If Mrs. Monroe, Head Of Maths At Gotham Prep, Had To Describe Dick Grayson In One Word It Would Be ‘prefect’.

If Mrs. Monroe, head of maths at Gotham Prep, had to describe Dick Grayson in one word it would be ‘prefect’.

If she were allowed two she would say ‘worryingly perfect’.

She didn’t keep up with the media storm around Bruce Wayne’s ward as it happened, but when she heard that the kid would be in her class she decided that she had better catch up with it. She reads about how the boy came from a travelling circus and how his parents died in an accident (or was it a murder? She isn’t quite sure). She reads that after coming from a working class background he’s just been placed with the richest man in the city during a particularly traumatic time. Everything she sees worries her to no end and as she walks in on Monday she braces herself for a boy to turn up made up of grief and fear for being in this strange, strange place that’s nothing at all like the circus where he grew up.

Instead, Dick Grayson walks into class seeming like a perfectly well adjusted young boy who she would never have guessed had endured anything particularly awful in his life.

All lesson she waits for him to slip up, to show that he’s going through something terrible. Then he doesn’t and she waits for the rest of the week. Then she’s left waiting for the rest of the month and, after that, the rest of the year.

Dick Grayson never slips up. He has plenty of friends, even though he never seems that close with them, he’s the best in her class, even though he never had formal schooling before, and he never seems at all out of place at Gotham Prep.

She’s mentioned it to the other teachers, that something about how good the kid is bothers her, but none of them seem to pick up on it. They all just offer testament to how well Dick’s getting on at Gotham Prep and how it just goes to show how much potential the boy has.

So Mrs. Monroe waits for Dick to slip up and tries not to worry too hard.

During the summer after Dick’s first year of school (having placed first in all his classes, naturally) Mrs. Monroe sees him outside of school for the first time.

It’s a nice day and her husband is away on business so she decides to take the time to go on a walk by herself. As she’s turning onto one of Gotham’s nicer streets she almost runs directly into Dick.

He’s with three other boys. They all seem older than him but it only surprises her a little since one of the many things on Mrs. Monroe’s list of ‘reasons why Dick Grayson is a very worrying boy’ is that he’s oddly mature for his age.

When Dick sees her he stops and smiles, and Mrs. Monroe can’t help but smile back.

“Hi Mrs. M,” he says. She notices that he’s leaning closer to the boys than he does with any of his school friends.

“Hello Dick. I hope you’re having a good holiday.”

“Totally Miss-” he starts, but then one of the boys, with brown hair and a confident gait, stops him by landing a heavy arm around his shoulders.

“Sorry to interrupt, but we’re having a boys night.” he says, “So we’ll just be on our way.”

The other three let out long-suffering sighs and Mrs. Monroe feels like she’s missing out on something.

“One, it’s daytime.” says another of the boys, black with close cropped blonde hair, “and two, the only reason the others aren’t here is because they’re actually having a girls night and kicked us out.”

The only one who hasn’t spoken yet nods seriously.

“Well I wouldn’t want to keep you,” answers Mrs. Monroe, not quite sure what else to say, “I’ll see you again when school is back in session, Dick.”

Dick nods happily while the rest of the boys wave goodbye to her and make their way onwards.

As Mrs. Monroe walks home she thinks about the encounter. She knows that none of those boys go to Gotham so they must be friends from something else. The way they had acted around each other though, well, she doesn’t think that she’s seen Dick that close with any of his friends at school.

Thinking about it, he’d seemed a little more human in that group. Less like the perfect student and popular kid he always was at school.

Whatever it was seemed good and after that encounter, Mrs. Monroe worries about Dick Grayson a little less.

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writing drabble dick grayson young justice yj

Everyone in Gotham loves Bruce Wayne.

He’s loved in the slums, in the overlooked places, for his charity. For his way of giving aid that only ever comes across as a little patronising because, as he’ll tell you himself, what else is he meant to do with all that money?

He’s loved in the high places, the penthouses and mansions on hills, for his charm. The rich see him and something in his smile dazzles in the way they wish the jewels that drip from their clothes could offer even the poorest imitation of.

He’s loved in the in between places for a combination of the same things. In the evening he appears on talk shows where his confidence is appealing to watch. In the morning, if you’re lucky, your child might get a scholarship or your insurance might finally be compelled to pay out and you’ll thank the stars for the cheerful man you saw on telly the night before.

Everyone in Gotham loves Bruce Wayne.

But something about his kids is a little… off.

First there’s Dick Grayson.

He sets the bar for the other kids, and no one can deny he sets it high.

He makes himself obvious, seeks out attention in the endearing way that only people born for show business can quite manage. He seems perfectly adjusted despite the tragedy everyone knows landed him in Bruce Wayne’s care and the papers only ever print the nicest pictures of him.

But sometimes…

Sometimes he laughs too hard and it smells like he’s leaking the Joker’s awful gas. Sometimes he frowns and the room grows quiet and scared until he remembers the role he’s playing and smiles. Sometimes someone will point out flawless he is and he’ll look at them strangely, as if to ask, ‘how could I dare be anything else?’

He starts a pattern.

