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xoxo-mylove · 2 years

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I Hate That Soothing Voice (no I actually don’t)

(Batmom x dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne x reader)

*EDITED*

Word Count: 1,937

Synopsis: Where Dick Grayson is a very angry child who misses his mom and YN is a woman with all the patience and care in the world (according to Bruce) In reality Dick Grayson is about to make a grown woman cry.

Warnings: Angst, Very angst, parental loss, child grieving, arguing, self-insecurities, self guilt, but fluff towards the end ;)

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Richard John “dick” Grayson hates it here. He hates the long hallways, the tall the unreasonably tall doors.

The hugeee open rooms that occupy the manor that definitely do not make him want to yell at the top of his lungs in order to hear an echo of his voice that he is sure would be so, so cool, or the endless amount of cookies and desserts that Mr. Pennyworth and Y/N make for him.

Oh and don’t even get him started on how much he hates, hates Mrs. Wa-

Yep! No, Richard Grayson hates it here. So much so that after being in his new room, staring at the ceiling he sheds a tear.

He sheds a tear because he's frustrated, So frustrated that he just wants to find Missus Wayne and yell at her some more (he’s been doing that since Bruce had brought him into the Manor) for coddling him, being nice to him, and talking to him in that soothing voice that he hates so MUCH because he DOESN'T WANT THAT! He’s angry. So angry... So angry, so sad, and so another tear falls.

and another

And he doesn't know how but suddenly he’s on his side sobbing into his pillow crying for his mommy.

He doesn't even realize that he’s become so loud that he's notified the one woman he doesn't want to see.

_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

It’s late. You knows it's late, but you can never really sleep when Bruce is away on his....Nightly activities. The bed is always too cold and you’ve gotten too comfortable (spoiled) falling asleep in his arms. But you know that's not the real reason why you can't fall asleep. It’s because of the 8 year old boy who's currently across the hall asleep his room.

You can't sleep because you don’t know what to do.

You knew he was grieving, god, was he grieving and you were doing everything you could do in your power to help him adjust to this new life.

A new life without his parents. You felt for the little boy, Massively so, that you take the anger. You take the yelling, the screaming, and the tantrums that he pulls because you knows he’s angry.

You talk to Alfred about it while you both have tea one morning, and he tells you “Well Lady Y/-

“Just Y/N”

“I beg your pardon?” You huff and roll your eyes, “Y/N, Alfred. Cmon it's been years, you think we would be on first name basis now” you say cheekily.

He simply stares at you for a long second with eyes full of irritation, (you swears you could see a hint of amusement in them though)before continuing “As I was saying, I simply feel a wave of nostalgia when looking at young Master Dick” he takes your silence as an answer to continue. “The anger and the yelling reminds me of when Master Bruce was a young boy whom had just lost his parents.”

It’s then that you want to bash your head into the wall, because how did you not see it? Bruce and Dick, Both haven gone through some of the most traumatic thing ever know to a young child.

Loosing their parents. So you take the anger and with a new understanding. That seems to set him off more actually. Feeling hopeless and out of options, you go to Bruce. Your love, your confidant, your best friend in the whole world. And you asked him what to do.

Bruce was shocked. Because usually when you couldn't do something you would try your absolute best to tire out all your options when you came head first with a problem before you even attempted to ask Bruce for help.

It used to annoy the hell out of him, because he thought you not letting yourself need him was because you didn’t trust him, and that hurt. But he later found out that when it came to the important and vital things you would always come to him.

Your stubbornness over the years become more endearing. So he kinda understands why you do it. Because he knows that you know that he will rub it in your face that you need him. He finds it rewarding when you blush red, out of anger or blush because you’re flustered. He likes to think it's the latter.

So when you came to him with your problems with Dick he knew he shouldn't rub this one in your face. Because the look of defeat and hopelessness coating your beautiful face left him with a deep feeling of discomfort in his stomach, and concern and worry coating his usually stoned face.

So he tells his wife some of the things him and Dick have bonded over (dead parents, and broodiness and anger being their usual personality) He tells you some of his experience and how he absolutely hated the world, took his anger out on everyone and everything. He told you that because your there your gonna be a punching bag. He did the same this with Alfred. still does.

“You need to establish a ground rules.” he tells you.

“You’re could be patient and understanding, but he has to understand he can’t talk to you like that.” Bruces words and advice give you the courage to speak.

“Do you really think so? I feel like me getting strict with him will just get him more angry?”

“I promise you sweetheart, this will help.” And it looks like it does because the previous look of defeat was now replaced with a sense of determination, and it was painted all over his stunningly gorgeous wife’s face.

So much so that when you kiss him with your form of a simple thank you, he definitely prolongs the gesture of gratitude by grabbing you by the hips and pulling you onto his lap. Oh how determination and happiness on his wife’s face looks so, so sexy.

So now laying in bed, with Bruce’s advice running through your head you plan on bonding with him tomorrow. Thats right! You’re going to move past your guy’s ..awkward phase and you ar- *sniffle* *sniffle* your inner monologue stops. *wailing*, *sniffle*

“I want my mommy” and your breath catches. No. Oh no, no. You immediately rip off the covers and walks out of the room into the hall.

You make a beeline towards the door. When you suddenly stop. You’re hit with the realization that..He wants his mommy. Oh, he wants his mommy. If you went in there you’ll surely just be a reminder that his mother is gone and that he now lives with Bruce and Y/N. Two people who are not his parents.

You’re contemplating turning back when you hear another heartbreaking sniffle that causes a sting to burn in your eyes and and lump to form in your throat, yeah your definitely going inside. You turn the knob to the door and slowly open it.

Dick stops sniffling immediately when he hears the knob turn.

He raises his head to see Mrs. Wayne standing in the door way, looking at him with a warm tentative smile and soft understanding eyes.

And he doesn't know if it’s the sudden guilt he feels for treating you so horribly since he’s gotten here or if it’s that even though he doesn't deserve it, your here standing in his door way looking for his confirmation in order to comfort him but he immediately bursts into tears. Again

And nearly starts sobbing when you take on the soothing voice he thought he hated so much and says “Oh, honey! It's okay I’m here.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay to cry sweetheart.”

“I promise. I’m not mad. You can never make me mad honey.”

That’s what truly sets him off, so he does. Oh does he cry. He cries in your arms for hours, minutes, days, he doesn't know but after the tears have run out, the sniffles have subsided, and now that you’ve wiped all the wetness and snot off his face, he allows himself to fully sink into your arms. And be subdued by the warmth you provide and that soothing voice repeating praises to him, lulling him to sleep.

It’s when he’s on the brink of slumber, he feels a pair of lips press onto his head and he thinks to himself; he doesn't mind the comforting, and coddling at all. Because this feels nice. So nice. Oh yeah, he definitely doesn't hate you. Not one bit.

Hope you enjoy lovelys! - Yella <;33

#batfam #bruce wayne x reader #bruce wayne x dick grayson #bat mom x dick Grayson #angst #batfamily angst #fluff #angry dick grayson #simp bruce wayne #dceu universe #dceu fanfiction

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darker-dc-dimensions · 1 year

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Richard “Dick” Grayson

Last bat post time jump

Emojis used: 🐦⌛

(this image is just a placeholder for now)

His information is very similar to himself pre time jump, though there are some differences.

General Information

First name: Richard “Dick”

Middle name(s): John

Surname: Grayson

Age: Mid 20s

Date of birth: Marc 20th

Race: Romani

Gender: Cis Male

Sexuality: Bi

Current residence: Apartment in Bludhaven and an apartment in Gotham, though he spends most of his time at Wayne Manor

Relationship status: Single

Social status: Upper class.

Universe (AU universe of origin): The Last Bat

Traits of Voice

Accent (if any): Doesn’t have much of an accent as he’s trained himself out of having one, though there are some moments where he has a slight Romani accent, though its only specific words or phrases at this point.

Language spoken: English

Other languages known: Romani, Spanish, Russian, French, German, Japanese, Cantonese, Turkish, Arabic, League of assassin’s dialect, Swahili, Mandarin, Filipino, Korean, Polish, Latin, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Hebrew, Thai, Vietnamese, Swedish, Kryptonian, Atlantean, Ancient Greek, Tameranean, Sign language. (Most taught to him by Bruce Wayne)

Volume of voice: Speaks at a middle volume, he is able to be loud and has a voice that really carries across areas and rooms. A real performers voice.

Physical Appearance

Height: 5´10

Eye colour: Blue

Skin colour: Tan.

Distinguishing features: Slight bags under his eyes from his night work. Muscular build tho he is on the narrower side, as his body is more used for flexibility and movement.

Hair colour: Black

Hair style: slightly longer and parted. Think like Nightwing 2016.

Tattoos: Has none but plans on getting a Robin tattoo over his heart. He wants more than one but is waiting for when his mission is finished.

Piercings: Has his ears pierced, along with his eyebrow, nose, and tongue. Wears the ear piercings on the regular, but takes them out to patrol.

Typical clothing: Is dressed pretty casually, doesn’t care much for keeping up appearances of the rich son of Bruce Wayne. Prefers comfort over looks. Sweatpants or denim pants, t-shirts with goofy pictures on the front, hoodies, etc. Has a lot of clothes that are superhero merch because he finds it funny.

Is seen by others as: He used to be seen as very sweet and approachable, the most approachable of all the Wayne children actually. He’s always smiling and welcoming, though he is very protective of his family and friends. He isn’t scared of getting into fights to protect his family either, the public knows this because of a happening at a gala where someone tried to put their hands on Cassandra and Dick decked them.

Health

Sleeping habits: Has a horrible sleeping schedule like the rest of the batfamily, he sleeps even less to keep up with his mission though he sleeps more than he does in the future.

Energy level: Though he doesn’t sleep a lot he still has a high energy level.

Eating habits: He makes sure he has a healthy diet and eats what he needs to keep up his body and lifestyle, but he will indulge in sweets and things that don’t fit his “diet”. You can never stop him from eating Alfred’s cooking.

Memory: He has perfect memory, as it has been trained into him after all these years.

Any unhealthy habits: insomnia, self-harming, self-punishment, smoking, etc. He does his best to keep these a secret from friends and family.

Relationships

Parents: John Grayson (birth parent), Mary Grayson (Birth Parent), Bruce Wayne (Adoptive Father)

Siblings: Jason Todd (adopted), Tim Drake (Adopted), Damian Wayne (Adopted), Cassandra Caine (Adopted), Duke Thomas (Adopted), Stephanie Brown (Adopted), Jean-Paul Valley (Adopted in spirit but not on paper)

Any enemies (and why): Too many enemies to count.

Children: He saw Damian as his son, as he took care of him and was his support system up until Bruce returned from the timestream. Afterwards Dick and Damian were still closer than Bruce and Damian.

Friends: his teammates. Like Wally, Kori, Roy, etc etc

Best friend(s): Wally West

Important friends/relatives (explain): Wally West. In the future after losing everything Dick went down a very dark and self-destructive path and threw Batman’s no killing rule into the wind. He was barred from the justice league because of his self-destructive behavior, and he drew away from others and became rough and mean to be around. Most cut contact with him because he felt like a lost cause, everyone except Wally left Dick to his own devices. Even when Dick would snap and yell at Wally and demand he leave him, Wally never left him and always came back. It ended with Dick breaking down in Wally’s arms, and Dick will never be the same he was before and he is still prickly and cold to others, but at least he has Wally.

Now that he is back in the past Wally is still extremely important to him and one of his biggest comforts and safespaces outside of his family. He knows that Wally would stand by him even if he breaks because he did in the future, and Dick trusts Wally deeply.

Love interest (if there is one): None, though he has had feelings for Wally in the past and they’re still there, though he will never act on them. They are stronger than ever now that he’s in the past again, but he doesn’t want to act on them in fears of losing Wally.

Combat

Peaceful or violent: Violent. Though he keeps up the peaceful appearance around his fellow heroes.

Weapon (if applicable): Trained in many weapons, though he prefers hand to hand, escrima sticks, and smaller knives or blades.

Style of fighting: close to mid-range combat is his best, though he can do any type of battle really.

Others

Occupation: Was a police officer but quit, hes looking for work half heartedly now that hes back in Gotham.

Current home: Wayne Manor

Favourite types of food: Shakshuka, Crab stuffed mushrooms. Pancakes, specifically buckwheat pancakes

Favourite types of drink: Earl grey and herbal teas, black coffee.

Hobbies/past times: Spending time with his family and anything they like doing in general. Hanging out with his friends and Wally. Doing acrobatics and training.

Guilty pleasures: Cuban sandwiches. Pineapple on pizza. Mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Pet peeves: People being too involved in his business or trying to get too comfortable with him. Aka people caring too much, he always assumes they want something or do it for a bad reason.

Pets: Has a puppy named Haley.

Favourite colours: Blue, Red and Black.

#character introduction #dc #dc rp #dc roleplay #dick grayson rp #Dick Grayson 🐦⌛#dick grayson roleplay #darkerdcdimensions #darker-dc-dimensions #justice league rp #batman rp #Last bat au #🐦⌛#nightwing #nightwing rp #dc au #dc au rp #dc au roleplay

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river-bottom-nightmare · 4 years

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headcanon that Dick is part veela.

Haly’s Circus traveled all around the world, picking strays and turning them into family along the way. One cold, dreary day in Europe, a couple showed up at the circus tent. Bedraggled, exhausted, and clutching each others hands, they were still the most beautiful people Haly had ever seen. Of course, he couldn’t very well leave them like that, so he invited them to stay, just for the night.

One night was all it took for them to charm their way into the heart of the circus. The other members could tell there was something off, something not quite human about them. It was in the way John, or so he said his name was, stayed in the air a little longer than normal when flipping from a trapeze. It was in the way Mary, or so she said her name was, tumbled down a silk before catching her foot in a lock a little to gracefully. It was in the way their skin seemed to shimmer under the limelight and the way their voices cut through the gloom of the night brighter than sunbeams when they laughed and the way they clutched at each other, fingers tangling and rarely letting go, as if they were being hunted. But they were also good and kind. John, or so he said his name was, joked around with the rest of the crew, his smile instantly putting them at ease. Mary, or so she said her name was, gave hugs warmer than the campfire and gave kisses on cheeks lighter than a butterfly. The two of them were part of the crew by morning.

A couple years later, when the crew was in northern India, Mary announced she was pregnant, with glowing cheeks and a delicate hand on her stomach. John was so shocked, he choked on his stew and upended the water pitcher. Then he ran over the Mary, a little faster than what passed for normal, and lifted her up in the air with an easy that not even Clayton the strongman could manage, and peppered her face with kisses. The rest of the crew turned a blind eye, as they always did, and congratulated the happy couple. After all, by now, they were family.

The troop took a small rest in a small village in Punjab when Mary was close to delivery. She spent her days laughing with the children as the women of the village taught the people in the circus to dance. A few weeks later, Richard John Grayson was born, or so they said his name was, and his gorgeous face became instantly beloved by the entire crew. But no one could deny that when just talking to little Dick, when they believed they were out of earshot, John and Mary lovingly called Dick by another name, one that seemed a little to quick and a little to ethereal to be able to pronounce. Dick spent his first couple of years in that small town in Punjab, doing flips and tricks from the moment he could stand. Ionana the Contortionist learned new skills and taught them to the village children, Fedir the Juggler learned about fifty new dishes to try, Bao the Swordsmaster grew so talented with her blade, not a single person could match her, and Haly added Punjabi to his ever growing list of languages. And when Dick turned four, the circus packed up and left the town in the dust, leaving nothing but memories behind.

After the pregnancy, John and Mary seemed to dull a bit. Not in terms of enthusiasm and personality, no. They were still the cheerful, loving couple they had always been. But the crew noticed how their flips became a little messier, their skin glowed a little less, their voices cracked and became a little more human. The inhuman talent they had on the trapeze was gone, replaced by a normal brand of extraordinary. It seemed that most every drop of whatever was in their blood that made them so unique had been transferred over to Dick. He was instantly a natural at performing. Perhaps a little too good. Not a single circus member missed the way the audience’s eyes drew to him, almost as if they couldn’t help themselves. They never missed the way, no matter how far up Dick seemed to fall from, he never got hurt. They never missed the way the animals came to him unprompted, the way he could almost talk to them (Zitka the elephant in particular). They never missed the way his lilting voice and golden laugh to the crowd right before his performance sent a wave of life and light rushing through everyone there. They never missed the sheer power that sparked in his eyes every time he leapt off the platform, and they never missed the way he floated in the air, more at home up there than he ever was at home. They never missed his beauty, the way his perfect little face and big doe eyes had people scrambling to give him anything he wanted. (They also never missed the way he abused this ruthlessly, gaining sweets and chocolate from the audience with one pout.) And this led them to believe that the Graysons were unstoppable. But before they knew it, John and Mary, if those even were their real names, were dead on the ground, and Dick had been whisked away, and just like that town in Punjab that raised him, left nothing but memories behind.

Now, the problem was that this was how Dick had been all his life. The light inside him, the way the air moved almost lifelike around him, this had all been normal to him. He never suspected he was anything less than human.

Bruce had his suspicions. No human. could quadruple flip into a roundhouse kick strong enough to take out a meta. No human could balance seamlessly on a rope the size of a string while being blasted with cold air at that speed. No human could catch a socialite’s eye at a party and convince them to reveal every one of their safely-guarded secrets with only a few flutters of the eyes and well chosen words. Yet all of these things came as naturally to Dick as breathing.

So Bruce had his suspicions, of course he did. He kept track of every time Dick tried to teach another Robin a move during training that was physically impossible for everyone except him. He kept track of the way Dick could talk Jason down from an explosive rage the way no one else could. He kept track of the way Dick could bring a smile out of Tim on his worst days, the shaky quirk of the lips a pale imitation of Dick’s sun gold grin, but there. He kept track of the way Dick could communicate with Cass nonverbally, seemingly having entire complex conversations with only a few movements and gestures. He kept track of the way Dick could almost read Damian’s mind, know exactly what the boy needed at any given time, despite the way his mind changed fast enough to give you whiplash. (He didn’t think to notice that Dick was the only person who could get him to stop, take a break, to rest.)

