#it was the same in young justice in 1998

[fairygothmotherisgay]

DC Social Media AU Part 3

[clambuoyance]

[DC] surprise surprise…I have even more kons…featuring ones inspired by his long hair look from Graduation Day bc I wasn’t a fan at first but now im a total sucker for his long hair in it actually :]

[radioactive-earthshine]

It really is amazing how little of Bart's actual history is known of by even well read comic enjoyers; because while Bart is in a lot of comics outside of his own - much of what makes him him and events that are important to his own placement in the world are not really touched on in other comics like Young Justice.

You can read Young Justice in its entirety and not a whole lot about Bart's core character beyond his surface level personality (and some have argued it is ooc) is revealed with exception to one special where Carol guest stars in, the Sins of Youth Special, and his conversation with Cissie concerning Max.

This of course is true for basically everyone when they are in team-up books, but I find the depth and range of knowledge of Bart (and Kon too) to be strikingly not well known among fans of Young Justice, even those that love Bart and it is easy to love him when he guest stars in other comics.

It just reminds me of the ever popular iceberg meme.

What inspired this is casual conversations with Young Justice comic fans and discussing Bart as a character where some pretty basic things were unknown of. "What is he anyway? Where does he live? Is he an orphan or what? Who is Max?"

It's a delight to open the door for fans that have not read his series and I always get a little joy when the shock settles in that Bart does in fact live in Alabama during the Young Justice days, and is also technically an orphan and in a foster care/legal guardianship situation.

[impulseowlll]

*The boys doing a podcast* Tim: You're listening to the Young, Just Us podcast, I'm Robin. Connor: I'm Superboy. Bart: And I'm Impulse! Connor: Let's answer some questions we've gotten through social media. Tim: Alright. Our first question is from... Connor Kent... Connor asks: "Superboy, how do you get your hair to look so good?" Connor: Well, Connor, I use a lot of different hair products. Thanks for the question! *Tim face palm* Tim: Superboy, you can read the next question. Connor: Our next question is from... Bart Allen...? Bart asks: "Impulse what video games do you recommend?" Bart: I definitely recommend "DownHill Doom IV" It's a great game! Thanks for the ask, Bart! Connor: Uh... Impulse, you can take the next question. Bart: Okay! Our next question comes from, Tim Drake. Tim asks: " Robin, what is it like being a night time crime fighter?" Tim: Well, Tim it is very, very tiring. Thanks for the ask! *Tim turns off the microphones and face-palms* Tim: Did you guys really send in questions from your normal accounts? Connor: did you? *Tim bursts out into laughter so do Bart and Connor* Tim: Yes! Bart: I guess we all had the same idea. Connor: why is there a question from Alvin Draper? Tim? Tim: I got bored!

[plutoslvr]

i lie awake at night constantly thinking about the tim cassie siblings au (I forgot who came up with it I'm sorry) but like it's just such a funny concept of cassie looking her her dweeb younger brother and thinking "oh yeah he's such a fucking loser" and then going to young justice meetings and telling robin his plans are the best like the au is constantly in my head

[gnomewithalaptop]

Y'know, it's so funny to me when people make out like Tim Drake would keep files on how to take down his friends when Tim has explicitly said he disagrees with Batman on this:

[Young Justice (1998) #36]

Like, yes, during his Red Robin tenure he does make a Hit List full of contingency plans for known heroes. But if you go and read that, you'll notice that, while the Justice League and Damian may be on there, Tim's own friends are decidedly absent:

[Red Robin (2009) #14]

In fact, a lot of these heroes are people that have either (a) attacked Tim specifically, (b) have a track record that includes turning evil/getting mind controlled, or (c) are on the JLA (meaning Batman probably already had those files compiled and Tim just stole them).

So yeah: Tim's not down with contingency-planning for his friends. You know which one of the YJ crew DID agree with Batman though? My favorite blorbina Anita Fite, aka Empress:

[Young Justice (1998) #36]

But yeah, this contrast is honestly fascinating to me. Because while both Anita and Tim have been shown to be incredibly loyal individuals, this exchange really highlights the fact that, between the two of them, Anita is far more likely to engage in this kind of pragmatism when she thinks it's necessary to get the job done

The whole Our Worlds at War arc actually does a really good job of illustrating how both of them react to betrayal from within. It's not just the Batman Files conflict either -- I'm thinking specifically about the hallucination-based torture Granny Goodness put them through, which showed them their worst fears. Most of the team ended up having to watch their loved ones die, but what's super interesting to me is that we really only see Anita and Tim hallucinate that their loved ones blame them for their deaths:

[Young Justice (1998) #37]