Jason Todd is next, and God help anyone who expected someone with manners.

He’s utterly unlike Dick in a way that might seem forced if you never met him. He’s rude and brash and has absolutely none of the patience it requires most people to survive in delicate the circles of the Gotham elite.

But then he’ll say something and will leave whoever he was talking to with the smallest inkling of how clever he really is, even if it isn’t in a way any of the people that fill those ballrooms could ever understand. His rough edges will catch on something and pull until the lies and lies and lies that Gotham is built on unravel in his wake and whoever’s lucky enough to watch is left a little unsure of their place in the world.

Whatever. It’s not like street smarts do anyone that matters any favours.

After Jason is in his grave and poor, poor Bruce Wayne is all alone again, Tim Drake comes along.

Everyone’s a little confused about this one (doesn’t he have parents? They’re dead? What happened to their company?) but he fits the pattern of Bruce Wayne taking in only the oddest of boys.

His under eyes are permanently bruised in the way only insomnia can quite manage. He talks business with the other CEOs like he could do their jobs better than they do, and only the cleverest realise it’s because he could.

He sleeps through school but his grades are perfect. He comes across as antisocial but always seems to have plenty of friends. You would assume him to be the least tragic of Bruce’s boys but then he’ll get that look in his eye and you’ll wonder…

You’ll wonder if he knows everything and then you’ll try not to wonder what it cost him.

(take a look at his scars, maybe you can guess)

Then comes Damian Wayne, the blood son.

He fills the chatter of families all over Gotham like none of Bruce’s kids had since Dick. A true son! One made out of old Brucie’s blood and flesh and bone! Surely this one might be liked as well as his father?

He is not.

In his first TV appearance he insults the interviewer. Then the audience. Then Gotham in general and the people know their city is the dark thing that lurks in the shadows but it’s theirs.

He looks down on people in a way that’s almost otherworldly, a level of contempt you would think impossible if not for having seen it in the twist of the child’s brow. At first he even shares it for his brothers, turning his nose up at them in same way he does everything else in the city.

The only thing he doesn’t appear to hate with his whole four foot being is his father.

Damian’s scorn for his brothers softens with time, growing into a respect you would think endearing if the kid wouldn’t clearly break your kneecaps if you called him cute. But from the moment he arrives in Gotham it’s clear he loves his father, and even if no one can say they took to the kid at first, at least there was always one aspect in which they could find kinship.

Everyone in Gotham loves Bruce Wayne, especially his kids. And even if Gotham finds them a little odd, at least they have something in common.

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writing batfam batman drabble oneshot dick grayson damian wayne tim drake jason todd probably not- is this angst? is this long enough to put on ao3? i'm v sorry i didn't do cass i don't know her well enough to write her i barely know jason either that's why his sections bad i literally only know these characters through fanfiction and you can tell look i know the fanon versions of these kids are inaccurate but have you considered that i like them?

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elowenp

3 years ago

my brother wanted me to paint That Scene from the batman.

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elowenp

4 years ago

Selina & Talia

1 2 3

The first time Talia meets Bruce’s new lover, they stab each other.

Talia tries to ignore the fact that she’s a little impressed. It had been her understanding that the woman had no formal training and Talia hadn’t really expected her to get a hit in, let alone a stab wound. “You should leave my beloved alone. This will not end well for you otherwise.” she informs the woman.

The woman looks surprised. It makes Talia pleased until she speaks. “We literally just broke up.” she says and it’s Talia’s turn to look shocked now.

“Oh.” Talia wants to shift her weight but there’s still a dagger in her side. She supposes she can’t exactly complain since there’s a sword in the woman’s. “I apologise. It seems my intel is out of date.”

The woman, Selina she supposes now, looks at Talia like she’s never seen another person before. “You think?”

A far away corner of Talia’s mind notes that the splatter of blood on Selina’s face and the arch of her eyebrow make her look the exact kind of pretty Talia likes best.

She wishes she could shake herself. This encounter isn’t going how Talia had planned it. “I suppose we should both seek medical attention now.” she says, half to change the subject and half because it’s a valid point.

“I know a place.” Selina gets up, impressively steady considering how she has to keep one hand fixed on the sword in her to stop it moving around too much. Ones she’s on her feet she looks at Talia like she’s assessing her. Talia glares right back at her, back straight and eyes narrowed. Selina must like what she sees because she cocks the corner of her mouth into something a little like a smirk. “And afterwards you could come back to mine.” she says slyly, “Just to rest, of course.”

Talia hadn’t quite expected that. She can’t say that she’s unhappy about it though. “Of course.” she echoes, “Not to dissuade you, but it is my understanding that you just broke up with someone?”

“Psh,” Selina waves the hand that isn’t holding Talia’s sword steady inside of her, “I’m not one to dwell on the past.”

Talia allows herself a smile. “Well then, how could I object?”

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writing batman drabble dc selina kyle talia al ghul and i was like gayyyyyyyy selina x talia i saw that panel where selina stabs talia and talia's like 'i like her' ngl i might make this a full length fic also the 'talia's sword' line made me laugh a lot

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elowenp

4 years ago