly a friend. Chat was tired, the only reason he was still fighting is because of Ladybug. His lady needed someone to balance her out, so until they can find his replacement they’re stuck.

After 5 minutes of waiting and observing, Chat had arrived, “What’s the status? What happened Bugsboo?”

“The akuma’s in her glasses. Alya, was told off by Marinette apparently and couldn’t handle it. And before you say something about Marinette instigating, Alya was harassing her about an interview with me. I will not give her an interview either. She doesn’t want to fact check, fine. I don’t want to give her an interview.”

Chat sighed. This whole situation was getting out of hand. He lost Marinette. Alya is on a warpath. Lila keeps harassing him. Maybe it was time to build his ark while the flood rages. He’s exhausted of playing middleman, of losing important people, he’s tired of fighting. After this he would beg Marinette to accept his apology, but if she didn’t want to he’d understand. This was going on for long enough.

The fight itself only took around 30 minutes. Once the cure was done, Alya awoke to see Ladybug staring her down. Alya didn’t seem to get that Ladybug was infact angry at her, “Ladybug! Can I get an interview?”

“I believe Marinette had told you I wouldn’t be giving you anymore interviews,” she said with venom, she hadn’t meant to but it was seeping out. “I saw the messages you and the rest of you class sent her. All of the hate, I know you tried to ruin her website. And for the last time, I do not know a Lia Rogatonie or whatever her name is. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to leave. Bug Out!”

Alya was left stunned. Tears stained the cheeks of the “reporter” and she realized that she had been live-streaming the exchange. All of Alya’s followers had seen her be chewed out by the savior of Paris and Chat had only nodded. It wasn’t long after Ladybug left that Chat went in the opposite direction.

Marinette landed in an ally by the airport. She had to run home now that school was cancelled. Not actively paying attention to her surroundings, she had run into a large man. He was about 6’0 (182.88 cm) and all muscle. His jet black hair had a white streak going through it, he was devilishly handsome, and his eyes. Oh god, his eyes. They were clear blue, however, there was green infringing on them. It was a sickly green too. Marinette almost drooled at the sight of the Grecian god standing before her.

He had stumbled a bit but she had fell completely on her bottom. Marinette’s face was the same shade of her old suit design. Eventually the man had helped her up with an extended hand, “Are you okay?” He asked in rapid English.

If it wasn’t for all of the lessons Jagged and Penny had given her, she wouldn’t have understood a lick of anything he said, “Umm, I’m fine. T-Thank you,” she responded in accented English.

“You wouldn’t have the directions for Le Grand Paris would you,” he switched the language on her. “That’s where I’m staying, I got lost.”

“Oh, yes of course! I could help you get there, Monsieur...” she waited for him to fill the blanks.

“Jason,” He supplied, “Jason Todd.”

She outstretched her hand again, “Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” she said with her blindingly bright smile.

The sun was setting. A gorgeous orange glow was cast over the two as they walked towards Le Grand Paris. Each thought the other as etherial being and fell into comfortable conversation. This would be the start of a beautiful friendship and possibly romance.

A/N: This was one of my favorite things to write. Thank you to everyone who likes, comments, reblogs, and thank you for sending in the asks. They make my day like you wouldn’t believe. I never expected this many people would actually like the word vomit that comes from my mind. Also, special thanks to @/abrx2002 for the idea to make this series dealing with the entire rainbow! I was just going to do red, but now I’m doing the whole rainbow. If the series isnt done by purple, I’ll do more colors. Also if I didn’t tag you, it’s because I can only tag 50 people at a time. However, I’ll tag you in the comments!

Tag list: @abrx2002 @amayakans @mystery-5-5 @normal-piece-of-shit @st0rmy-w1th1n @mysteriouslyswimmingfan-blo-blog @g-arya @smolplantmum @rayray384 @rosa97 @drarryismylife101 @kris-pines04 @black-streak @storyteller-d @weird-pale-blonde-person @maribat-shenanigans @vivilakitty @mycupisbroken @zalladane @gingerdaile @18-fandoms-unite-08 @seraphichana @zebrabaker @northernbluetongue @jardimazul @ranger-gothamite @grimmhallow31 @finallyaniguana @persephonebutkore @rarity36 @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @hell-or-high-waters @moonlightstar64 @raisuke06 @evil-cricket @starwindmaden @kuroko26 @primeemeraldheiress @ladysblackcat @senpaiweird @loveswifi @2sunchild2 @timetomakeanewwish @theyellowfeverexperience @iloontjeboontje @vgirl-10123 @vixen-uchiha @winter-gardenflower @yokizu @risingmoonyue @semaalcocer-blog

[thattimdrakeguy]

Young Justice #10 review - How not to change a character’s identity.

This is finally the issue were Tim Drake becomes “The Drake” (or maybe just “Drake”), and honestly, it’s just lazy as could be. People were already fearing the issue, and it’s actually kind of worse than expected.

They made every bad choice they could’ve.

It is genuinely horribly done.

Most times when a character changes their identity it means something to that character. It’s a defining moment in their character evolution, and the name actually means something to that character.

Nightwing came from Dick Grayson trying to find himself as he grew up. Gaining the name from a trusted friend who told him a story from his home-world, that helped give Dick Grayson inspiration.

The Red Hood came from Jason Todd literally getting killed by Joker, a person that formerly went by the Red Hood. The name was practically a taunt, but an emotionally charged one that was connected to Jason’s story.

With this name  and costume change, it means NOTHING.

They don’t even explain where the suit comes from. He just shows up in it, and unless I missed it, no one even acts like anythings different, or brings up the costume at all.

Previously I just assumed the costume would spawn from a reasoning that had something to do with this Earth. To actually give a reason for it.

Like how a gang was insulting Tim’s colors.

But that gang that randomly attacked Tim in issue 8 went no where. Making the inclusion of them almost pointless besides world building, but in their defense, world building is important.

I have no idea why Tim thought it was important to change his costume, considering Earth 3 Drake pretty much wears a normal Robin costume.

Making the change in costume even more pointless and meaningless.

Costumes are meant to say something about the character in some shape or form. This costume has no introduction, no one brings it up, and it’s quality alone is shoddy. The colors stand for boring, and dull, in a few panels the red in it comes off almost as clashing, and the lack of any character-based details makes it terrible.

In the most objective way to consider the costume, even ignoring how Tim only wanted to be Robin, this costume was horribly made on the standards set by what costumes are supposed to do.

Costumes are suppose to tell you something about the character.

Tim’s last costume showed he was a boyish, tech based, ninja. Due to character details like short sleeves, built in tech, and ninja toes. Those details showed exactly what his character is, but this new one doesn’t come off like that. The new costume says absolutely nothing.

The logic of Tim choosing the new name is also completely horrible. He has no reason to change his name. Bart just started saying he should change his name to “Drake”. Why? I don’t think he actually says.

Why would Tim want to change his name to match someone who wants to kill him and is evil? Logically, he shouldn’t.

Why would Tim want to change his name just because Bart told him to? Logically, he shouldn’t.

Why would Tim want to change his name while on an alternate Earth? Logically, he shouldn’t.

Why would Tim want to change his name at all considering his character? Logically, he shouldn’t.

Tim Drake’s character always said that if he stopped being Robin, he would stop being a hero. That only changed when he got kicked from the role and felt he still had to save Bruce.

So now that he’s Robin again, why would he leave that role? He finally got back to being Robin like how he wanted, which actually felt good, but they never even explained why he was Robin again. In fact they implied he was still Red Robin, despite all the marketing and character’s saying he was Robin. Causing a massive inconsistency with just that.

It’s just plain out of character for him to change his name, and one of the biggest flaws you can ever make when writing a story of any kind is having one of your characters, especially one of the main characters, act out of character.

The name as well, while using the characters’ own logic, is out of character.

Tim Drake was always told to keep his secret identity hidden from EVERYONE. Even Barbara Gordon didn’t know Tim’s name until Batman told her (although that was mostly because Tim thought it was cool Babs knew Superman’s real name but not his).

In 90s Robin there was an issue were Stephanie Brown as the Spoiler comes close to finding out Tim’s identity. If Tim Drake went by the superhero name “Drake” and she cared enough to search harder, it would only make it that much easier to find out what his real name is.

You could say that the name is so dumb that’s why it’s so great, because anyone trying to figure out their identities wouldn’t expect them to be that dumb, but when the Bat-Family is so protective of their identities, why would they ever take the risk? That’s out of character.

This isn’t the only way this issue was lazy either. This issue constantly uses singular panel pages, as if they’re just trying to fill up space.

There are 4 entire pages dedicated to just one panel. In a 22 page comic, that means there’s only 18 or so pages that don’t go to mostly waste.

When you have a page like that, it’s suppose to be exciting. The first issue of Wonder Comics Young Justice used them excellently, but also, they had 44 pages I believe. So they worked well with the pages they had to tell the story.

In this issue they just overused them, like they were just getting lazy. It feels like a comic that was written during a hangover. Something Bendis might’ve done last minute when he realized he forgot to write the script.

Regardless if that’s not the case, that’s what it feels like.

The dialogue by itself isn’t much either. Mostly feeling rushed as could be, or only generic funny moments.

This is an issue, written of the quality of a comic that knows it’s going to be cancelled. I don’t think that’s the literal case for Young Justice, but that’s the vibe it gives off. It’s written so lazily, like it knows there’s no point, but it’ll use cheap publicity stunts like changing a character’s identity to get any sort of attention it can get.

However one thing the issue does really well, is establish why Jinny sticks out and is important.

It actually makes me want to read a Jinny Hex solo adventure, because Bendis seems much more interested in her than the rest of the team.

