Batman - Blog Posts
New potential vigilante just dropped.
Wdym they don't invent new birds whenever Batman gets a new kid? How else do you explain so many birds?
Dude has a death wish
Every time I see someone complain about Red Robin's design, specifically his cowl, and that it's ugly and makes him look old...
Honey, This bitch has no spleen? He is planning ahead for his sick days when one of the other bats has to dress up as him. The cowl will be useful. And it's probably got at least a little protection and padding, which is a good thing.
I want y'all to remember how goofy Bruce looked in Nightwing's uniform when he pulled body-double duty for Dick. The dude was noble, but he was not serving Nightwing.
(Plus, can Bernard can wear it and they can have a sex scandal to distract people at any point in time)
Screaming, cackling, joyous!
There's just something enthralling about these two. Especially Tim serving his malicious compliance response to the "Where were you?". It's peak. He loves his family, he doesn't like when they pry into his business, they have all had many conversations about hiding injuries. Now Tim selectively over shares and it's a power trip.
And just. Yes. Tim's laughing hysterically over his boyfriend accidentally shooting him during their kinky sexy times. That is the most true and appropriate response. I kept imagining them on that "Sex Sent Me to the ER" show, retelling this story and breaking down into giggles again.
...Tim is trans masc by default in my head so when Bernard said he'd get him pregnant... I'm just saying, Tim's dealt with a lot of time travel bs. His birth control could fail. He and Steph could have a very funny role reversal, going to the same Lamaze class she took, deciding that the Dead Robins Club is so last year - the Oops Baby Club is now the fun place to be.
I beg you for more Tim and Bernard being chaotic freaks
*Falls down twenty flights of stairs before pushing myself up* This could mean several things, and I will do each one! >:D
Suggestive content below, minors DNI or whatever.
—
Tim, sick, lying in bed: I'm gonna die.
Bernard, sitting next to him, checking his temperature: No, you're not.
Tim: Bet.
Bernard: Please, don't prove me wrong on this one.
Tim: Uuuuuugh...
Bernard: At least you look sexy when you're sick.
Tim: Do I not always look sexy?
Bernard: Oh, you definitely do, always, look sexy. But, I mean like this, your cheeks and thighs all flushed, and all sweaty and helpless and weak in bed...
Tim: Don't get any ideas.
Bernard: To late, I already have several.
Tim: . . . Are you supposed to have sex, when sick?
Bernard: Is that gonna stop us.
Tim: Hmm.. Nope.
—
(inspired by a short story @donkoogrr made for me :3 )
Jason, picking his phone up at two in the morning: Who the fuck is this?
Bernard: Uh, me, so, like, y'know how I asked to borrow a gun for things you did not wanna know about?
Jason: . . . What did you do?
Tim, laughing hysterically in the background:
Bernard: I shot Tim.
Jason: you diD WHAT!?
Bernard: I DIDN'T KNOW THE SAFETY WAS OFF!
Jason: YOU SHOT MY LITTLE BROTHER!? ACCIDENTALLY!?
Tim: IT WAS HOT!
Bernard: He's a bit hysterical?
Jason: Oh my GOD, WHY ARE YOU CALLING ME!?
Bernard: I SHOULDN'T LEGALLY HAVE A GUN AND ALSO THIS WOULD BE SO HARD TO EXPLAIN TO A 911 OPERATOR!
Tim, laughing harder in the background:
Bernard: I have a compression bandage on him..?
Jason: . . . I am on my way, but I swear if he dies from this I'm gonna throw him in a Lazarus pit only to give him an honorable death.
Jason: Oh, also, I'm telling Dick face about this.
Bernard: . . . F#&$.
Tim: Think we can finish up before he gets here and I bleed out?
Bernard, throwing a pillow at him: TIM!
Tim: I've been shot way worse!
—
Ransom girl, flirting with Tim at a gala despite being told several times he has a boyfriend:
Bernard, walking right up to Tim: It's done.
Tim, playing along: It's done?
Bernard: Yup. She's dead.
Tim: Good, good.
Random girl, watching with great confusion and slight fear as Bernard and Tim share a sweet kiss and walk away together:
*The rumors that the Wayne's are some sort of crime family don't get better after this...*
—
Bruce, after calling for an emergency meeting after a massive rogue breakout: I know this is last minute, but— where's Red Robin?
Tim, riding in on his bike:
Jason: Where the f#&$ were you?
Tim, looking around: Are there children present?
