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luxaofhesperides · 3 months

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Soulmark AU + Sleeping Beauty ; requested by @candeartist422!

For the last few years, Duke’s been waiting for his soulmate to die.

It sounds cruel to say it that way. But the waiting is more painful, he thinks, than just mourning a lost love. It’s not like most people ever meet their soulmates anyways; his parents weren’t meant to be, but they still loved each other and had a life together. He wishes he could turn his focus away from his soulmate, but Duke is a romantic at heart and has always wanted to find the other half of his soul.

But since he was fourteen, his soulmark has dulled, fading in and out of color. What was once a vibrant blue crystal star, with eight points and a swirl of watercolor hues around it, dimmed more and more until Duke was sure he was watching his soulmate die slowly.

His soulmate didn’t die then. Whoever they are got better, his soulmark gaining color, but it never went back to the way it was. For years after, Duke would check at the beginning and end of each day, keeping track of when it faded and when it regained its color.

He thought his soulmate was sick. In and out of hospitals, fighting to stay alive.

And then it went nearly colorless.

Duke doesn’t remember much about that day. He knows he woke up, brushed his teeth, the lifted up his shirt to check his soulmark in the mirror. The blue was almost completely gone, the star on his left hipbone nearly gray with how colorless it was. He started at it for a moment, shocked, and reality slid away from him as he retreated into the safety of his mind, fully dissociating.

Bruce had found him when Duke didn’t show up for breakfast. He held him and offered quiet words of comfort that Duke couldn’t understand, but just having someone with him lessened the hurt of losing his soulmate.

Seeing the color come back the next day, faint as it was, hurt even more.

A year later, Duke still can’t break the habit of checking his soulmark twice a day. It hasn’t changed at all, still faint and dim, but carrying just enough color to show that his soulmate was still alive. At the very least, they were still breathing, but his chance of ever meeting them is basically zero. Still, he can’t help but hope, wishing that he could meet them even once before they die and leave him forever.

“Same as ever,” he murmurs to himself as he brushes his thumb against his soulmark. He’s terrified that he’s forgotten how beautiful the blue of it was when his soulmate was healthy.

Duke doesn’t let himself think on it too much anymore. Though his thoughts often turn to his soulmate during quiet moments like these, the busy nature of Gotham is usually more than enough to pull his attention back to the here and now. There’s no use in obsessing over his soulmate anyways; they’re just going to die, sooner or later, and Duke knows he’ll never get to meet them. They’ll just be another empty space in his life, right next to his parents.

“Come on, Thomas, focus,” he tells himself firmly, then gets dressed and heads down to the kitchen for breakfast.

The manor is quiet. It usually is in the mornings, with everyone from the night shift dead asleep and trying to get as much rest as they can before they have to start their day. Not that many of them stay in the manor these days; Duke and Damian are the only permanent residents at the moment, but Steph usually stays half with her mom and half in the manor during the summers when she’s home from college, and the others drop in whenever they feel like it.

Bruce lives more in the Batcave than the manor, so he doesn’t really count. It’s also why Duke is surprised to see Bruce awake and dressed like a normal person, drinking coffee in the kitchen as if this is a normal occurrence.

“Morning,” Duke offers.

“Good morning, Duke,” Bruce replies. “Sleep well?”

“Well enough. Alfred out or something?”

“He may have kicked me out of the Batcave to clean it up a bit,” Bruce answers tiredly. “Want me to make breakfast?”

Duke has heard the horror stories of Bruce’s attempts to make edible food in a kitchen. In the interest of not dealing with food poisoning, Duke shakes his head quickly and says, “Nah, it’s fine. I was kinda wanting to eat out for breakfast. Get out there as me, and not a mask, you know?”

“Mind if I join you? Alfred may forgive me for not sleeping if I willingly go outside.”

Duke laughs. “Sure man, as long as you pay.”

“I’ll drive, too.”

“What, don’t trust me behind a wheel?”

Bruce gives him a tired look, eyes dead and dull. “I have taught all my children how to drive. The day I willingly let them take the wheel when I am not actively dying is the day I’ve been replaced by a robot clone of myself who doesn’t know better yet.”

“That is… very specific. Is that a thing you usually worry about?”

“I’m Batman. I have to worry about everything.”

Yeah, that tracks. Duke wouldn’t be surprised if he has at least five contingency plans for that scenario, should it ever happen. “Well,” he says, “Right now, all you need to worry about is having your wallet and driving us down to The Foodie Nook. I’ve been craving their breakfast plates for ages.”

Bruce doesn’t object to his choice of restaurant and follows Duke down to the garage, grabbing a random set of keys and pointing it out to the many cars he owns. One near the front blinks its lights as it unlocks and Duke cheerfully tosses himself into the passenger seat as Bruce opens the garage door.

The drive into Gotham is smooth. They don’t hit traffic until they reach the bridge that leads into the city proper, taking them away from the quiet of Bristol. The morning is busy, but not enough that Duke worries about being out as the Signal to help keep the peace. It’s a normal type of busy, one borne from people going about their lives, feeling safe enough to go out.

The Foodie Nook is entirely local and very popular, so the parking lot is nearly full. But they expanded their space last year, which means he and Bruce don’t have to sit outside while they wait to grab a table. Bruce keeps conversation light and casual, well aware of the many listening ears around them, and it’s nice, feeling normal for once.

Well, as normal as life can be with Bruce Wayne™. The server who comes to lead them to a table realizes who she’s talking to after she gets a proper look at them while holding open the door and promptly stutters over her words.

“No need for any special treatment,” Bruce laughs lightly, “We’re just here for breakfast. Nothing special.”

“Of course,” she replies, cheeks red. “Um, right this way! We’ve got a table by the windows for you. Just two, yeah?”

“Yup! Just two. Thought this was a good day to spend some time with Duke. He’s a great kid, you know, I’m glad I was given the opportunity to foster him.”

The sunny, cheerful Bruce Wayne persona is so different from the usual Bruce he works with that it feels like he’s standing next to a stranger. But his words are sincere and warm his heart, filling up the gaps that his soulmate has left.

“Here you are!” their server announces, showing them to their table. “I’ll be right back with some menus.” She’s gone in a rush, and other customers glance over before quickly averting their gaze.

It’s one of the unspoken rules of Gotham: give the Waynes their privacy while they’re out in public. Questions and conversation are for public events only, but if they see a Wayne out and about during a normal day, everyone leaves them be unless spoken to first. Duke used to follow those rules as well when he was just another Gothamite. It’s strange being on the other side of that now that he’s in with the Waynes.

Duke barely has to look through the menu when it’s handed to him. The breakfast plates are his favorites and he gets one every single time he comes to The Foodie Nook; stacked full with breakfast foods from around the world. As a kid, he loved the Mexico Plate, but these days he’s craving either the Brazilian Plate or the Vietnamese Plate.

He can’t decide on which one and thinks about tossing a coin to decide, but seeing how that’s Two Face’s whole thing, he decides to hold off and settle the matter with eenie-meenie-minnie-mo.

He gets the Vietnamese Plate.

Bruce, on the other hand, reads through the entire menu like it’s a novel, then leans over and says rather loudly, “Duke, what’s a tort-illa.”

The pain he feels hearing that is only worsened by the amusement in Bruce’s eyes. He’s doing it on purpose, playing up the Brucie act for the public so he can psychologically torment Duke. A few nearby customers choke back laughter, turning away to hide their smiles.

Duke shakes his head and says, “Don’t worry about it. It’s just food. Don’t ask any more questions, I just want a peaceful breakfast.”

“Well then,” Bruce replies, “I suppose I know what to order now.”

As if she was summoned, their server reappears before them, cheeks still looking a little flushed. “Hi! Ready to order?”

She writes down their orders quickly, valiantly keeping a straight face at Bruce’s mispronunciation of tortilla, then heads off to deliver their orders to the kitchen.

Rather than draw out a conversation with Brucie Wayne, Duke settles for playing a few idle games on his phone; his current favorite is one quiet cat cafe game where he directs cats into fulfilling cafe orders.

Bruce, despite being out in his civilian identity, is working. He’s on his Batman phone, which looks the same as his other cell phones except this one has a bat symbol sticker just barely hiding a Superman sticker on the phone case. His brow is slightly furrowed as he reads whatever file he’s accessing from the Batcomputer. It’s a little worrying but it could be anything. Bruce makes the same expression when he reads one of Tim’s snarky comments getting quoted in the news.

But that’s not Duke’s problem! He’s here to enjoy his breakfast and it will take the end of the world itself to remove him from his seat before he’s done eating.

The game takes most of his attention until their food comes out, and by then Bruce has tucked away the smallest of his Batman mannerisms. They enjoy a normal, peaceful breakfast. Bruce ends it by asking their server if she has any debt that’s weighing her down, then giving her a tip that’s at least five thousand dollars above that.

She does cry and Bruce hugs her. It’s very sweet.

As soon as they get back into the car, his easy going smile drops and Duke knows some superhero nonsense is about to take over his day.

“Duke,” Bruce starts, seriously, “I received a message from Zatanna.”

“Don’t drag this out,” Duke says, “Just give it to me straight. What terrible thing is about to happen to us?”

“It’s nothing too big. They just recently defeated a magical being who had been tearing apart secret government facilities in Illinois. He had both magic and a high tech weapon, which they confiscated and are delivering to me. The government agency he was fighting was suspiciously interested in the weapon, and based on their behaviors and newly revealed work, Zatanna made the decision to turn the weapon over to us so it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.”

Bruce smoothly merges into traffic as he speaks, getting them onto the road back to the manor. There’s a look in his eyes that means he’s keeping a lot unsaid, and Duke knows without a doubt that whatever this government agency was doing is bad if Zatanna needs Batman to act as extra security.

He’s not sure about her decision to trust the weapon to be safe in Gotham, either. Sure, Batman will keep it as safe as he can, but with their luck, it’ll end up in the hands of a Rogue and lead to a lot of death and destruction.

As soon as they cross the bridge and return to Bristol, Bruce steps on the gas and the car tears down the road. Without any other cars to worry about (or traffic laws), it takes barely two minutes to reach the manor, when the gates open for them and let them into the garage.

Alfred waits for them by the door, looking them over with a critical eye. “I see you have managed to go outside, Master Bruce. What’s the special occasion?”

“Just breakfast,” Bruce answers. “I’m heading back down to the Batcave. Zatanna will be here soon to deliver a weapon.” He’s gone before Alfred can say anything more, hurrying down the hall and turning the corner, disappearing from sight as he heads towards his office.

“I see we have yet to break that bad habit of his. Did you enjoy your morning out, Master Duke?”

“Sure did, Alfred. I’m, uh, also going down to the Batcave. He’s definitely not telling me a lot about what’s going on, so I’m just going to read about it over his shoulder. I’ll be back up for lunch, though!”

“And perhaps you’ll be able to drag Master Bruce away from that cave of his,” Alfred comments wryly as he walks with Duke towards the office. He gives Duke a nod, then splits away from him, returning to the kitchen where Duke can hear Damian speaking to someone, probably Tim by the annoyed tone of his voice, and mentally wishes Alfred luck in handling them.

Duke sets the correct time on the clock in Bruce’s office and heads down to the Batcave, taking the steps two at a time.

Bruce is already at the Batcomputer, shoulders tensed, when he arrives.

“More bad news?” he asks as he makes his way over.

Bruce doesn’t bother looking away from the screen as he says, “More details about the fight. It seems the magical being called himself a ghost and was going on a rampage due to a betrayal. He says they nearly killed his son.”

“Oh, yikes.”

“And two of the scientists working with the government agency said that he stole their son and is keeping them from saving him.”

“Yikes,” Duke says with more feeling.

He doesn’t get to hear anymore details about JLD’s fight with this ghost when he catches a flicker in the corner of his eye. Duke turns and stares at the empty space in the Batcave near the medbay and watches as colorful magic gathers and swirls in dizzing circles. The portal opens a moment later and Zatanna steps out, looking exhausted and lightly singed.

“Batman,” she greets, holding a white gun that looks like it belongs in an early sci-fi movie from the 60s. “The GIW is trying to arrest us. Constantine keeps burning their badges and documents so it shouldn’t be a problem, but they are determined to get this back. I wouldn’t be surprised if they came after you next. They’ve got some way of tracking things, but I didn’t have time to get any details before I had to leave.”

Bruce takes the gun from her hands carefully, looking it over with a sharp gaze. “Why would a ghost want to use a gun?”

“I don’t know. He had a variety of powers, too.”

“What does this do?”

“Shoots ice. He never let it go and nearly burned me alive for taking it before we subdued him.”

“We’ll keep it locked up,” Bruce promises.

Zatanna sighs. It looks as though a physical weight fell off her shoulders. “Thanks. I’m going to head back to stop Constantine from getting into a fistfight with the GIW agents.”

She opens another portal with a waved hand and a muttered spell. Bruce is already walking away to set the gun down on a work station, so Duke is the one to wave Zatanna goodbye.

By the time he reaches Bruce’s side, the gun is already dismantled, all pieces neatly set aside. Sticky notes denote which pieces go together and in what order. It looks the same as most guns, save for the aesthetic, but the heart of it is a glowing blue orb, large enough to cover the entirety of Bruce’s palm, and it brings a chill to the air.

Duke stares at it and feels his soulmark burn ice cold.

“Duke?”

It’s in his hands. He doesn’t remember reaching out to take it, but it’s in his hands. He can’t take his eyes off of it, cradling it gently and bringing it closer to his chest.

It’s the same blue his soulmark once was. Before his soulmate began to fade, before every day became a waiting game to see how long his soulmate will last before they die.

This has something to do with his soulmate. He’s sure of it.

He won’t let anyone take it from him.

“Duke. Give that to me.”

He doesn’t feel like he’s in his body. He’s detached, floating somewhere outside his body, puppeteering his limbs, making them move without feeling the motion. Shadows condense around his feet and Bruce takes a step back, wary.

“Duke,” he says again, but Duke can’t find any words, can’t draw on his voice, can’t even look away from the bright, bright blue of the orb. It pulses lightly in his hand like a heartbeat.

Bruce reaches a hand out.

He’s pulled back by shadows before he can get close, and Duke holds the orb against his chest, right against his heart, and feels the cold seep into him.