Like I love this snarky, queer, magically teched out, cowgirl.

I’ve never been more disappointed by a comic in general in my entire life though.

The first issue of this series capped off like the original series never ended it. It felt right at home, from the art style, the costumes, the writing, the energy, the fast pace. They really captured the magic of Young Justice. That first issue felt so genuine.

In this: the art style was changed due to there being a new and unfitting artist, they’re already changing the costumes to stuff much blander, the writing has become forced and rushed, the energy is zapped, and the pacing is so bizarre because of the constant usage of single pages.

If you want spoilers on the only events in the current day Earth 3 story, here you go: They fight Earth 3 Young Justice (Young $#@%ers? I guess.), Jinny finally uses her magical items, they win, they go back home.

In the flashback story of Jinny: She gets cheated on, we find out she’s a natural hero, we get a sense of her family’s history, and we finally learn more about the mystery of the chest.

There’s so much more character building involved, and she gets to feel like a real fully fleshed out person because of that.

--

If you wanna see the best bit of character usage in the main story, and I’m not being sarcastic when I say I like this part. Is this:

As simple as it is, it uses Tim’s character and the world around him to make a simple moment actually be pretty funny, because it uses the basics of character writing.

Compared to the rest of the Earth 3 story’s over-usage of cheap generic dialogue that anyone could say, and while you could argue anyone could say “Noooo... thank you.” like Tim did in the above panel, it works best with Tim because he’s already been shown as the most awkward, yet moralistic member of the team.

It actually uses his character.

--

I think the above panel is a good showing at the weird choice Bendis has made.

Earth 3 Steph is a more fleshed out character with a purpose than pretty much the entire Young Justice team in this story. When this is only the second story in this run of Young Justice.

Shouldn’t it be more important to keep fleshing out and focusing on the team itself? 

It doesn’t even feel like this is the first time these characters been together in a long time. They act as if they never been separated. Conner being stranded on Gemworld were he helped raise a kid doesn’t feel like it ever happened anymore. It affected nothing. It feels ignored. It makes the comic feel disjointed just from the last story arc.

Young Justice’s dialogue is almost entirely generic. Practically anyone could say what they have, and it would work just as well. There’s no character put into them, besides maybe Bart being immature and mouthy, but the whole team besides possibly Tim when he has his brain cell on is pretty immature and mouthy, and even then, Tim isn’t Captain of maturity, he mostly just forces himself to be because he felt obligated to be leader, he’s still a doofus kid.

--

An issue should never be written as badly as the Earth 3 story in this.

While the Jinny Hex story is actually really well-written as far as character building is concerned, the Earth 3 story is bottom of the barrel as far as quality goes, and that’s the story that actually has the whole team involved.

Bad dialogue, horrible out of character identity change, bad usage of page space, bizarre pacing, lack of story that actually feels worth paying attention too

This issue would personally be given a 3/10, and that 3 only comes from Jinny’s story being quite well written as a character piece.

[cryptids-and-muses]

I had a weird and/or awesome idea for a bat family story.

I don’t think I’m gonna actually write it but I felt like sharing the outline and ideas for the story. This is a mix of a few continuities because I do what I want, and have trouble keeping everything straight. Feel free to add stuff or make suggestions. Now strap in cause I have some thoughts.

So this guy in Gotham is experimenting with transdimensional technology. Oracle discovers what he’s doing and how dangerous it is so she sends the bat family after him. Nightwing, Red Hood, Spoiler, Red Robin, Black Bat, and Robin go after this guy but he sets off a machine and transports them to a different dimension. The main difference of this dimension is that the Graysons never died which set off quite the chain of events, but our heroes don’t know that yet. Cut to this universe’s Batman finding a gaggle of people ranging from early teens to their twenties dressed in weird costumes smoking in a crater. Not to mention a few of them have bats on their chest. This Batman never had a partner outside of Alfred so when they try to explain who they are it doesn’t go great because Batman can’t even imagine working with one kid let alone six. Then he starts to realize a few of these people seem familiar.

In this universe, Dick would have lived with his parents a bit longer but would have eventually been taken by the Court of Owls to become their Grey Son and new talon. Bruce recognizes him after a while because he’s fought him before. It takes a little because he acts drastically different from his unfeeling counterpart in this universe but Bruce probably figures it out after seeing him do some acrobatics, or hears one of the others call him ‘Grayson.’ The realization is pretty jarring for Bruce and it’s really unsettling to see the cold soulless assassin he knows so full of life. He doesn’t tell the bat family that he knows his universe’s Grayson, because that's totally something Batman would do and fun plot stuff later.

He doesn’t know who Jason is AT ALL. He still meets him the same way in this universe but doesn’t take him in. There’s no role of Robin to fill and he has no idea how to care for a child. Bruce does send him to the wayward school for boys but doesn’t really check up on him after that. The whole event becomes a sort of weird story like “remember that one kid who tried to steal tires off the batmobile?” What happens Jason afterward is harder to figure out. Maybe he became a low-level street criminal or a gang leader or ended up in jail. I can’t quite figure it out. What Batman does know is that the boy he meets is using the Joker’s old alias, carries a lot of guns, and looks like he won’t hesitate to use them. None of which is painting a very good picture. This could lead to a cool moment where Bruce, unaware of Jason’s Tragic Backstory™ and fragile truce with his family (Jason is gonna be a lot closer with his siblings in this au), yells at him for this and the others defend him.

Batman probably recognizes Spoiler first. Stephanie would have still gone after her father and created the spoiler persona, even without the inspiration of Robin. However, she wouldn’t have anyone to train her and Batman would be actively discouraging her from going out as Spoiler. That’s not going to stop Steph from being Spoiler but she probably doesn’t operate on a large scale like she does as part of the batfamily. Not only does she have to avoid villains in this universe but also Batman because he doesn’t think she should get involved in vigilante work and tries to stop her when he can. So he sees this version of Steph in a higher tech version of her Spoiler costume and is just so exhausted.

Tim still totally knows who Batman is in this universe. He may not have had Robin to compare to the Grayson’s acrobatics but he would have figured it out somehow. That's where a lot of the similarities end though. Tim would still live with his parents (who are alive) and never really get involved with Batman directly. He became a vigilante because Batman needed a Robin, but here the role of Robin never existed. Tim probably still takes pictures of Batman and that hero worship never really went away. He’s also still an amazing detective even without any formal training. Bruce knows of Tim but doesn't figure out how much he knows, or that Red Robin is an alternate version of him.

Bruce also doesn't know who Cassandra is because he never met her. Her origin stays pretty much the same except she never joins the batfamily. She’d just be out on the streets doing her own thing, on the run from David Cain.

Now with Damian, things get interesting. Another slight change I’d like to make to the universe the batfamily land in is that Damian never left the League of Assasins. Damian has met and fought Batman on a few occasions but Bruse doesn’t know that Damian is his son. Partly because Damian keeps part of his face covered so he can’t see the resemblance. When he meets Robin he has a feeling he’s familiar but can’t quite place it. He realizes this is Talia’s son a little after he recognizes Grayson. Then there's the really intense exchange of “You’re Damian Al Ghul” “No I’m Damian Wayne!” This is extremely shocking for Bruce because of the realization that he has a son. That son is in the League of Assassins! His mother is Talia al Ghul! He has met said son and didn’t even know it! It sets off all sorts of emotions.

As for the actual story, aside from just the general shenanigans of Bruce interacting with the children of his alternate self and trying to get them home, I was thinking that it would start with the alternate universe’s Tim. In this universe Tim is still a genius detective, he’s just not as good because he doesn’t have the training. So he would start poking around in Gotham and discover a huge conspiracy linked to the Court of Owls and decided to figure out just how powerful they are and how deep the conspiracy runs. Cause investigating an all-powerful organization completely on his own with no training is the type of stuff Tim does Batman or no Batman. He only recently discovered the court and is still investigating it when the batfamily show up so Batman isn’t aware Tim knows about the Court or that he’s been looking into them. The Court finds out about Tim’s investigation and send Talon to kill him. The bat family then have to protect this universe’s Tim from Talon, who is Dick. This causes a lot of angst, drama, and family bonding as the batfamily figure out how this universe is different from theirs. I’d love for the other members of the batfamily to get roped into the story somehow too but I’m not sure how. I feel like this story has a lot of potencail and couldn’t just leave it in my head. 

Random Funny Stuff for this au

Dick named a lot of the equipment and stuff Batman uses so in this universe things would probably be named very differently.

Tim: We’ll need to use the bat computer.

Alt Bruce: The what computer?

Tim: You know? The large computer set up in the cave?

Alt Bruce: Yeah but you called it the bat computer.

Tim: Well what do you call it?

Alt Bruce: The computer.

Tim: …..that just feels wrong.

Damian: Yes I know this part of the cave. This is where we keep Batcow.

Alt Bruce: Where you keep what?!

Alt Barbra: My name is Detective Barbra Gordon. Give me one good reason I shouldn’t arrest you all right now.

Jason: Looks like Babs is a Badass in every universe.

Dick: Did you expect any less?

Jason: Honestly? No.

Alt Jim Gordon: *Sees the batfamily* Oh dear god they’re multiplying.

During the Talon fight

Talon: I am the Grey Son of Gotham.

Stephanie: Dick, sweetie, I know you like wordplay but this is low even for you. Get some better material.

Jason: Damn Goldie! When you go dark you don’t fuck around!

Tim: I thought if one of my siblings was going to kill me it’d be Robin. But not you Nightwing, never you.

Dick: I appreciate the attempt at humor but can we please focus.

Alt Bruce: I think my alternate self has a problem with adoption.