Dick: ??? No, Dami is still changing—
Tim: Good, I want you all to know I'm only half coherent, my brain is still fuzzy, and I'm still recovering from being choked out, carved up, humiliated, and defiled in the best ways possible, and I swear one of you better die to make up for what I'm missing out on tonight.
Dick:
Jason:
Bruce:
Tim: None of you wanna see what I look like under this costume right now.
Damian, walking in: Have I missed something? Oh, Timothy, you are here, finally. What took so long?
Tim: Sorry, was hanging out with Bear, y'know how clingy he is.
Damian: Tt, don't forget about your promise to take me to the zoo this weekend.
Tim: Wouldn't dare.
Dick: My baby brother...
—
Stephanie: . . . So, you and Tim are into some freaky stuff?
Bernard: We did not use olive oil, wooden spoon, or the kitchen for their intended purposes last night.
Stephanie: To scared to ask, but also me and Cass have been thinking of experimenting. Any tips?
Bernard: Several.
—
Bernard: You're mad at Bruce again?
Tim: Yeah, but it isn't that big a d—
Bernard, pulling his phone out: Say less.
Bernard, posting anonymously that he'd be getting Red Robin pregnant, one way or another:
Tim: Now what's that gonna do?
Bernard: Give Bruce a heart attack.
Tim: . . . What?
*Cue that night, Bruce begging Babs to tell him what rogue and or magic user is threatening to get his son pregnant and w h y ? ! *
Babs: Harley Quinn says she'd help plan the baby shower, Poison Ivy asked if they're doing a a gender reveal because she has ideas that were safe for the environment, Cat woman commented that she wanted to be the godmother and is currently fighting Spoiler through text for rights..? Nightwing has stated he's castrating anon, and Red Hood told them to watch out for Batman, he's always looking for new Robin's.
Bruce: I am so confused...
—
Tim, gesturing wildly to an entire wall full of case files and "evidence" while being sleep deprived: I'm connecting the pieces.
Bernard: Love dove, the pieces are not connecting.
Tim: They're connecting...
Bernard: What are you trying to solve exactly?
Tim, blinking slowly: I forgot after my eighteenth cup of coffee, but I'm close!
Bernard: Uh huh... Ready for bed?
Tim, whispering as he sticks a sticky note with a poor drawing of a chicken to the wall: Death before dishonor...
—
Tim: . . . Hey, bear?
Bernard, half awake: Mm?
Tim: I want grilled steak.
Bernard: . . . It's three in the morning, Timboo.
Tim: I know...
Bernard:
Tim:
Bernard, groaning as he gets up:
Tim: I love you.
Bernard: I love you more and this is proof.
—
Bernard: Uh... Tim?
Tim, setting down the twelfth cake: You said to pick up a cake.
Bernard: Yes. A cake. You bought twenty cakes!
Tim: I didn't know what flavor you wanted tonight!
Bernard: So you buy all of them?!
Tim: Except carrot cake! Because you don't like carrot cake.
Bernard: We have... So much cake.
Tim: I also bought brownies—
Bernard: Timothy!?
Tim: They're red velvet..?
—
Bernard: I am staring respectfully.
Tim, changing into his Red Robin uniform: You are not.
Bernard, looking him up and down slowly: So respectfully.
—
High school Bernard: I wear sunglasses so nobody knows where I'm looking.
Darla: . . . Bernard—
Tim, not paying attention as Bernard stares at his biceps:
Bernard: Shh...
Darla: This is not heterosexual behavior.
Bernard: No clue what you're talking about. Hey, Tim?
Tim: Yes, Stephanie is a real person.
Bernard: No, no, not about that.
Tim: No, I don't wanna hear the entire lore of Undertale again. And no, I don't care about your d#&$ size, no, you can't know mine either.
Bernard: . . . I'm gonna kick your a#$.
Tim: I welcome you to try, b#&$%.
Bernard, leaning in: I would have you pinned in seconds.
Tim, dropping his phone onto his desk now: Only if I let you.
Bernard: Would you?
Tim: Would I?
Darla: JUST F#&$ ALREADY!
—
Wanted to write out something not-so-heavy, so I'm gonna borrow @arandomao3user's freaky Tim and Bernard pair.
Kink and Bondage go hand-in-hand, but there's a constant problem in the TimBern household. And it's all Tim's fault. He's a fucking escape artist. He keeps getting out of the ropes, the cuffs, the zip ties, the soft restraints, the chains, the really fancy bondage knots that took forever to actually get him into, the specialty restraints, the straitjacket from that one undercover op that went really weird...
