#the league of assassins

[too-much-tma-stuff]

I Don’t Believe You Care

Y’all are my beta readers XD if you see any errors please let me know. I’m going to post this on AO3 later.

Part one here

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The scolding that Bruce gave Damian was the gentlest either of them had ever received, but it did cow Damian enough that he behaved while meeting Cass and Stephanie. It helped that they were sweet, Stephanie was a bit energetic and overwhelming but Cass was quiet and seemed to understand them better. She helped reign in the over-enthusiastic family friend and Danny was glad to have her as a sister. She didn’t speak much, she communicated in signs that he didn’t understand but he thought that he could learn in time, and he wanted to. When he told her so she smiled and Steph squealed, insisting loudly and brightly that they would be happy to teach him!

He couldn’t help but feel relieved that when Alfred asked Stephanie if she would be staying for dinner she joked that she should actually spend some time at home for once. It seemed like she didn’t live here, though they knew of her identity as Spoiler and her involvement with the bats, all her noise and movement wouldn’t be a consistent presence around the house. Not that Danny didn’t like her! He just thought he’d like her best in relatively small doses before she could overwhelm him.

He would ask Cass to teach him when Steph wasn’t here, it might be just slightly trickier, but he could use the excuse of letting the two friends spend the time they had together. And maybe Tim could help him practice? He must know how to communicate with his sibling after all, and Danny could already tell he and Tim were going to get along.

He was even more glad that Steph had gone when Dick arrived because as the man came barrelling in like a hurricane Danny didn’t want to think of how much chaos and noise they would be together! For all his practice in social graces they really should have prepared him for this chaos, crowds, and friendly contact. But the compound had been short sighted and ill prepared in such regards.

Dick was the worst, Danny was almost jealous of Damian who could snarl and squirm and draw a knife on the man when Dick tried to hug him. Danny put on a smile and forced a laugh and pretended that his instinctual reaction to being held like this didn’t make him want to bite and rend. He knew that Dick meant well, or at least he thought so, the man was honestly famously good natured and cared for his family. Danny wanted to be on his good side, and couldn’t bring himself to actually say he didn’t want to be touched, or at least wasn’t used to it. The sudden, quick, and broad movements Dick favoured with his dramatics made Danny want to flinch though he had better self control then that!

He dodged hugs as gracefully as he could for the rest of the night and managed to sit him and Damian between Bruce and Tim for dinner, with Danny sitting next to Tim of course. The food was good, and everyone in the family was very welcoming, but by the end of it Danny was exhausted.

He was good at this sort of thing, trained to charm, and redirect apparently effortlessly, but the thing was it wasn’t effortless, and these sorts of situations were harder to simulate then battle. Danny had done a good job, he could tell that he had them charmed, and had them warming up to Damian too actually, but he also knew that he was drooping. He should hide his fatigue, but he was still human, he yawned.

“You’ve had a long day young masters,” Alfred said, instantly picking up on the mood, he was an impressive man and they both knew it. “Now that you’ve eaten why don’t you go settle in your rooms and get some rest? I took the liberty of going to buy you some pajamas and basics that should fit the two of you. I’m sure Master Bruce will be happy to take you both out to buy clothes more suited to your taste tomorrow,” he added.

“I think that’s a good idea, don’t you Damian,” Danny asked, glancing over at his brother.

“I’m not tired,” Damian harrumphed, of course he wouldn’t admit defeat. “But I would like to see where we will be staying,” He added. No doubt he’d thoroughly check security and for any potential surveillance before he slept. Danny wasn’t going to bother.

“Very good young Masters,” Alfred said with a nod, pausing to look back at Dick. “Will you be staying the night as well?” He asked the older man, who gave a rueful smile and shook his head.

“I’m needed in Bludhaven, I was able to come for the day on such short notice but I couldn’t get more time off. I’ll schedule a proper vacation as soon as possible so I can come back and visit!” He said giving Danyal and Damian an encouraging smile, and Danny did a good job of looking disappointed that Dick was leaving even though he was glad to have some time to get his feet under him before more of the family would be under the same roof once more. Maybe he hadn’t been as subtle as he thought about dodging Dick’s affection though, because he didn’t try to hug either of the boys goodbye.

He bid their siblings farewell and followed Alfred up to his bedroom, seeing Damian into his first and then going into his own. He was quick to brush his teeth and change into the comfortable, soft pajamas they’d been bought which did fit perfectly. Unfortunately when he flopped down into bed, regardless of how exhausted he was, he couldn’t sleep. He kept replaying the events of the day, how he did, how he could have done better, what he had learned about the family and what it meant.

After maybe an hour once things had gone quiet on the other side of the wall and he thought Damian was asleep Danny sighed and got up. He opened his window and climbed out, he braced his feet on the sill and shoved off, jumping unnaturally high for a human to grab on the edge of the roof and drag himself up onto it. He scrambled up gracefully and silently, finding a comfortable place to lay, looking up at the sky. He stayed there, zoning out for a while before he heard a soft thump on the roof near him.

“How did you get up here?” Bruce asked, dressed as Batman this time, Danny glanced over and gave him a small smile.

“You can’t really see the stars here,” he said, looking back up at the sky. “I won’t miss much about the compound, but I’ll miss the stars.”