Bruce also kept track of the way pure fear soaked into anyone surrounding him the minute anger flared in Dick’s eyes. He kept track of Dick’s temper, more explosive than his and Jason’s combined. He kept track of the graceful ruthlessness telegraphed in every move of Dick’s body, keeping it in check through years of training. He kept track of the way Dick claimed every single person in the family for himself, along with a couple of the Titans and other friends, and the way everyone seemed to know innately know about his possessiveness. He kept track of the way Dick could easily seduce anyone he put his mind to, the way Dick became unnaturally beautiful out of the corner of his eye.

Bruce never brought this up to Dick. He let him carry on as always, believing him oblivious to his touch of something a little more than humanity. And for the most part, Dick didn’t know. He laughed with chuckle of pure light and sang with a voice that carried the depths of the oceans and danced with a grace more flowing than air and loved with a burning flame fiercer than a wildfire.

But every so often, Dick looked at a couple old pictures he had of his parents, salvaged from the circus. On the back, it was scribbled John and Mary Grayson, Haly’s Circus, along with a couple small anecdotes of what was happening in the photograph. But as Dick held the picture that never seemed to fade and touched their faces with fingertips that either seemed to brush right over things or press with a force stronger than Superman’s, a frown tugged at his face as he recalled his parent’s loving words, a little too light and a little too graceful to come from a human throat. He remembered them calling him something, something other than Dick, something that fit the tips of his soul the way the name Richard never seemed to.

John and Mary Grayson. But were those really their names?

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why-this-kolaveri-machi · 3 years

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we are our family, even if we don’t want to be.

Titans 3.07

a bit over halfway through the season, and we still don’t have all of our main characters on the board! i love this show.

as always, typing this up as i watch. live reaction, baby! *shadowboxes*

SPOILERS AHEAD

1. i don’t think i’ve mentioned this before, but i kinda miss the old ‘dc universe’ intro. it was cool! the whole idea of it was wild and waaaaay over-ambitious, but also very very on-brand because of it.

2. this is... the third time we’ve seen dick sleeping this season? that’s a record! checking another thing off my s3 wishlist...

2.5. i guess i rag on titans all the time for its wafer-thin plotting and bad pacing, but i have to admit that this season has been a step-up from the last one in this regard. titans has very reactive rather than proactive protagonists, and a lot of the last season seemed to be: x happened, the team reacted badly, then y happened, they reacted badly, etc. this time around, it’s not a huge leap up by any means, but at least they’re doing something about it.

i do appreciate the focus on character arcs over everything else. and when i say everything else, i mean it: arcs that started two seasons ago with no big cathartic moments, intermittent payoff and multiple relapses. big bads have ranged from interdimensional demons to superpowered assassins to whatever in the world scarecrow is, but trigon’s big weapon against the titans was to... use their worst fears against them. slade’s was to... use their fears to break them up. crane’s is to... use red hood to use their fears to break them up. even the threat of gotham’s citizens being in danger doesn’t feel real: gotham is mythologised into an entity of its own, infecting our heroes like a parasite. like. this is not to say that most other superhero media aren’t big character arcs intertwined with the main plot, but titans doesn’t even make pretend that it’s anything but.

anyway. that’s my entry #2345 to ‘give a grand unifying theory for titans’. thanks. i’ll be back with more.

3. “anger is just fear in a little black dress.” god I HATE HIM

(what’s he doing with barbara’s likeness? oh... oh god. a terrible thought just occurred to me. what if they introduce hush at the very last minute for plastic surgery shenanigans? would you put it past this show?)

3.5. jason, nooooooooo

3.75. i mean, they’re making it very clear here that scarecrow is the one in control--the one who’s always been in control--and is manipulating jason and literally poisoning him, but i hope it doesn’t end up erasing nuance or jason’s autonomy. if jason’s to reckon with the issues that brought him here, then the lines of responsibility will need to be set somewhere.

(this applies to dick as well but more on that later, i guess.)

4. just--the phrase “40% loss of income” is so funny to me. like, gotham is full of these larger-than-life characters who are idiosyncratic beyond belief, colourful and dramatic and creating chaos just for the sake of chaos, and then there’s the regular criminals and their henchmen who just want to make a quick buck sitting down with pie charts and graphs, griping about the joker reducing their returns or debating high risk investments in, i don’t know, two-face’s next scheme.

“yyyyeeeeeaaah, my financial advisor is telling me that going all-in with a guy who literally makes decisions on the flip of a coin is probably not the greatest idea.”

4.5. god i hate smug!smarmy!scarecrow so much

4.85. as big plans to “control” gotham go, it’s pretty bog-standard. clearly scarecrow has some bigger plan in mind but it really feels like we’ve got no clear insight into him and he’s this generic creepy mystery-man who knows more than he lets on and springs a twist/cliffhanger every now and then. i liked the scenes with him and dick in 3.04 where it seemed like he was genuinely on the backfoot and things weren’t going as he predicted. for all of his faults, dick is at least familiar with scarecrow’s bullshit and knows not to give what he wants.

5. i mean... i see where dick is coming from with the “he’s not jason anymore; he’s red hood” because his immediate glaring concern is scarecrow’s drug and the damage it could potentially cause gotham? i do not doubt that it’s something batman drilled into him, too, but when you’re expected to take point on a situation where the lives of an entire city weigh down on your shoulders, it’s better to simplify things and prioritise. i’m not saying it’s great or healthy! gar is absolutely right to consider this facet of the situation. it’s just dick can’t.

6. hmmmmmmm. HMMMMMMMMMMM.

i don’t know that i’m super fond of this iteration of oracle???? it looks like a cross between cerebro from x-men and jarvis from iron man. it’s giving me second-hand embarrassment. somebody help me.

(at least they remembered dick’s middle name is actually “john”. i like to think bruce printed D in that contract because for a while he genuinely thought richard “dick” grayson was his full name. duck duck goose, dick dick grayson, i don’t know alfred, the kid was in a circus, maybe they thought it was funny. or maybe it was a test in anger control, who knows.)

6.5 “maybe you two would like some time alone?” even AI can’t help hitting on dick grayson in this universe.

“oh mr grayson, if i only had another eye to see you better...”

6.8. on one hand, it’s a bit disconcerting that the title of ‘oracle’ has gone from barbara herself to this gigantic machine; from my impression of the comics-verse, barbara had an extensive computing and surveillance system, true, but she was very clearly the brains behind the operation. on the other hand, i’m kind of glad that the ethical boundaries that this kind of surveillance violates is a sticking point for barbara. (tho let’s be real, the nsa would kill to have this in their arsenal).

6.9. also it’s now obvious that scarecrow’s big plan is to take control of oracle itself. it’s why he had lady vic take that picture of her eyes, or why he’s meddling around with it on his computer.

6.95. if only i could ‘command sleep’ anybody overstepping their boundaries re: personal information...

7. “you can just sit back and watch as the titans destroy themselves.” i mean... he’s not wrong

8. “dick’s parents were killed by a criminal mob; he won’t work with them.” it’s wonderful that you have this insight into dick, kory, i just wish we could’ve watched some of these conversations actually happen on-screen.

8.5. i’m glad that kom’s being treated with such nuance and understanding, though it’s obvious that she definitely has a Plan of her own. (and did i entirely imagine her ability to mimic other people flawlessly at the end of s2? or is that going to come into play at some point?) i think her story has the potential to be genuinely poignant, and in a universe where being Different, either because of mental health or physical differences or whatever else, leads a straight line to Evil, it’s important to acknowledge and then emphasise that the mere fact of your existence as a Different Person doesn’t predispose you to evil. maybe your act of destroying a system that has destroyed you and not scrambling to “fit in” is only evil as defined by that system.

8.8. “you’re trespassing, i should call the authorities, i feel unsafe.” now this is a villain lady who’s definitely aware of her privilege.

8.85. kom smirking knowingly at her sister is everything.

“oooh that’s the kory i remember”

9. conner and dick working together woo!

9.25. god i hate a villain who’s always just a step ahead, no matter what. so crane anticipated dick using oracle to track his personal communications and set him up? how did he know when exactly dick would get to do this? how long did he have that poor man tied up in that van?

(the “save me, grayson” is a nice touch, tho. send dick spiralling even further! because if there’s one thing dick will do, it’s take responsibility for every goddamn thing that goes wrong.)

9.5. ahem. i’m going to need a million gifs of conner yeeting dick across that yard, fandom, thankyouverymuch.

(i understand conner is invulnerable to explosions, but how do his clothes survive??)

9.8. oooh crane is already in oracle! i’m just sitting here laughing helplessly because they’re overpowering this goddamned guy so much. he can build a lab in arkham’s basement! he has access to lazarus puddles! he has minions working across gotham, including a fully functional chemical laboratory staffed by chemists who only answer to him! he has the crime families of gotham quailing in his very presence! he has assassins at his beck and call! he’s enough of a manipulative bastard to have red hood under his thumb! and now he has enough of a tech know-how to not only be aware of oracle, but know how to hack into it! i’m sick of exclamation marks! i’ll shut up now!

9.95. dick leaving behind that smouldering grave for a person he failed to save without taking a second to process how he feels about it and running towards his next plan to corner scarecrow: a microcosm of where his head’s at right now.

10. really hammering in the themes of this season, aren’t we.

10.25. the interesting thing is the titans repeatedly call themselves a family this season (none more so than dick) and while that found family has helped encapsulate and put away their traumatic experiences with their ‘original’ families, it’s meant that they’ve not really dealt with those issues. and dick and gar and jason come from ‘found families’ of their own: they are twice removed, traumatised two times over. they still cling to this identity however, and because of it they’re losing each other. a family isn’t static. it’s an ever-evolving dynamic and you have to put in work constantly to keep it healthy.

10.5. anyway, that’s entry #2346. i’m here aaaalll night.

11. lookit gar the detective! half-transforming and using his powers to deduce things! what a hero! i’ve said this for a long time, but gar is the bedrock of this team, and an unsung one at that.

11.25. i’m confused about him calling this room jason’s though. it seems to me that this is dick’s room that jason later used, and one that dick’s using now. so the unmade bed isn’t really jason’s fault; dick was woken by barbara that morning, and in his hurry, he left without making his bed.

(it still confounds me that bruce didn’t find jason another bedroom in that gigantic mansion of his. you really didn’t give this kid a chance, did you?)

12. oh well. so much for the oracle.

13. ... sorry, wait. you didn’t think i wasn’t going to address the bit with dick right now, did you?

12.5. i honestly don’t think it’s very complicated: dick’s been reeling from one traumatic thing to the next, and just when it seemed like at the beginning of the season, he felt happy and secure with his team and his place in the world, bruce ups and leaves gotham to him, specifically naming him a successor and calling him a ‘better batman’. he’s lost garth and jericho and donna and jason and now hank and dawn. he’s not even sure where rachel is or what she’s doing. after being told that batman was a psychopath for moulding him into a weapon, he’s also been told that his failure to be a ‘better batman’ lead to further disaster. of course he’s going to get batman-goggles. of course he’s going to be a prick.

12.8. i don’t know what to say. i feel his frustration acutely. i don’t think he should’ve said what he said to barbara (can people stop pushing her around this season????) but that pressure to step in where your parent fails? to clean up their messes and try to think like them? to fall into habits drilled into you when you developed them as coping mechanisms growing up? I FEEL THAT.

every step he’s taking he’s putting 110% of himself in it and scarecrow’s still playing mindgames with all of them: i absolutely feel his desperation to take control of that game and turn it on scarecrow, no matter what it takes.

and he did apologise almost immediately, and finally--finally--actually works with barbara.

12.9. again, not excusing him! but i get it. and i think that’s a sign of great character writing.

“did you know i just reminded emmram of all of her daddy issues? what the fuck????”

12.95. i love that dick&barbara, kory&kom, and gar are all approaching solving this mystery from different angles, each as valid as the other. also, conner is there as... emergency bomb defuser man?

13. it’s like all fancy rich people in fancy rich houses do is pour fancy rich alcohol into fancy rich glasses on pristine, untouched tabletops. i wonder what it’s like to live like that.

13.25. I KNEW IT! poor michael. it was nice knowing you.

13.5. man, kory is contending with a lot of issues that she’s successfully bottled up and compartmentalised until now. the cold reality that a child can seek out their parents as refuge and they can view the child as a piece to be moved in a greater game (never out of cruelty, though, never, and somehow that makes it worse), that truth of blackfire’s treatment on tamaran because she’s different, and her own culpability in what happened. she exchanged one family for another, after all, and left that family to die and her sister to suffer. like dick, like gar, kory’s being forced to reckon with what the titans are meant to be, the larger implications of creating their found family in their own space.

14. it’s probably because it’s one in the morning and i’ve had two glasses of wine but i did not follow that bit of exposition at all and victor freeze??? what?

anyway. look at them solving things! together! go team!

“you made a deal with the mob?” oh the sense of betrayal on his face! fuck off, dick, your issues aren’t kory’s.

15. conner is really sweet and a bit of an awestruck crush on kom is to be expected. especially after that power rangers-esque transformation (i say this as a former huge power rangers fangirl. i’ve seen every series until 2007 including the original japanese versions and written fanfic for all of them. so i love a cool costume transformation, is what i’m saying.)

also?

FUCK YEAH

16. i love the gotham crime families just chillin’ around eating ice cream. I LOVE THEM

16.5. that was a fun fight sequence, if marred slightly by that bit of awkward flirting between conner and kom. i wonder if she’s really planning to use him in a larger scheme to get kory back to tamaran, or maybe something else.

16.75. so i’m assuming that scarecrow has jason either so paralysed by fear that he can barely move, or jason’s withdrawing from the drug that he’s been sucking in every few minutes.

17. it’s nice to see them chill after a successful mission! and it can be awkward, but conner’s crush on kom and him striving to impress her is also, well, uh... cute.

17.5. i guess the dick/barbara scene was inevitable, especially given the... unresolved nature of their relationship in the flashbacks? and they’ve been through a rollercoaster together this episode, discovering and then destroying an incredible tool within a matter of hours, re-discovering just how well they work together as a team. dick’s swimming in the nostalgia. i don’t expect it to last as a long-term relationship, but i totally get why this is happening now. and hey, they’re cute!

i have a weeeirrrrd feeling that kory is going to leave to tamaran at the end of the season and that dick and kory will rekindle--or rather realise--their relationship just before that. it’s going to be devastating and beautiful and painful and i will be writing essays about it which would be me just wailing into the screen.

18. gar found molly!!!!!!! MOLLY’S BACK! \o/ gar is the BEST

19. that was a fun episode! i love this silly show, even if it does destroy me sometimes <3

#titans #titans spoilers #meta #dick grayson #barbara gordon #koriand'r #komand'r #garfield logan #jonathan crane #conner kent #a byronic cupcake #badass strawberry truffle #manic pixie pop tart

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nightwings-bussy · 3 years

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guess who's still on their bullshit? it's me. it's always me. i'm going to talk about why dickkorybabs is a fantastic ship and you should ship it, let's just go character by character

dick. dickie boy. sweet richard john grayson. you're so queer and they just don't know what to do with you, do they. you're so queer that your serial monogamy in every comic since the 90's literally comes off not as "playboy" behavior but as honest to god suspicious, like the writers understand that if they leave you single for so much as a panel or two, it'll become way too obvious how gay you are. but no matter who they shack you up with, who your gf of the week is (and im sure they're lovely but let's be real... they're a placeholder) none of them compare to your Two Great Character Defining Loves. but also no one can fuckin agree on which of those Loves is supposed to be your one and only and as such neither can you - not because you don't love them both profoundly, but because you DO, often at the same time. that's poly as fuck baby. that's just fine.

because barbara and kori are both spectacular, but they each speak to something very different in dick: babs speaks to dick's foundation, to long held, precious bonds, to his loyalty to the family, to his place as the Prodigal Son, detective, prom king, goofball. babs is designed as dick's perfect counterbalance, the first girl he ever crushed on, the one who's known him almost a little too well for a little too long.

kory, on the other hand, speaks to dick's growth, his ascension as a leader, his independence, the formation of a new, strong identity that's all his own. kory has been a part of so many conversations for dick about who he's trying to become. babs and dick carry a lot of the same baggage - they've endured many of the same unkindnesses, survived under the same man's immense expectations and pressure, and that gives them a lot of common ground. in contrast, kory's never lived under batman's thumb, and dick has to fight off a lot of his more bruce-like impulses around her; kory helps dick embrace the emotional core of himself that bruce never could. she celebrates his openness, his softness, his emotional and physical neediness in a way he always thought he had to keep hidden. kory and babs have different access points to dick's heart, his vulnerability. and at his best, dick is an amazing partner to them both: dedicated and charming, deeply affectionate, funny and excited about them, trusting, respectful, in awe of them, confident in them, protective but not overbearing, a strong advocate and partner who's deeply and tirelessly interested in them.

but dick has a dark side that all his friends and lovers eventually see, and it manifests strongly with both of them. with babs, dick's biggest struggle seems to be his ability to trust her with his whole self, to be kind and fair to her in his darker moments, and (debatably) to be loyal when the chips are down. with kory, it's a constant struggle with his baggage; his difficulty expressing himself or be emotionally vulnerable after a childhood spent with a guy who rarely does either, his difficulty trusting anyone as much as he trusts his family, his conflicting cultural values around relationships and violence. without growth on his part, all of these issues represent a big hurdle to any real attempt at long-term relationships with either of them.

but triangles are the most stable shape for a reason.

let's cover this quickly, because i truly feel this is the easiest part to wrap your head around: there is absolutely no way, in the hands of a writer who knows anything, that kory and babs are not attracted to each other. it's simply impossible. babs is 100% kory's type (proud, stubborn, brilliant, competent, red head, warrior), and meanwhile babs is a lesbian with a singular exception. name me one lesbian who wouldn't be all over starfire given the opportunity. you can't. we don't exist.

also, on a personality level, kory and babs are just SO complimentary - kory's smart and strong and resourceful, and so is babs. babs is snarky and brave and domineering, and so is kory. babs has known the bitter pain of loneliness and isolation from ones family by a situation largely beyond your control. so has kory. kory has known the struggle of creating a new family and trying over and over to explain yourself to people who may not understand or accept you. so has babs. you could circle again and again why they're so good for each other, but you could also sum it up with the fact that they both deeply love the same man, and they could easily love one another just as deeply.

and then you start to realize how many problems it solves. queer dick? he's here baby. kory opens him right up - issues with being vulnerable? dealt with. issues trusting babs with his true self? kory says honesty only in this household. issues with loyalty? welcome to normalized polyamory, says our tamaranean princess. is he being a cunt to babs when he gets grumpy? now she has an advocate, bc kory never lets dick get away with that shit.

and with kory it's the exact same. dick struggles to be emotionally available bc of his weirdo dad? yeah, that's okay - babs speaks dick-ese. dick can't trust anyone the way he trusts family? babs is here to back kory up and make sure dick understands she IS family. dick has issues working through his conflicting cultural values with kory? well babs is a damn professional at overseeing Dialogues(TM), let her at him.

and on top of all that it's FUCKING CUTE. lose the jealousy subplots and the cheating subplots and just let kory and babs fall in love already - give dick the femdom supremacy lifestyle he so desperately craves. like it's just amazing how rarely i see this pairing when it's this gd good like WHERE are my dickkorybabs fic recs. where are they

#dickkory #dickbabs #dickkorybabs #meta

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jaydicksummerexchange · 4 years

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JAYDICK EXCHANGE: SEPTEMBER 3

[ ❤ Works posted so far! ❤ ]

SECOND TO LAST DAY OF THE JAYDICK EXCHANGE!