Like. It's not the same as a teammate turning evil at all. But it does give us a good idea of how they'd both react when faced with a friend or teammate doing harmful things, albeit on a smaller scale. Because where Tim kind of just accepts Superboy yelling at him and moves straight into bargaining for Kon's life, Anita actually flips the script, gets angry, and defends herself against her father:

[Young Justice (1998) #37]

(she actually gets so righteously pissed off that she manages to break out of the VR simulation Granny Goodness had her trapped in, but that's another point)

But yeah, it's super interesting, because by this point, both Anita and Tim have been set up to be very similar characters. They both can be a little bit obsessive, they both have some issues with boundaries and stalking (Tim with Nightwing and Batman, Anita with Cissie), and of the team, they're both portrayed as the "normal" members (Anita does technically have mind control powers but she barely ever uses them, and in a fight, she's basically just a very good, human-level fighter)

But at the end of the day, though Batman forces Robin to put on a cool front of objectivity, Tim (at least in his pre-grief-spiral era) ultimately wants to see the best in his team. When the people he cares about screw up, he wants to give them second chances. And when that trust gets broken, his first instinct is to try to use diplomacy, or, failing that, simply remove himself from the situation (as we see at the end of the Our Worlds at War arc when he quits the team)

Anita, on the other hand, while still incredibly loyal, does not hand out that loyalty unconditionally. We see this when she tries to keep her identity secret from the YJ squad, we see it when she gets pissed in Granny Goodness's hallucination when her father blames her for her mother's death, and we see it when she later blames Secret for her perceived role in Anita's father's death

Anita also happens to sit right smack dab in the middle of the YJ morality scale; while she's generally pretty chill and willing to abide by typical superhero codes of ethics (unlike Slobo and Secret), she's also been shown to bend those rules when she believes it's necessary (as seen here when she tortures and threatens to kill a man for trying to hurt Cissie). Ultimately, what this means is, between Tim and Anita, it's honestly Anita who'd probably be the most willing to put her personal qualms aside, buckle down, and go against her loved ones if it was the only reasonable option

Anyway. This is a really long-winded way of saying I think Gun Batman's biggest nemesis should be Empress

[punkeropercyjackson]

Genuine advice for people who joined the Batfam fandom because of fan content and are too scared to get into actual comics or not sure where to start:Please don't buy a single word 'Fuck canon!' people tell you about ANY Batfam member and i do mean ANY.They're lying to you to get you to sanatize them and deprive you of deserving to know what they're actually like because their peabrains can't process multilayered characters and relathionships in favor of bigoted stereotypes and writing that's insanely insulting to them and if you're a minor especially,they're lying to you about whatever they say about shipping the male members with eachother not being in*cest or ped0 too-Bruce has been Dick's adoptive dad since Dick's debut issue,he legally adopted Jason and Duke too,Damian's his bio kid and with Tim it's a bit more complicated but it's very much canon that they see eachother as father and son and Tim has lived at Wayne Manor at several points in canon and would be brothers regardless of anything else due to this but they also use that exact word to describe their dynamic and so does everybody else

This applies to Cass being their sister too because Bruce adopted her after they formed a dad-daughter bond a while into her being Batgirl but as Stephanie has a mom she lives with and has never seen Bruce as a parental figure nor he her as one of his kids,you're freegame to ship her with Tim or Cass and in fact i highly encourage doing both.Batfanon stans are once again doing mass lying(damn they should get a different hobby)by saying the four male Robins are the 'core' ones.Stephanie has been included in Robin stuff for a long time now and Duke dosen't get the same treatment due to antiblackness so THAT'S an actual 'Fuck canon!' moment so you should make it six Robins and know that the intention with only four is always misogyny and whitewashing(also just saying but those fanarts are always ugly anyway,they make them look like shitty anime boys instead of themselves)

Dick is an almost perfect eldest sibling and the other Batkids deeply appreciate him for it,he was Tim's Robin and him and Cass are his favorite siblings,Duke is Jason's favorite brother and vice versa but he's also extremely close to Cass,none of them make Damian go through 'normal youngest sibling treatment' because none of them are normal so they grew a sense of basic decency and Damian's closest to Dick and Stephanie and Stephanie's a canon csa victim so kindly keep your paws off her with your 'date all of your s/os siblings' jokes because she has self-worth and class,thanks

Ignore the original Red Hood and The Outlaws run and anything to do with Jason and Roy friendship in fandom and read the original Teen Titans run,New Teen Titans,Arsenal 1998,The Titans 1999,Green Arrow 2001 and Outsiders 2003 if you want to understand Roy too or at least ask around blogs centered on him for context.Ignore Tom Taylor's Nightwing run and Teen Titans 2003 and Batgirl of Burnside and anything by Devin Grayson(she's quite literally done irreperable damage to Batman lore and i wish i was kidding).Read Robin 1993,90s Young Justice,Batgirl 2000,Batgirl 2009,Red Robin,Son of Batman and literally everything Duke's in which i can provide a reading list for instead and i'm working on a megapost of all the Jason media that's actually good so new fans don't waste their time.I'm genuinely saying this to be helpful because 'fandom isn't activism' is a puratical priviliged phrase that should've never existed just like Batfanon shouldn't either

[celaenaeiln]

Happy Turkey Day btw

Quickie Question:

What are your favorite Dick and Tim moments?