Jason: THAT'S WHAT WE KEEP SAYING!!!!

Alt Damian: I heard the bat was working with new warriors but looking at you now I doubt you are even worthy to die by my blade.

*Entire batfamily is silent for a moment before bursting into uncontrollable laughter*

Damian: Do I really sound like that?

Tim: He’s even worse than when the brat first showed up! I didn’t even think that was possible!

[noraarchontis]

Don’t Fall

Chapter 1: Not a Robin Anymore

Link: AO3 | FF

Rated: General

Characters: Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain, Tim Drake, Alfred Pennyworth

Summary: Damian suddenly decided to leave, or perhaps return the mantel of Robin to its previous owner, Tim Drake, without any explanation or discussion with his family. No one knew why. Only Damian knew why, and it was probably for the best.

Next

It was half past four in the morning when a door was suddenly opened from one of the bedrooms inside the Wayne manor. The door noise was not loud; in fact, it was very silent as the person who opened the door slowly went out from the room with its robe hanging on his body and worries painted his whole face. He closed the door quietly and walked to the third door near the end of the hallway; he reached for the door handle to open and reveal what the inside room had to offer for him. As he remembered clearly this was his son’s room, his biological son - Damian Wayne.

He opened the room slowly and was greeted by the darkness that filled the room completely without any lights shining for him to see his way inside the room. His eyes lingered on the boy - a teenage boy - who was sleeping soundly on the bed near the fireplace with his big and dark dog lying on the floor, sleeping as well. His blue eyes slowly relaxed as he approached the bed slowly after he closed the door behind him with a little noise that woke the dog from his slumber.

“Shhh…”

He quieted the big dog before he could bark and wake the whole family up. He caressed the dog’s head as he slowly returned to his sleeping position as he figured out who the big man was. Titus figured that he, Bruce Wayne, was not an enemy that he needed to fight to protect his sleeping owner from.

Bruce gave a quick smile to the dog as he returned his attention toward his son who was sleeping without any movements on the small bed, a twin sized or maybe smaller. He had told his son, once, that he wanted to get him a bigger bed than his current bed, but his proposal was rejected straight away by him as he told his father that he liked his current bed and had no problem with it at all. But, deep inside, Bruce knew that his son didn’t want to give him any more troubles even to a small thing like new beddings. Well, Bruce was still going to get one for his son for sure since he was the only one who had the smallest bedding in the manor and overall, it's because he cared about him.

Bruce Wayne cared about his son.

He cared about Damian Wayne.

However, it was hard for him to understand the reason behind his son's sudden decision of returning - of giving up - the Robin's mantel back to its previous owner, Timothy Jackson "Tim" Drake. Even Tim was also confused by the sudden decision and was left with no other choice but to accept the mantel back and had to pass the Red Robin to someone else for a while. But, it was something Bruce couldn't see or imagine Damian doing, but he did. He had done it and they were no longer the "Dynamic Duo"; they were just father and son.

Former Robin.

Ex-Robin without Batman on his side.

Damian Wayne, the teenage kid who was so proud of his own name, was no longer a Robin. No longer Batman's sidekick. But he was still Bruce's son and as his father, he demanded an answer from the former Robin, the thick headed and stubborn ex-Robin - his son.

The big man sighed as he watched his son slept on the small bed which was probably too small for him to sleep since he saw his son grew up to be more like Talia Al Ghul than him. Talia  had a slim yet strong body and Damian really just looked like her more than like him. Yes, he was his biological son with Talia, whom he had never wanted to come in contact anymore since both of them were the opposite from the other, totally different. And, so was his son. He was different when he first came to him and revealed himself to be Bruce’s son. Damian was trained to kill people; he was trained by the best to do so, the League of Assassins and his mother, since he was still a kid, or maybe a little baby.

Bruce shook his head remembering all the troubles Damian gave to him and his family during his first stay in there. All the fights, arguments, and many more that a normal family would never had but always happened to them. They had gone there and it was not pretty, not at all. But, he could see that his son was slowly growing, maturing in time as many things happened between the two of them, between all the family. Loss, pain, sadness, anger...everything was there, and Damian had grown up since then.

He was never the same anymore...not until he suddenly gave up his mantle back to Tim without any explanations, or discussions with his own father, or the whole family. Damian was capable of choosing his own decisions without any explanations that almost drove Bruce crazy, looking for the mistakes he had done to drive the former Robin to such an extent. But, he could find none. None of them at all.

There was nothing he could find within himself that could drive his own son to give up the role voluntarily.

Yet, maybe Damian found it. And, it became a reason for his withdrawal.

Bruce sighed as he sat near Damian’s bed with a small wooden stool that he knew Damian still used to reach for anything he needed on high drawers and sometimes to pick up books that he liked to read. He touched Damian’s hand and wrapped it on his big, rough hand; it was weird to actually notice little things like this but Bruce enjoyed them with a hint of sadness that lingered on his face - on his touch.

Damian’s hands were smaller than his and...cold. Yes, Damian’s hands were too cold for such a warm morning even Bruce was not feeling that cold, but his son’s hands felt like ice. Does he have a cold? was the first thing Bruce asked himself as he covered his palm on Dami’s forehead, trying to feel the coldness and determined if his son was sick or not.

The big man stood up from the wooden stool as he walked toward the closed closet to find something he could use to warm Damian’s ice cold hands. Bruce turned the lights on as he entered the closet and immediately opened the first drawer to see the inside; then when he couldn’t find anything he was looking for, he opened another one to another one until he found a winter gloves that could warm the smaller hands.

Yet, before he could find the gloves, he found some bottles of vitamin D that remained untouched inside one of the drawers. No, Bruce didn’t know that Damian was taking vitamins for his daily need since he was pretty sure that Alfred, their family butler, had done a great job of maintaining their nutrition despite their intense workout and night job they had.

He didn’t touch the bottles; he just closed the drawer and opened another one, taking a pair of winter gloves before leaving the closet and turning the lights off. He returned to Damian's side, sliding the gloves onto his cold hands and tucking the blanket more. He realized that Damian's blanket was not a normal blanket for summer but a heavy one for winter. It was as if his son really needed a thick blanket to shield him from the coldness of summer night which was abnormal - uncommon for him to see this.

It was almost five in the morning, the time where Damian would normally wake up from his sleep and Bruce normally would still be sleeping. He exited the room slowly, no sound or disturbance that could cause his son to wake up from his sleep. Bruce knew very well that Damian was trained to use all his senses and had the best ability when it came to hearing, but today was not like it. He didn’t seemed to be aware that his father had entered his room with a small cracking noise of the door, the quiet jingles from his dog’s tag, and another small cracking noise from his closet. None of them were registered into Damian’s hearing ability or perhaps, he was just unconscious from his deep sleep.

Another sigh escaped from Bruce’s lips as he opened the door and looked at his sleeping son. “Why did you stop being Robin, son?” He asked, left the room silently, and closed the door quietly.

Damian woke up at six thirty, an hour and half past his normal wake up time, but he knew that he felt better after resting up the whole night without any night activities to disturb him. His muscles felt more well-rested than usual, and he surely would not slur his words or anything like that in front of his family. All he wanted was to look like his normal everyday life in front of his family, so they would not worry about him or much worse, interrogate him for his slightly weird behavior.

He slipped off from his thick blanket and revealed the gloved hands that he had underneath it. He took it off, knowing that Alfred Pennyworth was probably the one who slipped it onto his hands during his sleep as he knew how the old man really took care of everyone in the family even those who were no longer living within the manor.

He smiled, a small and gentle smile, toward the big dog that was already up and ready to face his day with his owner. Titus came near him, placing his head on Damian’s lap as he caressed the dog’s head with his hand.

“Good morning, Titus,” he greeted the dog with a smile.

Titus pulled off from Damian’s lap as he ran to the door, telling his owner that someone was coming. He stood up from his bed, carefully getting a glass of water that was placed on his study table before drinking it, finishing the half of the glass in a short period of time. He heard someone knocking as Titus barked at the person behind the door as they slowly opened it revealing Alfred in front of the door with something on his hand.

“Good morning, Pennyworth.”

Alfred looked at him, greeted him back as he entered the room and placed the closed jar he had on his hand on the young master’s desk. Damian opened the jar that was not tightly closed to see the inside before he could place it somewhere else. He looked at the butler who was still standing beside him without a voice to disturb his train of mind.

“Thank you. I appreciate it a lot,” Damian answered him and closed the jar lightly before placing it near his laptop.

“You’re welcome, sir,” he replied. “Breakfast will be ready in thirty minutes. Would you like me to bring it here?”

Damian looked at the butler as he readjusted some stuffs on his young master's desk to keep it clean.

"I'll be there. Thank you," Damian answered as he saw Alfred's nodded his head and left the room with Titus following right beside him as he knew Alfred would be serving his breakfast.

 He was left alone in his room to prepare to face the world in his best. His eyes lingered on the black tall jar that was decorated with a white tie on it. Damian opened it again, just taking the top lid off to reveal the colorful straws with white strips that Alfred had given to him. Alfred knew that Damian was going to need it someday and soon, especially when drinking liquid ever since he had the problem with swallowing anything, these straws were going to help him, maybe.

He closed the lid and placed it on the desk. He could enter his private bathroom to get ready to face the day and also to change from his pajamas to casual clothing. There was nothing really special happening since it was just Damian getting ready and cleaning himself. As soon as he stepped into his closet, he returned the winter gloves to where it was supposed to be and dressed according to his day.

It literally took Damian twenty minutes to get ready, and before he stepped out from his room, he opened another new vitamin D bottle and took a capsule out for him to take it after meals. He stored the capsule on a small plastic bag, so he could carry it around in his pocket instead of clenched it on his hand for later use.