Why the second to last instead of the last? That’s because we’ve reached 114 Exchange works for 2020! The more treats get added, the more we time we add to our juicy cabooses and keep the exchange train rolling. Until Saturday that is. Tomorrow is the final posting date, and we’ll reveal the wonderful participants on September 5 no matter what.

Here are today’s releases!

Claws by anonymous for solomonara [ART, Not Rated, No Archive Warnings Apply, Dick Grayson/ Jason Todd]

Additional Tags: FanartHurt/Comfort, Injured Jason, Secret Identity, dick's teams don't know the red hood's identity, dick's harem of morally ambiguous older men, dick: he's not older, dick: wait i mean he's not my villain boyfriend, dick: damn it

Summary: Dick takes the Red Hood to a Titan safehouse after an injury. Explanations are expected.

Learning To Love The Fall by anonymous for 3isme [ART, Teen, No Warnings Apply, JayDick]

Additional Tags: Fanart, Alternate Universe - 1920s, Mechanic Jason Todd, Plane Pilot Dick Grayson

Summary: It's the early 1900s and the country of Gotham is recovering from a long war.

Trying to get a better life, Jason Todd has been moonlighting as an underground plane mechanic for illegal aeroplane racers, getting a cut of whatever the pilot wins. After one particular competition, he's accused of sabotage and, despite his protests, forced into deeper debt. At the end of his rope, he runs into Dick Grayson, ex-ace of the Gotham Air Force and supposed dead man. The war hero was supposed to have been shot down near the end of the war. Regardless, this pilot is the best chance Jason has to grab hold of that better life, and he's not going to let it go.

The Still and Quiet Surface by anonymous for TheWayneManner [FIC, General Audiences, No Warnings Apply, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd]

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Gift Fic, Ficlet

Summary: Dick leaves the sea behind and never looks back.

Scents & Sensibility by anonymous for Nitrojen [FIC, Explicit, No Warnings, JayDick]

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Regency, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Fae, References to Jane Austen, although the writer has a pretty dark secret concerning our dear friend jane, Getting to Know Each Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

Summary: Prompt - Something along the lines of the Princess and the Pea. It can be A/B/O, modern, fantasy, or even something that takes place in canon where there's some kind of curse. Have fun with it!

Give It A Shot (of espresso) by anonymous for morimaiter [FIC, Teen, No Warnings, Dick Grayson/ Jason Todd]

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Hurt/Comfort, Barista Jason Todd, Flirting, Awkward Flirting, Sexual Tension, JayDick Summer Exchange, very minor injury, art included

Summary: Dick was one of their regulars. And yes, that was his real name. The first time he’d asked Jason to write it on his cup Jason had given him a death glare until the man had whipped out a driver’s license to prove it. ‘Richard John Grayson’, printed right there. It hadn’t been an innuendo after all, just an unfortunate choice of nickname. He came into Gotham Grinders (and hell if Jason hadn’t heard enough innuendos about that name to make up for any lack of innuendo in Dick’s own) every Tuesday and Friday, which happened to always be Jason’s shifts. Every time he asks for some new over-the-top order, and every time without fail he also asks for Jason’s digits. Jason replies every time with:

“I’m sorry sir, we can’t give out personal information to customers. Will that complete your order?”

(Fic + Art)

Lazy Days by anonymous for BehindTheRobinsMask [ART, Teen, No Warnings, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd]

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Married Life, Married Couple, Established Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Literal Sleeping Together, Lazy Mornings, Domestic Fluff, Fanart

Summary: It's the weekend! Jason and Dick sleep in after a long night on the streets.

Taken in the Butt by the Gay Vigilante Acro-Bird by anonymous for solomonara [ART, Teen, No Warnings, JayDick]

Additional Tags: Romance Novel, Cover Art, Jason Todd is an Author, Partial Nudity, Birds, Vintage Gay Pulp Novels, Chuck Tingle-Adjacent, Please Forgive me, FanartDigital Art, JayDick Summer Exchange

Summary: The Red Hood has a secret: he's a part-time romance novelist.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, business, events and incidents are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea by anonymous for stribird (timidGoddess) [FIC, Mature, No Warnings Apply, Dick Grayson/ Jason Todd]

Additional Tags: Heavy Angst, Self-Doubt, Lazarus Pit, Panic Attacks, Established Relationship, Bad Decisions, Romantic Fluff, Amnesia, Broken Promises, Road Trips, On the Run

Summary: Jason couldn’t do that. He could never forget what Dick meant to him. Which is why he had to bring his Bluebird back. Which is why he had to remind Dick of everything that he had lost.

Even if that meant forcing him into the Lazarus Pit. Even if it meant cursing him in the process.

tell your boyfriend, if he says he's got beef, that i'm a vegetarian (and i ain't fucking scared of him) by anonymous for prompt_fills [Mature, No Warnings Apply, Dick Grayson/ Jason Todd]

Additional Tags: Fluff and Humor, Crack Treated Seriously, Damian Wayne is a Little Shit, Protective Damian Wayne, POV Damian Wayne, Batman: Reborn, Jason Todd has a Heart, Damian Wayne Has a Heart, Dick Grayson is Damian Wayne’s Parent, Dick Grayson is Batman, Mutual Pining, enemies to idiots to lovers, Misunderstandings, Damian Wayne Plays Therapist, Jason Todd is Bad at Feelings, Dick Grayson is Bad at Feelings, My Continued Mocking of Tim Drake (it's loving i swear), Donna Troy is a goddess and no one deserves her, My love for Donna Troy is so strong that I projected it onto Damian and I am not sorry, Unbetaed we die like Jason Todd refuses to, Past Dick Grayson/Slade Wilson, Jealous Jason Todd, Pining Dick Grayson, BAMF Donna Troy AND MORE

Summary: It had taken a few weeks for Damian’s ill-fated hopes for the more platonic explanation of Grayson’s unseemly conduct regarding Todd to expire because Damian (unlike Drake) is not an idiot (and Brown had prattled on about every instance of very clearly not platonically fueled tension, slowly crushing Damian’s remaining hopes for Richard’s taste in romantic partners). Denial, heavenly as he has now known it to be, can only take one so far. And as a pragmatist and the grandson of the great Ra’s al Ghul and son of the great Bruce Wayne, he assesses the situation from a logical perspective, free of any emotions clouding his impeccable judgment, and comes up with a solution that benefits both himself and Grayson.

Jason Todd must die.

Or the story of how Damian Wayne became the number one shipper of JayDick and is not at all happy about it.

Si solo fueras tú by anonymous for fallogory [ART, Gen, Creator Chose No Warnings, Dick Grayson/Jason Todd]

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Fanart, Kid Dick Grayson, Adult Dick Grayson, Kid Jason Todd, Adult Jason Todd, King Bruce Wayne, Prince Damian Wayne, Prince Dick Grayson, Poor Jason Todd, Hurt Dick Grayson, Jealous Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug

Summary: Blue came first

Then Green arrives

Then Blue meet Red

And Green hate that

Or where Dick was Bruce's bastard child who was forced to lived like a prince until Damian's born and meet someone who make his world be upside down.

the smell of cold stone by anonymous for abcission [FIC, Mature, No Warnings Apply, Dick Grayson/ Jason Todd]

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bisexual Dick Grayson, Autumn, American Football, College Football, Blow Jobs, First Time Blow Jobs, Getting to Know Each Other, Getting Together, referenced Jason/Kyle, Past Dick Grayson/Koriand'r, Past Dick Grayson/Roy Harper, past dick grayson/wally west - Freeform, implied Roy/Kory, implied Roy/Wally, implied Donna/Kyle, future besties Jason and Roy, Roy's eternal crush on Donna, frat boy Dick, Fluff

Summary: Their eyes meet on the quad one day; he’ll probably never see the frat boy again, but he’ll be nice fodder for Jason’s dreams at least.

#2020 jaydick exchange #dcu fanfic #jaydick summertime blues.#jaydick #dickjay #dick grayson & jason todd

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hoodedwing · 3 years

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Loyalty Killed Me

Summary: The Joker could finally do what he wanted to do, traumatize Nightwing

Characters: Nightwing. Harley Quinn. Joker. Mentions of Red Hood

Warnings: Just really sick ways of stitching people up. Blood. Depressive. Major character/s death mentions. Batman. Doctor Leslie Thompkins

Additional Notes: I know Joker cannot traumatize Grayson canon-wise? Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Word Count: 2,242 words

***

Time doesn't stop.

Time knows, in its hands. It plays around with the seconds. These seconds matter, someone dying, someone on the communicator whispering, ____ come get me. come get me, I can't go back.

Time doesn't freeze. Time does not have a cloak drapes around it in a timeless manner. Time does not walk in a regal manner and stroke your gaping wounds to cauterize them. Apply pressure because really, when did Time wait for you to stop the damned arterial spray? Have you seen first hand how much blood can spew, almost like a fountain from that serrated dagger?

Time has caught up with Dick Grayson, the Wonder Boy. The Nightwing Blüdhaven didn't deserve. The loving boyfriend/husband of Barbara Gordon. The first son of Bruce Wayne, Batman.

Batman. He doesn't know who's Batman. Not anymore.

3200..6400..12800..

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Remember, inhale slowly, inflate lungs. Let it circulate through. Let. Let it work.

Richard. That's your name. Your mother was beautiful and your father was handsome. You are a Grayson. You have brothers and sisters.

Pain.

Pain is relative. If you fuck with pain long enough, it won't fuck back with you. Pain spreads through him and he inhales deep, bigger breaths. Trying to drown out the searing ache. He succeeds, deceives his brain.

Dick Grayson is such a liar.

He knows how to lie, how to smile widely at the Blüdhaven precinct when shit goes down or still tell a joke or two when Damian is there.

Dick Grayson is such a liar.

He's a good man. Honest to goodness. He's fooled himself into thinking his left leg didn't feel on fire, he's successfully managed to stop gasping against the rattle of his chest, a rub or two might be the cause. Who knows?

BOY WONDER! SAD YOUR DEAREST BATMAN HASN'T COME TO SAVE YOU YET? WHY LOOK AT THAT.

Mistah J checks his watch and smiles, his crooked smile stares back at Richard.

Dick only looks away as the Joker's cold fingers run his slimy, skinny fingers along his body. He used to shiver under his touch in a bad way, he would gulp and squeeze his eyes shut, hunting for memories to dive into.

When he got Zitka. When his mother named him her Robin. When he went on patrol for the first time with the all mighty Batman. When he first met Jason. Then Tim. Then Damian. Then the nights they spent healing wounds, fighting together or just sleeping or Netflix.

Dick doesn't move, doesn't say a word. He doesn't even let out a humourless laugh or a quip. Dick clings onto a hope.

Batman. Come get me.

BOY WONDER IS STILL LIVING. WHY, THAT'S A JOY. COME OUT THERE LITTLE BLUE BIRD. YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN STAY IN THAT LITTLE BRAIN OF YOURS? WHEN YOU WAKE UP. THAT LEG WILL HURT. YOUR BLOOD WILL SPILL AGAIN ON THAT DARNED LITTLE CREST.

He doesn't care. The glorious speech does not make him flinch. He looks at the window, one thought crosses his cloudy vision.

Bruce (Dad), come get me.

LET'S HAVE SOME MORE FUN, SHALL WE. EVEN JAYBIRD PLAYED THIS GAME TOO. COME ON, HE HAD FUN. LET'S PLAY BLUE BIRD. BLUE JAY. HMM. I LIKE THAT.

Playtime.

Its always target practice. He would lie there and watch Harley swing her mallet here and there, sometimes too close to Dick and she would talk to him, so sweetly.

Aww, you wanna play too? Let's play together, shall we?

His face will clench up, his head will scream and suddenly everything is loud as Harley fires guns at targets and maybe shoot some arrows at Dick.

On lucky days, he's used as her gymnast prop.

I want to fly again. Batman I'm falling, please I'd like to fly again. My wings are clipping and I will rip. -

He falls asleep.

You can't call it sleeping. Dozing in and out of consciousness, he was neither awake or sleeping. A grey haze flittered across his vision. No sign of clarity. He still heard the rattle of his breath, the fire in his leg. The now warm abdomen.

He feels someone at his leg.

Harley Quinn was there, a sly smile as he feels a needle go in and out.

In and out. In and out.

In and out, in and out. You need to breathe Dick. In and out. In and out.

When he hears the door shut and a ricocheting silence, he peeks at his leg.

A sick suturing of his leg stabs with dental floss, a handiwork Harley was sure to boast later on. He doesn't care if it gets infected. What's the big deal? Batman will take care of it.

He turns over on his side to his communicator lay. The Nightwing emblem was shattered beyond measure. No matter, I can get a new one. The communication mattered.

He presses the distress signal again, again. Again. Bruce better get that flashing orange light and he should feel his bipolar touch in no time.

He tries to talk, voice hoarse from decreased usage and a rough sandpaper-like quality stuck to it.

"H..hello? Bruce. Dad. Please get me. I'm.. I'm waiting. Please."

He turns back in his side, curled up like an invited animal.

The rain pours, shadows keep coming in and out but none belong to his dad.

The boy asks the moon if Batman had lost his way. Asked if the moon could shine the light brighter at him so Dad can find him faster. He'll be okay, he'll be okay. Bruce might be lost, after all. There's a lot of streets and time isn't on anyone's side.

Two weeks go by.

Dick still finds himself bound by the ties and definitely no sign of the caped crusader.

Batman is surely coming.

That thought fades slowly, over the weeks. He's gotten more used to the Joker and the crowbar.

Is this how Jason felt, when he was in Hell?

Dick cannot remember. Dick only knows how the sound of metal and bones work, how the bullet will hit skin, pierce it through with frightening velocity and dull ache afterwards. The pool of blood will remind him that yes, I was shot.

A sick game of Russian Roulette. Instead of one bullet, there's multiple. A .44 magnum shouldn't hurt anymore. The revolver keeps spinning in his mind where acrobats should be. Where's Bruce. Where's dad. Am I forgotten?

Dick tried to remember how to breathe. Is it that hard? Just pulling in oxygen and letting the respiration mechanism do its work?

Distract thine self.

He tries to remember. Tries. He's trying. Nightwing has to do this. You need to at least remember your name. Your mother, your father. Dick. Dick.

Richard. That's your name. Your mother was beautiful but I don't know what her hair colour is, sometimes it's blonde or chestnut and your father was handsome. You are a Grayson. You have brothers and sisters. Are they Jason? Tim? Da- I don't remember, I don't remember the tiny one. Is he even real? Your sisters too. Stephanie, Stephanie. I have one more, the sneaky one. She's fast but I don't know her name. I'd like to know her well too. Pity I. I don't know her name. I hope she knows my name. That way I can hear her voice and maybe figure out who is the charming one. I know she does ballet. I know she made brownies once with.. Who? I don't remember his name. The old man with cheery wrinkles and deep eyes. I don't know who he is too. Oh. Oh oh. Dick.

[DANGEROUS TO FALL ASLEEP, RICHARD JOHN 'DICK' GRAYSON. EYES. OPEN. EYES. OPEN. BREATHE. (MY LUNGS DON'T WORK)]

I'm begging someone, please. It doesn't have to be Bruce. Get the ballet girl to help me please, she fast and maybe I can ask her name while she gets me out of here.

Bruce never gives up.

You know that too, do you? He's spent 3 weeks finding his son. His beloved child.

Do you ever think how much Bruce's heart breaks over and over everyday?

"ALFRED?! CAN YOU GET JASON NOW, NOW, NOW?! I FIGURED HIS COORDINATES."

Bruce flips from the Batcomputer and grabs everything. A blind haste, he's never dressed so fast. His son. Oh my god, his son.

Jason is down there getting the Batmobile to rev up and they speed.

They speed.

Are they fast?

I guess. If you call 290 in 85 fast.

They run, Jason dashing first and his breath catches in his throat. A cold draught erupts inside of him. He snarls, Bruce turns as he digs through the alleyways. He finds what he knows lurks.

"The sick fucker is going to end Dick in the same fucking warehouse he ended me in. That big bitch.

Bruce puts one hand on his shoulder and squeezes. No time to panic, Dick is the one. is the unsaid message as Jason crashes through the window.

And even him, Red Hood. The one who sees and commits murder everyday, stops and hot anger sears through him.

Dick lies, barely 15 feet away, bound up and covered in his own blood, the ripped Nightwing suit from his recon mission. Bruce picks him up while Jason gladly punched (and secretly plugged a bullet) the fuck out of Mistah J and Harley.

They lie on unconscious, Jason evaluates the scenes, trying to suppress his screams at what they've done to Grayson.

Bruce picks up Dick like he's glass, he hurries to the Batmobile with Jason telling to prepare the Medbay.

"The Medbay.. I.. I don't think. Leslie. Leslie can."

Is all Bruce says and Jason revs up, driving the Batmobile way beyond the legal limit. Bruce doesn't give a flying banana about it. He'll pay the fine later.

