#my favorite part was when superman and Bruce were talking like

[flyingcatstiel]

I’m currently reading superbat fics (sorry, destiel, stony and dinluke, I’ll get back to you some day) and I’m having great time with commenting and authors replying to me. It’s a whole new fandom experience when I can read fics just for personal enjoyment, without planning fic rec lists. So much easier to comment, wtf. Anyways, I’m following 4 superbat identity p*rn fics right now, and it’s glorious. What a feast. My favorite trope, so many interesting ways to explore it. Happy holidays to all superbat writers but especially those 4 WIP writers🎄

ETA - here be some recs

ETA, March 2024 - HERE BE SOME UPDATES!

@pinkb00bsocks asked about those 4 WIPs. Here they are! The usual disclaimer - there are plenty of excellent superbat WIPs going on right now, but I've limited spoons and these are the ones I currently enjoy.

The World and All Its Hedgehogs by Ginevra_Benci [M. 8,007 word count, WIP, 4/?] To investigate illegal arms sale taking place at a tropical resort hotel, Batman goes under cover as a vacuous billionaire Brucie Wayne and Superman takes a part time job as a porter. They didn't coordinate this, they don't know each others civilian identities. Every time they talk there are at least 3 different conversations going on and it is glorious. Also, so much lust. ;)

(Also, check out Interviewing & Counceling series by the same author. Clark is having a superhero identity crisis and Bruce is there to catch Clark gently as he spirals down. It has one of the softest identity reveals in superbat fics. ETA - the series is now complete, it has 5 parts and 18k word count. Awesome ending to the softest identity reveal story)

Watching Our Stars Align by ClarkeStetler [M, 28,840 word count, WIP, 7/14] There's a dating/chatting app only for superheroes and all identities are secret. What could go wrong? Bruce and Clark get matched under their new pseuds, and same happens to Tim Drake and Conner Kent. Now fathers and sons gotta navigate complicated relationships that come with secret identities and judging your coworkers hastily while talking heart to heart to anonymous superhero. The identity porn part happens through DM, which just happens to be another favorite trope of mine. [The story is going strong, it has 10/14 chapters now and a wonderful tangle of 3 secret identities!]

(Love) Triangles Have Multiple Centers by frozenpotions [T, 27,281 word count, WIP, 4/10] This fic wastes no time getting playboy billionaire Brucie Wayne and pining-after-his-coworker journalist Clark Kent together. After that, first time uneasy partners Batman and Superman gotta solve a case and their civilian selves gotta deal with the realities of their one night stand. Complicated doesn't even cover it! [The fic is being updated and Clark and Bruce are being put through new trials, 6/10 chapters]

A Favor for a Friend by RedFive [Explicit, 18,286 word count, WIP, 4/7] Omega verse fic with alpha playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne and omega journalist Clark Kent. I'm fascinated by dominant, flirtatious, sexually ravenous alpha Brucie Wayne who moonlights as a stoic, covered in scent blockers thus unclear second gender, Batman. Meanwhile omega Clark, due to being Kryptonian, is much less ruled by his second gender. That is, until he meets Mr. Wayne. This fic has so much lust and tension between the two. Does accidental heat triggering counts as a soulmate mark? I'm gonna count it like that. [The fic has entered the finish line, only a chapter or two are left to finish this wild, explosive, life changing story of two people who were meant for each other. 8/? chapters, 44k word count] The fic is now complete!!! 9 chapters, 56,153 word count. (Also, there's this new TV show about two gay dudes, and istg, they look like Bruce and Clark from this fic. I'm not naming it here because I don't want to highjack the show tag with superbat post, but go and check the tag on tumblr)

*****

And a special shout out to two identity shenanigan WIPs that are not actively updating but are absolute must reads.

ship-to-ship combat by pomeloquat [M, 62,737 word count, WIP, 12/13] OK, so, for me personally, this is the ultimate identity p*rn fic across all fandoms I've read so far. This fic has one of the highest amount of secret identity pairs in superbat fics. There's the usual pining silently Batman/Superman, then there's Clark dating Bruce, Superman saving Bruce Wayne from peril, Clark Kent chatting with Batman. And the cherry on top is Clark writing Bruceman fanfic which is basically a RPF of his two friends, Batman and Bruce Wayne. Which leads to an internet friendship with a fellow fan, who is, you guessed, Bruce. This fic has great reflections on fandom and shipping culture. But the very beating heart of this fic is about how easy it is to lose something you wished to have but were afraid to ask for. The fic, at 12/13, is technically a WIP, but the main reveal is already done, and it is glorious. ETA - THIS IS NOT A DRILL, the fic is finished and the last chapter is a super meta cherry on a top of delicious, layered superhero identity and fandom shenanigans parfait. 13 chapters, 76,7k word count.

10 Things Every Brucie Fan Needs in Their Life by pomeloquat [T, 8,956 word count, WIP, 5/10] The main premise of this fic is hilarious and yet so, so right. Bruce Wayne is promoting himself as a nation's boyfriend instead of a playboy, and is making bank out of his wholesome, PG rated merchandise. The chapters of this fic tell continuous story but they also can be read as separate vignettes, so there's really no cliffhanger. This fic is so soft and fluffy, it will heal your soul. Also, Superman has celebrity crush on Bruce Wayne. Batman is amused.

#flyingcatstiel has thoughts #I’m doing small superbat reblog spree tonight #just to get everything out of my drafts #superbat #identity p*rn #identity shenanigans #superbat fic recs #i already added these to the reblog #but eh #let's ad them here as well #add #i worked hard on them #sometimes i forget how to tumblr #fic rec of the day

[mistress-of-vos]

My favorite part of this it's the very obvious attempt of Manchester to make Lex mad. I haven't have time to read the whole arc but just by these panels you can see that he wants Lex to be angry, he wants Lex to lose control, he wants Lex to be hurt.

(Warning: A lot of text)

"He doesn't think of you" it's a very clear lie. Again and again Superman (Clark) has always thought of Lex as the one behind any crime he comes across with, not to say that Clark also keeps an eye on anything Lex does because he assumes there's a second intention (and I mean, usually there is one). It reminds me a bit of Batman&Joker, with Batman constantly going to visit Joker at Arkham and ask about the crimes outside because on Bruce's mind there's no way Joker isn't involved.

For two heroes who insist they aren't obsessed with their villains, they sure tend to think *a lot* of them and constantly blame them for any crime that happens. Almost as if they wanted them (Lex&Joker) to be fighting once again.

And sure, Clark's emotions about Lex aren't equally intense. Clark is resigned and has been like that for years at this point. Clark convinced himself that Lex couldn't be saved or changed (which is hilarious considering that just some years ago DC did a whole run of Lex playing hero). Clark closed that door of memories and moved on. Clark had to move on, which doesn't mean he hadn't wanted to tell Lex the truth at some point (Smallville explores this so much better that I could do in here).

Lex, in the other hand, *has* to be in a position akin to obsessed. After all, Superman is what stands between him and ruling the world to finally make it change to his image of perfection. However I think here's where Lex is different from Joker: Joker is capable of living without Batman, turning into an agent of chaos and definetely losing his main objective, but he *can* and will keep going without Batman - see Return of the Joker for an example -. Lex? Lex would be lost without Superman.

Not in a literal matter, no. Lex is more than capable than being alive without Superman, and it has been showed that, if given the chance, Lex could create an almost perfect society. But what do you do when you finally have all you want? Lex wouldn't turn into an agent of chaos like Joker does without Batman. Lex would finally create his perfect society, he would have anything he wanted, he would be the most powerful creature. And what would he do then?

What would someone with a mind as intelligent as Lex's do when there's no challenge to defeat? This is also why hero!Lex can work so well: Lex likes to be challenged, his mind too active as to live a normal life as a business man or even president. He needs to be obsessed with a goal, whether it be kill Superman, achieve a perfect world or save people.

Anyway, I find extremely beautiful that even if it was just for a few panels, we got to see this emotional side of Lex again: Clark was his friend, and if you ask me, his soulmate. Clark and Lex were a perfect pair, and both of them ruined it in different ways, yet it was Lex who kept being bitter and kept mourning, while Clark decided to stich up his heart and move on.

Have I told you that Lex's canon reminds me a bit of the new canon regarding Talia? If you look at comics before n52, it was Lex who came off as an ex who was still in love and couldn't quite keep on, while Talia was written as still caring about Bruce but caring way more about her and the world (hence why she tries to destroy Lex). She had moved on and had her own things until recently where writers decided to write her as never getting over Bruce. It's interesting to see as a Lex fan, because Lex 100% has never been able to let go of Clark.

I'm talking too much and it's all to say that I think these panels were brilliant. Lex is exactly the type of person to break down at a lie as big as Clark's identity (again, watch Smallville!) and he would not be able to forgive this. Not easily, at least.

Clark has also been obsessed with Lex, Clark has also been hurt by Lex's lies. But there's something captivating about the proposition that the humble farmer boy decided to heal while the most intelligent man of the world decided to mourn forever.

Lex is the smartest creature of Earth, perhaps even one of the smartest of the universe, and yet he still misses his best friend. He mourns, he craves, he screams for Clark so loud that it hurts him. And he doesn't even know it, because Lex *refused* to see that Clark (his Clark!) was Superman. Lex decided to be blind, and it only made everything hurt so much more when Clark told everyone his secret.

I think that deep down, Lex knew the truth. There's no way he looked at Kon's face and didn't see Clark's soft features. There's no way Lex didn't notice that same smile on Kon that Clark used to have in Smallville. But it was easier to be blind, it was easier to pretend he didn't know.

So yes, of course Lex would get mad. He has been hurting for Superman (Clark) all these years and he gets told that the man doesn't think of him? It's natural that he would get mad. And Lex, as smart as he is, can't see that it's a half-life.

Clark thinks of him. But he doesn't think of Lex as someone to be saved anymore: He thinks of Lex as someone who has to be stopped.

#clex #clark kent x lex luthor #clark x lex #clark kent #lex luthor #dc comics #shipping #meta #analysis #batjokes #kind of

[aizawas-upper-left-wisdom-tooth]

Idea for a fanfic. This could be of any fandom. The fic takes place in a world that has something significantly different from our world. (Ie-. Pokemon, LOTR, DC, MARVEL, ect.) And it's a fandom that the fanfic author is a real nerd about so they know a bunch of details about the story and interworking of the world and characters.

Then enters our MC. MC could be a self insert/YN/OC does not matter, but they are originally from our world and universe. Then they somehow get transported(or my personal favorite, reborn) into the fandoms world. The catch??? They are not a fan of the media that they are now a part of. Here's my example of what spurred this idea.

MC is reborn, they remembered dying then they were trapped for a while in a tight room and they feel different from before. One day it's too tight and they break free! Only to discover they are some weird bird monster thing they don't recognize??? and now they're stuck in the nest while growing up??? When they finally learn how to fly they're ecstatic at finally being able to see the world and any of the creatures outside because they haven't seen anything other than their mother and maybe siblings since hatching. They spread their wings and are doing dips and dives and are so happy to finally be rid of the nest and- is that a fucking Jiggly Puff??????!!!!!

Turns out they're like a Ho-Oh or something and what they know of Pokemon is only the base random tidbits from existing on the internet and hearing people talk about it at school. Now they have to deal with random cults, gangs, and scientists going after them because they're super rare and practically a god or something! Bonus if they decide to be like some random quite kids Pokemon who has no interest in fighting, or some sweet old lady who's only other Pokemon is a Magikarp who keeps almost drowning??? despite being a literal fish???? and now they're attached to the old lady and don't want her to be heartbroken about this dumbass fish that won't fish properly?????

But this could be for any fandom at any point in that fandoms time! They could be any character! Imagine them as Harry Potter but they haven't watched the movies much less read the books! Maybe when they were like 12, but they were 48 when they died!!! and that was a lifetime ago and now they have to deal with Voldemort and the Dursleys??? Horcrux?? There was something about a Sword or Gryffindor?? Was that one of them?????

Or ending up in DC comics and deciding they want to fight crime so who better than Batman to train them!? Nevermind how I know your secret identity Bruce! Whos this guy? Your son Damian? I thought his name was Dick? Where's Batgirl? What do you mean which one????

Bonus points if they're actually a convincing liar and most of the freakouts are in their heads where we get a front row seat to the panic and pure "fake it till you make it" attitude with small povs of other characters thinking to themselves about how "it's so amazing this 7year old is so competent!"

Or the exact opposite, where they were a full adult who just got spat out in this new universe and everyone around them is like "What do you mean you didn't know Aliens were real?? Superman literally just saved you last week? What do you mean what does that have to do with Aliens?? Superman is an Alien!!!! How did you not know this?????

IDK, but tag me/lmk if anyone goes anywhere with this because I love this idea of someone having just random tidbits of mixed (and sometimes wildly inaccurate) information from their previous life/world about this new world and the story lines in it!

#funny #ao3 #ao3 fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #fanfiction ideas #funny fanfiction ideas #story ideas #it would be hilarious #isekai #isekai story #other worlds #fandom #fandoms unite #oc #please make it funny though #pokemon #harry potter #dc comics #feel free to run with it #please tag me #or dm me #or comment if you do this #looking for fun reads #that are enjoyable no matter the fandom #except DBZ #fuck DBZ #sorry if you like it #but it sucks

[sebeth]

Legion of Super-Heroes #5 (Bendis)

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

The issue picks up where the previous issue ended: the confrontation with the Science Police. Brainiac 5 convinces the Science Police to stand down. Superboy (Jon) is told to finish the orientation packet.

The Legion speculates on why the President of the United Planets sicced the police on the Legion. Is it because of Mordru? Aquaman’s Trident? Imprisoning the ruler of Rimbor in their basement? A combination of all three?

