#bruce does not get a choice

[redsray]

Batfam AU where Jason never dies, so Tim doesn't join the family the standard way. Instead, he continues pouring most of his time and energy into his photography, eventually becoming known as a popular photographer for events and all that. So now, picture this: Tim gets hired to be a photographer for a Wayne gala. Obviously, he's ecstatic, because he can take pictures of Batman, Robin and Nightwing and be in their presence for a whole night. Since Tim is so naturally talented in stealth and taking pictures unnoticed, the second one of the fam realises this they're like: this kid is good. Tim manages to go unnoticed by all 3 of them (all bat-trained, one literally batman) multiple times during the night, and even when he is noticed, he disappears before they can manage to get a good look at him; to the sheer amazement of Dick and Jason.

Jason, (very discreetly putting snacks in his suit pocket): i know you're under the table, kid.

Tim: don't mind me, Mr. Todd-Wayne, sir, just taking a few pictures

Jason: right... Jason's fine, and what pictures were you taking from under the table?!

Tim, showing him perfectly good shots of him: these.

Jason: how did you get that. it looks like you took it from the rafters

Tim, nodding: I did.

Jason, glancing at the ceiling: ...what?

Tim, gone:

Jason: no fucking way.

Dick, hearing a very, very faint camera shutter from behind him:

Dick, turning around and finding no one there: what the actual...

Dick, getting the feeling of being watched and whirling around to find Tim staring at him from across the room: ... huh.

Jason, pulling Dick aside: you see that kid too, right?!

Dick, nodding: the camera kid, yeah?

Jason: who is that.

Dick: he's one of the hired photographers, apparently. one of the best in his field, despite his age.

Jason: he's good. like, really good. snuck up on me 4 times already, the little bastard.

Dick: you too? i swear he's constantly watching. it's creepy how well he can sneak past both of us.

Jason:

Dick:

Jason: you don't think...

Dick: no. B would've told us.

Jason:

Dick:

Dick: did he get another kid and not tell us somehow

Bruce: what do you mean another kid?

Jason: you heard us. did you adopt another kid and not tell us?!

Bruce: no?? how would I even?? ... what's this about?

Dick: one of the photographers has managed to sneak up on both me and Jay multiple times already

Bruce: what.

Jason: he also can't be more than like. 15 or 16. so forgive us for assuming you took another one in.

Bruce: do you know his name?

Dick:

Jason:

Bruce: really?

Dick: in our defence, he's very hard to catch. i wouldn't be surprised if he's snuck up on you, too.

[camera shutter noise]

All of them, whipping their heads toward the sound only to find nothing but air:

Tim, smiling from the other side of the room:

Jason: do you see what we mean?!

Cue an entire night of shenanigans where it's just Dick, Jason and Bruce trying to catch Tim and learn about him. Upon finding out who he is and where he lives, Dick immediately asks to keep him as an honorary member of the family. Jason is hesitant at first but at some point Tim calls Bruce Batman instead of Mr. Wayne on accident and Jason laughs so hard he's basically won over. Bruce can do nothing but watch as Tim proceeds to come over almost every night for sleepovers and is coddled by both of his sons. And he can't deny, the kid's investigation and stealth skills are top tier. By the time Dick and Jason both start referring to Tim as 'their younger brother' Bruce has just accepted his fate.

#batfam #batman #dc comics #tim drake #bruce wayne #jason todd #dick grayson #batfam au #dick: look he's even got the dark hair and blue eyes #jason: he fits the pattern. you gotta #dick to tim: you are ours now #tim who just wanted to spend time with his heroes: oh #they declare him as theirs so he is theirs #bruce does not get a choice #he is THEIR little stalker #when jason finds out that tim follows them as vigilantes too he falls over laughing #dick wiping a tear away: he's perfect

[cephalog0d]

Okay, but like. There's the whole joke about Bruce recruiting children to be his sidekicks, but honestly there's only really one that fits that.

And it's Jason. And the whole story there is, frankly, unhinged. Aaaaand then he died.

(I'm specifically talking about "first post-crisis origin stories" here because Jason and Dick, in particular, have both had multiple major retcons and revisions over the years, and some of them dramatically change how things happened.)