Bruce looks down at his son, hoping he hasn't fallen asleep yet. Finally, finally Dick is in the arms of the crusader. Half his domino mask is ripped and Bruce tries to not break at the baby blues staring without any light-hearted gaze.

His heart still beats (A reminder he's alive and could've been more alive. Bruce failed him)

"LESLIE. DR THOMPKINS!"

Jason screeches across and marching in, earning angry stares from the other patients but it turns into gasps and horror when they see Batman carry a limp Nightwing barely clad in spandex anymore. Everyone bows out, knowing they were priority.

Something inside Dick broke.

He doesn't know what it is.

He'll live with it.

"Bruce, he's fallen into a coma."

Leslie says, solemn. Angry tears form in Jason's eye and he was about to fight Bruce, give him the tirade. Compare him to Nightwing.

The unspoken message rings loudly in Bruce's mind. He doesn't need Jason to say it.

You failed him too.

Jason is seething, anger. Sadness a d everything is violating him from inside.

If you were a minute later, he would've died. We would've been carrying his body to the grave. The Joker would still live. You see the problem? DO YOU NOT SEE THE FUCKING PROBLEM?

Bruce sits beside Dick, his pulse like a fluttering butterfly. He grasps his hand in Duck's fragile one and prays.

Prays that he wakes up.

Dick is on a life support machine now.

I guess the ventilator couldn't keep him up. All good boys do die. If not, maybe a part of them broke.

Dick is no exception.

Alfred squeezes Bruce's hand. Jason sits so quietly beside him alongside the rest of the family.

Its April 27th. Jason was taken this day.

They don't say a word, neither does Red Hood, he just wants the baby blue eyes to open again.

He cries.

Five months have gone by and he stirs slowly.

He's barely moving and Jason shoots up and looks, squeezes Dick's hand again.

Baby blues meet emerald green.

Jason dashes for Leslie. She comes and shoos everyone out.

Jason is fucking glad. Dick is alive.

Bruce is disappointed.

He cannot bring himself to meet Dick who's currently in the ward under observation. He's failed Dick. He knows it.

He enters, heavy hearted. Dick is smiling at everyone but Bruce can see it, the hard lines. The sunshine doesn't reach the baby blues. He thinks they've turned into aquamarine, a shade tad too dark. I guess, that's what trauma does to people.

Dick smiles at Bruce, he feels the tension and Dick pats the chair beside him where Jason was sleeping. Bruce softly sits, he has no heart to wake Jason up.

Dick is alive. Dick is alive.

Bruce places one hand on Grayson's one, it feels much more warmer and his pulse is beating normally.

And he breaks.

He cries, tears steaming down his cheeks. An ugly sound escapes his throat. Bruce gasps in air and exhales shakily. Dick watches, silent.

Is this how you felt when I was in Hell?

Dick doesn't touch Bruce, doesn't say its okay and I'm alive. He stares dead into Bruce.

I cannot forgive.

Dick sits quietly, he doesn't have to say it. Loyalty does kill you in the end if you step on all the wrong pieces of glass.

That's when you find yourself falling from the trapeze line, you find yourself swirling again in the memories you wish you could lock.

Loyalty in the end, is your demise.

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soepicsokim · 4 years

Text

CatWing

CHAPTER 1 - Trapped (Voiceplay)

It's raining in Gotham, then again when is it not raining in Gotham. Kneeling on one of the many gargoyles surrounding the building I watch the city scene below. Thugs talking about doing things for their different bosses. A scream escapes here and there. Glass shattering and laughter fills the air.

An evil smirk plays across my lips as I hear the tires squeal then see the Batmobile race down the street. "Bruce." My voice is a whisper as I see one by one the hero's racing towards Joker and Harley. A grapple attaches a couple stories above my head and I see a black and blue outfit swing in front of me.

Raising my hand to wave at him as I stand. He looks back as I jump off my gargoyle and fly towards him. "You know pretty bird. You heroes should still be looking for me." My eyes flash red and green before I slowly become invisible and fly to the abandoned boat docks in Gotham.

Ten years ago was the last time I openly talked to Richard John Grayson. The first Robin, the boy who stole my heart with a smile. It was my tenth birthday when Lex Luthor, Talia Al' Ghul, and Ra's Al' Ghul kidnapped me from my family.

First time in ten years I've actively ran away from my 'Masters' for lack of a better term. I'm tired of being close to my family and not being able to be home. Well that changes tonight. Everything changes tonight. Tonight, Harley and Joker are actually being the good guys. Tonight, Lydia Amy Lee Kent, daughter of Superman, the 'Cat', Death Angel, is the bad guy.

Landing in front of Joker and Harley, becoming visible, I quickly hug them. "You are the best people I know. Thank you for helping. I owe you guys so much."

Harley holds me tight against her, "It's the least we could do little kitten. Mistah J and I know how much you needed to be with ya family. Right Mistah J?" She looks up at Joker who has the most insensitive smile on his face.

He pulls me from Harley's hug and hugged me whispering in my ear, "You remember who saved you brat. I won't go back to the mad house and I expect to see the Bat dead." His voice is coated in anger. Letting go he smiles down at me, "Yes, a hero deserves other heroes. Come on Harley let's let our little kitten have her fun with them."

Watching the two walk away my body shudders at the thought of Joker and Harley. ‘Those two are perfectly imperfect for each other. Now!’ I clap my hands as my eyes turn red and my laser vision starts a fire on the docks in the shape of an S-shield and a Bat symbol. "Let. Them. Come." I walked to the middle of the building and my eyes flash green again as I become invisible and wait.

‘Who is perfectly imperfect, Princess?’ A voice answers my thoughts.This voice has been talking to me as long as I can remember. This male voice who I have come to know as Marshmallow and I have become his Princess. ‘Curious, your voice sounds familiar. Have we met in real life Princess?’

Lowering myself to the floor crouching my ears perk at the soft sound of Batman and Nightwing landing on the roof. A smirk plays across my face then disappears at the words of Marshmallow in my head. I look up to Nightwing’s body and nod slowly. ‘Possibly mallow. We might know each other. Just forgive me for something soon.’

Batman and Nightwing enter the building from the windows above. They stay close to the shadows as they search the perimeter not knowing I sit waiting in the larger burning Superman and Batman symbol in the middle of the room. Nightwing stands at the bottom of the symbol looking to the middle and scratches his head. “I don’t get it. Why an empty building with the Bat symbol burning alongside Superman's symbol?”

Batman comes to stand beside Nightwing, he reaches up to the com-link in his ear as he sees a flash of something green quickly. “Superman, I have something you might need to see.” He lowers his hand as he makes his way to the middle of the burning emblems and stands one foot away from me.

My voice a whisper and deep, “I’m sorry for this Uncle Bruce.” In a flash I remove His utility belt and Nightwing's escrima sticks. I tie both of them up and place them in the center of the burning emblems. The only thing they see is two soft glowing green eyes. “You just had to call him, didn’t you Bruce. You just had to call my dad.”

Nightwings eyebrow raises an eyebrow and attempts to turn towards Batman, “I didn’t know you knew two green glowing flies?” He chuckles softly as he struggles with the rope around his arms. “Why don’t we talk little flies? Wait, speak again real quick?” He tilts his head towards my eyes as I roll them.

“Honestly marshmallow, you’re supposed to be the smart one. Not the Joker.” As I become visible my attire changes from a black and green assassins outfit to a green dress with a button the reads, ‘I’m 10 today.’ My eyes close for a moment while i let out a breath. My long black hair falling down around my shoulders. I hear the small gasp leave Nightwings mouth causing my eyes to flick open revealing my emerald green iris of my eyes. “Ten flippin years. Happy flippin birthday to me.”

Batman looks up at me with narrowed eyes, “How do we know it’s truly you?” Bruce breaks free of the rope I have him in but keeps his hands behind his back as he watches Superman enter the room. “Lydia Kent went missing ten years ago today. So how do we know that you are truly her?” He starts working on nightwings restraints as he talks buying Superman time to come closer.

“Geez Uncle Bruce, I would think you would be relieved to see me.” I shrug my shoulders as I hop into the air and hover while sitting. “Ten years ago I was living with Grandma Kent at the farm in Smallville. The day I was taken, everyone forgot to pick me up from school.” My body moves to the left, giving Batman and Nightwing a view of a very angry Superman. “But please, let me continue before you attack, Daddy Dearest.”

**Flashback**

I sit on the bench outside of my elementary school waiting to be picked up. Miss Wilson was the last person out of the school. She looked at me and told me to have a good birthday before she got in her car and drove away. I grab my backpack and start walking towards the farm. The wind gently blowing my hair behind me and my emerald green dress rippling in the wind around me.

I walk past Mister Peterson and his gas station, he tells me happy birthday and reminds me to tell Grandma Kent to bring him some fresh eggs by the end of the week. Stepping off the sidewalk to cross the street a shiny black limousine pulls up in front of me. “Wow.” All I can say in amazement until the window rolls down and I see Lex Luthor. I suddenly frown and take a step back up onto the sidewalk. Daddy always said Mister Luthor was and is a bad man.

“Hello little one.” Lex looks out the window at me with a large smile on his face. His hand comes up to the window seal almost beckoning me to approach. A slight fake gasp leaves his mouth as he fake smiles, “I see you are ten today. Well happy birthday miss.” He looks at me waiting for my name.

I grab the straps of my backpack tighter as I look at Lex through my eyelashes, “Lydia, I’m Lydia Kent.” I attempt to give him a polite smile as I watch him carefully. “Thank you for telling me happy birthday Mister Luthor.” I shuffle backwards to try and use my x-ray vision, but I can’t see through the car.

“It’s lead lined.”

“Pardon?” I tilt my head to look at him.

“Please, Miss Kent, you are trying to look inside my limo and see what or who I am hiding. You’re kind isn’t able to see through lead.” His voice is slowly turning harsh as he swings his door open. “Let me take you home. Surely Superman has a birthday party ready for you little death angel.”

I take a step back holding tighter to my backpack. ‘Help me.’ Watching as Lex Luthor steps out of his limo and slowly approaches me. “I can walk home Mister Luthor. It’s okay.” I attempt to side step around him but he reaches out and grabs my backpack pulling me back to him. “Please Lex. Let me go. It’s my birthday.”

Before Lex says anything I hear Dick’s voice in my head, ‘Where are you Lyds?’ I don’t have time to respond. Lex pulls me into the limo and quickly gets in after me.

“Straight to the airport, Mercy. We have a weapon to make.” He chuckles softly as he pours three glasses of champagne and hands them to the other two people in the limo.

**Present Day**

My fists are balled up by my sides while my eyes close momentarily. “Ten years.” A soft whisper leaves my mouth and then I turn and face Superman, my father. “TEN YEARS AND NOW YOU APPEAR! TEN YEARS OF ME TRYING TO GET YOUR ATTENTION! WELL IT’S TO FLIPPIN LATE.” My eyes open with all the color gone replaced by what could look like red flames. “My last memory of you, is you sending me away because I looked too much like my mother. You sent me to live with Grandma Kent. You’re ashamed of your daughter.”

Superman's eyes start to turn red from his laser vision, as he gets in a stance to attack. “Do not talk about my dead wife that way. Daughter or not, you respect my wife.” His teeth are gritted and the vein in his neck is starting to pop out from the tension. The wind starts to whirl around his feet as he slowly lifts higher than me.

I release a dark chuckle before moving quickly behind him and kicking him in his back towards Bruce and Nightwing. “Ten years, over 400 lab procedures done on me. No true known weaknesses. I am stronger.” My fist connects with his jaw sending him to the floor. “I am powerful.” I land with no damage to the building, “I am Lydia Amy Lee Kent.” My voice breaks as I grip his hair and force him to look at me “And I will come home.”

I start feeling sick and release Superman from my hold on him as I begin vomiting blood. Falling to the floor and closing my eyes. “Please, no please stop. Please.”

“Stop? Hmm I don’t know. Threatening heroes isn’t nice lady.” A new voice enters the scene with a box of pure Kryptonite in their hand. They walk closer to my body and shoving the Kryptonite closer, “Surrender and go back to Arkham where you belong.”

Tears streaming down my face from the pain and all of the blood loss. “I belong here. With, with my family. Help.” My concentration breaks causing my dress to go back to the black and green leather attire. My hair is in a ponytail and scars all over my body. “Please. Make it stop. Please, please. Lex stop. Please. I’ll be good. Help me. I’ll-” my voice cuts off as I try to reach for Nightwing right before passing out.

Superman scrunches his forehead together as he looks over my body, “She’s been missing ten years, and i’m just supposed to open my arms and accept her?” He stares down at my body as he starts to feel sick. “Put that up will ya.” His eyes narrowing in on the exposed Kryptonite, “You’ll kill two Kryptonians and have to explain to the world why Superman died.”

Red Robin snaps the box closed and positions it in a pouch on his utility belt. “Is she honestly your missing daughter?” His head tilts to the side as he watches Superman lifting her up and holding her close. “She has too many scars compared to the pictures I’ve seen. Also more powers than any normal Kryptonian.” His eyebrows knit together as he continues examining my body. “What if this is a ploy by Luthor?”

Superman holds me tight against him and gently strokes a thumb across my cheek making my nose twitch. “It’s Lydia. It’s her heartbeat.” He looks at Nightwing, “She’s back, but she died. I don't understand.” Instantly his eyes become red and he turns to face Metropolis still holding my body. “LEX!” He feels me wince at him yelling causing him to instantly look down at me. “You’re safe. I got you princess. You’re safe.”

Nightwing takes a step towards Superman and myself before Batman stops him. “Let me take her.” Holding up his hand to stop Superman from talking, “You know she is like a niece to me. We both helped raise her, mourn her, search for her, she is family Kal. Let me take her, keep her in the Cave. Just to make sure she is stable to be back into society.” Batman is now standing in front of us with his hands outstretched, “You know I’m right. Plus,” he looks back at Nightwing, “I’ll have the boy there to help comfort her and keep her safe.”

Superman nods his head and holds my body close and gently kisses my forehead, “I’m so sorry Cat. I’m so sorry I didn’t find you sooner.” He stops whispering and looks at Batman with determined eyes, “Don’t let anything bad happen to her. She isn’t going to like how things have changed since she left and Lois died.” Gently letting out a sigh, “I’ll take her to the Cave.”

A body drops down from the roof behind them and starts speaking, “I wouldn’t take the Duchess if I was you. Her masters would be very worried where their precious weapon went, missing.” The person stands up with their arms crossed and keeping their red hooded face down, “I have three questions B and Supes. First, is she physically fine?” He waits for an answer that never comes, “Second, Do you promise to keep her safe?” Again no one answers his question, “Last, this isn’t a question.” The red hooded figure raises their head to show the group his face masked by a red helmet, “If you ever hurt her, send her back to Ra’s or destroy her trust.” He lifts a gun and points it at them, “I will destroy you.”

A groan leaves my mouth and the red hooded figure looks towards my body, "I'd get her medical help. Oh and Little blue," he looks at Nightwing, "To keep her calm, tell her stories. It pulls her out of her head and back to the present." With that he throws down a smoke bomb and disappears into the night. In reality, he disappears to the roof top and watches from above.

Superman holds my body closer, his eyes looking at where the mysterious figure was. "Grab her things and meet me back at your cave Batman." Gently lifting off the floor preparing to fly off towards the Batcave. "This changes things. This changes things completely." He slowly flies away and disappears into the night sky. “I’m so sorry Cat - El. Please forgive me.”

Batman looks around and sighs, “Superman is right. With her being back, this changes a lot of things.” His eyes quickly meet Nightwings eyes as he grabs a leather back sitting by the door before he walks off to the Batmobile. Jumping in, he sighs and places the back in the passenger seat. “Alfred, get a bed ready. The little princess has come back.”

“But how sir?”

“I’ll figure that out when I get back to the cave. Clark is on his way with her.”

“ I shall be ready, Master Bruce.”

Nightwing sighs and looks over at Red Robin, “Ask.”

Red Robin looks at him, “Okay. Why is everything changing if she comes back? I don’t get it Dick, she is just Superman’s daughter.”

Nighting sighs and crosses his arms looking up at the ceiling, “That’s where you’re wrong Tim. She is important.” He sighs and picks up his and Batman’s utility belts whispering, “She’s my soulmate.”

#chapter 1 #rewrite #Lydia and Dick #thoughts?#i'm back #Superman #Nightwing #Batman #Cat #Trapped

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taketherisk · 4 years

Photo

DICK GRAYSON, AKA NIGHTWING ⟶

Full name

Richard John Grayson

Preferred name/nickname

Dick

Generally referred to as

Dick, Grayson, Nightwing

Appearance.

FACECLAIM: Toni Mahfud SEX: Male HEIGHT: 5′11″ WEIGHT: 175 lbs. BUILD: Very toned. Muscular, but not bulky. Tight, corded muscle typically seen on acrobats and ballet dancers. HAIR: Not too short, ever, even though he knows it’d be more practical for combat. It is usually long just because Dick doesn’t make time to see a barber until it starts getting in the way. EYES: Bright electric blue. HANDS: He has long fingers. He’s been told he should play the piano. He did not let Bruce sign him up for piano. SCARS: Dick has an old gunshot wound on his shoulder, as well as his knee, and also several, smaller scars scattered over his body. CLOTHES: He would rather elect to wear something comfortable than dress up or adhere to a particular style of fashion. He likes his uniforms to reflect who he is, because authenticity is important to him, but this often results in fashion mishaps.

Speech.