“Duke. I need you to look at me.” This time, Bruce’s voice has Batman’s growl in it, a heavy command that he can’t help but instinctively follow. He looks up and meets Bruce’s eyes, but he can’t focus. All his awareness is in his hands and the heartbeat of the glowing orb.

“I have to protect this,” Duke manages to whisper. “I… I think it’s alive.”

“Okay. Let’s get you to the medbay so you can sit down. We’ll figure this out, Duke.”

Bruce slowly, carefully, sets his hand on Duke’s shoulder. He keeps his attention away from the orb, so Duke allows it and lets Bruce guide him to the medbay and onto one of the medical cots. Bruce leaves him after a minute of quiet fussing, muttering about calling Zatanna.

Whatever. None of that matters when the heartbeat of the orb grows stronger, steadier, and Duke feels it match the beat of his own heart.

Time slips away from him. Distantly, he hears people move around the cave, speaking in low tones. A hand presses against his shoulder, warm, then moves away.

The orb in his hand moves.

Duke blinks slowly, then claws his way back to awareness, pushing past the haze that’s fallen over his mind. The orb turns over in his hand, then cracks right down the middle. The glow grows stronger, washing the medbay in blue light and a symbol appears on the orb.

It’s his soulmark.

Later, he won’t be able to say why he did it. There were no thoughts, no reasonings, no explanations. Duke simply moved on instinct and lifted the orb up to his face and pressed a soft kiss against it.

One moment, the orb was still.

The next, it had burst in a flash of light that blinded everyone in the Batcave, and then a thin, injured teenager had fallen into Duke’s lap.

Hands immediately grab him, pulling him away from Duke. The teenager puts up no fight, eyes barely open, but he reaches for Duke weakly. On his wrist is the bright blue snowflake, the color strong and vivid.

“That’s me soulmate,” Duke whispers as he watches Bruce and Tim set the boy down on another medical cot.

“What?” Tim says, turning to face Duke, concern clear on his face.

“That’s my soulmate,” he repeats, louder. Then, panicked, he pulls up his shirt enough to see his own soulmark; the color is still dull, weak, barely there, but it’s more blue that it has been in a while. He doesn’t need to say anything. Tim sees the dullness of his soulmark, looks at the boy, and puts the pieces together on his own.

“I’ll call Doc Thompkins,” he says, already moving to fix everything. Bruce remains where he is, making sure the boy is tucked in and breathing steadily before he returns to Duke.

“Are you alright?”

Duke swallows roughly, unable to tear his eyes away from the boy. He’s pale and thin, as if he’d been starved, and there’s frost beginning to spread on the bedsheet from his fingers. “He’s my soulmate,” Duke manages to say. “He’s been dying for two years.”

Bruce’s eyes a hard, a determined light in them. “We’ll save him,” he promises.

If anyone can, it’s Batman.

If anyone can, it’s them, Batman and the Signal, and their entire network of family and friends.

Duke’s been waiting for his soulmate to die all this time. Now, he’s going to save him.

#ghostlights #dc x dp #dp x dc #dcxdp #dpxdc #prompt fill #my writing #i dont really know much abt jld so they are not really in here #just duke trying to live his life and have a nice day with bruce #when his soul mate gets thrown at him in the form of an ORB #(ghost core but they dont know that yet)#dannys gonna have to answer so many questions once hes awake bc not many know abt realms beings #its gonna be rough for him bc he's been asleep for 2 years in his core bc he was never safe enough to recover #until duke gave him a boost (plus the power of soulmates really helped him) and he woke up #in a cave with his soulmate and a whole crew of superheroes #what a thing to open ur eyes to. rip danny lol #thanks for the prompt!

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chungmyunglover · 1 month

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DCxDP au

I read this au where Talia apparently killed the flings of Bruce and the children with said flings. Like Bruce isn't aware of their existence and Talia tracks them down and kills them. She killed them so Damian is Bruce's only heir .she wanted to make sure he was the only one. She was unaware of Danny . He was adopted by the Fentons at the age of 4. The Fentons absolutely adored him. They still do.

Jazz wanted to be an older sister but since jack and Maddie are around ecto 24/7/365 they were unable to give her one. They jumped at the chance of adopting Danny when police found out his mom was dead. They found him wandering the streets of Amity . They were compelled to adopt him right then and there. They don't know why though.(The city already adopted him.The Fentons are her knights. That is why they aren't chased out of Amity for their craziness. The first Gen of knights were witches.The Fentons are the descendants.The Amity Parker's love the Fentons,even if they don't admit it.)

When he became a ghost,he became Amity s Knight.(Gotham,Amity,and Metropolis are triplet cities.Amity is the oldest, Gotham is the second oldest, Metropolis is the youngest.They all have their Knights.

Amity has Phantom (Danny) and Red Huntress (Valerie) . (I know not very OG)

Gotham has the entire Batfam

Metropolis has mainly Superman.

He had a total of like 4 kids and Danny is one of them.She killed them(-Danny) but they became part of the Infinite Realms and have high power in it.

Danny dies(well,half dies ) like he did in Canon.After defeating Pariah Dark ,the reveal goes great. He becomes High King of the Infinite Realms and gets to meet his siblings. They absolutely adore him. They are all at least 6 months apart.

Danny is 18 (Male)

Marianne is 18 1/2(Female

Nathaniel is 19 (Male)

Julianne is 20(Female)

They all have high status in the Realms. Danny views Dani as his daughter. Danny's siblings all love their niece. When they meet Jazz,they absolutely love her. They instantly claim her as theirs. Lord don't have mercy on anyone who takes romantic interest in her. She has Infinite Realms on her side,her family, Amity Parker's,4 siblings,and a niece.

She and Nathaniel were born on the same day and year They consider themselves twins in a jokingly manner and everyone rolls with it.

Damian tells his family about what Talia did.The Batfam ain't happy knowing they could have had 4 siblings. Damian says he wouldn't mind sharing the legacy with them. He is upset as he was there during the aftermath of their deaths. They are under the impression all are dead but they actually are, except Danny who is only half dead.

Damian is only 15 and a party is thrown. Constantine informs the Batfam the Infinite Realms royalty came to the party,so they should be on their best behavior. A Batfam member sees the 10 of them at the party.(Danny, Tucker ,Sam Marianne,Nathaniel,Julianne,Danielle, Jazz ,Jack and Maddie ).They see Danny's,and Nathaniel's resemblance to Thomas Wayne. They also see Marianne and Julianne's resemblance to Martha Wayne .They take a test and what do you know!

A perfect DNA match to the 4 dead kids and the fifth one being an apparent daughter of one of them. The Batfam member runs to Bruce with the impression the party is over and shouts it out as he enters the room. Only for the party to have been continuing and staring at the Batfam member .Damian heard and looked at them. They all book it as the Ballroom erupts in chaos.

Bruce is going through all 4 stages of depression in a matter of seconds.Damian is sorrowful at the fact his existence killed them. Batfam are now fully aware they are Infinite Realms royalty. Constantine is being contacted on his soul's extended warranty.

#Bruce Has 3 Fully Dead Kids #Bruce Has One Half-Dead Kid #Bruce Has A Grand-daughter #Bruce Tries To Adopt Them #Amity Parker's Stop Him #Amity Park Stops Him #Fenton's Stop Him #They Don't Like Him #Damian Is Still Feeling Quilty That His Existence Killed Them #dpxdc #Danny Phantom #Sam Manson #Tucker Foley #John Constantine's Soul's Extended Warranty #Lol #dcxdp

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nanenna · 3 months

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Today I remembered that my favorite thing about having so many AUs is to pick up 2 AUs like Barbie dolls and clack their faces together while making smooching noises.

Behold my beloved DCxDP AU amalgamation monster: DeamonTwinAU and PhantomThiefAU (aka: Selina gives Danny a slutty slutty cat suit, good times)

The story vaguely goeth thusly: Danny is a halfa, the Balance, the Bridge Between Worlds, he is....... the Observants' glorified gofer. You see, there are a lot of cursed/enchanted/ghostly artefacts floating around loose in the living Realm and they need Danny to go retrieve them. Danny would rather not, but they just won't leave him alone about it. Can't a guy just live? At least let him poop in peace! Ancients! Fine, he'll do it if it'll get them to shut up. (Spoiler: it does, in fact, not get them to shut up.)

But you see, Danny has a secret: he was raised in an assassin ninja cult (at least for the early years) before getting adopted by the Fentons. Now the killing? Not a fan, no thanks, he's working on not increasing his kill count, thx. But the sneaking? He could use that. Sneaky ninjas are also good thieves, right? So he cobbles together a knock off League of Assassins outfit, buys a cheap portable lock picking set, and decides to make a game of how far can he get without using his powers (much. He's new at this okay?)

Batman is not having fun. There's some (possible?) League assassin running around stealing verified cursed/magical artefacts! Is Talia planning something? Is Ra's planning something? (Isn't he for real dead? Silly reader, no one is ever for real dead in DC.)

Robin is super frustrated. For all the same reasons Batman is but also because he just knows this new rogue is taunting him. Personally. Because he's Damian al Ghul Wayne and the whole world revolves around him, obviously. (And also because he once pointed at Robin and laughed before jumping out a window.)

Selina is intrigued. Who is this kid? How does he know what to go after? How does he keep evading the bats? Luckily she runs into him mid heist (fortunately they had different targets, she's intrigued but not enough to hand over her shinies to him) and oh he's adorable! She has to train him, it would drive Brucie up the wall. But then she sees his face and oh, she knows exactly who he is, even if he seems oblivious.

Because Danny? He's in Gotham for the ecto, for the Thomas Wayne full ride scholarship he managed to snag, and also because for some reason Gotham is full of so many cursed/ghost artefacts. (Lady Gotham is seething, she worked hard to collect all those curses! But this is her beloved dark knight's kid and she kinda wants him home. But she also doesn't want to give up her curses!) Back to the point: Danny doesn't care about ANY of the rich bougie people. The Waynes give out a lot of scholarships? Cool, that's nice and all. They probably also rub elbows with Vlad or Sam's parents. No thanks. Doesn't care. He's got better things to worry about.

Selina has got a plan though! She's gonna teach this boy how to thief properly, starting with better tools (including the slutty, slutty cat burglar outfit). She also knows that she can't let any of the Waynes (in or out of costume) meet Danny (out of costume). So does Lady Gotham. So does the universe apparently (or just Clockwork maybe), because all kinds of unlikely things keep happening to prevent it.

Danny is having so much fun though! He's learning new skills. Selina is giving him an allowance so he's not living off ramen and peanut butter sandwiches, he's doing well in school, he gets to stretch his ghost powers regularly to go above the smog cover and star gaze in peace. Everything's coming up Danny.

Selina decides it's time to flaunt her find in front of Brucie and makes Danny go to a gala as her date, she spends the entire time clinging to his arm and introducing him around to everyone. Including Bruce himself (who just so happens to have Damian in tow). Danny may not recognize Bruce, but he sure recognizes Damian, and Damian recognizes him if his utterly flabbergasted face is anything to go by. But Danny remembers what it was like living in the League. And so far as he knows Damian is still in it, he was the Demon Head's heir after all. Damian made sure of it.

Oh it. Is. ON! Now Danny is on a mission! A sibling rivalry mission! He is going to make Damian's/Robin's a living hell. Selina going on a heist that has no magical artefacts? Danny's there anyway, always have back up. That necklace in the museum has barely any powers and he wasn't even going to bother with it? Too bad, it's back on the list. He has no reason to be out at all but the bats are on patrol? Well so is Danny. Catch him if you can, suckers!

It's good for Danny, it's enrichment!

#dpxdc #dc x dp #dc comics #batman #danny phantom #nenna writes #just having fun playing with my legos #snap these two pieces together and see what we can build

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wandixx · 2 months

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Ghost of fries and hero of cookies part 6

All work words count: 14 643

Words in this part: 2 686

Summary of whole work: Duke wasn't expecting to wake up from his quick rooftop nap to some meta kid with fries. He also wasn't expecting kid to stay

Danny asked Dani to stay safe while she was in Gotham. Where would she be safer than under the wing of local hero? And he looked like he needed bad day combo anyway

This part summary: Batman wants an explanation. His kids however, wouldn't be themselves if they did add some chaos

Beta read by @audhumla-sailor though English is second language for both of us, so proceed with this in mind. I also know all of the charaters through fics alone, so probably ooc. Stay catious if it's something you don't like

First part, Previous part

“Signal.”

Duke bit back a sigh as his last hope to leave Cave undiscovered disappeared. He shot Steph message of:

Having The Talk. Come as moral support

and turned around to face Bruce.

“Yes?”

B grunted in disapproving and ‘Signal report’ way but Duke decided to buy some time and answer only questions that were actually asked. He slowly sat at the briefing table and looked at the man expectantly.

Lift chimed and moments later Tim and Cass went to Batcomputer and training mats respectively. Duke was, like, 80% sure they were there to eavesdrop. He knew them well enough. He knew them well enough.

“The girl”

“Izzy?” Was Duke annoying on purpose? Yes. He really didn’t want to have this talk. Like, at all. Psychological warfare it was “I mean, I know she is civilian and you don’t approve but at least she isn’t doing anything illegal, right? Like, you know, robbing museums or killing people?”

Bruce looked repulsed and Tim snorted.

“Low blow Narrows, low blow” Jason announced through speakers. He was slightly winded as if he just finished a fight “Good job kid”

“So you’re listening too, great” Duke muttered under his breath before louder he added “Is everyone who wants in on a show, here already?”

“Give me a sec- here Dick you’re going live now”

“Thanks Babs, you’re the best”

“I know. Donuts, you know which one”

“Of course. Glad we’re finally going to talk about Duke’s kid”

“Shut up, she is not my kid!”

“Steph ETA 2 minutes” Cass interrupted.

At least Damian didn’t show up- as if summoned by this thought Damian stomped down the stares, Alfred the Cat curled in his arms. Maybe others had a point, calling him Demon kid and stuff.

“What is an emergency?” he demanded and Duke decided to take what little relief he could from the fact that Bruce seemed equally defeated by sheer number of people around for this talk.

“It seems like… oh, literally everyone lost an adoption bet” Babs explained. Huh, so Steph didn’t change her stance.

Damian looked genuinely terrified as he muttered “No” eyes darting between everyone present in silent calculation.

“Oh, shut up” Duke whined knowing all too well his stalling had to come to the end. Maybe it was wishful thinking but he almost heard roar of engine of Steph’s motorcycle. Her presence would be double edged sword but she would help him advocate for Dani and that was more important.