Shadow Lass talks trash about the Invisible Kid. Jacques Foccart, the “Invisible Gentleman” is sick of the disrespect and quits the Legion. Bendis included an actual canon person of color only to have them appear and quit in one panel? Was there a point to this?

Jacques was never a favorite of mine mostly because he was relegated to the back to mutter a random French phrase. I did enjoy Jacques’ role in the “5 Years Later” era. He became a respected leader of the resistance and had an adorable relationship with Infectious Lass. I would love to see more of that Jacques.

Brainy sends Ultra Boy, Dawnstar, and Shadow Lass to find the Trident. Jo isn’t happy because he wants to remain and deal with his father. Brainy tells the group that if they see Timber Wolf, Monster Boy, or Wildfire to grab them. I’m pretty sure we saw either Timber Wolf or Monster Boy a few pages ago. The Legionnaire had the colors of Timber Wolf and the chest symbol vaguely looked like Brin’s. The person’s build was too bulky for Brin and his head had a Frankenstein-type appearance so I’m assuming it was Monster Boy.

Brainy confronts Chameleon Boy on his secret: Reep’s mother is the president of the United Planets. This has roots in previous continuities as Reep was revealed to be the son of RJ Brande’s son (the Legion’s founder and financial backer) in the original version. RJ Brande also served as the President of the United Planets (the reboot if I remember correctly). Bendis may have also taken inspiration form Lyle Norg’s story in the threeboot – he was revealed to be the son of a high-ranking Science Police officer during a SP-Legion confrontation.

Reep says he has a complicated relationship with his mother, but they are on speaking terms. He just wanted to get out from under her reputation.

We turn to Bouncing Boy and Superboy. Chuck reveals his father was trash. Did we know much of Chuck’s parents in the previous continuities.

Jon resumes Computo’s orientation program. We witness the UP President announcing the formation of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Oh, and we discover the President’s name is R.J. Brande. RJ is female instead of male as in the previous continuities, but does gender mean much to a race of shape-shifters?

RJ references previous heroic teams like the Justice League and the Teen Titans. Crav the General Nah and President Omacc of Rimbor aren’t fans of the idea. Is Ommac a reference to OMAC? OMAC, or One Man Army Corps, started out as a Jack Kirby creation. It was not part of the Fourth World/New Gods line but one of his sci-fi flavored ideas like Ben Boxer and Kamandi.

OMAC was radically altered when it was part of the “Infinite Crisis” tie-ins. They were multiple OMAC machine-like beings. Sasha Bordeaux (Bruce Wayne’s former bodyguard) was partially changed into an OMAC. The New 52 had a version of OMAC but I never read it so I don’t know the details.

Does President Omacc or Braal now have connections to OMAC? Do we need another connection to the 20th/21st century?

RJ pitches the idea to Imra, Garth, and Rokk. Garth has no idea who the Justice League is as “They don’t teach any Earth on my planet”.  Rokk fanboys out: “The original Superman and the Batman from Planet Gotham. And there was a Thangarian classic with those awesome wings.” Rokk’s knowledge makes sense as he was a big-time 20th/21st century historian in previous continuities.

Garth also notes his planet “barely teach us to read our first language”. I don’t recall illiteracy being a problem on Winath in previous era. Mostly I recall a twins-majority population and a focus on agriculture.

RJ notes Jon Kent invented the United Planets. Do you know how old Jon would have to be to have formed the United Planets? I understand the lifespan of a Kryptonian varies from the different eras but Jon would be ancient. And why are the Legion allowing Jon to view this? Wouldn’t that be an outside source influencing the course of his life? I seem to recall the Legion not telling Clark of his life in the past so they wouldn’t impact the course of his 20th century life.

Rokk, Imra, and Garth agree to form the Legion. Sgt Blokk of the Science Police walks by and Rokk offers him membership. Blokk agrees. I’m not positive he is aware of what he agrees to.

I love Blok, he’s so sweet, gentle, and endlessly curious about those weirdo organic beings he hangs with.

The trio then travels to Colu to recruit Brainiac 5 (Querl Dox).

 Brainy agrees and reveals his knowledge of the past heroic era impacts the future. I’m not typing out the whole page of dialogue but I will this quote: “When earth broke into pieces so did its already rebooted and revised history and timeline. Earth could not be more important to us and our survival and yet…it’s all broken. To be translated, interpreted, misinterpreted.”

I could rant on the hot mess that is DC’s continuity but I’ll save that for another post.

Brainy announces Jon Kent is the one to teach them how to hero. Seriously? I understand Bendis was writing the Superman titles at the time but Jon is not at the point in his career where he could be a mentor to other heroes. He’s still a rookie himself

Brainy reveals Jon will be “the one true Superman”  Yeah, that Clark guy? He’s nothing!

Jon is overwhelmed after this info dump. Imra attempts to reassure Jon but is interrupted by Brainy announcing: “All legionnaires! They found the Trident! It’s here. Evacuate immediately!”

Legion Roster Formation Order:

Cosmic Boy (founder)

Saturn Girl (founder)

Lightning Lad (founder)

Blok

Brainiac 5

The big change is Blok joining the group immediately after its formation. In the original continuity, he was a late Silver Age/early Bronze Age addition.

Pros:

Rokk the 20th/21st Century historian-fanboy!

Blokk! More child-like than normal but still a sweet, gentle soul.

Cons:

The heavy focus on “Jon the savior”. Bendis is telling, not showing, why Jon is necessary. The only thing Jon has done so far is knock out Crav – which Mon-El accomplished in a previous issue.

Rokk as uncertain leader. He was useless in the Legion-Science Police showdown. Bendis should read the Threeboot to see how Cosmic Boy handles the Science Police.

The story moves at a snail pace. I know Bendis loves the decompression style but this would have been accomplished in less than two issues in the 1980s.

Paul Levitz’s retro-boot run wasn’t great but all future Legion creators should refer to his classic runs on the Legion to see how he seamlessly interwove a large cast with multiple plots and kept the plots moving at a fast pace. He also had great character interactions and defined personalities for the members of the team.

#legion of super heroes #legion of super-heroes #losh #lsh #superboy #brainiac 5 #chameleon boy #rj brande #united planets #jon kent #ultra boy #jo nah #blok #cosmic boy #lightning lad #saturn girl #rokk krinn #garth ranzz #imra ardeen #crav nah #querl dox #dc comics #dcu

[rezonan]

Yeah.. let's leave out the fact she's a mass murdering terrorist that used to talk about wiping out the human race. Like she's a great character and all but c'mon don't leave out information like that just because you hate Bruce. Like c'mon dude Bruce used to send her to Arkham ASYLUM for a reason. (Mostly talking about her post crisis version by the way, I'm aware DC has been pushing her and Harley as Anti-Heroes/villians since new 52)

Would be like if I started defending Ra's Al Ghul because he also wants to save the world. Ignoring LITERALLY everything else about him and his methods. But whatever it's the whole Bruce punches poor mentally ill take all over again with a new coat of paint.

Edit: couldn't resist to talk more about this and her tbh

The well-intentioned extremist as a villain is a classic (see Magneto or Azrael). Ivy is a little unique in that she is in Batman’s rogue gallery vs someone like Swamp thing. The well-intentioned extremist is usually a dark mirror of the protagonist.

The fact that Bruce (in theory) represents exactly who is a danger to the environment in some peoples eyes makes it an intriguing concept that COULD have some emotional depth and nuance… but rarely does.

Nuance is hard, so Ivy gets reduced to absurdist villain or misunderstood anti-hero, depending on the writer, with no in between. And Bruce is either a dumbass, asshole or just plain in the right. Just no nuance

Another thing is that depending on the writer line.

Outside of the Batman Animated show, Ivy has never been written consistently. Like more than usual for comic characters

She debuted as a femme fatale who was in love with Bruce Wayne and Batman (kind of like a plant version of Catwoman) and then barely made any more appearances in Batman for the better part of a decade, mostly showing up in JLA…

old Ivy was a Good Ole‘ Southern Belle who wanted money And she didn’t have any control over plants in her early Batman issues. What her powers are, or her motivations, change from writer to writer…and when Dini re-invented Ivy as an eco-terrorist (possibly because a children’s show can’t lean as hard into the horny femme-fatale who seduces men) the Comics were still portraying her as Batman-obsessed and money-focused (Hothouse/Shadow of the Bat Annual #3).

During ‘No Man’s Land,’ Ivy was a lot more sympathetic…kidnapped by Clayface and then protecting orphaned children in Central Park…but then with Hush she is back to being a typical super-villain, mind-controlling Superman.

She is not some good all loving hero that that dude is talking about most of the time that's for sure, everyone should read Black Orchid because God that's when you'll know how disturbed this woman is.

While all the topic of poison ivy, check out her current series, it's peak, probably my favorite take of the character of all time.

#batman #dc #poison ivy #bruce wanye

[kob131]

RWBY X Justice League: Superheroes and Huntsmen Part One Review (No Spoilers)

Dedicating this to @fallentitan98

So if I had to sum up the movie in a sentence, it would be-

“This should have been about 30-40 minutes longer.”

Summary:

So basic idea of the movie is ‘What if the Justice League found themselves in the world of RWBY as teenagers?’ This basic idea guides the whole movie, from the tone of the Justice League characters to how the movie is presented. 

Unforunately, both RWBY and ESPECIALLY DC are heavily dense properties with a bit of history at least behind them. So this causes some...issues.

Characters:

When it comes to a crossover event, judging characters is rather different since you have to judge them based on how they are portrayed in relation to their original counterparts. I will relate the DC characters to you but my focus will have to be on RWBY as that is my specialty here.

For DC, we have the likes of Superman/Clark, Wonder Woman/Diana, Batman/Bruce, The Flash/Barry, Green Lantern, Vixen and Cyborg. ... I grew up with the 2000′s JL cartoon, I just have the names of those four stuck in me okay?

With Vixen, Cyborg, Green Lantern and Diana- they seem consistent with the popular depiction of their characters. Cyborg is a bit sarcastic but well meaning; Vixen is frustrated by the situation but also confident and upbeat; Green Lantern is having issues which becomes an arc she gets and Diana is basically a warrior poet.

Barry is...off for reasons.

Clark has two lines in the movie that seem a bit too confident for him but that could be something that pops up in certain incarnations. Otherwise, he is the same Man of Steel as always- pure, wholesome, kind, responsible and having a grounded wisdom to him. To be truthful, Clark and his interactions with Ruby were my favorite parts of the movie.

And then we have Bruce. Bruce has an arc centered around a key aspect of the Batman character and how it can conflict with the core of who Bruce is as a hero- determined to save people. It can be considered massively missing the mark OR an exploration of Bruce’s character. It’s weird, much like the movie itself. But no, he is not a joke in the movie nor is he a generic brooding man. He is a calm, cool, smart and analytical man.

As for RWBY characters...things are off with them.

Yang, Blake and Jaune are perfectly fine. They’re relatively consistent to their Beacon characterization with Jaune lacking some of his patheticness, instead using his ability to support others both figuratively and literally which works because spoilers.

Ren and Nora have a...not-love triangle thing with Cyborg (this is not a spoiler, it does nothing) that feels like 95% of it was cut. Other than that, they’re consistent too.

And Ruby has an arc that involves Clark that makes sense for her character (especially if you watch Volume 9) but because the movie is like a skeleton- the meat of the arc is a bit lacking.

Gonna be honest- The RWBY cast feels the most off between them and the DC characters. Which makes sense when you consider the writer is from DC, not RT. Still, I would say it functions as intended. Just not very smoothly.

Animation:

The animation is actually pretty damn good. The fight scenes have good flow to them, a good sense of speed and momentum for the most part, interesting action. And the more casual animation works- faces emote and move properly, movements and gestures are effective in communicating the meaning behind the characters’ words.

This is one of the best showing for the CRWBY team yet.

Humor:

Almost entirely subjective. All I can say is it’s standard RWBY fair minus 2D anime cliches. Also no, this is not MCU humor. RT was doing this in RvB in 2004.

Plot, Pacing and Tone:

Okay, it is REALLY hard to talk about this without spoiling anything because good lord, is this movie densely packed.

Character interactions and plot progression are often mashed together with each other, which can often result in very awkward lines. Fortunately for DC fans, this is almost entirely on the RWBY end. Because much of the awkwardness comes from the writing needing to explain RWBY worldbuilding to the DC characters without having enough time for exposition. For example, Weiss outright calls Dust a ‘natural resource’, which while true has NEVER been how Weiss has talked about Dust in the past.

As for tone- it’s similar to Volumes 1 and 2. Some serious moments but general light hearted fun. Both DC and RWBY characters become the butt of jokes as well as moments to have more emotional and vulnerable instances. It’s not deathly serious like many DC properties nor does it have the same gravity as something like the 2000′s JL cartoons. But it’s not Teen Titans Go. It’s a mix of plot and humor.

Conclusion:

The whole movie feels...weird. I think this is what ‘rushed’ was originally supposed to mean. At 80 minutes, this is a rather short movie and it doesn’t really work. Humor and animation are fine because time doesn’t usually affect these. But the plot and especially the characters? There’s just not enough time to go through the proper steps. Things like the reveal of the villain or Ruby and Bruce’s arcs could work. They’re not exactly failures but they have been stripped of their meat. And the meat is what you taste in a movie, not the bones that make up the structure.

Bruce’s writing might set you off- it’s the biggest risk taken here. And the RWBY parts are a bit...off. So I can’t say this was fantastic or great. But it does give some good action, the character interactions between Ruby and Bruce, Yang, Blake and Diana; and Jaune and Green Lantern are great and the rest is given a real shot, just without the time to flourish.

All in all, an honest but stumbling effort of a movie.

#rwby #rwby x jl #rwby spoilers #tagging just to make sure

[thevindicativevordan]

Maybe you've talked about this before but I'm curious what it is about Wonder Woman the Justice League show got wrong to some people.

