Holding Baby Brother

2024 vs 2020

ptsd moment

I see a lot of confusion on why calling Damian Wayne "feral" is racist/problematic, so here's a rundown.

There's a difference between calling your child or your younger sibling "feral" and calling a character like Damian "feral." You know your child/sibling/niece/nephew etc. They're real people, and unless they have a problem with it personally, then there's nothing wrong with calling them feral as a joke. It doesn't (shouldn't) affect their perceptions by other people. It doesn't become a label that follows them.

Damian al Ghul-Wayne is a fictional character. A canonically mixed Arab/Chinese/Jewish White character with a history connected to some of the most prominent Arab comic book characters, who themselves also get insanely mischaracterized.

He's constantly whitewashed. He's been written with racist undertones (the suicide bomber vest). He's had his character development and progress backtracked time and time again by DC. DC treats him weirdly most days and completely shitty in the worst stories.

A good majority of fanon hasn't done any better than DC. You cannot pat yourselves on the back for being more inclusive or mental health aware than DC when you call a mixed Arab/Chinese boy "feral". It's constant. You can come up with various titles and nuances for every Bat-character, for every Robin.

Tim can be smart, a skater, a genius, the one holding everyone together, the little brother, the one who needs love. Jason can be cool, morally "right" or "wrong", unstable, PTSD-stricken, the one who was betrayed, the one with Shakespearean tragedies. Dick can be fun, happy, the first one, the prodigal son, the one with complicated history and the big brother.

You give them room for exploration. Love and care and attention and research. Many headcanons. You either comply with canon or you don't, but there's substance to their character.

What does Damian get? He's feral. He's rabid. He's a gremlin. He can't be reasoned with. He has no self-control, he's impulsive. He's hurt others, and you can't forgive it. Sometimes he's homophobic. Or classist. Or plain mean and rude to your favorite boy. He's always carrying a sword. A psychopath with no regard for another's well-being (usually Tim in a lot of fics). He can't be taught what's right.

I've seen people cry that Damian needs to punished or kicked out or treated the same way he's treated others. He needs to be brutalized or talked down to. He can never grow as a person, because he's mean to Tim or Jason, and you need him to exist as the abuser. His first move is always violent.

Fanon compares him to an animal often; he bites, claws, hisses, growls. Bruce or Dick or Jason or Tim have to wrangle him, tame him, civilize him the white man's way in lieu of his brown mother and grandfather who "clearly" raised him wrong. You don't see the issue with that? The issue with always labeling one of the few major brown characters in Batman comics as the unreasonable animal? That the child of color is always the abuser, the instigator, to older characters?

And even if you don't see him this way, you don't write him this way - then are you giving him the care and attention you give for other Bat characters?

Do you know anything else about him other than his "anger"? Because he isn't always angry. In fact, he's typically well-mannered. Quiet even, when he's not being provoked. DC's writing will always vary but whenever Damian lashes out, he's usually written with a reason to act the way he does.

Are you making him intelligent like he should be? A hard believer in redemption? A neglected and abused child who isn't meek or crying or closes himself within? Are you willing to explore that he's always exhibited the "wrong" kind of trauma responses - lashing out, being snippy, ruining relationships, refusing to admit weakness?

Do you write anything about him without making his mother and grandfather comically abusive and violent? Will you give him the supporting cast/friends he actually has? Can you write his dad/siblings interacting with him without making them white saviors or therapy pets? Can you write him without a ship or his love for animals or being vegetarian overshadowing everything?

Is he a character to you at all other than a glorified plot device with a sharp tongue and the convenience of being violent?

i couldnt decide on which robin to make this but its probably tim

Viper’s personality is so intriguing to me. I’m not sure if this makes sense, but she’s so aggressively chill/unhinged and uptight at the same time???

Like she’s second in command of the VP, has no piercings, wears no accessories whatsoever, doesn’t like to waste time on anything unproductive, wakes up at five in the morning and keeps to a very strict schedule, doesn’t really have (or acknowledge) any personal relationships outside of Brimstone and Omen, constantly thinks of life from an intellectual standpoint, is hell-bent on succeeding in her revenge mission, has a bit of a sadistic streak, holds onto grudges like it’s nobody’s business, holds her teammates to an extremely high standard, dislikes anything less than perfection, has the most bare-bones living space ever because she literally never relaxes, etc….

