This is going to be a long chapter because I will be covering the four main Robins' love interest stories altogether. So brace yourself this is going to be a long ride.

There are two types of these stories. One is an OC or reader insert in which the other lead is one of the four Robins; Richard, Jason, Tim or Damian. The second type are those stories which are written in just as much abundance in which both main characters are the Robins. 

Yup, I am talking about the Batboy x Batboy fics, the most common of which are JayTim and TimDami.

So let's get started with the first category and we will leave a paragraph at the end for the second.

OC's Personality and traits:

For clarity, I will be assigning names to the OCs for each Batboy. The one in love with Richard, let's call her Emma, the one for Jason can be Sarah, for Tim can be Anna and for Damian, let's name her Laura.

[Guys, if you have an OC with these names for the respective characters then wooohooo, what a coincidence! because I'll be honest here, this chapter is all based on fanfics I read years ago so obviously I don't recall the names of the OCs, I am just using some random ones].

1. Emma is almost always an acrobat or related to the circus Richard and his parents worked in. There are many stories that use the childhood friends turned to lovers trope with our Dickiebird here.

2. Sarah is either one of the street kids of Crime Alley, a villain's daughter, Joker's daughter (for the hyped up angst and conflict), a member of the League of Assassins or just an average girl with a flair for deadly adventure. In Jason's case, the OC almost always is just as much of a rebel and a dramatic diva as Jason. Main trope used with Jason Todd love stories is the childhood friends/rivals to lovers.

3. Anna is the nerdy girl who tops the class but ever since genius Tim Drake got enrolled, she has to come second. We get rivals to friends stories with Tim or the cute nerd love fics. I think Tim's the one who gets the normal dosage of cliche out of the rest of his brothers.

4. Laura can either be a member of the League, another Lazarus reincarnated zombie or just an average shy girl from school. For Damian, we get the childhood friends trope that is used often or the sweet high school romance trope.

[Trust me, I have read many many good fics about the Batboys so fair warning the Exceptions section is going to be full of recommendations. But personally, I think we need more enemies to lovers fics for Damian, I would love to read about a very exciting rivalry between the Son of Batman and some enemy of his who later becomes his lover/friend].

Also, I hope you guys are not getting confused with me changing OCs in every sentence. If so, let me know and I will split this chapter into four parts, one for each Batboy, though that would be a lot more time consuming...

5. Emma is usually an outgoing and extroverted person just like Richard and as she is often a performer at the circus, she has a confident personality. In some stories, we see this confidence shake after Richard is adopted by Bruce and taken away though in my opinion, her personality can develop differently but that doesn't mean she should do a 180 degree flip from extrovert to introvert.

After all, Richard's the one whose parents died tragically and eventually he too manages to pick himself up and embrace life again.

6. Sarah being a rebellious teen gets into a lot of trouble and probably meets Jason during one of her rebellious sprees. Jason immediately falls for this firecracker of a girl who supposedly has a great sense of humor and is a daredevil. And then he often takes the blame for whatever ruckus she causes and gets grounded as a result.

7. Anna does not socialize much and there are very few people to whom she talks, including Tim. Her introvert level is soaring through the roof, not kidding.

8. Laura hates people just like Damian. Both of them are little demons and will bite anyone's toes off. The reason? Their mere existence is unbearable to them.

9. Somehow, all four of these OCs have one thing in common.

Take a guess...

Yup, tragic back stories.

10. And due to these tragic back stories, we see them going through a lot of unnecessary emotional baggage that our poor Batboys get stuck with and help them deal with it. And because they have found their true loves, things get better in the blink of an eye and it's all happy shiny rainbows.

[Let's clear one thing up, just because the OC found true love doesn't mean all her problems should get solved instantly. Even if it's a Batboy, he's not a fairy godmother to set everything right with a magic spell].

I guess these are all points I could think off about cliché OCs in these stories at the moment. Comment if you have more.

Effects on other characters:

So have you guys heard of the OOC syndrome? I have an epic gif to explain that.