“Not settling in particularly well?” Batman asked, sitting down on the ridge of the roof, a respectable distance between them.

“Oh I’ll be alright,” Danny said with a shrug. “They always raised me to be your heir after all, Damian will have more trouble than me. Want some advice?”

“Hm,” Batman said, an affirmative sound.

“Take him to a zoo, buy him art supplies. He’ll deny he cares about such things, but I know him better then anyone and he does. Once he realizes he really can be himself out here, that’ll help start undoing the brainwashing.”

“How are you so insightful about the situation? You can’t have avoided the brain washing.” Batman asked, and Danny shrugged. “What about you?”

“What about me?” Danny asked, glancing over just for a moment.

“How do I bond with you?” Bruce asked, and Danny laughed.

“You don’t have to. I don’t need to be won over or convinced. Our grandfather is a violent fool who only cares for himself, teaching me to recognize manipulation showed me what he really was years ago. If you turned me away entirely I still wouldn’t go back to the league.” He said with a wry smile.

“Hm,” Batman sounded unimpressed. “You’re still my son. I’d like to bond with you?”

Danny sighed, not sure why Batman was being stubborn when his energy was best spent elsewhere. He sat up and looked over at Batman, tilting his head slightly. “I don’t need you,” He said somewhat bluntly. “Damian does, give him your focus. If you truly want you can buy me an instrument, and books on astronomy.”

Batman nodded thoughtfully and Danny lay back down, there was a few moments of quiet between them before B spoke up again. “How did you get up here?” He asked again and Danny sighed.

“I guess you have to know eventually,” He murmured. “Part of the reason we’re both here is because Grandfather couldn’t decide who he wanted to be his heir, it was always supposed to be Damian but something happened and suddenly I was a much more attractive choice.”

“What happened?” B prompted after a moment.

“You know about the Pits? Most people dunked in it come back less, in the mind usually, sometimes less human, feral and monstrous. But rarely, once in the blue moon, someone comes back more.” Danny glanced over at Batman, and when he blinked he let his eyes flash green, glowing with the vile waters the kept Ra’s limping along. He could have explained more about the ways that he was different now, but he didn’t want to let on more then he had to at this point. He wasn’t naive enough to trust Bruce just because they shared blood, so he simply said; “I came back More, and I mean, I’m still a trained assassin, I probably could still have gotten up here even if I hadn’t.”

“But seemingly being chosen by Lazarus made me seem like a better option to grandfather, and your… complicated feelings towards empowered people is well known. So they didn’t know if you’d like me anymore.” His eyes faded back to blue and he looked up at the sky again, he couldn’t read Bruce’s expression under the cowl anyway. “It took a lot of subtle work to convince them to send us both so you could ‘decide which of us you wanted’.”

“Do you expect me to choose one of you?” Bruce asked, unreadable as ever.

“No, not really, you clearly like having many children. Damian still thinks now that you have a biological heir you’ll turn your adopted children away, but that’s grandfather talking and he’s a fool. If you do choose one then choose Damian, I’ll be fine on my own but he needs the help navigating this world. He’s strong, he’s clever, he’s more observant than me, he’ll make a good detective. He’ll be more loyal than me once you win him over too. He’ll be harder to break of the bad habits, I’ve never been as good at killing as him, but once he learns the way you do things I think he’ll be a good Robin.” Danny said, pulling up his knees and wrapping his arms around them, it was a bit chilly on the roof.

Batman hummed and nodded, which was good, if he had continued to push Danny would have had to bring up Jason. He knew that Jason was alive of course, but Bruce didn’t and Danyal would say he was more likely to end up like Jason if he had to but that was a last resort.

“Well I want you to know that both of you are very welcome here. And neither of you have to be Robin, or anything that you don’t want to be. I’ll support you in whatever you want to do, and you being a meta doesn’t change that at all. Both of you have a home here,” Bruce assured.

Danny nodded and gave Bruce a smile before standing up and smiling. “That’s good to hear,” He said, while not believing it at all. Bruce couldn’t and shouldn’t offer such unconditional support after just meeting them. “I should get back inside, it’s getting cold, and I am tired,” He said, wandering over the edge of the roof and stepping off, twisting around to grab the edge and swung off and back through the window before closing the window and brushing himself off so he wouldn’t get to much dirt in his sheets before crawling into bed.

He wasn’t fully asleep before the door to his room opened just enough for Damian to slip inside, he wasn’t surprised, Damian and he weren’t as independent from each other as they acted like they were. “You should have locked your door and blocked it somehow. We cannot trust the mongrels Father has taken in,” he hissed at Danny.

“Damian, shut up and get over here,” Danny mumbled sleepily, not bothering to open his eyes as he lifted the blankets on the other side of the bed. He heard a scoff and waited as Damian did whatever he needed to to feel like the room was secure and then came over to slide into bed next to Danny. Danny held out his arm, they didn’t exactly cuddle even when like this, but Damian liked to hold Danny’s wrist and feel his pulse. He had done it when they were younger but he had stopped for a while, it had only started up again after he had watched Danny die, it was understandable.