Damian was immediately greeted by another member of his family after he exited his room; he was greeted by the current Robin, Tim Drake. He just went out from his room when Damian did the same but there were only silence and awkwardness that filled the room as both of them walked to downstairs. Damian walked slower than Tim, and Tim realized this as they were a few feet apart with Tim leading in the front. Damian didn't say anything about it as he just focus on not using too much power and energy because he didn't want to waste a lot of energy in such an early morning.

Tim stopped his steps when he already reached the stairs, looking back at Damian, waiting for him to get down the stairs together, which was something unusual to happen in this family.

"Dami, you are getting really slow," Tim complained as he kept waiting for the other teen to reach where he was standing now. "We're gonna be late for breakfast if you keep walking like a turtle, demon spawn."

"Drake the Piggy Belly can just go on his journey to find food alone," Damian wore his usual grin as he slowly walked closer to where Tim stood.

What would Damian be without an insult here and there? But he knew that Tim wasn't having any of it at all from his face. Well, Tim was never having any of Damian's insult and sassiness but it was different this time. He could tell from the look of Tim's face that he still thought it was wrong for him to return back to be the Robin. It was weird for him to return to Robin when he was already the Red Robin, a man of his own.

Damian shook the thought as he knew he could not tell them the reason of his decision yet. Not until he knew what was really happening with himself. He could just keep a straight face, a face that he always used to, though it should really be restricted. But, Damian knew that he should be careful with all the former Robins, especially Tim Drake and Dick Grayson, since they were all trained by the world's greatest detective, Batman or should he say, his Father, Bruce Wayne.

Tim was studying Damian's face and movements to determine things, something, or anything. He knew that Tim was probably going to be the first who figured out the reason for the sudden decision since he was the equal of the greatest detective.

"Go for your own breakfast, Drake. There's no such a need to wait for anyone," he said.

He looked away from Damian, who was still walking really slow and taking light footsteps to get to where he needed to be. Damian saw him walking down the stairs and slowly disappearing from his sight and by the moment he reached where the other Robin was standing, Tim was no longer walking down the stairs. He was already in the dining table with the others.

It took him fully ten minutes and more to get down the stairs to be with the others for breakfast. His father and Tim were already sitting on the chair on the dining table with their breakfast served while Alfred had just placed Damian's portion on the table. He was not surprised for having a full house all of a sudden in the morning. He saw Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, who was surprisingly here, on the table enjoying their breakfast. By breakfast, he meant full sugary cereal bowl for his former teacher and companion while the other, he couldn't really see what he was having.

Damian's breakfast included a scramble egg that was fully chopped to small pieces for him to easily digest along with the sausages too. A small glass of milk was also a must have for him since he wanted to grow tall, possibly as tall as his father though he knew that he inherited his mother's genes more than his father.

"Good morning, Grayson. Todd," he greeted. "Morning, Father."

His father stared at him, taking his attention away from the newspaper he had on his hand. They said nothing as they kept staring at each other in suspicion and confusion, especially when his father didn't greet him back like usual. Damian ignored him as he sat on his seat; his father's eyes were still on him, tracking every movement just like a detective tracking every possible movement of his target.

Bruce greeted him after their butler cleared his throat, asking Damian if he would like his breakfast to be heated again to which Damian replied with a no. He didn't say anything to his father or even to the others as they just ate their breakfast in silent as Alfred disappear from the background, probably having his own breakfast.

He knew everyone was still surprised by his sudden decision but it was for the best. Batman needed a Robin like Tim Drake or Dick Grayson, or maybe like Jason Todd. Not like him. He knew that from a very long time, but now was the best time to let the mantel go.

"Dami, you're going with me for lunch," his former mentor said or commanded.

Damian turned his head to see Dick but all he could see was a bowl of cereal covering his face. Dick did like his cereal so much, but he didn't know that he would have done such a commotion especially in front of Bruce. He couldn't really say no to anything his former mentor asked him to since he knew the power of force was something Dick Grayson could do.

"You paying."

Dick nodded his head in agreement as almost all of them part their ways after they finished their breakfast, leaving Damian alone in the table with dirty dishes still on the table with Alfred accompanying him. He ate in silent, bite-after-bite while the butler collected everything from the table except his young master's plate.

"Do you have any plans for today, master Damian?" He asked, finished collecting all the dirty plates and placing it on the trolley.

"Nothing really," he said. "I only have doctor's appointment at ten and lunch with Grayson."

Alfred nodded his head, noting everything his young master had told him.

"Shall I drive to the hospital?"

Damian looked at him; staring at him for a while to think about his answers before telling anything. Alfred already knew the answer to his question. He knew that Damian was not allowed to drive anymore, and he never tried to go against it anyway because it was his rule. The rule he made for himself to obey.

"Yes, please do," he finally answered. "Thank you, Pennyworth."

Alfred could only look at his young master with a smile on his face. There was nothing he could do to answer his young master at all but a small bow and a smile.

"You are very welcome, sir."

Then, he left the room. Leaving Damian with his bowl of small square mixed fruits that Alfred had prepared especially for him.

[awfully-sadistic]

Prompt #8: January 8, 2019

a river the color of sunset

Implemented with Tuesday’s theme, Tender Tuesday.

The sun had begun to set, casting a symphony of red, blue, and yellow streaks of color sprawling across the vast sky overhead. The sun was gradually sinking low into the horizon and lit up the nearby river with the color of a sunset before finally, a dark curtain settled onto the landscape making the water appear black. Stars started to appear, twinkling into existence against the backdrop of the night sky and Dot shifted in her seat, scooting closer into her companion’s side.

“I don’t get to watch sunsets often, at all, but that was ...really fucking beautiful.” Jason Todd looked down at Dot as she had moved and put his arm around her shoulder to ensure she didn’t fall from the branch they were perched on.

Dot hummed in agreement, yawning slightly as the day had worn her out. After what had been an event full of adventure and mischief at the river, it was also a guise for Bruce and the family he had took under his wing to spend some time together in a setting that reflected peace and serenity. With so many people in the Wayne Manor and their responsibility to the city of Gotham, personalities were bound to collide and clash into each other. Dot had been right, watching weeks and weeks of tempers flare and snide comments snipe from either side that she finally decided to do something about it. The river provided the best area that Dot thought was a hidden gem within the grime of the crime-riddled city. It was so hard to find someplace that reflected nature at its seemingly untouched purest, far away from the sirens and bustle of city life. Dot planned it all with a helping hand from Alfred, packing an extravagant lunch and even roping Bruce into showing the small family how to fish.

Granted, Bruce didn’t know how to fish himself, this had provided the best entertainment of the day by far. All in all, Dot thought the day was a success and by the end of the day, she saw that they were laughing among each other instead of handing out threats.

The rest of the Bat family had packed up and left from their day at the river, leaving only Jason and Dot in each other’s company. Dot had wanted to sit and stay a little longer to watch the river being an avid fan of bodies of water. It took a little convincing but Jason reassured Bruce he would stay with Dot to ensure nothing happened to her; he was capable of actually killing anyone who tried yet that was what Bruce was afraid of. 

It had been Dot’s intention on seeing the sunset but she never accounted for anyone wanting to sit and watch it with her. But that was her problem; she never thought about herself.

What she didn’t know was anyone would jump on the chance to spend precious time with Dot alone--and many of them did. It was obvious that she was the glue that held this dysfunctional family together, even if she couldn’t put herself into the role of “Mother” for the rest of the family. If anyone needed the reassurance of their place in the Wayne family, it was Dot. But she was always busy thinking and taking care of other people.

It was the thought Jason had at the front of his mind as he sat with her now. He rubbed her arm, feeling the raised flesh of goosebumps on her bare skin. “Are you cold, ma?” he asked, shifting before Dot even replied. He took his jacket off and placed it around her shoulders and replaced his arm to tug her into his side.

Dot was still caught on the “ma” part of that question, still not used to any of the Robins or Batgirls calling her any variation of mom. It always seemed to send a rush of heat to her face, tinting her cheeks a faint red and struck her speechless for a second or two before she could usually respond. If she was cold before, it didn’t apply now.

“Thank you, Jason.” she smiled, turning her face up to look at him. He returned her sentiment with a smile of his own, a rare thing for Jason nowadays. It surprised her how he seemed at ease right now when at home, he was like another person. Her eyes caught to the way the wind ruffled his hair, the streak of white at the front fluttering like the wings of a butterfly as they played peek-a-boo against the dark raven strands. Dot knew, but didn’t quite understand, why it was a mark of shame for him. She would have asked if she weren’t afraid of crossing any boundaries (that weren’t there). And it never seemed like a good enough time to ask since he kept his distance away from the household. Jason had to be the son she sees less in the household than anyone else. Even Dick and his duties as Nightwing visits whenever he’s away from the manor.

But anyone who stayed with the Wayne family long enough understood why. Dot knew Jason wasn’t like the others in terms of fighting crime. It was where he and Bruce butted heads a lot and it was the one thing Jason couldn’t change about himself no matter how hard Bruce had tried and still continues to try to get through to him. Jason was also brash, impulsive, foul-mouthed, and more aggressive than the other men. This led to a lot of conflicting views and opinions. Sometimes Dot thought Jason believed it was better he was away. But she’s seen the way Bruce stays in a bad mood after an altercation with Jason; he doesn’t reflect it well, but he worries and he stays away from the rest of the family by patrolling the streets for days at a time, neglecting his own health. And afterwards, seems broodier than usual.

