Taken - Zutara - Masterpost

Arc 1 - Life in the Fire Nation

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Arc 2 - Southern Water Tribe

Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16

Arc 3 - The Avatar's Return (Book 1)

Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26, Part 27

Arc 4 - The Earth Kingdom (Book 2)

Part 28, Part 29, Part 30, Part 31, Part 32, Part 33, Part 34, Part 35, Part 36, Part 37, Part 38, Part 39, Part 40, Part 41, Part 42, Part 43, Part 44, Part 45, Part 46, Part 47, Part 48

Arc 5 - The Fire Nation (Book 3)

Part 49, Part 50, Part 51, Part 52, Part 53, Part 54, Part 55, Part 56, Part 57, Part 58, Part 59, Part 60, Part 61, Part 62, Part 63, Part 64, Part 65, Part 66, Part 67, Part 68, Part 69, Part 70, Part 71, Part 72, Part 73, Part 74

Arc 6 - A Post-War World

Part 75, Part 76, Part 77, Part 78, Part 79, Part 80, Part 81, Part 82, Part 83, Part 84, Part 85, Part 86, Part 87, Part 88, Part 89, Part 90, Part 91, Part 92, Part 93, Part 94, Part 95, Part 96, Part 97, Part 98, Part 99, Part 100

Arc 7 - Searching

Part 101, Part 102, Part 103, Part 104, Part 105, Part 106, Part 107, Part 108, Part 109, Part 110, Part 111, Part 112, Part 113, Part 114,

Dick: why would you go to the ALLEY to adopt a kid???

Jason: cuz that's where the kid is?

Dick: what...

Jason: she wasn't imaginary. I had dreams about a specific kid. From the alley.

Dick: why???

Jason: she stole the tires off my bike.

Dick: How?!

Jason, not paying attention anymore, shaking out his hands: I think her hero name will be Cardinal.

Dick: Why would she need a hero name?!

Jason: because she can't be Robin???

Wouldn’t leave my mind sorry

Damian, slamming the door open: do you imbeciles know where grayson is

Jason: no

Cass: *shrugs*

Tim: no. and stop slamming the—

Damian: *stomps off angrily* *slams door shut*

Steph, eating snacks in the dark:

6ft hooded man, climbing in through the window: hey have you seen dickfa—

Steph: FUCK!

Jason, soaked with juice:

Jason: im taking that as a no

Duke: “∫(x^n * e^(sin(x^2)) * cos(1/x) / (1 + (ln(x))^3)) dx”

Duke: ??

Duke: what. what is this

Duke: am i even still in high school???

Duke: where is dick when you need him

Tim: im literally right here

Duke: no the last time i let you help me you cussed me out and made me cry

Oracle, on comms: black bat, report

Black Bat: here

Oracle: robin, report

Robin: tt

Oracle: red hood?

Red Hood: here

Oracle: nightwing, report

Black Bat:

Robin:

Red Hood:

Oracle:

Oracle: nightwing?

Robin: nightwing has not been seen since yesterday

Robin:

Robin: it is time to assume the worst

Red Hood: *sighs loudly*

Black Bat: ☺️

Robin, closing his eyes, gritting his teeth: …it is time to call batman

Red Hood: *groans even louder*

Oracle:

Oracle: did you ask him

Red Hood: what

Oracle: did you ask nightwing where he is

Red Hood:

Robin:

Black Bat:

Oracle:

Red Hood: of course i did

Oracle: i can see you texting behind your back

Red Hood: stop looking at my a— ow! bb?!

Black Bat: no swearing, robin’s here

Robin: i am not a child

Red Hood: whatever

Red Hood:

Red Hood: motherfu—

“dick grayson grew up an only child and should be acting like an only child!!!” i scream as they drag me back to arkham asylum

I love the idea of Dick having both only child traits and parentified big sister traits.

In a universe where Damian was raised by Bruce since birth and never was told his siblings were adopted

Damian, age 12 helping unpacking things at Dicks new apartment: whos that?

Dick: Who?