It was cute at first when he could play-tackle Tim back to the bed (or floor or table or counter or chair or deck) for a different sort of game, but at this point it's become a problem for the both of them.
Because Tim genuinely can't stop escaping, even when he's into being tied up. Bernard, with equal amounts of frustration and affection, calls it Tim's Robin Reflex. He does it by habit, by accident, and while asleep, on one memorable occasion. Tim's always very sorry, of course, and he is trying so hard to be good for Bernard. It's just that they haven't found that sweet spot yet, that mystery thing that can keep Tim relatively helpless and at Bernard's mercy, but won't trigger the not-fun sort of sense memories that come with years of vigilante work.
So, at a loss and desperate for ideas, Bernard calls his bff.
Jason, actively falling asleep after patrol: "You want advice... On tying up Timmers? Like, shibari 'n whatever? Fucking. Didn't need this in my life, Burn Notice."
Bernard, entirely too awake: "C'mon, Jason; you're one of the most creative people I know and I'm out of ideas. You used to fight all the time! And you have major connections, my man, my buddy, my bestie. Don't you have any alien tech or magical stuff that might work?"
Jason, so tired: "I can ask around later, you freaky...I don't know. I never tied Tim up when we were fighting; I shot him in the thigh once and that slowed him down."
Hearing nothing but dial-tone, Jason sets his phone aside and promptly falls asleep
Three minutes later, Jason sits up in a cold sweat and scrambles for his phone to text Bernard.
J: DO NOT SHOOT TIM
J: BERN. FUCKING ANSWER ME.
J: ISTG IF ONE OF YOU FUCKERS IS SHOT WHEN I GET OVER THERE I WILL GET YOUR HORNY ASSES NEUTERED
With all my Batman et al. posts, I'd like to make a statement about real life vigilante justice.
Gonna cut it for heavy topics. I'm rambling again, but this is something I still have trouble finding the right words to explain.
I greatly admire Batman's no-killing rule because it speaks to what he knows about himself and also that he recognizes the power of a symbol.
If Batman can non-lethally take down criminals, even a corrupt police force will be expected to follow suit.
Vigilante justice inspires copycats. We're seeing it live now, with that guy who shot a Walgreens employee to "protest big pharmacy".
And that's the shit Batman's trying to prevent. The impotent copycats who want the attention without putting in tactical effort. The people who will take and twist a rule until it lets them do what they want to do.
Red Hood has rules. Red Hood kills pedophiles and people who hurt children. I can guarantee that someone in his territory is going to take that rule and use it as an excuse to shoot up a gay club. I can see his words being quoted by the person who murders an abortionist.
One man's idea of a child groomer is another man's trans child.
"We're protecting our women!" Is why Emmett Till was murdered so horrifically. The Antilynching Act that was named for him was only signed into law in 2022.
So. No killing. Because Batman knows he's not a mentally healthy person. He's come face-to-face with evil versions of himself who killed. He is allowed to safeword out of killing people. He's an intelligent person who can see what history has already taught us.
And because he doesn't kill, people are safer with him. If your loved one is having a mental health crisis, you want Batman to show up, not the cops. If you're a person of color doing pretty much anything, you would probably prefer pointy ears over "protect and serve".
Real life vigilante justice? It most often targets people who are already some sort of vulnerable minority. I just. I think it's important to acknowledge this.
This would be tough to see, because on one hand, yes, if Tim as a familiar presence calms Damian from his immediate state of fear/aggression, then that is good and preferable to safety holds and restraints.
What's bad about it is using another child as a pacifier and putting that responsibility on them when there are adults around who should have some training in traumatized kids. They live. In Gotham. It's been years, it should be in the teacher's handbooks by now.
So, maybe this could work for the first incident, but if it continued, then it's not fair or right to turn Tim into a teenage parent whose education, hobbies, and friends are being interrupted by (and the implication that they're seen as less important than) his brother's episodes.
There's a difference between looking out for your kid brother at school and being their sole support unit. It would not be a healthy environment for either boy.