It is basically when a canon character behaves very differently to how he/she is portrayed in the canon books/movies/comics. OOC in itself stands for Out Of Character.

The OOC is basically when authors twist up a canon character so badly that he/she ends up as a completely different character. One thing that I have noticed in fanfics in general is that sometimes characters seem very different because when they are made the love interest for the OC, the author wants them to be perfect. As a result, they do not seem like the character we have already about but as a much sweeter, caring, polite and kind version of them.

[Yup, I'm looking at all those nice Damian Wayne fics...]

Similarly, the OOC syndrome is seen in other characters too such as the canonical love interests of the batboy in question. Say if we are reading a story about Emma and Richard, then Barbara Gordon or Starfire instantly turn into the villains of the story who will do anything to get rid of Emma because they are jealous of her relationship with Richard.

Or for the stories in which the OC is some supervillain's daughter, her father/mother also take on two very extreme roles that are very OOC; either they are extremely possessive over their child and would do anything to keep them away from their Batboy lover or they are extremely supportive about it and would beat up anyone who dares to cause trouble for their lovely princess.

And just like that, the characters in close connection to the male lead become OOC and it ends up in ruining an otherwise good story. So while writing, make sure not to overdo the drama and twist the characters' personalities drastically.

[We will be doing an entire chapter on it in detail when we come to the Don'ts of writing Fanfiction section].

Batboy x Batboy Plots:

I almost forgot including this one here but let's get it done with quickly. 

Usually these plots are very similar and go down a comrade in arms to lovers trope. So it's like reading about the Batboys but with the only difference being that the said Batboys are in a relationship and get involved in a lot of drama, conflict and angst due to it.

Many people write about the batboys being in a relationship with one another and while I do agree that they are not biological brothers, it still feels weird to read about adoptive siblings in a relationship.

But then it all depends on the preference and I will be honest, I have found some extremely well written fanfics centered on this trope. I once read a JayTim story and it was so gripping that I just couldn't put it down until I finished reading it.

All things aside, I feel like the brotherly dynamic between these boys shouldn't be ruined and you can write about them being friendly and chaotic at the same time and caring for each other as brothers. Platonic relationships are just as important as romantic ones and I feel like the batboys have a lot of potential for being written into platonic storylines as well.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

Exception:

Ah finally, the section I have been waiting for... I have so so many recommendations but we'll go in order, from the eldest batboy to the youngest.

[Sorry Damian, you will have to wait till the very end. You might be an overrated character even in canon but this is my book and I follow my rules. We start with the eldest here not the brattiest].

 Richard Grayson Stories:

1. The Robin And The Canary by FreedomWhistle

2. Roses by icecoffeeluver

3. Text Me Back // Book One by cookiethife

4. Reopened Scars by Strawbqrrywh0reos

Jason Todd Stories:

1. Wrong Number by Eemstheegg

2. Romeo And Juliet by icecoffeeluver

3. Left On Read // Book Two by cookiethife

4. Dove In The Darkness by lucyluhvs

Timothy Drake Stories:

1. The Archer by PricetagOfficial

2. Ghost by PricetagOfficial

3. Peppermint Kisses by timothyjacksondrake-

4. Saudade by svhltee

5. Left On Read // Book Two by cookiethife

6. Goddess by starlightsfall

7. Savior Complex by pedroswhore

8. Midnights by pedroswhore

Damian Wayne Stories:

1. Perfectly Ordinary by SummerStrength 

2. Number Neighbor (it's not up on Wattpad anymore though).

3. I'm Fine By Myself by skylichenscribe

If I missed any good fanfics and you guys want to recommend then share your recommendations in the comments. Self promoting is also welcome because I am always looking for new and undiscovered works to read.

You can also check out the reading lists on my DC account ZeninaD if you want to read any of my fanfics written on the Batboys (I do have a lot on Tim and Jay because for some reason, these two have become my most favorite Batboys to write about).

***

So that's all for today and I hope you guys had fun reading this chapter.

Now I am going to clock out because it's past midnight and I should go to bed. You guys have a lovely day or night whatever it is based on your time zone.

See you all soon with another update.