Damian: That guy in the photo with you

Dick:

Dick: you mean- my dad? I never showed my parents to you?

Damian: there is no way thats our dad

Dick: our? Damian you- you know I’m adopted right?

Damian:

Dick:

Dick: we are all adopted, Damian.

Damian:

Damian: Even Cass?

Dick: you were there at her adoption.

Damian: I’m twelve! Probably didn’t payed attention to it.

Dick: you never asked yourself why do we don’t call Bruce ‘dad’?

Damian: I thought it was some petty teenager thing!

Dick: I’M 26!

Damian:

Damian: is Tim adopted?

Dick: yes?

Damian: knew it.

Damian, later talking to Jason: Are you adopted?

Jason, not really paying attention: what do you mean?

Damian: Dick said "we are all adopted." Wait... Am I adopted?!

Jason, about to do the funniest shit: yes, Damian. You are adopted.

the way to take the really bizarre and out-there Batman villains and ground them in a “realistic” Batman universe isn’t to change the villains at all. it’s to have Jim Gordon stand on a rooftop and hit his vape hard enough to dampen power from a three block radius and tell Batman “you were the only one we could think to call. there’s some lunatic running around calling himself Condiment King” and Batman just stands there silently on the rooftop taking that in until Jim adds “he put ten people in the hospital with a ketchup gun……somehow” and then hits the vape again. Batman realizes that the GCPD’s unofficial position on this is that the Bat should take out the Condiment King because crazy cancels out crazy, and they’re not entirely wrong. he agrees to help out and Jim brandishes his vape at the Gotham skyline and mumbles something about this being fucking crazy, and that’s it. that’s all you need to do to ground the storyline. every single villain, just like that.

after Jason reveals his identity as the Red Hood i like to think about the kids begging for Jason to hang out with them and rejoin the family and that but Jason’s being a little bitch about it so when Dick asks for his phone number he just throws an ouija board at him and says ‘i’ll sense it’

issue is that while slightly drunk and sad that his brother hates him, Dick decided to try it out, and Damian watching him through a crack in the door thought it would be funny to text Jason (because he actually does have his league bro’s number) about it so that Jason could maybe mention it the next time they see each other on patrol to freak Dick out, except Jason was working not too far from the manor at the time and he thought it would be even funnier to swing by, slam up against the window and scream through the glass ‘STOP FUCKING DRUNK TEXTING ME’ and absolutely scares the shit out of Dick. so now Dick thinks that ouija boards actually work on Jason because he’s still part ghost and Jason and Damian are scrambling to try and keep up the ruse because of how funny it is.

I can just imagine Bruce figuring out what's happening, and trying to get Jason to stop. But Jason just looks him in the eye and says stuff like "Do you hate me that much? Do you hate me so much that you would ruin my bonding time with my new little brother? That you would ruin my fun?" And Bruce tries to backtrack and say "of course not, but Dick-" only to get "oh, so Dick matters more than me and Damien?"

And somehow, Bruce ends up getting roped into helping, and he gets a custom ouiji board that when Dick moves the piece, it sends Jason a text. And it turns out to be a great bonding experience for the three of them (Jason, Damien, and Bruce). They keep it up for years before they have to tell Dick, cuz the but started to get boring.

Jason is in civilian clothing absolutely plastered at a Crime Alley bar when Joker breaks out of Arkham, and while still drunk he abruptly decides he’s sick of all this dramatic bullshit and just. kills the Joker. tracks him down, kills him without any fanfare, and ditches. it was executed flawlessly, incredible really considering his intoxication levels at the time. he only slipped up a teeny-tiny amount.

because he got seen leaving the murder scene. in civilian clothing. and then got caught once more via a security camera as he was disappearing back into Crime Alley. and the bats fucking saw that footage.