“Thomas, what have you done?!” if it was anyone other than Damian, Duke would call sound he made a whine. As it was, he preferred his entrails to stay inside and since the boy showed up, called by thought, the older boy preferred not to take risks.

“Nothing, Babs is overreacting”

“Don’t deny it. She went about it kinda Tim Lite style but it worked”

“I don’t even know her surname, where she stays or really, anything about her life outside of our patrols, how do you expect me to go about adoption?!”

“B knew even less about me when he decided, yes this tire thief is my new son!” Jason chimed in and Duke knew he was grinning despite voice modulator.

“What from my origin story was lost to make Lite version?”

“Identities weren't breached as far as we're aware. Just ‘came one day and refuses to leave’ part and some light stalking. She was smart about it, invisible, keeping out of sight and to the hot spots. Wouldn't find her if I didn't know she was there”

“She could still just not tell, I mean I knew for years before telling anyone…”

“There is no way. Believe me, she has no brain-mouth filter, I swear”

“But-”

“She introduced herself by her first name,” Duke deadpanned ”She told me civilian names of heroes from her hometown, in context that didn't require me to do any actual research to clue me. I did anyway. I don't think she even realized she did it. If she knew our identities we would know already”

There was a moment of silence as everyone digested the thought of just how gigantic breach Dani accidentally caused.

“Well, it's as good of a proof as we can get for now,” Babs bristled.

“Who let her in on such secrets then?!” Damian sounded genuinely appalled and Duke wasn't too surprised.

Like on a cue, Steph stormed inside on her Spoiler in civies. Bruce looked about ready to get aneurysm. Duke was a bit glad that everyone was doing such good job in distraction department.

“IT’S OKAY, WHY? BECAUSE I AM HERE!” Steph yelled, jumping from before her vehicle fully stopped. She threw something small in general direction of Batcomputer “Timmy plug it in, I made a PowerPoint!”

Duke felt blood leave his face. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know what Steph put together but he probably didn't. Tim opened it anyways.

WHY HOOPOE IS ADORABLE&CHAOTIC BEAN AND SHOULD BE PART OF THE TEAM

The title slide said, one of the clearest photos of Dani from before she started wearing mask in the background. It was close-up of girl smiling, bits of brownie on her cheeks.

“Was this photo taken with a goddamn calculator?” Tim asked with disgust so clear Duke could taste it. Metaphorically of course.

“Nah, just body-cam. Her powers mess with technology a bit”

Tim still looked displeased at the craftsmanship.

“Don't worry, it's not a bad photo. Baby Bird is just being perfectionist,” Dick placated.

Duke didn't realize that Damian froze until he unfroze and made his way to the screen, stopping less than one foot away from it. His movements were rigid, his face scrunched with distress. Alfred the Cat escaped its master probably due to hoe tense he was. Everyone in Cave quietened as soon as boy took first step and expecting mood had to run through microphones because nobody from the on-line crowd quipped in.

“This is the green of Lazarus” he whispered finally, sounding actually scared. Jason swore. Bruce and Cass visibly stiffened. Tim choked and he wasn't even drinking. Dick did his whinny breezy name saying thing when he wanted explanation and felt lightly betrayed.

It was Duke's turn to freeze because… it wasn't. Of course he wasn't all that well versed in the Pit, less alone its color but he did bust quite a few trafficking rings with Jason and he saw his eyes afterwards all raging, toxic, neon green glory and it wasn't the same as Dani’s. As much as he liked English and how good he was at it, it failed him at simple task of describing the obvious difference between each other. He'd have more luck describing tastes with set of color samples from IKEA or something. And really, even if he tried he would lose the fight of competence with Damian. Who wouldn't. But-

“There is no way she has any connection with LOA”

“Why is that?” Damian seemed to misinterpret it as challenge like he always did when emotions were running high. Duke took a deep breath. Well, it was a moment to use all of his diplomatic skills and speak in the language of the demons.

“I've seen her fight. She would be utter disgrace”

“It does not prove-”

“It does” Duke interrupted with the tone and mimic of person who saw too much because he did ”None of you have any say until you watch a tiny and I mean tiny ten year old tackle five Joker goons like it's a joke, by sheer virtue of super strength and intangibility-means-I-can-ignore-bullets-Signal-don’t-be-such-worrywart. She should get shot, like, three times at least. And she kept laughing!” he was low key wheezing at the end because even after all this time (a week) it was fucking horrifying. Bruce made a huff that meant he was laughing and put a hand on his shoulder as a sign of support. Dick's lighthearted laugh sang from the speakers.

“Don't worry Duke, it never gets better” B said with mirth.

He refused to elaborate whether he meant ‘kids keep jumping into danger like there is no tomorrow‘ or ‘it's equally terrifying every time’ and Duke decided to reflect on that sentiment later. It put some things into perspective. A lot of things if he was being honest.

Also, he was not ready for stuff like that to become even semi-normal occurrence. He was ready to give her all of his Alfred cookies if it could change anything. He knew it wouldn't.

“Do you have any other evidence that your new acquaintance does not just fake being less experienced to make you lower your guard?” Damian asked warily.

“I had to teach her out of putting her thumb in her fist,” he deadpanned. Several people hissed in empathetic pain. Steph coughed to bring attention to where she stood in front of Batcomputer, other slide of her Power Point open. Duke recognised video from his body-cam.

“Exhibit A” she announced. She played a video with Dani’s first mugging attempt he witnessed. Let it be said, it was a disaster.

“Exhibit B '' One of Dani’s most epic fails at side-kick that ended with her falling face first to the ground.

“Exhibit C” Dani fumbled with zip-ties, looking at him utterly at loss.

“Exhibit D” the talk about her prior training.

“What’s was that sound?” Dick obviously on the verge of cooing when girl on video growled. Steph stopped video.

“Very angry kitten” Tim stated with soft smile.

“Honestly, furious girl” Cass corrected “She was really mad at you”

“Yeah, I know but promise of Alfred’s cookies was enough to placate her”

“You gave her Alfred’s cookies?!”

“She started by giving me a lot of food on a really shitty patrol, had to repay somehow”

“Was it from your share or-” Dick asked like it was most important thing in the world.

“Miss Hoopoe was added to my plans after she picked her new name” Alfred explained and shit, Duke really should get used to how man just appeared sometimes. Jumpscare the original.

“Alfred, you knew?” Bruce sounded so utterly betrayed.

“I have yet to meet her but I was informed about her presence about two weeks ago”

“He caught me printing mask for her”

“About that” Steph clapped and skipped her slide show “Look at thi clueless child with such horrible disguises and codename ideas” There was whole list of every name Dani wanted to try out and photo of her bare face. Duke kinda repressed his memories of it. It was worse than he remembered.

“Did she really tried kenting that?”

“Got it after her cousin. He used his first name as part of his alias for almost half a year” Duke admitted in carefree tone, knowing it would cause a mess.

“Cousin?!” several people yelled in surprise.

“Caped cousin?!”

“Yup. Small time hero from Illinois. As far as I’m aware she’s alone in Gotham but they’re in regular contact and she has strong believe that he can and will help her if she used her panic button”

“Who in their right mind let’s kid alone in Gotham?!” Jason sounded about ready to strangle Phantom.

“He seems to be fifteen himself. And has anti-meta parents if I’m picking things up correctly. She didn’t mention them much. I highly doubt she has present parents at all, so…”

“What the hell Narrows.”

“I don’t know, it’s just a wild guess”

“Does it call for the rescue?” Steph asked eagerly.

“We’re not going to Illinois to rescue Phantom if he doesn’t ask for it. He has means to it” Bruce interrupted with bone deep sigh.

“How do you know I meant Phantom?” Duke perked up because he never mentioned this name.

“He is from Illinois, looks almost the same as far as I can tell from the photos and they share a lot of powers”

“I didn’t know you knew about random kid hero from other state?”

“He dropped by on few Justice League’s mission. There is still dispute whether we should approach him in his city or not. He was very clear on his opinion that we should stay away. I think we really shouldn’t”

“How you haven’t gone or sent anyone there yet?” Tim teased.

Bruce just stared at him then gestured at mountain of cases they were currently working on. Yes, they were printed. Apparently for man it made it easier to work on them like that.

“Can we focus back on untrained child you let join you on patrol, Duke?”

“You act like I could stop her from doing her own thing if I didn’t let her. Plus, even though she doesn’t have combat training, she can handle herself well enough. And has this damn intangibility that makes her really hard to punch”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t tell anyone other than Alfred and Steph and I wanted to wait a bit before leaving her to the wolfs”

“The bet”

“Shut up Steph”

“When did you plan on letting us know?” Bruce ignored what blonde insinuated. Duke was utterly grateful for that, he knew he would get lecture for that later but he was more than happy to leave it be for now.

“Somewhen next week. I hoped to introduce her gradually but apparently everyone knew already?”

“Kids tell me things. Hoopoe made a good impression on them” Jason explained.

“Hero sightings on Twitter” Dick admitted without a shadow of shame.

“What he said” Tim agreed “This person from crochet dolls made one for your kid too, so in public eyes she’s our already”

“For the last time, she isn’t my kid!” Duke groaned but as always went ignored.

“Nobody expected old man’s tendencies to rub on you so fast, Narrows”

“Shut up and this is half a reason I didn’t let you meet her. All of you”

“With all due respect Duke” Babs started teasingly “You gave us ammo yourself. You improved her diet, you brought her to The Food Track Of Mental Breakdowns, you teach her stuff, you check in on her almost as often as her cousin and their friends do…”

“How did you hack her pho- No, wrong question, why?!”

“We’re all paranoid bastards, I needed to check out the newest bird. She legally doesn’t exist btw so I suspect some shady stuff with her birth but otherwise nothing sus about her. Comms and trackers for her are waiting in drawer C19. You will give it to her tomorrow”

“Aye, aye captain Oracle ma’am” he joked.

“Wait, you showed her The Food Track?”

“She deserved it” he gritted out.

Before this could turn into a fight or something, Alfred demanded:

“Since we are all on the same page now, I would like to extend an invitation for family dinner to miss Hoopoe”

“We’ll eat it down here in full costumes”

“As you wish master Bruce. Master Duke make sure to let her know”

“Of course Alfred”

And he planned to do that but Dani didn’t show up. He hadn’t thought much of it because she was unpredictable like that. She tended to disappear from the face of the Earth for a day or two and return with tales of her “autograph hunting trips”

But then she didn’t show up on the next patrol too. It was unprecedented. And she hadn’t responded to the check in. Three times in the row. He was getting kinda sick from the stress.

He knew Dani well enough, she wouldn’t ghost him like that and in Gotham disappearing meant three things: getting kidnapped, trafficked or six feet under. To their knowledge, Dani didn’t have anyone who would pay ransom for her other than Signal and no demands were made so the first option was out.

Bats launched full fledged search.

Duke himself found and busted two trafficking rings in three weeks which was around how much he did in two months on a daily basis.

Thanks to Oracle, they found Dani’s utterly crashed phone in the dead end in the Narrows. It didn’t look any better.

Duke really hoped they wouldn’t be too late.

With each day it seemed more likely.

********

Bruce: *wants to have private conversation with his son about unknown child he's been working with*

All of the Batfam: Hello there

Duke: I managed to keep Dani secret my family of detectives!

Everyone other than Bruce: I knew for past two weeks, but goood job kid

Random o Twitter: I'm sooo disappointed with Signal for letting Hoopoe fight crime. She is just a little child, she shouldn't have to witness Gotham's worst

Other Random: Have you heard about Robin????? Have you seen teories that Signal is teenager???? With proofs????? Are you mad at child for not taking proper care of the other child????? That's messed up my dude/gal

Yell at Batman

Signal: You act like she isn't personification of feral cat I try to coax home so I can prevent her from getting in trouble. I dare you to try and stop her

Phantom: I do too, 100$ if you manage. It would save me from so much stress

Random: Now, who the f*ck are you?!

(Guess who never touched Twitter with 20 meters stick in her life)

Next part

Tag list: @pickleking8 @mynameisnotlaura

#dpxdc #dcxdp #dp x dc #dc x dp #dani hangs out with duke #signal got new sidekick and he cares about her deeply #it would fit more in part 2 probably but i forgot about it #Signal to Dani: Hydration check!#Dani: What? Why? Other wh words???#Signal: I care about you so I want to make sure you're taking care of yourself #Signal: Drink something #Dani: Okay cool here's a proof i'm drinking *photo of juice*#Dani to Danny: Hydration check! Drink something so I know you're okay #Danny: 👍 *sends photo of unholy mix of coffee red bull and ectoplasm with trice as much caffeine as it's legal in USA*#Dani: Glad you're being nice to your body #wandixx writes #ghost of fries and hero of cookies #have a nice day dear stranger who got to this part

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waynewifey · 9 months

Text

dear mr. wayne — b.w

part one: dear mr. wayne

part two: aftermath

part three: aporia

epilogue

summary: it’s not easy being a politician’s wife. it’s even harder to love a vigilante. months of negligence make you an easy target to his enemies.

pairing: bruce wayne/battinson x reader

genre: angst romance & dark action

warnings: swearing; smoking; kidnapping; violence; a bit of gore; “you” is she/her; bruce is the worst husband ever btw

word count: 2.8k

A/N: i wrote this back in january 2022 when the batman movie had just premiered, so kinda off the hype here. i hope you enjoy it anyway. already working on part 2, let me know if you guys would like it! also, this has taken a path way darker than i had in mind so i’m sorry if it’s too much. comments are appreciated!

gotham city, USA.

it's late.

you have no clock nearby, but you feel it in your bones. in your muscles too. it's too late and bruce should be home already. laying in the sofa, only half conscious, you regret telling alfred to go to bed. at least you wouldn't be alone. of course, being married to the batman you knew he would patrol at night often. you were okay with it. but lately bruce had been too focused on his other, and recent, goal: running for mayor. at first it seemed out of character, he was never good with the public or the press. but he stared at thomas wayne's painting in the hall in such painful façade, it made sense all off sudden. you were supportive of it. you showed up to every event just to stay by his side, to show the people the lovable man he was. the man you loved. the man who couldn't even be home for dinner.

the penthouse's elevator dings, opening its doors at the end of the hallway you see perfectly from your seat. your head doesn't lift instantly, like in the first week. instead, a long sigh escapes from your lips as bruce reaches the living room.