😂😂🦃

Same to you!! <3

With them I'm just living for Tim being an annoying, adorable little brother and Dick being an annoying, sweet older brother right back

Nightwing (1996) Issue #25

Robin (1993) Issue #67

I'm just about to start crying with laughter. Their interactions just SCREAM Older Brother and Younger Brother behavior.

Robin (1993) Issue #74

But what I love about them is how openly affectionate they are. Dick loves Tim and takes care of him. Even with their funny banter, Dick's always the first person Tim goes to for everything.

Robin (1993) Issue #156

As soon as Dick got a call from Tim, he dropped everything to talk to him. He wasn't getting in, he was leaving.

My favorite Dick and Tim moments though? These.

Young Justice (1998) Book 1 Part 3

Nightwin (1996) Issue #6

"He's family. The closest thing to a brother I'll ever have."

"So excuse me if I get a little severe."

Tim loves, adores his big brother:

Gotham Knights Issue #33

"We've all been through a lot, big brother."

Red Robin Issue #12

Tim adores Dick so much. He idolizes him.

Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War: Scorched Earth

In complete seriousness, if someone ever said Dick wasn't the best robin in Tim's hearing range he would actually chew through their arms with his bare teeth.

His belief in Dick is unshakeable. His admiration has no bounds.

Young Justice (1998) Book 1 Part 3

Again and again Tim talks about good Dick is at everything and over and over Dick talks about how good Tim is. They really love each other from the bottom of their hearts.

What's special about Dick and Tim's relationship is what Tim says here: "You promised me that you'd do a quadruple somersault. And you delivered."

Dick will always deliver for Tim. Anyplace, anytime, he's ready to drop everything for him. That's how much Tim means to him.

I love reading about Dick and Tim's interactions because they tease each other in the funniest ways but there's almost an overwhelming undercurrent of affection in each of their voices. They're adorable.

Nightwing (1996) Issue #142

My favorite unhinged babies.

[konbartzine]

Kon and Bart's long-standing and evolving friendship from 1994-2020 spanning multiple runs. Together they experience many joys, and tragic losses and challenges - but no matter what they find each other again. Here's a proposed reading list for fans of the duo!

Zero Hour #2

This is the very first time they see each other and are on the same page with each other. They do not interact in any meaningful way, but this is their first passing awareness that the other exists. 

Superboy and the Ravers #7

Their first official meeting and team up where they interact, and race each other. 

JLA: World Without Grown-Ups

They team up alongside Tim as they navigate the magically altered world of Bedlam. Many key moments include how they work together and their endless banter. This is also their inspiration for starting Young Justice. 

Young Justice (1998)

Almost every single issue they are present together will have some GREAT chemistry and moments showing their friendship, but the following stick out for the listed reasons. Issue #1 - The first issue, Kon protects Bart from being shot along with lots of banter that sets the tone between them for the rest of the series. Issue #7 - Bart and Kon banter during their Camping trip, highlights include Kon complimenting Bart’s hair and enthusiastically encouraging him for chasing off hunters with Secret. Issue #9 - Bart and Kon play chess together, showing that when there are downtimes in Young Justice they play games with each other. Issue #22 - Bart tries to help Kon get his powers back with comical results. (Note: this may be THAD but because publication time is not linear to comic in-world time, this is unconfirmed and it must be assumed that this is Bart.) Issue #31 - Bart tries desperately to get Kon to hang out with him, Kon is too busy watching TV. Issue #33 - Kon reaches out to Bart to have a hypothetical conversation but sadly did not compensate for Bart’s autism taking him literally. Issue #45 - Bart and Kon talk about comics and make sandwiches together. Issue #53 - Bart and Kon play Random Trivia, a game exclusive to them. 

Young Justice: No Man’s Land

Lots of banter and chemistry as they convince Tim to go to Gotham against Batman’s orders. Kon gives Bart his jacket for safekeeping. 

Young Justice #1000000

It’s the 853rd century and although Young Justice is no more, a new version of Impulse and Superboy are just as close as their original selves.  Impulse (1995)

Issue #47 - Bart seeks Kon out to ask him about the worrying behavior Superman is displaying. Issue #77 - Bart’s clone is killed on Apokolips in front of Kon - this is a catalyst to Kon’s many issues of depression. Issue #78 - Bart says goodbye to Kon when he quits Young Justice due to PTSD, Kon pets his head. 