No I haven't talked about DCAU Wonder Woman in-depth, mainly because she lacks depth. Her problem is fairly straightforward: she's entirely defined by being Batman's wannabe girlfriend.

Seriously go ahead and try to think of a great DCAU Wonder Woman moment or episode that isn't tied to Batman in any way. Her flirting with him is the number one attribute about her that people care about, when Susan Eisenberg was asked what she would like to do with the character in a hypothetical Justice League reunion, her answer was "I'd like to explore more of her romance with Batman". When I read that I was baffled. Explore a relationship doomed to failure because Bruce has to end up a bitter loner for Batman Beyond? That's what you want to do? After reflecting on it however, I can understand why she would feel that way. What else is there to explore? Treatment of Diana's mythos in the DCAU is a complete joke, her two major villains used on the show - Cheetah and Circe - were not afforded any respect. Cheetah kissing Batman and Circe making Batman sing "I'm a little tea cup" are the only uses of her Rogues Gallery in the DCAU that people remember. Steve Trevor was an old man in the present day that she only met via time travel. Like Superman she was clearly not the favorite of anyone involved in the show.

Outside of shipping her with Batman, Timm and Dini's go-to move when they didn't know what to do with a female character, she didn't get treated well. Much like how the DCAU paved the way for the modern Lex Luthor, combining the CEO and mad scientist, the DCAU is what cemented Wonder Woman as "the warrior". Like Superman she's mainly characterized as a hothead, and she's also meant to be a rookie learning about Man's World, unlike her peers who are all experienced heroes by the time the League forms. One of her few focus episodes is about an evil Amazon Aresia trying to kill off the world's men, with Diana making a few misandrist comments about how she's not sure why she should stop Aresia, with the lesson Diana learns being Not All Men Are Bad™. This was even the first time that I remember the concept of Diana having a divine father was introduced with Hades. You can draw a line from her depiction here to how she was characterized in the New 52 and under Zack Snyder in the DCEU.

So people latch on to the Batman relationship because it's at least something. Their interactions are cute and Batman is part of the "troubled heroes" category like Avatar: The Last Airbender's Zuko which shippers go crazy for. Leaves this incarnation feeling shallow and diminished compared to comics Wonder Woman at her best, but I understand why she has fans. Eisenberg is also a great voice actress and I remain fond of her performance regardless of my issues with Wonder Woman's characterization.

If there was ever to be a Wonder Woman cartoon I'd prefer it be a clean reboot set in it's own continuity. Again like Superman I think Wonder Woman is better served being off in her own bubble with no other heroes, it's just too tempting for all the Batman fanboys running things at DC to use her to prop their boy up. She deserves better than that.

#wonder woman #dcau

[spiderdreamer-blog]

Superman: The Animated Series (1996)

It’s not always easy to appreciate how groundbreaking Batman: The Animated Series was. Much in the same way that The Simpsons revolutionized adult animated sitcoms, Batman completely changed the game for action cartoons in America. And as it wrapped up its initial run, the obvious question arose of what to do next. While creator/producer Bruce Timm wasn’t initially eager to do a Superman series, believing it would be much more difficult even with Batman under his team’s belt, he warmed to the idea and set forth on a series that would follow in those footsteps, but create its own identity. Gone were the gothic shadows of Gotham City, replaced by sunny Epcot-esque futurism. The heavy Max Fleischer influence on the character design would give way to a sleeker, streamlined look more reminiscent of Jack Kirby and Japanese anime (designer and art director Glen Murakami would take the latter influences even further on series like Batman Beyond and Teen Titans). And Superman himself would be a vastly different lead character, which trickled downwards. So how do things hold up?

As usual, we start off with a bang in my favorite rendering of the origin in the three-part pilot movie, “The Last Son of Krypton”. Jor-El desperately tries to warn the planet Krypton of its impending destruction, but they are unmoved, especially with Brainiac manipulating matters to the A.I.’s favor. Right out of the gate, we have smart decisions. I greatly dislike the depiction of Krypton as a cold, ultra-conformist state, and while it certainly has problems from what we see, there’s less of an implicit suggestion that they had this coming. Jor-El is portrayed as a nuanced figure, correct in his warnings and ultimately heroic in his dogged pursuit, but it doesn’t ring false when Lara and others chastise him for being so caught up in being right that it’s become obsessive. And tying Brainiac into Krypton’s origins immediately gives him character through his twisted logic and ego rather than “he’s a bottle city collector because wacky Silver Age” (and don’t get me wrong, I love me some Silver Age).

The tragedy comes as it must, and moving into Earth gives us more smart decisions with Jonathan and Martha Kent coming off as regular people rather than saintly. Then we segue into Metropolis with my favorite depictions of Lois Lane and Lex Luthor ever, as well as Superman’s first public showing and fight against John Corben. All wonderfully efficient and full of great character beats. I particularly enjoy Luthor’s smugness that turns to anger as he tries to talk a stonewalling Superman into working for him, or Martha observing that Superman could use good PR because she doesn’t want people to think he’s “like that NUT in Gotham City”.

We then move into the main body of the series, which is episodic but far more connected than what could be amorphous continuity in Batman. A lot happens step-by-step, such as the discovery of Kryptonite in “A Little Piece of Home” or Parasite’s energy-sucking powers in “Feeding Time” prompting Superman to create protections. Or how “Tools of the Trade” has a story that appears to be about crime boss Bruno Mannheim, then reveals itself at the end to have set a far grander stage with the introduction of Apokolips...and Darkseid. It’s certainly not as heavily serialized as series we have now or even some at the time like Gargoyles, but it’s an important step regardless. And we get the first inklings of a wider DCAU, with appearances by the Flash, Dr. Fate, Aquaman (albeit with his classic design rather than the Peter David mullet-and-hook-hand 90s look that would take hold later in Justice League), Kyle Rayner becoming Earth’s first Green Lantern, and of course, Batman fully folding in with “World’s Finest”, a 3-parter still so awesome I’m mad more adaptations haven’t taken inspiration from it. This is a smart approach creatively because it allows Timm and company to expand the scale and tone of stories that can be told with these characters, esp. because it can be so matter of fact in terms of Superman going “well I know this magic dude, he might be able to help”. Superman himself gets to be far more present in the narrative than Batman could be at times, which so often ceded the viewpoint to its villains. And we even explore his psychology in episodes like “The Late Mr. Kent”, where he has to consider both the effect he’s had and what might be lost if he has to give up his human identity.

Character, of course, is what these shows live or die on, as well as casting, and voice director Andrea Romano assembles another incredible team of actors to give life to these icons. In terms of our heroes, Tim Daly is an excellent Superman, bringing his sitcom bonafides from Wings to create a man of steel who’s very grounded rather than an unapproachable god, and without coming off as phony or bland. If I had one criticism, it’s that I think he’s not always up to the task of Superman’s righteous fury, occasionally coming off as flat in trying to work himself up; George Newbern is more natural and intimidating with these beats later on in Justice League/Unlimited. (I will say he’s an excellent Bizarro, mining a lot of comedy and tragedy out of the character in ways I rarely see) Dana Delany is an outstanding match for him as Lois Lane, a modern career woman who’s genuinely sexy and romantic to boot; she often gets the funniest lines in any given episode like a fast-talking sum-up that ends in aggravation towards an elevator. While George Dzundza and David Kaufman don’t get AS much to do as Perry White or Jimmy Olsen, they’re excellent archetypal depictions nonetheless, and Kaufman gets to show off the likability that would serve him well later on as Danny Phantom. I also like Mike Farrell and Shelley Fabares as the Kents; not only does their real-life marriage add a certain flavor, they come off as warm and down to earth. Joseph Bologna and Joanna Cassidy provide able support as SCU cops Dan Turpin and Maggie Sawyer, tough and credible at every step. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Christopher McDonald as Jor-El; it’s a performance a million miles away from the likes of Kent Mansley or Shooter McGavin in its genuine heroism, and he gives real poignancy to Krypton’s final moments.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a superhero show without great villains, and Romano does this equally as well. The approach TO the villains is interesting in and of itself; even when there are hints of tragedy or sympathy, they’re far more straightforward in their villainy and motivations rather than the psychological Russian nesting dolls we could get on Batman. Lex Luthor is of course the pinnacle of all Superman’s foes, and Clancy Brown simply IS the man to me. There have been other good depictions of course, but none are so immediately arresting and iconic than his deep, overpoweringly egotistical tones. Though my favorite era of his performance might be Justice League/Unlimited, which sends him and us on an emotional rollercoaster compared to the relatively untouchable industry captain here. Just behind him is Corey Burton as Brainiac, who gives the A.I. a chilling intellectual tone that bolsters his logical-only-to-himself mindset, and Michael Ironside as Darkseid, who has never been matched in terms of seeming like a genuine personification of evil. Plus we get solid recurring threats like John Corben, who becomes Metallo, and even in lesser episodes, Malcolm McDowell’s sneering aristocratic villainy is always welcome; the late Brion James gives Parasite a working-class brutality; Brad Garrett is hysterically funny as Lobo, who I can never, ever take seriously and barely want to try; Gilbert Gottfried is just as comedically on point as the obnoxious Mr. Mxyzptlk; Bud Cort gives Toyman an arrested-development creepiness; and Ed Asner, he of the iconic grouchy grandpa voice, goes astonishingly against type as screaming queen Granny Goodness. If you ever wanted to hear Lou Grant himself try out an Ursula vibe, this is the show for you.

Animation-wise, one reason for the streamlining of both this and the accompanying New Batman Adventures episodes was to make things look more consistent rather than the peaks and valleys of how the original Batman run could look if you got a crappy studio that week. This is mostly successful. While Tokyo Movie Shinsha’s episodes still look the best in their fluidity and shading, only a few episodes at the tail end of the series look outright wonky, and both the character acting and action scenes evolve a lot. Musically, Shirley Walker is back to oversee things with a full studio orchestra and composers like Kristopher Carter, Lolita Ritmanis, and Michael McCuistion. They give things an upbeat, heroic sound and start mixing in flavors like electric guitar depending on the episode. I particularly like Darkseid’s doomy, foreboding theme that signals You Are Fucked in the most direct way possible.

The series isn’t without its flaws, of course. The upfront consistency is certainly appreciated compared to the early LOW lows of Batman. Even this series’ worst episodes, with the possible exception of the truly dreadful “Superman’s Pal”, feel better executed than the likes of “I’ve Got Batman In My Basement” or “Cat Scratch Fever”. But this can mean that there will be strings of episodes that are good but not necessarily exceptional, and many can become slugfests thanks to the nature of Superman’s powers; “Father’s Day” is a particularly apt example of this in starting at an interesting point, but devolving into a surprisingly dull, long fight between Superman and Kalibak. He gets to be clever, certainly, but there’s less chances for him to outright outwit an opponent in the ways Batman could. And while the female characters are still very well-portrayed, especially for the time, the unrelenting horniness of some of the designs is a little “oh wow, how did I not notice THAT back then”.

All in all, though, Superman is, on some days, my favorite DCAU series because of how rock solid the fundamentals are and how enjoyable it can be to really get in a groove. It was an important series for laying the tracks that would become Justice League, and compared to some of our more modern depictions of the big blue boy scout, it’s a breath of fresh air. Despite ending on a somewhat downer note with “Legacy”, the show kept hope alive. And that’s a nice sentiment to return to now and again.

#superman: the animated series #stas #dcau #media analysis #reviews

[anicomicgeek]

Kevin Conroy and Jason David Frank

 I don’t look it, but I’m 37, soon to be 38, years old.  I’m a child of the 1990s and I’m a geek.  I grew up with the DCAU and Power Rangers – and the past couple of weeks, reality took a baseball bat to my childhood’s balls. First with the death of Kevin Conroy, then the death of Jason David Frank.

 Batman and Tommy Oliver are dead: By cancer and possibly suicide respectively.

 I didn’t even get the chance to meet either one – but it still hurts knowing they’re gone.  It’s taken a bit of time to compose my thoughts on these events, so I feel like I should share them.

 Everyone who’s known me for a long time knows I’m a massive DC fan. But Conroy, believe it or not, wasn’t really my first Batman.  Believe it or not, thanks to reruns, that’s Adam West.  I remember wanting a Batman action figure from the toyline based on the first Keaton Batman movie due to it color scheme matching the suit West wore (and the comics) and despite him not being in the film, being happy that Robin got a figure in the Batman Returns toyline. Speaking of the latter film, that’s where Batman: TAS comes in, since it was a tie-in for Returns.

 Like a lot of people my age, I watched Batman: TAS.  I wish I could say that even as a kid, I knew how special it’d be when I first saw it – but while I did like the show, my first impressions, due to familiarity with the West show and the Keaton films were “Why do Alfred and Commissioner Gordon look like this?” (unaware that’s how they looked in the comics) and “This doesn’t sound like what I was expecting.”  Of course, that went away after watching the show a bit more and the DCAU grew.

 Like most kids, I also grew up with Power Rangers, though thanks to the local channel airing the show in the morning, I missed out early on until they shifted it to the afternoon some months later, so I missed out on quite a bit, including Tommy’s introduction and wouldn’t learn his origin until reruns.  Still, he was part of the team when I really got into the series and I was saddened the first time Tommy left (imagine what’d happened if they’d actually had Tommy die like his first Sentai counterpart Burai), and then again during season 2 before the mysterious White Ranger kids were waiting all season for turned out to be him.  Unlike his costars, he lasted until midway through Turbo, but I kept up with the series until the end of In Space, leaving only with the start of Lost Galaxy.  In fact, the Wild Force episode “Forever Red” was the only time I made an effort to watch the show – and it was due to him, Jason, TJ, and Andros.