Like okay. Going backwards, you've got Duke who joined/led a whole Robin-based gang at a time when Bruce wasn't even Batman. You've got Damian and Cass, who were both literally born into the world of masks and capes and heroes and villains, so they weren't ever really not going to be part of it. Steph might have taken inspiration from previous heroes but she made her own identity and repeatedly refused to stop involving herself in the vigilante lifestyle. Tim, obviously, basically strong-armed Batman into letting him be Robin, despite Batman's protests.

Dick's a little more complicated just because there's so many versions, because that's what 80 years of comics and multiple universe reboots will do, and there's kind of a general trend that earlier pre-crisis versions were more of Batman being like "hello, child, would you like to be my sidekick" and later versions have leaned harder and harder into the idea that Dick was absolutely going to do this anyway, regardless of what Batman had to say about it. But even in the first post-crisis version, the flashback in Batman Year 3, Dick says he wants to find a way to keep people like that from hurting others again. When Alfred questions Bruce's offer to train him, Bruce says that Dick should learn to do things the right way if he's going to do it. It's not hard to extrapolate that, much like later versions of the origin story, Dick was going to get himself into this one way or another. (Batman (1940) #437)

And then there's Jason. Whose backstory has also had a lot of (sometimes major) revisions over the years (remember when his adoption was, like, some kind of Joker-originated long con? Fucken Nu52, man). But the original post-crisis version is pretty straightforward. Steals Batman's tires, gets caught and sent to Ma Gunn's Secret Criminal School, intervenes when Batman goes to investigate, immediately gets offered the chance to be Robin based entirely on that.

Which is itself kind of unhinged. That Bruce saw this kid who was living on his own stealing tires and went "Hey you would make a good Robin" as his very first instinct.

But if you've never read Jason's post-crisis origin, or it's been a while, it's honestly even more unhinged than that because that arc starts with Dick getting "fired" as Robin specifically for the reason that he got shot by Joker and Bruce freaked out about how the Robin identity has too many enemies and therefore Dick, a legal adult with approximately a decade of training and experience, should not use the identity anymore.

(And it's specifically about the Robin identity, in this version, because when Dick says he's not going to stop the crime fighting thing Bruce's response is basically "I know and I didn't expect you to". Honestly I could also say a lot about this version of the Robin/Nightwing transition vs. later ones and how this one definitely feels like the Heavy Hand of DC Editorial in the fact that they had no contact for so long afterwards, because the interaction really doesn't feel like it warrants that in this case compared to some later versions, but that's a whole other too-long ramble.) (Batman (1940) #408)

And then a few weeks later Bruce turns around and picks up a random kid, a literal child, and goes "Hey you would make a good Robin!"

And I think a lot about how fucking wild that is. And it's not like the people writing just didn't notice. Dick's big argument with Bruce when he finally comes back to Gotham and meets Jason isn't about the fact that Bruce took in another kid, or even necessarily about Dick feeling proprietary over the Robin identity, the thing he's angry about is that Bruce said it was too dangerous for him, an adult, someone who has trained with Batman for a decade and was already highly physically trained before that for his whole life, to be Robin, and now Bruce has turned around and painted that target onto some random new kid. He pushes, repeatedly, trying to get Bruce to justify himself and this absolutely irresponsible decision, and Bruce gives a lot of answers about how Jason was on a bad path and needed this outlet and eventually just admits that he missed having a partner. (Batman (1940) #416)

And like. Dick's right, is the thing. He is 1000% in the right in this argument. If he can't be Robin anymore because of the danger, how in the hell is it anything like a good idea to hand it over to someone way younger, way less trained, way less experienced, and expect that that wouldn't end in tragedy?

And then it did.

And yeah, Bruce, it is kinda a lot of your fault.

#And the punchline is Batman clearly should not get to choose his own sidekicks! Haha? #(Sorry this is a lot more serious than my usual Batfam shitposts it won't be a regular habit don't worry) #this is long and rambly but it's something i think about a lot #and it's on my mind extra because of an AU oneshot i'm working on finishing right now #and obviously there's eight kabillion versions of any given origin and reboots and retcons and they change drastically yadda yadda yadda #and also obviously there's always behind-the-scenes editorial choices and other factors when it comes to comics story events #story and character choices are frequently not just a matter of storytelling but of things like meeting editorial demand of What Must Happe #but just looking at the story as presented: the one time bruce specifically recruited someone as his sidekick that kid ended up dead for it #it does make narrative sense given this that bruce's reaction to most of the subsequent kids is initially 'go the fuck home and stop this' #and then only really yielding with the realization that they're totally going to do this shit anyway #jason todd #dick grayson #bruce wayne

[silverwhittlingknife]

antigone. jean anouilh.

quotations from antigone: a tragedy by jean anouilh. translated by lewis galantière.

comic panels in order are from: battle for the cowl 3 (x3), batman annual 25, batman and robin 5, batman and robin 6, battle for the cowl 3, batman 416, battle for the cowl 3, battle for the cowl 2, batman annual 25, batman and robin 6, under the red hood, battle for the cowl 3 (x2), batman 427, lost days 5.