But also casually calls her superior “old man,” calls him just to talk at him when she’s trying to figure something out, gets a thrill on the battlefield to the point of genuine laughter, swears a lot when stressed, cracks vaguely intimidating jokes for her own entertainment (NO ONE else is laughing at them, I’m sorry lmfao), regards her mirror self with a frankly unnerving amount of amusement most of the time, literally plays with her enemies and laughs at them when they can’t figure out where she is or what she’s doing, drinks a ridiculously expensive type of coffee just because, owns an actual viper for…what? Aesthetics? Just because she likes them?, and seemingly refuses to wear any color that isn’t green or black.

None of these qualities are inherently exclusive to one another, mind you, but this combination of behaviors/traits is just so interesting? Wdym the same woman who half the protocol publicly acknowledges is insane also has a voiceline basically saying “Please don’t die, I bet on all of your lives with Brimstone and it would be embarrassing if I lost :(”

Wdym she genuinely hates being called by name by unfamiliar colleagues and will not hesitate to forcefully shut them down, but she will also PLAYFULLY correct them in the same breath? WHAT?? Like I understand that none of these things necessarily contradict each other, but she’s just such a mixed bag of peculiar personality traits and it’s so fun trying to figure out how the hell she would act in any given situation.

Babs, Oracle, who sees everything

nightwing | red hood | batgirl | red robin | robin | spoiler | signal

Reygebean Relationship Headcannons Bc I Wanna :)

They’re my little squishies and I wanna let them hold hands and kiss and stuff :)

Viper

Viper's the most reserved when it comes to physical affection. She barely lets Sage or Reyna give her so much as a peck on the cheek in public. In private she’s more open, even gives silent encouragement by leaning into their touches- but even then she isn’t often one to initiate that kind of touch with them very often.

Not to say she isn't very... Passionate- but on that later in this post hehe.

What Viper does in replacement of the lack of physical affection though are acts of service.

She has their schedules memorized. How they drink their tea/coffee. What mug they always use. How they organize their things and their typical load out for missions.

Reyna and Sage will wake up every morning to their drink of choice on the bedside table, along with outfits already laid out for them so they don’t have to put much thought into getting ready for the day.

There’s also a note by their drinks as to where they can find her and that they have breakfast in the fridge.

There are very specific moments when Viper’s most affectionate. When Viper’s 3/4’s asleep- and then the moments where she’s the only one awake(she thinks)/the only one paying attention(she thinks again).

When she’s groggy and mostly asleep, she’s like a clingy puppy.

It barely ever happens- but when it does, Reyna and Sage genuinely cannot deny her of anything because dammit she’s to damn cute.

It’ll be early morning, and it’s one of the few calm moments in the protocol when Reyna wakes up. She tries to get out of bed only to feel an arm tighten around her waist and pull her right back into the blankets. Then she feels a face burry itself in her hair and the raspy groggy voice of Viper telling her not to leave. How is she supposed to say no to that?

Sage finds herself dragging an exhausted Viper who’s been working for god knows how long(nearly two days straight) to bed.

She had gotten Viper into bed already and was about to join her to relax until Brimstone texts her because he wants to discuss something or whatever with her.

Sage begrudgingly gets back up and ready to go until she feels Viper grab her wrist. When she turns around, Viper's looking away but she's- oh my god is that a pout-

Viper says something along the lines of "Are you not staying?" but before she can even finish the sentence, Sage is already halfway under the covers.

How can you say no to her? Like, truly?

The other moments that Viper truly shows any physical affection to them is when she thinks neither of them notice. I's like- her own little secret.

She tends to be the first to wake up in the morning, keeping a routine. Before she goes off to make their morning drinks and get ready for the day, she'll read and enjoy the quiet. More often than not, one of the two will end up with their head on Viper's lap and she'll run her fingers through their hair.

The action actually helps calm her trembling hands. She always has a small, soft smile whenever this happens- book forgotten in favor of admiring the two women lying with her.

Sage and Reyna know she does this. They've known for a while. They love the feeling of Viper's fingers gently massaging their scalps. They never say anything though, letting Viper keep this.

Reyna

Reyna is without a doubt the most affectionate of the three. She doesn't care who is around to see her press a kiss to Sage's cheek, or when she leans up to kiss Viper's forehead. She never oversteps any boundaries, but she takes her chance whenever she gets it.