Damian wrapped one hand around Danny’s wrist, seeking out his pulse and tucked the other arm under his pillow, no doubt stashing a knife there. “None of them are going to hurt us Dami. They’re used to having multiple siblings, they probably compete, but other then one notable exception we’ve never heard of any of them trying to kill each other have we?”

“You don’t know that, Father’s has never had a biological child before, they must recognize we’re more of a threat then the others,” Damian argued in hushed tones.

“They won’t, we haven’t even proven ourselves yet. We could be incompetent.”

“We’re not!” Damian objected, his voice raising just a little and Danny hushed him softly.

“No, we’re not, but they don’t know that. I would suggest we keep out heads down for at least a month, we learned what we could about them from a distance but we should observe them. We’ve never been out of the compound except on missions, we have a lot to learn and whoever does end up his heir will have to be able to pretend to be normal. I intend to take Tim up on the lessons on popular media, perhaps it isn’t practical, but what about when we inevitably have to interact with people our own age at parties? What about interviews?

“We don’t want to reflect badly on father and if we don’t know Anything about such thing, or have any hobbies, or anything of the sort people will assume he treats us poorly.” Danny murmured and Damian harumphed, even without opening his eyes Danny could tell Damian was gritting his teeth.

“Why should we care what the uncultured masses think?” He hissed furiously and Danny cracked a small smile.

“Because father does. As the Bat his reputation is half of his weapon, and his identity as Bruce Wayne is carefully crafted to both divert suspicion from him being Batman and to make people like him. Father understands well how ones image is a tool, and being a good father is part of his image as Bruce Wayne, we will have to play into it if we want to succeed.” Danyal explained as gently as he could, he didn’t believe all of what he was saying really, or at least the way that he was framing it. He was framing it in the way he thought was best to make Damian start giving the outside world a chance, and hoping that when he did give it a chance he would find he liked it.

It was quiet for a long time which was good, it meant that Damian was properly considering what Danny had to say. He was nearly asleep before Damian spoke again, rousing Danny from his half doze. “Alright, knowing these ‘siblings’ patterns would help, and I can concede the point on the importance of reputation,” He said stiffly.

Danyal had to suppress a smile at his brother’s tone. “Good. And try to remember that unlike Mother and Grandfather batman has a rule against killing. Anything you do you must make sure it is never tracked back to us, especially because he’s not going to suddenly stop caring about them because we share his blood. If he finds out we hurt one of them it would absolutely ruin our chances, or be a huge set back at the very least,” He added, again trying to gently steer his brother in the direction he wanted. He was being manipulative, but it was the way he knew that worked.

“Father should know better then to develop such misplaced attachments,” Damian grumbled but then after a moment of silence he sighed and nodded. “All of our missions have had to be done in secret anyway, with time and planning we’ll manage.”

Well, it had bought them time and that had been Danyal’s goal so he nodded as well. “Good, now sleep Ahki, we’ve both had a long day and I’m tired.”

Damian let out a soft hum and that was all, he kept hold of Danny’s wrist even as he fell asleep, as he always did. Danny liked it too, the physical reminder that Damian was there, that they were safely together. He didn’t think that either of them would have to sneak out before dawn to make sure they weren’t caught and punished for such childish behaviour, he truly felt like they could rest.

Part three

[glow-worms-are-believers]

Father of mist, Father of foam (dcxdp)

Inspired by this post because this ship is so unhinged and I felt like writing Talia.

There were many stories in the League. Most of them went untold, and were eventually buried with the dead. Everyone knew not to ask about them, especially not for Ra's Al Ghul's. But nothing would stop the whispers, especially about Talia and her parentage.

Growing up, Talia had always been curious. She had asked her father once about her mother. Once, and never again. Father had only looked at her, but the empty deadened gaze he fixed upon her that day had frightened her more than any of their sparring sessions.

So she had resolved to ignore the chatter, and lock away those questions in the deepest corner of her mind. She did so, and for years, she managed to keep it buried. That was until she turned 9 years old, and decided to sneak out of the compound. So proud was she of her victory, she did not pay attention to her footing, slipped and fell right into the tumultuous river alongside which she was walking.

Talia was a good swimmer, but the currents were too strong and she was sucked under. She woke up, wet but alive on the bank with a man sitting next to her. He smiled before speaking in a voice that sounded like bells in the wind. "Hello, daughter."

And as the truth of his word echoed, she understood. "Hello, father."

He smiled and it was like the moon, soft and sweet and sad which Talia knew meant their time was limited. So she sat right next to him, and nestled in his arm, before asking him to tell her a story.

"When I was younger," her father started. "I decided to venture to the mortal world once again. There I met a man to whom I would give my heart, my soul and my Core. " Her papa said, before sighing. "He was such a strong soul with an intricate mind and I was so in love. We were happy so very, very happy."

"What happened?" Talia asked.

"My dearest one started listening to the whispers, doubting my love, my devotion. I pleaded with him to trust in me and the strength of my affection and he did, and for a time, I believed this was enough. But the peace did not last long, the whispers had already infiltrated his mind, poisoned his thoughts."

Her father had had a far-away look. "He locked away my core away and I could stay no longer. I cannot give my core to another, as it is not mine anymore. I stole it back, but it will stay his for all eternity. But for his betrayal, I cannot be by his side either."