#jason todd #anyway mmmm still turning it over in my mind BUT #antigone + her sense of principle such that she's willing to take her confrontation with creon to its logical extreme #she knows he'll kill her & it's not that she welcomes it but there's that sense of fatality: she's more tied to the dead than the living #she's basically daring creon to have her excuted in the same way that jason is challenging bruce #jason demanding the mourning for his own corpse. antigone buries her brother but jason is the avenging unburied ghost #come to DEMAND burial. and yet he's also alive so he's also antigone who has a choice - or does he??? #and then dick's got his own antigone side re:principle but in this fight he's sister ismene #ismene determined to stop antigone from getting herself killed but also angry with her #and feeling like if she would just LISTEN then she'd see that ismene is right and sensible and has all order on her side #to her everything that antigone wants sounds like chaos and the breakdown of order #and that mmm i feel like there's this consistent thread where we kinda dance around the question of well. /is/ jason suicidal #he puts a gun to his head. he lets go of the train. and yet back then as a kid he wanted to live so badly! #again like antigone who seems to be hurtling herself toward death and yet it's not really what she wants and yet and yet #anyway many thoughts still much confused but. we'll see. #my comic art but we are using the term ''art'' loosely #since it's literally just copy-pasted comic panels with. like. bad highlighting occasionally sfdsfds #dick grayson

[jasontoddenthusiastt]

It is not classist that Jason, a vigilante in a *family of vigilantes*, is violent like the rest | just | because he comes from a poor family

What's (more likely) classist is writers thinking he needs to be taught right vs wrong from Bruce and co and that he consequently makes snap judgments out of some childish grudge-fueled rebellion which makes him dangerous the way a toddler holding a knife is dangerous

#that dumb godzilla vs kong beast wrld issue is a prime example of what I'm talking abt #but I can't even say that's | classism | per se #cause it's also just a product of writers not liking him solely for being in opposition to their bbyg bruce #kelseethe #when will people get it in their heads that shooting someone isn’t “more" violent #than cracking their skulls on cement or ripping their bodies to shreds “but keeping them alive” #things the other bats do pretty regularly and with quite a bit of pride too #it will never not be weird that people see Jason remorselessly poisoning a child trafficker who did it for EXTRA cash #or shooting+killing a dude who was deliberately poisoning his young kid and wife with a drug similar to street fentanyl #and think he should have his edges rounded out #people who say Jason can afford to be “less violent” #are accidentally “Jason should kill less sob sob urban legends is good” schmucks #which is kinda more pathetic than being his anti like at least they *know* what they're saying #even if he was more rageful like in rh gotham war instead of cold/detached like in utrh I'd have that any day #over cheer Jason's “sob sob bad people dying still has consequences I don't really know how to cope with so rubber bullets see” nonsense #ever since his appearance in batman 408. everything Jason has done #he did knowing exactly why he was doing it and what the consequence(s) would be #he believes the extent of “harm” a person causes is always their choice #and he doesn't do more for the sake of revelling in the pain he causes the way bruce does #but whatever he does do he never tries to sugarcoat or downplay which makes it all the more agreeable #and he certainly doesn’t convince himself he does it out of love or compassion or some other mushy horeseshit #like sorry you're of feeble mind but I'm not a wuss and I think it's very logical and cool lol

[disniq]

Yknow if the speculation actually turns out to be true, I think Vigil is a pretty fitting codename for Jason

because what is this man if not the personification of mourning, a walking reminder that terrible things happen, the embodiment of "Look At Me And Remember"

