@bruhman745 If You Repost Again It'll Be Ten Times

Thinking about batboys doing average father-son activities with Bruce.

Dick and Bruce go shopping. Alfred did, does and, probably, will do it until the end of time, but since Dick lives in Blüdhaven he prefers to do it by himself. Sometimes Bruce offers help, sometimes Dick accepts it. At such moments, Dick lets Bruce pay and completely enjoys his nepo baby life. Bruce still doesn't know the value of money and can't estimate the cost of groceries, Dick still likes being wheeled around on a cart. He barely fits in there and the rest of the customers look at them weirdly, but Bruce has been used to close attention and has never been able to turn Dick down. They recklessly rush through the departments while new articles about the eccentric Brucie appear in the newspapers, then both get scolded by Alfred for buying all sorts of useless junk.

Jason and Bruce read together. Wayne's library is one of a few places in the mansion where Jason appears regularly and willingly. They don't even talk, just sit in one room, mostly in silence, punctuated by snorting or brief comments. Bruce has a lot of books he planned to read but always put off, so he uses this time to good advantage. Jason acknowledges his existence with a slight nod and on good days sits closer, almost enough to be in Bruce's space. Jason often rereads books, writes notes on transparent stickers that Alfred gave him and chews a pencil, thinking. Sometimes Bruce finds books on the table in his cabinet, the same transparent sticker invariably says "You would like it" with a postscript in smaller letters at the bottom "or not, I don't care". Bruce always smiles softly, adding it to the top of his list.

Tim and Bruce go to the skate park. They both wear sunglasses and casual clothes, but those few parents who come with children still whisper to each other. For the first few times it's kind of awkward, Bruce is unsure what to do and Tim isn't used to attention from his parents, but they cope. Bruce ruffles Tim's hair, enjoying the way his eyes light up, and tries his best not to jump up every time Tim falls. He wears a protective gear set, Bruce insisted, and they both know that Red Robin has been through the worst, but Bruce has little control over the mother hen regime. In the evening, coming home, they buy ice cream and coffee for the night extracurricular activities, and if Tim pretends to be asleep while Bruce carries him out of the car, no one mentions it.

Damian and Bruce go to the cinema. Damian isn't used to pop-culture, and Dick is convinced that this tragedy should be solved. Damian says it's a senseless waste of time and he has more significant stuff to do, but always looks forward to these days. It's mostly cartoons, ideally with animals in the main roles. Damian loves cartoons, and he is less ashamed of admitting it when Bruce says he loves them too. They eat something that Alfred would disapprove of, stay for a short time after the credits and constantly walk home by foot. Damian doesn't ask for uppies, he would never, Bruce picks him up and puts him on his shoulders anyway. Damian likes to be on high, for Bruce it's not even a workout, just a warm-up weight and he tries not to think bitterly that he isn't able to do this with his other children anymore. Sometimes they talk quietly, sometimes just enjoy each other's company. Sometimes Damian falls asleep, knowing perfectly well his father won't let him fall, and Bruce holds him tightly to not let him down.

It's weirdly cozy for their life, almost normal. It's not better, they would choose vigilante life anyway, they already did, but it's nice to feel from time to time. They appreciate it, even if they don't say it out loud.

after all is said and done—after the Batfamily finds out that Jason is alive, after he and Bruce finally start to adress the joker-shaped elephant in the room, after Tim stops flinching every time Jason enters the room—the thing that hits Jason right in the chest out of the blue is fucking school.

he kicked ass at Gotham Academy. most of his teachers loved him (and the ones that didn't knew better than to try anything with Bruce Wayne's son). he was on track to win a special award for being the top English student in his grade.

sure, some of the kids were snobby and privileged little brats that were all bark and no bite. and sure, the parents somehow managed to be even worse. but did he complain?

not once. he dealt with the external shit (the whispers behind cupped hands or the assholes who "tripped" into him and sent his shit scattering to the floor) the same way he dealt with the internal shit (the imposter syndrome or the fear that one day, Bruce would decide he wasn't good enough): he worked his ass off and proved them wrong.

sure he's deadly with a mask over his face and a weapon in his arms, but give him a pen, a prompt, and sixty minutes on the clock? and he becomes the angel of death himself.

or at least he used to.

he never got to graduate, he suddenly realises. he never got to walk across that stage and receive his diploma. he never got to go to prom or go on the senior trip. he never got to sit any of his english exams (and yeah, he took AP Lang and AP Lit the same year, what about it?).

as Red Hood, he's good at a lot of things (murder and destruction, mostly). but as Jason Todd, school was one of the few things he was actually fucking good at, damn it.

once again, fate's made him into her personal chew-toy. dangling everything he ever wanted right in front of his face, close enough to touch, just to snatch it away again.

