hello jade!!! love your writing and intermezzo,, i was wondering how you write the batfam so accurately while also keeping a lot of depth to them? i dont know if that makes sense but they all are their own people and the writing really makes them seem real meanwhile it also feels really accurate to their characters in canon as well.
Hello, and thank you for the ask, Anon!
When it comes to writing them close to canon, there are definitely a few liberties I take. The first is, of course, that they're yandere now. I do try to keep them as close to their canon personalities as possible (except Jason—to be honest, the vast majority of his comic runs have been complete disasters. I'm convinced the writers hate him). The way I approach it is by taking their existing traits and amplifying them.
For example, with Jason, his insecurities surrounding his death and his relationship with Bruce become much more pronounced. It's not really about being replaced, it never was; it's about the fear that Bruce doesn't actually want him back after everything that happened and wont accept him. In Arkham Knight, Jason is so angry and so consumed by his own distorted version of events that he genuinely believes Bruce doesn't know what's best for Gotham anymore.
So his character goes from:
Slightly Insecure → very insecure in a relationship about his worth
Protective → overprotective, convinced nobody else can keep you safe
It's a little easier with characters like Tim, who already have a history of stalking people and exhibiting some genuinely strange behaviour. There isn't nearly as much that needs to be changed.
If you're trying to make them feel canon, I'd absolutely recommend reading as many comics as you can get your hands on. I think I own almost every Damian comic that's available, which I'm sure shows in my writing for him. There's definitely a bit of favouritism there.
That being said, I'd also caution against focusing too much on making them perfectly identical to their comic counterparts. There are countless comic runs out there, and every run has a different writer bringing their own interpretation of a character and their story. There are even some Bruce-centred comics that I personally struggle to think of as Bruce at all, but that's ultimately that writer's prerogative when approaching the character.
Because of that, comics are a great foundation, but they're not a definitive solution. There isn't one singular, objectively correct version of these characters. What we think of as "canon" is often just a collection of different interpretations layered on top of one another over decades.
At the end of the day, this is your own take on the character. As long as you understand who they are at their core and why they behave the way they do, don't be afraid to change a few things to suit the story you want to tell. Some of the most memorable interpretations come from writers who were willing to put their own spin on a character rather than simply copying what came before.
When I write, I want my dialogue and characters to feel like real people first and foremost. I draw heavily from conversations I've had in real life because it helps the interactions feel natural. It's also why I don't use American slang. I'm not American, and while Gotham is technically in America, I tend to leave that alone. It's a bit like reading a Harry Potter fanfiction where you can immediately tell the author isn't from the UK.
Every character is a person with their own goals, values, flaws, growth, and internal thoughts. Exploring those things naturally in your writing makes it much easier for readers to understand who a character is without having to spell everything out for them.
My biggest piece of advice, though, is to have fun with it. Writing is a skill that develops with practice, and at the end of the day, as long as you're enjoying the story you're telling, that's what matters most.
Thank you so much for the ask, and I hope you continue enjoying Intermezzo!