#jason todd #I'm not gonna speculate because it's DC and we all know they rarely make logical choices #BUT #like i said in my tags on another post #Jason took the Red Hood persona as a weapon #it was a lure for both Bruce and Joker to get them where he wanted them in utrh #and editorial didn't think about after that because they weren't planning on him surviving beyond it #so he's just kinda been stuck with it since #and i don't mean that in a 'he should move on it's not healthy' way because ~comics~ #but more in that Jason is a character that places a lot of importance in symbolism #(see the whole of utrh; changing his mask to a muzzle after Bruce smashed his helmet; using the crowbars etc) #but the Red Hood was the crux of a plan that ultimately *failed* #his options were 1) get Bruce to kill joker 2) make Bruce watch *me* kill the joker or 3) force Bruce to kill me himself #and 4) *failsafe* BLOW US ALL UP #and he was 0 for 4 #i said i wasn't gonna speculate and here i am writing tag essays lmao #point is #the Red Hood name makes everything Jason does relate back to what the joker did to him #but a Vigil is about remembering the victims

[reblogglelog]

I love this page of John Stewart being an architect and leader and really, fucking smart guy. His team and a number of civilians are in a tight spot, but because John can't turn off his big brain Architect Mode he finds a solution. Also, that is a good fucking memory.

And then he just keeps so calm and his situational awareness is just!! Using his degree! His brain!

It's so cool getting to see John be his own person and not just the stoic, reasonable Green Lantern. His brain! I'm giving him chocolate milk.

Bonus under the cut: Bruce being the weird girl on the playground because John is in his city:

#green lantern #green lantern corps #john stewart #i love when he gets to be an architect! #and a very smart man! #and he's funny but not right now #there were some hhhhm interesting choices in this issue but the John writing!! #I'm learning so much more about him and he's just really neat :> #also begs the question does bruce know who john is when he shows up as green lantern? #local bloggles want to know

[boygirltreehouse]

I hate you sanitized batfamily. I hate you clean cut dynamics and quickly resolved conflict through honest and open communication. I hate you erasure of tragedy and complexity and toxicity.

insane ramblings below ⬇️⬇️

#I LIKE THE MESS #they can get along and have their little weekly get togethers and sleep in each others beds and comfort each other and such but its RARE #only some of them are super affectionate w each other and only some of them are open emotionally so that when they are actually getting #along it means more #no household run by bruce fucking wayne is going to be healthy even a little bit #more often than not batfamily affection looks like patching up wounds or covering case file reports or making an excuse to join someone on #their patrol #most of it is indirect bcs none of these mfs know how to express or feel feelings in a way that doesnt involve explosions #THYEV HURT EACH OTHER IN THE PAST AND THATS WHAT MAKES IT FUN!!!!!! #i prefer stephs character with her being treated like shit by even bats that i am a huge fan of bcs it adds layers to their characters #not only does it make them more human but it makes stephs later triumph as batgirl/spoiler all the more meaningful #no more clean pure sanitized found family please #its like that one post where its like the bats have more incommon w a traditional 'blood related' family in the sense that they arent #together by choice or common interest but because of batman and the mission #i like it more when they find love snd understanding of each other within that dynamic #thought bubbles #the haunted house #batfam #batfamily #dc comics

[thedeadthree]

— TAG GAME.

TAGGED BY the dear @marivenah and @leviiackrman to answer a few questions! ty ty so much love!

TAGGING: @feystepped, @griffin-wood, @jendoe, @kingsroad, @chuckhansen, @risingsh0t, @queennymeria, @denerims, @phillipsgraves, @jillvlntine, @morvaris, @aartyom, @minaharkers, @unholymilf, @leviiackrman, @jacobseed, @arklay, @corvosattano, @jackiesarch, @malefiicarum, @pearlcscent, @shellibisshe, @weisshaupts, @shadowglens, @leondaltons, @adelaidedrubman, @florbelles, @belorage, @confidentandgood, @girlbosselrond, @thee-morrigan, @rosebarsoap, @fragilestorm, @lacunafiction, @noonfaerie and you!

THREE SHIPS: inspired by mari <3!

THREE CANON SHIPS: geralt x yennefer, corlys velaryon x rhaenys targaryen, and arianne martell x daemon sand!

THREE OC SHIPS: iovanna dayne x daemon targaryen, edelgard vanderweyden x reese verner, maekar targaryen x aeryal arvel (carolines dear!)

THREE MUTUALS SHIPS: mo @kingsroad's alyse x aegon (they mean the world to me!), ash @unholymilf's iconic varya x roman (forever the moment!), airika @chuckhansen's nina x adam (the loveliest! they're dear to me!)