I cope using humor okay 😭😭😭

ExCUSE me, Dick thinking that maybe he should have brought Damian with him instead of staying with, but didn't because he didn't think he was ready to be a dad, like he was probably younger than Bruce was when he took Dick in and even they had such a rough ride, could he put Damian through that? or worse? when Damian had already been through so much in his young life? like sure Dick had lost his parents but he hadn't been trained to be an assassin all his life? but still Dick THOUGHT ABOUT IT and I am going to go throw up from feelings about how much Dick loves that kid.

Steph: I don’t think Jason likes me very much.

Duke: Huh? What makes you say that?

Steph: He cut my grapple line, just cause I tried to pass over Crime Alley!!

Tim: Eh. Jason doesn’t really like anyone. I wouldn’t take it personal. Just be glad he didn’t shoot at you.

Duke: Are we thinking of the same Jason right now?

Tim: Is there some other Jason we should know about?

Duke: Look, I’m not saying I don’t believe you guys, it’s just hard to picture. Look, here he comes now.

Jason, dapping Duke up: Narrows! You coming to book club tomorrow?

Duke: Wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Jason: Glad to hear it, and don’t be afraid to bring your own work, too. I’ve seen your writing, it’s powerful. Really. I’ve gotta bounce, but you think about it, alright?

Duke: Yeah, yeah…See you, Park Row.

Tim:

Steph:

Tim & Steph: Hey What The Fuck.

Dick gave Robin to Jason

Ok so I was reading up on some of Jason Todd’s original origins (I couldn’t remember a specific detail) and it was all stuff I was very familiar with

Until I got to Batman 1940 issue #368

Where we see Jason Todd wearing not the classic Robin uniform but this

Which first of all

He had pants

And second of all what those two are doing in this panel is discussing what new name Batman’s partner should have instead of Robin. Because when Jason first shows up as Robin in Batman 1940 issue #366, it wasn’t Bruce’s decision

Bruce is surprised to see him (mostly because at first glance he thinks Jason is Dick but I digress)

and more than that he actually gets upset that Jason put the costume on in the first place. Because it wasn’t his to take

Bruce proceeds to explain that he refuses to allow Jason to steal Dick’s identity because Robin belongs to him

Hence the need for a new identity

It’s in the middle of them discussing this that Dick shows up with a box in hand, asking Jason how he’s doing and starts talking about how he felt when he first became Batman’s partner. He then tells them he saw Vicki Vale’s photo of “Batman and Robin” stopping the Joker

Jason immediately apologizes, saying that it was never his intention to try and steal Dick’s identity. But it’s Dick that stops him and tells him that it’s ok because he’s no longer Batman’s partner and that he’s done trying to be like Batman

He talks about how he’s the leader of the Titans and that it’s time his name reflected the fact he was no longer Batman’s partner

It’s then he finally opens the box that he came in with to reveal the Robin uniform

He proceeds to then give it to Jason and more than that tells Jason that he deserves to be Robin and that he explicitly gives Jason permission to use his identity

He then leaves saying he has to get back to the Titans and that he has to figure out what he wants to be next

but not before calling Jason “Robin”

There was no big betrayal or fight, nothing was stolen(permanently anyway).

Dick gave Robin to Jason and then left on peaceful terms

Now obviously this version of the story has been long since retconned and rebooted a dozen times over, but I still found the fact that Dick had originally given the Robin mantle to Jason very interesting

Tim Drake has been kidnapped 235 times in his life so far.

The first time was when he was 4. He was held in warehouse for 6 days before the thugs who took him realized that they wouldn’t be able to get ahold of his parents no matter how many times they called. They wouldn’t pick up calls even from the kids own phone. They fed him a nice warm meal, and dropped him back off at his door with several full Tupperware containers, and new contacts in his phone.

At least once every few weeks since that day, Tim would find himself being picked up in an unmarked van and taken to an undisclosed location, and upon arrival, he would be seated at a large table where he would eat his fill of home cooked meals with a large family of thugs and goons.

Duke such a talker and its one of my favorite things about him, his narration is long winded and uses so much philosophical language, his verbal speech isn't as bad as other notorious talkers (Dick, Jason, and Steph come to mind) but he is Still talkin

he has so much to say (for himself, for his profession, for his community) and i love him so much for it