No Thoughts Only Batfam

The thing about Jason Todd is I like to call him cathartic and he *is* but he's also...a sort of fantasy fulfillment, but not the one I think people assume.

Jason cannot be a Punisher type fantasy because his own victimization undercuts it. This isn't a tale about a hero avenging his family. This is the singing bones.

Because fundamentally, the fantasy in utrh is this: the victimized dead can rise again, screaming. Can cut a bloody path through the world and make the powerful listen. It doesn't matter if what he does is just or right, anymore, just that it exposes the wound.

In real life the dead stay dead and their abusers write their obituaries and get sympathy cards from their families and you bite your tongue and let the wounds rot and -

And then there's Jason, who comes back wrong because the world is wrong. Who comes back sharp and cruel, who makes himself a knife where there was once only grave dirt. Who tells Bruce, and by extension the audience itself, that *yes* you were grieving wrong. Yes you did allow this. You preserved peace over justice. You offered platitudes to a silent headstone while you ignored the screams of the living victims.

The fantasy of Jason Todd is this:

You have to look the corpse in the eyes, this time.

don’t ask me what they’re doing I have no fucking clue 😭😭😭

Robins are weird about stairs.  And I think that’s a learned behavior.

(Also, I think Jason knows that his way is not effective in a fight.  But, I also think he wouldn’t be able to resist trolling the other Robins.)

Based of this scene:

All characters belong to DC Comics . Artwork by Meredith McClaren

Good reminders for fight scenes

Things about fighting I always wish made it into Batfamily fics, in no specific order:

The weird way people flip up their tongues to protect their teeth before a fight (if they’re not wearing a mask/mouthpiece)

Exhaling right when you’re about to be hit during a fight so it reduces pain/impact and your body doesn’t tense up

People getting yanked around by ponytails/longer hair (and how much that fucking HURTS)

The fact that you can’t really prepare to get the wind knocked out of you, it just happens and it sucks no matter how well trained you are

Feeling vasodilation start before a fight begins because of the adrenaline surge and increased heart rate

The Batkids taking cues from Cass and targeting an opponent’s weaknesses during a fight (limps, old injuries or scars, preference for right handed weapons, etc)

Night vision/low light vision - the domino masks automatically adjust their vision so they don’t need to wait between bright lights and darkness, but others do

At a certain point you really can’t run anymore - maybe Bruce-as-Batman can, but a teen will tap out from a chase a lot sooner

I dont understand how people think “but they killed people!” Is everrrr going to convince me to hate a fictional character. I actually like them more because they killed people. In fact, its the main thing I like about them. I would cheer with pom-poms at the mere implication of them killing again.

During an important meeting at Wayne Industries it gets crashed by Robin and Red Robin fighting. They crash through a window onto the long table causing the employees to freak out and hide in a corner. Various objects in the room are being used as weapons. The room gets trashed. Bruce has to use his dad voice on the two vigilantes and they stop fighting and sheepishly run away. The scared employees are impressed that Bruce was able to stop the fight and he just shrugs it off like it’s no big deal. “My kids fight all the time I knew the dad voice would work”.

Oh my god the absolute cuteness

That's fucking hilarious. He would too

I love hitting characters with the trans beam but I love it even more when the implications of that are 10 times funnier than their presumed cis identities. EXHIBIT A: Richard “Dick” Grayson.

Dick, filing his legal documents with Bruce: okay you’re gonna scratch that name and write down “Richard”. But everyone will call me Dick

Bruce: …are you sure about that

Dick: did I stutter

Bruce: it’s a… really outdated name chum the kids at school aren’t gonna be nice about it

Dick: I. don’t. Care. Are you gonna write that down or should I go do the paperwork with the WE lawyers tomorrow?

Bruce: okay okay fine… if that’s what makes you happy…

Dick: this is gonna be the funniest thing I have ever done in my life

Ooooh ideas

I’ve had this wild headcanon circling in my head for a few days now. Just something quick before I head to bed: civilians working at the Watchtower.

Not just one or two, but a small team—maybe under a hundred people—hired to handle the kinds of jobs superheroes don’t always have the time, training, or bandwidth for. Doctors, nurses, administrative staff, financial analysts, tech support, even custodians and social media managers. And here’s the catch: not a single one of them ever reveals the heroes’ identities.

Why do they stay? Because the job is good. The environment is excellent. The pay? Amazing. Benefits? Better than anything you'd get working a normal nine-to-five on Earth. Sure, the occasional intergalactic invasion or magical mishap might make for a stressful Tuesday, but in general, it’s a surprisingly stable, fulfilling job.

Need help in the medbay? There’s a small, dedicated medical team. Parental leave for anyone? HR’s already got the paperwork ready. A hero injured on a League mission? Don’t worry—the League covers the medical expenses and provides recovery support.

I like to think Batman used to manage all of this himself. For a while, he tried to juggle it—because of course he did—but no matter how much people think he's superhuman, he's still one man with a full-time company to run. Eventually, he started recruiting a reliable team. People handpicked, vetted, and trusted. Civilians who could handle the loose ends most heroes wouldn’t even think about—basic logistics, liability, disaster response, benefits.

And it’s not just medicine. Sure, they’ve got alien tech that can heal broken bones in a flash, but they still need people. Nurses, therapists, surgeons. Heroes with those skill sets exist, but they have lives outside of those roles. They can’t do everything.

And then there’s social media. Bruce Wayne knows better than anyone how important public image is these days. The League needs PR experts—someone to coordinate interviews, run official Instagram accounts, post educational content on what to do if you find a magical artifact on your morning jog, or what civilians should avoid after a city-leveling alien fight. Maybe Superman and Wonder Woman are featured in the press, doing goodwill interviews. Batman? He stays behind the curtain, but someone still needs to manage his presence.

Every four weeks, someone’s getting brainwashed. Someone’s getting cloned. Someone’s going rogue. There needs to be a team that can step in, clean up, and carry on. People who understand that their work matters, even if it’s behind the scenes.

That’s why the Watchtower needs civilians. Trained, committed people doing honest, often thankless work. Heroes are heroes, sure—but they’re also people. They need lives, rest, and support. And sometimes, the best way to keep the world safe is by letting someone else carry part of the weight.