If it were to get written, I could suspend disbelief for light-hearted fluff or reluctant brotherhood, but I'd really like to see it done by someone with a good grasp of real life CPP and New Jersey school policies. I'd really want to sink my teeth into the complexity of social work and student accommodations for a student in both Tim (two-school-shootings-and-counting!) and Damian's (Tiger Mom Assassin) situations.
do you guys think considering the relatively small age gap between Damian and Tim (depending on the author) that they would have been in school together? because coming from a youngest sibling who went to school with older siblings, that would be really interesting to look into.
i’m imagining Tim getting pulled out of class because Damian’s thrown a tantrum and refuses to listen to any of the teachers and they need his brother to convince him to calm down, and it actually working because Tim is the only person Damian is familiar with and so will ever listen to. Damian having no interest in making friends with civilians so he ends up sat on the end of Tim’s lunch table while Tim eats with his friends. Tim getting bullies in Damian’s class to back off, and Damian scuffing his foot on the tiles of the school halls as he waits for Tim to get out of detention so they can walk home together like usual.
considering how strained their relationship was when Damian first arrived in Gotham, putting him in an environment five days a week where suddenly Tim is his only true familiar ally and he has no choice but to accept being on friendlier terms would be really fucking interesting. suddenly Tim is his protector, and although he refuses to let that effect their home dynamic, he does have to accept that at school at least, he needs Tim to be his older brother.
Okay, getting my Asexual-spectrum Batman brainrot in some sort of order, everything is subject to being updated.
This turned out long and rambling, just the way I like it.
My main inspiration for this is a scene from the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, where Bruce and Alfred are discussing how to reintroduce Bruce into Gotham society. It's been awhile since I saw the film but I'm pretty sure Bruce looks at Alfred and is like, "So, what do young billionaires do that would explain vigilante injuries?" And then the scene cuts to Bruce and two foreign models swimming in a fountain at a fancy restaurant. And I'm like.
Fucking. Alfred. Suggested the himbo thing? Was this a passive-aggressive punishment for fucking off for years that went on for too long?
(I love my main man Mr. Pennyworth, I will meme that he's a saint. In reality, I think he's part of the reason the Robins keep having a terrible time passing on the mantle. I can address my grievances in another post tho.)
So I'm there, thinking about Batman and Bruce and growing up in private schools. I'm in the process of unlearning some damaging information that I was taught as "truth" from my own school days. I'm thinking of Butler Alfred, and his position as caretaker, and how he was raised, and what he would think is appropriate counsel.
When Bruce is hitting puberty and writing love poems to the tune of BeeGees songs to girls in class, how would Alfred handle that? He'd surely have a perfunctory talk with his charge about respecting women, how to be a proper gentleman, safe sex, warnings about people who are out for Bruce's heart as a way to get to his status and fortune.
But would Alfred even think to cover queerness? He surely knows of it, but he's from a generation and culture that is known for stoicism and silence. The generation where one might know a pair of "confirmed bachelors" or "spinster sisters", but one does not mention it in polite company. Perhaps he would decide to have that talk if it ever seems to be necessary.
But would Bruce ever think to ask about why he isn't as interested in sex as seemingly all the people around him? Why wouldn't he chalk that up to his massive trauma and call himself mature for it? And a number of girls would love that maturity, that Ice Prince gentility, that challenge. So he'd learn how to be charming, how to flirt. It's applied psychology to Bruce, it's masking, it's learning how to act like a "normal" human.
It's easy for me to see him continue that trend in his adult life. He is romantic and he isn't sex-repulsed; he matches the flirtation energy of someone and if they both want to have sex, they do. It's kind of fun for him, too, to learn someone's body and use his to make them feel so good.
It's just that, sex is just a mutual workout? And he legitimately enjoys doing other things together equally or more, like actual workouts or sparring or casework. Bruce will initiate sex if he picks up his partner's cues, but by the time he's comfortable enough with them to relax... He's just not in clue-finding mode. So partners become understandably annoyed. Upset. They feel like they're the ones putting in all the effort to keep the relationship alive and Bruce doesn't have the knowledge or words to explain his position.
So yeah, there are jokes about Batman being easy, jokes about his history of romantic relationships with rogues, civilians, and heroes alike. He's just doing what he thought was normal. Flirting back, following the other person's lead, matching the energy. It frustrates him when he thinks about it, because it's just another way he's Different and Broken and Missing Something that the rest of the world seems to understand on a basic level.
(To be firm: Bruce Does Not Match the energy of everyone who flirts with him. He is an adult and has his own tastes. He's got Polite Flirting, Interested Flirting, and Gray Rocking down pat.)
YES, PERFECTION!
Because damn I have this headcanon about Bruce's being panromantic ace that I'm going to have to write up someday.
