#dukeweek2022

[sufroyo]

dukeweek2022, day 4 - the bat, signal (meme/free day) hosted by @duketectivecomics

bit late to this meme but its so cute :') (sound source)

(id: a 12 second animation of a chibi duke thomas in the batcave, dressed as signal, smiling as he bobs up and down for a few seconds before proceeding to breakdance to upbeat music. batman is standing in front of him, turned away from the camera and on the right hand side.)

[awzominator]

Duke week day six!!!!

The hourly comic thing but with Duke and it’s not hourly!

[emilyarmadillo]

For Duke Week 2022, I offer the above and a melancholy, sun-themed playlist. Please enjoy.

[blackberrydothings]

dukeweek2022, hosted by @duketectivecomics day 4: The Bat, Signal (free/meme day)

The bats from the future are here. One for the day, one for the night.

No one wants to hear the rant, but I wholeheartly believe these too has everything to become the Batmen of the future. Cass with the whole "i am the night" and her understanding of the symbol, Duke has the leadership skills and the love for Gotham. Dc hear me out here.

[secondtolastrow]

For Duke Week Day 7: Sunrise vs Sunset

[id: the drawing is split in half vertically. The left half has a solid yellow background, and the right a solid black. On the left, a child Duke Thomas faces the middle, holding a book tight to his chest and frowning. He has a pencil tucked behind his ear. On the right, an older adult Duke faces the middle. He has graying hair and is wearing a Batman uniform, though without the cape, cowl, or gloves. He’s grinning, and holding a pencil in his hand, ready to write something.]

[magicalbeanie]

RETURN HOME (D.T.)

RETURN HOME (D.T.)

Character: Duke Thomas (The Signal)

Blurb: It was a funny thing to look at himself in the mirror and see their reflections staring back, faces he'd give anything in the world to see smiling back at him like they used to.

Warnings: none

A/N: my contribution to @duketectivecomics's #dukeweek2022, Day 5 - Parents

*

The day was cloudy but cool, exactly the way Elaine Thomas would've liked it.

She'd put on her favourite Nina Simone record, and the telltale sounds of a Saturday morning would rouse Duke from his sleep.

He'd groan, and resign himself to hearing the album he'd heard almost exactly 80 times before while beginning to fix his room, knowing that his mom would come in and ask that of him anyways.

At some point though, he'd join in on her singing, and Doug Thomas would walk in to find his wife and son having an off-key but competitive sing-off while moving the couches back to their original place after using the space as a makeshift stage.

At some point, Ella Fitzgerald would be joyously scatting in the background while the family would be trying out the milkshake recipe that Duke had made that week, sharing stories of how their weeks had gone.

*

He could still hear the music ringing in his ears hours after he'd woken up from dreams of times past.

It was difficult, missing people who were alive as if they were not, having memories that threatened to fade and yet being the very embodiment of the people who raised him.

He was his mom in the way he liked his music, the order he kept his most treasured belongings in and the way he would laugh.

He was his dad in the books he loved to read, the specific way he'd furrow his brow when he was serious, and the indomitable will he possessed that carried him through his life.

It was a funny thing to look at himself in the mirror and see their reflections staring back, faces he'd give anything in the world to see smiling back at him like they used to.

But the hope in his heart that they would come back to him was what carried him forward.

*

The facility was quiet, it always was when he came.

The receptionist would greet him with a warm smile as she always did, and he'd sign the papers like he always did, wishing her a good day while being let through security.

The visit would always be short, nothing longer than thirty minutes was allowed. For this Duke was always grateful.

He knew he wasn't allowed in at all, but Bruce had also known that Duke would find a way in if an exception wasn't made for him.

The first ten minutes were spent looking for signs of life on their faces.

When it wasn't found, the next ten minutes would be spent searching for the resemblance he saw in himself.

That would always get him somewhere, and when it did, the last ten minutes would be spent talking to them through the see-through barrier.

He'd always repeat the words to them out loud: "You'll get better, and you'll get out here and be normal again, I promise."

It would always be a quiet trip back to the new reality, and what a different one it was.

But one thing had never changed, Saturday mornings always belonged to Elaine and Doug Thomas.

[lgbtqforeverything]

Duke is the Queen of Skiddley Wiffers

It’s Duke Week!!!!!! Day 1’s theme is game night and yes, the title is a phineaas and ferb reference.

@duketectivecomics

The day was the second saturday of an even month of the year. And that meant it was the Official Bat-Boys Game Night™. Of course this was not to be confused with the Official Wayne Family Game Night™ or the Official Bat-Girls Game Night™ or even the Official Bat-Family Game Night™.

Duke had only been to a few since getting fostered by Bruce, but the routine seemed fairly simple and on brand for the family. Duke, Cullen, and Tim would show up together to Dick’s Blüdhaven apartment around seven o’clock. Dick would have already picked Damian up from school and brought him over that afternoon. When Luke was visiting, he would join them and thusly drive the trio over instead of Alfred.