ACCENT: No accent. He worked hard to rid himself of anything that could stand out in his voice in order to lessen the chance of it being recognized. LANGUAGE: Dick is fluent in Romany, English, Spanish, Italian, Farsi, Japanese, German, Russian, French, American Sign Language, Latin, Arabic, Swahili, Kikuyu, Mandarin, and Cantonese. He has a decent grasp on Portuguese, Romanian, Ukrainian, and Dutch due to his fluency in other languages with notable similarities. He would likely understand and be able to carry on a conversation, but he would not be fluent. As far as alien languages, he has a fair grasp of Tamaranean and is fluent in Kryptonian. ARTICULATION: Dick has an extremely difficult time articulating his feelings. He processes those in his head. He has a natural tendency to deflect on others (or change the subject) rather than divulge negative thoughts. EDUCATION: Dick’s tendency to show off has nothing to do with words. However, he’s not a moron. He will drop a big word here and there if he just can’t think of another way to describe what he’s trying to say. LAUGHTER: Dick laughs all the time. Even at his own jokes. He is constantly seeking levity and a way to lighten the mood. Usually it is to distract himself, however, because he is always willing to listen to others with complete and quiet seriousness. GRUMP: When he was young he had his moments of grump, usually in the form of sneering or sarcasm, but he has (mostly) moved beyond that stage. BREATHING: Dick sighs a lot when he’s bored or made to wait. It isn’t because he’s trying to be rude, he barely even realizes he’s doing it, but he needs to direct the energy somewhere.

Mannerisms.

FACE: It depends. Dick’s priority first and foremost is maintaining a degree of professionalism. However, he feels very deeply and his internal ethics and values mean a lot to him. He has difficult displaying anything but authenticity. It takes effort to keep his face unreadable, but his sense of duty makes this possible. The same can’t be said around others, however. Dick wears his feelings on his sleeve. He just can’t help it. HANDS: Yes. He runs his hand through his hair, presses his knuckles against his lips, and gestures wildly with one hand even when he is completely silent. LEGS/FEET: Oh, yes. Dick has a lot of nervous energy. Not just because he keeps a lot to himself, but his mind moves quickly and is constantly making connections, moving on to the next thing, and it’s difficult for him to get caught up in trivial matters when he can see the bigger picture. EMOTIONAL OUTBURSTS: Now, I want to stress that this isn’t common. However, Dick has a temper. Despite wearing his heart on his sleeve and being willing to demonstrate positive feelings, anything that could be seen as negative or “wrong” is completely repressed. When under normal day to day stress of being a superhero, he can manage this well. However, when he is saddled with added pressure, stress, or experiences loss, he lashes out at the people he loves. For Dick, it makes more sense to push them away so they won’t see these flaws he isn’t even ready to acknowledge within himself. In these rare instances Dick can withdraw from his family. POSTURE: Dick is very confident, so his posture is typically very straight. However, he is prone to slumping in place when in the throes of self-disappointment. WALKING POSTURE: Because of his extensive background in dance and acrobatics, Dick is graceful without being aware of it. This translates to almost everything he does. At this point in his life, it simply comes naturally to him. PERSONAL SPACE: When it comes to people he is comfortable with, personal space does not exist. However, in the context of unwanted touch or flirting, he experiences obvious discomfort. SPACIAL AWARENESS: Dick has good spacial awareness simply due to his past as an acrobat and the constant vigilance he was expected to maintain as a young vigilante.

Health:

DIET: Dick doesn’t know recipes off the top of his head, but he can figure out how to cook anything with proper instructions. His biggest danger in the kitchen is getting distracted and forgetting something was ever in the oven. However, most of his meals are quick. He isn’t very good at managing his time. SLEEP: Because of his lifestyle, Dick’s sleeping pattern can be erratic. He also has a hard time getting to sleep. His mind overworks and he has too many nightmares. EXERCISE: He trains regularly, but with how often he patrols the streets his training is typically covered in patrol. ACTIVITY: This is strange for Dick. He overworks himself and is a perfectionist, but also lazy about other things that he doesn’t prioritize or see as important. For example: he will overwork himself to prove his competence and to live up to his need uphold an image of perfection. On the other hand, his counter is frequently scattered with days worth of mail and he regularly leaves his suit on the floor. I would never call him lazy, but he is an odd mix of unforgiving and laid back. CLEANLINESS: With a suit like that, he has no choice. He baths every night. Desperately. ODOUR: Bergamot and eucalyptus soap. Boy needs all the stress relief he can get. MEDICINAL DRUGS: No. NARCOTICS: No. ADDICTIONS: While he would never admit it, even to himself, Dick has a self-destructive streak and an addiction to adrenaline. He isn’t addicted to sex, but he had used it as a means to cope when he was at his very, very lowest. Again, this is not common for him. He is not comfortable with his inner darkness. ILLNESS: No. INJURIES: One of his knees is weaker than the other due to an old gunshot wound.

Personal.

INTROVERT/EXTROVERT?: Extrovert. Dick analyzes his environment and connecting seemingly unrelated events in order to form a conclusion and the best plan of action that is consistent with his inner values. OPTIMIST/PESSIMIST: Optimistic. GENDER: Cisgender. SEXUALITY: Dick falls in love easily. He finds it impossible to let go of people once they have found a way into his heart. Most of his serious relationships have been with women, but he has no preference for sex, race, species. Nothing. He cares about connections. However, he doesn’t spend a lot of time analyzing his sexuality and doesn’t think it’s important. ROMANTIC: He is extremely romantic and desperately wants to be married and have an idyllic life. However, he’s also made the mistake of convincing himself to take the step with the belief that it would fix a broken relationship. MEMORY: Dick is a big picture thinker. It isn’t his natural inclination to remember details. However, his training under Bruce has strengthened that tendency and he makes for a good detective. Most of his biggest breaks have been because of hunches and making connections, however, rather than remembering specific details like dates. PLANNING: Being leader of the Titans, Dick had no option but to plan. His goal was to keep his team safe. However, he was not happiest in the leadership role. He was good at it because of his interpersonal skills and ability to bring people together, as well as think on his feet, but he does best when working independently. It causes him too much stress to carry that responsibility. As Nightwing, he never has the sense that he is filling a role. PENSIVE: Yes. Dick is hard on himself and therefore spends a lot of time thinking about how he could have done something better, with better results, and blames himself when something goes wrong. INTUITION: Dick has extremely high intuition and it has gotten him out of tight spots in the past. It is his greatest strength. PROBLEM SOLVING: It depends on the puzzle. With dry facts, no. Dick’s problem-solving abilities hinge on the opportunity to approach the problem from various points of view. It is also important that the solution does not go against his personal values. Despite his tendency to prioritize ethical standards (and being more of a feeler), he is proficient with logic. GOALS: Dick has no broad, sweeping goals; all he wants is to prevent one kid from going through what he went through. INSECURITIES: Dick is insecure about his authenticity. He works hard to meet Bruce’s expectations, but he also hides things that don’t line up with this image. That tendency puts a wall between him and others. It is difficult for him to reconcile with not being perfect. ACHIEVEMENTS: His siblings. ANXIETY: Helplessness, boredom, and confusion give Dick the most anxiety. OVERWHELMED: He can often get overwhelmed, he carries too much on his shoulders, but it takes something extra to make him actually lash out. SELF-HELP: Unfortunately, he doesn’t. Dick’s coping mechanism is deflection, denial, and avoidance. He doesn’t like to discuss his own feelings because that would mean putting his issues on others. He would rather handle it himself. Unfortunately, he can’t. COMFORTS: An honest conversation and feeling as if he’s made real progress in his relationships with his brothers or in his own life. Stagnancy is not an option. BAD HABITS: Deflecting. PHILOSOPHY: Continuing to place trust in people, because anyone is capable of change.

Relationships.

FRIENDSHIPS: Dick is someone with a lot of friends, but they all know him in different capacities. He only has a handful of close friends. FRIENDS IN NEED: Dick is a supportive listener and is willing to stop everything to be there for the people he cares about. ADVERSARIES: Friendship, being lied to or betrayed. Romance is harder. Dick has a hard time ever letting go of past loves. ENEMIES: Betrayal and an understanding that no redemption exists. STRANGERS: Respectful, unless the stranger does something off the bat to insult or degrade Dick’s belief system. BEST FRIEND: Roy Harper and Wally West. LOVE: Barbara Gordon was the one that got away. WORST ENEMY: Joker. RESPECT: It depends on the enemy, but Dick would not be able to see them as a true enemy, or there would be substantial grey area.

Interactions.

MINGLING: Making new friends comes easily for Dick, but he would find it difficult to admit that trust does not. COMFORT LEVELS: He feels comfortable almost immediately. However, that switch can flip just as quickly if someone challenges one of his deeply held values. PHYSICAL: He is physical to those he knows well and knows would feel comfortable with it. Dick has been made to deal with unwelcome touching and it makes him uncomfortable. GROUPS: Dick is comfortable in a big group. He likes to relax and tease. Sometimes being one on one can be a bit too intense for him. Opening up to people doesn’t happen quickly. GENEROSITY: He is generous to a fault, to the point where he would be easily taken advantage of, but he has money to burn. JEALOUSY: Dick isn’t immune to jealousy and he felt his share when he was young and still understanding the ins and outs of relationships. He knows not everyone shares his desire to be monogamous and he is often concerned about making someone feel trapped. TEMPER: It takes a severe circumstance or a long build up of tension/issues/pressure/stress for Dick to lose his temper. However, it’s unnerving because he acts so out of character. EMPATHY: Dick is very empathetic, but he also puts his own values above others and this can come off as dismissive. AFFECTION: Touch. Gifts. Words of affirmation. Dick isn’t too proud and he’s certainly confident enough to admit his feelings for someone. He has no trouble being the pursuer. DISTASTE: The type of person he would dislike would either disrespect and speak against Dick’s personal moral code, something he holds very dear, or he would disrespect those close to him. His response would be stubbornly dismissive. If this were someone he cared about, he would desperately try to convince him that his way is best. ETIQUETTE: Dick’s etiquette is practiced because he was raised as Bruce Wayne’s heir. However, he has a hard time acting fake polite, which can put a considerable strain on interactions if he is offended or annoyed. RESPONSIBILITY: Yes. If Dick sees the consequences of his bad choices, he is quick to take responsibility and (sometimes unfair) blame. SELF ESTEEM: While Dick doesn’t let others push him around in any sense, if someone manages to tap into his insecurities, he will not lie and argue against the truth of his perceived shortcomings. However, when it comes to his decisions and competency, he has high self esteem and he will only listen to others if they present a solid point. CONFIDENCE: Only his family and those he cares about. HONESTY: Dick is always honest, but he also errs on the side of hopefulness and rarely speaks in absolutes unless it comes to his own feelings. He does not sugarcoat a situation when it looks bleak because he knows it does little good to lie and will not solve the problem. It ties into his difficulty in being fake. LEADER OR FOLLOWER: Leader. But he prefers working alone. PARTY TRICKS: He’s very flexible and knows a lot of random circus tricks. Tumbling, gymnastics, acrobatics, and impressive parkour gets some oohs and ahhs. PRAISE: Dick yearns for praise, but because he still feels as if he falls short, it is natural for him to find reasons to underscore his accomplishments. CRITICISM: Criticism is something he takes to heart if it taps into what he already thinks about himself. INSULTS: Unless they reflect his true inner self, Dick brushes them off. EMBARRASSMENT: No. When he is embarrassment, he finds a way to laugh it off. FLIRTING: Yes, but selectively flirtatious. Dick yearns for connection and validation, which is something he seems to think he’ll get from love. ATTENTION SPAN: It depends on the circumstance. Dick can be remarkably focused and he doesn’t tap out of the situation unless it is just incapable of holding his attention. He’s intelligent; so, like his body, his brain is restless and eager to jump onto the next theory once he’s exhausted the current one. SITUATIONS: Because Dick has remarkable empathy and he cares about people, he is very good at handling interpersonal conflict and treating his team the way he knows he’d want to be treated: like equals.

Life.

SHOPPING: Only when absolutely necessary. Dick doesn’t need to surround himself with things he doesn’t need. He rarely spends time at him as it is. DRIVING: Yes, all manners of vehicles. FINANCES: Being that Dick is the son of Bruce Wayne, his financial position is secure. He does have to set up everything through auto-pay however, or he will forget. MARRIAGE: Dick does want to get married because he thinks that falls in line with who he wants to be. KIDS: Same as above. PETS: He could take them or leave them, but he does like animals. He just doesn’t have time for them. LAW: Countless acts as a vigilante have been illegal, not least of all murdering Joker. ILLNESS/MENTAL OR OTHERWISE: Other than constant anxiety, no. WORRIES: Everything. Literally. Mainly he worries about the safety of his family. PEACE: Dick can’t stand total silence because he gets overwhelmed with his thoughts. He always has to have something playing, even if he’s not listening to it. PARTYING: Dick isn’t a big partier. He doesn’t like to drink or act fake, so it just isn’t his scene. HOBBIES: He likes to play the guitar. He also enjoys, particularly Shakespearean roles, and he’ll dramatically act out the parts and make his siblings laugh.

#muse: about

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thebatmarino · 5 years

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The DCEU’s next Batman should be played by Dick Grayson

Batman and Robin. Words that have gone together like Peanut Butter and Jelly for around 80 years. Everybody in the world knows that Batman’s younger sidekick is Robin. Many know that Robin is Dick Grayson, fewer know that Dick grew up to become Nightwing, and even fewer still that he has spent time as Batman. With the recent activity in DC film, I want to talk about my favorite superhero, what makes him great, and most importantly, why I believe Dick Grayson is the answer to the DCEU’s Bat situation. To start, we’re going to rewind to 1940, when Robin was introduced to the world in Detective Comics #38.

Batman was created in 1939. A grim figure of the night, Batman spoke very little, a trait that has held through to this day. At the time however, legend has it that Bill Finger and Bob Kane were tired of drawing thought bubbles for him, so they needed to give him someone to talk to. But who? Well, Batman was a Sherlock Holmesian figure, it was Detective Comics after all, so they needed to give him a Watson. A character who’s intelligent, capable, and a proxy for the readership so they can join Batman on his adventures. The readership at the time (target readership, we know girls love and read comics too, but this was 1940) was 12 year old boys, and who might they look up to? Robin Hood starring Errol Flynn came out in 1938, he seems pretty cool. And a Robin keeps up the motif of flying animal that Batman started. And there you have it, Robin the Boy Wonder was born.

The creation of Robin is also the birth of the Teenage Sidekick. Since then, every teen sidekick from Bucky to Kid Flash owes a debt to the creation of Robin. As more and more sidekick characters populated the comic scene, something happened at DC Comics in particular that is one of my favorite things about the brand: the idea of Legacy Characters.

Consider the Justice League for a moment. Let’s look at the big 6: Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Flash, and Aquaman. These characters are the Greek Gods reborn. They are iconic, they are mythological. Each one of them proudly displays a symbol that they adhere to. “I believe in love and equality”, “There is hope for everyone”, “I will drag myself through Hell for justice”, “by force of will, I will overcome all fear to save the world”, “I will always make time to help people”, “I will be the great uniter of disparate people”, or whatever you interpret the thesis of these characters to be. They are perfect embodiments. The problem with perfection is that real people can’t attain that. We can try. We can stumble and fall. And that is exactly what the Legacy Characters attempt to be. These characters are absolute representations in ways that humans are generally not. They are aspirational. That’s why there’s merchandise out the wazzu (do people still say that?), so you can see a person on the street with that Green Lantern symbol and know that person wants to overcome fear.

Dick Grayson was the first. For many years Dick was happily Robin, going on strange adventures with Batman and friends, whupping ass in green short pants. He even formed a team of sidekicks, known as the Teen Titans along with Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Speedy. All teenagers struggling to live up to their “parents”. These perfect people who’s symbols they have taken as their own and sworn to uphold. Then something interesting happened. In 1984, in Tales of the Teen Titans #44, Dick Grayson debuted his Nightwing persona.

Dick Grayson had been growing up. Which is a thing yet again, never done in comics before. For some time now, a rift had been growing between the Dark Knight and his Squire. Dick had gone off to college, formed his own super-team, and was going through the typical growing pains of a young person trying to step out on their own. No longer feeling the identity of his 12 year old fancies were fitting, he picked an adult, darker name that still reflected and honored where where he came from (the origins of this name are toyed with and retconned, but the connections between Bats and Wings of the Night cannot be denied).

As Nightwing, Dick Grayson was his own man, ran his life and heroics how he saw fit, and most importantly, didn’t answer to Batman. Until Knightfall happened. In the events of this story, Bane broke Bruce’s spine, resulting in Bruce choosing a man named Jean-Paul Valley as the new Batman. Jean-Paul went nutso and nearly killed Bane and begun a reign of hyper-vigilante terror in Gotham, so Bruce badassed his way back to walking because comic books, and whupped his ass. Before restoring himself as the one true Batman, Bruce asked the one man qualified in all the world to take up the mantle to do so: Dick Grayson. Yet again, we have a comic book first: a legacy character fulfilling their legacy. This didn’t last long however, Bruce did what he had to do, and Dick dutifully (and reluctantly) filled in as long as required.

Nightwing then got a brilliant solo series by Chuck Dixon and Scott McDaniel, which to this day is probably the most influential run on the character. Before we move on in his publication history though, I think it’s important to understand WHO Dick is, and WHY he is. After all, what makes this 12 year old boy so special that he becomes Batman’s right hand man in a war on crime?

Richard John Grayson, aka Dick, was born to John and Mary Grayson of the legendary Flying Graysons of Haly’s Circus. The reason they were legendary was because they flew without the safety of a net. Dick grew up on the trapeze with no net. No fear, no cares in the world, except being a child star performer. After a mob boss tries to unsuccessfully extort money from the circus, they murder the Graysons by tampering with the trapeze before Dick’s very eyes. The young orphan was observed by another orphan in the crowd, Bruce Wayne, who took him in. It wasn’t really successfully explained why a 12 year old seemed okay to take out fighting crime until the two part episode of Batman: The Animated Series, Robin’s Reckoning. Like a young Bruce, Dick was consumed with his parents’ murder. Each night, unfulfilled by the guardianship of an absentee Bruce Wayne, Dick would sneak out and try to track down leads on his parents’ killer. Eventually he got in over his head and Batman bailed him out and returned him to the Batcave. This boy knew no fear. He would return to the streets night after night. He would get himself killed. Unless he was trained how to not die by a certain… bat themed expert at not-getting-killed-by-criminal-scum. Bruce revealed his identity to Dick, which also explained why he was busy so much of the time, and in the Batcave, Dick swore an oath by candlelight to uphold justice and everything Batman stood for. The training was gruelling. Probably inhumane. But eventually Dick was allowed to accompany Batman on the streets as his sidekick.