Superboy (1994) 

Issue #83 - Bart tries to help Kon get his swagger back, even to the point of obtaining the Backstreet Boys chemical breakdowns bc he cannot see Kon like this. 

Issue #90 - Kon has a soft moment with Cherub who he is attracted to, it is revealed that Cherub is a clone of BOTH Tana and Bart. Issue #91 - The aftermath of Bart’s clone dying on Apokolips pt.1 - Kon reveals he feels it’s all his fault and has resigned that while Bart is in a coma, he is going to die. 

Issue #92 - The aftermath of Bart’s clone dying on Apokolips pt.2 - Once back home on the Kent farm Kon, obsesses over Bart’s “death” and current coma to the point of exhaustion and sleeps for 20 hours. Highlights include Bart implying he is wearing a Playboy Bunny outfit, and that Kon has subconscious bi-sexual feelings towards Bart. Issue #99 - Bart as Kid Flash risks death to save a de-powered Kon during the World Without Young Justice arc.

Teen Titans (2003)

Same as with Young Justice, there are a lot of interactions that show they are friends and have a long-standing dynamic even though Geoff re-worked both of their characters into entirely new people. The following are moments when they are alone and show blatant friendship. Issue #25 - Bart tries to get through to Kon during his possession, and refuses to fight him. Issue #82 - Kon protects Bart from Holocaust’s blast, then Bart beats the hell out of Holocaust for barely tapping Kon. Issue #83 - Kon seeks Bart out and talks about his relationship with Cassie. Issue #88 - A quiet moment between Bart and Kon as Bart reveals he is forgetting the future they were resurrected in. Issue #90 - Bart and Kon play pingpong, once again showing that they like to play games together.

Infinite Crisis

Issue #7 - Bart goes ballistic on Superboy Prime after he kills Kon. 

Countdown #43

Bart’s funeral and he speaks directly to Kon, sadly Kon never got to hear it because he was dead at the time as well. Final Crisis Legion of Three Worlds

Issues #4-#5 - Bart and Kon reunite and are resurrected together after dying.

Superboy (2011)

Issue #3 - Kon reaches out to Bart to propose a charity Race to benefit the Smallville community. Bart agrees. Issue #5 - Bart and Kon race and take time to catch up and talk.

Kid Flash Lost

Issue #1 - Bart talks about Kon and their movie nights. 

Young Justice (2019) 

Bart and Kon reunite in Young Justice after being in comic limbo since 2011.

Issue #1 - Bart and Kon are reunited after the reboot. Issue #2 - Bart and Kon’s continuing reunion. Issue #14 - Bart rallies Young Justice and many other heroes together to save Kon from Dr. Glory. Issue #15 - Bart reveals what happened to Kon and why he did not reboot. Issue #16 - Bart and Kon have a revealing conversation about the time they lost and Bart reveals how he ‘broke time’ to try and find Kon. Issue #17 - Bart films Kon beating Lex Luthor with Tim’s phone bc he knew Kon would want to see it, Kon hugs Bart. 

[gerryrigged]

wait wdym dc didn't stick with Red Robin for Tim [and the de-aging thing?] what are they calling him if not RR?

He's been Robin again since 2019 😬 it's a bit more complicated but that's the gist of it.

Okay so Tim became Red Robin in the 2009-2011 series of the same name, back in the post-Crisis timeline. He was supposedly 17 at the time, by official records, and I believe he was still supposed to be 17 when the universe was rebooted with Flashpoint in 2011? (Although this doesn't really make any sense with respect to jamming the huge number of events that happened while he was Robin into like four years, if he was supposed to have become Robin at 13; he should probably at least be 18 if not 19-20).

The Flashpoint reboot took us into the New 52 (much beloathed), where nearly everyone was de-aged to some extent to keep Bruce Wayne and his generation from getting ~too old~, and also Tim Drake was mangled into a completely different character who had never been "Robin"; he'd been "Red Robin" right from the start of his vigilante career. He was de-aged to 16 for the New 52 Teen Titans series.

Teen Titans (2011) #0; as you can see, this version of Red Robin kept a version of the bandoliers and gave Tim a fancy new functional wing cape that he could fly around with.

Next, Rebirth in 2016 was a partial reboot that brought back some aspects of the post-Crisis timeline; tbh I'm not an expert on this period. What I do know is that Tim mainly appears in James Tynion IV's run of Detective Comics that ran from 2016 to 2018. During this period Tim was still called Red Robin, but he'd basically reverted to a Robin costume, with only the silly doubled "RR" symbol identifying him as not ~actually~ Robin winkwink nudgenudge, and as I understand it he was mostly back to functioning as Bruce's partner.