"hello, darling." he says, still in motion as he walks the stairway up to the room you shared. not a single kiss, or a hug. you follow him, because what else is there to do? you need to go to bed anyway. by the time you get there, slowly, his suit is already on the floor and he's taking a shower.

"how was the meeting?" you ask, knowing he usually did his Wayne Enterprising meetings — which consisted of hanging out long hours in bars with business men — at night. recently, he started a complicated relationship with a real estate company he wanted to invest in.

"the usual." he stopped fully answering these questions three weeks ago, making the only time you ever talked even shorter. the city has gotten more violent than ever since his batman duties were put on standby.

"any closer to sealing the deal?" you sit on the bed, watching the open bathroom door.

"probably." it's not like he's being rude. well, maybe a little bit. he just doesn't want to talk any more, it's clear on his tone. but it's 2am and you brain isn't working too well.

"when is this gonna end, bruce?" you finally say, as he puts his boxers on. "when are we ever having dinner again? or going on a date? when are you gonna stop treating me like i'm some sort of home decor?" you almost vomit out the words that have been stuck on your throat for days. surprisingly, the heartache doesn't softens. instead, it gets worse. it's like admitting your abandonment.

six months ago, you started trying to get pregnant. it hadn't always been a dream of yours, but the idea of having an heir to all you've spent your life building is charming. you realised you were in the right time to do so, you had just turned 28, bruce was 32, and both had stable careers. a month later, bruce announced his candidacy. and so soon you gave up. you told yourself once he won the election everything would be fine. you would try again. but, realistically, being a mayor was already a lot of work on itself. he wouldn't want a pregnant wife or a child to take care of. after the four years, who knows? he might as well have a new life project. and your family would always stand on the side.

"i don't know what you're talking about..." he doesn't look into your eyes. hell, he barely looks at you. that feeling, the negligence, is enough to trigger the tears. you take a deep breath, making an effort to look composed.

"don't you, though?" your voice is shaken. look at me. look at me. look at me. look at me. he doesn't. "bruce." you call, finally getting his attention. however, the boredom on his face knocks you off your feet, legs trembling in pain and anger. "i just want you to make an effort on us..."

"really? cause that's all i ever done." he's leaning on the doorframe, arms crossed in a way you would find attractive in other circumstances. but now he's yelling and you fight back the urge to shrink into the mattress. "do you think i wanna have a kid on this fucked up town? i'm tryna fix this. fix everything!" his faces turns red-ish. something inside of you makes you want to leave the room. you've always been an avoider, that is one of the reasons you hadn't really had couple fights. so, basically, this is very new. "i've got the weight of the fucking world on my back."

"let's leave then" you manage to say, replacing the you chose this. it was true, however, that he was the one to put himself in this position. bruce wayne could've gotten his entire life without working if he wanted to. but he always needed to save everyone, to suffer for other's happiness. he was a giver. sometimes you wondered if he needed to be saved instead.

"you know i can't do that." he mumbles, in a defeated tone. a sigh escapes from his lips, suddenly the tiredness takes over his face. it's almost enough to make you let it go, to internalise your distress again. he really can't, you know that. he feels that the city is his liability, because it was the only thing he had since he became an orphan. but he had you, too. he just didn't acknowledge that.

"and i can't stay like this." it sounds like an whisper, but it's a plead. choose me. please. he seems to read it in your eyes, face contorting in agony when he realises what you're asking for. me or gotham? it's stupid to think he would ever choose you. but you hoped, so desperately, because you would choose him. always.

"let's not do this tonight, okay? i have to be in the office by the morning." tears instantly fall as he turns off the lights and lays on the bed, turning his back to where you slept. for a moment, you're static. his words were final. were you ever in control of something in your life? why were all of these decisions being made for you? mechanically, you stand on both feet and walk to the door. you don't even notice your movement until you're on the elevator. your husband didn't intervene either. this neighbourhood is one of the safest in town, which honestly isn't much but you had to get out. anyway, nowhere is totally safe at 3am.

you walk two blocks, clinging to the fluffy sweater you wore. the depressing air of gotham slows your pace, to a point you start wondering if it was really necessary to be aware. you could feel the city devouring you, starting with your hope. the blue 24h sign lights up the street, in a way that isn't welcoming, but you know the place well enough to not be scared to get in. a bell sounds over the door and wakes up the male behind the counter. he's got long black hair and seems to haven't seen a good night of sleep in weeks. same,you think.

"hi. can i get the blue one?" you point at the camel's behind the man. he nods, quickly putting a pack on the wooden board. the prices pops up on the cashier's display. you pay and go outside. smoking was an bad habit from your college days, when pressure got too excruciating. every now and then you would treat yourself to some cigarettes, for the confidence it gave you. the sense of control to be the one, for once, ruining yourself. the smoke burns your throat on the first inhale and you hold back a cough. you're too entertained by the cigar to notice the black van approaching. it stops right in front of you, and everything happens too quickly for your brain to process. it's all dark.

he's in a meeting, the boring kind.

the kind that has him seated in silence while a representative talks to his employees, who never get to listen to their actual boss. there's a chart being shown on a large tv on the other side of the room. he's not listening, though. he's writing down ideas for a thanksgiving speech. a head pops into the conference room.

"mr. wayne." it's one of the new assistants, hired especially for the election season. he didn't care to memorise her name, because temps usually don't last long. if she hadn't called him, he might've not even looked up. but the room is silent, expecting eyes on him. the girl at the door looks terrified. "you're urgently required outside, please."

he sighs as he gets up from his leather chair. the second the door closed behind him, chatter is heard again. in the corridor, the woman conducts him to his office and they get in. there's a bit of a commotion, four men lounge around his table, all their faces tense.

"mr. wayne, i'm afraid we don't have good news." the head of the marketing team speaks, a man called robert vance. he's probably said the same phrase to bruce about seven times this month, so that doesn't do much. the assistant approaches with an ipad, unpausing a video. "we received this from an anonymous email about forty minutes ago. we weren't able to get the ip address just yet."

the video starts with a black screen, zooming out to show a woman with a bag over her head. she has her hands on her back and is kneeling on the ground. bruce's heart skips a beat noticing the hair falling down her shoulders.

"bruce wayne..." an eerie voice whispers from behind the camera, breathing heavily. "i've robbed an egg from your basket, and you haven't even noticed!" there's a disturbing chuckle and the video shakes a bit. bruce doesn't move, eyes stuck on the screen. no one in the room has done anything other than breathing. someone gulps. "it's been long hours, but we're having fun, aren't we, darling?" a gloved hand reaches for the bag, pulling it out. her face - your face - is dripping blood. you're biting on a fabric, still in your home clothes. bruce's jaw clenches. you're crying, face beaten, in this degrading situation. your eyes pierce the screen right into his. suddenly, a gun is tapped on your forehead and you close your eyes into a sob. your lips mouth please. "i'm running out of patience here, you're running out of time. let's do business, shall we?" he laughs, knocking the pistol on the side of your head, making you fall laying on the floor, unconscious. the spot bleeds. "here's my proposal: you come clean about your father's deal with carmine falcone and maybe i don't shoot little mrs. wayne... or i do both. it's your choice, really. the clock is ticking. tick tock, wayne."

the video stops, the sight of a gun pointed at your unresponsive body burns into his mind. bruce is panting, the adrenaline rushes into his brain. there's a million of plans being built, but none of them seem viable.

"don't let media get this." he managed to say. one of the men in suits says it's too late. the tv flicks on showing a news report on the video. he kicks the side of his table, the contents being thrown across the room. "FUCK! you bastards wait forty fucking minutes to show me this?" he screams, no one can look him in the eyes. a hand runs through his black hair. "meanwhile my wife is out there with a gun on her head! and what have you done? i swear to god, if i don't find her alive and well i'm killing everyone in this goddamned room with my bare hands."

he storms out of there, reaching to his phone to call alfred and noticing the multiple missed calls. fucking silent mode. the sun is setting.

"i got the address." the butler says, instead of hello. a 'ding' sounds in his ear.

there has been pain for so long. you try to remember before the pain. but all is pain. he has to make it stop.

the floor is cold cement and you feel so small in this huge warehouse. the man in the mask knows you can't run. not only you're tied up, but the will had left you long before getting dragged into that van. he sees it in your eyes. so he strolls around, always in that ridiculous dark green overall. then he beats you up for fun. no cameras. just you and the devil himself. you find yourself praying, after all these years. you don't pray to get out, no. you pray so that it ends soon. you pray that the stab wound in your abdomen will get you an infection. you pray that when you close your eyes, you never have to open them again. but the divine has left you in the cold cement.

there's an explosion. your eyes open. there's smoke and dust taking over one of the walls. you're seeing everything horizontally, cheek on the floor. the man in green is just as scared as you were.

bruce wayne busted that fucking wall down. he expected a full team of psychopaths and maybe some more security. there was just one coward in the warehouse. the thing stares at him coming out of the smoke, fingers fidgeting. the batman steps forward. the freak steps back. then turns around, runs to a half broken wardrobe and grabs a gun from it. bruce walks slowly. there's a struggle loading the gun. he takes the opportunity to run and throw the thing on the floor. he bangs his head on it. the vermin screams. he takes one punch. two. tries to reach for the fallen gun. bruce steps on his hand and the loud crack echoes in the room. he screams again. three punches. the mask is taken off. his nose is bleeding. more punches. he holds the neck. the head is turning purple. oh how he wants to kill this little shit. bruce wayne will kill him. it will just take a few more seconds...

"baby, no" at first he thinks he's imagining it. it's so soft, so weak. but he looks up and there she is. his hands loose. right on the corner, chains on her legs. her face is ruined from blood and dirt. her wrists bleed too. the motherfucker chained her. hell is too good for this thing.

bang. on his shoulder. he looks down and the blood is dripping on the freak's face. he’s pushed to the side, holding the wound. tiny white dots obstruct his vision. he grunts through the pain. the man gets up and runs towards you. bruce can’t move. he arches his back, trying to roll and lay on his chest. it feels like he can’t move his arm anymore, like his bones had detached. when he finally does so, the man is escaping through a window. his hand searches for the adrenaline-boost in his belt, grabs it and quickly injects on his leg. it takes a second to get his blood rushing again. he crawls up and jumps through the window, which leads him to a metal balcony.

you’re almost standing, but he holds your chains and a gun to your face. the shooting sound had scared you awake. you can’t believe how close to bruce you finally are, but the conditions couldn’t be worse. you can hear water running below your feet, you don’t need daylight to show you the violent river you’re standing above. this is not good.

bruce has his hands up in the air and is holding himself back to not do anything stupid. the man’s face is contorting into the creepiest smile. no.

everything happens so slowly, yet he’s not quick enough to grab you in time. you’re falling in the air and he jumped after you. for a moment, the world is air. you can’t hold out your hand. your hair is flying in your face, he does not want to die without seeing you one last time. his cape holds him back and the distance between you only increases. you’re gone. the impact comes.

part two

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punkeropercyjackson · 15 days

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Please tell me how Duke,Cass and Stephanie getting nonstop left out of Batfam content isn't because of antiblackness,racialized misogyny and a mix of gender essentialism,classism and ableism.When none of you can shut the fuck up about how 'black haired and blue eyed male is the only requirement for a Batkid!' and go as far as to include 'pale/fair skinned' sometimes when Damian and Dick are brownskin in multiple versions because of being brown in heritage and Damian and Jason have green eyes half the time and by saying 'lighteyed' when it comes to Batboys,that would be problematic but it'd at least include Duke since he's gold eyed due to Gnonom and you probably don't even know who that is since you actively refuse to meet Duke even though he's easiest Batkid to read for BECAUSE he's got so little content and Cass and Stephanie also have a small amount of material compared to the other boys

When Cass is chosen over Duke for Jason by all of you even though she hates him and she chooses Stephanie again and again against everyone's wishes and Duke canonically WANTS to be chosen for fucking once and Jason DID choose him and is the only other Batboy who called him a Robin directly outside of Robin War and Stephanie's dying wish was be 'a real Robin' and Cass' character creation purpose is to defy the idea that asian women exist only for white men and go against other asian girl stereotypes,INCLUDING being purely soft and feminine by making her a rough and tough butch who hates cis men.When you say 'Fuck canon,fanon is better!' to justify your millions of rewrites to erase Tim's Robin being a romani man and his Batgirl a half chinese girl and Jason's Robin and Batgirl being a black autistic boy and his Batgirl a bpdtistic male explotation victim and your crossovers of characters who have the perfect parents or at least caretakers in canon but suddenly,canon is your gospel when it comes to the bigotry in it's writing i.e how 'The core Batkids' came to be

And the fact is,that's like the only Batkids combo that DOSEN'T make sense!The Dead Robins Club is a no brainer but there's also the 90s Batkids trinity,the Shakespearen Robins(Jason,Stephanie and Duke),The Troubled Batkids(Tim,Stephanie,Cass and Duke),Batman!Cass Batwoman!Stephanie Robin!Maps and Trans Batgirl!Damian and the ONLY CANON Nightwing Robin and Batgirl trio we've ever gotten in Dick Tim and Cass??????You have some of the best dynamics of all time possible but nah,you'd rather pass it over for infantalizing a grown ass disabled moc into your pathetic lil pretty obsessed manchild,turning thee dead sidekick into a convuluted mess more than canon ever has and that's saying BIG words,cringeifying someone who just has the personality of an ordinary of 17 year old boy and is therefore inherently lovable into the arranged marriage lovechild of a dark romance guy and a pick me quotev girl and dehumanize a cute and sweet lil brown boy who's got that trauma already to turn him into an animal in human mold in the same breath you bash him healing enough to get a gf through trauma bonding and being kiddy together in favor of your groody ass lil age gap fantasy-Actually,that applies to ALL OF THEM

Kory,Rose and STEPHANIE are infinitely better written love interests for Dick,Jason and Tim than any older man you want them to get with,Tim most of all because he's not even a man,he's a boy.Cass and Stephanie are adults and have been for a long time in multiple incarnations so why not make Stephcass smut instead?Why not 'Duke joins the Batfam early/Jason takes Duke into The Outlaws after he has a fight with Bruce that scared him/Sleep Deprived Duke Thomas/Chaotic Duke Thomas/Duke Thomas deserves better/Trans Duke Thomas/Autistic Duke Thomas?,all of which are infinitely more implicable to Duke than they are to Tim and so is 'Token Normal Tim Drake'?When you make this content or you support it,you're saying something.You're saying you don't care about representation and perfer stereotyping and abusive dynamics because you believe they're inherently more interesting

Before you judge this post,consider the following:Which one of us has read enough comics and watched enough adaptions to know all this?Which one of us has more of a right to call themself a Batfam and Batkids fan?Which one of us is constantly gatekeeping Duke,Cass and Stephanie from their own story and pulling the 'No,YOU!!!!' card?It's absolutely pathetic how desperate the grip Batfanon has taken is and even more so that y'all refuse to move on from it like i did.It's not gonna kill you,you pissbabies.And just curious,how long was the last Batfam-centric post you rb'd?Longer than this,right?