 Back to Batman, I didn’t really tune out of the DCAU, though I did most of Batman Beyond after season 1 and The Zeta Project and Static Shock, but that was due to wanting to sleep in as opposed to waking up in the morning.  Still, I did see most of the crossover episodes of Static Shock and I did tune in for Justice League.  In fact, my favorite DCAU show was JL due to seeing multiple heroes appearing, even after stupid mandates affected Batman’s supporting cast and villains’ appearances on the show (look up the term “Bat-Embargo if you’re interested in stupidity).  After the JLU finale “Destroyer”, that seemed to be it for Conroy as Batman himself; he appeared in the first episode of season 4 of 2004’s The Batman cartoon as Dick Grayson’s dad.

 Then came the animated film Batman: Gotham Knight, a tie in to The Dark Knight – supposedly set between Batman Begins and TDK.  Supposedly being set in that universe, Batman wasn’t voiced by Christian Bale like one would expect – but by Conroy.  Then came the Superman/Batman films, Justice League: Doom, the Arkham games, the Injustice games, the Killing Joke adaptation, Infinite Crisis, Justice League Action, LEGO DC Super Villains, Scooby-Doo and Guess Who, even the recent MultiVersus, all featuring Conroy as Bruce Wayne, along with a number of his DCAU co-stars (though it varied based on what we’re talking about) in tow including Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker himself) as the Joker, Tim Daly or George Newbern as Superman, Susan Eisenberg as Wonder Woman, Ed Asner as Granny Goodness, Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor, and Michael Ironside as Darkseid. Hell, even the DCAU itself did get revisited with a mobile VR game and two sequel films, Batman and Harley Quinn and Justice League Vs. the Fatal Five.  While I liked a lot of the other DC productions, a lot of the times, the DCAU, Arkham, and Injustice casts were the voices I heard.

 While I didn’t actively tune into Power Rangers anymore, I did occasionally watch it if it came on the TV and didn’t feel like changing channels.  That said, I did go out to see the remake movie in 2017, which featured Frank and Amy Jo Johnson (Kimberly) in a cameo at the end.  The post-credits stinger even set up an appearance for Tommy in a sequel – one that, due to the film’s performance, would never come.  Even for all of the film’s issues (including the recurring problems of Power Rangers films barely featuring scenes of the heroes in costume), I liked it.

 One of my hobbies is fanfiction (fan-written stories) and another is fancasting (hypothetically “casting” actors in roles).  A fanfic idea I’d been kicking around, but never actually gotten around to writing, was something called “Multiversal War”, where different things I’d like would meet each other to stop threats from each other’s universe – ad as you can imagine, a lot of my “casting choices” for DC characters were DCAU voice actors, including, yes, Conroy as Batman.  Even had Frank “as” Tommy and the Emissary, a character from the Transformers: Prime Wars web series.

 Granted, a lot of deaths of other actors also affected my “choices”, but truth be told, Conroy’s passing is what made me tempted to just give up ever writing Multiversal War.  I could respond to the passing and retiring of others by sliding someone else in the role, but even trying it with Batman, maybe it’s due to me being the Spectrum, it didn’t feel “right”; it felt off.  Every time I think I got something workable, it didn’t feel right.

 Granted, I could work around the passing of Frank as well (just replace the Emissary with Spike Witwicky for Fortress Maximus as it was with the earlier Headmasters stuff and write out Tommy), I still grew up with Power Rangers for a long time and Tommy was still my favorite Ranger.

 There’s a lot of actors I thought whose passing we’d talk long before Conroy and Frank, including Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime from the original Transformers cartoon, the live-action movies and even some recent stuff), Peter Weller (the original RoboCop), Patrick Stewart, and even Arnold Schwarzenegger, but as of November 10 and 20 respectively, that’s no longer a thing.  There’s been speculation that Conroy was sick for years, but given it was years of speculation, I didn’t put much thought into it recently anymore than I did then.  And, as someone who suffers from depression myself, it’s still hard to accept that even famous people can also suffer from it and as I generally don’t keep up with actors’ daily lives, I didn’t know Frank lost a stepdaughter nor that he was going through a divorce.

 So, like a lot of people, their deaths took me by surprise and I was in a state of shock after reading about them when I woke up.

 So, how do I feel after writing all of this?

 Still hurting (after all two of my childhood heroes died), but feeling a little better writing it and sharing my thoughts.  Hopefully, this helps me and hopefully, I didn’t ramble too much.

#Kevin Conroy #Jason David Frank #Batman #Tommy Oliver #Power Rangers #DC Animated Universe #Batman: Arkham Series #Injustice

[rowdeyclown]

obsessed with how fast the relationship between lois and bruce went like they dated not too long after meeting and lois even considered moving to gotham then not too long after that lois discovered that bruce was batman like damn superman take notes

#my favorite part was when superman and Bruce were talking like #okay so lois likes us but she doesnt like batman or clark i sure wish we could mix and match our identities #like bruce AKNOWLEDGES that lois loves superman #hell even superman aknowledged it even if it was in an alternate universe #and when lois visited then left that universe she kissed superman! like hello??? #yall are so dumb please make a move or some shit #imagine being like ah i put off asking out my crush for so long she banged bruce wayne #sirsha watches batman

[cutiecorner]

Told you I wasn't done with baby Bruce lol, here's my headcanons for him and Clark! I'm fixated on this hard so I'll probably have even more later lol

Clark is the first person outside of Alfred to know about Bruce's regression, and the only one he trusts with it for a very long time.

Bruce can't really admit why he would want Clark to know, but it's kind of obvious. Who wouldn't want Clark to take care of them? They were already best friends, and he was already one of the very few people Bruce felt truly comfortable around anyway. He just had a feeling letting Clark in on it would lead to good things.

And of course it did, Clark is the perfect caregiver. He's a true foil to the usual Bruce - open, loving, happy, all wonderful things to bring into Bruce's regression.

Not that Alfred wasn't already doing a perfect job caring for him, that much was obvious. The duo were a well oiled machine, and more comfortable in each other's company than anyone else's. But given Alfred is older and not a superhero, there were just things he couldn't provide

For the most part - picking Bruce up. That was always Bruce's favorite as a kid. His dad used to carry him all the time, he was almost never out of his parent's laps. After they passed he became much more guarded, and soon enough he was too big anyway.

... but not for Clark. Clark was more than happy and capable of picking Bruce up, he did it all the time. To fly with him, when he was hurt, when he just couldn't contain himself and had to hug Bruce for one reason or another. But those were all more necessary evils than genuine.

The first time Clark picked Bruce up when regressed, for lack of a better word, hit different. It was so comforting, so warm. It instantly became a (positive) trigger to his regression if he wasn't careful. It absolutely came in handy, now there was a way to get Bruce to take a break without tranquilizers, hallelujah.

Positive triggers were a very new thing to Bruce, and basically all of them had to do with Clark. Honestly, him just showing up at the manor with his cheery "Hey buddy!" was enough.

Another thing that instantly makes him feel small is actually superman merch, which he is endlessly embarrassed about. It's a big tell when he's wearing a Superman tee that it's time to call Clark, and Clark finds it beyond adorable.

Something about Clark just makes little Bruce more chatty, which gives way to an endless foray of infodumping. Bruce has years of niche research topics to gush about, everything from bats to space to the wild west. Clark is happy to listen, but he does get confused easily.

Honestly most of Bruce's regression is show and tell, he absolutely loves praise. Everything he does gets an instant replay for Clark. He especially loves showing off his drawings, which Clark has to use all of his willpower to not take pictures of to show the League.

Bruce is a very "look look look" regressor, he loves pointing things out, the detective he is. Especially on walks Bruce will point to all the birds and animal tracks (earning the joke from Clark that he's really the boy scout here)

Since Bruce's regression started to be less strictly sad he picked up a few attitude changes. For one, he's a big "no I can do it by myself I'm big" kinda kid, but mostly just with Clark. Inevitably he cannot do it by himself, at which point he let's Alfred do it.

Bruce is just as clingy with Clark as he is with Alfred, if he's out of sight for more than a minute there's a 90% chance he'll start crying - another reason he likes being picked up. If Bruce is feeling small enough Clark will just keep him on his hip all day.

Bruce usually hates being talked down to, but doesn't seem to notice when he's regressed. Clark kinda slips into that dad tone of "oh really buddy?" "You're so smart!" Without realizing

Clark lays the southern charm on thick when he's in caregiver mode. He uses a truly unreal amount of petnames, this man has not used the word "Bruce" in his life. He prefers punkin', sugar, sweet pea, angel, buddy, B, or even Brucie.

Brucie isn't just a nickname for Bruce's outer persona, it's actually the name his parents used to call him. The other adults in his life (mostly his parent's friends or colleagues) called him that too, so it feels comfortable for him while regressed. He prefers B or the countless petnames from Clark though, cause it makes him feel special.

I was saving this in my draft to add more headcanons, but since I posted it too early I guess I'll just have to make a part 2! Maybe next time with a guest appearance from Diana >:)c look out for it!

#agere #fandom agere #dc agere #batman agere #superman agere #headcanons #OH SHOOT I POSTED THIS TOO EARLY #I'll be adding to it lol #also i had to use that pic of Bruce because 1) cute and 2) it's the only one i could find where he doesn't look absolutely feral lmao #those comic artists just love to make this man look as unhinged as possible

[stxleslyds]

I've seen a lot of fanon content about Jason being a fan of Wonder Woman. This is even acknowledged in #6 "Favoritism" in The Wayne Family Adventures web comic. Is there any evidence of this in Canon?

According to my memory, the closest thing that Jason has to an interaction with Wonder Woman was simply that he was on good terms with Donna Troy in post-Crisis Teen Titans. Or am I missing something?

Based on your interpretation of Jason, what do you think Red Hood thinks of Wonder Woman?

Oh! So, that’s why I have been seeing that concept floating around recently! The whole “Jason is a fan of Wonder Woman” thing had died down a little bit and now it was back and that might me corelated to that fandom concept making an appearance in the web comic…

Hmm, yeah, that concept is completely fanon, I mean, I don’t remember Jason acting like WW’s fan in his Robin years but he did meet her once (I will talk about that issue later on in this post because maybe that is where this fanon concept originated from. In his Red Hood years, I can’t say that he has mentioned WW as an inspiration or favourite hero (I will also talk about why that idea seems kinda weird to me too).

Jason did interact with Diana, it was in Superman (1939) Annual #11, I will show some of the panels that have Jason and Diana interacting (as Robin and Wonder Woman) and all that but from that comic that they shared I didn’t really see Jason as a fan of WW, he was respectful and he worried for her safety when she seemed to have been hurt but that was all, Jason was just being his usual sweet self. If anything, in that issue we were shown how much Jason cared for Bruce.

Something that I will bring up because you mentioned Jason’s interactions with Donna is that the Superman annual, I mentioned came out in September, 1985 and those New Teen Titans issues where Jason appeared in along Donna came out in May, 1986 (NTT #20, the first team up) and December, 1986 (NTT #26, the second time he joined the team). So, Jason, met Diana before he met Donna, I would honestly say that Robin Jason was actually more marvelled by Donna rather than Diana. Donna was a Titan and Dick’s friend and Jason really seemed to admire her up until a certain moment in one of those issues, I think you read those posts about Jason teaming up with the Titans but I will link them here anyway (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), in case anyone wants to red them and for you guys to tell me if you see, like me, that Jason seemed to admire Donna more than Diana in the Superman issue I will talk about next.

Superman Annual #11

Jason and Bruce arrive to the Fortress of Solitude to celebrate Clark’s birthday, and that’s when Jason and Diana met for the first time, Diana even didn’t react much to Jason at the start because she thought that he was Dick! I don’t blame her; Jason and Dick look the same most of the time to me when they are in their Robin suits.

After she kisses him in the cheek, we get to see what Jason has to say about Diana, he is just worried Diana is feeling cold in the snow while wearing those shorts, now, I thought that was just an innocent thing that he said but apparently Bruce took it as Jason checking out Diana. Because I believe that Jason was the sweetest boy, I think that he just meant that Diana could have been cold and Bruce was the one having impure thoughts about her… I mean, after Bruce says that to Jason, he looks confused as all hell, to me he looks like he thinks that Bruce misunderstood his intentions with what he said.

So, to me, Jason really didn’t seem to be starstruck by Diana or Clark later on either.

Diana is talking to Jason like she talks to Bruce, she asks him about if he met Superman before, and he answers, all in all they have normal conversations and Jason still doesn’t seem like he is meeting his favourite hero. When Diana starts to talk only to Bruce, Jason doesn’t seem affected by that and he is the one that first notices the problem with the Superman that they are about to meet.

This isn’t a review of the issue, so I will explain as quickly as possible what was going on. Batman, Robin and Wonder Woman showed up at Superman’s place to celebrate his birthday and bring him some gifts but when they see him, they notice that he had been attacked by a weird looking plant that left him paralysed and trapped inside his own mind world. When they try to free him from it, Mongul (the villain) appears and Jason, once again, is the first one to notice his approach!

(Robin Jason was excellent at his job Lobdell and Zdarsky! Look at this shit, and keep on looking because Robin Jason saves the Trinity’s ass in this issue by himself!)

The fight starts with Mongul and WW, and after he throws her out of the room and it seems that the fight isn’t going in WW’s favour, we see Jason being worried for her safety but is quickly dismissed by Bruce who tells Jason not to worry because Mongul threw WW into the weapons room.

Due to that Jason moves on with Bruce to help Superman once more. Bruce asks Jason to retrieve Mongul’s gloves so he can remove the plant from Superman’s chest but all of the sudden the plant comes off, sadly, the plant only did that to insert itself in Bruce’s body. This is where we see Jason being incredibly worried for Bruce’s safety, because he cared so much he moved past his fear, grabbed those globes and took it upon himself to rip the plant off of Bruce’s chest and make a plan to defeat Mongul while the Trinity was being taken out one by one!

