Hello! As a folklore and mythology enthusiast I absolutely adore your Fae!Dick AU (as well as all the various Other names you tag at the end; I’d never heard of half of them!). I always love reading folkloric interpretations of characters!
That being said, I have a few questions for you. Firstly: The Folk are often depicted as ‘unaging’. Does Dick age? Is that one of the ‘human traits’ that rubbed off on him after so long?
Secondly: This has probably already been stated (apologies if it has, I have a very poor memory!), but how did Bruce end up with a little Other child? Was it still through the death of the Graysons, who perhaps had a changeling child? I’ve read before that some childless couples will ask the Folk for a child of their own through various rituals. Or did they find a forgotten, nameless faerie during their travels and take him as their own? Or -maybe more intriguingly- were the Graysons fae as well?
Thank you so much for writing up Fae!Dick; there isn’t enough of these kinds of stories, and yours is absolutely wonderful!
Hi there!
Yes they do age! But not the way humans do. Dick, for example, grew up with two human parents (Mary and John) and he adapted to his environment by copying the growth stages of human children. Other beings that “grow up” in the forest sometimes do not pass the “child” stage even after several centuries! And some are never children to begin with. It really depends on the creature and their ties to the world around them ✨ after reaching adulthood though Dick would probably stop aging altogether for however long he continues to have a purpose in life 🌲
And yup, Dick ended up with Bruce because his parents died. :( as to how Mary and John came to have a fae child… well, I suppose that one’s going to stay a mystery 🙈 but they loved their strange little boy to pieces and imparted kindness and empathy upon him 💚💚💚
Fae Dick ending up in canon universe... Right after canon Bruce has forced Dick into the Spyral mission.
Fae Dick's Family Catches up to fetch him back almost immediately, but it's clear to them at first sight that canon Dick is in a very bad place right now, mentally and otherwise.
Fae verse Bruce is furious at his canon version, but canon Dick points out someone has to go on the Spyral mission, and he won't risk any of his siblings being chosen.
Finally the fae verse fam convince canon Dick that he's in no shape to try a mission like that at the moment.
They agree on an exchange. Fae Dick will go to infiltrate Spyral (and possibly deal with canon Bruce), human Dick will go to the fae verse for some much needed R&R.
Spyral and Canon Bruce will never know what hit them...
Yes pls 🥺
I don’t know anything about the Spyral mission (except that Bruce quite literally forced Dick to do it when he explicitly said he didn’t want to) and that it ended up being… bad bad for Dickie, and honestly I don’t even want to know more than that. The premise with Bruce alone is… not something I can stomach reading.
But yeah for those who know more… let it be known that fae!Dick is going to fuck them all up worse than he did Slade and the Court of Owls. 🌲 ✨
It's so funny that fae!Dick was trying to take care of Jason, but ended scaring him like
Dick likes me now: 😃
Dick likes me now: 😨
Pfpfpf definitely. Jason still thinks Dick is the best thing since sliced bread but there’s some instances where is just like?? 😨😱😨😵💫 like one time he could SWEAR Dick was trying to eat him. Dick swear it was just a loving little nibble (and in his defense, it totally was) but for Jason those sharp rows of teeth came way too close to his jugular for comfort.
(Jason retaliates by biting Dick full force, but all that achieves is Dick tearing up and bursting into tears because “Jason loves me! Bruce! My little brother loves me!” Jason just gives up at this point.)
So with Fae!Dick, we all know that Bruce is just… not gonna say anything bc of his own mental health, but do you think the other batkids notice anything once they come along?
On one hand, I think someone would have to notice. If not Jason, then Tim, Steph, Barbara, or Damian bc, well, they’re BATS. They literally have been trained to notice things.
