the concept of reversed robins, is oh so precious to me.
i'm so gonna mix the timeline but BARE WITH ME PLS
in this au Damian is thrown at his father's home without a safety net, and Bruce tries but he only knows how to be Batman or Brucie. no middle ground. Damian leaves when he reaches sixteen and goes back to the leauge only to leave and become his own hero, because he dose respect his father's no killing rule in the end.
and so, Hound is born.
Tim telling Batman that he needs a Shadow because Batman has gone bad after Damian left, Steph becoming first Spoiler to stop her dead beat dad.
Hound will test the new Shadow, he'll also cut his grip line like in the comics. he'll not accept him. Steph becomes Batgirl to annoy Bruce and keep Tim's spirit up.
Tim dying because of the Joker but as Joker Junior and not like Jason did... Tim not even being adopted by Bruce when he dies because his parents are still alive and somewhere far, digging up graves or whatever archeologists do. Steph taking the role of Shadow when they look for Tim, accidentally starting a gang war when they find out he shot himself in the head instead of at Joker or Batman.
Damian, who openly hates Tim going to save Steph before they loose her that day as well. catching her falling just like when he cut Tim's line. she lost her legs when she fell. Damian buries one brother that he never allowed himself to love, and ignoring the now disabled teen. both injured with a name he chose when he was just a child.
Shadow is dead.
Bruce takes Cass in because she reminds him of Damian. Jason tries to steal the batmobile's tires. Batman misses his shadow. Jason becomes it again. Batman doesn't speak to Steph or Damian about it. or anything for that matter.
Steph is seething, it's not rage, it's too specific. Cass becomes the second Batgirl, she's looking for Steph for guidance and Steph helps her. Damian and Cass bond over the leauge. Damian finally has a little brother and sister he allows himself to love while still ignoring the first ones.
Shadow was dead.
Janet and Jack Drake die in a plane crash. the Drake manor next to the Wayne manor rots away.
Shadow is out in the streets again.
and Steph is angry. because apparently Shadow wasn't dead, just paralyzed.
she plots, she finds the Joker somewhere, and in a red helmet and red wheelchair she uses what used to be his name, red hood. and with one clear shot to the head, just like Tim's own gunshot, the Joker is killed by the Red Hood. this wasn't just rage, she swears it.
and it's evident when she finally cries over Tim, over her legs. Steph lost everything and the Joker is killed by the Red Hood.
Shadow is out again and this time he has the Batman, Hound and Batgirl in his corner. nobody reaches out for her.
and there's someone new, another mask, takes the name of Joker. the lights in the rotten Drake manor are turned on for the first time.
no one notices.
and then, the flying Graysons fall. a kid is left. watching his parents falling. he gets adopted. Dick Grayson becomes the first robin and has Batman, Shadow, Hound and Batgirl as mentors.
another girl starts following Batgirl's steps. Cass trains little Barbara and gives her the Batgirl suite, Cass becomes Black Bat, and Barbara becomes the third Batgirl.
Steph is ignoring everyone, keeps going back to Tim's grave, keeps working. the Red Hood killed the original Joker and that's the last she ever did. living and leaving sounds the same, the only difference is the meaning.
the new Joker is not hot headed, he doesn't terrorize the city, he helps, BUT he doesn't follow the no killing rule. he tries as much as he can to help those who survived the original Joker. and anyone who target them? anyone else who tries to take the joker's name (it's his. he died as Joker Junior.) and legacy of hurt? well, that's why he doesn't work with Batman.
and the now resurrected Tim Drake don't know how to let go of the lazarus green. he didn't kill the original Joker, the only thing he did in his run as Batman's shadow that mattered was to die. he was never Bruce's child. he doesn't know how to let go but he also holds onto nothing.
Batman hates him, for taking that name, seeks him out. Tim doesn't know how to react to this, it's even more isolating then dying and being forgotten about.
and Tim is still mad with Joker gas and even though all the scars healed when he was resurrected, he cut his Joker smile back. and that's the day Steph noticed that the light is on in Drake manor.
and when Steph finally has the courage to open (read as breake in) the door of Drake manor? she isn't just met with her long dead best friend, she's also met with a very panicked Duke Thomas. one of the last people to suffer at the hands of the original Joker.
he's worried because his new brother, new role model, the one that gave him a home after the Joker ruined his life, the one that took the name that hurt so many and actually gave it a good meaning is absolutely hurt and borderline suicidal. and he doesn't know how to help.
but Steph does. she knew how to since her days as Spoiler. that's why she created Batgirl. that's why she was paralyzed as Shadow.
and Steph doesn't flinch when Tim laughs uncontrollably.