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starry-bi-sky · 4 months

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thomas wayne au excerpts - things that could've been part of a grander fic except there's no grander fic

thomas wayne au - an au i made last year where danny is literally just. thomas wayne. his full name was Daniel Thomas Fenton and he started going by Thomas Nightingale after he was disowned. because of course. here is a link to the first post if anyone wants to see a more in depth view of the au (its also the start of me using the ‘danny fenton is not the ghost king’ au lmao

additional info: bruce is the result of a failed cloning attempt from vlad - vlad used a combination of danny's dna and an unnamed girl (Martha's) to make him to try and balance out the ectoplasm use. this resulted in a slightly liminal but otherwise completely human and stable baby boy. Bruce is, by all accounts, Danny's biological son. Danny named him Bruce

Danny was 24 when he died, he took in Bruce when he was 16. He is, so far, a single father in this au. (But if I WERE to add martha she wouldn't be sam or a DP character but rather a separate character on her own.)

Essentially they would go as:

Martha, 19: water does terrifying things to corpses

Danny, 19, half ghost: *heart eyes* really? tell me more they're morticia and gomez your honor

---- Like starlight -----

Bruce's father could light up a room. He was like a sun, his gravitational field could just pull you in, and before you knew it you'd be orbiting around him like one of his many planets.

He's seen it in action before, in the rare moments Thomas Wayne would allow him to accompany him to the socialite events he went to; the fundraisers; the charities. Bruce, as tall as his father's waist, would cling to his leg and watch as people drifted towards him and his star-blinding smile.

It's fitting that his father's favorite thing in the world were stars, he fit right in with them.

As an adult, Bruce has tried copious amount of times to mimic him. To try and capture a fraction of that light, that charm, in his own act - but here's the thing. Thomas Wayne wasn't made of starlight only in front of the cameras, he was made of starlight outside of it as well.

(So when older socialites laugh and tell him he's so much like his father, Bruce just thinks they are liars. They've only ever seen the Thomas Wayne his father showed them, Bruce is nothing like his father.)

In the manor, whatever room he stepped into seemed to brighten, and maybe it was just Bruce's own child-memory fuzzing it to raise his father onto a pedestal, but he stands by it. His father was a solar system, his very own galaxy. Bruce was just the lucky planet that was close enough to orbit him.

--------- arrival time ------

Ancients, ancients, what the fuck convinced Danny to ever go to Gotham of all places? Crime Capitol of the world? He's not sure, but he's been wandering around the country for the last few months, swapping between flying late at night as Phantom, and taking the busses and trains when he had the money, and was too exhausted to fly.

And of course, what convinced him to come here with his kid no less, who was just at the cusp of turning a year old? Whose curiosity of the world was growing greater by the day? Who wanted to look around and explore, and was growing tired of being held at all hours of the day by his father.

But he was going to be held, at least for as long as they were in Gotham for. He didn't trust the stuff on the sidewalks, and he didn't trust the people walking on it. Bruce was tiny, and Danny would lose his mind if he lost him in a crowd.

In his arms, Bruce whined and wriggled, pushing at his shoulders in the signature way he did when he wanted to be let down. Danny tightened his hold, and adjusted his place on his hip.

"I know, bumblebee." Danny muttered, resting his chin on Bruce's small head. His hair was still thin, but it was dark and soft, and tickled his throat a little. "But not yet, I need to find somewhere for us to stay first."

He needed to find somewhere for them to stay, permanently. He couldn't keep living like this, and he couldn't let Bruce grow up like this either. Constantly moving, homeless, unsure of when he was going to eat next? It wasn't good for him. But he needed to find a city he liked, and after that? He wasn't sure. Where did he start?

But Bruce doesn't like his answer, he whines at him, louder, and his wriggling increases. He wants down, he wants to move. They were in a new place again, he wanted to explore. He's too little to fully understand what his dad's saying. "Dada." He said, his voice thick with the accent of a child first learning to speak.

"I know," Danny repeats, stressing the word as his eyes flitted about. There was a park nearby -- maybe he and Bruce could stop there for a bit. Bruce could move around, and Danny could figure out his next move.

It was getting dark, he didn't want to be out in Gotham when it was dark. Shuffling, he moved the inside of his jacket to wrap around Bruce better. It was getting cold, too. Last winter with Bruce had been hellish - Bruce's liminality meant that Danny's immunity to the cold hadn't been passed down to him. Danny had spent all winter terrified that Bruce was going to get sick and die. He didn't want to go through that stress again, especially now that Bruce would be moving.

He hoped they could find new living arrangements soon.

---- dniwer eht klolc - clockwork's conversation ---

Laughing quietly as Bruce ran out of the room, Danny turned his attention back to the mirror, his fingers curled around the knot of his tie. They'd been planning this outing for weeks since the movie was first announced, and Danny wasn't going to let anything ruin tonight.

Humming under his breath, his hands fell from his tie and he steps back. They were leaving in half an hour, at best, but experience from the last six years has taught Danny that he wants to be ready before then.

In his reflection, the clock behind him stops ticking, and a wave of nothing washes over him, a subtle shift he's gotten used to that was the sensation of time stopping. Ticking, soft and coming from all four sides of the room, filled his ears.

Danny's smile drops. And behind him, Clockwork swirled into existence like a blackhole reversing its pull. "Don't go out tonight, Thomas." He says, his voice stern.

That wasn't happening.

He reaches up to push back a loose strand of hair out of his face. "Does something happen to Bruce, Clockwork?" He asks, his voice deceptively calm. That would be the only reason he would postpone tonight. If it endangered Bruce, then he would just have to break the news to him that they'd have to go tomorrow.

In the reflection, Clockwork's lips thinned, pressing together tersely. He looked tense, the grip on his staff was tight, tighter than Danny's seen it before in recent years. And it worried him a little.

Clockwork is silent for a few seconds, hesitant, before he finally speaks. "No, Bruce will be fine." He says, and uncharacteristic of him, he shuffles, "But--"

Ah, good then. Danny's smile returns briefly across his face. Then it could be something Danny can handle. "But nothing then, Clockwork." He says, interrupting the Ancient firmly. He leans back slightly to look over himself again in the mirror, before going to undo his tie. He's changed his mind about it.

"Boo has been looking forward to our movie all week, I'm not crushing his hopes by changing my mind last minute." In just a few seconds the tie was off his neck and tossed onto bed behind him. And Danny was reaching over the dresser beside him to grab a pearl necklace, he normally didn't wear it, it belonged to Mrs. Wayne and he inherited it after she and Mr. Wayne passed away last year. It wouldn't hurt to wear it for a special occasion like this.

Clockwork's lips tightened, and his shoulders tensed up. "Thomas," He says lowly, "Please."

...Clockwork never said please. Danny's never heard him say please in the last ten years he's known him. This... must have been pretty serious -- but, his core tugged at him. He couldn't cancel without finding the reason why. Bruce was so important to him, Danny couldn't break his heart with this without learning why. He wouldn't allow it, and neither would his core.

He hooks the necklace around his neck and turns to face Clockwork, frowning deeply. "Does something happen tonight?" If he knew the reason -- he just needed to know the reason.

Clockwork stares at him, and something that Danny can't catch appears across his face. "...I cannot tell you." He says after a long moment, his voice quiet.

That... is not the answer Danny wants. He won't cancel.

He frowns. "If something happens tonight..." He says slowly -- Clockwork said that Bruce is unharmed. That must mean Danny was able to handle it. He allows himself to smile reassuringly, and he steps forward to clap a hand on Clockwork's shoulder. "Then I will handle it, alright? I promise."

He gets no response back. Clockwork's expression unreadable as he nods silently - Danny's anxiety curls in his gut. He's being so unlike himself. But he shakes Clockwork's shoulder gently and steps around him, leaving the room.

After a minute, he feels time return to normal.

#dpxdc #dp x dc #dp x dc crossover #dpxdc crossover #dp crossover #dpdc #danny fenton is not the ghost king #dc x dp #dp dc #dp dc crossover #dc x dp crossover #danny is thomas wayne au #danny calling bruce 'bumblebee' >>>>>#he adores his kid man. absolutely loves him. he'd give him the world on a silver platter if he even so much asked.#dont have many tag thoughts for this au unfortunately. its pr straight forward considering danny is going to die when bruce is eight #left the movie they went to see pr ambiguous since mark of zorro came out in 1940 #only thought of it now that danny wore the pearls as i was writing this. just for the extra reference to canon #single dad danny #martha and danny would fall in love with each other via hyperfixations. they'd be engaged by the time they died.#their wedding would be in a month - little bruce was gonna be ringbearer at his dad's wedding :) and he'd already be calling Martha mom #danny: CW said bruce was unharmed tonight so everything will be fine :) i will handle it.#danny: dies and becomes a whalefall - and thus incapable of returning as a ghost to watch over bruce #yeah clockwork meant physically unharmed. he was in pain while talking to danny - his boy was gonna die tonight and he was never gonna see #him again bc danny wasnt coming back as a ghost.

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mockstarling · 2 years

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Au where the Waynes have to make a reality TV show because people get too close to finding out who they are. Everyone develops their public persona as follows.

Brucie Wayne:

Wears makeup all the time.

Really clumsy but has a quick reaction time regarding when his kids are about to fight. Yes, he can sense it from the other side of the house.

Mama bear, will panic if someone gets as much as a papercut.

Always wears dark colors because if he wears anything else he always manages to get them dirty somehow.

Will sing to pop songs, gets all the lyrics wrong except the chorus.

Glitter. He always wears at least one thing that is glittery at all times. He also uses a glittery bat-themed pencil pouch in his office (cass got it for him as a joke).

Kathy Kane:

A gay aunt icon.

Fashionable but in a classy way/simple enough to still fight if needed.

Will physically attack one of Bruce's kids to "prepare them for if they get kidnapped".

Damian's favorite, he will go ask her for permission first instead of Bruce. She typically allows him before looking at the camera like 'this is about to be good'.

Is one of the best at giving advice.

Will not hesitate to argue with Bruce's friends (the Justice League in their civilian personas) with the passion of a kid who wants ice cream.

Dick Grayson:

Nice older brother type/has answered to "mom" on screen multiple times before.

Knows all Disney songs by heart and will start singing them as his brothers fight.

The one who posts the most on social media and believes they're "in with the kids".

Is in college but tries his best to make time with his family.

Recites vines with passion as he burns everything in th kitchen.

Always wears "rich people clothing that compliments his best features".

Jason Todd:

Was announced alive before the show started so he's been here since season one and may or may not be the reason that they had to start the show in the first place because people were like, "oh, he could be Red Hood. . . wait".

He's normally the one who starts shit/drama on the show.

He has some of the best comebacks out of his brothers. And yes, most of them are along the lines of, "I died, bitch! I'll kill us both and drag you to hell myself! They love me there, unlike some people!"

Claims he doesn't remember what happened those years he was "dead" and says that he still have bad memory problems to get out of doing stuff because he "forgot".

Plays into the bad boy/street kid stereotypes.

Tends to yell a lot/doesn't have an inside voice for shit.

Tim Drake:

Tired heir to the Wayne family business.

Gets physically thrown around by his brothers (mainly Jason) the most.

Is intelligent but tends to mess up on the simplest things.

Always has coffee on him and when he doesn't he is either going to fight someone or pull a prank.

Is always working on "school" (cases).

Tends to wear more normal clothing because it's most comfortable but he has been know to fall asleep in full on suits before.

Stephanie Brown:

Sings the most out of everyone.

Will never hesitate to tip off one of the Waynes about another one if food is involved.

Is always trying new clothing styles and has rearrange their room the most.

Is the type to try something because they saw it on social media.

Is a ray of sun shine when compared to everyone else.

Is the best at jokes.

Cassandra Cain:

Communicates by sign language when she gets too frustrated/overwhelmed.

Dances the best out of anyone so no one ever challenges her.

Is a silent threat when it comes to pranks.

Has been caught mid-heist (when trying to sneak food from the kitchen) by the crew.

Has successfully stolen the most of Bruce's stuff.

Is the most common one to get tea first because everyone in the family likes her enough to rant about the others.

Duke Thomas:

Will not hesitate to pick cass's side in any argument.

Started a war between the Wayne Brothers without them putting together that he started it until that season was out.

The one who always make sure everyone eats.

Has pulled the most pranks on Bruce's friends (the Justice League's cilvilian personas) because they mistakenly took him out to be the most collected out of the bats.

The one who has the best insider information when shit goes down.

No one knows for sure if he's a Wayne but he has a room in the manor and is always there so people just assume Bruce took in another one.

Damian Wayne:

Took it upon himself to look the best out of all his siblings so he spend days researching on social media outfit ideas and how to do makeup because he's "better than everyone else".

Has showed an interests in fighting with weapons, the arts, and history.

Was very quickly assigned the "furry baby dad" title from fans because of the amount of pets he has.

Is still an angry baby but the family has found that he actually explains his side of stuff to the camera really well.

Experiences the most character development throughout the show as it takes place during his teenage years.

Has been caught uses "baby voice" when interacting with his pets.

#dc comics #dc #damian wayne #bruce wayne #tim drake #dick grayson #kathy kane #brucie wayne #jason todd #stephenie brown #cassandra cain #duke thomas #batfamily dynamics #batfamily

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rubydubydoo122 · 15 days

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What characterisation do Thomas and Martha Wayne have (in your opinion. canon is all over the place again)? And how would they interact with the Batkids?

I am a personal fan of Girlboss Martha Wayne, and Kind-soft Thomas Wayne.