Dick Grayson was saved by Bruce Wayne. Where Bruce was in uncharted territory sorting his rage, vengeance, and pain, Dick Grayson had a guide. A Mentor. Someone who had been exactly where he was, and could keep him from being consumed by darkness. And that’s reflected in their uniforms. The bright boy and the dark man. Adding to that, the Wayne’s murderer got away. There will be no vengeance or justice for Batman, just a gaping wound. Dick got justice for his parents. He saw that what they did worked, and that he could keep doing it for other people. Whereas Batman is driven by a desire to hurt those who hurt others, Dick is here to help. That’s something Tom King wrote into his character over and over during his run, the words “how can I help”. And if you look at the jobs he’s held down since striking out on his own: Police Officer, Guidance Counselor, Personal trainer, even bartending at a cop bar where he could give these guys relief (as well as pick up some leads) are all acts of service towards others. Which when the time came, made him a very different Batman.

The time eventually came. Bruce Wayne was “dead” (as dead as anyone is in comics), and Gotham City was in chaos. Initially Bruce left instructions for Dick not to become Batman. Because Nightwing was strong enough. He was his own man and Bruce believed in what he was doing. However, Gotham needs Batman, the symbol. And for the first time truly, not just putting on the cape and cowl, but deep in his bones, Dick Grayson became Batman. Fulfilling the legacy. He is not Bruce Wayne, just like we cannot be Bruce Wayne, but he can do his best to live up to what the symbol of The Batman means to him, just like us. Which brings me to where Dick Grayson is the future of the cinematic Batman franchise.

Over the last few years, we are experiencing a massive shift in how our male heroes are percieved. In the 80s which gave birth to Dark Knight Returns, a huge influence on the DCEU Batman, we saw a trend of hypermasculinity in our heroes. They were JACKED, strong, fearless, .50 Cal from the hip, Macho Men, stoic badasses that were too busy punching out teeth and blowing shit up to feel sissy-ass feelings. And that is where Batman has lived for years in comic continuity. He doesn’t say I love you, he doesn’t hug, he doesn’t feel feelings, he’s a rage-powered badass dressed all in black that kicks in criminals’ kneecaps because he probably kind of likes it. At the end of the day, you read enough of these comics and question whether or not Batman is actually a good man. Is he doing this to save the day, or inflict pain? Probably some of both.

As we survey the current landscape of masculinity, of heroism, of feminism, it’s important to question our heroes. It’s important to question, is this the ideal that we want people to strive for? In Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, we saw that Frank Miller Dark Knight Returns in all his glory. In my opinion, Ben Affleck’s portrayal of Batman was my favorite thing about that film. He was deliciously brutal, he was stubborn in his righteousness, he was extreme in his methodology, he was....murdering people? He was losing himself. He was so caught up in his need for violence, his need for war that he attempted to murder superman with a freaking spear. I suspect Justice League was intended to have a more redemptive arc for the demon he had become, but in any case, he has still become a monster. He has dwelled in hell so long that he has become the very type of devil he sought to destroy.

The best thing for Bruce Wayne would be to leave this life behind somehow. Pass the cowl on to the man who he trained for this very purpose. A hero that exemplifies modern healthy masculinity. Who can say “I love you”, who wants to seek justice more than vengeance, who can maintain healthy friendships and relationships, who believes in kindness, friendship, and laughter. I think it is time for Dick Grayson to take his place in cinematic history as Batman.

That doesn’t even touch upon the fact that the DCEU Batman is around 45 years old. While incredible and imaginative, they’ve set him at a natural age to retire from jumping off rooftops and withstanding repeated head trauma. If you look at Batman as a pro athlete, you simply do not see them at his age and doing tremendously well. Which when your sport is dodging gunfire and acting as bait for super aliens so other super aliens can clobber them, is not great. I think DC Entertainment is looking for ways to have a more youthful Batman, and I believe Dick Grayson is part of that natural path.

And that doesn’t mean we won’t have Bruce Wayne stories. As the news has just dropped, Matt Reeves is telling his own young Bruce tales. But as far as the Batman that stands shoulder to shoulder with Wonder Woman, and Superman? Here we have a young man in Dick Grayson coming into his own as a hero on the world’s stage, just like Diana and Clark. A young man with the strategic mind of Batman, the physical training, the gadgets, resources, but without the blinding rage, pain, and cynicism. A superhero that looks at the world and wants to genuinely help people. Not out of a deep psychological need to harm those who harmed him, but because he was broken and then saved, and he can do that for other people. Being a good person is all the superpower you need. As a culture, I believe those are the heroes we need right now. And as for Dick Grayson, he’s a born showman, and I think it’s time for him to take the stage.

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millenniumrobin · 6 years

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Memories I Never Lived

Title: Memories I Never Lived Author: millenniumrobin AO3 Link

Written for the Batfamily Week 2018 Challenge: Time Travel

My name is Barbara Gordon. And if you’re reading this… well, I actually don’t know what it means if you’re reading this. The rules of time travel are still not exactly clear to me. But the most obvious answer I can come with is that if you’re reading this, it means I failed. It means I didn’t stop Dick Grayson from royally fucking up the timeline.

I should probably start from the beginning. I’m sorry if this is confusing, it still is to me, too. For the past twenty-seven years I’ve lived a relatively normal life as Barbara Gordon, daughter of Gotham Police Captain Jim Gordon. That was until last year, when my father was murdered by the mob. For two decades my dad tried to clean up this city, tried to clean up the police department, and it got him killed. But in my grief I started seeing visions. Flashes and fragments of another world I didn’t know. But I couldn’t remember where I’d seen it before. Which is odd, because I remember everything.

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve had something called “Eidetic” – or photographic – memory. Anything I’ve seen, heard, touched, or experienced, I remember. It was a blessing when it came to studying – a curse when it came to relationships. But if you asked me what I was doing on April 17thwhen I was 13 years old, I can tell you exactly that. I took a test in school. Aced it. Had gymnastics practice. Fell off the balance beam three times. My father tried his very best to make spaghetti for dinner.

But almost immediately after my father’s death I started having flashes of new memories, ones that I didn’t know. I saw a boy, one with wavy ebony hair, bright blue eyes, and an infectious laugh. I saw him swinging from the rooftops in scarlet and green. And I saw him with a man dressed as a bat. I had no idea what this was. At first, I thought they were nightmares, horrible visions of a Gotham City already so far beyond saving. But accompanying those visions were feelings for this boy. Feelings like I’d never felt before; I felt warm and safe around him. But there was no record of a boy in scarlet and green with an “R” on his chest, or a man dressed as a bat anywhere in the history of Gotham City. Or anywhere in the world. Something was wrong.

And so I did what I do best. I threw myself into research. I cannot tell you, dear reader, how many countless hours I spent in the library or combing through web archives. Mythology, history, symbolism, vigilantes. I even contacted some of the world’s biggest superheroes, to see if they knew anything about what I was seeing. I never got a response.

Throughout this research, my visions continued. It was like the pieces of a massive, multilayered jigsaw puzzle were slowly coming together, even though I didn’t know what the end result would be. I saw new things, more vividly than before. I heard voices, aliases. I saw myself also dressed as a costumed vigilante running across the rooftops and felt that boy’s embrace. Even as a vision, he stirred feelings I didn’t know were possible.

And then, one night, I finally heard his name. Uttered from my own lips, if you can believe it. Dick Grayson. Finally, a lead beyond “Batman” and “Robin”. I cannot tell you how fast my fingers flew over the keyboard of my computer that night, searching every archive and tax record across the United States for the man named Dick Grayson. I couldn’t find one.

The last name was familiar, a circus act that had come to Gotham just after my father and I moved here. The Flying Graysons. The only reason I remembered it is because I had seen the news reports. They were performing a trapeze act without a net and the rope broke. The ringleader, Haly, had insisted that someone had cut the rope. So did a young boy. But police didn’t find any evidence of that. But even remembering the deaths of Mary and John Grayson didn’t lead me any closer to finding Dick Grayson.

So I hacked the Gotham Police files. It wasn’t hard; I had helped my father build part of the digital security system when he was still Captain. I found the case file on the Grayson deaths compiled, very sloppily, by Detective Bullock. At the very end of the report was a scrawled note, almost illegible in the copy scanned into the database. “Son, Richard, transferred to foster care. No living relatives.” It clicked for me. All this time I had been searching for “Dick Grayson” when I should have been searching for “Richard”. It didn’t take me long to find him.

Hacking into the foster care databases weren’t any harder than hacking into GCPD’s. I found Richard Grayson’s file quickly, a picture accompanying it. Those same eyes that I had seen in my visions stared back at me. I scanned the screen, eager for information on where to find the boy, now my age, who had haunted my mind. But his file was astonishingly small. A mere two months after being put into a foster home Dick Grayson disappeared, his body found floating in the Gotham River a few days later. The hit was a classic mob style, though no one was ever charged. I thought I had hit a dead end.

In my frustrations came more memories. Visions of rooftops and crime fighting and long nights spent together. And then memories of parties and galas. Those provided my next biggest clue. Because in each of those memories, ever present near Dick Grayson, was Bruce Wayne. Playing the part of the gracious host but with an air of seriousness that I recognized, even though I had only met the man a time or two in real life. That was when it all clicked for me. Bruce Wayne was the Batman. Or had been, in that timeline. Again, time travel is confusing.

So I made an appointment to see Bruce Wayne in his office in Wayne Tower. The meeting… did not go well. He had no idea who I was talking about when I mentioned Dick Grayson, said he had no recollection of any “Batman”, and very kindly asked me to leave his office. I was at another dead end. If no one else was remembering these things or having these visions, how would I figure out what was going on? How could I figure out what was missing from my life, where these memories were coming from?

The answer came from a very unexpected source.

About a week later, there was a knock on my door after midnight. I pulled out the gun my father had given me as an 18th birthday present for protection. Visitors didn’t drop by unannounced at my apartment. Ever. But standing on the other side of the door was Bruce Wayne. And in his hands he held a scrawled drawing of the Batman. The drawing, though amateurish, still contained all the details of the suit that had been haunting my mind. And I had not told him about any of it. Turns out that he had been having visions as well.

We spoke for hours that night. Neither of us slept. It was like one of those nights on patrol that had dominated my memories, but instead of hunting down criminals, we were hunting details from the recesses of our minds. The two of us began to realize how our lives were different from these memories in ways large and small. Oswald Cobblepot was not a criminal mastermind called the Penguin, but instead was the corrupt mayor of Gotham City. Former District Attorney Harvey Dent had been murdered by the mob just a few years before my father, never becoming horribly deformed as Two Face. And there was no mention, in any record, of a criminal called “The Joker”. We did, however, find his paramour, Dr. Harleen Quinzel. She’s the head of the Gotham University Psychology Department, and one of the most respected voices on mental illness in the entire world.

But it wasn’t just criminals. We also started figuring out nuances of our own lives in this alternate timeline, as well as those around us. We began remembering a boy named Jason Todd, who became Robin after Dick became his own hero called Nightwing. We looked him up, and I actually laughed out loud when I discovered he had become a priest, leading a parish in Blüdhaven. It was so unlike the persona we “remembered.”

We also saw a team of heroes protecting the planet, a gathering called the Justice League. This team had Bruce at the helm, partnered with Superman and someone named Wonder Woman. Superman generally operated out of Metropolis; even he didn’t come around Gotham. But Wonder Woman was a mystery. I felt like I knew her, just like I felt I knew everyone in those memories, but there was no record of her anywhere in our world.

That was it for the first night. Both of us were exhausted by the amount of new information that had been barraging us for hours. But we met again the next night, and the night after that, and the night after that. Each night, the picture of our alternate lives began to come together more rapidly, but we could still not figure out what event had triggered such a drastic change for us, for Gotham, and for the entire planet.

My first clue should have been how much different the Bruce Wayne in my visions was from the Bruce Wayne frantically writing new memories down on a piece of paper with one hand, a slice of greasy pizza held in the other. This Bruce Wayne held almost a carefree attitude not seen in my visions. He smiled. He laughed, though that was usually from the delirium at having been up for so many hours with far too little caffeine. Once again, the key to continuing down the rabbit hole came from his mind, not mine.

I can describe the moment vividly for you, dear reader. He sat bolt upright, color draining from his face in an instant and eyes widening more than I thought possible. His breath caught in his chest and solitary tears snaked their way down each cheek. When his azure eyes locked with mine, a new pain was present that hadn’t been there before.

“My parents…” he choked out, wiping away the tears. “My parents were murdered when I was a boy. That’s why…” Bruce’s hands frantically shuffled through his notes on the table until he found the scrawled drawing he brought the first night. “That’s why I became the Batman.”

And that was the moment the rest of the puzzle was revealed to me. As if he was sitting in my kitchen with me, I heard the words Dick Grayson spoke. “I have to save him, Babs. I have to save him from this lifetime of pain.” I saw an argument I’d never had, remembering the words like I was speaking them right at that moment. My worries about messing with the timeline, the damage it could cause. He kissed me and showed me the plans for a time machine he and Bruce had built.

“You thought it was a joke,” I told the Bruce sitting at my kitchen table. “You never thought it would work. You said there would never be a power source strong enough.” But there was. It came in the form of kryptonite crystals that Batman had hoarded in his Batcave beneath Wanye Manor. And with that, Dick Grayson had disappeared in a flash of light and wind.

That was the end of the visions. Rubbing his hands over his face, Bruce looked dejected. There was no way he could remember how to re-build that time machine, he said. For the first time in weeks, I smiled. This time the spark of inspiration came from my brain. Dick had shown me the plans in my memories. He had given me the way to get to him, me and my eidetic memory.

So we built a time machine. Not in the Batcave like before, but this time in a secret R&D lab at Wayne Tower. And the power source, those kryptonite crystals? It turns out that as much as things change, some still stay the same. Wayne Tech had been hoarding a small stockpile of them to conduct research. Bruce Wayne happily donated them to the cause.

We worked for weeks off my snippets of memory. I constantly worried that I had missed something, but test after test showed that, theoretically, this machine should work. And in that time I saw new visions. Not of a past life, but of the future. A possible future. One where Dick and I were happy, married with children. We had hung up the capes and cowls and found fulfilling lives keeping the world safe not as vigilantes, but as parents. It was those happy memories that have kept me going during these last long weeks.

As we finished inserting the power source and watched the machine hum with energy, I told Bruce that doing this would destroy the happy life he had. His parents were still alive now, still able to see the man their son had become. He smiled again and that nagging feeling that it was all wrong returned in the back of my brain. He said that if this world was the result of time being changed, then it was wrong. It was an aberration, he said, one we had to fix. If we looked around, we could see the ways time was trying to right itself, and Bruce theorized that eventually the cosmos would correct violently to get things back to the way they should be.

He wanted to be the one to head back to stop Dick, but I wouldn’t let him. For one, he shouldn’t be interacting with his younger self. For all we knew that could create a paradox that would fold the entire universe in on itself. But his visions had also never been as strong or as detailed as mine. It was like he was watching things on a screen, while they felt real to me. The emotions that accompanied them was too strong to ignore. And I knew the only chance to stop Dick Grayson would be to use that shared emotion.

I hope no one ever reads this letter, but if you do, spread it far and wide. This is not the way the world should be. And sooner rather than later someone, something, is going to come along and correct it. You have to be prepared.

So, dear reader, that’s why I’m heading into the past. To stop the man I love, but don’t even know. To save him from making a mistake that will destroy everything. If I can’t save him, then I’ll do what I must to restore the timeline. I only hope the damage can be fixed.

#batfamweek2018 #bfw2018 #dick grayson #barbara gordon #bruce wayne #time travel #angst #fan fiction #fanfic

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ellana-ravenwood · 7 years

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Surprise surprise - Dick Grayson x Reader

Well, I only wrote one story for Dickie so...here’s another, hope you guys will like it, especially you @breecandraw ! :

You can find my masterlist here : @ella-ravenwood-archives

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Even though it was him who asked Dick to do this mission, you couldn’t be mad at Bruce...After all, ever since you started to get serious with his son, Bruce Wayne had been nothing but nice and benevolent with you.

In fact, you two grew so close that you caught yourself calling him “dad” a few times, not on purpose...and each times, he didn't correct you. On the contrary, he smiled and gave you a knowing look. You could call him however you wanted, after all, you were family too.

No. You couldn’t be mad at your surrogate father...Him, however, was mad at himself. He couldn’t help but feel guilty each day, each time he hold them in his arms...them. (Your favorite girl name) and (your favorite boy name).

Your daughter and your son. His grandchildren.

************

It’s both funny and tragic, that right before he left, you and him talked about the names you’d love to call your children. It was kind of random really. You were talking about something in your shared apartment in Bludhaven, and the subject of marriage randomly popped up.

Marriage leading to how serious your relationship was now, and then to the subject of...Children. And how easily this conversation went. It was so natural. Yes. Ok. One day, you’ll try for children. You thought that if when you guys will have children he would want to pay tribute to his parents by naming them after them, John and Mary but...No. No he hated that idea. He did not want to look at his kids and think of his dead parents for the rest of his life, and you definitely understood. When you asked him his actual favorite names, you were a bit surprised.

For a boy it would be (your favorite boy name), and for a girl, (your favorite girl name)...Which were exactly yours too.

-Yeah ok Richard Grayson, you really are my soulmate.

You told him while kissing him, unaware it was going to be for the last time. You told him as he was taking your clothes off, about to make love for you...unaware this too, was going to happen for the last time.

Unaware that your talk about children was going to become very real soon, and unaware that you were going to have to face everything alone.

Alone ? Not quite. His brothers were there to help. They would always be there to help. Damian especially, who was extremely close to Dick, was particularly helpful...Oh and Bruce ? Your surrogate father, who would probably feel guilty about it all for the rest of his life, was definitely taking his grandfather role very seriously.

************

Even though it was him who asked Dick to do this mission, you couldn’t be mad at Bruce. But he wasn’t seeing it like you, and was beating himself with dark thoughts about it all every single day.

His son was dead. And it was his fault. It was him, who asked Dick to do this mission...And therefor, it was his fault that his boy never came back.

Everything was made worst by the birth of his grandkids. Because now, he would have to live with the thought that he was their “Joe Chill”. He was the one that robbed them of their parents, just like that lowlife criminal that was Joe Chill robbed him of his.