FIRST SHIP: oo ok ok i want to say my first ship was I think? rajaion and ena from fire emblem path of radiance? that or? selina kyle/catwoman and bruce wayne!

CURRENTLY CONSUMING: an iced coffee ajanjnsk bc i am a responsible adult <3.

CURRENTLY WATCHING: my 3829838th rewatch of house of the dragon <3 am i surprised? nay nay! its not at all for oc lore! (leg says like a liar jnjanj <3)

LAST MOVIE: the batman! <3 and one i recently adored seeing was bullet train as well! (ty ty orion and ash for introducing me bc of ur ocs u dears u!)

LAST SONG: its been stuck in my head all week! the fruits by paris paloma <3

CURRENTLY READING: rereading fernweh saga by the dear aelsa! and fire and blood by george rr martin <3 (leg once again says its bc they want know more of what’s in store for the characters and not for oc lore at all like a liar <3)

CURRENTLY CRAVING: my mom is making sauce so i have pasta on the brain <3

#only if you want to! 🤍🕊 #ahh this was so cute! and lovely to get me back into the swing of things <3 #t: about leg #i would also like to say that all of the ships of my mutuals with their dears are my favorite <3 THEYRE ALL SO GOOD #IYKYK on the fe ship the way ten year old me watching the cutscenes for that game on yt and that scene had me SOBBING #i fully blame my appreciation of tragic/doomed dynamics on them AHH #AND OF COURSEE the one and only duo <3 can cite my brand! my appreciation for enemies/rivals dynamics on them! #(bruce can have two hands for sel and polly bc i said so <3) #AELSA I HAVE BEEN MEANING TO SINCE I READ IT ON RELEASE DAY NEED TO SHRIEK ABOUT FERNWEH I MUST AHH #if y'all haven't yet YOU SHOULD YOU SHOULD i mean it was the loveliest read floored and blown AWAY absolutely STUNNED it was so good! #(but im never not floored by ur talent and its a HIGH honor truly to know u and be mutuals AND GET TO SUPPORT AHH) #my friend wrote an if an it was PUBLISHEDD and u all should read it <3 #AND I SAWWW THE DENIAL ROUTE AND THE PIANO CHOICE I DID I DID AND WHEN I TELLU I SHRIEKED AND WAS SOBBING?? #ill be sure to be sobbing for eternity! R VERNER U MEAN THE WORLD TO ME and j I need to make a dear for them I HAVE TO #I mean????? just their dynamic with the mc I was on the FLOOR u know? and the nightmare scenes!!!!!! my god! the bestest! #ok ok also like...... new song with PEAK una energy that has been living in the psyche rent free that I found in my rec songs <3 FLOORED #''angel' he calls me does he know that im falling from a precipice that I tripped off long ago?' -> #''your so pure' he says does he know im forsaken? the original sinner but soon you'll know for if im going down I guess ill take you w/ me? #LIKE I COULD RECITE ALL OF IT FOR HER BUT UHHH im fine im fine totally really not at all shrieking about una at all from this <3 #two of the top ships that live in my head rent free that are canon being asoiaf ships <3 AAAND THE OC SHIPS they won this year already <3 #AND I MEAN ALWAYS IN MY HEART ALWAYS ON MY MIND Eddie and reese <3 #ok ok im suuper thinking vanna and daemy may be the first piece? this week ive done a lot of thinking of them and..... they <3 #leg.txt #leg.tagged #MO I CANT WAIT TO CATCH UP ON ITR+R GODD THE WAY THEYRE JUST <3 they mean the world to me! #can't wait to yell about them and be floored by ur writing!!!! VARYA ALWAYS IN MY MIND AND NINA AND ADAM ALWAYS ON MY HEART <3 #listen i read the t*wow preview and? ari x daemy? SO GOOD. (and very excited for caro's dears lilyana x daemy he deserves it! he's lovely!)