I know this is a post about Jason and Diana but I just can’t help be proud about my boy, he was such a good Robin, I can’t believe DC has lied so much about Jason’s abilities as Robin so much that most people believe that Jason was a bad Robin. What a horrible narrative to push about one of your characters, I swear I don’t understand DC’s thinking.

Anyway, after Jason gets the job done (with a little help from Superman) he and the others chat for a little while and then get together to get some coffee while Clark cleans the mess that Mongul made.

That’s all that happens in the issue where Jason and Diana met, their interactions seemed normal and respectful but Jason never looked like he was a big fan of Diana, as I said before all that was shown was that he cared for people when they were being hurt and he also showed how much he cared for Bruce.

Now if you ask me, I believe that Jason only saw Batman and Dick as his heroes. Jason always looked like he looked up to Batman until he started to feel a strain between them and then Jason acted like a true fan of Dick both times that Dick gave him his Robin suit, and I say that Dick was a hero to Jason because Jason showed sings of admiring Dick’s Robin AND Dick’s Nightwing.

I might be wrong but it does look to me like Jason was a bigger fan of Dick rather than Diana in those panels compared to Superman Annual #11.

Now, going back to what you actually asked, this is the only interaction between Jason and Diana that comes to mind and the one that I believe might have originated that fanon concept. There is though another moment that might have fed that concept but it is not really an interaction between Jason and Diana, but between Jason and Donna from Earth-15 that looked exactly like Diana in Countdown to Infinite Crisis #30.

The people that appear in that panel in the Wonder Woman and Batman suits are actually Donna Troy and Jason Todd from Earth-15. I really don’t know if that issue really fed into the Jason being a fan of WW but if it did, then that wasn’t Diana, that was Donna.

-

To answer your other question “Based on your interpretation of Jason, what do you think Red Hood thinks of Wonder Woman?”, I would say that while I can see Robin Jason having been a fan of hers (even though it was never shown in canon as far as I know), I really don’t see Red Hood Jason as a fan of Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman stands for many things, among them we have truth, justice and peace. When Jason first became the Red Hood, he was seeking justice but not in others, he was the one that was judge, jury and executioner. As time passed by Jason didn’t really fight for justice but for “the cause”, in New 52 he had that whole “chosen one” thing with the All-Castle, so, his fight against drugs and the creeps of Gotham (and other places) kinda stopped, and then in Rebirth it kinda come back but also didn’t.

That sense of justice that I know is so important to Jason’s Red Hood makes a comeback in Urban Legends: Cheer (Yeah… it was awfully written but that sense of justice did make an appearance finally).

So, on the justice side I can sort of see Jason admiring Diana but not really because Jason is also jury and executioner and Diana has never been that and she doesn’t stand for that at all (at least not as far as I know). Diana doesn’t kill and she is always trying to give people a second chance, she believes in humanity and hopes that we will be better.

Jason, the way I see it, doesn’t see the world like that, I strongly believe he has a darker and more pessimistic way of looking at humanity and the horrors that we can put others through.

The way I see it, I could see Jason admiring the fact that Diana keeps on her faith in humanity and she seeks justice in a pacific way but I also don’t really think Jason cares about how Wonder Woman sees the world. Like, it can work either way in my mind, and I never really though of Jason actually being a Wonder Woman fan, maybe I can see him acting like Thor when he met Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarök, in that movie Thor was just excited to meet a Valkyrie, maybe Jason was just excited to meet an Amazon!

Jason has had several interactions with Amazons, (Diana, Donna and Artemis) so that makes me believe that if Jason is a fan of anyone, it would actually be strong warrior women and not just simply Wonder Woman.

I don’t know, to me it makes sense, Jason has always been protective of women that could not defend themselves but also saw strength in them, like he saw it in Judy in Batman #422 when she killed the man that had murdered her sister. And later on he saw power and strength in both Donna and Kory when he fought alongside the Titans.

So, I would actually say that Red Hood isn’t a fan of Wonder Woman but I believe he is a fan and supporter of wonderful women.

There is my answer friend! I hope you have a wonderful day!

#jason todd #red hood #wonder woman #donna troy #diana prince #robin jason todd #dc comcis #new teen titans #earth-15 #dick grayson #nightwing #superman annual 11

[flashflashhundredyarddash]

batkids and their relationships with their siblings headcanons. under read more because this got fucking LONGGG

dick

dick is the eldest so he doesnt want to bog down his younger siblings with his problems, but if he DOES, he tends to talk to jason about it

dick and cass start to really begin to bond when Cass shows up to dicks gymnastics class for 3rd-6th graders and then cass shows up all the sixth graders and they get frozen yogurt after lmao

dick and tim are Very much thick as thieves. tim is very much like bruce on the Emotional Suppression scale, so dick just really wants to make sure his little brother is safe and happy ALL the time

Duke and Damian are the only two really permanently at the manor anymore, so when dick drops by he tries to do something with both of them. duke frantically zoom calls dick every other week to help him with his his trig homework. dick shows up to dukes high school graduation with literally the BIGGEST SIGN

everyone insists damian is dicks favorite but he does actually genuinely love all his siblings equally, his relationship with damian is just Very different from the others because of the age gap and being dami's primary caretaker for a year. dick babies dami every chance he gets

jason

would sell Dick to satan for One corn chip

him and cass don't have the greatest start to their relationship because cass is very much Against Killing so it takes a while for jason to warm up to her and earn her trust. now, though, jason is competing with steph by showing cass all the classic American Teenager things she missed out on. steph is currently winning but jason is like 98% positive a crunch wrap from taco bell is going to push him over the edge

tim and jason are currently competing over who can solve the most cases in a month. tim is winning. that won't last long.

jason Loves to Big Brother duke its so embarrassing. duke will get out of school and go to his car and jason is SITTING IN THE FRONT SEAT FRANTICALLY WAVING TO GET DUKES ATTENTION. JASON THAT IS MY CAR. signal has one (1) mission with arsenal and arsenal goes hey did you ask that girl to homecoming yet and duke is like I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU.

Damian is proof that Actually, Little Brothers are Pests. Jason fully believes that he was brought back from the dead PURELY to torment damian and he will fulfill this mission at any cost

cassandra

it actually really upset her when Dick didn't accept her at first. she knows her other siblings really adore dick so his lack of trust was really disheartening. it takes dick a while but once he Actually Accepts that cass is going to be a permanent part of their life and oh, wow, dick you really hurt her feelings he really hyperfocuses on bonding with cass for a couple of months which definitely improves their relationship

she really likes jason!! their relationship doesn't start well but because he's close with steph and tim who are cass's top two favorite people to exist ever, cass is like well i GUESS ill hang out with him more. jason is fun to talk to because he always tries his best to explain jokes and give context to what people are talking about (also tim took her to taco bell already but she didn't tell jason she just wanted to hang out)

cass LOVES tim. they just click okay. tim always seems to know when to give her space and when to push and come closer. Tim's "guest room" is just her room lets be real. tim and cass occasionally get mistaken for twins and Cass Loves it.

duke makes cass listen to metal once and cass loses. her. damn. mind. they bond over music a lot because they both Love Music to a degree the others in their family don't.

damian!! damian is her little brother!!! dami isn't As Hostile to cass at first because he is 100% aware cass has the edge in fighting and respects her. cass likes all of his instagram posts and they have a snapchat streak going

tim

tim Loves dick, dick was his first sibling!! he had Very strong hero worship when he first met dick but it mellowed out when tim got older because wow 17 is really not that cool and mature lol. tim has an open invitation to dick's apartment which he does occasionally take advantage of. tim has more than once scared the shit out of wally when wally comes over and wally is convinced they're being robbed (HA) for half a second. i mean. he's not wrong.

listen. tim understands that forgiving the guy who tried to kill you would be a Struggle for some people and it was! definitely! but also at least he can trust jason to, uh, be open about if he doesn't like tim. which is not an assurance he has with other people. so if the guy who tried to kill him tells him tim is cool now then like. maybe tim isn't that bad or annoying a person? also jason arrested a whole gang and won the cases competition but then it created a power vacuum that the whole batfam had to clean up the rest of the month. thanks, jason.

tim LOVES cass. you know how most of the time theres this empty feeling inside you and you just kind of ignore it because you don't know what will fix it or if you do, you know you can't fix it? cass makes that empty feeling feel a little less empty. they just click. tim always tries to travel with cass whenever she leaves gotham.

tim and duke. Tim is actually the sibling who duke goes to whenever he has questions he doesn't want to ask bruce or alfred about, like, life or vigilante-ing or school or college or whatever and Tim is always like yes!! i love Giving Advice and Solving Problems!! tim and duke and jason fill out their college applications together.

tim and damian. LMAO. ROUGH START THAT'S ALL ILL SAY. at some point alfred goes like fuck it. family therapy. and tim and dami are PISSED. tim and damian get along best when they have a common enemy to work against. their relationship gets much better when damian is older and they actually talk about their feelings like emotionally stunted bats. despite how bad their relationship was, tim will ALWAYS protect damian

duke

very much intimidated by dick at first. dick is so much older and has his own job and friends and life and is very much AN ADULT. dick likes to take duke out to do lots of cool stuff (paintball, lasertag, tech exhibitions, concerts, etc). also, dick PERSONALLY introduced duke to superman and is dating THE FLASH. 10/10 awesome big brother.

was intimidated by jason for 0.5 seconds before jason actually opened his mouth and started speaking. jason is literally. So Embarrassing. which is weird because nobody else really seems to feel that way about jason but duke knows he's 100% in the right here. like yeah jason is also An Adult and does Adult Stuff but he's also at the manor like every other weekend???? and he always complains about bruce but always seems to be in the same room bruce is in????? like okay jason. they bond over literature!! jason and duke and alfred will spend literal hours talking about books and duke loves it. duke is the only one who doesn't think jason is funny and jason gets so upset about it lmao.

cass has this one week where she gets really into photography and by virtue of being nearby (and also not nocturnal), duke becomes her victim subject. duke prints out all the pictures and hangs them up in his room (his favorite is one he took when he stole the camera and took a really bad selfie of them together).

tim is closest in age to duke so duke tends to hang around with him a lot. tim introduced duke to his young justice friends and duke is like yes!!! meta-friends!!!! tim really helps duke out with his powers because tim is always like wow i wonder if your powers would work if we did This? can you see farther than other people? is your visible spectrum of light different than other humans? Bruce does the same thing but bruce is boring about it lol.

damian and duke live in the same house and will be in the same room and just send each other social media posts back and forth. they follow each other on instagram and will, OCCASIONALLY, make tik toks together because they're tik tok fiends. each of his siblings have visited his parents once or twice but damian routinely comes with him.

damian

damian gets a special bullet point to say that it took him. forever to come around to the idea of having siblings. he very much believed that he was Bruce's Blood Son and everyone else were just tagalongs or allies. it took him ages to acknowledge that dick, jason, tim, and cass were his siblings, so when duke came and like a week later damian was like Ah, Yes, this is my brother Thomas everyone else was like dude wtf

listen. LISTEN. Obviously. Richard is very highly skilled. and also Father values him highly. and also Richard will listen to Damian complain about his schoolmates. and also Richard is much more patient with Damian than other members of his family. listen....,,, (all this to say damian kind of fucking adores dick lmaooooo this kid).

Todd is kind of unbearable but damian has been informed this is both a normal feeling when it comes to Todd and also big brothers. damian was an only child for ten years so yes, Father, if Todd attempts to tickle me I WILL break his fucking nose. yes i WILL put money in the swear jar but I want you to know i don't regret it. they always try to sneak up on each other but mostly fail.

DRAKE!!! but no lol once damian grows up and is like I Apologize for attempting to murder you it was wrong and you are just as much a son to Father as I am tim is like UGH i guess its cool since ur being so emotionally mature and all. also im 2 for 5 on siblings trying to murder me so im definitely going to win trauma bingo and damian is like i take it back you are insufferable. When Will My Older Siblings Stop Joking About Their Trauma.

CASS!!! listen. cass is cool. Cass Gets It. They have a special Bond. also damian really likes it whenever cass is home because 1) he gets to hang out and do something cool with cass and 2) he feels significantly safer with cass in the house because Nobody will be able to hurt any of their family if Cass is there. ALSO he tries to call her cain but everyone is like DONT DO THAT and he doesn't want to call her wayne bcus theyre ALL wayne (dick adds it on as a middle name but also Richard John Wayne West-Grayson is just. the lamest name ever so dick needs to reconsider it before his upcoming nuptials)((dick will not reconsider it except maybe whether grayson-west would work better)) and so he tries cassandra but cass is like :) call me cass and damian is like cassandra is more formal and respectful and cass is like :) and finally damian just has to give in.

Duke! him and duke actually live together so they get the Most Bonding Time and have a bunch of inside jokes as a result. (is it bad i wanted to laugh because inside jokes... joker... i'll see myself out). they're eating breakfast together (and also alfred sits with them IM NOT A MONSTER ALFIE'S LIKE 70 NOW OKAY) and duke laughs and bruce is like what are you laughing at, son? and duke is like oh damian just showed me this funny meme and then he shows the phone to bruce and bruce grabs it (both the boys groan) and after WAY TOO LONG is like "i don't get it" and so now duke and damian have to try and explain the comedic intricacy of bob's burgers

#this took. two fucking hours #batfam #batman #bruce wayne #dick grayson #jason todd #cassandra cain #cassandra wayne #not sure which one to commit to yet #tim drake #duke thomas #damian wayne #dc #the burd squawks #birdflash #birdflash was like. one of my first ships lmao

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Ch. 21: Apologies (Father’s Day)

AO3

Prev

Marinette purses her lips as she looks at the neatly wrapped package in her hand. She knew she should still give it to her dad, shouldn’t let her hurt over the Gala stop her from celebrating Father’s Day with him for the first time. She’d already gotten confirmation from her Maman that her present for her Papa had arrived. So that was taken care of. A small part of her, the petty part, wanted to use Kaalki and go back to Paris for Father’s Day. But she also didn’t want to hurt her dad, no matter how much he’d hurt her. She had to be better than that, she is Ladybug after all. Sighing, she drops the present onto her bed. Grabbing the rest of what she needed for a movie night at one of Jason’s safe houses, she rushes out of her room. She knew that her dad’s conversation with Superman in the Batcave wouldn’t last too long, and then he’d be looking for her and Damian to lecture the hell out of them. Unfortunately for him, neither of them planned to be around to listen to it. 