Tynion's run ends in Detective Comics #981 with Tim telling Bruce that he's going off to Ivy University. (He's totally lying, as Tim Drake does; Alfred notices that his tracker is going off in the opposite direction of the university, but Bruce is like "I trust him" and turns the tracker off. Yay, I guess?)

Anyway the important bit is this revealing that Tim is 'going-off-to-college' age. Which could still reasonably be anywhere from 17-19, and DC being DC, they ~refuse to confirm~

Tim as Red Robin on the cover of Detective Comics #934 (2016); as you can see, he's pretty much Robin again lol

Detective Comics #968 (2018); another shot of his "basically Robin" Red Robin costume

In 2019 we got the actual return of Tim as Robin (no "Red") in Brian Michael Bendis's Young Justice run, re-uniting the Core Four from YJ 1998.

Young Justice (2019) #1

As you can see, he no longer has the doubled 'RR', and he confirms that he's Robin - "Well, one of them!" I think he's supposed to be filling in as the Gotham Robin while Damian is running around the world having adventures and presumably getting into trouble, as Robins do? idk.

Tim also chases down his erased post-Crisis past at the beginning of this arc, having Zatanna magically restore (most of) his memories of the previous timeline, and, crucially, his forgotten best friend Kon, kickstarting some plot.

Tim, and all of the Young Justice crew, are notably young-looking for almost the entirety of this run. It varies based on the artist, but uh, yeah for the most part they are really damn baby-faced. This is a trend that continues with Tim and his generation of friends from this point onward, so fans have basically thrown up their hands like "is he 17 forever???? is he Edward Cullen from Twilight???? is he aging backward????"

We Just Don't Know

In any case, Bendis makes DC's next attempt to give Tim his own identity in short order, giving us the hilarious, ill-fated, and rightfully short-lived "Drake" identity.

Young Justice (2019) #10

He's back to being Robin by issue #18, hilariously switching costumes from one page to the next, although some time has apparently passed during the scene transition.

Young Justice (2019) #18; Jinny: "Is Drake back to being Robin?" Kon: "I think Batman and Spoiler made him go back to Robin. Don't bring it up. And say thank you because we didn't have to have the Drake intervention we were planning."

And as of the current date (July 13, 2023), Tim is still in the Robin identity, sharing it with Damian ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ God knows how old he's supposed to be right now. I certainly don't.

Batman (2016) #136; the most recent issue out to date, with Tim suiting up as Robin while filling Bruce in after diving into a bunch of parallel dimensions to bring Bruce home.

As you can see, it's a Mess. The Tim Drake's Vigilante Identity question is of course a hotbed of wank and infighting, as people are torn between (a) wanting him to continue as Robin and (b) wanting him to move on and "grow up" into his own identity again (and, importantly, leave Damian as the sole Robin again, lol).

It feels like most people are for option (b), but then nobody can agree on what his next identity and costume should be. Red Robin again?? Some other bird-based identity that doesn't share a name with a major restaurant chain?? Something else entirely??

God only knows what DC is going to come up with, especially after the Drake fiasco.

And there you have it, Anon! Hope that was helpful.

[umbrellacam]

Anyway, as I'm going back and reading a period during which the Teen Titans and other heroes were highly visible and active with the public, including Batman to a certain extent, and with camera!Tim and the idea of reconciling incompatible timelines on my mind -

I feel like the camera!Tim fanon where Tim follows Batman and Robin around in person for years could be (among other things, such as wanting him to interact with/admire Jason and encounter/join the Batfam early, etc.) partially a result of the retcon that B&R are shadowy, unconfirmed urban legends, and not public figures. Even for people who haven't read this retcon in the comics themselves, the "B&R as urban legends" world-state is still very popular, well-known, and often used in fic and fandom.

So during the 1994 Zero Hour event, there were a bunch of time anomalies and various adjustments to the canon, including (re-)establishing Batman (and Robin) as a hushed, menacing ~rumor~, more phantom and myth than man, as a matter of Bat policy. No public appearances. No clear photos, no hard facts.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #0

Batman: Shadow of the Bat #0

We even have Dick relaying a slightly tweaked version of his origin, implying that Batman did not swoop down and publicly comfort Dick Grayson in the circus ring after his parents' murder (as was shown to have happened in Batman: Year Three and A Lonely Place of Dying back in 1989 - and which served as the initial reason Tim started admiring Batman!), and in fact Dick "...didn't believe the stories about the Batman" until months after he moved into the Manor, when Bruce told him the truth and showed him the Cave:

Robin (1993) #0

And of course the many subsequent instances afterwards of the existence of Batman, Robin, Nightwing, etc. all being kept on the down-low:

Young Justice (1998) #52-53 - Tim creating his Mr. Sarcastic guise to avoid being on-camera as Robin.