The Kanes are a millitary family, so it just makes sense to me that Martha is tougher and all that. And Thomas followed the Hippocratic oath no matter what the circumstance was, so in my brain it makes sense that he was a lot softer.

Though, I don't think Canon Bruce would know Martha's tough side, because she was probably a total boy-mom, and coddled Bruce //pos, but as he grew older, she was definitely the tough love kind of mom. Pretty strict. Made him finish Med school.

idk why, but I feel like they would treat Dick more as their son, because Bruce started parenting him at a young age. Like, if Bruce said yes to Dick, but Martha said no, it was a No. If Dick really wanted something he knew Martha and Bruce would say no to, he would got to Thomas, and yeah.

With Jason, they definitely are more Grandparent-y with him-- at least Thomas is in full on Grandpa mode by the time Jason rolls up, but also, we know Jason's mommy issues. We know he would totally suck-up to Martha. So she would fill in that mother role, but more often than not, she would give Jason what he wanted If Bruce said No to something, Jason would ask Martha, and she'd say yes, and it drives both Bruce and Dick up a wall because Where was this leniancy when they were growing up? (Basically, what I'm saying Bruce is their oldest child, Dick is their middle, and Jason is their youngest-- but Jason is still more Bruce's child, just with more parenting help)

Cass is their little angel. They watch her ballets, and spoil her, and youngest daughter type beat. She's Grandpa's and Daddy's girl. And Martha would love finally having another girl in the family.

Idk if Jason dies in this world or not but either way, I think Martha and Thomas would treat Tim like the kid next door, just to put a bit of emotional distance, or they would treat him more like a grandchild. Though, I do feel like they would play off of Tim's unspoken bounderies.

Steph is the family-friend girlfriend. If yk what I mean. She's the one Martha's rooting for to eventually get with one of her children/grandchildren, and any person Tim, or Cass bring home will most likely never hold the place in Martha's heart reserved for Steph. (this also technically applies to Jason, but Jason never brings anyone home so ya)

Duke would be treated similarly to Tim, they would play off of his bounderies. Be Grandparent-y if he was accepting of that. I mean, Duke's parents are alive, just jokerized, so....

Damian gets the crazy stories from their youth Grandparents. I'm not gonna explain. He's their youngest grandchild. He gets the crazy stories that Blows Dick's mind because "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVE CONNECTIONS TO THE MOB, BUBBE???!!!"

Thomas would be against getting any and all of the animals Damian asks for, but then spends more time with Ace and Titus, and Alfred (the cat) and Batcow, and GOLIATH than he does with any of his kids/grandkids. His excuse--"You all moved out! What else am I 'posed to do?"

I also feel like Thomas would play a different sport with each of the kids. Tim taught him how to skateboard, and now he's the coolest grandpa at the skatepark.

#martha wayne #thomas wayne #bruce wayne #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #cassandra cain #stephanie brown #duke thomas #damian wayne

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froot-batty · 7 months

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FINALLY.

lore under the cut! (warning it's uh. it's long)

Because the two of them are very closely entwined, I'll write their backstories as one big thing instead of individually

Bruce Wayne had the life every kid dreamed about. The child of two successful, wealthy, loving parents, his own staff, and the ability to go wherever or do whatever he wanted in the city. Well, with parental supervision, of course. Thomas and Martha, though they believed in Gotham and saw the good in it, also tended to shelter Bruce a bit, just to keep him away from the dangerous parts. Unfortunately this backfired, making young Bruce only want to go into the city alone even more.

Harvey Dent was the polar opposite of Bruce. He grew up in the worst part of the Narrows, with a single immigrant mother who was constantly taken advantage of by their landlord or her various bosses. While she loved him dearly, she couldn't be there all of the time for him (due to her needing to work multiple jobs) or protect him from the horrors going on outside their door. He bore witness to a great deal of traumatic things, and eventually took to leaving his house when his mother wasn't home in order to get a reprieve.

Bruce and Harvey first met when they were very young children, as Harvey was wandering the streets near his home and Bruce had escaped to go and explore the Narrows. They clicked almost instantly; despite the differences in the way they grew up, they both shared the dream that Gotham was, at it's core, a good place (or could be a good place). Harvey eventually introduced his childhood friend (and neighbor) Selina Kyle to Bruce, and they became a tight trio for many years.

Bruce's parents died when he was 11. His grief made his ventures out to the Narrows lessen, but Harvey and Selina would often make trips to Bruce's house to make sure he was okay.

Harvey's mother died when he was 15. She had been sick for years now, and the constant stress of having to work multiple jobs eventually got to her. He appeared to cope with it easily enough, but on the inside, his anger towards the perceived injustice she received would never really fade.

Even as they grew older, and neared adulthood, Bruce's and Harvey's friendship seemed as strong as one could be. At least, that's what Harvey thought, until the moment Bruce completely vanished from Gotham altogether. Bruce's disappearance made Harvey and Selina drift apart, so Harvey in turn poured himself into his studies at college. It would be 15 years until Harvey saw Bruce again, and though part of him wanted to be angry, he was just desperately happy to see his best friend again.

Harvey by then was well into his career as District Attorney, and had aspirations of running for mayor in the upcoming election. Bruce was the one who eventually encouraged him to do it, promising funds and all the help Harvey could need to run his campaign. There was another person planning on running for mayor in the election, one Oswald Cobblepot, but neither of them worried too much about him, at the start.

By this time Bruce had reconnected with Selina as well. Harvey and Selina never could get as close as they were in their childhood, so her instant connection with Bruce began to make Harvey a little worried. A little jealous. He didn't want to lose his best friend again, even if it was to someone who was supposed to also be his friend. Harvey acting weird began to drive Bruce away a little bit, which only pushed him further to Selina, creating a vicious cycle between the two of them.

Well into the swing of the mayoral campaign, Harvey began to...lose it a little bit. He had begun recieving open threats on his life (from Oswald, but he didn't know that at the time, and began to think people were conspiring against him), and his paranoia over that along with everything going on with Bruce and Selina made things up top get worse. By now he was fully distancing himself from his two friends, and started to wonder if they were plotting against him.

Everything came to a head when Harvey was due to make a speech at Wayne Manor. It was only a night or two until the results of the election would be announced, and Bruce had thrown a party in honor of Harvey's campaign (and in the hopes it'd cheer him up). Harvey initially didn't want to do a speech, but Bruce encouraged it, and the District Attorney took the stage.

Unbeknownst to him, Oswald had planned to send Dent a final message - one that would take him out of the running completely.

He paid a man to dress up as a waiter and infiltrate the party. Harvey was in the middle of his speech when Penguin's man ran up to the stage and threw a glass full of acid directly at his face.

This was Harvey's breaking point. Forced to drop out of the race and his mind in tatters, he fully believed that Bruce was in on the plot to take him out, and turned his back both to him and Selina. Where they had bonded over the idea of making Gotham better, this is where they'd fall apart; because Harvey still believes that he can improve Gotham, even if he has to burn the city to the ground to do it.

(Both of them are Bisexual. Harvey also has OSDD-1, which I will probably explain in another post, since this one's way too long)

#do you guys wanna know how long their colors took me #2 hours. individually. so 4 hours in total spent DYING TRYING TO COLOR #AND I DONT EVEN LIKE HOW THEIR REFS TURNED OUT THAT MUCH #yall better like these or im blowing this entire place up (lighthearted)#anyway fucked up toxic twobat supremacy #frootverse #harvey dent #two face #bruce wayne #batman #rogue design #rogues gallery #my art

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puppetmaster13u · 5 months

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@f4nd0m-fun here (I hope they allow us to ask with secondary blogs soon)

Just how wild do you like your Batfam cryptids? I've got ideas for days.

One is a wing fic where all the bats essentially end up half demon. Thomas and Martha make a deal with Alfred to help fix the city and clean up the curses and everything, and. Alfred asks for 'the souls of your descendants' at the point, not caring much for humanity but hoping to get ahead of those pesky demons in his soul collection (so and so said he has Constantine's soul but that's only a piece! What about a bunch of souls that have been tainted by the spirit of a city that has never had reason to hope? Now those are some rare and dark souls).

The Waynes were hoping he'd take their souls instead but he refuses (maybe they're too full of hope or something) but, over time, he grows attached and ends up giving Bruce a shard of his power, allowing him to transform into a demonic winged form based on an animal for his protection after his parents die. When he's young the form is a snowy owl, but once he come back and became Batman his wings have changed. Each of the babies is the same way. As Robin, they gain their baby wings, but, once they move to a new name, their wings evolve.

'The Demon's Head' isn't just a fancy title, the Al'ghul's are demon descended, so Damien is at least a quarter demon even at the beginning, but Alfred's power can't be passed genetically like they thought, so he was born grounded. In this, he shows up sooner, Talkia asking Jason to take Damien with him to his father since she knows her father will kill him for being wingless.

Tim, poor baby. He couldn't fly as Robin because his wings were a shattered mimicry of Jason's Robin wings. He felt like he was in the shadow of the previous Robin, making the 'replacement' nickname sting even more, but, eventually, he grows into the wings of a cardinal and learns to fly.

I'm not sure if Alfred marks Barbara as his person, but if not, maybe he regrets not doing so, thinking that she might not have ended up paralyzed if he'd given her power. But also she's not really considered a 'Wayne descendant' life the kids Bruce adopted, so he'd have to directly make the deal with her. Maybe he does this with Stephanie when she comes along, still thinking about how Barbara might've been better off with a deal. Also, he keeps trying to hold off on gathering their souls because he's grown attached. I figure he'd probably end up wanting to turn them into proper demons too tho when they eventually die but, for now, until the city has been restored (if it ever will be), the Batfam is essentially immortal, and Alfred might be pulling some strings so no one realizes the Waynes are as well. As a side note, I debated Alfred x Lady Gotham for this story.

Then I had a dpxdc version of this where the wings were still demonic in origin but basically Scarecrow and Bruce are many many family lines removed cousins from an ancestor who was siblings with Jack Nightingale. On top of that, Danny had wings but they got charred when he was electrocuted. This one also has Clock x Pariah and they have wings due to something to do with ghosts, Danny gets a cloak made out of their feathers while his ghost side slowly grows its own wings (but he'll never have wings as a living again).

-----

Sorry for the long send, I got a bit carried away, but if you want I can dig up my AU again and share what I have for the wings at least, not sure what else I've got written down.

#colony of bats AU

Honestly I love both of these ideas, but what if they were say, combined.

Alfred gifts Bruce a shard of his power- everyone knows the Waynes have wings, even if in most cases too small to fly. But the wings are feathered, usually bright and flashy for the men who inherit the trait.

Which means they're very identifiable. But like you said, Alfred gets (ugh) attached to this little mortal. He's practically raised him and honestly thinks it's adorable watching him manipulate the other richfolk at galas into thinking he's such a "polite young man." Bruce is practically his baby!

So he gifts him a bit of his blood (which we know via Constantine can extend ones lifespan including giving them a bit of healing) and an itty bitty piece of his own power. Just enough for Bruce to be able to willingly call upon it. Just enough for him to disappear into shadows. Just enough for his eyes to gain a hint of an unholy glow. Just enough for a hint of claws. Just enough for feathered wings to shift into jagged mimicries of his own.

You know what could be an interesting thing? The wings are Realms in origin. We know the FentonNightingales separated into the Fentons and Nightingales some time after Jack, so whose to say that the Nightingales didn't get into magic. Perhaps they were given a gift to thank them after a bit of protection or assistance. And the infinite realms are well, infinite. It attaches to all worlds, including say the more demonic ones. But whose to say none of the Fentons made a deal or three in the generations following. They were witch hunters after all, perhaps they need something to keep up with the "traitors" of their bloodline.

Perhaps a deal which resulted in those matching wings.

Now, how could they find out their relation with the Fentons? While there could be the adoption route, what if instead it was right after Danny's accident.

He died screaming, visibly got electrocuted, his wings are torched, there's no way they're not taking him to the hospital. Which means things like blood tests, maybe even a donated organ or two because someone doesn't get blasted with that much electricity without consequences.

Which, it's the batfamily, they definitely have alarms set up for any sort of family pings for both themselves and their rogues. Just in case.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also had no idea where to put it but if this includes demons and ghosts feeding on fear, or emotions in general, then Scarecrow could be instinctively attempting to feed and grow his wings. Also he deserves raven or rook wings. Maybe a jay's if you wanna go for color.

Oh my gosh, even if Alfred and Gotham don't get together, they definitely have tea together and spar. They're definitely co-parenting either platonically or romantically, it doesn't matter this is their specialist lil boy. Who then brings even more of the specialist lil ones ever!

God I love the implications of Clockwork and Pariah creating a cloak of wings for a ghostling for them to use as their feathers slowly grow back. Love what that implies for the culture of the ghost zone. Love the idea of it maybe having an influence on Danny's wings in ghost form since a ghost's appearance is influenced by their image about themself.

#ask answered #batman au #batman #dc #dcu #dcxdp #dpxdc #cryptid batman #cryptid batfam #normally I don't really like demon aus #but this is honestly really interesting in implications #I am honestly here for this and am very interested #Would the batfam also get wings (that is feathered ones)#What is Constantine's reaction to Batman #Does it ping similar to a half-demon or something else #Does he just think it's a Gotham thing since like 3+ portals to hell have been opened there #I honestly don't think Alfred would let Jason die #Like demon blood is actually kinda OP in the DC world #We've seen Constantine stabbed through the center (like practically split in half hotdog style) and heal pretty freakin easy #Okay but wings #like wing ideas #Jack has condor wings (very big & also death implications)#Danny deserves lil dove wings as bby before they're scorched #They deserve to be similar to galaxy when grown back #White flecks from Clockwork & the darker bits from Pariah with hints of his own colors swirling together #Jazz has either a finch's wings or cockatoos #OH #Bruce has nicobar pigeon wings #Closest living relative of the dodo #And it is Gorgeous

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unpretty · 1 year

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hey where did bruce get that rundown thing he does...? name, height, physical description, facts. i wouldn't have noticed it was in multiple fics except that he does it with corinne :eyes:

yeah i think he does it in arm candy, reviving a tomb, partition, unrealistic... mostly ones with pretty girls 🤔 and it looks like in unrealistic i accidentally stopped using metric. or else he categorizes some people in inches and others in centimeters for mysterious reasons. maybe he kept describing people with metric but had to translate to feet so often he gave up.

anyway bruce pov vacillates wildly between 'normal' and something extremely spare depending on how divorced he's feeling from his own body or how consciously he's keeping himself in control. short sentences because he's on his own short leash. i liked the idea that when bruce wants to remember someone he constructs a mental database entry that starts like he's describing a suspect. or a missing person. then veers off into whatever personal information he considers relevant to hold on to. like if he wants to get to 'nuclear physicist' he still has to go through the physical description first because that comes first in whatever filing system he has in his head.

it's similar to constantine's bullet points except that it's deliberately dispassionate and fake-objective. you can tell when bruce is Fully Unhinged because everything gets really rambling and sentimental. the start of chapter five is very holding-on-by-his-fingernails because he can't stop himself adding in subjective modifiers like 'soft' even though he also manages to pull off "she's likable" instead of "i liked her". he doesn't access the mental database for everyone he meets, just when he wants to assemble evidence or answer a question. usually the question is "is this person trying to fuck me and how do i feel about that", which is usually metaphorical but in the fics i write tends to be literal.

of the 'detective' character povs, bruce and constantine are both the least subtle. they are consciously evidence-gathering. bruce has his list of faux-objective facts about appearance (measurement estimates, coloring), constantine has his list of entirely emotional responses to people's appearances (too fucking tall, smells like a grandma). alfred is more physical and self-centered, very focused on how things relate to him personally (is this person a threat to me, have they noticed i am a threat to them). martha is the most touchy-feely, all about what people are feeling and their motivations (not what they look like, but what are they trying to look like). i don't think i've ever done thomas pov (he's a surgeon but that's not not a detective. there's mysteries, sometimes about corpses.)