And ofc he would speak up to protect one of his kids from the things he's not willing to protect himself from, that's just his default setting. Tim being caught between laughing at the concern and probably a little touched at the concern is also so cute.
And then you bless me with Jason being a little shit out of left field. 100%, no one knew he was in the house. He breaks in at random, calls it haunting.
Yeah, I'm sorry, I think we're friends now
Hot Take: Bruce doesn't support freakyTimBer not because he doesn't like Bernard. It's because Bruce has to pretend to be the freak in all of his civilian relationships to explain away his scars, so he keeps accidentally making his partners think he's into that and then he's too awkward to correct them, and he's worried that Tim's doing the same thing.
This is genius, I love it!!! My original thought process was Bruce just couldn't fathom his babies ever having sex like?? No?? His kids!? Never U_U
But I absolutely adore this so much. You have no idea.
Pre identity reveal shenanigans (aka, before Bernard tells Tim he knows and also Tim is a goof)
—
Bruce, looking at the bruises and obvious bite makes and cuts along Tim's visible neck and arms: . . . So, where'd the, um, new... bruises come from..?
Tim, not even looking up from his laptop: Bernard. Bruce, I told you this already. Don't question any injury I don't put in my reports.
Bruce:
Bruce: You know, if you ever feel... Pressured into things—
Tim, slowly looking up:
Bruce: I understand keeping our identities secret is important more than any one, you know this, but you shouldn't make sacrifices to this degree to keep it in tact—
Tim, moving a hand over his mouth to stop from either laughing or crying, he isn't sure:
Bruce: It's important to... Enjoy yourself with your relationship safely, and consensually. If you feel like you have to do or comply with certain things for Bernard to keep your identity safe... Why are you laughing?
Tim, trying not to laugh: Bruce, I promise, anything Bernard does to me I give full permission to. Enthusiastically, in fact.
Bruce: . . . What?
Jason, from another room, who read 50 Shades Of Gray once when he was fourteen: YOUR SON IS A FREAK WHO BEGS ON HIS HANDS AND KNEES FOR HIS BOYFRIEND TO CHOKE HIM OUT, YOU IDIOT!
Tim: HOW'D YOU KNOW THAT!?
Jason, popping his head in: WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN YOU ACTUALLY DO THAT!? I DIDN'T KNOW S#&$ BUT NOW I DO WHAT THE F$&%, TIMOTHY!?
Tim: STAY OUT OF MY SEX LIFE!
Jason: I WISH I DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD A SEX LIFE!
Tim: I HOPE THE JOKER BLOWS YOU UP AGAIN!
Jason: I HOPE I'M CREMATED THIS TIME!
Bruce:
Bruce: what
—
I just watched a few episodes of Tasting History with my Dad. One of them was about breakfast in Jane Austin's time and all the cultural information surrounding that day and age was super interesting!
So now I'd like everyone to imagine Bernard having a "Cooking from the Books!" Viewtube channel with Jason (potentially still dressed as the Red Hood depending on how silly you are). Bernard will cheerfully be explaining what recipe he's going to make, what ingredients he's going to use and substitute, all that good stuff. Jason/Hood is going to be next to him, vibrating with Special Interest Excitement, ready to slam a pile of research books and looseleaf paper onto the counter so he can back up his historic and bat-level research binge.
Bonus points if this is somehow post Duffle Bag and pre Identity Reveal.
I don't understand why fanon always has Jason so upset about his Memorial in the Cave. That shit is Metal. That shit is DOPE. I'd want to have that in a public goddamn park to shame Gothamites into making better decisions.
"You let it get this bad," the ghost of a child would cry out soundlessly, "You were content to change nothing and I died. Kids like me die or worse every day here and it's always someone else's problem."
And "A Good Soldier"? Fuck yeah. I was raised Christian, that army-of-god cult mentality isn't easy to shake off. If I were twelve and someone offered to teach me how to investigate crime and train me to be strong enough to dig it out by the root I would also sign the fuck up.
Sometimes I really love being an old fuck and remembering when Tim Drake was just a clever kid who was part of a loving middle class family living in a brownstone in Gotham City. The parents were gone often, but that's why he was in boarding schools. He only followed Batman around to take pictures when the guy was crashing out and Tim needed proof to bring to Dick.
The fanon zeitgeist has mushed him around a bit and now he's seen as an abused little stalker who lived alone in a mansion because his parents are so neglectful.
And you know what? You do you, boos. Your writing and art and everything mean something to you. You go ahead and use this little guy to work through whatever it is that you're struggling with in life. Make him hurt so the hugs feel better. Combine your special interests and make that au that only three people will understand.