[iron-sides]

been thinking lately about what kind of parent i think bruce is. and i think the thing is. i dont necessarily interpret him as deliberately going out of his way to hurt his kids, right? i think its just a matter of priorities and that they arent that high on his list. gotham will always come first, then the mission, then his morals, then the kids' wellbeing. and i think part of that is that-- because of robin-- he never really sees or treats them like kids.

they are his partners, and that makes them soldiers to him first, people second. he is their field commander before he is their father and thats why its okay to him to lie to them and to hit dick and to fuck them up psychologically. because it is for the good of the mission. because they arent his kids theyre his men. he'll take care of them but in the way a captain takes care of his soldiers. he doesnt want them to be injured not because he hates to see them hurt but because it takes them off the field. he sees gotham as a warzone and in batmans eyes (because bruce wayne hasn't been more than a vehicle for batman since that fateful night) nothing can take priority.

i think thats in large part why he struggles so much as they grow up. if they're growing into adults that means at one point they weren't adults. which means they were children. which means he should never have allowed them on the field. i do find it fascinating that the only child who he was present for their growing out of robin was dick. jason was with the league, and when tim gave up the mantle he was presumed dead. steph never got along as well with him as robin because she was no child and therefore did not take orders like one: she had already reached the point where things begin to go wrong.

i dunno this is all conjecture but i do find this to be his problem. it's not that he doesn't care because he does! he does! but because alfred was never truly a father to him he doesnt know how to be a father, only an army general.

#my thots #bruce wayne neg #idk how to tag this so im not going to #anti-batman #idk i think a lot of his actions and choices make more sense if he sees gotham as a warzone himself as the general and the kids as his #soldiers #and i use the word men deliberately and gender-neutrally btw! #its a whole other post but i think theres a lot to be said for his characterization wrt batgirl and this 'army' thing #i definitely think duke cass and babs dodged a massive bullet tho by not being robin formally #i mean duke was robin in the sense of like we are robin but. you know #bc i think this is very amplified by how closely batman and robin work together #and this is SO interrelated to my opinion that cass or helena would both be better at being batman. bc they dont do this shit #i also think this is tied to his trend of being far more violent when he doesnt have a robin? #like i think that since to him its a warzone. he feels justified in using whatever means necessary to 'ensure he gets home' #nevermind his armor superior weapons and superior skill #i do think it's impossible to read batman as anything other than a metaphor for police violence. well i mean you could but i don't #there's def a conversation to be had regarding hood v batman and similarity to cops but i think batman resembles one far more than hood #even if hood does kill people he doesn't do it the way cops do #but batmans violence without an emotional support child to hold him back.... well. #anyway that's a whole other post lol

[martyrbat]

choices – batman: haunted knight

[ID: Bruce Wayne leaning over to kiss a woman as the Bat-signal shines brightly outside his window. Bruce, while still kissing the woman, secretly opens his eyes to stare at the beacon that signifies his help is needed. END ID]

#the woman is planning to kill him but thats unimportant rn #love this comic. i think the whole haunted knight trilogy is mostly good but i love any comic that reflects on bruces intense drive to help #others and how it pairs against bruces intense desire to have a life and someone to hold and to be at peace #like with the cowl on or off his stupid bleeding heart is always going to impact what he does and wants. #just he keeps sacrificing his own personal happiness again and again to guarantee others get their chance at it and a normal life #anyways. love u bruce. sorry u hate yourself while also having a weird gay thing going on with your bat persona. #c: batman: haunted knight | choices #crypt's panels #bruce wayne #bruce's dating disasters #<- it counts!!

[starlooove]

The reason timtam is superior is bc there’s no way to ship that and not realize how pathetic and lame tim is

#as always #I like canon asshole tim who’s a bit too arrogant for his own good #and he thinks he’s being forced into positions where he has to take drastic measures when literally everybody is telling him no #the issue is that y’all think he’s actually being forced into said positions and react as if everyone is responsible for controlling him #as if they fucking can that’s like the point #his stubbornness is supposed to be one of his best traits but y’all act like he has no choice but to do what he does and that ruins it #NO #it was batshit crazy to go and be Robin like that #it was stupid to keep backtalking Jason as he was getting beat #it was insane to go after Bruce without taking any measures besides telling dick about a hunch #that’s the cool part #it’s not cool that y’all act like ppl reacting realistically to these scenarios is some big sad sobfest that Tim can barely handle #anyways enough tim positivity #Tam sees crazy shit happening and knows she should mind her business #no she really truly honestly does she swears #….but it’s kind of exciting right? #THATS WHY I LOVE HER #she gets dragged along to do stupid shit but will not actively leave when she gets the chance #BUT she will make it known that she thinks whatever is happening is stupid #she WILL bitch and complain about everything whilst actively participating anyways #if she had half a penny for everytime someone said some variation of ‘why are you even here’ or ‘ok just leave them’ #she’d be twice as rich as Lex Luthor himself #god I love tam #I love the foxfam bring them back #omg au where foxfam adopts Duke and Damian #WAIIIIT #omg I don’t know my moots name #MY FAVE TOXIC DAMIAN STAN #THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW SOMEONE SHOULD LOOK AT HOW FUCKED UP DAMIAN IS BEING TREATED AND BE LIKE ‘ur not an asshole ur traumatized’ #FOXFAM! omg I’m stuck between luke and tiff. OR EVEN JACE?? Omg it’d be crazy if it was Lucius. making a post rn I swear omg