You'd be able to find Reyna with her arms around Sage's waist as she cooks in the kitchen, or pressed up against Viper's side as she works on papers in her lab. Honestly there's barely a moment where you don't see her touching one of her partners in some fashion.

Along with being the most affectionate she's... Kinda insatiable sometimes. And very hard to say no to(I mean have you seen her?)

She likes to tease. Viper especially- pushing her buttons and striking the right chords to both work up and annoy the ever living shit out of the woman. It'll get to the point where some agents may see a flushed and angry Viper dragging Reyna to the living quarters, and Reyna looking all too satisfied with herself.

She loves teasing Sage with feather light touches and searing kisses that just don't last long enough. It makes Sage go red in the face, hiding in the crook of Reyna's neck. Once again, Reyna's all too satisfied for herself.

In the privacy of one of their rooms, Reyna's much softer.

She enjoys peppering little kisses on their faces and simply cupping their faces to take in every little detail she can.

It makes them both flush from embarrassment but god does that make Reyna's heart swell.

Now. She loves holding her girlfirends, resting her chip on top of their heads, but she loves being a little spoon too.

No she won't ever admit it audibly.

Reyna likes the feeling of secure arms around her waist, holding her close. She loves it when she feels Sage or Viper nuzzle into the crook of her neck- to feel their heartbeat against her back. It's grounding.

She enjoys using pet names- and most often uses cariño, amor and querida.

Getting more specific, she calls Sage "mi alma" (my soul) and Viper "mi serpiente" (My snake/serpent)

With Viper though, it tends to have a more teasing edge to it

Sage

She's kind of the in-between if Viper and Reyna are the two ends of the spectrum.

She doesn't often initiate physical touch while in public, but she doesn't shy away from it when given.

She likes the more miniscule actions. Holding hands, sitting close to lean against someone.

In the privacy of their rooms though she's an absolute cuddle bug.

She tends to use pet names in a more private setting as well. Like most people i hc that she calls Viper 'Beans' along with using Chinese terms of endearment for both women.

Sage tends to Viper and Reyna's physical needs because god knows taking care of themselves might not always be the first thing that comes to their minds.

She'll show up to Viper's lab while the woman is working and just wordlessly massage Viper's shoulders and nape, working out the knots gently.

Viper all but melts into the touch with an appreciative sigh. Sage gives her a little peck on the head before getting back to it.

Viper has the smallest of smiles. but you heard nothing. nope.

She does the same for Reyna. the woman sometimes overdoes it in the range when she's trying to relieve stress. It builds up a lot in her arms, so Sage makes it a point to sit her girlfriend down whenever she can to work the soreness out of Reyna's arms.

She gets so focused on the task at hand that she doesn't notice the adoring smile on Reyna's face. The soft eyes that ooze appreciation.

Some general stuff

Along with the trembling hands, I hc that Viper has scars on said hands from when she was in a more self destructive point in her life, uncaring about the safety of working with her toxins.

It's a point in her life that she isn't proud of, and often wears gloves as she honestly hates how her hands look.

Sage and Reyna have slowly worked Viper up to taking off her gloves when they're all in private, and will often hold and caress her hands. Pressing little kisses to each of the scars. Both Sage and Reyna have their own little routines of which scar they kiss first.

Reyna especially likes to just- fiddle with Viper's fingers idly while they do their own things. Reyna watching something while Viper reads with her free hand. It once again calms the tremors and occasionally Viper will feel Reyna press soft kisses to the pads of her fingers.

Sage always likes the feeling of Viper's hand cupping her cheek.

Whenever Viper's having a rougher day- when the doubt settles in and Viper can't see herself as anything but a monster- Sage will take off the gloves and have Viper cup her face gently and go on about how a monster wouldn't cradle her as gently as she does.

tim!!! he’s so fun 2 draw :]

trying to come up with traumatizing and realistic injuries for viper in my f1 au but unfortunately for me (great 4 the drivers irl lets pls keep it this way) f1 has a billion and one effective safety precautions

Jubilee! I wanted to practice lighting! Took only a few hours out of my day because I was in the zone. Alt versions VVV

Date drawn: Sept 3, 2024 :))!!

Left out my signature and only added my watermark. Still trying to figure it out...