Such a good take, I love how Bernard can be used to address the standard difficulties of life. He's a complimentary character to Tim, who will look at all his hero shit and be like "but that's the real trauma", and Bernard will be like, "Babe, no. That is additional trauma. That is the Trauma à la mode."
Adding my headcanons:
Bernard is absolutely the type of conspiracy theorist who does psych profiles for funzies. He's worked on himself enough to know that Tim needs his own set of self-help books. He's going to be supportive as heck, but he's also not going to let himself become Tim's sole point of mental stability.
Basically, Bernard is pulling a Tim, on Tim, and Tim recognizes it, and is even more touched because he knows how much you gotta love someone to go that far.
Headcanon: TimBer Parents' Parallels
Tim: His parents loved him, but their actions (constantly leaving him alone) created emotional distance, making it sometimes feel as if they didn’t.
Bernard: His parents didn’t love him, but their actions (wanting him to come back home and pretend to be a family) made it seem like they did - until he learned to see right through them.
Tim: Learned to cope by being a "perfect, angelic son" so as not to let his parents worry about him. This allows them to go gallivanting without any guilt, while he learns to shove aside his trauma as if it means nothing.
Bernard: Learned to cope by NOT following his parents’ expectations of a perfect son. Instead, he became the sort of individual (his high school persona, bathroom jokes made loudly in a public place) who agitates them and forces them to acknowledge his presence, even if the attention is negative.
Where that leaves them both:
Tim: Struggles with the idea of "loving someone despite the distance." He sometimes falls into habits of loving someone to a choking degree (stalking them, trying to remove them from the vigilant world, withholding information of his emotions/superhero identity to maintain a tenuous balance) or puts up more distance when he feels the relationship can’t be fixed (quitting his Robin career, pushing Stephanie away harshly, running away from Young Justice/Gotham).
Bernard: Doesn’t believe love is something you should just expect from someone else, because obligations of love (like in a family) just leave everyone hurt. Instead, he freely loves other people without caring if it's returned (he still wants a relationship with his parents despite their regret for his birth, admits to "Robin" his romantic feelings towards Tim without ANY assurance that he would be accepted). However, at the same time, he doesn’t do so blindly or without recognizing that sometimes you have to keep a distance for the sake of your own wellbeing (never contacted his parents during that year apart despite that it hurt him, refusing to move back home no matter how much he really wants to unless some changes are made).
I feel like these are the sort of issues that they can really only talk about to one another, common bad childhood/messy homelife scenarios that have nothing to do with vigilantes or supervillains. Just the dichotomy of bad parenting and how a child copes as best they can, even though it leaves a lot of deep scars.
At least, that’s my opinion on all this.
I am 100% convinced that Talia al Ghul and Dick Grayson don't get along because when she was dating Bruce she absolutely would make comments about how they'd be a happy family once they had a real kid together. Always when Bruce was just out of earshot, little biting criticisms about Dick being lazy, or unintelligent, or demanding. I think when Bruce was around she would bring up topics like boarding schools or press Dick on his future plans in a way that implied that he'd be on his own once he aged out of the wardship.
All that probably contributed to Bruce and Dick's crash out later in life, too. I believe Talia didn't want to be a stepmom, but wanted Bruce, so did her best to separate him from his son.
A lot of people like to say Talia is a good mom to Jason and I don't see it??? She had him trafficked across the world and manipulated him? She knowingly put him under the authority of people he'd then kill because they were doing some fucked up shit? Sure, she had some pretty advice for a few pages, but keep in mind that Jason basically has "susceptible to motherly influence" stamped on his forehead. At the very most, she is affectionate towards Jason. He's a well-trained pet.
Talia al Ghul loves one kid and one kid only: Damian. That's it. Even then, it's a fucked up sort of love for the fucked up sort of life she was born into. She doesn't have it in her to allow for any more vulnerability than him and Bruce. She's a complex, fascinating character. An excellent look into the psyche of the loving abuser. I want to read psychology journals based on her.
I think Tim's Alvin Draper persona is underutilized by fanfic authors when it comes to comedic potential.
And by that I mean I desperately need to inspire a smattering of fics that have Alvin being the Gotham Underworld's Pet Bisexual Disaster.