“Everyone loves you, you know.” Dot said, carefully. She felt it might have been necessary to remind him but she could feel Jason tense by her side. She frowned and worried on her bottom lip wondering if she had said the wrong thing.

After a while, Jason spoke. “I know.”

Dot waited for a while to see if he would speak again but he didn’t. If she had to guess, he was probably thinking about his place in the family. It was a huge deal he even came to the river today.

“I don’t know how to get along with them.” he admitted, quietly, and Dot could see from his expression, it was hard to admit this. She felt her heart squeeze in response, resting her head on his arm. 

“Well... don’t feel too bad about that,” she mildly joked while giving his knee a pat. “they don’t know how to get along with each other, either.”

This seemed to make Jason smile before it was soon replaced with a frown. “I know I’m different from them. Always have been. Always will be.”

Now it was Dot’s turn to frown, “That’s not a bad thing, to be different. You each just have your own strengths and weaknesses. If you were all the same, there wouldn’t be any point of you being you. Or Richard being Richard... or Tim or Duke or Cassandra or Damien.”

“Even if I kill people and they don’t? Doesn’t that just make my personality worse than theirs?”

“Worse? Who told you that you were worse?” Dot asked, leaning forward a bit so she could tilt her head under Jason’s ducked one. “Did Bruce say that? I’m going to kick his caped crusader ass--”

Jason laughed lifting his head, “No. ...No, he didn’t.” his eyebrows furrowed; he’s never recalled an instance where Bruce claimed Jason was worse than any of them, though he always seemed... disappointed. He ran a stressed hand through his hair, shaking his head as he thought about his old mentor. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter--”

“Nah uh,” Dot said, straightening up. “You don’t do that to me.”

“Do what?”

“This never mind business. You don’t open up, you don’t speak about these things, how is anyone ever going to know how you feel or know what’s bothering you if you keep it bottled inside? How is that going to make the situation better for you in the future? How is anyone going to understand you?”

“Things don’t need to change,” Jason pointed out. “and I’ve been doing a damn good job of getting by by not sharing, that it doesn’t even bother me.”

“Oh... you’re lying so hard to me right now.”

“No, I’m not.”

“You did it again. You are killing your mother.”

Jason grinned down at her, moving into her space to press his forehead against hers. “I’d just about be the only one in this family who could do it.”

Dot immediately shied away, laughing. “That’s terrible.”

“What can I say? I’m a terrible guy.”

“If you don’t stop, Jason Todd, I’m going to push you from this tree.”

“I’d just land on all fours, like a cat.” 

“Is that a stupid joke?” Dot asked, whipping her head at him. Jason grinned, a hint of mischief in his eyes and she could see, no realize, that a glimmer of the old Jason was in there. And he was only half kidding. He’s only come back from the dead once. Not like he has nine lives. Well, the Lazarus Pit does keep him from aging and he can regenerate pretty quickly. It was like having nine lives.

“Maybe.”

“You think you’re so hilarious.” Dot said before adding, “Well, you are.”

Jason couldn’t resist, “Sorry I’m funny.”

Dot gasped. “Oh, how dare! How very dare!”

Jason and Dot laughed, wrapped together in the moment. Jason looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself, carefree and released from the thought of himself he shaped himself to be--at least, from what Bruce could tell from his spot a few feet away, obscured by the shadows of the leaves and thick branches of the tree he had been standing on; his cape quietly flapped in the accompanying wind but he hadn’t been noticed and he didn’t think he would be at this point. He didn’t quite approve of the topics they strayed to as he listened but he could tell that Dot was getting through to Jason in ways he couldn’t because she complimented and filled in what he lacked. 

The soft hand of a concerned mother... even if that line seemed to blur most times.

[skalidra]

So in your earth - 3 verse the owl family seems more tight knit than the batfam - if I'm right. They even make sure Jason is more so in the group than the batfam. They also make it more of an effort to do that - even to the point of 'too much.' How else is the owl family different from the batfam. Besides the fact that they're bad guys. Like each character and how they differ between the alternat version of themselves. Also if the two were to meet what would they think of the other/respond?

I know you already wrote where Nightwing and Nightingale switch universes for a little bit but if they (had) to work together or something, even if that would be filled with conflict. Also do you think that some of them might be jealous in some way of their alternat self. Like Jason seems to have it somewhat worse in the batfam verses the owlfam. Tim perhaps as well. And how do you think after having to 'work together' they would end up veiwing the other?

It's not that I see them liking each other - no. But actually perhaps growing to resent each other on a more personal level. What do you think

Well, probably the simplest, biggest difference between the Bat vs Owl characters is just because of the variations on how they were raised.

Below follows a lot of discussion of my Earth-3 universe, Nightingale, etc.

Starting with the differences...

- Dick was actually pretty similar up until Bruce, though his childhood had more of a focus on show business, but Bruce encouraged him to get revenge for his parents and set him on a much darker path than canon Dick. The Owl version plays hard for an audience. He doesn’t let himself rely on basically anyone, and he views almost everyone as at least a little bit inferior to him. He saw his parents die, trusting each other and the rope, and he’s not going to ever let himself make that same mistake. He trusts his family, is viciously protective of them, and would burn the world and himself to make sure they survive. He’s still the workaholic, he’s still the one to make the sacrifice play if he thinks he has to, but he hides that loyalty because it’s also a sort of weakness.

Nightingale, on the outside, plays to everything that makes people underestimate him. He’s pretty and he’s lithe and if you make the mistake of thinking his attractiveness makes him less dangerous, you’ll end up on the sharp end of a knife real quick. A blade is easier to hide when it’s smiling, instead of glaring at you. (And a flirt distracts and unnerves people; makes them sloppy.) Nightingale exploits every weakness in other people, especially the ones that he causes himself.

A Nightingale that met Nightwing would think that he was full of weaknesses, and Nightwing would be horrified at the potential that he could turn out like this, if things went just the right way. There would be a mutual respect of talent and skill, but Nightwing would want to jail/contain/neutralize Nightingale, and honestly Nightingale would probably want Nightwing dead. After all, Nightwing is a living, walking example of all the things that Nightingale doesn’t want anyone to know about him (that he loves his family, that he has a hell of a temper, that he works himself to the bone more often than not, etc.). No one would walk away happy from that, if they walked away at all.

- Jason is somewhat more stable in the Owls, but he’s also a lot more screwed up in different ways. Dick’s got him all twisted up around his fingers, and trying to go a different path from the rest of your family is a lot harder when the rest of your family are a bunch of murdering psychopaths instead of, you know, heroes. One version gets you stuck in jail, the other gets you stabbed and repeatedly dragged back to them. On the other hand, it’s harder to ignore someone killing when you don’t want them to, as opposed to the Owl version where every once in awhile Jason just does something heroic and/or not totally in line with family wishes, which mostly just provokes irritation.

So I wouldn’t say that he’s necessarily got it better than canon Jason. It’s somewhat easier early on, but he doesn’t agree or like all the family tactics and those kind of dislikes build up over time. Sooner or later, Jason’s going to need time to not be around that kind of easy violence. That might not go well.

Canon and Earth-3 Jason meeting would go, I think, fairly smoothly. They’re both fucked up, but they’re both somewhere in the morally grey area and they share a love of the rest of their family. There would be some commiserating about being the respective black sheep of their families, but really Jason - in either world - I think is too grounded to want to try and change or interfere with another universe’s version of him. Once they got the situation figured out, things would go peacefully.

- Tim is... He was neglected, terribly, in Earth-3, but this tiny Tim didn’t have a Robin to look up to, he had a Talon. He puts together this information that Bruce Wayne is the Gotham urban myth/supervillain/terror of the night Owlman, and he watches Talon, and he sees an answer to all his problems. A role model. When Jason dies is really the tipping point. Bruce becomes unstable, he gets violent in rage instead of from calculation, and Tim steps in to offer himself as an apprentice to restore the order he’s seen come to life under Owlman’s rule. He doesn’t do things in halves either, so he goes to Bruce and he offers himself, and he asks for Bruce to kill his parents (who he barely really knows anyway) and take him in.

Tim in Earth-3 is a maladjusted, nearly sociopathic killer that sees people as either people that can be used, or are useless, with the rare exceptions of those that he truly comes to know and respect/be loyal to. (Bruce, Dick, and later down the line, Kon, Jason, and Damian as well.) Those are also the ones that actually treat him as someone close to them/loved, and he’s honestly so starved for that attention that even scraps of it are enough to keep him completely loyal to someone.

He hates being out of control, he doesn’t like other people having an advantage on him, and he’s learned that in a world full of people stronger than him, the best defense is to have strangleholds already in place for anyone that might be a threat. The rest of his family is, physically, more dangerous than he is, but Tim studies people and he pinpoints exactly how to beat them, and that makes him a terrible enemy to have.

Tim meeting himself would be... perilous. Canon Tim, like Dick, hates seeing how very twisted and evil he can get, given the proper motivation. Earth-3 Tim, on the other hand, probably just thinks that canon Tim isn’t worth his time. (Except maybe to pick his brain for any ideas that may not have occurred to him.) If canon Tim gets in his way, he’ll kill him; otherwise, may as well leave the threat alone and avoid it, if possible. Why take the risk?

- Damian really is more or less the same. In both worlds he’s raised in a family that’s trying to teach him one way of live, and then he comes to Bruce and he learns a different one. One that he thinks is difficult at first, or doesn’t fully understand, but quickly becomes accustomed to and enjoys, inevitably picking it over Ra’s’ side of things. Damian of Earth-3 might actually be a little bit less of a rage-ball. In the Owls, he’s accepted for any and everything he might be, with the only condition being that he remains loyal to his family. If that means he loves animals? The other Owls will gladly support that habit (even if there will be a bit of teasing). He wants to go out and take out all his bad feelings on someone? They’re there for that too.