“Got everything Pixie Pop?” Jason asks as she rushes down the last of the steps, barely stopping herself from falling. She quickly balances herself and shoots her brother a small grin. 

“Yup. Let’s go before I can get grounded.” She says, rushing past him and out the door, grinning as she hears his loud cackles behind her. It will get better. She’d talk to her dad eventually, and shove the bad feelings away. But she was going to let herself mope for another day. After all, letting herself feel negative emotions was part of the reason her parents agreed to let her stay in Gotham for the summer. 

---

“What do you mean there’s an entire movie about you and Cat boy?” Jason asks, shoving another cookie in his mouth. Marinette shrugs. 

“I mean we have a movie. It’s not my favorite, it’s kind of ridiculous. None of it is accurate. Except, Adrien did voice Chat Noir for the movie...still not sure why he thought that was a good idea.” She says, thinking back to the original premiere of the movie and all of the drama that came with it. 

“Well shit. He’s not the brightest kid, is he?” Jason asks with a snort. Marinette opens her mouth to argue, then remembers some of Adrien’s….less brilliant moments. Okay, so maybe he’s not perfect.

“Ya know, we were once cast as Ladybug and Chat Noir in a music video.” She says, snorting at the look on Jason’s face. 

“You’ve gotta be kidding. Really? Kid, please tell me you didn’t go through with it.” He says, looking mildly distressed. Marinette just rolls her eyes. 

“No, we didn’t. The concept for the video changed and so no more hero costumes. I was terrified though. Kept losing the mask on purpose ‘cause I was convinced the mask would be what gave it away.” She admits with a small laugh. 

“Ya know, that’s almost as bad as the time that someone at WE thought it’d be a good idea to enter B in a Batman look alike contest. Sent in his photo and everything.” Jason says with a snort. Marinette’s jaw drops.

“Wait, really?” She asks. He nods. 

“Yup. But that’s not the best part.” He says. Her eyebrows furrowed together. What could possibly be better- Oh. No, oh my-

“He lost, didn’t he!” She cheers, laughing at Jason’s huge smile. 

“Of course he did! You didn’t really think Brucie Wayne could ever be THE Batman, did you?” He asks with a smirk. 

“Who entered him?” Marinette asks, kind of assuming that Jason did it with Tim’s computer. 

“No one could ever prove anything, but Lucius Fox couldn’t stop smiling for weeks after it happened.” Jason says. 

“No way, Lucius Fox? Oh my god!” She starts laughing again, the negative feelings from earlier almost completely gone. Disappeared. Times like these, she was beyond relieved that she wasn’t an only child anymore. She doesn’t know how she’d ever function again without her brothers and Cass. 

---

Bruce takes a deep breath before knocking on Marinette’s door. He’d spent some time talking to Clark in an attempt to calm down. He still couldn’t believe his two youngest children had gone to the Watchtower without permission...well, he could believe that Damian went. But not Marinette. And then there was her attitude towards him at the Tower. Her posture was very Damian, but her words and tone were very much Jason. He couldn’t decide if he was glad that they were bonding, or frustrated with the way his sons were corrupting his daughter. Not hearing an answer on the other side of the door, he knocks again. 

“If?” He says. Alfred nods. 

“Marinette, I know you’re angry, but shutting yourself away in your room is not the answer. I’ll give you ten more minutes, but then we need to talk about your behavior today.” He says, nodding to himself. That sounded good. That was right, right?

“I’m certain that wouldn’t work on Miss Marinette even if she was in her room, Master Bruce.” Alfred says, giving him an unimpressed look. Bruce’s eye twitches. 

“Indeed, sir. It seems that Miss Marinette will not be sleeping at the manor tonight.” He says, turning to walk away. 

“And I’m assuming you know where she is?” Bruce says, doubting that Alfred will actually give up her location. He’d definitely been picking the kids’ side the last two weeks or so. It was different, and he wasn’t fond of the change. 

“Of course I do, sir.” Alfred says, raising an eyebrow in a silent challenge. 

“Will you tell me where she is?” He asks, trying hard not to huff when Alfred shakes his head. 

“Of course not, sir.” He says before walking away. Right. So she wasn’t sleeping at the manor, but she was safe. If she wasn’t, Alfred would have told him where she was. He mentally runs through a list of possible places she could be. Dick’s apartment, one of Jason’s safe houses, the Siren’s apartment, Paris- He pales as he realizes that she could definitely be in Paris. Was she really so upset that she would go back to Paris? Would she ever come back if she left? He lets out an uneven breath. He messed up. He messed up and now she was going to go back to Paris and she’d never talk to him again. Unless- maybe she didn’t. Swallowing the guilt that appears at the thought, he pushes her door open. If she had left for Paris, she would’ve taken everything with her. The sight of her clothes and sewing supplies still scattered around the room makes him breathe a sigh of relief. She hadn’t left Not yet. He’s about to walk out when an envelope on her bed catches his eye. Frowning, he walks over and picks it up, ‘Dad’ written on it in neat cursive. Now standing by her bed, he realizes there’s also a neatly wrapped package (Batman wrapping paper) on it. He smiles, then glances back at the envelope. He opens it, smiling at the art on the cardstock. It was clearly Marinette’s art, but he was confused why it was addressed to him. 

‘Dad, I just wanted to let you know that I’m so happy you’re my Dad, and I’m so glad that I got to meet you. Finding out that I was adopted was a little scary, but you’ve made sure I’ve been okay through it all. Happy Father’s Day! Love, Marinette’

Bruce blinks. She was scared. If he had to guess, she was most likely scared that the family wouldn’t accept her. They’d been getting along so well, until the Gala mistake. Until he’d decided for her. Assumed she wouldn’t want to go to the Gala. And now she didn’t even want to stay at the manor tonight, and she was angry enough earlier to throw a chair at him. He pushes a hand through his hair, cursing lowly under his breath. He had to fix this. 

---

A sharp pounding at the door makes Jason leap off the couch. He holds up a finger and gestures for Marinette to hide. No one should be here. No one else knows which of his safe houses he was at today. Grabbing a gun, he walks over, glancing through the peephole. He scoffs. 

“Get the fuck outta here Bruce.” He calls through the door, watching Marinette as she immediately tenses as if she’s gonna run. He shakes his head at her. She didn’t have to run, he sure as hell wouldn’t open the door if she didn’t want him to. 

“Jason, open the door. I need to talk to Marinette.” Bruce calls, Jason snorts. 

“Yeah, not gonna happen B.” He says. 

“I would like to apologize to her.” Bruce says. Jason blinks. That’s new. Did the old man finally figure out that fuck ups warrant apologies? He glances over at Marinette, raising an eyebrow. It was her call. The unsure look on her face almost makes him decide for her. Almost. The kid’d had enough of people deciding shit for her. 

“Let him in.” She says. He opens the door, glaring at the man. 

“Is it okay if he comes in?” She whispers, and Jason nods.

“Up to you kiddo.” He whispers back. She stands taller, pushing her shoulders back before nodding. 

“She’s the one who let you in. Don’t fuck this up.” He warns before stepping aside and letting Bruce walk in.

“Marinette.” He says, nodding at her. Jason groans. Yeah, B was totally gonna fuck this up. 

“Father.” She says, shifting so that her arms are crossed, a neutral expression on her face. God, he really hopes her mimicking Demon Spawn is just a phase. 

“I would like to preface this conversation by letting you know I went into your room.” Bruce says. Marinette just raises an eyebrow. Yeah, Jason wasn’t seeing the connection either. “I apologize for invading your privacy like that, Damian has definitely reminded me several times that your personal rooms are not to be messed with. However, when Alfred let me know you weren’t sleeping at the manor tonight, I was worried that perhaps you had gone back to Paris.” 

“I wouldn’t have gone back without telling you. Well, other than akuma attacks. Do you really think I’d do something like that?” She asks, frowning. 

“I know that I’ve done things I’m not proud of when hurt. Things that I came to regret. And I saw earlier today how hurt you actually are. I didn’t realize-” He pauses. “I also read the card that was on your bed.”

“What! No, that was- that was for Father’s Day.” She says with a sigh. 

“I didn’t open the gift. I originally thought the envelope would have a note from you on where you had gone. Or that you never wanted to see me again. I thought the chances were pretty even.” He says and Jason snorts. 

“Oh, okay. Wait, why would you ever think that? Yes, I was hurt. I still am hurt, if I’m being honest. But I don’t want to cut you out of my life.” She says, shaking her head. 

“Nor do I want you out of ours.” Bruce says. Marinette blinks. “I realize now what it must have looked like, to you. Not informing you about the Gala, taking the rest of the family. It was, admittedly, not my best moment. I made a decision for you when I should’ve asked you what you wanted. You could have even come with us as MDC, but I took that option away from you. I am very sorry, Marinette. I am glad that you’re my daughter, sweetheart.” He says and Jason blinks. Well shit. The old man did have feelings. Too bad no one would ever believe him if he tried to say something about it. He watches as the tension in Marinette’s body drops almost instantly before she runs over and launches herself at Bruce. She wraps her arms around him and Jason can see the way her body shakes. Bruce just stands there, staring down at the top of her head in shock. 

“You wrap your arms around her.” Jason snarks. Bruce blinks before listening, returning Marinette’s hug. Well, they were still dysfunctional as hell, but at least now he’d be able to take Pixie Pop to the manor without feeling like an asshole brother. 

---

Marinette bounces nervously in her seat as she watches her brothers hand her dad presents. She’s shocked when Jason hands over a small gift, knowing that the two’s relationship wasn’t….great. She leans forward in anticipation, watching and waiting to see what he’d picked out. 

“Thank you, Jason. Clark will never let me live this down.” Her dad says, the fondness in his tone not matching the frown on his face. He turns the box around and the room erupts in laughter. Somehow, Jason had found a company that made customizable bobbleheads. The body was probably just a stock body, dressed in civilian clothes with a superman suit peaking through the shirt. And the head, the head was hilarious. It was very obviously crafted to look like their dad, specifically with his ‘Brucie Wayne’ smile. It was awful and amazing at the same time. 

“I think Jaybird wins best gift.” Dick says with a grin. 

“Tt. Unlikely. The new katana that Cass and I gave him is obviously superior.” Damian says, crossing his arms. 

“I don’t know Damian, I still haven’t given him my present.” She points out, grinning at the slight frown on Damian’s face. 

“While I doubt your present could be better than mine, there is no doubt it will be better received than Todd’s.” Damian says. Marinette snorts at the look on Jason’s face. 

“Listen Demon Spawn, there’s this thing called humor. That’s what my gift had. I know you wouldn’t know anything about humor, so let me explain it to you.” He starts, and Marinette jumps in to cut him off before they can start arguing. It was Father’s Day, the least they could do is avoid fighting with each other for a couple more hours. 

“And this one’s from me.” She says, passing him the present wrapped in Batman wrapping paper. She grins as Tim and Dick both laugh, not having seen it before now. 

“I think Mari might win just ‘cause of the paper.” Tim admits, taking a large drink of his iced coffee that Marinette had picked up for him. She’d had to fight an akuma right before they started presents, so she’d stopped and got Tim coffee from the shop that he’d tried when they’d all been in Paris. She watches in anticipation as her dad carefully unwraps the box, opening it and pulling out the black suit jacket. He smiles at her. 

“Did you make this? It’s amazing.” He says, and her brothers nod in agreement (though Damian does so reluctantly). 

“Look at the inside of it.” She says, gesturing for him to unfold it. His eyebrow twitches, but he does as she says. She watches his face for the moment he spots it, and grins when his face drops into a wide smile. On the inside of the left side of the jacket, she’d added a breast pocket. It wasn’t really for anything though. Instead, it was so that she could embroider all of his children’s names in a way so that it would rest above his heart. The jacket also had tiny bat logos embroidered at the cuffs of the jacket. The thread was shiny and very dark so that it would barely show up against the black of the jacket. It had to be lit just right to see it, but as he tilted the jacket again, she knew he saw it. It had taken longer than suit jackets normally do for her, but it was because she knew that it had to be perfect. It was, after all, the first piece of clothing she’d made for her dad. 

“It’s perfect, Marinette.” He says softly, running a hand over the names. She lets out a sigh of relief before smiling at him. Things were still a little rough, but they were so much better than they’d been the night of the Gala. She was glad that she had stayed, that she hadn’t ran like she had so badly wanted to.

Next

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#maribat #maribat bruce wayne #maribat bio dad bruce #maribat bio dad! bruce wayne month 2021 #maribat bio dad au #mbdbwm2021 #maribat marinette dupain cheng #maribat jason todd #maribat dick grayson #maribat damian wayne #maribat tim drake #platonic jasonette #platonic dickinette #platonic timari #platonic daminette #ao3fic #fanfiction #maribat fic #maribat fanfiction #day twenty one father's day

[batarangsoundsdumb]

guess fucking what? my inbox is so fucking full right now i'm unloading all of this shit in one post.