Everyone knows Alvin. Somehow. He's a familiar figure, been doing freelance work for years. He's always on the fringes of the Big Leagues, but never seems to have the ambition or the brains to go further. Mostly he runs messages for ol' Matches Malone, yeah, but if you've got something unique to offload or are looking to hire for a job, Alvin has an Ex.
Good Gotham, Alvin always seems to be getting into the dumbest romantic trouble. He's like a discount Bruce Wayne, all himbo with connections. He'll show up to pass on a message or to make a drop and with just a nudge Alvin will talk about his Ex who left The Business and became an actress. Or the one who had the worst luck with being mind-controlled. Or the Ex who was dead-but-not-really and hiding from the government.
Goons will find him wandering down lair corridors where he's definitely not supposed to be and they'll gently escort him out while he tells them all about his New Girl/Boyfriend who texted him this address to meet him at! Except he got the numbers mixed up, do you think he still has a chance after accidentally standing them up? He really feels a connection this time, they met while defacing the same LexCo billboard.
Or he'll be in a base to deliver a message and get distracted because he'll recognize an old associate, or a friend of a friend, and he'll stop to chat. He'll even jump in to give someone a hand with a task when he's waiting for a reply! Such a weird kid. It's hard not to like the little shit though.
There are lots of fics about Batman being a bat shifter or being magically turned into a bat. I think there should be more of them. And that they should feature more confused bats swimming in the wet air.
Just a little thing for me. Imagining the things that would be on Mitch Grayson's social medias.
Do you ever wonder if the Cirque du Soleil performers realize how many fanfic people watch their shorts for inspiration? Like, sometimes they'll post bits with performers just casually flipping around and I'll be "Ah, yes, Nightwing movement, I see now."
Also it drives home to me just how much camaraderie and physical touch/support/grounding that Dick lost when he wasn't allowed to stay with Haly's.
So much of me wants to read a Titans Tower au that fully scrambles the timelines and canon. Like, I want Tim to have successfully cloned Kon and be hiding the baby at the Tower just so I can witness the hilarity of Jason breaking in to find the new Robin having a teen parent meltdown while holding an equally upset infant.
Or maybe there'd be angst. Maybe there'd be something about a kid trying to hide a baby from the Red Hood that would mess him up inside. The way Robin would be desperate to protect his baby from the intruder. Maybe the baby is asleep at the start and Red Hood only hears them fussing and awake when he's on his way out, hands still wet with Tim's blood.
Idk. I have a lot of feeling about Titans Tower and I like to throw more into the mix. It's probably the worst thing Jason's ever done that seems to have stayed canon, since I'm pretty sure him stripping Robin(Damian, age 10) and Batman(Dick, age???) to their undies and masks on live TV got retconned.
Okay, okay, okay. More Bat-family brainrot to throw out into the void.
It's generally accepted that none of the Bats really enjoy going to galas or schmoozing with the upper class Gothamites. It's a fun enough joke or point of resentment or a good way to excuse the absence of other characters.
But consider the parties from a new angle: Galas are how the Bats patrol the ultra-rich areas. (I mean, that's where Epstein recruited his victims, right? And rich kids don't get their drugs from street corners)
Gotham vigilantes spend weeks swinging around on the main island, fighting street crime, foiling plots, etc. Gala Night is when they get to go hunting for the big fish, ya get me? They are so eager to dive into a Gala and find the tea.
It's a tech-heavy production, I'd wager. If your phone is on, it's being cloned. So many listening devices and/or cameras slipped into decorations or are being worn by the Bats. They're everywhere, popping in on conversations, encouraging people to talk about themselves, disguised as servers, disguised as other guests.
Mitch Grayson might be my isekai self-insert proxy but that's not hurting anyone
Sorry y'all, it's story time. When I was a kiddo my siblings and I got to see the Batman Forever movie in theatre - you know, the one where Dick was around 21 and had an unnamed older brother? My older sister quickly called dibs on having Robin as her favorite character and, as imperious older siblings do, assigned me to having his brother as my favorite. So, I dutifully admired my tragic hero for several months until I realized that my guy only existed in one movie and had no appearances in comics or merch or anyone's memory.
Lately though, decades later, he's been constantly on my mind. I think the reveal of the nameless Prodigy and Dick's older half-sister Melinda as characters wove some new paths in my memory banks or something, because "Mitch Grayson" is just resonating. (Maybe, just maybe, Dick was always meant to be a younger brother.)
Imagine the classic Robin origin, but with Mitch as an older brother; how would things change? Who would Mitch be?