Talia could feel her eyes start to water for her papa.

"Do not weep for me, my child," he said as his big hands cupped her face. "For he gave me a gift more precious than anything. He gave me you, daughter."

Talia turned into her father's chest and gripped at the strange fabric of his garment. "Take me with you," she said in a whisper.

"It is too early, Beloved," her father said as he caressed her hair. "You were born of the Realms, but even you cannot enter before your time."

Then, he stood up and deposited Talia on her feet. He looked down to her with tender eyes before he bent to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. Talia closed her eyes and when she opened them again, he was gone.

[batfamquotes]

stephanie brown: ra's was in a cult? tim drake: no, no...he's the leader of one.

[theendlessnessofbeingme]

Recently it has come out that Ras Al Ghul, grandfather of Damian Wayne or Al Ghul has been spending the last 16 years searching for the right match for his grandson. After this information was told to the 15 year old Damian he announced he would never get married. However after hearing his announcement Jon Kent and Damian got into a “screaming match” as Stephanie Brown put it about Damian never getting married. From what we can gather the couple is taking a break, it is unclear if Damian and Irey and Jon are all taking a break or if it’s just Damian and Jon.

[gummybearstastelikesadness]

Sadness’ Shorts #2

Ectoplasm is catnip to Lazarus exposed individuals, the LoA crumbles upon contact with Danny.

[batmobilestires]

Jason went from being a lil lanky boy to a super buff man to what practically felt like overnight for him and there’s just no way that missing such an important stage of physical development didn’t negatively impact his body image. like imagine you’re just a kid and suddenly waking up feeling too big for your own body??

in desperate need of an angsty fanfic that explores Jason’s body image issues because of the Lazarus Pit!! and bonus points if there’s a happy ending with Bruce hugging Jason and telling him “he’ll never be too big to be his son” (im delusional)

[dceuheadcanons]

The (main) batfam age gaps (and other timeline things) in this blog's current DC canon:

First off, here are their birth years: Bruce (1997), Dick (2012), Jason (2017), Tim (2020), and Damian (2028).

Bruce and Dick - 15 years (he's Bruce's bio kid, but neither of them actually know.)

Bruce and Jason - 20 years, was previously 22 I think? Fun fact, Jason was the longest standing Robin!

Dick and Jason - 5 years, was previously 7.

Jason and Tim - 3 years, Tim was 12 when Jason was 15 (aka when he was kidnapped by the Joker in this blog's canon)

Tim and Damian - 8 years. Jason had only been Robin for 2 years when Damian was conceived.

Additional Robin (+ Bruce) timeline:

Bruce became Batman when he was 22 (in 2020) and was 25 when he first adopted Dick (2022), for reference.

Dick was Robin for 3 years. He started at 10 instead of 8 (the most common canon age for his parents' deaths), because I love me some good father-son parallels and Bruce was 10 when HIS parents died.

Jason was Robin from the age of 8 to the age of 15 (when his death was initially faked and Tim replaced him), which is 7 years. He died at 17 (2034) because I've taken pieces of Arkham Knight Jason for his story (he was stuck with Joker for 2 years, not just 1.)

Tim became Robin in 2032, when he was 12, and stayed Robin until Damian came along! Tim was 17 (and has stayed 17 since lol). Which is five years (though Steph did have a little few-month-long Robin moment in the middle). He then became Red Robin, of course! Though he had his own abandonment issues crisis about being replaced by someone "better" than him. He'd just settled into the idea of Bruce actually caring about him, y'know? Only for that all to be ripped away. But that's something for another post!

Damian became Robin when he was 9, in 2037, when Bruce was 40. He's still the current Robin because I haven't really gotten past Bruce being 45 in this blog's canon yet! Hardly any plans for the future! But I do have a few possible storylines for Damian in his teen years going on.

Jason went back to Gotham just a few months before Damian turned up - He'd already had a bit of fun (beating up Tim) but hadn't gotten his full plans in action yet! When Jason and Damian meet as Red Hood and Robin for the first time, Jason actually lights up with recognition. They knew eachother for a few years, in the League! Jason was a bit of a father figure to Damian for those years. I think it's rather sweet!

Okay, so this post is....... A little messy. I just needed a place to put all of this! Hopefully the other admins agree with this timeline and hopefully I didn't fuck any of it up..

[yukiwhitetm]

Would you guys be interested if I shared my assignment of Danganronpa characters to DC vigilantes and rogues (with an eye on Saiouma, of course)? Mainly focussed on the BatFam, because I love them.

[wellensittich01]

BABY

[lily-drake]

Master List Part 2

Master List Part 1

Dickinette

Biosibling!Dickinette: Birds of a Feather Flock Together: Part 1 Part 2

BioDad!Dickinette:

Of Broken Hearts and Shattered Minds

Ric Rolled: Part 1 Part 2

Casinette: Sibling!Cassientte: Stop in the Name of Your Sister: Part 1 Part 2

Bruce:

BioDad!Bruce:

Where is She?!

You've Got to be Kitten Me: Part 1 Part 2

He Stole My Heart So I Stole His (Felinette) Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

BioDad!Month (2021): Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Everything after Part 11 was posted exclusively on my Ao3.