Bruce Wayne, an emotional wreck, just found out that Jason is alive, apparently just murdered the Joker, and is now living alone in Crime Alley (and who knows in what conditions?! he’s legally dead, there’s no legal way for him to make money, his poor son might be homeless.) and for some reason he isn’t coming home. Bruce is in despair, getting worse the longer they can’t track Jason down. finally, at his wits end, he decides to ask the help of the one other vigilante figure that seems to know Crime Alley better than the bats, and that might have some less-savoury contacts that could be of better help tracking down a legally dead boy.

the Red Hood, struggling not to laugh hysterically in Batman’s face, has never been more excited to accept a job in his LIFE. he has no plans on how he’s going to fuck with Bruce just yet, but by god is he going to do something.

Jason makes an elaborate scheme, making faked photos to send Bruce of "Jason sightings", and then requiring money for each week Red Hood is looking for him. Basically getting an absurd allowance for as long as he keeps this up. He gets Talia and maybe Damien involved, if Damien hasn't been sent to Bruce yet. He creates this Shakespeare level drama of twists and turns, where Red Hood checks in once a week to say random shit like, "Getting closer to bringing your boy home, just gotta fight these ninja assassins". And he isn't even lying. He is sparing with Talia.

Anyway, if Damien hasn't been sent to Bruce yet, it would be especially funny if when Bruce gets a "I'm dropping off your kid now" text, only to get Damien instead of Jason. And as Bruce is reelling from that, Jason stops on his way out the manor gates and goes "oh, yeah, *dramatically rips off helmet* It was me the WHOLE TIME!" And then smoke bombs away or some shit. Leaving Bruce to have to go hunt down Red Hood while juggling murder ninja baby Damien.

Baby Robin Dick, shaking Bruce awake at 3am: Bruce, I'm hungry

Bruce:

Bruce and baby Dick, now shaking Alfred awake: Alfred, we're hungry

The idea of Jason and Roy both being obliviously in love is great but I raise you just Jason is oblivious in the way of thinking him and Roy are really close friends, for all his romance novels can not save him from himself and Roy is oblivious in the way of him thinking Jason and him have been in a committed relationship for several years

Jason at his two bedroom apartment he shares with Roy (second bedroom is for Lian) and gets a video call from the batfamily group chat.

jason answering: Yeah what’s up I’m eating breakfast

Bruce in a panic: Why did Damian get an invitation to your wedding but I didn’t?! Also when the fuck did you propose to Roy?!

Damian in the back waving: I will be attending and also will be bringing batcow as my plus one.

Jason: you mean Roy and I’s friendship ceremony? You’re invited B i just haven’t mailed yours yet because you weren’t originally invited because you scolded me on patrol last week. Roy said it was important that you be there so I mailed it last night.

Dick popping in the call teary eyed: Littlewing I just got my invitation! I’m so happy that my little brother and my best friend are getting married!

Jason: We are not getting married, Roy just asked if I wanted to have a get together with all of our closest relatives and friends to celebrate us being friends for so long.

Tim who has been sitting there confused the entire time: wait you and Roy are just friends

Jason: Yeah? Why is this so baffling to you people

Cass : you live in the same apartment

Steph: you sleep in the same bed!

Jason:

Jason: It keeps the heating bill down in the winter

Bruce: Youre raising Lian with him?

Jason: Plenty of people have helped you raise us Bruce and you aren’t getting married to them.

Dick: I watched Lian last week so you and Roy could have ‘special alone time’

Jason: Well- Yeah we went out to a new bookstore outside of Gotham. Roy gets grumpy when we don’t get to solo hang out. He’s needy like that.

Duke: Dude..you have to be kidding

Tim frustrated: You and Roy went on a double date with Kon and I last night!

Jason: I thought we were all hanging out! Fuck you guys I’m asking Roy!

Roy popping his head from the kitchen: What are you asking me?

Jason: These idiots say that we have been dating but that’s ridiculous!

Roy: totally ridiculous

Roy: i proposed to you five months ago we are definitely engaged

Jason turning to Roy horrified: You weren’t doing that for the bit…

Tim and Bruce getting into an argument bcs Tim demands to be independent and NOT get involved in the mess of being a legal part of the Wayne family, and Bruce being final on the fact that Tim is FIFTEEN and needs a legal guardian. out of spite Tim asks the person he thinks Bruce would approve of as a guardian the least to sign some guardian papers.