 Once they had arrived, they would draw straws for who had to call Jason and convince him to come. A feat that changed in difficulty depending on who he was most pissed at at the time. Once that was done and they were all present, they moved on to the next challenge of the night: Choosing the game.

They all had certain ones that they preferred. Dick had over ten different kinds of Monopoly, Jason was favorable to Cards Against Humanity, Cullen to Pokémon Battles, Tim to Exploding Unicorns, and Damian to Uno. Duke had a favorite game of course, but he hadn’t brought it up to the other yet, as he was still slightly uncertain of the night’s procedure.  

Which is why when Dick asked what they wanted to play that night and Damian pulled Candyland out of his backpack, it seemed like a blessing in disguise. 

“Candyland”, Jason stated skeptically. “Ain’t that a little young for you demon brat?”

“Tt,” Damian scowled. “It was recommended to me by Kent, you imbecile. He practically forced me to bring it. I would never chose such a plebeian game myself.”

“Suuure”, Jason drawled in reply.

Damian bristled but before they could come to the first blows of the evening, Dick intervened.

“Well it looks like fun Dami!” He exclaimed while putting himself between the two. “Let’s set it up, ok?”

“Very well, Grayson”, was Damian’s terse response.

And so, the game was placed opon Dick’s rickety and unstable coffee table and they all gathered around to begin.

“It looks like each person has a character,” Tim explained from where he was reading the instructions, “and when you draw a card you move to the next nearest square with that color on it. Expect for when you get a double card, where you move to the second nearest square, or a character card, where you move to the square that the card represents.”

“Sounds pretty simple,” Cullen shrugged.

“Maybe we’ll even be able to make it all the way through this one with no problems!” Dick enthused.

His only response was skeptical stares from all of them.

“Yeah you’re probably right’, he sighed.

“Enough of dickwing being annoyed at our dysfunctionalness, let’s get this over with and play”, Jason said.

The game play was standard for a while, everyone just taking their turns and learning the game. But then on Duke’s fourth turn, it happened.  

Duke picked from the deck of cards, and lo and behold, drew out a card with a ice cream cone and a princess on it.

“How the hell did you get the first character card?” Jason accused upon seeing it.

“Good luck I guess”, Duke shrugged.

“I don’t know”, Cullen said. “Getting a card that puts him that close to the castle this early? It’s a bit suspicious.”

“It’s the first time we’re playing this, guys”, Dick said with a roll of his eyes. “Why don’t we give him the benefit of the doubt just this once?”

“Fine, but I’m watching you Glowstick”, Jason said threateningly.

Duke looked at him with a deadpan expression. “I’m terrified.”

Jason growled at him, but thankfully Damian took his turn then and Jason’s attention was redirected away from Duke.

Until a few turns later, when Duke became the first one to get to the castle and won the game.

Upon his amazing victory everyone groaned in annoyance, but Duke remained optimistic.

“We should play again”, He suggested with a seemingly sincere smile. “I’m sure that one of you will win this time.”

And because they were all proud bastards that didn’t know how to back down from a challenge, they agreed and the game began again.

And Duke won again. In almost the exact same way.

That time Tim was the one to encourage them to go again. He then spent the whole game carefully watching Duke, as he won. Again.

By then they were all getting more and more suspicious. See, once is dumb luck and twice is coincidence, but three times? Three times is cheating. And they all knew it.

So they played again, but this time someone else had to draw for Duke. The round took longer that time, but Duke was still the first to reach the castle. 

Then it happened again and again and again.

When Duke won for the eighth time, even with everyone conspiring against him and multiple handicaps, Cullen flipped the coffee table.

“Well that was entertaining”, Duke said calmly, looking down at the pieces and cards of the game now spread out on Dick’s floor.

He looked up to see everyone glaring at him. “What?”

“How the hell do you win a kid’s board game eight times in a row?!” Dick questioned hysterically.

“I don’t know”, Duke replied with a shrug. “I’ve just always won when playing Candyland.”

“Exactly how frequent is ‘always’?” Asked Tim.

“Uhhh, every time that I can remember, I guess.”

”And you didn’t think to tell us that before we wasted two hours playing with you?” Cullen accused.

Duke scoffed. “Why would I when it’s so much more fun seeing you guys gradually get more and more pissed off?”

Damian, of course, then screeched and tackled him.

As the two wrestled on the floor with Tim, Cullen and Jason cheering Damian on, Dick simply smiled and looked forward to the future banning of Candyland from game nights.

[wolfsbanesparks]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Happy Duke Week y'all! I'm so excited to share this fic, this AU was just so fun to write!

Dukeweek2022: day 3 fantasy AU

Hosted by @duketectivecomics

Summary:

They say that when the signal is lit, Gotham will always send aid.

And when the Knights of Gotham arrive, there is nothing that can stop them.

That was what Duke was now, even if he never bore the title. Though perhaps someday, sooner than he could have imagined, he will