Found Family:

Watch What You Say: Part 1 Part 2

Adopted Into a Better Life

Drabbles/Story Ideas

Batman Specific:

Why are you here Batman?

In a Different League: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

6 Times Tim Suffered Alon + One Time He Doesn't

[moosieart]

(MAJOR SPOILERS FOR GOTHAM KNIGHTS VIDEO GAME)

Ok, so I finished Gotham Knights, and here's my review.

I loved it! The story was amazing, and the plot twists! I totally did not expect Kane to be The Voice. And the Court of Owls!!! They're my all time favorite Batman villain/organization, so for them to be such a prominent villain made me undeniably happy. And the Labyrinth, it was so well done, I literally cried. The mind games and the way it hits you in the feels, it embodies the Court perfectly. The League of Shadow was well done as well.

The sibling bonding! I'm sad that only Dick, Babs, Jay, and Tim were there, but they did them so well! They showed Tim's insecurity and grief for losing Bruce, and I totally believe he's autistic. Dick struggled with whether to take up the cowl and whether he was good enough. Babs struggles through her own grief with her father's death. Jason grieves a father he barely got to know, and apparently the Lazarus pit gave him powers??? I'm all for it. And how Jay still struggles with the pit's effects, finally someone did my boy right.

But it's not all sadness and pain for the batkids. They bond, have fun and make fun of each other, true BatFam content.

I was spoiled for the end of the game, but even if I hadn't been I still felt the dread and realization that as we approached the Wayne cemetery that Talia was going to revive Bruce. That whole scene hit me in the feels and having to mourn Bruce a second time.

And Gotham city, I adored swinging/flying/driving around and patrolling. The subtle details like the fact that there is actually a Batman Musical in universe made me smile. The way citizens have differing opinions on vigilantes. I've never played a spider-man game, but I imagine they're pretty similar.

And the way Wayne Family Botanical Gardens was in ruins and not used, it made me so sad. How Bruce is buried next to his parents, how in the belfry he had the highest ranking score on the video game. I couldn't even bring myself to play it, if i removed Bruce from the leader board I would have felt so guilty and sad.

The graphics were amazing, the attention to detail made my artist heart excited and inspired, and I only ever experienced minor glitches, like the subtitles occasionally flashing, I've had way worse glitches in Skyrim or Knight of the Old Republic, so it really wasn't a big deal to me. I loved how both the end credits and Main Title adjust to whatever your heroes are wearing at the time. I haven't played multiplayer, nor do I plan to, so I can't give you a review on that.

This game was not only gorgeous and well thought out, but it actually made me feel with the characters. I would 100% recommend playing it. 100/10 would play again.

I'll be starting Arkham Knight soon, so stay tuned for that review. I've heard good things and I'm excited!

[too-much-tma-stuff]

Unhealthy Dependence

This is part 3 of my demon twins au. part one part two

Unedited so if you see any errors feel free to let me know!

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Danyal slept better then he had in a long time, and till passed dawn at that! He didn’t quite know what time it was when there was a knock at the door, he woke up and Damian was still next to him. It took Damian a moment to process and then he went rigid as a board, Danyal understood, if they had been caught sleeping in the same bed like this back in the league they would have been punished for such a sign of weakness and dependency. Danyal wasn’t as worried, with how affectionate Dick was he didn’t think that anyone was shamed for affection here.

“Master Danyal, will you be coming down for brunch?” Alfred asked, and Danny smiled a little, Alfred was kind and polite, he could already tell they were going to like him

“Yes, sure, me and Damian will be there in a minute,” He said, making a soft oof sound when Damian hissed and yanked him back, covering his mouth. What? There was no point in hiding it. Alfred would be going to Damian’s room next and it would be clear he wasn’t in there after a moment.

“Very good, the meal will be in 15 minutes,” Alfred said without missing a beat and they listened to his footsteps echo softly down the hall.

“Danyal! What are you thinking?!” Damian demanded. Danyal rolled his eyes and pushed Damian’s hand away from his mouth.

“Don’t worry Ahki, I have good reason to believe such things aren’t against the rules, or even disapproved of here. Besides, how would you have gotten back into your room in time for him to rouse you? If you’re worried about being in trouble for sleeping together no doubt you would be for sleeping through the morning call. Now go on back to your room, we have 15 minutes to make ourselves presentable for the day, and I know you fuss about your hair,” Danny said, beginning to shoo his brother out of his bedroom.

Damian scowled and glared at Danny but he left silently, they’d see if Danyal’s little gamble bore any fruit, if no one mentioned them sharing a room at all then he was sure it would be fine. He was pretty sure that it would be fine, and if not he’d take the blame. He watched Damian go and then closed the door going to see what clothes Alfred had gotten for him, it was pretty plain, just a pair of jeans and a polo shirt that would match his eyes. It was nice enough, and they fit so he got dressed quickly, and combed his fingers through his hair. He didn’t care if it was a little messy.

He was looking forward to getting to choose his own clothes though! That wasn’t something he’d ever gotten to do, with the league having a uniform and then coming here. What was his style like? Maybe he could ask Tim to help him get on the internet so he could search for inspiration, and he should ask Bruce what his expectations were as well. The others seemed to have pretty well defined sense of style, each different from the others, he was sure he would be allowed to cultivate his own sense of style as well.