[vigilantaes]

batgirl brainrot

#bbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrr #i wanna write my hcs on her complicated relationships #with the batfam #especially Bruce #some of the new 52 panels talk about how he still sees the weapon she was meant to be and doesn't fully trust her because of it #and it hurts her more than she can ever say #hmmmmmmhhhhgggghhh #also wanna write about my cass's time-line of events since mine ends up drifting more from Bruce and has her duo with cassie #and there's that huge can of worms with shiva where mine accepts her training in her mid to late 20s #which is an unpopular choice to say the least #but boy does it actually get that number one spot for best fighter #also her growing conflict with Bruce's no killing rule especially when everybody around her who isn't a bat #will kill if they have to they're not cruel they're not evil in fact some of them are the definition of good #and cass feels guilty about not feeling bad when these terrible people die #when the reality is that she never got a choice to build her own views on anything #especially that #it was always killing is your job to never kill no matter what #realizing she's in that grey..... needless to say thats rough for her when shes been operating on purely the guilt of her first kill for so #long #Bruce runs on guilt and vengeance and justice #cass really just runs on guilt and necessity because she never got a choice to try something else #and by the time she's questioning this no kill shit she's.... long paid her debts in her head. saved so many more lives #being around shiva doesn't help either since she's so lax with killing and death #and she isn't making her kill. she's all about choice and though she'll never be the best mother #what she truly wants is to give cass the freedom to do whatever she wants which is something she's never had #she straight up told canary she doesn't care what she does with this knowledge she just wanted to pass it down #and cass would use it for good as much as she possibly can #she sees her mother heal the same way she hurts and that potential is just too good to pass up #the MORAL CONFLICT OF IT ALL!!! #ooc.

[badnewbie]

do you think fucking Batman would fix Joker? or make him even worse somehow?

#batman stuff #portrait of me provided by @artist-l-e back in 2018 #bet ya didn't think i had held on to this huh #anyway this is not meant to be a flippant response! i got caught up in trying to define 'fixing' #real answer: it depends on how you define what a fix would be #if you want joker to start holding different opinions about the world this would not fix him. if anything he'd be validated #if we're looking for practical output in terms of decreasing homicides i'd say it depends on if joker would regard it as a disruption #of the status quo or a continuation of it #i'd say joker is above all invested in keeping the status quo. what he does is not a mean to an end to get batman's attention #it's exactly how he wants to live his life. it's a conscious choice that he makes over and over #the dance with batman IS the meaning that he's given to his life #fucking could be part of the dance. it could also mean an end to it. i'd say it also really depends on what bruce's intention behind it is #personally i'd say no matter how they eventually get there there is no other end to their relationship than death #and then i got caught up in my personal opinion which resulted in the above comic: to me there's nothing to fix #i can't really regard him in terms of fixability because as is he serves the role in the narrative that i want him to play #the appeal of the joker is that he's an evil gay murderclown who is above all else happy #how could you fix a man who enjoys life this much?

[velociraptorsaurusrex]

the tragedy inherent to the superhero genre is extremely compelling it’s just that comic/film/tv creators these days fundamentally misunderstand what that inherent tragedy IS… where it comes from, why it’s interesting, what to do with it… they don’t get it & ultimately ofc most of them don’t really care.

