ok but can't we have Jason and Damian being siblings but like. less protective and father-son vibes of brotherhood and more 'yeah we're chill but like he does what he wants' kind of brotherhood? because honestly i want stray-cat Damian right now.
listen i would just very much like to see a Jason that trusts Damian to be independent enough that when he brings the kid to Gotham he goes 'ok so like, do you want me to break in and drop you in the cave, or introduce you to B on patrol, or just leave you on the doorstep..?' and Damian thinks for a second before being like '....i mean do i have to go to him straight away? you're the one that taught me to scope out new situations before i enter them.' and Jason trusts Damian enough that he just shrugs and says 'yeah i guess that's true. i have a spare bedroom in my new apartment, so i guess as long as you don't make too much of a mess you can just come and go as you please until you go to the manor'.
so essentially Damian is left to his own devices while he susses out Gotham and figures out his own plan for how he's going to handle being the public blood son of Bruce Wayne. him and Jason will pass each other on the rooftops sometimes, or nod to each other over breakfast, but Damian is pretty much just Jason's stray cat of a little brother doing whatever. Jason trusts the kid, and he's got a lot of his own shit to handle anyway, Crime Alley and Joker-wise.
to be honest what i really want is just Damian chilling in the background of Gotham's elite for like six months before Bruce, Tim, or Dick even know who this kid is. he's sneaking into events to gather information and pretending to be a staff member's child allowed to hang behind the bar, doing his own fucking side quests and honestly just entertaining himself by seeing how close he can get to the family before they clock that something's up with him.
look--the bats may be the greatest detectives in the world, but even they fall into the trap of not paying attention to the 'unimportant' people at high-end events. Damian has literally had 7+ conversations with Tim at different events about random shit and Tim has yet to remember him a single time. he's served his own father canapes at events in Wayne manor despite very much not having been hired as a waiter because he is very clearly underage. Bruce was so busy pretending to be drunk he didn't clock it. the hardest Jason has ever laughed in his life was when Damian came home one night holding a polaroid picture of Damian and Dick together, signed by Dick, because Damian thought it would be funny to rush up to the guy pretending to be a Wayne fanatic and asking for a selfie. it's on Jason's fridge.
there's probably a moment when Damian's pretending to be like. a really short valet at a gala and he comes across Alfred, and i like to think there's probably a moment where Alfred clocks the face of a boy who is very clearly related to Bruce, and the two just stare at each other silently for a while. Damian expected this, Jason told him Alfred was too used to Wayne shit not to catch on.
'may i inquire as to your name?'
'...Damian, sir.'
'and do you have a safe, warm place to go back to tonight?'
'yes, sir. i'm staying with one of my brothers. you'll like him, when i introduce you.'
'i see. your mother's name?'
'Talia Al Ghul.'
'ah, of course. well then, Master Damian. i do hope you know i'll have your bedroom prepared for whenever you're ready to come home. i believe your father will be impressed with your skills.'
'...thank you, Pennyworth.'
'anytime.'
and then they just part ways and Damian continues to do his side quest undercover bullshit for like, another three months. after a while he gets bored and just shows up on Bruce's doorstep and literally never mentions the fact that he's already been around for like. a year before he told Bruce he was his son. just pretends he arrived the day before and this is all new to him. they only realise what happened far in the future, when Jason is back in the family and Dick visits his apartment for the first time, and he clocks the fucking signed fan-selfie of what is now obviously him and Damian. he gets so confused about when the fuck it was taken because ??? Damian hates being on camera ??? and all Jason can do is start laughing so hard he cries.
stormborns
ellievsbear
blakekathryn
tangentwithtanner
prguitarman
