those good old days
(FFN Link) is a Batman Fanfic by Nyame. It is a spin-off to her other story, one day at a time (Nyame), where instead of just Jason Todd, it is the entire Bat-Family that is sent back in time after their deaths, to the day Jason was thrown into the Lazarus Pit.
Official Summary:
In another time, in another place, there was a man who didn't want to be Batman, but ended up becoming him anyway, and then woke up thirty-four years in the past after dying of cancer at age fifty.
In that time, in that place, he woke up alone.
Here, he didn't.
(Or, the one day at a time AU where it's the core Bat-Family, not just Jason, that is sent back in time to the day Talia threw Jason into the Lazarus Pit, right after their respective deaths.)
Tropes:
- Alternate Universe: To the main one day at a time verse. Since it isn't just Jason, but most of the Bat-Family that's sent back, there are already several changes being made. Jason, Cass, and Damian don't wait several months to go back to Gotham, instead heading there immediately once they have their trip planned out, while Stephanie hooks up with Tim and the others earlier.
- Amicable Exes:
- Tim and Stephanie. Unlike their younger counterparts in one day at a time, who start dating at the end of the story, their romantic relationship has long since run its course and they've settled into being Better as Friends.
- Dick and Barbara. While there are hints they still have strong feelings for each other, with Dick even calling Barbara one of the two great loves of his life, they have long since broken up and were both in committed relationships with other people when they died. Nonetheless, they still consider each other best friends and have no issues rekindling their friendship once they've reunited.
- Asshole Victim: Babs and Stephanie reveal that in the timeline the family all came from, Black Mask II died in a prison riot a few years after Jason's death by lung cancer. Given what he'd done (killing Selina Kyle, among other things), pretty much everyone responds with a look of satisfaction or contentment on hearing the news.
- Bait-and-Switch: In-Universe and out — while the time-travelers are talking about what happened to their various loved ones back in the future, Stephanie refers to Carrie Kelley (Jason's first daughter, and first Robin) with the line "And what a fine Batwoman she was." Jason momentarily panics when he hears that "was", until Cass tells him she'd retired (to focus on the diner she inherited from Jason), not died. He is very relieved by that.
- Big Damn Reunion: Several, thanks to the premise. Of particular note is Jason, Damian, and Cass's reunion with Dick at the Bludhaven International Airport.
- Colonized Solar System: After her death, M'gann bequeathed her home planet Mars to be resettled by the residents of Earth in her will. It's unclear how far the Earth has gotten to colonizing it by the time Cass died, but at the very least there's a Justice League super-max prison located there, currently housing the eighth Joker.
- Internal Reveal:
- Bruce learns that Selina was one month pregnant with his child when he died, and understandably does not take it well. Especially when he learns that Selina was later killed only a decade after him, leaving their daughter an orphan who had to be raised by Jason and Cass. Nor do Dick, Damian, or Alfred, who didn't live long enough to learn about or meet Helena.
- Similarly, the origin story of the McGinnis family is a hard pill to swallow for everyone, especially Bruce and Damian. The former because his two biological sons were forced to endure the same tragedy he lived through as a child in order to exploit the legacy of Batman, and the latter because he was denied the chance to have meet his younger biological siblings.
- Jason enters a Heroic BSoD after learning that his lover Donna Troy died only ten years after him (Taking the Bullet for his son no less), and excuses himself for the rest of the day in order to process it.
- Legacy Character: Helena Wayne succeeded her older sister Carrie Kelley as the fourth Batwoman, after Carrie decided to retire.
- The Lost Lenore: Several members of the Bat-Family are still haunted by the deaths and/or separations from their respective significant others. Most notably Bruce, who is devastated upon learning he left Selina pregnant when he died and that she didn't live long enough to watch their daughter grow up into adulthood.
- Peggy Sue: For the core Bat-Family, not just Jason. This includes Bruce, Alfred, Dick, Cass (the last of the First Generation, who died of a stroke), Tim, Damian, Stephanie and Barbara. The author also hints she intends to bring in other characters later on as well.
- Platonic Co-Parenting: Jason and Cass raised Jason's kids together. Even though Cass was officially their aunt, she was basically their mother in all but name. Hilariously, because of this, they immediately start treating Damian as if he's their son once reunited with him, even though he's technically an adult.
- Prison Riot: According to Babs and Stephanie, one broke out at Blackgate a few years after Jason died. While not much is said about it, it is confirmed that Ricky Sionis, AKA Black Mask II, was killed during the event.
- Protectorate:
- Damian for the entire family, but especially for Jason and Cass. Part of it is due to still being The Baby of the Bunch (he's still the youngest even when accounting for the Time Travel, having died at twenty-two); however, most of it is due to the traumatic nature of his death, which saw him die in the aforementioned two's arms. The fact that he's physically a very young child again doesn't help.
- Tim, to a lesser extent. The family is willing to give him more autonomy than Damian because he is physically older and can get away with it, but all of them can't help but smother him with attention. Stephanie, his ex-girlfriend, at one point lectures him over his terrible personal habits.
- Running Gag: Damian being the recipient of several "bone-crushing" hugs.
- Secret-Keeper: After being vaguely implied in one day at a time, it's officially confirmed that Tim was the one who helped secret Selina Kyle away from Gotham after she found out she was pregnant with Helena Wayne. Jason, Cass, Stephanie, and Barbara all figured out it was him after meeting Helena, because he was the only person other than Barbara herself that could have hid Selina from the rest of the Bat-Family. It's also presented a deconstruction, because Tim keeping the information from the rest of the Family is one of the reasons why Selina wasn't able to immediately contact them after Ricky Sionis went after her and indirectly contributed to her death, as by the time those events happened, Tim had already been dead himself for several years and had taken the secret to his grave.
- Spin-Off: Of one day at a time.
- Spiteful Suicide: After being captured by Terry one too many times and figuring out the Joker Curse, Jake Chill, the sixth Joker, committed suicide to spite Terry and produce a new Joker to terrorize him. Ironically, that Joker barely lasted less than a year; his successor, however, caused so much damage that eventually the JL opted to imprison her on Mars because she was so dangerous, so Jake's plan worked out in the end.
- This Is Unforgivable!: Damian did not forgive his mother for murdering him, and all his trust in her is lost.
- Titled After the Song: The story is titled after Macklemore's song "Good Old Days", and ever chapter is titled after a line in the song's lyrics.
- Villainous Legacy: Invoked when Jake Chill figured out the Joker curse and committed suicide to spite Terry, activating a seventh Joker. That Joker was hit and killed by a car less than a year later, activating an eighth (and the second female), who had been incarcerated in a maximum security JL prison on Mars by the time Cass died.
- What If?: Discussed. After learning about Donna's death, Jason briefly wonders what would've happened if he had chosen to accept Talia's offer and taken another dip in the Lazarus Pit to cure his lung cancer. As much he would like to believe he would've been able to avert all tragedies that befell his family after he passed away, he is forced to admit that there is no way to know that for sure. In addition, there's also the possibility that taking another dip in the Pit would've just facilitated him into becoming like Ra's al Ghul and searching for every possible excuse to keep extending his lifespan.
