Notes for Batfam fanfiction writers:
(Frankly, some canon writers could stand to keep these in mind, too.)
1) Jason threatening to kill other Batfamily members should be used sparingly, and having him attempt to kill other Batfam members should be deployed with extreme, extreme caution. Jason will react to other Batfam members with open hostility and large amounts of snark, but he pretty much only goes after the bad guys (contrary to what BftC seems to think), and he’s not really one for making death threats every time he opens his mouth. He’s not Damian.
2) Stephanie is not all sunshine and joy. The girl has a large amount of ‘tude, too. She’s not Pollyanna. She has a temper, she won’t hesitate to tell off people who deserve it, and she has a cynical side, too. This is a girl who’s been through a lot, who lost her innocence pretty early on, and although she’s still among the most optimistic of the Bats (her and Dick), that’s not all there is to her.
3) Babs and Tim are not “the smart ones” to the exclusion of all the other Batkids. Yes, Babs and Tim are geniuses, and yes, they are probably the most cerebral and logical ones. But it’s important to remember that the other Batkids are all intelligent in their own ways, too. Jason isn’t just “the angry one” - he’s also incredibly cunning and resourceful. He knows what he’s doing. Dick was the detective prodigy long before Tim came along, and he’s arguably has the best leadership skills in the DCU. Damian isn’t just a stab-happy brat, he’s clearly inherited his father’s brains. Playing up the emotion vs. logic contrast between Dick and Tim or Babs and Steph is great - as long as you don’t start making the other Batkids stupid or incompetent simply because they’re around Babs or Tim. ALL of the Batkids are smart.
4) Jason and Bruce did not spend the entirety of Jason’s Robin tenure arguing. Bruce could actually be quite sweet and supportive with Jason, and for his part Jason was generally happy and enthusiastic about being Robin (and had an amazing ability to make Bruce smile, too, right from the very beginning). Jason could be more violent and angry than Dick, it’s true, but if you focus too much on how he was angry and ‘dooooomed’ from the beginning, you’re not accurately portraying him or his relationship with Bruce.
5) Babs does not need to have a snarky comeback to every single sentence out of Dick’s mouth. Yes, she loves to tease him, but she’s equally likely to just be openly affectionate (even when he gives her an opening to mess with him). If Dick says “Hi, it’s nice to see you”, you really can just have Babs say “I’m glad to see you, too” without twelve different sarcastic comments. Babs loves to snark, but she’s also an incredibly warm and caring person, too. (It’s also worth noting that Babs doesn’t always have the upper hand in their relationship, either. She knocks Dick off his feet like no one else does - literally and metaphorically - but Dick is probably the only one who can, to use Dinah’s phrase, make “the great Oracle embarrassed like a little schoolgirl”.)
6) Cass is a woman of few words, but she is neither cold nor humorless. She’s actually incredibly sweet, and she’s perfectly willing to joke around and laugh. (Heck, she can even troll with the best of them!) Characterizing Cass as cold or emotionless is actually about as far from her true personality as you can get. Being badass is NOT the same thing as having no emotions. Similarly, if you write Tim as some kind of super-serious mini-Bruce (not that Bruce is as humorless as many writers portray him, either), you’re not really understanding him. Tim is basically a gigantic dork who loves joking around with the people he loves and has an absolutely ridiculous sense of humor. (Oh, and he’s not neat all the time, either.)
7) Catchphrases should be used sparingly, and are not substitutes for genuine personality. Damian does not tack “-tt-” onto every sentence out of his mouth. Babs is unlikely refer to Dick as “Hunk Wonder” or “Short-Pants” more than a few times in one conversation. Steph does not constantly make jokes about waffles and the color eggplant. All of these things can be mixed into dialogue here and there to good effect. But if you start relying on them too much, especially to elevate otherwise flat characterization, it comes across as unrealistic and irritating. Your characterization should speak for itself. Catchphrases, nicknames, and signature jokes are there to enhance characterization - they do not, on their own, comprise it.
8) Dick is a flirt, but he doesn’t think about sex 24/7, nor is he going to want to sleep with every attractive person he meets. He has relationship ethics, and when he does have casual flings, it’s not something he feels comfortable with. Nor is he likely to just take off his clothes in public without some kind of in-story justification for it. Dick has an outgoing personality, and he is a sexual character, but taking these qualities to an extreme and writing him as some kind of exhibitionist sex maniac is completely out-of-character. (It’s also worth noting that while he is a flirt, he isn’t crass about it. He uses the adjectives ‘lovely’ and ‘wonderful’ to describe Kory in skimpy bikinis. Need I say more?)
9) This is the most important one: Bruce is neither a terrible person nor an abusive father. Is he emotionally distant sometimes? Yes, absolutely. Is he too hard on his kids at times? Yes, that too. But he’s also often warm, supportive, and extremely loving towards his children. He doesn’t always expect perfection, and even though sometimes his standards are too high, there are just as many moments where he’s sensitive and understanding when his kids mess up (or think they’ve messed up). Bottom line is, he loves his kids deeply, and he tries to be the best father he can. And he’s a good person. He makes mistakes - terrible mistakes, sometimes - but he can be a really wonderful father at times, too. (And he’s not humorless either!)
Anyone care to add your own?
Nothing to add. This post is already perfect.