The main difference? The Owls do not take shit from Damian. There’s no ‘he’s a kid, go easy on him’. There’s no Damian ousting Tim from his position. Pecking order (forgive the pun) is very well established in the Owl family, and Damian being Bruce’s son doesn’t mean that he gets to jump to the top. Dick earns Damian’s respect/slight fear right off, with his initial ‘let me test you’ sparring session, and when Damian tries to press his ‘blood son’ advantage over Tim? He gets his ass handed to him. Tim takes him down hard, and Damian is never stupid enough to try it again. Tim gives up his position willingly, and Damian becomes Talon, the latest apprentice.

I think if the Damians met, there would mostly just be unease. These are versions of themselves that, from their point of view, fell to what they rejected. If possible, I think they’d be best suited by parting ways as soon as possible, though neither would be willing to let the other run around in their universe. The only peaceful way that happens is if they can split and go back to their own worlds, otherwise it’s a ‘I must stop you’ situation.

[theheavymetalmama]

Soooo...Jason Momoa told a little kid that Superman wasn't in Justice League because he was dead, DC is making a Superman Year One comic with Frank Miller as the author, they're making a two-part animated movie based on "the Death and Return of Superman," and rumors are flying around that Supergirl is going to be in Justice League. Oh, and the Justice League trailer dropped. Your thoughts?

That’s a lot to take it. Let’s start with the big one. New Justice League trailer!

Sorry guys, still don’t like it. Granted, it doesn’t look as bad as the previous trailer made it look, but it still looks massively underwhelming. Hell, the only character presented I even like is Wonder Woman, because she’s the only one who’s been established.

Well, established in a good movie, at least.

The rest consist of a Batman who belongs behind bars just as much as any of his villains and three other characters we’re meeting for the first time fighting a villain that nobody gives a shit about, which could be forgiven if the characters were interesting but again Batman’s an asshole and we don’t know anything about Aquaman, Flash, or Cyborg yet. And am I the only one who cringed at Cyborg’s line? Not the line itself, but the flat, robotic delivery. Good god, they took one of the most expressive and emotional live-wires in comic book history and turned him into Arnold from Terminator 2, but without the charm and charisma.

I’m also not looking forward the role the Amazons play, which appears to be them being in the movie for the sole purpose of Steppenwolf to kill/mop the floor with them. Yeah, take the place and characters everybody who watched Wonder Woman fell in love with and just wipe them off the face of the Earth in their second appearance. No way there’s going to be any backlash from that!

Honestly, I could write an essay’s worth of things in the trailer that irked me, but topping that list are these lines from Batman.

“Superman was a beacon for the world. He didn’t just save people, he made them see the best parts of themselves.”

Let’s forget for a moment that Superman has only been in two DCEU movies and you can count on one hand how many times he was shown in a heroic light. Let’s forget for a moment that Man of Steel and especially Batman v Superman spent more time hammering into audiences skulls that more people in this world are afraid of Superman than there are people who see him as a hero. And let’s forget for a moment that this Superman has spent more time feeling sorry for himself than he ever did being the symbol of hope the movies tried and failed miserably building him up to be.

Let’s instead take into account that these lines are coming from Batman. Oh yeah, Superman totally brought out the best in people. That’s why after the disaster in Metropolis, you took a deep breath, composed yourself, and reached out to him to see what he was really about before jumping to conclusions and-oh wait, no you didn’t, you obsessed over him for over a year and decided to straight-up murder his ass, you fucking hypocrite!

Seriously, what the fuck, WB? You spend two whole movies shitting on Superman, the people who love him, and his legacy, and now you’re trying to save face by saying that he brought out the best in people when you’ve only shown the BAD things that happened because he exists? Fuck off. No, seriously, fuck right off. You have to EARN that shit, which you fucking didn’t because you killed Superman before anybody could connect with him and threw the entirety of “The Death and Return of Superman” right under the bus in the last 20 minutes of a Batman movie! I honestly don’t know what’s worse. That Batman is being portrayed as a stupid and hypocritical murderous asshole, or that said stupid and hypocritical murderous asshole is leading the team that Superman is supposed to be the leader to!

Ugh, FUCK everything! But let’s move on, shall we? Frank Miller is writing Superman: Year One.

The very idea of Frank Miller writing any solo-Superman story makes my skin crawl. The fact that the same guy who turned Superman into Ronald Reagan’s personal attack dog who can’t read and raped Wonder Woman is retelling Superman’s origin story? Ugh. Just thinking about that makes me feel like I need to jump into a swimming pool filled with bleach and then get buried up to my neck in rock salt!

Let’s all just put aside that Frank Miller is a racist and misogynist scumbag who hasn’t written anything good since Robocop vs the Terminator. Let’s instead take into account that the man has been writing comic books for 40 years now and has written Superman several times, and every time he’s portrayed him as stupid, boorish, and incompetent while going out of his way to have Batman humiliate him in some way, shape, or form. Yes, I know, Miller has said that he actually likes Superman and only wrote him that way because the story was from Batman’s perspective and that he actually regrets writing him as a government tool, yeah, I don’t fucking believe him. He’s had dozens if not hundreds of opportunities to show Superman in a positive light and he’s never done it. He’s never done it before, so why would he now? The only time Superman has ever been portrayed with any semblance of who he actually is in a Frank Miller work was in Dark Knight III: the Master Race…you know, the one book in the series that Frank Miller didn’t write! Oh, but he wants to write part IV, so great, he’ll get to shit on Superman one more time before he either retires or his diseased liver and STD-ridden body do him in. “Oh, but Katie, he has cancer!” So? He’s still an asshole!

Well, that was grim. Let’s talk a little bit about Jason Mamoa telling a little kid that Superman was dead.

Okay, in the interest of fairness, I don’t think Mamoa had any malicious intent. I’m sure he was just caught up in the moment and wasn’t thinking straight, especially when he apologized to the same kid during an autograph signing that followed the panel. It was still a dick move on his part, but whether or not he gave it some thought, his fellow cast members told him “dude, that’s a little kid,” or his PR guy said “Look Mamoa, Warner has done a fine job of alienating Superman fans all on their own, they don’t need you helping. Now if you want to shrug off being typecast as an uncouth barbarian you’d better stop acting like one and say you’re sorry!” I’m glad he realized it was a dick move and took it back. I’m sure the fact that WB still wants to convince us that Superman is really dead wasn’t helping either. Speaking of which…

The Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen are getting animated adaptations.

I have very mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, this was one of the stories I said deserved a faithful animated adaptation. Yes, some aspects don’t hold up anymore, but they can be worked around. This is also not the first time the story was adapted, as “Superman: Doomsday” was what kicked off the string of animated DC movies. But it was also very watered down and may as well have been called “Superman: the Clone Saga.” So the fact that they’re making a two-part animated adaptation should be good news…

Having said that, let’s get real. If they genuinely wanted to make a faithful adaptation of ‘The Death of Superman,’ they would have already. I can’t shake the feeling that the only reason it’s even being made is because Warner and DC realize that shoe-horning Doomsday into the end of BvS only succeeded in alienating Superman fans and they need to save face, not helped by the fact that the last animated solo-Superman movie they made, Superman Unbound, came out in 2013. Everything else since then has been either a Justice League movie or a Batman movie. Oh sure, Superman was in some of them, but the only one where he had anything resembling a leading role was in Justice League: Gods and Monsters…the alternate universe story where Wonder Woman is from space, Batman is a vampire, and Superman is the son of General Zod and his capsule lands on the US/Mexico border right as some refugees are crossing because apparently the writers felt that Superman being an alien just wasn’t quite on the nose enough.

Now I know what you might be thinking. “Okay, so maybe they didn’t make it as soon as you would have liked, but they’re making it anyway so what’s the problem?” The problem is the possibility that they’re making this not because they want to or feel that it’s a story worth adapting, but again just so they can save face for those of us Superman fans who felt alienated at the conclusion of Batman v Superman where the entirety of the story was boiled down to “Lex Zuckerburg creates Nuclear Man 2.0 and Superman gets stabbed to death at the end.” And a movie that nobody wants to make tends to be a movie that nobody wants to see.

That’s to say nothing of the fact that DC animated movies…well, they just haven’t been very good lately. Ever since their Flashpoint film, the movies have ranged from okay to outright bad. Justice League: War sucked, Son of Batman was obnoxious, Assault on Arkham was good but not great, Throne of Atlantis was a snooze-fest, Batman vs Robin sucked, Gods and Monsters was okay, Batman: Bad Blood had a good movie in it that was bogged down by the writers putting Batwoman’s story on the back-burner and insisting Dick and Damian arguing had to be on the forefront, Justice League vs Teen Titans could have been good if they didn’t put the least-interesting character Damian Wayne center-stage for no goddamn reason, Justice League Dark was hot garbage, Judas Contract was lame, and the less said about The Killing Joke the better.

In short…I hope it’s good, but given previous movies and the circumstance, I’m not holding my breath.

EDIT: Forgot about Supergirl apparently appearing in Justice League. I hope she kicks Batman’s ass. It’s long overdue somebody took Batman down a peg and I can think of worse motivations than “You got my cousin and only other member of my race killed,” as well as providing catharsis for Superman fans given he landed a grand total of two fucking punches in the title fight of Batman v Superman. Other than that, I don’t really care. Her inclusion can’t make the movie anymore troubled than it already is.