In my head, it's Batman, Robin, and Hoodlum, not the Dynamic Duo but the Terrific Trio. I imagine Mitch as being a few shades more angry, a little harder hitting than his baby brother. He'd be 12/13 to Dick's 8/9, and I imagine he'd be as obnoxiously protective and smothering as a traumatized older sibling, fiercely and almost rabid to protect the only blood family he has left. He's meaner and it'd take more effort on Batman's part to convince him not to merc Zucco. Mitch admits to having a different idea of justice than Batman, but is willing to keep to his foster father's rules.
Mitch is, perhaps, enough of a little shit to drive Batman into reading self-help and parenting books, if not outright therapy.
I think Dick would still bounce to form the Titans eventually, but this time without being fired and kicked out of his home. Definitely would be after a fight, though. Something about having two overprotective, high-handed assholes always trying to keep him grounded. Mitch is perhaps unhealthily codependent.
Despite his little brother leaving the city, Mitch stays firmly in Gotham. It's partly because he knows that he'd otherwise just follow Dick around and his brother's right that that isn't healthy. Mitch has to grow and face his own struggles with letting his loved ones live independently. He's very much like Bruce in this way.
In his civilian life, Mitch is a lawyer who focuses on introducing superhero protection measures, especially for younger heroes. A lot of laws he bases off of the ones for child performers regarding caretakers, pay, schooling, etc. If an adult cape is going to mentor a young cape, that adult better be ready to prove they can provide for that kid, including their mental health and also a way to leave the cape lifestyle should the kid want the out.
Also, provisions for cape-on-cape crimes. Specialized court procedures for people with secret identities, so they can testify or defend themselves legally.
Maybe in this universe he happens to be shadowing Harvey Dent on a certain day. Maybe he stops the events that lead to Two-Face.
Mitch is shorter than Dick, more physically like the traditional acrobat. Where Dick has their father's build and their mother's features, Mitch has a more willowy athleticism and their father's jawline. His Hoodlum uniform has a full mask once he hits puberty and grows a mustache like John Grayson's.
He is unapologetically gay. His social media accounts have steady uploads of the aerial routines he still does, along with silks and hoops and gymnastics. All those Waynes are thrill-seekers, after all. Sometimes he can be convinced to perform at Haly's or in a music video.
There's an incident over a year after he and Jason nearly die in a warehouse in Ethiopia. The Joker very publicly is holding a Wayne gala hostage and is live streaming the event. So it's very publicly seen that Mitch Grayson very purposefully swings a heavy antique chair at the Joker's head.
The trial is held outside of Gotham due to Mitch being unlikely to have a fair one as a well known Gotham celebrity and lawyer. It's an open-and-shut case of self-defense, though the prosecutor leans hard into Mitch's testimony that he'd known the chair would kill the Joker if he managed to land the hit. Mitch cites the trauma of being in the Joker's power again as being the reason why he chose to use lethal means - it's very Ender's Game; "Knocking him down won the first fight. I wanted to win all the next ones, too, right then, so they'd leave me alone."
He does some time in prison. The notoriety keeps him from falling into Amanda Waller's hands. #freemitch trends on Chirper in Gotham the whole time. Mitch and Bruce have several deep conversations about justice, and killing, and love.
Hoodlum loves the Robins; Hoodlum loves Batman; Hoodlum loves Gotham; Hoodlum loves his family.
Hoodlum eventually becomes Jason's title when he's grown up from Robin and ready to carefully and obnoxiously b(r)other the new kid. Tim soars in the Flying Grayson's colors and can always depend on his Hoodlum.
Mitch's new helmet looks like a snarling gargoyle. His colors are muted, but there's still a flash of red-yellow-green somewhere on him.
Grotesque takes to the skies and Mitch flies with his family.
MY SHAYLAAA
✨✨ DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE ✨✨
Pt 3 of me doing the AI challenge from TikTok, but with DC characters
I tried the TikTok AI challenge with DC characters pt 2
I tried the AI TikTok trend dc comics pt 1
I’m getting better at edits 😻😻
I saw this and it looked fun so I decided to make one 
Omg just got a Idea what if instead of Bruce Wayne adopting the bat kids Ra's al Ghul adopted them instead and took them underneath his wing I wonder what that would look like honestly I think it would be a really cool idea I know I’ve seen fanart and fanfiction’s of them separate being raised by him but I’m talking about them all together as a family not him just adopting one but all of them I really want to see this explored more 🥰🥰
Batman edits pt 5
Dick Grayson
Nightwing