Detective Comics (Vol. 1) #727 - Bullock and Montoya being true Gothamite bros to the Bats.

And many more, etc.

All of this is obviously incompatible with the prior era and many events where Batman and Robin were very well documented as heroes, including Tim's origin in Batman: Year Three and ALPoD, as mentioned above.

As Tim related, he followed them mainly in various news media, and it was in fact on TV that he fatefully saw Robin's quadruple flip, years later:

Batman (Vol. 1) #441

By contrast, the 2016 recap of Tim's origin in A Lonely Place of Living, which restored his pre-Flashpoint backstory, does have Batman appearing at the circus again, and even taking Dick with him, but it doesn't include anything about Tim following Batman and Robin in the news, clipping articles, etc. It doesn't even mention when or how Tim saw Robin performing Dick Grayson's quadruple somersault in order to piece things together:

Detective Comics (2016) #965

But okay, if Batman and Robin were subsequently retconned into shadowy urban legends that didn't regularly appear in newspapers or on TV, how do we reconcile that with Tim's backstory as a fan who stalked followed them super closely?? His creepy cute scrapbook of newspaper clippings and Moment of Revelation from watching them on TV can't exist in the same form anymore, it's incompatible.

We can fudge an in-universe explanation covering most of the retcon, like it was a policy change that Batman instituted early in Tim's Robin tenure, and say Oracle went back and scrubbed photos, videos, records etc. from existence. We'd probably have to lean into the sliding timescale of comics and pretend all of this happened in a more digital era, though, because otherwise there are all of those pesky physical records...

We can cover the gaps by handwaving that the 'shadowy urban legends' cloak of secrecy was never foolproof, and hard evidence of B&R's existence did exist here and there, but was limited and hard to find. This jives fairly well with the actual 'urban legend' era post-Zero Hour; they couldn't avoid being witnessed or interacting with people all the time. Kid Tim would just have to do more involved digging than snipping articles out of the daily paper. Maybe the hidden security camera footage of Robin's flip that was shown on the evening news was much more shadowy and ambiguous than in canon, and it's because of Tim's special interest that he was even able to recognize B&R, and what was going on? I like this one, personally.

But alternatively. We do know that he followed Batman in person and took pictures at least in Batman #440. We're pretty sure that he had to have followed Dick/the Titans around in New York before, given that he'd memorized the Titans' schedules and knew the locations of both Kory's and Dick's apartments (also Batman #440; Tim, pls...).

It seems like extending these instances into a more regular pattern of Tim following the Bats around, and gathering photo evidence for his scrapbook by taking pictures himself, and witnessing Robin!Dick's flip in person, is one possible way to reconcile the inconsistency. And one even more likely to be used by people with only more general fandom knowledge, who are used to the 'urban legend' world-state but want to have Tim stalking the Bats at length anyway. (Which, along with New 52 Tim, is part of how we get baby super-hacker and electronic stalker extraordinaire Tim fanon, as well, I'm sure.)

[radioactive-earthshine]

Young Justice Knowledge Check #6

Note: this is specifically for the comics.

[confusedhummingbird]

Hi! 'M new to this fandom (got sucked into Batman since April of this year) and I've a got a question to you since you look like you know and understand a lot about Dick and his relationship. Why is he so good as a hero, but so bad as a partner at least at Bat-related comics? 😭

Also, any suggestions about better order to read Teen Titans stuff? Maybe the best order or your personal favorites 👉👈

Hi glad to meet you! Welcome!

As for bad as a partner I'm not sure what you mean. Dick was canonically an amazing partner to Batman. He's considered the golden standard of Robin and many others hope to be as good as him.

Bruce even took Jason in partly because he missed him.

Now if you mean romantic partner, I equate that entirely onto writers not Dick himself. When Dick was with the Titans and dating Kory he was a good boyfriend who loved Kory very much.

But unfortunately the Batman books wanted Dick back because the New Teen Titans was such a popular book back then. Even more popular than Batman and Dick was more popular than he'd ever been before. So they had to break up Kory and put him with Barbara but they also wanted to hint at a will they won't they with Kory of maybe they're getting back together even though they won't let them at least not permanently unfortunately. So Dick being a "Bad partner" is entirely do to DC writers wanting to keep up a love triangle.

As for recommendations I will always suggest the New Teen Titans/Tales of the Teen Titans/ New Titans (It's all the same run just went through some name changes) it's my alltime favorite comic book run. Many of it is fairly dated and can be a bit weird with more modern eyes since it was made in the 80s. But the family dynamic between the characters is fantastic. They all spent time with each other and they all have relationships to each other. No one is left out. It's also what I consider to be the definitive Dick Grayson characterization. His character there is so great and I love it so much. Fair warning after the storyline Titans Hunt the story starts to go downhill but there are still interesting points to it but if you chose to read it I just wanted to give you a warning.