[sweetwriting]

Tim Drake Week 2017 - Day 5 : Injury / Healing

Category : Gen

Genre : Angst / Family

Fandoms : DC Comics, Batman (1940), Detective Comics, Robin v4 (1993), Red Robin (2009), Teen Titans (2003)

Continuity : Post-Crisis/Pre-Flashpoint

Summary : So maybe Tim loved Dick too much, but to be fair Dick was the only person he had to love for a long time.

Author’s notes : This one’s about Tim and Dick’s BROTHERLY relationship Also I try to keep most of the fics for this Week less than 1000 words...I have failed yet again

Word Count : 2827

To read it on AO3

Tim, as can be expected from any non-powered person running around in costume fighting criminals, had received many injuries in the past four years (as proved by his asplenia). Physical, psychological (thank you Scarecrow, Darkseid and Granny Goodness, you've been some of the worse) and emotional, he went through them all. It probably did not help that he was from a rich family (no matter how reckless he could be sometimes, he still lived in as safe an environment Gotham or boarding school for Richie rich (white) kids could be) or that he wasn't very emotionally stable to begin with (he never realized it until he got the chance to open up to his friends and they looked at him as if he was the "saddest little bean" ever -Conner's own words. He hadn't known Bart and Conner were able to feel like this toward anything other than children, women or TV shows and Video Games).

So yeah, lots and lots of bad History there. Still the worse injuries had been the emotional and psychological ones (he still had nightmares about their time on Apokalips, he still sees the nightmares Granny Goodness had created for him, he had nightmares where he didn't "turn down" the Anti-Life Equation and those were often mixed with memories of a future where he became a dictator, where he had managed to clone Conner). The worse ones though were the deaths : Steph, Bart Cass. It didn't matter if some ended up not being real he was still forced to start grieving and psychology hadn't really caught up on how to react to your friends coming back to life. There was also that time he was preparing himself for Dick joining the list (he honestly doesn't know what would have happened to him if Dick had died) and Dana, though not physically wounded was pretty much unable to handle a complete conversation or even take care of herself. His mother and father were special cases themselves as what hurt the most was never knowing what could have been and knowing what never was. Then there were the harshest ones : Conner's and Bruce's. They had both impacted him so deeply he didn't think he would ever truly heal from them. Conner's because, well because he's his best friends, one of the most important people in his life (and hadn't that been an unexpected turn) and Bruce, well, because it's Bruce. Tim became Robin to protect him from himself (and barely lasted four years and a half). But everything that happened because of his death made it worse.

And that's what this is about right ?

Tim loves Dick. He has since he was 3. Dick was his role model, then his big brother, one of the rare people he could confide in (After Conner's death, when they were gone and later on learning Bart's "disappearing act" he became pretty much the only one aside from Cassie sometimes). The tragedy of Dick's childhood shaped his life.

And Dick chose Damian. He knew that he had failed Bruce but he still deserved to be Robin and yet Dick had chosen this homicidal kid for the role. And of course, Dick was the new Batman, the former Robin, of course his vision for the role is what mattered most. But...Tim was the one who had...he had to force Bruce to take on a new Robin, he worked himself almost to the death to be worthy of the mantle and it was taken from him. Dick didn't even have the gut to tell him he just...he was walking in to get changed Damian was wearing a Robin uniform. Was it that hard to tell him? Was it because of his theory that Bruce is alive? Did Dick think he was so mad with grief he really didn't deserve the mantle? What was Tim supposed to do? He just said that it was because he thought he was ready to be his own hero. But then why not talk it through with him? He didn't even have the time to choose a new name and he had to find Bruce. He didn't *have* the time for that. How could Dick do that to him. How could he suggest that Tim was mad when he was the one running away from his grief? Dick was the one who got angry at Bruce Oh so many times because he made decisions without consulting the people concerned and Dick did exactly the same with Tim.

The hypocrisy was daunting. Tim had always known that Dick was more similar to Bruce than either of them would admit. But they were similar and it made Tim so, so sad. he didn't know what to do.

Yes, he did.

He had to find Bruce. Because Bruce has to be alive. Because he needs to not be mad. Because his brother, his model admitted that Tim just wasn't enough. No matter the excuses he tried to give, at the end of the day, Tim lost his second father in a year and his brother took the last thing Tim had from him. Took the last bit of anything right in his life away from him to give it to someone who had tried only a few months prior to kill him in order to become Robin. And well Tim had just lost the two things he had left. Damian had reached his goal even if it wasn't in the way he had expected.

But Tim still had one thing to do and he couldn't actually die until it was done. He had to bring Bruce back home.

Bruce had been back for a year now. Tim…still hadn't really talked with either of them.

The truth is that he spent most of his downtime with Conner, Bart, Cassie, or any of the Titans (it turns out Solstice had actually met his father when he went out on a dig once) rather than try to talk to any of the Bats outside of Barbara, Alfred and Cass.

He and Steph had a truce and they could work together if they had to but it was still awkward. They had, after all always had this on and off relationship which only stopped when she died. Her coming back to life ended up with him being confused about which part he was supposed to be feeling : wanting to start again like they always did ? or just try and be friends ? Because it wasn't like it had been with Ariana, when he had pretty much already moved on when they broke up. His and Steph's break up was sudden to him (even if in retrospect he realized it was bound to happen soon enough) and her death only happened within a few weeks of it. He never had the time to realize a car hit him before a truck hit him harder. And this time it seemed to be truly over but what do you do when you have a history of going back to this person, even if you have realized you only did it because of familiarity? Because you missed having intimacy with someone and it was just easier to fall back into a known situation even if it wasn't an ideal one, even if you knew it was going to end badly but couldn't help hoping it wouldn't simply out of fear of being alone, out of fear of never finding anyone you could get this intimacy with.

Tim wished he had an answer to this question but the truth is that he was still struggling. He was lucky he had his friends back to keep him out of Gotham on a regular basis, to be in a somewhat supportive environment. It wasn't perfect obviously, they all had their own issues and Conner and Cassie's strained relationship wasn't easy especially for him and Bart. Because while they were all best friends Bart and him were better friends with Conner than they were with Cassie and Cassie knew it and even if neither tried to make them chose between them (it wasn't a "who to side with" choice obviously, more of "who gets to keep who" kind of choice) they all knew what that choice would be, especially for Tim (Bart might choose Cassie just to counterbalance Tim's choice, even if it wouldn't be his main choice), and it hurt because they did love Cassie. So even if they didn't talk about it, the elephant was in the room. Or at least it was until Bart couldn't stand it and locked the three of them in a room until they either "killed each other, made up or had a threesome" (the last one had shocked them, both because they didn't understand why Bart would associate the idea of a threesome with them and because, even if they knew Bart had grown up and was knowledgeable about a variety of subjects, some things were still hard to swallow and Bart being aware of sex always managed to surprise them no matter how often it happened). Of course they could have gotten out easily, between the two powerhouses and Tim's own pick locking skills, it was child's play. Only, if Bart hadn't intervened, Tim wouldn't have lasted much longer. So when his friends got ready to destroy the door, he stopped them and forced them to confront their issues (it was so much easier to force other than to do it himself). And sure, just because they talked about it, it didn't mean everything was all and good but it meant that at some point it could be.

And why was he saying this? Because he was avoiding the situation at hand obviously. He was in a coffee shop, sitting across from Dick, a cup of hot chocolate filled with melting whipped cream between his hands. Cass was right, they had to talk things through. Still, she had allowed him a few months because for once in his life he felt he had a right to not forgive right away. Sure it seemed petty but, Tim always forgave people. There were only five instances when he didn't forgive right away: when Bruce had revealed his identity to Steph, when half of Young Justice had admitted to not trusting him (when Kon and Bart had admitted to not trusting him), when he learned that Leslie Thompkins and Steph had lied to them about Steph's death, when Jason had tried to kill him and when Damian had tried to kill him. And even then he had always forgiven in the weeks that followed (it took a lot longer for Leslie, Jason and Bart but the circumstances were different...and he's still struggling with the Damian situation but it's complicated and linked to this one). Simply put, Tim had to live through hell. He hadn't been sure he would survive the emotional strain and at some point he hadn't even been sure he wanted to (actually he was sure he hadn't wanted to). And of course, he wasn't the only one, he knew that but it didn't make his distress go away. So he let himself feel it, acknowledge his feelings for once (which was actively encouraged by his friends) until Cass decided enough was enough (she was right of course it was starting to wring him down, whether he managed to bridge the gap between them or not, he needed to let go).

The thing is, Dick had never apologized.

It may seem stupid but Dick was the biggest influence in his life, along with Bruce, and he had taken everything away from him without even informing him and, and he hadn't even apologized.

This was going to be long.

The whipped cream was completely melted by now. He hadn't been this awkward with Dick since Dick had been his own Batman. It was a lifetime ago (and even then the awkwardness wasn't nearly this bad). He didn't know what to say. Dick seemed to be as lost as he was and he could see Cass hovering nearby. And he couldn't hold it in anymore:

"You never apologized" he blurted out, eyes still lost in his mug.

Dick was obviously taken aback (and why wouldn't he, they had been silent for at least 5 whole minutes before Tim started talking), so he continued.

"You took the Robin mantle from me and gave it to Damian of all people. I had to work at convincing you and Bruce I deserved it and he got it almost right after Bruce's death, you didn't even have the decency to ask me if I was ready, if I was okay for it. I get why he needed it now, but back then you just sprung it on me. You did to me what you're always reproaching to Bruce. I lost my second father in a year, most of my friends were dead and you took away not only the role I had worked so hard to fill and you took my trust in you with it. You even took the trust I had in Cassie when you asked her to come and convince me I was mad. You pretty much called me crazy."