Once he was dressed he left his room, waiting in the hall for Damian to join him, he always took longer to get ready because of his hair. Danny didn’t mind, Damian’s slicked back and spikey hair was the easiest way to tell them apart, especially from the back, so it was worth the wait to not constantly be confused. When Damian came out and they went down to breakfast together, silent but side by side.

It seemed like they were the last ones to the table this morning. Bruce was there, reading the paper at the head of the table, Tim was there too, clutching a big mug of coffee like a lifeline. Judging by the bags under his eyes it was probably the only thing keeping him upright, maybe he needed a twin to sneak into his bedroom at night to make sure that he was sleeping. Cass was there too, looking a little more awake then the other two, sipping a cup of tea with a bowl of cut up fruit in front of her. This was not a family of morning people, clearly.

Apparently Cass preferred a lighter breakfast then the pancakes with fruit and bacon that Alfred was bringing out for the rest of them. It was different fare then Danny and Damian were used to as well, but it smelled good and it would be very rude to turn down the food. Danny murmured his thanks and Damian nodded in acknowledgment when Alfred placed plates in front of both of them. “Would you like some tea as well young masters?” Alfred asked them politely.

“Yes please,” the two of them said in sync with each other, and then made faces at each other in lock-step as well. Alfred kept a straight face, Cass smiled at them, and Bruce suppressed a snort behind his newspaper, betraying that he was paying more attention to them then it first seemed.

Bruce folded his newspaper and set it aside, pulling his plate towards himself. That seemed to clue Tim in to the presence of food, prompting him to down the rest of his coffee and pull his plate towards him as well. Taking the queue from them Danny started eating, humming softly in enjoyment, the pancakes were warm and fluffy, the fruit was nice and sweet, and the savoury bacon was a nice compliment.

“Thank you, it’s very good,” He praised Alfred softly when the older man returned with cups of tea for both the brothers.

“You’re welcome master Danny,” Alfred said with a soft, approving smile.

Under the table Danny kicked Damian’s ankle before he could scoff at the interaction. Instead his brother hissed and glared at him, being met by a passive and innocent smile. Damian huffed and shoved another bite of pancake in his mouth. Good, he could keep his opinions to himself, especially about someone who was clearly very important to the family despite being a ‘servant’, Damian just didn’t have the emotional intelligence to see that yet.

“So, I was thinking it would be a good idea for me to spend some one on one time with both of you to get to know each of you,” Bruce said looking between the two twins. They nodded, that made sense, they were quite different after all! “So I was thinking I’d take Danny out today to shop for clothes, decorations for your room, do an activity while we’re out, make a day of it. And I’ll do the same with Damian tomorrow?”

Danny looked up sharply, giving Bruce a suspicious look, why did he want to take Danny first? Didn’t he say last night that Bruce should focus on Damian? This was the opposite!

It was Damian’s turn to kick Danny under the table before he could object, causing him to bite his tongue and look at his brother, who was glaring at Danny. He frowned and flicked his eyes towards their father in a subtle ‘go on’ gesture. Danny took a deep breath, right, he shouldn’t alienate their father too badly, and going first wasn’t a bad thing. He could tell Damian about what was expected and give his brother a little more time to settle in and get comfortable before he had to face wider society.

“Sure, sounds like fun,” Danny said putting on a smile and forcing down his annoyance.

Bruce was giving them an odd calculating look, and Danny subtly took another deep breath to settle and brace himself. “Alright, we’ll leave in a couple of hours so you can get ready.” Bruce said after a moment of unnecessarily tense silence, at least in Danny’s opinion! Unless they knew about something he hadn’t clued in to yet.

“Right, well there are a few routines that I think are worth keeping. So is there anywhere we can spar after breakfast,” Damian spoke up glancing around the table.

Cass hummed to draw their attention and when their eyes were on her she smiled and nodded, gesturing that they could come with her.

“Now?” Danny asked, looking ruefully at his half finished breakfast. She laughed and shook her head, gesturing back to his plate. “When we’re done?” She nodded. “You’ll spar with us?” He asked hopefully.

“Don’t be silly,” Damian scoffed, “Surely we have nothing to learn from so- ouch, stop that!” He snapped, loosing his temper when Danyal kicked him under the table again, harder then before.

“Get me back for it when we spar,” Danny said, turning his nose up at his brother’s anger. “And we have plenty left to learn, pretending we don’t is just the worst sort of arrogance. The sort that gets you killed,” Danny told his brother who huffed and looked down, giving up the argument for now. Though Danny fully expected to fight for his life during their sparring because Damian would feel like he had to prove himself now. He would have to remind Dami not to leave any visible bruises if he was going to be out with father today.

They finished breakfast quickly and then stacked their dishes together out of habit to make them easier to bring to the kitchen and then stood together. Cass had finished her breakfast already so she pushed her dishes over to Danny who took them and added them to the sack easily, while Damian glared at him.

“That’s not a bad idea stacking them like that,” Bruce commented, looking up at Alfred who had just come out to whisk the dishes away. “Might make things easier for you?”