On the other hand, though, I think it would be HILARIOUS if they just attributed Dick’s Fae nature to him just being weird. Like, completely unaware he isn’t human. Maybe not entirely realistic but I think it leaves for some interesting comedic moments 😅
Honestly at one point I think it all devolves into plausible deniability. 😭😂
Jason is the first to notice something amiss, obviously. But he joins Bruce in pretending it‘s just Dick‘s general weirdness. After all, as long as the dog just howls once in a while it’s not necessarily a wolf, right? And Dick, after the initial hang up and trying to kill him a little, is sweet as a summer‘s day to him and viciously protective to boot. Galas and all the rich people there that used to treat Jason like a circus animal aren’t a problem anymore because Dick always swoops in like a bat out of hell and distracts the creepy old ladies with a charming smile until they walk away with vacant eyes. It‘s all pretty funny. And very weird. But hey, Jason gets a laugh out of it and that secretive little grin from Dick so whatever.
Tim I headcanon has Dick all figured out within a month of officially meeting him (the opposite of this would be Tim never figuring it out which is also kinda funny and just attributing it to his circus past or something) and is veeery cautious about interacting with Dick for a time. It makes Dick kind of sad and Tim can only withstand the puppy eyes so long until he caves.
Steph just kinda shrugs and accepts Dick‘s strangeness at face value. It ain’t hurting her so why should she bother? Dick is cool. She likes Dick. End of story, thank you and good day. And yeah, fine, some of his habits are downright weird and everything but who is she to judge? And he‘s always down to cause mischief with her which is?? Super cool???? Even the more devious pranks she can bribe him into joining by handing him a jar of fresh honey or hand picked fruit!! Anybody trying to say shit about Dick lands them on her hit list, period.
Cass is Cass. Nobody can fool her. She may not know what Dick is, but she‘s painfully aware he‘s other. Most wildlife treats him like bees would their queen, there‘s always the scent of pines and rain following him. Dick‘s body language says ‘playful-content-happy’ but his eyes say ‘dark-dangerous-predator’. It’s all very conflicting; a study of contradictions. Cass learns to go by what his body language says and quickly finds a kindred spirit in Dick, who somehow always seems to know exactly what she tries to express but has trouble translating into words.
I headcanon Damian grew up with folklore so while his first theory may not be “fae” he definitely has Dick down as something other than human. Which means he must be powerful. Which means Damian must keep himself in Dick’s good graces in the hopes of making the creature teach him how to be powerful in turn. And, well, the kid grew up with a grandad that regularly takes dips in a magical swimming pool. I don’t think there’s much that can genuinely shock him lol.
Duke is… well, he’s the sensible one so of course he’s the first one to actually ask questions. And then proceeds to go nearly insane because??? Nobody seems to?? Care???? That Dick just rotated his head a full 360°???? Or that the manor sure af isn’t supposed to??? Randomly add hallways???? Or that there’s a whole ass SWAMP that appeared in the basement overnight???? Or a door that leads straight into the forest?????? Duke very nearly nopes the hell out because that’s too much even for him. But finally, finally someone takes pity on him (I headcanon it’s Cass) and she doesn’t explain anything per se, she just kind of… shows Duke. Shows him around the manor, introduces him to twisting halls and strange rooms, takes him to where Dick is lounging with the rest of the family, purring like a content cat. And Duke still doesn’t understand, not completely, but Dick smiles at him with too many, too sharp teeth and tugs him into the huge cuddle pile and?? Are those feathers on his neck?? No, he must have imagined it. Anyway, Duke thinks he can handle this… strangeness, if it scores him a family like this. It’s Gotham, right? Weirder things happen here on the daily.
Omg this turned into a whole ass essay I’m so sorry 😰😅😭✨
I looooved your post about Fae!Dick. I'm totally gonna check out Shuck, but do you have any fanfic recommendations specifically for Fae!Dick (either just Dick as a fae or the whole batfam as fae/myhical beings)?
Thank you!!