Tim stopped for a second. Taking a deep breathe he looked up from his hot chocolate. Dick seemed to be about to say something but didn't seem to be able to form any words and Tim would have interrupted him anyway. He needed to finish what he had started or he might lose al his courage :

"I know you have emotional issues, we all do, but I thought you could at least manage to apologize. I was alone Dick, I didn't feel safe anywhere because it felt like at any point you were going to send someone new to convince me to go to Arkham. And I get that you had other things to do and that all of a sudden you had other responsibilities on top of having to deal with Bruce's death but it doesn't change the fact that I was one of your responsibilities and you chose to give up on me. You acted as if I had this, big and sudden change, like my emotional instability was somehow new. Like your actions wouldn't, hadn't impacted it. It wasn't Dick and I'm sure you know it, that you knew it, but it was easier to ignore it."

And he knew it was harsh and even a little unfair, that he wasn't perfect either but it felt good to just, lay it out there. And Dick looked horrified and he probably hadn't realized how badly Tim was doing back then. Dick was usually good at pinpointing other's emotional weaknesses but for some reason he had never seemed to really see Tim's. He tried to reach out from across the table, tried to take Tim's hands in his own because, for once, he really needed this bit of contact. But the action surprised Tim who retracted them quickly. They both winced at the reflexive movement which was oh so reflecting of the state of their relationship. Still it seemed to renew Dick's determination and while he didn't try to touch Tim again, he made sure to look him in the eye as he spoke to him :

"You're right I'm sorry. I have no actual excuse for this except that I didn't realize what it was doing to you. I honestly thought you were ready to fly on your own and that Damian needed to be Robin in order to adjust better and I didn't think about how it'd affect you. I said it was because I considered you my equal and still pulled a Bruce and took you out of the decision-making process. And you're right I should have apologized long ago but I didn't really comprehend what had gone wrong until now and I'm so sorry. I promise I'll try to work on it but, I'm not a mind reader. You also have to promise that if I ever do something like that again you will knock some sense into me. Like you usually do with Bruce"

And that was it. Tim didn't really need some long-winded apology. This was enough : acknowledging their faults and promising they'd at least try to get better

And sure, as with Conner and Cassie's resolution, things were far from perfect and wouldn't be for a long while. But as he was suddenly enveloped in his big brother's arms (which was a nice change from Bart, Cassie and Conner, no matter how much he loved the little massaging Conner did around his ears during their half hugs)…as he finally, and for the first time in over a year, truly felt that he was loved by Dick instead of just guessing, thinking, supposing, deducing…Now that he truly felt it, knew it for sure; he had hope that he could really salvage their relationship.

Author’s Note 2 : This work is un-betaed, if you have any advice or anything don't hesitate to tell me (no I'm not fishing for comments I have no idea what you mean)I didn't talk about Tim's suicidal attempts, especially not in the conversation because I don't think either of them are ready to even start thinking about it, much less talking about it.I have put some TimKonCassie again, for a ship that I don't ship it sure comes up often (then again in all of their comics versions Kon and Cassie's relationship almost always only exist through Tim. so if I write about KonCassie it's gonna end up being KonTimCassie...)There's a tiny bit of sexism at the beginning, it's because -sadly- the 90's were a quite sexist time (not that it's much better today) and some, tendencies of the heroes reflect that (except for Kon who was actually not *that* bad, for various reasons I won't get into here until around the 60-70 issues of his first Superboy series and especially Joe Kelly and Dan Didio's run at whichpoint he became a fuckboy and even a tad homophobic (oh I long for the time when he barely batted an eyelash when he learned that his then best friend was gay and thought he and his bf were a cute couple...)), it was a time full of comments that "when cute girl talking to you/you talking to cute girl = flirting even if you're not actually interested"...

[a-s-levynn]

DC: 5, 13, 17, 18

Thank you for asking! <3

I’m going to be more heavy on the Jason Todd content because i’m currently reading or rereading everything he has been in so he’s in the absolute forefront in my mind. In a month or too it probably would have been a bit different and more expansive but i’m in the confines of Jay-hell if it isn’t obvious and i’m fixating on him way too hard.

Ahh annnd... it might got waaaay longer than i intended again? So it really needs a read more cut. also sorry for the inevitable typoos, i’m certain there is a couple at least.

The themes of the questions are:

my fave overused trope

thoughts on new plotlines and new characters versus the originals

a trope that could be used less

character(s) i want to be happy

5. what is your favorite overused trope?

I don’t think it’s a surprise but the whole Jason killing people drama. I mean at this point it’s like a revolving door between i killed before but no killing this time and oops i killed again or did i.. yes i did. but no killing from now on.. eeeh ops i did it again? So i think it’s safe count it’s own trope. I mean there is a few tropes around the anti-hero identitiy dilemma so i’m just being more specific here.

I mean every major arc he has is revolving around it or the idea in one way or an other or by either being a catalyst of change in his arcs or the culmination of sorts (like with the assumed death of Cobblepot) which is cool. It’s the thing he and the people around him has to deal with, differently evey time given the actual role of the killing withing the story and i love it. 

And now the Urban Legends storyline is just *chefs kiss* so far. Because the killing isn’t the focal point but it is an important point regarding every consequence and we shall see where it goes from here. So yeah. I love my murder boy and the drama around his permanent solutions.

That’s for the canon. For the fanon side of the things, well the endless supply of the found family content with the Batfamily, especially the Robins being wholesome. *side-eyeing DC for making them hate or at least pit them against each other all the time* I mean i love the drama for sure but like.. i love them being happy and like.. like just being brothers and the stupid kids they are. 

Oh and i have to mention Constantine because his entire character is a trope and i love him.

13. do you mind sequels that are completely different with a new plot and new characters or do you prefer they stay with the same story and characters?

Hmm.. I mean i certainly have my preferred characters but i’m not opposed to the idea of switching up the characters. Plot-wise it’s for sure depends on the new plot. If it’s stupid and not even fun to read then no thanks. If it’s stupid but at least the characters are on point it can be enjoyable. And if the new plot is good and the charactes are on point too then hell yeah bring in the new.

And every story eventually has to end because there is no worse thing than an overstreched arc or story really. Like... imagine if i don’t know.. the Killing joke whould have been like a 10 chapter long series insted of being like 60 or however long it was pages? Uhh it would had been horrble and way too long with unnecessary fillings. Just look at what happend to the Hobbit movies versus the book. So yeah even in continous stories like on going comics i prefer new stories brought in at the right time instead of an unneccesarily long but half empty series of events. 

Now switching up characters are a different animal. Because it can be good, really good, bit when the character i’m invested in the most is no longer there, than there better be someone replacing them who is at least just as interesting if not more. I’m not sure i have an example for this from DC at the moment but i’ll let you know if anything comes to mind and my goldfish brain actually remembers it

If it’s just supporting characters changing well.. it still depends on how interesting they are and how’s their sinergy with the main character(s). For example i really loved the first Outlaws setup with Jay, Kori and Roy. Roy my boy he is so precious  but i liked the Artemis 🤤 and Bizarro switch. Both setup brough out and showed different sides of Jay and i think that was really good because the dynamics were different enough to be fresh and new but somehow still gave similar feel and flow. At least to me i guess. So if it works then hell yeah gimme new characters to love.

17. are there any tropes you wished were used less often?

Honestly.. I might be washing canon and fanon together here a bit but.. i hate it when Bruce is being mostly only emotionally available when the kids are almost dead. I get it it’s Ｂａｔｍａｎ but like.. just be their fucking dad man.. We all know at this point that no matter what, he eventually will go absolutely out of his way even against his code and whatnot to save or at least try to, and help anyone from the Batfamily no matter what they did. 

I mean yeah i’m not forgetting when he completely wrecked Jay for the Cobblepot thing (even if that turned out to be a ruse) but ultimately he still killed a shit ton of people and still Bats lets him back to Gotham in RHATO(2016) #52, giving him yet another chance despite everything that happend up until that point. And then there is the Urban Legends story where Bruce could have kicked out his ass from Gotham in an instant yet again and for actually killing someone again but he decided he want’s to try to help him insted.  So just cut the shit Bruce admit that you are fucking soft for them no matter what they do and give a hug to your kids and not just when they are on their deathbeds or almost deathbeds.. 

But i know this is a contradiction in a way because if he isn’t emotionally distanced and brooding then Batman kind of looses his Batmanness in a way but like.. i don’t know. B is human and i like him more when he tries i guess.

18. characters you want to wrap in a blanket and tell them they’re going to be okay?

I mean Jason because i might be projecting and Dick because he is soft and i’m soft for him i’m not projecting that hard on him but i still kinda do in some aspects. But of course the rest of the Batfamily for sure because i’m soft for them too and they need therapy asap.. well kind of almost every DC character would deserve some break for once but i think i’d say Roy Harper, like.. he really deserves a weighted blanket and a cup of warm tea most of the time. Well when he isn’t dead... BECAUSE OF FUCKING COURSE HE HAD TO DIE WHY WOULDN’T HE yes DC i still hate it thank you very much even if he got resurrected. So he deserves an extra blanket for that too. And i’m still waiting for the reunion with Jay because as far as i know Jay still thinks him dead and it isn’t even clear that Roy remembers them being best friends or not and that's just mean. But in general i want Roy to be okay so so so much, like, addiction, loosing the kid, being dead, being self destructive in general.. he’s had enough for 10 lifetimes. He went through so many things already, let him be happy. Also.. you know there is always an irl connection either we like it or not and sometimes it’s stronger than we like.. I had a friend who was an addict with similar self destructive habits.. and she wasn’t a comicbook character so her story ended differently. Tell me about comfort characters i guess.