#i am ofc thinking abt bruce 1st n foremost AS USUAL. #and bruce & jason obviously… #tragedy is so good so applicable to the superhero genre but no1 wants to do it the way it ought to be done….. #Batman is a tragic figure his whole life is a tragedy. #he’s out there fighting anyway though bc despite it all he believes in goodness & in a better future #EVEN THOUGH it will not only ultimately result in his demise/general downward spiral but is ALREADY actively causing problems #his relationships with his kids... bruce & dick are tragedy bruce & jason are especially tragedy bruce & tim are tragedy. etc #in general bruce as a dad is tragedy. #it’s about. fighting to make a better world. or fighting to be a parent. and believing in goodness & being kind and continuing on #when it has and does and will continue to result in more trauma and failure #but putting in the work anyway. #loving someone so much but not being able to fix/support a ‘real’ or healthy relationship bc of your circumstances. #which in many ways cannot be changed objectively but in just as many ways cannot be changed out of one’s own choices #doomed as a hero because the very fight you choose & believe in is what will kill/otherwise destroy you/your quality of life/relationships. #things which you could never have in the first place bc you were always going to end up in the fight/traumatized anyway. #relationships which are doomed only because of how deep the love runs. #this is not like super coherent. but do you get me here. do you understand. #HAL AND PARALLAX AND SPECTRE ALSO DONT THINK I FORGOT ABOUT THAT #AND CAROL. #it’s 1:30 am #dc

[bittwitchy]

the most unfortunate thing about reeves universe being separately contained is that we probably wont get clark which means the majority of bruces fruitiness is gonna be confined to harvey

#now get o/scar i/saac as harvey #the unfortunste thing abt no clark tho si that rob would fucking eat sup/erbat UP #if i trusted anyone ever to do b/atcat and s/uperbat in one universe #and maybe even potentially bring in my ultimate dream of the polycule aka bruceselinaclarklois altogether in a cule #it would be rob #bc he doesnt really gaf abt other ppls choices so hes the prime person to play those relationships #bc hes not capable of being against them so he’ll just go along for the ride #ah. such a shame #still a possibility we could have bruce/harvey/selina tho #which i prefer over bruce/talia/selina #mostly bc i havent trusted any writer w talia in y e a r s tho #but also talias wanted to murder selina too many times and whilst im into that its also like leave selina alone #whereas harvey doesnt even teally want to hurt people it just sort of happens #and he mostly just wanted to be bruces sugar baby so #like harvey is a delicate subject always but he doesnt want to do it usually #and thats the issue #he just wants control and to take advantage of things and get ahead in life and better the world in the ways only men would think help when #doesnt st all bc ofc he does

[pokeberry5]

the classic body builder physique jiménez gives dick is SO funny to me because it makes him look so female love interest coded, complete with unreasonable hour glass figure and booty-out poses

like ok i'm gonna start with a comparison between how he draws dick vs how he draws selina

there's that same!! exaggerated curve at the waist

the rest under the cut bc this is gonna be long—i'm pulling mostly from batman (2016) #137-138 (i've been keeping up with gotham war lmao)

he gives them the same sort of broad shoulders that taper down into a tiny waist

FURTHER, this is technically where dick's pecs are in comparison to selina's curves:

HOWEVER something about the way jiménez draws dick's lats also creates a curve lower down his torso that mimics the shape of selina's tits:

this exaggerated tiny waist is even more striking in comparison to how he draws other male characters

like don't get me wrong, he definitely favors a broad shoulder to slimmer waist sort of build, but never to the extent he goes with dick

take bruce and tim from the same chapters:

their shoulder to waist to hip ration is a lot more equal, they've got much more of an rectangular build, the curve in at the waist/hips is gentle

and i swear jiménez chooses poses to exaggerate dick's tiny waist (not quite booty-out poses but the same sort of vibe)

like????

SIR??????

this sort of twisted side pose to show off the tiny waist is extremely reminiscent of the contorted poses comic artists put female love interests in

take this side by side comparison with a panel from nightwing (1995) #1 (i read it recently so it was on my mind):

there's even!!! the drawn back arm highlighting that inward curve!!

AND THEN

the booty out poses!!!

rip his back honestly

like i'm pretty sure the design choice was actually to emphasize he broad shoulders and show off his nightwing symbol, but imo all it does is makes his waist look tiny

tldr: strong female character dick grayson ig

Ok as thanks for getting to the end, gratuitous batcooch:

and a tiny dick sketch

#dick grayson #dc #red talks #this was driving me nuts so i had to put it somewhere #did i buy a copy of batman 138 for these exact panels? have i purposefully used jiménez's dick grayson as reference before? maybe so! #too tired to draw so yall get this instead