Of course, he you knew he was feeling that guilty, you would have scold him but...He wasn’t really a man to talk much about his feelings, and besides, he was too stubborn to listen to you anyway.

No. He could never forgive himself to have sent Dick to his death. One day, (your son) and (your daughter) called him “dada”, and he broke down in tears on the floor, holding them close to his heart, his arms clutched around their tiny bodies. They didn’t understand, but they hugged him back. Even as they were barely one year old, they could see the man who was taking so much care of them was upset, and they wanted him to feel better. It didn’t matter if he was, in fact, not their “dada” but their “grand-dada”, who cared ? They just wanted him to be happy.

They already had so much of their father in them. Even physically. Both of them had his eyes, his jet black hair, his smile and dimples you loved so much...

But no matter how they tried to cheer him up, stroking his cheek and talking to him (he couldn’t understand a word they were saying, as they were using baby talk...but they seemed passionate about it)...Bruce Wayne would never rest happy knowing he was the cause of you having to raise those wonderful babies alone, and them growing up without a father.

Fortunately for him, this situation wasn’t permanent.

Oh no. Unknowing even of him, this mission he sent him to had another motive. It wasn’t about what he thought it was about. No. The most important thing about this mission, was to make sure everyone, including his family, especially his family (so that there wouldn’t be any suspicions), everyone, would think he was dead.

The most important part of this mission, was to “kill” Richard Grayson.

************

Of course, it wasn’t easy. It was the last thing he wanted.

But it had to be done. Besides, it would only be for a few months.

First he had to fake his death. That was easy. But it was also the hardest part. Because no saying goodbye to you, not explaining that he’ll be back...it was torture. It was torture because he knew what you were going to feel. If it was just as half as bad as the mere thought of leaving you, then...no. He couldn’t think about it.

He couldn’t about how hurt you were going to be. He had to do this.

He had to go fully undercover, as someone else, he had to kill Dick Grayson. At least for now. And now one could know. Not even his father, who’s the one who talked to him about all of this...

All of this. A second Spyral. Years ago, he also had to fake his death and go undercover for months to take down a dangerous spying organization called “Spyral”, and now..it was back.

It was personal. He had to take it down once more, because if he waited to much, it would get dangerous once again. Just like all those years ago, right before he met you...

This time however, nobody could know. And so Dick Grayson died, and Agent 12 rose.

************

It took him longer than he thought to finally destroy the entire organization, and he almost died multiple time...But the thought of seeing you and his family again is what pulled him through.

It had been almost two years when finally, it was over.

Everything was over. He could go home...

-So...What now ?

She asked. Her. He never got to know her real name, but she was known as Agent 7. She helped him take the new Spyral down. She helped him through a lot. Once, she tried to kiss him and...As he saw her face approached, it’s your image he saw, and when he realized it couldn’t be you...he pushed her away. He never explained why. No matter what, he could never truly trust her, and talking about you would put you in danger. He couldn’t have that.

-So...what now ?

She asked. With a smile, Dick answers :

-Now, I go home.

-Home ?

-You know I can’t tell you where it is.

-I know.

-What are you gonna do ?

-I was hoping my path would mix with yours...

-Seven...

-No don’t talk. I know. I understood that day you pushed me away. There’s someone else...She’s a lucky girl.

-No. I’m the lucky one. And I hope I can push my luck to the extend that she’ll forgive me...

-She’d be a fool not to.

-I’ve been gone for almost two years. I abandoned her.

-But if she loves you...She’ll understand. And if she doesn't. Well. You know where to find me.

And with a wink, she disappeared. It was harsh, especially because he started to see her as a friend, but Dick hoped to never see her again. Spyral was definitely behind him. Forever this time. He made sure of it.

**********

He didn’t even bothered to change. He kept the tuxedo he had when he finally got rid of the spying organization on (everything went down at a jet set soirée).

He went straight home and...his heart dropped.

When he knocked on the door of your shared apartment, not really thinking straight (probably, coming without any warning and knocking on your door was a bad idea...he was so ready to be punched in the face), he wasn’t able to hide his surprise as a man he didn’t know opened the door.

Who was it ? Did you...Did you move on ?

It didn’t even occurred to him that you might have found someone else. After all, he was supposed to be dead, it had been almost two years, and you were such a wonderful woman that, of course you could find someone else...But he had hoped that...And the man in front of him was...Well...he was..Not really a good looking man. But then again, you never really cared for beautiful men, as the most important thing for you was how they were inside. It was just good luck that you fell on Dick, who was gorgeous both inside and out.

-What d’you want ?

All he could utter, confusingly, was your name. The man seemed to think for a minute, trying to decipher what that dude was saying, until it hits him :

-Oh ! (Y/N) ?!

Dick nods, a lump in his throat. The man shakes his head and say :

-She doesn’t live here anymore man. She left long ago. Went to live at the Wayne Manor when her boyfriend died. According to rumors and Gotham’s newspaper, Bruce Wayne took her in to help and take care of...

-RUFUS !! WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO ?!

A female voice comes from what Dick knows to be the living room. With a sigh of annoyance, “Rufus” answers :

-I’M TALKING TO SOMEONE WHO ASKS FOR (Y/N) !!

-WHO IS IT !

-I DON’T KNOW !

-AND YOU’RE TELLING HIM WHERE SHE IS EVEN THOUGH YOU DON’T KNOW WHO IT IS ?!

Dick hears heavy footsteps coming towards them, and enters an older lady. Probably the man’s wife. She looks at Dick up and down and her mouths opens, her eyes widens :

-Oh my god...you’re him...

-Hum...I don’t know what you’re talking about...

He says. Things really weren’t going like he wanted. You weren’t there, and someone recognized him.

-But you’re suppose to be dead !

Dick’s brain is working full speed, and, shifting awkwardly on his feet, he says :

-I got into an accident. I was...amnesiac. And recently I recovered my memory ! I’m sorry I really gotta go.

And in a hurry, Dick Grayson leaves. Ok. He had to remember that now that he said it to someone, the official story he would give once Gotham’s media would realize he was still alive was that he got into an accident and lost his memory...That was kinda believable.

As he left the building he heard the man ask his wife whoever the fuck he was...and the woman answering :

-That’s Richard Grayson ! Bruce Wayne’s adopted son ! He’s (Y/N)’s boyfriend, or was...He was supposed to be dead !

Dick was pretty sure that the neews of his return got around the building faster than the time he took to leave it.

Well, it was official : Dick Grayson was back from the dead.

************

Maybe keeping that stupid tuxedo on was a bad idea. Maybe he should have stopped for a shower. But...He had to see you. He just had to.

He knocked on the door of the Manor and...everything got kinda blurry.

For a few wild seconds, he got afraid that he had given Alfred a heart attack ! But then the butler asked him a question only the real Dick Grayson could answer too, being suspicious as to wether or not it really was him...

-What was the first meal I ever cooked for Master Richard when he arrived home ?

-Oh that’s easy Alf’, my favorite, hamburger and fries. You know I always got a thing for junk food...

The hug the old butler gives him is suffocating. He tells him that the entire family is in the living room, watching a film, and it’s full of adrenaline, a heart beating at 100 miles per hour, that Dick follows Alfred Pennyworth.

************

Everything got kinda blurry. All he can see is you. But you’re also the only one that didn’t utter a move.

The first to react was Damian, who jumped into his brother’s arms and didn’t let go for a long time. Dick struggled to not fall, as Damian wasn’t a little boy anymore, but almost a full grown man.

-I knew you weren’t dead !

Jason was the second to stand up and hug him, and with a bitter laugh he said :

-That’s the second time you make us think you’re dead Dick, it’s getting old.

Tim and Bruce stand at the same time, and Tim is unable to hold his laughter as he grabs on his brother’s hand.

Bruce...Bruce feel lighter than he felt in a long time. His boy. His boy was home. He wasn’t dead. The guilt could finally fly away...And fly away it did as he took his son in his arms, and Dick wrapped his own arms around him. His boy was alive...

They finally made some space, for you, realizing that they were probably in your way and...They’re a bit confused when you’re still sitting on the couch. They were expecting you to have jumped in Dick’s arms. After all, they all knew how much you missed him...They all did, but you. Well, he was the love of your life, things had been particularly difficult for you.

But you don’t move. And Dick doesn’t dare to either.

Finally, you stand up. He knows this can go only two ways. You’re going to jump in his arms, kiss and hug him, or you’re going to punch him as hard as you can in the face. Well, in fact...none of that happen. You do something he didn’t plan at all. You...run away.

You just go around the couch and run upstairs. Ok. Maybe you’re more mad than he thought. The rest of the family seem surprise, they know how much you longed for Dick’s return, even though you knew he would never (though you should know that in the Wayne family, death wasn’t really definitive). They all seem surprise...but Tim. No. Tim smiles and gives his brother a knowing look. Wh...What ?

They can hear you upstairs, you’re in one of the guest room (your room now), and...you’re coming back ?

Dick doesn’t know what to do. He’s so stunned and confused that he doesn’t even run after you, and before he can get out of his daze, you’re back.

And he almost faints. What...What ?!

In a look he knows who they are. He just do. They look too much like him for them to be anyone else’s...A dad. He was a dad.

Dick falls down to his knees, and you rush toward him.

************

Your initial reaction when you saw Alfred come in with him was...nothing. You felt completely empty. Was this another vivid hallucination ? But then, your heart started to beat again. Wildly. As Damian jumped in his arms.

It was Dick. He was back. He was home.

You were right. Deep down, you knew he wasn’t dead. You and him had a strong connection and...you never felt it break. Damian was the only one that agreed, Dick was alive ! But you searched and searched and never found even one clue that he was...And yet, you were both right !

The shock of it all nailed you on the couch. You couldn’t move. You couldn’t do anything, as you watched him hug his father and brothers.

Twenty minutes must have passed before they were done, and all focus was on you. And...Your first thought, your first reflex, was to go fetch them.

Kissing him, holding him, touching him in anyway didn't even occur to you, no. But going to take your children so they could meet their father ? Well, it just seemed like the most logical thing to do.

You rushed in your bedroom. Unfortunately for you, though now they almost always slept through the night, both your kids were very light sleeper, and were awake before you entered their room, having heard your footsteps down the hall.

They didn’t even question why you were waking them up, they just reached their arms for you, always happy to be held by their mother.

They giggled joyfully as you rushed down the stairs and...

You knew Dick understood the minute he saw them. And when he fell to his knees...

************

A dad. Dick Grayson was a dad. And of the most beautiful children he ever seen. Twins. Haha. Twins ! A boy and a girl. Almost as if they knew who he was, when their mother approached him they burst out in laughter and started to talk, talk, and talk. Baby talk. It didn’t make sense but...Well, what was sure is that they got the talkative personality of their father.

A dad. He was a dad.

He felt tears running down his face as he held them for the first time. They let him, again, as if they knew who he was. Not even two and already smart kids. He wasn’t sure if he liked this or not.

When his daughter grabbed his hair and smiled at him, his heart melted.

When his son, got hold, with his tiny hand, of his chin, he sobbed like a baby.

They both grabbed his bow tie, and pulled on it, to make him bent down and...

What followed made everyone’s heart melt.

They kissed him. They kissed his cheeks. And at the same time, they said :

-Dada.

Yes. Yes it was clear those kids were already too intelligent for their own good.

************

It took a little while before Dick was able to say anything. He was holding his children close, when finally, he felt what he’d been craving for for years around his neck...your arms. And your kisses.

It took a little while for everyone to settle down. There was more hugs. More kisses. Bruce broke down twice and his grandchildren stroked his cheeks as they were now used to...Which made things way better. Tim laughed a lot, which didn’t happen in a long time. Damian talked too much, which also didn’t happen since a long time. And Jason kept making jokes about the Wayne boys coming back to life, because of course he would, and making jokes was his way of saying : “Welcome home brother, I missed you. Love ya fuckface”.

It took a little while for Dick to explain everything, as he was sitting in his favorite armchair, you on his lap, his children sitting proudly on his shoulders (though they were starting to doze off and were resting their head on Dick’s...how cute). The rest of the family was sitting all around, drinking his every word. You called him an “idiot” when he said he thought you were going to be mad at him...You couldn’t.

He probably saved the World, and though it hurt like Hell when you thought he was gone...it didn’t matter now, because he was back.

He then demanded for all of you to tell him what happened.

Damian graduated high school with honor and was going to college in downtown Gotham to study criminology, wanting to become a cop...just like Dick was in Bludhaven.

Tim graduated law school and became the most famous lawyer in the city. Now helping Gotham by night AND by day.

Jason was his good old self. Though ever since Dick was supposedly dead, he stopped killing. When Dick realized it was to honor his memory, he almost cried. Almost, because he was afraid that if he did, he would woke up his kids that fell asleep on his shoulder by that time.

Bruce too was his old self. Still working day and night, still working his ass off for a safer place...They all were really.

But you added that he wasn’t his old self, and that he was probably the best grandfather you ever met. You told Dick he helped you a tremendous amount of time, this past two years, from your pregnancy to now. The early months were difficult, but he helped you pull through.

In Dick’s eyes, Bruce could see how grateful he truly was, and later, when they were finally just the two of them, they would hug for almost an hour, talking to each others, thanking the other one to be always there when they needed...A father son talk, interrupted by two very full of life twins that came running into the room. They hesitated for a second, wondering who they should hug first...Until they gave each other a “look”, already talking without needing actual words, and run each to one of them. Your daughter went to Dick, your son to his grandfather, and then they switched.

Adorable.

************

It took Dick a while to acclimate himself back to a somewhat normal life. He didn’t go back on night patrols just yet, taking his time with you and to get to know his children.

They really were the most wonderful he ever met. They both were so curious, so smart already, and the way they were running, a bit unsure on their feet as they were still new to this all “walking” thing as just the cutest.

Back in your arms, Dick could live again. And it took him a while to acclimate himself to this new life. To take his life back. To become Dick Grayson again.

Nightmares woke him up at night, of Spyral coming after you, after (your son) and (your daughter). But you were always there to reassure him. Always there to make him feel better. And you would always be there.

One night, just a week after he came back, he was laying his children down in their bed, a bit clumsy in his movement, still not use to this, but already loving it, and with a last tender kiss on their forehead, he left them to join you in your shared bed when...

-Marry me.

He blurted out. You stiffened a bit in his arms, your arms tightening around his torso, your head moving on his chest so that you could look up at him...He held his breath, until he realized you were smiling. He continues :

-I...I wanted to ask you that before I left. But then, this all Spyral thing happened and...I thought it’d be too cruel to ask you then. But it never left my thought. I want to marry you (Y/N). I want to spend my life with you, I always wanted that. Ever since I met you...everything changed. In the best way possible.

You stay silent, knowing he’s still isn’t done. When he was talking about his feeling, he could go on very long speeches. You didn’t mind one bit :

-I love you. I love you so much sometimes it makes me sick. Again, in the best way possible. We’ve been together for ten years and I still get butterflies when I see you. Leaving was the hardest thing I ever had to do and I’m sorry again for that. I...I had to do it. But now, if a similar situation happens again, I can’t. I can’t do it. Someone else will have to take care of it. Because there’s no way I can live without you again, and there’s no way I’m leaving (your son) and (your daughter). I...I love you. I love them, to death. They’re the best. You’re the best. You’re all...You’re all my heart. Without you, I’m nothing. So please, marry me.

You go up on your elbow, and leave a loving trail of kisses from his chest to his ear, stopping a bit too long on his mouth (and of course he responds). In a whisper full of adoration you say :

-Of course I’ll marry you. I love you too, Dick Grayson.

Dick Grayson. Yes. That’s who he was.

It was Agent 12′s turn to die now, and Dick Grayson’s to rise again.

That night, and for the first time in a long long time, he fell asleep with a smile on his face, and had a nightmare less night. Finally, finally he was home. Safe. You were all safe.

Maybe, maybe if he didn’t feel so happy, he would have notice the person standing outside in the branches of a tree.

Maybe, maybe if he wasn’t so much in love with you, and in awe of his children, he would have notice that stranger, that stalker.

But he doesn’t. Because he is happy. Because he’s in love with you. Because he’s in awe of his children...Because he’s home and finally lets his guard down.

As Agent 7 spies on him and his family, on what she could have had with him...Well, she couldn’t help but think that his first and last mistake was to think he was safe. She was Spyral now. It always been her plan. And her eyes were set on Dick Grayson. She wouldn’t stop until she achieved her goal.

But for now, for now Dick and you weren’t aware of anything. And for now, just for now, you could be truly happy, and come down the next morning, your two little rascals somehow ended up in your bed with you two, in the middle.

Oh. Dick Grayson was happy.

Fin ?

______________________

I hope it didn’t suck. I’m a bit unsure. I didn’t really mean it to have some sort of cliffhanger, as I don’t really want to write a part two but...it kinda just happened as I was writing it. Sorry if it isn't good and thank you for reading :-). Oh and, as usual, I haven’t proof-read myself, just wrote straight on Tumblr and posted it. I can never read something I wrote. ANYWAY. BOOM.

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paladin-of-nerd-fandom65 · 7 years

Text

“A Little Bit of Training”

A Beast Boy and Robin centric fic that I FINALLY manage to finish before midnight which my B Day will end. Takes places after “Confrontation”

@lightdusk, Happy B day to me, Here’s my gift to you.

BAM!

BOOM!

BLAM!

The punches echoed throughout the gym with vigor with yet another punching bag broken off its chains and slammed to the wall along with the other 6.

Robin breathed heavily afterwards. In spite of landing blows that would’ve flat out destroyed 40 Slade-bots within six minutes, the smirking and cocky image of Benito Zucco burned in his eyes, taunting him to no end. Once able to compose himself and breathe out, Robin, in his gi in which he wore seeking training from the True Master but with a black belt now, walked over to the spare bags they had in use and almost as quickly set it up on the chain. As he prepared for another round, Robin’s hearing immediately picked up the doors opening.

“Dude, how many of those things are you going to slam against the wall like that? It’s 3 am for Pete’s sake!” Beast Boy moaned as he approached Robin clad in his usual suit minus his sneakers thus allowing his toes to breathe whenever he went to bed. As he walked to Robin slowly, the Boy Wonder began another build up of punches to the bag with some sand already beginning to show.