Tim: you don’t have to do anything parental i just REALLY wanna make Batman mad and i get the sense that our wishes align on that specific aspect so if you could just sign here for shits and giggles-

Red Hood:

Red Hood, rapidly changing his plans on how to deal with getting revenge on Bruce because his replacement is actually kinda hysterical: if we’re doing this we’re fucking doing it right, kid

Bruce shows up to Tim’s next parent teacher conference because hey just because he’s being given the silent treatment over this whole adoption thing doesn’t mean he’s going to slack off on his parental duties, only to freeze in the doorway because Tim Drake-Hood is stood there with his shiny new CRIME LORD LEGAL GUARDIAN giving him the most SHIT EATING GRIN POSSIBLE, and he almost has a panic attack on the spot.

Jason’s really getting into this whole caretaker thing. he’s doing school runs, delivering home cooked meals to Drake manor, helping with homework, this was his fucking CALLING. Tim is having the time of his life because him and Hood actually get along really well, but then he realises two weeks in that it turns out Hood is actually Jason fucking Todd, and he has to deal with the existential crisis of causing the very thing he was trying to stop because he is now technically a legal child of the Wayne family.

out of embarrassment for the fact that he failed and amazement at the fact that he’s bonding so well with Bruce’s dead kid and his own childhood hero (who is now a badass crime lord that lets him call for advice about english assignments while organising drug runs and picks up batburger on his way home from weapon shipments, seriously what more could Tim want in a parent), Tim somehow becomes even more invested in hiding Red Hood’s identity than Jason is.

Bruce has just been in a constant state of panic for the past three months and he doesn’t know what to fucking do. Dick was concerned for Tim up until he demanded to have dinner with him and his new ‘guardian’ to vet the guy and Jason, who stopped caring about his identity when he realised how much being a working dad agrees with his mental health and is only actively keeping his identity from Bruce for Tim’s pride’s sake, takes off his helmet to eat and Dick stares at him frozen for fifteen minutes across the table before finally pointing at the two and saying ‘you know what? he didn’t even tell me Jason was dead until after the funeral. whatever the fuck’s going on here? he has it coming. proceed.’

we all know about the weirdly accurate running joke of Batman’s adoption problem

but I raise you

the infinitely funnier idea that All of the Bats are Like That

to the point where all of the teams have an “our bat has acquired a child, I repeat OUR BAT HAS ACQUIRED. A. CHILD!!” program

because if you give a Bat a baby you are not getting it back.

Nobody knows if the Bats actually know how social services work because they will just. Pick up. Kids. Everywhere.

even the Bats who might not want kids of their own are 300% down for a new sibling or nibling

Reverse age robins AU is so interesting to me, especially when you think about damian. I mostly see people talk about dick and Jason and how different their lives would be, but not really about damian.

Like, think about it. He’s still born of a messy relationship between Bruce and talia- but Bruce would have been so much younger then, after his first run in with the loa when he was trained by them when he was still just a teenager. Him being led to believe that talia lost the baby, and that’s part of the reason he eventually returns home alone and takes on the role of Batman. Not only has he lost his parents and gone through all of his struggles so far in life, he also has the knowledge that he could have had a son, who died before he could ever be born. He becomes Batman, he works hard to protect people but stays in that dark state he was in before he found hope in a robin.

And then one day- damian. Maybe much younger than he actually was in the comics when he is first given to Bruce. Bruce is hurt and lost not understanding why talia kept damian from him, and has to contend with the understanding that damian was raised in such a painful way, and that Damian’s views of the world are so skewed. But he doesn’t have the experience as a parent to help him. He doesn’t have dick Grayson to raise his son for a year and understand exactly what that child needs to be able to grow and change. He doesn’t even know that he IS missing that. He just knows he has this six year old with a body count higher than Bruce can even fathom and a skewed, painful view of life and death. But this kid is still a kid. Bruce’s kid. And he loves him and wants to be his father.