If you're interested in not Dick Grayson things than I also recommend Young Justice 1998. It's such a fun read and you really love all the characters. It truly feels like just a team of teenage heroes just hanging out, being friends, and solving crimes. All the characters are again great and it's also the definitive characterization for many of these characters because after this many of them went down some bad characterization (RIP actually good Cassie Sandsmark writing).

Welcome to the DC Fandom I hope you have fun here! 😁

[snaileer]

Hello Mx. Snaileer, I wanted to ask how you feel about your work being used by others? Now I’m not talking about binding fanfics or just plagiarism but others writing your same premise, think how on AO3 authors can link works that inspired their fic or link to similar works. I’m asking this because I’m currently writing a fic where your “socialite Tim AU” one of my primary inspirations and before it gets to out of hand I want to have your blessings.

To sum what I have so far Tim and Cassandra Drake are high society’s darlings, putting on a convincing charade to distract that they’re not bio siblings, are committing corporate espionage, and both bat stalk at night. These activities are muddled when a misunderstanding causes Tim and Robin!Steph to start fake dating while she’s actively trying to prevent a potential Lexcorp acquisition of DI, including all the kryptonite they recently uncovered.

While I do know I’ve crafted an interesting premise that is original enough from what you’ve made, I’ll admit the 1st chapter might be a little to similar, and include similar plot beats (no direct quotes). These are all of them: Batfam using a drake hosted Gala to investigate them, Tim (& cass) being snarky to Steph/Duke/jason when eavesdropping, and the drake “siblings” patrolling the gala making connections. The rest of the chapter is my own original writing.

After this chapter I make a sharp turn away from your work in regards to plot. Some OG plot beats of mine include young justice (1998) shenanigans, cass’s crush on Stephanie as she’s “Her robin”, and exploring the AU backstories I’ve crafted for Tim, Steph, duke, and Cass.

I hope this accurately conveys. As this is the first fic I’ve ever written, so I want to do this right. I’ve been doing a lot of research, the only thing I’m worried about is disrespecting your work by taking to much from you. I hope you have a wonderful day and wish for a speedy response.

P.S if/when I publish it on ao3 you would be credited as an inspiration!

Hey Absolutely my friend! This sounds like a banger fic and I’d love to be mentioned if only so I can read it too!

My friend don’t worry about disrespecting the work by taking too much, just stay true to Tim as a sneaky snake. That is the most important aspect of what I wrote tbh.

But in the end it’s your story and I’ll be honored to read it and to have inspired it!

(Btw my Socialite!Tim fic is on my Ao3 so you can actually link it thru there if you post on Ao3)

Thanks!

[pekejscatbed]

Hearing You So Breathless (a sound i never wanna forget) | Dick Grayson x Wally West

Info/Warnings: Dick is 17 and still Robin, Wally is 19 and still Kid Flash, both are trans masc (t4t birdflash>>>), consensual kissing, making out, groping, and grinding, but No Smut, movie date (mentioned movies: Black Christmas (1974), Red, White & Royal Blue (2023), BASEketball (1998), and Barbie (2023)), both Dick and Wally are suggested to have ADHD

loosely based on me and my bf's date the other night <3

batman masterlist

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It's their fourth date, and the two decide to have another movie date, as they both want nothing more than to curl up next to each other and forget their alternate lifestyles, even if it's just for one night.

Dick, despite popular belief, is actually a good cook, and makes a pot of Cajun Chicken Alfredo from a recipe Alfred taught him, enough to feed all of the Justice League, really, but Dick is just accounting for his boyfriends never-ending appetite; perks of dating a speedster, right? And not only do the two lovers have that to eat, but they have a cake, too, that Wally picks up on his way to Wayne Manor- a 'thank you' for cooking, even though Wally will maybe- probably- definitely- eat most, if not all, of it.

(The Alfredo is gone in ten minutes, and the cake in five.)

After they eat, they go up to Dick's room and put on their first movie, one of six they've chosen to watch tonight, three chosen by Dick and three chosen by Wally. The first movie is one of Dick's, an old horror movie surrounding Christmas that neither of them pay much attention to. Next is a movie Wally picked out, a romance and comedy about gay princes, with a non-descriptive sex scene that has Dick saying, "could be us", just to fluster his boyfriend, because with all the flirting Wally dishes out, he still gets so shy when someone flirts back. The third movie is another one of Dick's, a sports comedy with outdated humor, but it has both Dick and Wally laughing the whole time, and the two main characters, both male, kiss at the end, despite both being straight and pining for the same girl, leaving Dick and Wally to spout headcanon after headcanon about how the characters are "so totally into each other" and how they've "definitely explored each other's bodies".