Hi! Sorry, I don’t. I honestly can’t even remember reading Fae!Dick ever before :(((
But maybe someone else can help out! Everyone, please leave a comment if you happen to know a fic like that. Thank you! 💚💚💚
Do you have more fae!Dick headcanons, but from the batfam or his friends pov? 🥺
Check out this awesome post for a phenomenal addition to the Fae verse!
But in case you wanna stick with only Dick being fae, here’s some more headcanons for you, hehe ✨ I can never say no to doing more 👏
I don’t know enough about Dick’s friends to do a good pov for them, but here’s Bruce and Jason for now 💚
Bruce
Bruce knew something was other about Dick from the moment he started screaming when his parents fell and every single animal inside the circus went wild
Dick is a strange child. he never lies, but he’s got this uncanny ability to maneuver around the truth and make it bend to his will. It comes in handy during his Robin days, but Bruce will be the first to admit it creeps him out a bit. Even thinks that sound like a lie on surface level and up being truthful. To the letter.
Contracts. During their time as Batman and Robin, Bruce unknowingly enters into multiple little deals with Dick without being aware of it. Dick never takes advantage, but there’s one instance where Bruce finally realizes how important it is to leave absolutely no loopholes in orders or wordings when Dick nearly kills someone and it still falls into the terms of their agreement
The manor. Things have never been completely normal about the ancestral home, but with Dick around the walls seem to breathe. There’s always a light on behind some window even when it’s late and Alfred is long asleep. At night something scratches along the walls and the scent of rain and mushrooms lingers in the air. Neither Bruce or Alfred ever find its source. Hallways become long and winding when you’re half asleep. The walk to the restroom ends up being at least ten minutes.
Bruce yells at Dick and uses his full name for the first time and Dick just— folds. It’s not his true name, but he treats it as such. And Bruce is horrified at the way Dick’s entire form seems to warp and gain new joints and twist itself outside the human imagination. But then he blinks and it’s just Dick again, glaring balefully, hissing at Bruce not to use his name in anger. Ever. Bruce is too startled to do anything but promise he won’t.
Promises. Dick uses them sparingly, but when he does he upholds them with a vengeance. Bruce learns to never, ever make Dick promise something that will endanger him. Because dick would still follow through on it blindly.
Promises made by other people. Dick becomes vindictive if he thinks someone isn’t upholding their end of the bargain. The first time it happens, a simple thing about being home in time for dinner, Bruce got assaulted by rabid deer with curiously sharp teeth on his way to the car. In the middle of Gotham City. Bruce and Dick have a serious talk afterwards.
Jason
Dick is less than thrilled when Jason is declared Robin. Fae are possessive. That’s his name Bruce gave away. That’s his family Jason is infiltrating. Dick wants Jason gone. (Bruce barely manages to stop the murder of crows from shoving Jason off a roof)
Jason doesn’t realize there’s a pissed off fae out for blood. Bruce has a hard time rallying Dick, but he manages. Ergo; Jason thinks the manor is the best thing since sliced bread and he’s super excited about meeting Dick. He joins Alfred in making Dick’s favorite meal for his official visit and unknowingly ends up winning Dick over with it. An offering of favored food to fae creatures goes a long way in earning their favor. And Dick is no different. It helps that the food is genuinely delicious and Jason jumps at the chance to refill his plate. Jason unknowingly dodged a bullet there.
Dick becomes protective of Jason. Jason is his now in the same way Bruce and Alfred are. They’re human. He’s fae. They’re so very vulnerable and susceptible to injury and manipulation.
Jason avoids wandering the halls of Wayne manor alone for the longest time because he always feels there are eyes following him. (They are.)
The manor, reacting to Dick’s inherent magic, shortens each of Jason’s routes. It creeps Jason out even more
Sometimes there are feathers at the foot of Jason’s bed. He doesn’t know what kind of bird they could be from. When he shows them to Bruce the man just sighs
Jason has a temper tantrum and retreats into the woods behind the manor. He can’t find his way back until he calls out for Dick and suddenly the manor looms behind the next tree
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