Alfred hummed as he took the stack. “As long as you don’t forget we don’t all have vigilante strength master Bruce,” He said with understated amusement as he headed back to the kitchen.

Cass got up from the table and walked around, tapping Danny on the shoulder and catching Damian’s eye, jerking her head to follow. They both got up and followed a few steps after her, Danny glanced back and gave Bruce and Tim a little wave and a smile. Not that Tim seemed to notice anything past his second cup of coffee, Danny had a feeling he saw and knew more then he let on but it was hard to tell. Bruce gave him a nod and waved in return. Danny had a feeling that once they were gone Tim, Bruce, and Alfred would be talking about them.

Cass lead them to a studio that looked like it could be used for fighting and for dance, stopping by their rooms on the way to grab their preferred weapons, because they knew what they’d be using it for today. They broke off, each finding their own space to stretch and warm up, Damien with his Katana, Danyal with his Kusarigama, and Cass with a twin pair of daggers she’d drawn from somewhere hidden. It was good to know she probably had those on her at all time, not really surprising though given that she had also been raised an assassin.

It was muscle memory more then anything that had Damien and Danyal facing off against each other first. As long as Danyal didn’t use his new abilities they were pretty evenly matched to it worked well as an extension of a warm up. “Don’t forget, no visible bruises, we’re going to be going out with father soon,” Danyal reminded Damien, who scowled and attacked first rather the responding. Ah, it was going to be one of those days.

It was a hard fight, barely a spar anymore, because Damien was furious and, if Danny knew his brother, afraid. He was in a new situation he didn’t know the rules of, he felt dis-empowered and was more reliant on Danny then he was comfortable being since Danyal better knew the rules out here. And now Danny was going out for the day and they were going to be separated, leaving Damien without the bare comfort he found in his twin. Danny understood, and maybe he didn’t fight back as hard as he could have to let Damien feel strong without obviously throwing the match, letting Damien work out the angst. Damien won, and Cass, who Danny had almost forgotten was there watching, applauded.

When they separated and looked over at her she smiled at them and then walked towards the center of the room, beckoning for Danny to come join her. “Alright, good idea, once we finish I’ll have to leave to shower and get ready to go out with father.” He would have asked Damien if he’d be okay, but he would only take such a question as an insult and insist that he was fine. Danny settled in to a fighting stance against her, and after a long moment he realized she wouldn’t attack first, so he did and she came to meet him in graceful conflict.

She was a good fighter, a mirror rather then overwhelming him, he knew she was testing, not bringing her full strength to bear here. That was fine with him, it was good exercise more then anything and he didn’t exactly want any bruises from her either. By the time she called an end to the match they were both breathing hard, he was a bit surprised she didn’t fight to a win but he accepted it when she stood down. They bowed to each other in familiar respect and stepped away, she went to get a bottle of water and Danny went over to Damien.

“You’ll be alright?” He asked, softly and with his head angled away from Cass so she wouldn’t be able to read his lips. Hopefully without a witness Damien wouldn’t bristle to badly at the question.

“Of course I will be,” Damien sniffed at him.

“Alright, good, I’ll be back this afternoon, try not to cause to much trouble while I’m away,” He said with a chuckle. “Tire him out, he’ll behave better,” He called over to Cass who laughed and nodded, laughing harder when Danny had to duck away to avoid Damien’s retaliatory strike. Running out of the studio to escape his brother’s revenge.

He slowed to a walk one he was out of range and found his way easily back to the family wing, he accidentally opened the door to Tim’s room first, finding it empty he closed it again quickly and finding his room next. He didn’t mean to intrude, he was still learning his way around the mansion. He let himself back into his own room and noticed right away that the bags he had brought with him from the league had been gone through. He checked them and grimaced when he found the secret pockets in them had been discovered as well, that was going to be an interesting conversation.

He showered and dressed again, stashing a few knives on his person just in case, the sheaths hidden expertly under his clothes where no one would notice them. At least no one had tried to take their weapons away from them, that would have ended badly, for everyone involved probably. Satisfied he went downstairs, finding that Bruce was already waiting for him in the front hall. “Hello Father, I hope I’m not late,” Danyal said, knowing that he wasn’t.

“No, I’m just early. But since we’re both here why don’t we head out?” Bruce suggested with an odd smile, gesturing towards the door.

“Sounds good,” Danny said with a shrug, “lead the way.”

There was a car parked out front already, Danny watched Bruce walk to the drivers side before taking his queue to get in the passenger side, since there wouldn’t be a driver today. Bruce started the car and pulled out. “So, Alfred tells me while he was unpacking your bags he found what looks like bottles of Lazarus water?” He asked, his tone was casual but Danny could see his shoulders were tense.

“I should have mentioned that last night,” Danny agreed with a little sigh, looking out the window, he had been hoping they wouldn’t be found and he wouldn’t have to. “It was, but it wasn’t for any sinister purpose. Since I was resurrected I’ve been dependent on it, not bathing in it the way grandfather has to, but I’ve found that if I don’t… drink a little bit from time to time I start becoming very weak and sickly. I don’t like having such a weakness, a tie to the league like that, but it’s necessary for now. I think I can tell mother that, so far away from the pits themselves I’m needing more and convince her to send me enough I can stalk pile it in case I need to cut contact entirely.