During the fourth movie, a feminism movie surrounding children's toys that just recently came out with an actress who looks suspiciously similar to Harley Quinn and Wally's second choice, the two young men gets antsy from sitting still for too long despite the fact that neither of them want to stop cuddling. Luckily, they quickly come up with an alternative, one where they can still cling to each other but move enough to not want to rip their skin off; kissing. 

The only problem with kissing, however, is how shy Wally is whenever they start, nerves through the roof and turning him into a giggly mess, which then turns Dick into a giggly mess as well, and now both of the vigilantes are laughing every time one of them tries to initiate and kiss.

Eventually, they both calm down, and the laughing has eased Wally's nervousness, so now they can share a proper a kiss. Except one kiss turn into two, turns into three, turns into five, and on and on, until they're just making out, movie forgotten in the background. But then making out leads to Dick perched in Wally's lap, and then Wally falls back onto the bed with Dick on top of him, and then Dick is rolling his hips against Wally's,, and Wally is so excited he’s beginning to vibrate, and-

"You can touch me, babe." Dick breaks the kiss to look down at his boyfriend, who's face is flushed and Dick wonders if his own face is just as red.

"Are you sure? Like, really sure?"

"Yes, Wally," Dick presses another kiss to the redheads lips, "I'm sure."

And then Wally's hands are cupping Dicks breasts through his shirt- through Wally's shirt- and Dick hums into the other mouth. "You can touch me under the shirt, if you want."

"Do you want me to?" Wally is breathless now, looking up at his boyfriend with wide eyes and flushed cheeks and bruised lips.

"Yes."

So, Wally's hands find their way under Dick's shirt, groping the raven-haired males chest, skin on skin. His hands occasionally move down to Dicks hips, pulling him impossibly closer, and to Dicks ass, giving a light squeeze every now and then.

"You look so pretty under me," Dick mutters against Wally's lips, who bucks his hips up at the compliment with a whine, and he’s trying so hard to stay calm and not vibrate right through Dicks bed. Both of them are soaked through their boxers by now, and Wally asks if he can touch Dick lower, and Dick is guiding the others hand towards his boxers, fingers just slipping past the waistband, and-

Knock, knock, knock!

"Master Richard, please do clean up after yourself when cooking." Alfred's voice is smug from behind the door, like he knows what Dick and Wally are doing.

Dick groans, shouting back, "Yes, Alfred! I'll be right there!"

Wally laughs as Dick rolls off of him, though both boys are disappointed at the interruption.

"Finish this later?" Dick asks, pressing one last kiss to Wally's lips.

"Later." 

The two walk hand-in-hand downstairs, ready to wash these dishes as fast as possible (without powers, of course; Bruce always knows, and he's incredibly strict on his "no superpowers in Gotham” rule) and finish where they left off.

[cherrystainedknuckles]

okay but like everyone is aware that jason is only 2 years older than tim, right. we haven’t been so brainpoisoned by flashpoint that we genuinely think jason is 6-10 years older than tim, right. because every single titan’s tower AU places jason at like 20 minimum and tim at 13-14, which is insane because tim was 17 and jason was 19. that was not jason beating up a kid, that was him beating up someone who is very much his age.

“source?” jason was 15 when he died— this part is undisputed— and tim was 13 when he became robin, two events that happened in basically the same year. it stands to reason that they would continue to be 2 years apart.

reasonably, if time actually moved linearly in DC comics, you could claim:

- tim was 13 when he became robin (1992-1993)

- tim was 15 by the time he joined young justice (1998) — given that steph was 16 at this point, and he was always one year younger than her.

- tim was 17 during identity crisis and war games (2004-2005) and surrounding events, which includes jason’s attack on titan’s tower.

- tim was 18-19 during battle for the cowl (2009), then, mostly because he inherits a company and gets engaged(?) or claims to be (I have not completed RR) which are activities generally restricted for people who are of age.

jason was 15 coming out of the grave, and theoretically spends 3-4 years training with talia before returning to gotham, or lost days (2010) has a LOT of explaining to do*

*talia and jason sleep together, which is unethical in every single way, including the fact that jason was BARELY LEGAL, and was talia’s ex-lover’s ex-son. the fact that damian could actually like for real be jason’s son if he was a few years younger is actually my villain origin story. ANYWAY SIDE NOTE OVER

so please, PLEASE stop acting like tim was 13 in attack on titan’s tower. he was 16 at the YOUNGEST, and much more reasonably was 17, which makes jason 18-19. they are basically the same age. stop babyifying tim.