... i don't know if that answered the question

#original #ficblogging #bruce pov is usually more spare than batman pov

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morgansunflower · 3 months

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I saw your story about male Talia and Bruce's sister, I just loved it. If your requests are open I would like to ask for Ra's Al Ghul and Bruce's older sister (or any of Bruce's family members)

Would You Even Dare

Ra's al Ghul X Wayne! Reader

Bruce Wayne X Aunt! Reader

Warnings:suggestive content, explicit language, angst, guns, child kidnapping, and injury

Words:1492

Arthur's notes! Hardly anything canon about Ra's is true in the story. Ra's didn't try to kill Tim. Ra's is a good father/grandfather. He doesn't lead the league of assassin's.. At least not anymore. Older Reader 50s to early 60s. She is Thomas Wayne's sister!.. Also Athanasia is in the story. Quote from Mentalist show.

Y/N reunites with a old friend hoping he will help her.

In all the many centuries Ra's had lived through. He did not wish to live another 100 years, nor even a day without her beside him. He for the first time considered letting age take his life, with her right beside him.

Deep inside he was infected with a wound deep within his heart that not even the Lazarus could heal. What pains the former assassin, was that he truly ached to be with her. Though it was better that he be alone.. As those who are close to him are the ones who become hurt.

Ra's left the league of assassin's to his only son Dusan much to his son's shock. He would have a long time ago if only for the reason to not allow such a heavy burden.

Thousands of miles away Y/N Wayne was thinking of her precious grandniece whom had disappeared 3 years ago.

Y/N closes her eyes remembering being taken by Slade. While there she saw, a young girl with him. She looked to be the age as her niece would be by now. Her face was concealed but her voice.. Her hair.. It was a Wayne trait. It was her father's hair.. Y/N's nephews hair.

She was ruthless but it seemed by Slade's orders as she could see the young girl did harbor sympathy for her. Slade did not allow them much time together if at all.

Perhaps it was a, young girl he found and chose to use her for his bidding. Though her heart seemed to say it was indeed her.

She still was afraid it was her heart hoping too much but what if it is? Slade is certainly capable of doing such a terrible thing. Especially if it brought torture unto the al Ghul's and the Wayne's.

Using a yacht she sits in the drivers seat programing it to Ra'sh al Ghul's location. He had only told Talia and Y/N only for the reason for emergency. She sits on the seat thinking back to a, old memory as the anticipation to see him was consuming her.

Y/N hadn't heard from her nephew in over 3 months. She was growing worried. She left Gotham to investigate where her nephew had gone. She knew he was planning to make major changes to Gotham. For that reason she was truly terrified he would meet the same fate as her brother and his wife.....

Eventually she found evidence he went to a hidden place within the vast wilderness. In a ancient city located in the Himalayas. She knew of whom was there...

Y/N entered into the fortress courtesy of the assassin's after she said the coded word, Ra's told her many years prior. Ra's al Ghul stepped forth to see his dear friend.

His eyes saw her beauty but his heart went to many years ago to her saving his own life after a bombing from an attack. One of his many enemies found his safe house and tried to kill him. Y/N was with a, team of spies investigating the, same enemies as the ones who attempted to kill Ra's. They assisted in finding survivors. All were dead but miraculously she found the wounded assassin and nursed him back to health.

"Ms Wayne" he greets

"Ra's al Ghul" she greeted to the widower "you know why I'm here"

"your nephew came to me. Given his relation to you. I thought it wise not to confine my knowledge to ensure he is not another Wayne to be buried"

She softly smiled "I suppose we are even now"

"never are, we to be even Ms Wayne"

She sweetly smiled "I suppose I should leave before he sees me. Please don't tell him I was here"

"I will utter no such thing of your concern for him. Safe travels my friend" he gently smiled

"we need to talk" she first said to Ra's who was standing in the sand

"what do you want?" he coldly said though his heart was, warm to have her in his presence, however.. He could not allow her inside...

"I deserve better than that Ra's!" she accused him

She truly did and it was tournament not treating her with the kindness she deserves. He grunted stepping to her, her arms folded glaring up to him. She was still so beautiful when she was angry at him. He then steps to his hut. She quickly followed after him.

"that's it?! You're not going to say anything? You're not at all curious nor care as to why I've come?"

The two step inside as she slammed the door behind her.

"you are waisting your time if you believe there is anything to flourish between us" he said with his heart breaking

"this isn't about us Ra's.." she snapped back

"then why?" he asked now realizing that she was truly worried.

"it's about Athanasia"

"tell me everything"

.....

Ra's and Y/N left with their gear. The two resided in a safe-house nearest to the place of which she was captured. The two barely spoke to each other unless it was regarding Athanasia.

"we should lay low and start fresh tomorrow. I can sleep on the couch. You may have the bed" he said in a blunt tone

"the great Ra's al Ghul sleeping on a couch that is sight I'd never thought I'd see" she chuckled, to which he rolled his eyes. She tried to hold her words inside but fails "why didn't you stay?"

He sighed "I believed it was for the best"

"it wasn't.." she sighed stuttering unable to hold her emotions inside especially in his presence that made her feel safe enough to "you weren't there Ra's! I'm so angry at you! I'm angry you left me and I... I wanted, needed you"

He only remains silent in his guilt Y/N turned away to hide her tears. Ra's stepped softly touching her shoulders. He only moved forward because she leaned into his touch. He kisses her neck snacking his arm across her folded arms with his other across her waist.

"my intentions were to keep you safe from my enemies. I did not intend to hurt you. I blamed myself for your pain. I was.. Frightened Y/N. If for all of my many years of living had made any purpose. It was you. You have made each century worth living.. I have only fallen more deeply and fondly for you"

.....

Ra's dealt with Slade as Y/N departs to look for Athanasia. Y/N senses a presence. She turned in a cautioned manner. She sees her.

"give me a good reason why I should not shoot you!!" she threatened her gun aiming to the older woman.

"Athanasia" she calmly said now seeing her face.. It was truly her.

"that's not who I am! Stop moving!!"

"you are safe, you are loved-" she stammered as a, heart wrenching shout from her niece came back

"stop it!" she shouts her hand shaking with the gun in her hand

She steps close to the young girl "and you are wise"

"get away from me!" her voice shouted but her heart took control as she drops the gun.

Athanasia let out a heartbroken cry as she is embraced.. She was free from the mind-controlling poison Slade had taken from Ivy. She clings to her tightly sobbing. All her past memories she believed were comforting illusions.. She knew were real.

With Slade taken care of. Ra's hears familiar crying from his granddaughter. He runs to find her in embrace. He softly smiled to them.

"let's go home" he said as they part.

"grandfather?" she mumbled taken aback

"hello my dear" he greets

Athanasia was welcomed with warm and tearful hugs by her, family. Ra's held Y/N's hand standing from afar. He feels comfort, he feels peace.

"I think I may consider a early retirement" she casually said

"would you consider residing with me?" he offered

"is that a, proposal Ra'sy?" she asked intrigued

"would you dare even consider?" he smiled softly to her.

"would you even dare ask?"

3 years later....

In the late night. On the eve of Mrs al-Ghul's birthday. A group of vigilantes sneak onto the couples private island.

"shhh you'll break our cover!" Damian accused Stephanie has she had just tripped over a log.

"little brother is right. This is a covert operation" Athanasia said in her pink pajamas while her baby brother wore his green pajamas.

"sorry" she whispers, wishing her purple bunny slippers had more protection.

"it's a sleepover guys not a, stake out" Jason scoffed, holding his pillow "besides Gramps already knows we're coming"

"still she raised Batman himself" Dick added in defense to the twins, in his bright blue pajamas.

"quiet" Bruce grunts wearing his own pajamas and robe.

Ra's kisses his sleeping wife's lips. He hears soft footsteps in their living room inside their home and smiles to himself. They're all here.

#ra's al ghul #Good Ra's al Ghul #Ra's al Ghul X Wayne! Reader #Ra's al Ghul X Reader #Love #Athanasia al Ghul #Damian Wayne #Athanasia Wayne #Batfamily #Sleepover #Surprise #reconciliation #fluff #Reconnecting #fluff and angst #Reader and Ra's have always been in love with each other #But things got in the way #They even have told each other their feelings #But they went there separate ways do to responsibilities

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thatgordongirl · 1 year

Text

BBC Ghosts Season 2 : Life references

After months of putting it off, Season 2 is finally finished!

Episode 1 - The Grey Lady

Captain’s “For King and Country” is in reference to George VI

Thomas references Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

Julian plays ping pong and says it takes him back to the David Lloyd in Chelsea

Julian spoils the World Cup quarterfinals for Pat, implying he watched it when alive

Mary was mostly illiterate

A 14th century grindstone is found in the cellar

Captain unsurprisingly mentions the war again

Julian thinks he can do an impression of Nelson Mandela

Thomas does an impression of an earl, but I couldn’t find anything on them so please excuse my lack of British know how

Fanny appears in photos

Julian didn’t believe in ghosts when he was alive

Pat lists his skills in life: knot-tying, tent-pitching, archery

Julian references Newsnight

Fanny has been to a sideshow

I’m assuming Pat and Julian are referencing Bruce Forsyth, which Julian has before

Not a life thing, but I find it interesting that both Robin and Captain have said ghosts can’t feel the cold, only for Captain to question it

Side note: Thomas’ cheese commercial made me hungry

Fanny’s dress is made of silk

I like to think Captain talking to Dante’s taxidermy means he likes dogs

Pat likes pop quizzes

Captain likes running, a no brainer

Captain remarks that he’s in his prime and that’s he’s still got it, implying that he at least believed he was in good health when alive

Episode 2 - About Last Night

Mick the plague ghost comes back the village they’ll eventually die in

Mick claims to have had an orange, have seen a bear kill a man, and met the king and went fishing

He brought salt and clothes for the other plague ghosts, which led to their deaths

Side note: Mick coughing up the blood was so scary to me, dying from a sickness

Thomas may be able to cook, since he says he wished he could make Alison breakfast - lamb’s kidney and onion- before being cut off. I wonder if Thomas learned or liked to cook

Thomas acknowledges he wasn’t formally invited to the party, a custom he’s used to

None of the surrounding villages were struck with plague

Captain asks to watch a war documentary while Pat wants to watch football

Julian believed that you should drink more alcohol when hung over

Mary offers a remedy: mushrooms soaked in goats milk and vinegar till it’s warm

Pat says that cola is good for a hang over

Side note again: Thomas is really sweet when he informs Alison of Dante’s disappearance, or the multiple times he’s wished to help her with things like cooking and cleaning. We love a helpful king

Fanny loved Dante like her own child according to Thomas, and she once told Julian she loved Dante more anything else in the world. If she did have kids, I wonder if the relationship was strained. Also, it’s such a notable fact that everyone knows it, including ghosts that weren’t around for Fanny’s life

I know he’s easily coerced into not doing it, but the fact that Captain wanted to tell Fanny immediately that Dante was missing is very sweet

Julian has extensive experience in public inquiries, specifically being the one getting asked the questions

Julian describes how it make an alcoholic drink to Alison

Kitty’s heard white wine helps with stains

Fanny is not fond of mice

Mary thinks Veronica, Clive and Annie are nice names. I won’t include Daniel because it was her having a close call with Daniel

Dante used to like sitting by the fire

Episode 3 - Redding Weddy

Captain’s soldiers at Button House were apparently prone to giggling and horseplay

Introduction of Captain’s Lieutenant, Havers

We see Captain being informed that France has surrendered, which occurred in June 1940

Captain requested a service revolver

Lieutenant Havers had an emergency lockdown initiated shortly after

Havers informs Captain he wants to be involved in fighting, and has put in a transfer for the North Africa front

Pat is, unsurprisingly, well versed in activity badges, and everyone else can recite them

Robin knows how to skin a mammoth

Julian, my dear, you are way off. It took Mary more than 300 years to talk about the witch trial if she did indeed die in the 1610s

Pat likes Top Gun

Julian references Chariots of Fire from 1981, Mississippi Burning from 1988 and The Towering Inferno from 1974

Little reference to the next episode when Thomas says he would show Julian his glove if he had one. Also, the wedding guy says the backyard looks like a bomb site, when it literally is one. Stuff like that make the show so much cooler

Julian used to do boxing for Cambridge

Pat says s'il vous plaît

Fanny and Kitty read Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence

Julian references the Suez crisis

Thomas references Jack and the Beanstalk

Pat calls the laptop the computer that folds

Pat was with Carol at her parents’ house when the moon landing happened, eating fish and chips and trying a jumbo battered sausage for the first time

Julian was a student at Cambridge when the moon landing happened and having his first threesome

Captain claims that his dog Barry is buried where the bomb is, which is obviously untrue, but he also says that where they buried their pets, plural. I like to think Cap’s soldiers had a few dogs about