For the 11th gotham memes: gothamites react to bruce being jacked in a tiktok he made with kids, like super yoked, ripped as hell

fucking hilarious thanks. i think i did it in one meme post, but i genuinely don't remember which one

i dunno which of the batfam would do this but one time i was sleeping over at a friends house and ended up on the floor bc the bed was so very small and i just stayed there because the rug was soft

that's a drunk jason move i don't know what to tell you

tim and jason are "i listen to pop punk" solidarity. whenever jason highjacks the batmobile theyll go on long ass car rides blaring mcr and paramore and then never talk about it again

as they should!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! tim: no jason it's my turn using the aux cord i gotta put on my jams jason: don't you dare put on weird shit tim: don't worry, you're gonna love this *plays fearless (taylor's version)

hear me out hear me out, red hood stans 🤝 nightwing stans t h i g h s

holy shit yes.

SNL au: Bruce breaks character when pretending to superman and says something like "I'm not superman! You've seen his gps!! It's from 2001!!!" @sabeanybabe

superman flies past the snl building the next day just to say 'actually it's from 2005, i'm not a heathen'

does your back hurt from carrying the batfam fandom

it hurts more from the exotic rock collection i keep in my backpack, but thanks for the concern.

I love your posts by why would you always leave the best parts in the tags?

as a treat for the people that check the tags ;) (and also because i'm committed to the short post aesthetic)

somehow your playlist was everything i never knew i needed. i mean it. this is my new favorite playlist.

and don't you dare get a new favourite playlist!

babe ur stoner tim playlist is exactly too perfect, earth is literally blessed by ur existence

babe thanks so much! i love my stoner tim playlist because it's just my usual playlist but people think it's an artistic choice that i put taylor swift and britney spears in there, when it's just what i unironically like listening to

JANDKSKDK BILLY RAY CYRUS ON THE STONER TIM PLAYLIST I LOVE IT IT

again it's not even an ironic choice, i know every single word and i genuinely like the song

The last chapter of Fundamentals of Casework has me crying at work. Thanks I love it @dudelookitsalesbian

oh babe, i'm sorry, but also, not sorry i love chapter 4 so much it's my lovechild with the 'mental illness' tag

soooo....stumbled on your tumblr by some stroke of fate??? read your DC fanfic first. which is PHENOMENAL btw. then found all the batmemes; the funniest thing EVER bc everyone forgets about regular old gothamites. kept scrolling and your blog pops up as recommended. clicked on the ao3 for shits and giggles and waddaya know?!?!? it's YOU!!! you're LEGEND!!!! ever seen that meme? it's a video of a cat that got into a baseball field and the two announcers get really invested in his escape attempt and start giving a play by play of the cat instead of the game. memeable moment: "GREAT stuff from the Cat!!!"

i seriously think about this ask every single day and it's so fucking funny to me that i've never seen the meme you're referencing, but i still find myself going 'GREAT stuff from the Cat!!!' whenever i see something funny. but wow i'm glad you liked this steaming pile of garbage

Fav dc character overall? And fav batfamily character?

don't ask me to pick between the loves of my life, but i can tell you i've cried about every single batfamily member and also wally west (my beloved)

What's your opinion on fans having a problem with batfam being "too big"? And some even claim that batfam is just "Bruce Alfred Dick Damian" and the rest of them are just "friends and allies" (source: reddit) Personally, I like batfam because of this reason but idk

stupid. a family can never be too big. i'm not that big a fan of like huge batfam stuff with everybody from every single universe, because as much as it's funny for bruce to have like 30 kids, it just feels a little too OOC for me.

This is the best tag I've seen involving the batfam, thanks for thinking of it

This is canon now @nctxrejects

lmao yeah i think at that point alfred has had to sit through like at least a dozen coming out talks and just has a pride flag collection in the attic that he pulls out whenever a kid comes out

idk why batfam hits different as compared to any other superhero family

bc it's found family and usually the other superhero families are almost all genetically related in one way or another

I don't know if you watch the umbrella academy but I saw your last post about batcest and saw the similarities. But the thing is (although I think it's weird) in TUA, they addressed it by saying "they were raised as weapons, not siblings" or something along those lines, which is simply not the case with batfam.

yeah i watched tua but i also thought it was ridiculous and they still treated each other as siblings so i didn't like the luthor/allison thing, and am glad they stopped doing that shit bc it fucking sucked.

Hot take: Batcest shippers are the same people who believe adopted siblings are not actual siblings

smoking hot take: batcest shippers are the people who watch 'my sister got stuck in the washing machine' porn

Duke was adopted by Bruce?

not technically no, but do i, tumblr user batarangsoundsdumb, look like i care?

True story but I had to change my freaking name because it used to be "Damien" and most people would go "OH LIKE DAMIAN WAYNE" like please I'm just tryna live

true story, but i don't actually think of damian when i hear the name damian, literally the first thing that pops up is damian darkh like bruh what?

apparently dc comics company supported comic stores by giving out new titles and stuff during the beginning of the pandemic to help them run and I just think that's wholesome

ah yeah that's so fucking cool, still don't like dc, the company, because this world is a capitalist hellhole and we're all owned by warner brothers or disney with no in between.

ayo looking at tumblr head canons and finding out bruce is actually a terrible father is a punch in the gut

lmao yes, in like 50% of comics bruce is a terrible father and it gives me whiplash

oooh I just saw the jason todd vs winter soldier post and the real question is: batman vs iron man

while iron man has like hundreds of cases of armor, batman could throw out an emp and have the guy dropping out of the sky in 2 seconds.

dickfast = fastdick = quickdick = quickie

magnum hot take

hey bata(?) just thought I'd let you know I have copied the obnoxious emoji and Billy Ray post for use on simping men going forth

thank you 😘🌷 (@spacebarsidecar)

why would you do that to your followers???? i get why i did it, but why would you???

what is scarecrow made the nightwing funko pop himself, like those diy-ers that paint over other ones

oh god no, horrible take, horrible take, that's a disgusting thought oh no

I see your HC that Bruce and Oliver fucked and raise you this: Dick and Roy ALSO fucked

yes they did and it was a horrible moment for jason to find out dick has fucked both of his best friends

"at this rate bruce adds like 1 child to his family every decade or so" Duke is introduced in 2013, Damian as Damian, not as an unnamed child, in 2006. And he is already 14 years old, Robins rarely remain Robins after 16 😬 It looks like a new Robin and Batkid will appear in a couple of years

i mean i can't wait? but somebody will probably die first tho, we're due for another major character death. my money's on either cass or duke this time.

BRO you're so right all of your Bruce's ex headcanons are amazing but they aren't ships, that's kinda wild. Like I don't want any peeks into how their relationship was I just want to see everyone make fun of them

lmao YES it's just i love bruce being a slut, like good for him.

I am in love with your posts your honour thank you

omg thanks are we like,, gonna kiss now?

The justice league needs to have a meeting to discuss how many of their members/partners have slept with bruce. Because through a combination of cannon & fannon (if DC wasn’t homophobic) we have AT LEAST: 1) clark 2) lois 3) oliver 4) dinah 5) john

Thats not counting villains or random civilians @dudelookitsalesbian

yes yes yes, they'll have a yearly meeting about how many of their collective exes could be out for revenge and batman's list just keeps getting longer.

tim was like "i'm drake now" and everyone was like ahh so your fursona is a dragon and tim was like pffffft no. ducks.

and what about it?

when steph's fighting livewire and she zaps her with lighting and nothing happens and then they both just. stand there awkwardly for a second and talk. yeah i couldn't stop laughing at that batgirl steph is the BEST

oh yeah that was fucking hilarious and i think it would be so cool and sexy of dc to give steph a little comic series,,, as a treat

Hi I absolutely adore all of yours "Bruce and Oliver very badly pretending they didn't fuck each other" memes

lmao i do too

I need you to know that “Bruce Wayne had frosted tips” is one of my favorite Bruce takes of all time it’s so galaxy brained. you’re right and you should say it

he also painted his hair blonde once when he was travelling and in conclusion, this is why he's being blackmailed by the gotham gazette.

you know my thing about gordon being branded as the only good cop in gotham is its a load of shit like arguably he's a good person and not working to screw people over or anything but the fact that he also works w. batman makes him a shit cop. like yea batman is better than the mob but its still illegal its still an abuse of power he just not making bank

babe, all cops are bad cops. (but yeah youre absolutely right, working with vigilantes makes you a shit cop, but also working against vigilantes just makes you an asshole cop yanno?)

ruh roh i think i’m about to add “so not yeehaw” every time i don’t like something

that's a very good vocabulary upgrade

somehow i feel like steph already knew. like babs obviously knew but i feel like bruce got high/drunk in front of steph and started telling his boarding school stories and steph was just like “oh you fucked up i’m never gonna forget this”

steph and bruce have weird uncle/rebellious niece dynamic and they just hang out sometimes and bruce will be like 'i once broke my arm when i tripped over a hedge when i was drunk so oliver drove me to the hospital on an electric scooter' and steph will just have to sit there with that knowledge in her head.

Hello I just wanted to tell you you are So right in all your steph opinions bc she is, in fact amazing and I think that's very sexy of you. Ps. Your Bruce/Oliver fic is hilarious

babe, thank you so much and yes steph is amazing and i love her and she deserves the world and she's the best member of the batfam hands down. also thanks

In Supersons we see a couple of kids that are implied to be Damian and Jon's children and the boy has laser eyes and can fly, so I asume he's not adopted. The girl, who calls Bruce grandpa, can also fly, btw. So it's canon (probably by accident) that Jon can have kids and he must have married one of Bruce's kids. (I'm hoping for Damian, mostly because any other of his children would be waaaaaaaaaaaaay too old.) @artemisa97

lmao that was probably an accident seeing as jon is a 17 year old superhero in the year 3000 (by the jonas brothers)

You know, I'm a die hard fan of your memes, but I gotta say one thing: if Gothamites actually took gas mask everywhere with them, then the Scarecrow would just be a weird dude in a weird costume, and not a villain oh so scary. DC really should just takes notes from you.

bold of you to assume there's no gothamite anti-maskers

How does it feel being the funniest person on this app?

horrible, next question.

I can't listen to Green Day or Billy Joel without thinking of your post about how Bruce got arrested at a Billy Joel concert @nightwings-kid

yeah that's your mistake, i on the other hand can't enjoy billy joel without thinking about the glee rendition of 'uptown girl'

I've FINALLY been watching the Batman animated series and I gotta say, after watching "the gray ghost" I am CONVINCED that Batman is a closeted super hero geek who was 100% freaking out the first time he met Superman and is just REALLY good at hiding it.

superman: so what do you do in your free time? batman, thinking about the superman fanfiction he's writing on the batcomputer: i have no free time

bruce and oliver be like boyfriends to co-workers 401k (do the justice leagues get 401ks??? not that bruce and ollie would need them, but-)

lmao yes just 400 thousand words of bruce realising 'oh dip oliver is such a fucking dumbass' (also i don't know what a 401 k is but i assume they don't?)

Gothamites would totally boo superman as he saves Gotham while batman is out. @meenje

he's like 'okay think about that next time you want to be saved from an alien octopus'

I just took long break from dc comics and I come back to see ric grayson ??

i think it's very cool and sexy of dc to see dick and just think 'you know what? let's just give him a traumatic brain injury' and then didn't develop his character in any real way

SPEAKING OF RIC GRAYSON, gothamites making confused memes out of ric grayson is much needed

'dick grayson is my taxi driver? can anyone explain what the fuck happened he looks like an italian plumber?'

i hate to say it but batfam are def "marvel characters" in that sense they are characters who are human but become superheroes unlike most dc characters who are gods trying to be human maybe this is why I like batfam

fair enough

#this is only like half of it #but at least you can get like a few answers #yanno fuck it #bataranswers #ask #asks #anon

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Stalker X Stalker, Part 6

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Perma tag: @nathleigh @peachmuses

Stalker x Stalker taglist: @aespades @jayjayspixiepop @blueslushgueen @fan-written @seraphichana @nerd-nowandforever

Just remembered I had a plot so oops

Marinette wasn’t stupid. Nino had a brother only a few years older than Robin, and that brother had never acted so young or clingy at Robin’s age (and it surely wasn’t a thing about Robin, because she had yet to see him cling to anyone else). She knew that Robin was just using her to mess with Red Robin.

But she didn’t particularly mind. It was kind of funny to watch Red getting all worked up over his little brother and friend being close. She was glad she had her mask, because otherwise she definitely would have given away the act by this point.

Robin, for his part, had been upping things more and more every time he saw her. She wasn’t sure whether this was because he knew that she knew or because he was testing the limits of what he could do without her saying anything.

Red looked like he was at his wit’s end with Robin held out a hand for Marinette right before crossing a street. She took it, which was when he finally snapped:

“He’s twelve, not five!”

She pulled her face into a mock frown. “Are you saying that twelve-year-olds should get hit by cars, Red?”

Red Robin sputtered.

“Miss Ladybug, why is he so mean to me?” Robin asked with wide eyes. She could see the corner of his lips twitching in an effort not to smile.

She winked. His eyes narrowed just slightly then he widened them back to their wide-eyed sadness.

“I don’t know, sweetie. He’s just a meanie, I guess.”

Red Robin threw his hands up in either anger or defeat. It didn’t really matter which one it was, they counted it as a win.

~

Tim wasn’t surprised to walk into the Batcave one day and see Marinette’s face on the Batcomputer. The only thing he didn’t know was whether she was up there because they had figured out her identity or because Tim had started hanging out with her as a civilian.

He took a long sip of his coffee as he considered this, then he trudged over. Might as well find out.

“Hey guys,” he announced his presence.

He watched Duke out of the corner of his eyes. Duke was the newest of them, he could usually count on him to have more pronounced reactions.

Duke didn’t seem all that awkward. So it must have been them finding out her identity.

Tim sidled up beside them. “Sure that’s her?”

Bruce, never one for using his words when he didn’t have to, held up a small container of blood.

He hummed his understanding and intended for that to be the end of the conversation… but it was getting increasingly hard to ignore the eyes boreing into the side of his head. Tim fought to keep a straight face and unclench his jaw and ignore the stupid ‘d-d-don’t be suspicious’ song playing in his head.