“It will give me some to study as well. I’ve always been very good at science, and I think that I could synthesize something that would have the same affect on me, hopefully,” He grimaced, he didn’t want to rely on the Laague for anything. He looked over at Bruce, considering his reaction, the adult was giving him considering glances as well.

“You should have mentioned it,” Bruce agreed with a little sigh. “But it’s good to know now. Since Lazarus water isn’t exactly a harmless substance I’ll be keeping the excess secure and only one bottle in a place you can access it.”

Danny bit back any annoyance, reminding himself that the trust and privilege he and Damian been granted as heirs to the Demon Head didn’t apply here. Of course Bruce wouldn’t trust him to keep something that could make people easier to control or manipulate, it would be very foolish to just let Danyal keep it. “And if I want to study it?” He asked, a little guardedly.

“Tim and I will want to as well, we’d be happy to have you join us,” Bruce suggested and Danny nodded.

“Sure, what better way to bond then study unknown and unstable compounds huh?” He joked, slouching in his seat in a way that would have had mother hissing disapprovingly through her teeth. Bruce didn’t seem to mind, he was laughing at Danny’s comment. Once he knew where the rest was stored he could always get some to study on his own, or contact mother and better hide some of what she sent.

“In this family definitely,” Bruce agreed.

part 4

[chaosismynamemf]

Could I get some help finding a fic?

Okokok so like it was tim drake centric and I remember it had a scene where tim and Cass spar and tim does a solely LOA move and then I think Jason calls out in league dialect and tim subconsciously relaxes and shit

Please help meeee

I want to re-read it but I can't find it anywhere. I read it on AO3

[wildcardjoey]

Anita jean!

ANITAT JEAN!!!

Alright so the Little Wren AU is basically just 'Bruce manages to find Anita after she fakes her death' and she actually does become his first sidekick. She isn't a fighter, Bruce puts her under three layers of armor, and she basically fills a mage and healer role with first aid (mostly for civilians and criminals) and the virtual reality gas drug, the use of which allows batman to remain a cryptid for far longer.

Anita also takes longer to get the hang of grappling hooks because she's less coordinated than even Tim but she does get them probably not too long after Dick comes to the manner since the two can train together. Her inability to use grappling hooks when she first enters the field is why The Whirly-Bat was made, named The Hummingbird in this au because it's Anita's and was named before Dick was adopted into the family and took a bat-gimmick to every piece of equipment in the cave. Before he joined the team, Bruce and Anita were work shopping names for a lot of their stuff but hadn't come to decisions for most of them, so Dick still gets to do that, but not for Anita's Hummingbird.

Rather than the dynamic duo, this au has either a tritastic trio of Batman, Wren, and Robin, or the dynamic duo is seen as Wren and Robin, as Batman's sidekicks. When Tim ends up at the manner, Anita basically tells him he's too tactical to be Robin and gives him the Wren mantle, which she either had already left behind or was in the process of considering it. Steph ends ends up becoming his paired Robin, for much longer than Canon.

Steph initiating that plan that required Matches Malone probably still happens, but with Anita's help she's able to salvage it, but it opens up an entirely new set of problems because at that point Anita was already on the verge of discovering The Court of Owls (because their one give away was a nursery rhyme and she wanted to find out it's origin because it's her hobby) and now The Court sees the bat clan take control of the city basically in it's entirety so those two things combined make The Court release the elite talons. A temporary alliance with The League of Assassins and the timely first arrival of Cass in the city means they just barely manage to win. This is also the family's first introduction to Damian and a recently resurrected Jason is probably also there, but dressed like the rest of the assassins so he isn't recognized.

Anita herself, which is what this au is actually about, is going to be depicted as better adjusted due to not living her life since she was, like, eight alone and eventually dedicated to revenge. She has hyperfixations on birds, nursery rhymes, programming, and tech and is an excellent detective. I already mentioned she's less coordinated starting out but that doesn't mean she's weak, she'd probably be able to beat Dick in a fight when he first gets to the manor since he's at that point just a gymnast but she's been training as a martial artist for like six months at that point.

Speaking of Dick, I really look forward to writing their banter. They are going to be so sassy to each other but very protective of each other. Almost as much as they're both protective of every one younger siblings, which, and seeing some of your posts this may be disappointing, isn't going to be terribly long. Finding a way to fit every obscure batfam character in is for my other dc au, the same one that my ruleset for Claire's powers is for, but I do have Calvin, Charlie, and and Dana (Talon, Misfit, and Strike) as sure-shows for Little Wren.

Long-Term, the au's story-arc will focus on the eventual take down of The Parliament of Owls as the main antagonists, as it feels fitting for an Anita Jean focused story for previously stated Nursery Rhyme related reasons, although I do also plan for The League to be taken down due to Tim still having his globetrotting adventure and then the batfam actually capitalizing on it.

Edit for Addendum: the first paragraph makes it sound like Anita never fights, I should clarify that her role on the team does evolve as she gets older and Bruce becomes more lenient.

[batfsm]

I will always love the fanon idea of Damian and Jason meeting in the League of Assassins.

It works and I love it.

[nefarious-616-necromancer]