Captain has a letter with William written on it, which he tucks into his clothes. Captain says he was just thinking about Havers, which would later link to how they both knew about operation William

Havers gets a new service revolver

Captain has poster in his office about men wanted in the army, and also a wall full of books

Captain and his soldiers played cricket

Julian references 9 1/2 weeks, a 1986 erotic movie

Thomas always chooses pistol

Julian sold 50 crates of AK-47 assault rifles to the Libyans in 1983 to pay for his orangery

Julian uses a grenade and a flamethrower on Thomas, I don’t know if his “I’m melting” line is meant to reference the Wizard of Oz or not

The statue outside, Florence, was one of Kitty’s best friends

Kitty’s sister would pretend to not be able to find her when playing hide and seek

Kitty once hid for a whole day and night, and got so hungry she had to eat a bit of her purse

I mean it’s just meant to look funny and be a reference but Julian can canonically spin a ball on one finger

Nobody has ever found Kitty during hide and seek

Nice canon Cap in a coat, love a bit of that

He also smokes, or at least fiddles the occasional pipe

Oh and he threw that envelope into the hole with the bomb

Captain buried a prototype limpet mine, which was so secret only he and Havers knew about it, along with the blueprints

Captain talks bomb mechanics with Robin, the cutest thing I’ve ever seen

Pat knows about 2001: A Space Odyssey

Robin thinks the earth is flat

There’s a bit of speculation here: I can’t actually say with absolute certainty that Captain really saw Havers go. Maybe it’s wishful thinking that Havers would turn back and salute one last time, maybe it did happen, maybe it didn’t

Episode 4 - The Thomas Thorne Affair

Robin would wear a space suit, Mary a seashell dress, Tom double denim with aviators, Julian misses pants, Pat’s wearing his lovely gist, Kitty wears the same as Alison, and Captain would wear his uniform

Julian is unsurprisingly well versed in political tactics like the spin

Captain identifies a musket ball

It’s the one that made Thomas very dead

This is another thing I’m uncertain about: whether Thomas feels pain or just does it for dramatic affect

Quick side note before sad Thomas lore, I think I forgot to mention last time that Julian mentioned Great Expectations

Thomas died October 10th, 1824

Thomas came to Button House when it was owned by the Highams’, Thomas and Francis were invited

They can both ride horses

Thomas had stated the house was pleasant to look at, but he wouldn’t want to live there (rippppp)

Thomas was in love with Isabelle Higham

Thomas wrote a poem called Hermione and Roger and recited in front of everyone ( turns out he always sucked, but his poetry didn’t really sound that bad to me in this episode )

Isabelle played the harpsichord

I always wonder during this episode how Thomas remembers his death so wrongly, whether he’s lying about it or simply so horrified he forgot I don’t know

Even so, I think Thomas genuinely was in love and didn’t misinterpret as much before Isabelle

Thomas challenged some guy to a duel, we love a gun brandishing king

Francis is a bitch- anyway back to Thomas

Thomas went twenty paces instead of ten, should’ve listened to ten duel commandments Thomas

The first animation with the spinning paper thing was shown

Monster munch, no words

Julian with his bloody playboy magazine, I’m not surprised

First mention of Annie, Mary’s bestie

Humphrey is such a lovely soul, learning to admire the little things like shoes

Okay wait, Alison says “you’ve literally got forever” which parallels Captain’s “we’ve got forever”

HOLD UP THAT DUEL GUY WAS INSULTING MARY SHELLEY

HOW DARE HE

Thomas shot a bird and apologised before he died

Isabelle never came to see Thomas before he passed, he was left alone to die

Julian cried at Thomas’ death

Francis rigged the whole thing to trick Thomas and Isabelle in order to get Higham House

Francis and Isabelle’s son was George’s grandfather

Everyone is related through Robin and his sister

Poor Tom, you stay how you die and that letter isn’t going anywhere

Episode 5 - Bump in the Night

Cap likes to count with Humphrey’s hands

Captain tells Alison of life from the knees “Trust me, you don’t want a hernia” either he had one or knew someone who did

Humphrey knows that hedgehogs will leave flees in the rug

Also Captain and Humphrey’s exchange “Pick me up at six. Literally” “Very good” is so cute

Fanny references oyster forks

She assumes they’re eating oysters at the wedding

Julian sings “I’ll make love to you” by Boyz II Men

Humphrey on guard is cute

Captain does his own little vocalisation of what I’m assuming is a long way to Tipperary

Kitty assumes the intruders are there for a masked ball

Julian references the Bramptons and assumes it’s insurance fraud

Captain knows it’s a burglary

Pat tries to put them under a citizens arrest, so cute

Pat references Borstal

Alison taught Kitty acronyms - Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain

Captain calls the police the constabulary

“Burglary in process”

Captain - “why is no one ever alive when you need them?” Very telling, Cap

Julian gets worried Margaret Thatcher is dead. Too late Julian

Fanny admires the brushwork of her portrait

Cap and Pat watched Star Wars

Julian worries about getting RSI

Pat, Cap and Julian know Morse code

Julian lobbied against an animal welfare bill

Robin always gets excited by fire

Captain says he could have Robin shot off desertion, scaring Thomas

Alison meets a ghost who died hitchhiking. I find that to be an interesting concept, as the ghost is more based on the archetype. Makes me think about if Robin’s ability or character was created first

Robin howls for the dogs

Uh, Pat talks about drugs going in unsavoury places

Fanny would make a good criminal

Captain says he fought in an actual battle, it’s difficult to hear but it’s there

Julian loves a good sauna

Episode 6 - Perfect Day

Mary believes that bad weather means bad tidings for the wedding

Fanny believes marriages should be at churches

Pat’s wedding day was the best day of his life, Carol wore velvet and he wore a brown three piece

Julian was drunk on his wedding day

Fanny’s wedding day was at Winchester Cathedral and she was given away by the Marquis of Granby

Robin had at least thirty children

Kitty can throw up, and had food in her stomach when she died

Robin says that’s never happened before

Captain is very good at decorating, no surprise

Pat recognises the kid who killed him

Mary and her wedding superstitious

Both Pat and Julian talk about Dennis Waterman

Robin and Julian talk about Mick Hucknall

Kitty’s dress is burgundy

Captain has great fashion sense

Thomas references Whitechapel

You know, Thomas’ explanation of how Clare looked was pretty accurate, he’s quite aware of emotions

Fanny stops in front of George’s portrait, just an interesting detail

Fanny had high expectations placed on her since she was a child

Alison and Mike got married young

Alison had second thoughts on their wedding day

Mary had a husband, who was crushed underneath a plough three years after their marriage

The man Pat recognises is Keith Darren Dean

First time hearing about Humphrey’s marriage: it was arranged, they were both from noble families, he was fourteen she was twelve

They didn’t love each other, and Humphrey believed she didn’t like him, they couldn’t understand each other because she was French

Course later we find out she thought highly of him

Keith has guilt that has lasted decades, that sounds so painful

Fanny and Thomas exchange a look when she finally comes around to the wedding, it’s just so sweet I had to mention it

Keith remembers the knot tying Pat taught him

Episode 7 - The Ghost of Christmas

Julian is giving a speech for a bill at the start of the episode, referencing saying goodbye to Margot the day before

He refers to her as ‘this woman from my wedding’ and implies he’s about to sleep with another woman by the end of the scene

Nickname count: Dearest, darling and dear

The baby, Rachel, is heard crying on the phone

Margot asks when Julian is coming home, so he lies to her and says he won’t be back for days

Pat loves Christmas cooking, such a dear

Captain wishes he had a whiteboard

Julian points out the humbugs, and says he hates Christmas

Captain misses hearing the King’s speech on Christmas

Pat liked playing games with his nephew and his son, Daley

Games like Buckaroo, Boggle, Yahtzee and KerPlunk

Thomas misses the mistletoe, implying he’s been kissed before

Kitty used to open presents in the morning and then after lunch Eleanor would pick the ones she wanted

Mary says that some babies can see ghosts until they start walking

Julian is in the warmest room in the house due to his legs

Julian was in Brussels once at a strip club, but he tells Margot he’s at a restaurant eating moules-frites and drinking a Sancerre

Margot seems at least skeptical of him

This is one of the Christmases he misses, the last four of his life that involve Rachel

Julian references the European Union

Fanny convinced Alison to follow the tradition of chopping a tree down and bringing it on for Christmas

Fanny planted at least fifty saplings in her time

It’s kind of funny that Julian is horrified by Mary getting naked

Thomas’ Christmas recital thing wasn’t that bad

From inference, it’s implied that Julian believes Margot wanted the baby, and that he had it thrust upon him

And if “I know, darling, I know” represents Margot, and Julian thinks that’s a reaction she would have, damn is that sad

She’s practically taking the blame for his misery

Julian would go for a drive if the baby got too irritating to him

It appears that out of the four Christmases away from Rachel, one was to do oil deals, one was to be in Brussels, one at Colonel Gaddafi’s palace, and possibly another in Brussels

Pat loves Twister

Thomas and Cap have physical discipline

Pat would go to the shed to drink a Watney’s

Julian being considerate of Angela sleeping is either a new development, or something he was never pushed to do in life

The PC brigade may have interrogated Julian

Fanny seems to hold her Christmases in a high regard, despite George. Maybe it wasn’t always bad

Julian has kissed the wrong people under the mistletoe

Alison plays In the Bleak Midwinter on the piano

Rachel Fawcett is an MP for the Green Party, she’s a Major Leader of it

#bbc ghosts #mike cooper #alison cooper #the captain #julian fawcett #pat butcher #margot fawcett #rachel fawcett #humphrey bone #mary bbc ghosts #kitty bbc ghosts #robin bbc ghosts #thomas thorne #fanny button #george button

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scintillyyy · 5 months

Note

This is connected to a post you made about a month ago about why Tim isn't getting any older, and it's about Dick being in denial. This one:

https://www.tumblr.com/scintillyyy/733703509941354496/the-real-reason-that-tim-cant-age-over-18-is

And I was just wondering what is your belief in the age gaps between some of the main current/Previous Gotham vigilantes? Like they don't have to be canon, but what age gaps do you have in mind when you think about it? On the same line of thinking, how old do you think the characters should be now?

ahahaha, i usually live pretty firmly in post-crisis so all my age vibes and how old people should be go based on that. and while i will see someone do the concrete 'this is how old everyone should be based on timeline and dates' and i'm usually like "hell, yea!! that's exactly how it should be", in my head it's really usually vibes with two notable expections: 1) dick has to be 7 years older than tim, 2) tim has to be 7 years older than damian. and i try to reason out everyone else while keeping those concrete ones into consideration.

(the reason those are non-negotiable to me is because of damian being 10/tim being 17 during reborn era. and dick and tim in post-crisis were written as 12 & 5 at the circus and it's non-negotiable to me that tim a) was there that night and b) remembers it, so dick had to have been older than 8 (tim couldn't be 1). but i also don't like dick being 12, so i usually split the difference and put him at 9-10 at the time of his parents death with tim being 2.5-3ish. because at that age it is. at least technically possible that tim would have been able to form a concrete memory of an extremely traumatic event.)

so yea. at the end of post-crisis, my ages for then look like this:

damian is 10

tim is 17

steph is about a year older than tim, so she's 18.

jason is probably about 2 years older than tim, so he's probably around 19.

cass is 2.5-3 years older than tim (he was 15 and she was closer to 17-18 when she was introduced), so she's probably about 20.

jpv was tragically dead, but i imagine he was always around dick's age

dick is 24

helena i don't have a concrete age on, but i vibe her as probably within a couple years of dick's age? so she's nebulously 23-26ish

barbara, to me, is 5 years older than dick, so she's 29.

bruce is far more nebulous, but i usually see him starting batman around when he was about 22-25. and he picks up dick at year 3, he's probably about 24-27. which if my dick is 10, then he's about 15-17 years older than dick. which would place him anywhere from 39-44ish (most likely 40-41ish).

leslie was thomas's med school friend, right. so she was probably about the same age. if thomas was probably in his 30s when he died, so was leslie. making her 25-30 years older than bruce. placing her at mid to late 60s/early 70s (and she's still doing surgeries. good for her. but also. retire, girl.)

alfred, eternally 70s

which if we go by current age of damian, then to me everyone should be the following: damian 14 -> duke i'm not entirely sure of bc i haven't read his stuff tbh but if he was in high school at his introduction he'd be here now at like 17-18? -> tim 21 -> steph 22 -> jason 23 -> cass 24 -> dick 28 -> is jpv alive again? you know what he deserves to be the same age as dick for ultimate pettiness on dick's part. 28 it is. -> helena late 20s -> barbara 33 (and thriving, the 30s are fantastic) -> bruce mid to late 40s (probably closer to mid, 45-46ish) -> alfred, well, dead i guess.

so that's how old they should be to *me* but i also understand why dc doesn't want to keep aging them and are making the gaps smaller and more ridiculous. it's funny, tim did exert pressure on the timeline when he was introduced, but when it was just him, it was a lot easier to have him be a teenager while keeping bruce nebulously in his 30s and dick nebulously in his 20s for such a long time. but the introduction of damian has really exerted pressure because once you start wanting to age him up (which was inevitable! the writers weren't going to want to tell stories of him at 10 forever if they wanted to grow him as a character. it's the same as when tim was robin, why he didn't stay 13-14 forever and eventually aged him up to 16-17. so they could expand on the stories they told for him.) without without wanting to age everyone else up then you really end up with ridiculous age gaps that don't make any sort of realistic sense with the history of the characters and what they've been through in their time (but hey, it's comics. it is what it is. time works funky sometimes.).

so yea, this is how i feel about their ages in my heart lol.

(for some non-vigilante fun, i can tell you that jack drake was canonically only 43 at the time of his death (which makes some of his character designs really funny in retrospect), which would have made him 27 when tim was born (as tim was 16 when jack died). meaning janet was also probably about 26-27 (or, to me, most likely a few years younger, so closer to 24ish. she could have been older but i just do not see jack going for an older woman.) (i can also calculate a potential conception date considering tim's birthday on 7/19 depending on if you want him preterm, term, or postterm), which means she would have. most likely been about 37-39ish when she died. dana winters had to have been at least 24-25 considering she was a licensed physical therapist but is implied to at least have some experience but was still young by the time she started working with jack so she was probably late 20s when she got together with late 30s jack).

#scintilly ask tag #annah kitathryne

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