I don’t know where the name Robin would come from in this world if not from dicks mother, but let’s say it happens anyways and damian becomes robin. It won’t be the same robin that dick was- sure, he’s a child. He’s fast and taunting and draws the attention of the enemies, but damian isn’t immediately the same sign of hope that dick would have been. He becomes more like an extension of batman, if not a piece of the man’s shadow.

And then maybe he grows up and, just just as dick did, starts to see the flaws in Bruce as a parent. Struggles with the pressure of leading his own team of teen hero’s, the pressure of being Batman’s son, and he just. Needs to get away from that for a while. Needs to leave and find out who he actually wants to be. He loves Bruce, he loves Alfred. They’re both his dads in some way, but he knows he’s not the same as them. Does he want to be like them? Does he want to be like his mother and grandfather? Does he want to be something else entirely? He has no idea.

And In this case, where would tim come from? Would young tim have been as interested in robin if he wasn’t the same bright brilliant hopeful figure that was dick and Jason? Would he still feel the need to seek them out if there was no second dead Robin? This is something I truly want to just think about and explore forever because this family would be so different in the opposite way. If Jason was the third, would he still have died? Would damian willingly give the Robin mantle over to Tim after he left? Would a different robin have died in Jason’s place? It’s so interesting and there’s so many ways one could go with it. But just. Damian. How different his life as Bruce Wayne’s child would be if he didn’t have the big brothers who helped raise him into who he is.

With what we've been seeing of Damien in recent comics, I almost wonder if this Damien would give up heroing. He keeps doing it, being Damien Wayne at school and galas by day, being Batman's sidekick by night (I doubt the name would be Robin, but I think it would be funny if they all had their own bird themed names). And Bruce would be trying, as a father. He hasn't been hardened by the loss of a Robin yet. When he finds things Damien enjoys, he'd probably try and go all in on it. Its mostly pets, but as Damien gets older, is in highschool, and mentions that, well, they did a CPR training in health. And he thinks he might want to go into healthcare... And Bruce tells Damien that he'll help him with that. That he can go to college. Medical school. But... But he can't be Batman's partner anymore if he does. He has to be sure.

And Damien is. He's so sure. And he goes off to become a doctor, knowing he'll be able to save not just civilians, but heroes too.

And months later, when a Damien vaguely recognizes shows up at his dorm, Damien doesn't send him away. He takes Tim to the cave, and Bruce is so glad to see Damien again but so mad that he brought a civilian child to the cave. But Damien just puts a hand on Tim's shoulder, and tells Bruce that Tim is right. Batman needs his partner. Gotham is too much for one man. And its a good thing that Damien has already found his replacement, though Tim will need lots of training to fill Damiens shoes.

No Justice League identity reveal but Nightwing gets recruited to be a member

Batman wants to keep his family safe but also realizes that his baby boy is a grown man and can make his own decisions, even if this baby gives him a heart attack.

Nightwing is strong, smart, and levelheaded in battle. He’s go a good personality that many heroes, young and old, admire greatly. It would be a great disservice to the the hero world.

So Nightwing joins the Justice Leauge.

Boom, immediately everyone feels like something is wrong. Nightwing is a legend of his own in the superhero community, just like Batman. Obviously, the League figured the only two unpowered humans in the team would get along, but this is too much

Nightwing is constantly on him. Hanging off his shoulders, playing with his fingers, draped over his lap, flipping off his shoulders??? Doing a whole acrobatic routine based on Batman’s body??? It’s strange and off putting.

Batman pretends like it’s not even happening, like he’s completely used to it.

He calls him nicknames, mocks his voice and his serious attitude, argues with him. It’s like the League has been dumped in an alternate dimension. (They’ve checked, but no… still the same dimension)

Now, something hero’s are painfully aware of is that Batman can be kinda territorial about his food. He doesn’t do jokes about trying to steal his food. He leveled Hal with such a flat stare that the man actually apologized and stayed silent for an entire lunch period

And Nightwing has grown close enough to all the main League members that he’s invited to sit at their ‘table’ for lunch. Another reason they’re suspicious of Nightwing, he voluntarily sits by Batman

Nightwing has his own food and finishes it in record speed (obvi not counting Flash) but then… he starts picking at Batman’s…?