And then Cass tapped him on the shoulder and he cursed quietly.

“Fine. Fine. I knew. Happy?”

Cass was not. She narrowed her eyes at him.

“I saw her run into an alleyway and I followed -- obviously, it’s Gotham and alleyways are dangerous -- and she transformed right in front of me.”

She nodded and let it go.

Bruce, however, did not.

“You knew her identity and didn’t think to tell us?”

“I thought to tell you, I just didn’t,” he said with a cheeky grin.

Ah. The Disappointed Dad Stare. He had certainly not missed that.

His grin melted into an awkward smile. “It felt weird to reveal her. She clearly cares about her identity since she hasn’t told us herself yet, I figured I’d respect that as long as I could.”

“... you weren’t making progress on her identity on purpose. God, that makes so much more sense,” muttered Steph.

He shrugged. “Easy to avoid someone’s identity when you know who it is.”

Bruce was still looking at him disapprovingly.

“Don’t worry, I have contingencies,” Tim said.

His father relaxed, finally. He motioned for him to go on.

“Well, a few need confirmation. I still don’t know if her yoyo can be cut and it’s hard to tell if other people can unzip her hood or not. But if the hood is open then The Flash or Superman can easily get the earrings from her -- beyond those she’d just a normal person with some fighting skills, same contingencies as The Arrows or any of us. If not then Green Lantern can probably neutralize her.”

Bruce nodded.

The other kids looked mildly concerned.

“Wait, he has contingencies for us?” Duke said.

Bruce was back to looking dismayed. Tim showed them all where their files were (he wouldn’t hack them for them, obviously, he didn’t want to break the news of exactly how messed up Bruce’s contingencies were). He could practically see all the sweat beading itself on his forehead beneath his cowl.

(Tim hid his smile. He’d finally gotten revenge for the time he’d made him stay inside after The Chloroform Incident. And revenge was sweet.)

… it wasn’t until he started seeing his siblings on the rooftop across from Marinette’s apartment that he thought that, maybe, he should have gotten them into their files. It definitely would have distracted them from the Marinette Is Ladybug situation.

At least Cass trusted Marinette -- she would have slipped up and showed her intentions at least once by now -- and therefore wasn’t likely to come by. Cass would be the one to figure out that Tim coming up to the roof was more than him just checking on his siblings.

The first person that came by was Damian. Fair enough, he’d been around Marinette the shortest amount of time and what little friendship they had was based on his lies.

Now, the youngest sibling sat, cross-legged on the rooftop. He was sketching in his sketchbook between quick glances over at Marinette. He looked up when Tim pulled himself over the side and squinted at him.

“Drake.”

“Dami,” Tim greeted, because it always annoyed his younger brother when he used the nickname. “Having fun spying on Marinette?”

Damian was silent for a few moments before clicking his tongue. “She needs to close her blinds more often.”

“Aw, do you care about her?” Tim teased, reaching over to ruffle his brother’s hair.

He pushed his hand away. “She’s a Gothamite and is therefore under our protection.”

Tim snickered and shook his head, taking a seat beside him on the rooftop. “We can tell Duke about it once everyone else has had their chance at checking her out. He’s the only one that can get away with asking her to close it.”

Damian nodded firmly.

Tim hid the fond smile on his face by diverting his brother’s attention: “So, what’re you sketching?”

Damian’s eyes lit up.

The next person to drop by was Bruce himself. He was sitting there, in all black despite the fact that it was less useful during the day, with full spy equipment.

Tim dropped down beside him and was offered a set of headphones. The two of them stayed there in silence for a long time, listening to Marinette going about her day. She was currently cooking something and singing along to a song:

“I always feel like... somebOdy’s watching meeEe… andIhavenoprivacy~.”

Tim was choosing to ignore the song choice in favor of giggling about her inability to hit the notes. He could feel Bruce watching him out of the corner of his eyes, but he didn’t say anything and neither did Tim.

Next was Steph.

Steph raised her eyebrows at Tim when she saw him.

“Come here often?” She asked in a tone that was only half-joking.

“Only recently,” he lied. “Trying to figure out if any of you trust my judgement.”

“Doubtful.”

“Yeah, Duke is my last hope.”

She snickered and shook her head. “To be fair, you’re whipped. You could have been biased.”

“But I’m not.”

“But you’re not,” she conceded, then turned her gaze back on Marinette. “She’s cute. I approve.”

“Glad to know you trust her.”

“I wasn’t talking about it like that and you know it,” Steph said with a wink.

Tim blushed and pushed her face away. “You’re the worst.”

~

Marinette was having a little difficulty figuring out the not-quite-a-language that the bats spoke with her. She wanted to learn it because she cared about Black Bat and, though she could use ASL, it was clear that she wasn’t comfortable with any particular language… but wow was it hard to learn a language when there wasn’t any actual language involved.

Thankfully, Signal had said he would teach her since he had learned it the most recently and therefore might have an easier time teaching it.

Now, it was just after they had finished their lessons for the day and the two of them were relaxing together between their patrols. He had his head in her lap as they both scrolled through Twitter, occasionally laughing and showing each other the dumb things that the other bats had supposedly done. Her favorite so far was the picture someone had discreetly taken of Robin while he was petting their dog.

And then Signal suddenly sat up straight, eyes so wide beneath his domino that she swore that the lenses were going to pop out.

“Uh --?”

“We need to go,” he said.

She felt his hand wrap around her wrist and now she was being dragged somewhere else --.

There was a rush of air and next thing she knew she was being held just barely off the ground.

She blinked all the dryness out of her eyes and then looked up to see that her captor was none other than Superman himself. He had grabbed both of them and taken them to where the Batcomputer was, holding her by her hood and Signal by the back of his shirt. He looked angry, but not particularly at her. She followed his gaze to where Batman was sitting in his Batchair.

“B --.”

“Batman,” said Batman sternly.

Oh, so Superman got to know his secret identity and she didn’t?

(She was ignoring the fact that Batman’s civilian name started with a B.)

“Batman, what do I have here?”

“Two children?”

“Two. Metas.”

“Technically, Ladybug isn’t a meta. Her powers were given to her by a god that lives in her earrings,” Batman informed him.

Marinette tried not to smile too much. Look at how much he had grown. He was using her excuses now.

Superman’s eyes narrowed. She’d say something about how ‘if looks could kill, Batman would be dead’... but, considering the fact that Superman could kill someone with a single look, it didn’t really work.

“And is the god allowed in Gotham?”

Batman didn’t have an excuse for that one. He just grunted a specific grunt which Marinette had learned meant: “What’s your point?”

Superman also knew this specific grunt, apparently. “My point is that the last time I was in Gotham you put kryptonite in my coffee! You said no metas, and we listened, but now you have two!”

“They’re my kids.”

Marinette blinked. “News to me.”

Signal tried to reach across Superman to punch her arm. Superman was a very wide not-man, so he came up short.

“Do you want to be kicked out of Gotham?”

“Guess I’ve always wanted family here,” she said quickly.

Superman squinted at them for a long time before, finally, dropping them.

“You’re lifting your no meta rule.”

“No --.”

“Yes. If even you’re not going to listen to it, neither should we.”

Batman didn’t seem happy. Superman didn’t seem to care. Probably because he was a good head taller and had far more superpowers than Batman did.

Superman left soon after.

Marinette knew it wasn’t the time, because Batman was back to his Batbrooding, but she couldn’t help the grin slowly spreading across her face.

“So, Dad, can I have the new Xbox for Christmas?”

~

Duke had visited Marinette. Tim hadn’t seen him visit, but he definitely had because Marinette had closed her blinds and they hadn’t been open in days. She was still in Gotham, though, she had gone on patrols and, as far as he could tell, she didn’t have any places in Gotham in her name. She had to still be in the apartment, so Duke must have visited as Signal and told her to close them.

And he should have been happy about this. It was far safer that way. The less people knew that there was a woman living alone in that apartment the better.

… but he couldn’t help but be concerned.

The blinds being closed was his best indication of when she was about to leave or currently not home. He didn’t like that he no longer had a way of figuring that out. How was he supposed to watch over her while she was getting groceries if he never knew when she was going?

He gives her a necklace with a tracker in it the next time he sees her as Tim.

She raised her eyebrows at the box he was holding out to her. “Don’t you think it’s a little early to propose?” She joked, but he could hear the slight wariness bleeding into her tone.

He grins easily. “It’s just to thank you for the outfit you’re making me.”

“You pay me,” she said. “That’s thanks enough for me.”

“Maybe I just feel a little bad about guilting you into making it in the first place.”

She hesitates, but he could see the shiny red gem inlaid in it winning her over. It doesn’t matter that she wasn’t a gold digger, she was a fashion designer and he had purposefully chosen a common gem color so she’d be more inclined to wear it more often. It worked with a lot of outfits and it came from someone she -- hopefully -- considered a friend? There was little reason to say no.

As expected, she gave in.

She turned around and he carefully clasped it behind her neck. He pressed a tiny kiss to the back of her head.

When she turned back around her face was redder than the gem. He couldn’t help but smile.

“Ready to go?”

She nodded, taking his hand and allowing him to pull her along to the newest attraction.

~

Marinette fell back on her bed with a huff.

“Tikkiiiiiiiii,” she complained.

The kwami slipped out of her purse and came up to float above her face. “Did you enjoy your date?”

“It wasn’t --!”

Tikki laughed at her dismay. Because Tikki sucked.

She dropped the pillow back beside herself and curled up in what had used to be Tim’s jacket (she wasn’t joking when she’d taken it, he was never getting it back).

“Tim better be Red Robin. I’m not doing the whole ‘two crushes at once’ thing again.”

~

You know, there were actually times where Tim felt bad about chipping Marinette. He wasn’t out of it enough to think that it wasn’t messed up, he knew that there was a reason he didn’t want the other bats to know.

And he knew that, if he had to keep his habits from fellow bats, his habits had to be pretty bad. Every single one of them had a tendency to watch over their loved ones from time to time, it just came with the territory of having friends that are a) vigilantes/heroes/Rogues, b) stupid enough to live in Gotham, or c) an unfortunate mix of both. And, really, when you have the entire world at your fingertips it’s hard not to cross a few lines from time to time.

But Tim couldn’t bring himself to care about that line when she didn’t seem to care about her own safety.

She left the house constantly. Tim was beginning to suspect that she’d had her blinds open so often in order to feel closer to people rather than because she liked sunning herself. This would be fine… if she wasn’t leaving as a civilian. Marinette cared about her secret identity almost as much as Bruce did, so he knew that she probably wouldn’t try too hard to escape attackers for fear of them finding out who she was through her very particular fighting style. The bats had drilled her on the best ways to deal with being held at gunpoint and everything, but not every criminal was completely predictable. Bruce’s parents were a prime example of that.

She also had a tendency to take food without checking to see if it was laced. She did it especially when Tim handed her food and, while he liked that she trusted him, he didn’t love that she was as trusting of him as she was.

Marinette had trouble detecting when people were watching her, too. He figured it was just a byproduct of having most of the stuff she did as Ladybug filmed by tv crews and random civilians… but understanding why she was like that didn’t make him any less concerned about it.

Most damning, however, was how she dealt with catcalling.

Tim never felt a need to intervene when any of his siblings got catcalled on the job. He could trust them to tell whoever it was to stop with however much politeness was correct for the situation (usually not that much).

(The only exception was Damian because, unlike everyone else, Damian was still very obviously a minor. And even then the temptation to beat them up was mostly sated by the fact that Damian knew far more nonlethal ways to hurt them than he did.)

But the few times Marinette had gotten catcalled in front of him she… had just very politely asked them not to say that? And, when they didn’t stop, she had just sat there in her discomfort until they were done?

And Tim had done nothing but watch in stunned silence the first few times. It hadn’t been on purpose, he had just… not been expecting it. She usually acted far more confident, usually had some sort of retort on her tongue, why was this any different?

He didn’t know. Both he and Steph had tried to ask but she shut down both times and they didn’t want her to be more upset than she already was so they’d stopped trying.

The bats just silently agreed to check in on her through comms when she was quiet for too long and, if she didn’t respond, head towards her last known location and start looking.

So, yeah, his paranoia wasn’t completely unfounded.

~

Marinette blinked at the envelope Black Bat had handed her.

She turned it over in her hands, wondering if it was some kind of test, but that wasn’t really as much of a Black Bat thing as it was a Batman or Red Robin thing. So, she figured it probably wasn’t dangerous. She still found herself examining it. It was done in an old style, with a rough and slightly yellowed paper, a red wax seal with a pointy hat emblem she didn’t recognize, and ‘Ladybug’ written across the front in gorgeous calligraphy.

“Uh…?”

Black Bat only smiled at her and made a motion to open it.

Marinette hesitantly opened the letter and pulled out more weird paper. It was splattered with something that looked suspiciously like dried blood. In the same elegant script that had decorated the front, it read:

Your spirit has been summoned to my annual Halloween Party!

Dress to kill!

This was followed by a bunch of directions and timings and stuff about RSVP-ing.

Marinette looked at Black Bat, somehow even more confused than she had been before.

Thankfully, Red Robin chose that moment to run down the stairs, waving his invitation excitedly.

He stopped short when he saw Marinette already holding her invitation and huffed, sending Black Bat a halfhearted glare. “I wanted to tell her.”

Black Bat’s smile morphed into a smirk.

“Rude,” Red said. Then, he turned to Marinette. “We got invited to his Halloween Party!”

“Yeah… whose Halloween Party, exactly?”

“Scarecrow’s, of course!”

… what?

#stalker x stalker #maribat #shutterbug #timmari #timari #timinette #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #tim drake #red robin #marinette: all the rogues are dangerous and smart i need to expect the unexpected #scarecrow: im having a halloween party!! #marinette: ... i guess that IS unexpected...