“Sorry Beast Boy, I didn’t mean to wake you up. I just needed some steam to let off and…”

“Some steam” Beast Boy questioned, “um, dude, there’s a good difference between some steam, and enough to boil about three entire fields worth of broccoli like what you’re doing. I get you’re trying to chill out in light of everything that has been happening lately but…”

At that moment, another large BLAM sounded off in the room as the punching bag flew into the wall with the other used ones. Robin however didn’t immediately sought to get another bag as he was occupied looking out the bloodied knuckles on both his hands and feet, groaning in spite of himself. Beast Boy immediately rushed over to his boss and help looked over his hands, seeing the damage. At the moment without Robin even knowing about it, Beast Boy helps walk him over to the nearest wall where the two take a seat against said wall.

Silence ensures between the two for a good minute. The two boys there just can’t have their eyes focus on anything let alone each other since their thoughts were busying being somewhere else yet at a similar place at the same time. Their thoughts were that of what Beast Boy had said were what was happening throughout the last month or two; from Mary Grayson’s return to life, the reveal of the Court of Owls not only being real but now beginning an expansion into the city they have protected for years, and now a mayor candidate with both former criminal connections and knowing of who they are and what’s going on behind the scenes. Beast Boy, real name Garfield Logan, was always an optimist in situations like this, whenever things started going the toilet after a dinner at Habenero’s and always seems to try cheering everyone up. He doesn’t try taking things too seriously according to his teammates as a result of this. This contrasts with Robin whom while an optimist like himself, distinctively strives for the job he undertakes all the stress and uber thick-headedness he purposively must endure for his friends. Simply put as Cyborg once put it, “That guy takes himself way too seriously”. If that particular incident wasn’t enough to prove it, then the blistering knuckles were and Robin realizes such right now. Still though, the flawless movements and grace his mother used in her escapes still baffled him. Just was he really that far behind? He had grown too soft? No, that can’t be it; time and time again his friends and especially Starfire have proven to give him the strength needed to triumph over his opponents. But then again, Beast Boy might’ve been a Doom Patrol member, undergoing a training somewhat less merciful than his; at least Bruce always patched up his cuts and bruises before chewing him out over a slip up; from what he remembers with his mission with the Doom Patrol, Mento definitely placed a heavy dosage of pressure even more so yet he’s Beast Boy being the cheerful and laid back semi soldier he was the day he literally rammed a rampaging Starfire, saving his sorry butt…

“Dude?” Beast Boy asks, finally breaking the silence between them.

“Yeah?”

“You ok?”

Looking to his barely healing knuckles, Robin commented “I think so, damage could’ve been a lot worse and I think we’re all out of bags anyways”

Beast Boy chuckles lightly “actually there’s two left”

With that remark another few seconds of silence comes between them. They know they have to address something nut they didn’t really know how…at least until…

“Du...” “Beast Boy…”

Robin then says, “You first.”

“Are you thinking about your mom?”

“Pretty much, along with what Zucco might do to her if I can’t stop him or these Court guys who brought her back in the first place.”

“Well, I get you mean, after all she has your flesh and blood and we’ve got to look out for that, no matter how messed up it can get.”

Robin raised an eyebrow as Beast Boy continued

“I just saying that…well…family’s family…yeah, I mean sometimes there’s some family’s that’ll smack you around during childhood out of …I don’t know…maybe they drank too much or trying to teach you a lesson or two and in the end you want to move away from there when the time is right and rightfully get away from that crap. But if anything happens to them, whether being justifying in being arrested or even cleaning up themselves years later and working their butts off to make it up and not expecting anything in return, you have to know that they’re your family and…well…you have to know they are what made you…you, whether on purpose or not.”

“Beast Boy, that’s surprisingly profound.”

Beast Boy doubles takes at that “Oh…I was just kinda bit getting lost in my thoughts right there, dude. It’s nothing to fret over about.”

“Well, I have to say you pretty hit the nail on the head right there. I know I’ve been a little too focused lately but I hope you get that…she’s my mom…I have to do something about it…”

“You think the ‘accident’ is going to happen again?” Beast Boy asks

Robin pauses for a bit to collect himself or else silent sobs would’ve come to him

“Pretty much”

“We’ll rescue her, from herself and whoever’s after her. If you think we can do it, you can count your butt that we can.”

Robin looks at his green skinned partner and notices a determination in him unseen since the final assault on the Brotherhood of Evil, in which founded the Titans International. Once said determination hits Beast Boy’s eyes, they know they are bound to win through and the odds tip in his friends’ favor. A small and gentle smirk comes to face.

“Thanks Beast Boy”

Unbeknownst to Robin, Beast Boy’s little speech was not an easy one to pull since undergoing a parent loss like Robin and not getting the right to see his mother, Marie Logan one more time whereas Robin does kinda bit throws him off in the tiniest slight. But Garfield digresses, he helped pull out his boss from hurting himself even more than he had and got him to chill for real. Just as he was about to stand and make his way back to bed, he notices Robin’s attempt to stand on his bruised feet only to slightly stumble, prompting Garfield to shoulder his leader and walk him over to his bed room.

On their way there, however, Robin asks,

“Do you miss your mom?”

Garfield Logan paused in his tracks

“…Yeah, Yeah I do”

“How do you deal with it?”

Garfield raises an eyebrow as Robin pulls off his domino mask, revealing the crystal blue eyes of Richard John Grayson-Wayne Llodveski.

“I don’t mean anything personal Gar; I’m just curious to know.”

“…I just simply say to myself every night that she always loves me for who I am and what I can do now that I’m older.”

“I see…”

Garfield at this point had reached Robin’s room and his boss was able to take his seat on bed while subconsciously, he takes a seat on the floor.

“You know, dude, I can tell you how she was back when I was little” Garfield piped up a bit as he had a feeling maybe he can…just get a nice chat between him and Robin.

Richard, getting probably the same sense of opportunity to talk to his partner, folds his arms across his chest “Well, you can tell me, I have all night”

Thus for this night, Garfield Logan had given to his boss and friend Dick the details of how his mother was, from her very intelligent answers to his science questions, the way she would hum African tunes during their treks across savannahs and how gentle hands always gave him a hand whenever his curious sense of touch wished to check the nearest shrub next to him.

Their conversation lasted throughout the night, going back and forth between their mothers and pointing the similarities between their teachers, even to the point of a Pre-Robin Batman actually encountering the Doom Patrol while Beast Boy himself was a member.

Come sunrise, the conversation continued but not the subject in which by the time, Beast Boy smelled bacon, no doubt Cyborg trying to finally make that dream Meat Filled Breakfast buffet behind his Tofu filled watch. Before he was about to rush to kitchen to stop the metal Titan, Robin says to him

“Just don’t tell Starfire about what we discussed here alright?”

“No problem, Dude. Your secret’s safe with me.”

“And your Terra secret is safe with me.”

Garfield blushed. ‘It better…”

#garfield logan #dick grayson #tt animated #fanfic #my posts #birthday

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batboyblog · 7 years

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I just got my new Pop figure (Robin-Tim), so how about a drabble about the first time Tim met Barbara? In costume or out, doesn't matter

Barbara paused while plugging in a cable in her new watchtower headquarters. “Richard John Grayson, did you really think after all these years you could sneak up on me?” she said without turning around putting as much of a stern librarian into her voice as she could and forcing herself not to smile. “Nah Babs” came the answer from the shadows “I was just trying to prove a point to someone” that made her turn her wheelchair around. There was Dick, he’d changed his look. It was much better, no more gold a black and blue suit, however she was going to have to do something about the hair. There was a short figure half hiding behind Dick. The costume had the familiar elements, Reds and Greens and a cape lined in Yellow, it wasn’t the same as Dick’s or poor Jason’s but she knew who he was before Dick said it. “This is the new Robin, Robin meet Barbara Gordon!”

Dick had a big smile on and Barbara matched it. Years of lying make you a great actress when you need to be. Meeting Jason hadn’t made her sad, then again Dick hadn’t died. She thought the real reason though was she was worried one day some girl, some girl who could walk, would show up and Bruce would hand out her name, and her costume and there’d be some one else who was Batgirl. Barbara shook the thought away, she was different she’d come up with the name, the costume, Bruce had no claim to it, and any ways unlike Jason she was here to see it, Bruce would never be so cruel.

She reached out her hand “hey sport, what’s your real name” The kid scuffed his boots on the ground and blushed a deep red. He was wearing way too much hair gel which made it look like a porcupine was sitting on his head. “Um… well, Bruce, wants to keep that um to just us?” his voice kind of cracked at the end. She looked at Dick and arched an eyebrow. “who, Dick, in this context is ‘us’?” Dick had the good grace to look embarrassed “well right now it’s me, Alfred and Bruce, he doesn’t want to risk any one else knowing, not after…” the room got quiet for a long moment. “You got a killer set up here” the kid broke the silence. “Know a lot about computers kid?” Barbara smiled something in common. “Oh yeah totally, I mean thats a big part of why I wanted to come over here” He looked embarrassed again “I mean other than to meet you ma'am”

“you ever call me ma'am again kid I’ll break your leg, got it? it’s Barbara, or Babs, or Oracle if we’re working”

“yes-” he paused like he was trying to figure out which to use “Oracle” she rolled her eyes, it was a start. “Dick get lost you can’t even work a microwave, plus you’re making new Robin all jumpy with your original Robin bullshit”

“oh no he’s not”

“hey am not”

“you’re both shitty liars, out Grayson out” Dick bowed and winked at her before waving to the new kid and doing a backflip out the window. Barbara settled into work with the kid, drawing out little details of his life, she’d already slipped a tracker onto him but it was always more fun to work things out from the clues.

#tim Drake #barbara gordon #Dick Grayson #writting #fanfic

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bitchinbios-blog · 7 years

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“But if Bruce taught me anything, it’s that you have to have a game plan for everything, even for death.”

DATABASE HISTORY:

The world has a way of working in which a moment that seems entirely inconsequential can later be brought back in a much more significant setting. For Timothy Drake, this moment occurred when he was four years old and attending Haley’s Circus with his parents Jack and Janet Drake. Tim’s father asked if the circuses main attraction, the Flying Graysons, would take a photo with them and the acrobats agreed. The youngest Grayson, Dick, paid Tim special attention and promised that he would dedicated his performance to him. Afterwards Tim and his parents went to their seats and the Graysons started the show.

There was no way of anyone knowing that the high wire was going to snap, or that one day Richard Grayson would become Tim’s adopted brother. As soon as the John and Mary Grayson fell to their death, Tim’s parents rushed him out of the tent to spare their son from seeing the tragedy. They weren’t fast enough though, and Tim witnessed the Batman himself consoling the desolate Dick before he made it outside. The photo that was taken of the two families was later sent to Dick by the Drakes because they felt bad for him, and that was the last time that Tim thought about it for five years.

At the age of nine, Tim watched some footage of Batman and his partner Robin and made a huge revelation. The move Robin was doing was a quadruple somersault, and that was so rare that only a flying Grayson could do it. After a little research, Tim found that Dick Grayson had become the ward of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Connecting the dots that numerous adults had missed, Tim realized that Batman and Robin were none other than Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne. Choosing to keep this information to himself, Tim watched their exploits for years through Dick’s shift to Nightwing and the arrival of the second Robin, Jason Todd. When Jason abruptly died shortly after, Tim noted the change in the Batman and deduced that he actually needed a Robin for the sake of his sanity.

When Nightwing, aka an older Dick Grayson, traveled away from Gotham to work with the Teen Titans Tim decided to follow him. The two ended up solving a case in the place that they had originally met as innocent children, Haley’s Circus, and Tim made Dick realize that Bruce needed help. His former partner decided to help him as Nightwing, but Tim insisted that Bruce needed a Robin. Dick ignored Tim’s theory and went to help Bruce, only for them both to be taken by Two-Face.

At only thirteen years old, Tim went to Wayne Manor and spoke with Alfred Pennyworth who helped equip him in the Robin costume. With the proper gear, Tim was able to save both Dick and Bruce and made the plea to become the next Robin. Bruce was reluctant but relented and agreed that Tim could be Robin on a trial basis. The next several months consisted of Tim being trained by Alfred, Bruce and Dick before he was allowed to wear the costume again or go out into the field.

Before Tim was introduced as Robin however, a criminal by the name of the Obeah Man kidnapped Tim’s parents while they were on vacation in the Caribbean with plans to sacrifice them. Bruce managed to save the two and stop the Obeah Man, but not before Janet and Jack drank some water laced with poison. Janet died from the substance, and Jack was left in a coma with paralysis. Bruce began to doubt if Tim should be Robin as he now had a reason for vengeance, which had destroyed Jason, but Tim reiterated that he wanted to do what was right and not get revenge. After he saved Bruce and the reporter Vicki Vale from the Scarecrow, Bruce allowed Tim to officially become Robin and gave him his own costume.

The training didn’t stop there though. Even though Tim had what he wanted for so long, he then began to have doubts. Bruce reassured him that he had not only earned the role but had Bruce’s faith in him, because he wanted someone who not only had guts but was smart and Tim possessed both of those traits plus some. Before Batman would let Robin on the streets of Gotham he took him on a world tour overseas in order to help Tim figure out who he was in addition to improving on his fighting skills. During this time Tim crossed paths with Lady Shiva and King Snake, but when he refused to kill King Snake at Shiva’s command he proved himself to Bruce as ready and was brought back to Gotham to begin his tenure.

Tim soon proved himself to be a different Robin than Jason or Dick had been. He was more reserved than Dick had been, and since he wasn’t raised an acrobat, he had to work harder on his fighting and physical prowess. Even though Tim was a fine fighter, Bruce had a rule in place that if Tim was to ever encounter one of the rogues known for killing (ie the Joker or Two-Face), he was to not engage and call in backup. That rule was disobeyed during one of Tim’s first solo cases in Gotham, when Tim ended up getting stuck in a confrontation with the Joker himself. The Joker had killed Jason Todd and was initially confused as to why he was back and if he had actually murdered the boy, but realizing that Tim was a new Robin he vowed to kill him as well. Using his intellect and skill however, Tim was able to defeat the Joker and sent him back to Arkham where the criminal made it known that Tim was his to kill.

Shortly after this, Jack Drake awoke from his coma. Tim helped him secure a house next to Wayne Manor so he could continue being Robin, but things didn’t go smoothly. Before the coma Jack had often been preoccupied with work, but after he wanted to develop a closer relationship with his son. Jack would eventually grow resentful of how close Bruce and Tim were and would site Tim’s constant disappearances as his son trying to avoid spending time with him.

When the Cluemaster was released from jail as cured, clues still popped up around Gotham and Batman and Robin decided to handle the case. While attempting to stop Arthur Brown, Tim noticed a girl in purple fleeing the scene and followed her. Thinking that she was helping Cluemaster, Tim caught and unmasked her only to find a blonde teenager who was his own age. The girl, Stephanie Brown, went by Spoiler and was actually the daughter of Cluemaster who was trying to stop her father. Tim and Bruce allied with her to catch her father, and after that Tim made sure to work with her some more and the two became friends.

Tim’s father began seeing a therapist by the name of Dana, and the two were eventually wed. The couple had been together a while when Tim got a phone call that his father needed to speak to him immediately. There was an intruder in the Drake household and a note with a gun stating that Jack needed to protect himself. Jack told Tim over the phone that he was proud of him and whatever happened was not his fault. When Tim managed to get home he found both his father and Captain Boomerang dead, as he had used the gun at the same time the hired killer had attacked. Tim was devastated at the loss of both of his parents, and shortly after Donna had a mental breakdown and was placed in a mental hospital in Bludhaven. The hospital was later overrun with crime and Donna went missing and was presumed dead.

Bruce offered to officially adopt Tim, but Tim refused and hired an actor to pretend to be his Uncle Eddie. Bruce easily saw through it and wasn’t offended, but instead offered to help Tim make a better cover-up story. Eventually, Tim relented and let Bruce adopt him. He then continued to serve as Robin while testing the boundaries and developing a little more independence to the point where he was able to pass along the Robin mantle to Damian Wayne when he was dropped into Bruce’s life. It was surprising to find that Bruce had fathered a child with Talia al Ghul, but Tim saw it as the perfect chance to take up the alias of Red Robin and experiment a bit.

DATABASE CONNECTIONS:

BRUCE WAYNE has become like a father to Tim, even though he wasn’t an orphan and had a father. He had to beg Bruce to let him be Robin after what happened to Jason, and he’s been working hard to not let him down ever since. Bruce isn’t perfect, but Tim is determined to make him proud. He needs a Robin. Batman just works better that way, and Tim knows that he can be the Robin that he needs.

DAMIAN WAYNE took the Robin mantle from Tim when Bruce decided to work with him, but Tim got over that. He and Damian have fought a few times with their fists and tried to work together once although their dislike of each other and difference in fighting skills made that hard. Tim’s trying to like the kid though. He just makes it very, very hard to do that.

DICK GRAYSON is Tim’s big brother. This is speaking in adopted terms, of course, but that doesn’t matter to either of them. Dick is a little more lighthearted than Tim at times, but they both have their strengths as Robin. From the moment Tim took a picture with Dick before the final Flying Grayson performance, he’s been his hero. Now they’re family and Tim is glad to have him around.

JASON TODD was the Robin before Tim, but Tim never got to meet his predecessor because he was murdered by the Joker. Tim knows what happened to Jason, and it’s really sad. He didn’t want to replace him, just keep the legacy going. There’s been a new guy in town though, the Red Hood, and Tim has some creeping suspicions even though he hasn’t said anything yet.

STEPHANIE BROWN may be the daughter of a criminal, but she’s become a friend of Tim’s. Stephanie shamelessly flirts with him both in and out of costume, but so far Tim has been showing her how to be a real hero because he knows that she won’t give up the cowl. There’ll be time for flirting later once she has actual skills and not just good intentions.

DATABASE QUICKFACTS:

✖ TEAM AFFILIATION→ batfamily ✖ THREAT LEVEL → moderate ✖ HOME CITY → gotham ✖ FC NEGOTIABILITY → mild ✖ FC RECCOMENDATIONS → logan lerman, josh hutchinson

GIF HUNTS: [ X ] [ X ] [ X ]

TIMOTHY DRAKE is currently MIA.

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