Batman doesn’t even blink or slap his hand away. Then Nightwing opens his mouth like a baby bird waiting to be fed and… Batman feeds him??? He cuts off the best part of his steak and just pops it into Nightwing’s mouth.

Why are they both acting like this is complete normal???

Nightwing is stealing his lunches, taking snack out of his utility belt (which is just wow cause why does Batman carry so many snacks??), taking sips of his drinks or just stealing the whole thing for himself

It’s absolutely crazy

And on rare occasions, when Nightwing is eating something he doesn’t like or can’t finish, he just pushes over to Batman. And he eats it!!

The League checks again just to make sure they still haven’t been transferred to another dimension

Eventually, they start meeting the other batfam, even if they don't know it. Nightwing passed on the word not to expose their connection to Batman, so everyone is ready for some pranks.

Next up is Red Hood. They need info on a drug cartel or something, and somehow Red Hood gets involved, either by Batman or Nightwing (probably Nightwing) telling the JL they know a guy or by the JL capturing Red Hood.

Either way, Red Hood ends up on the Watchtower. He, of course, starts making jokes about Batman, the more humiliating kind, equating the Batsuit to a fursuit and the like. Batman doesn't react. But then, he also steals snacks from the belt, leaving, like a smoke bomb or something in the pouch when its empty. He puts his feet up on the conference table, leaves his trash around. And then, when Red Hood finally leaves, Batman just wordlessly cleans it up.

Then Red Robin shows up on the Watchtower. Just... Appears. He's fixing something in the code. Just ask Batman. And when they do, Batman gives a grunt of agreement. When Red Robin is done, he's found sleeping on the couch in the lounge, using Batman's cape as a blanket. Batman says nothing, just holding a cup of coffee. When Red Robin jerks awake, he goes to the coffee pot, drinks everything left in it, steals Batman's coffee to drink that to, then just leaves.

Its not until Robin shows up that the JL figures out why. At first, they thing this very young hero is mocking Batman. They walk the same. The talk similarly. They even have near identical glares. But then, Robin tugs on the cape, and when Batman grunts, Robin says he grows hungry. Batman passes him a snack from his belt. And then the JL realize that the two are just similar. Until Robin pulls a sword and Batman gives a warning call of his name, only for Robin to hiss that "Father, this green fool shows no respect!" And thats when the JL realize that oh shit, Batman has a kid. Batman might have several kids.

Don't let them lie to you Anon. A Batman with a Brucie voice is WAY funnier. Just imagine, Batman concussed, Nightwing trying to step in and run the debrief instead. The JL walk in to hear Batman basically whining, "Nightwing, I'm fine," and Nightwing can't say 'youre using your Brucie voice' now, because the team is all standing there. So Nightwing just takes his seat and tries to not bang his head on the desk as the team sits.

They're all listening, wondering if this is the bats real voice or not. A few are wondering where they've heard it from. Then, Batman turns to scold Green Lantern.

"You need to focus, Jordan," Batman says. Its something he says often enough during meetings. But with the Brucie voice, it sounds more like flirting.

Hal is confused for a moment, not sure whether to bite back, or flirt back. He clears his throat. "Yup. Sure thing."

Batman narrows his eyes, but continues on. He gets to a point where he's critiquing teamwork. And while everything would normally sound gruff and angry, it now sounds pouty and worried.

If not outright flirtatious.

Its towards the end of the meeting, when Batman turns and asks if there are any questions, but it sounds more like he's asking for a safe word, when Green Arrow gasps loudly, standing up and pointing at Batman.

"BRUCIE!"

Batman blinks. Tries to deflect. But he just ends up sounding coy. Nightwing throws his hands up.

"I fucking told you! It's over Bruce! Ollie figured it out! Now if you don't mind, I'm going back home and pouring bleach in my ears to get the sound of you basically flirting with the entire JL out of my head."