#drawing alfred was a lot of fun here

[tiajk]

Here are the black batsis head cannons

warnings: crack, Love lots of it, shitty parents, sibling bonds, things that only make sense to black people, so sad racism, your a vigal i’m this

This is one of the things you guys voted so here you

So for the sake of the plot you are very very african like you have the accent and everything (it can be whatever you imagination chooses light heavy whatever ) bruce had known you through a drug deal he had busted your father he's was selling drugs when bruce chases him all the way to your apartment your home he had found your mother overdosed your father now where to be found and you just sleeping in the room

You waking up when you feel a certain caped crusader watching you in your sleep

When gordon and the police came they took your mother to the hospital she didn't make it your father they caught him at the bar and he is going to prison for the rest of his life

Gordon knows he has a thing for kids that need a home

You had gone home with im the next day and had been apart of the batfam ever since

You had been adopted right after Jason so that made you the first girl (before he died) Dick was 17 Jason was 12 you were 11

You and dick weren’t that close because of the age gap but he made it work he visited the manor more for you and Jason like going on missions together and dropping you off to school you made fun of his red head fetish a lot tho

you and Jason were the closet because of your age but you guys shared some of the same interest reading is the most common one. something you guys do a lot is trade books you will read his stuff and he’ll read your it’s like a little book club

now you and tim were very rough at first of course you were mourning jason’s death and tim comes along it was alot,for you but you loved him no matter what

Damian….when you guys met he thought you were like everyone else unimpressive and unimportant but you treated him the same way it only lasted for a week when he saw you in the garden drawing the scenery a way to relax but you guys relate to each other the most because your both not white it’s connects you guys more

Stephanie and you were close asf she was always in love with who you are and your confidence you guys would always have girl days with cass ofc she would do you make-up a lot she wants to experiment because the boys are all the same and Damian won’t let her (unless you ask him)

now you and cass when she came to the manor she didn’t talk much and your were just fine neither that you were her voice in situations and when she started to talk you were so proud of her you always helped her no matter what

NOW U AND DUKE WERE LOCKED INN you guys are the only African-american people in the house so y’all just did things that made sense to you guys like taking your shoes off in the house, WASHING the chicken before you season it but anyways whenever the family said some where people things y’all gave each other the “I know he didn’t just say/do that” the family doesn’t understand for example one time it was your birthday your 21st birthday you had 2 of the biggest and i mean biggest party possible the first one was for bruce’s friends and all the fake bitches that were only there for money and show themselves off

the second party was for your friends and siblings like the justice leagues kids and every true friend you’ve grown to love over the years after cleaning the party you guys would hear a noise from down the hall jason and his bright mine said let’s go check it out before the rest of the fam could find you two y’all had already bolted sure you were vigilantes but you were not doing no scary shit tonight

Alfred he loved you with all his heart dont tell the others but your his favorite he teaches you how to cook his food and you can do it perfect your the only one who hasn’t and ever will get a ban from the kitchen

Bruce and you weren’t always the nicest to each other but you love each other to death your just like him a workaholic and doesn’t take brakes unless there needs to be sometimes not even Alfred can pull you away but bruce comes and carry’s you like the little girl he wish you still were you TRY and i mean TRY to teach him how to cook it’s terrible tho

Selina was like your mother too you she thought you how to be strong like nothing else you guys went on a few heist together she always listens to you when no one else does she’s always there for you

One thing that the batfam will do for any and all is protect one another from racism,villains anything

you also got flirted with a lot by wally,roy, anything that could lay there eyes on you and they all hated it

#tiajk #batfam x batsis reader #batfam x reader #black coded reader #black reader

[batbabydamian]

Batman and Robin (2023) #1 is out!! 🦇💕

Spoilers and lots of rambling below

Loved hopping in mid-mission with Bruce and Damian banter - the first issues of Damian's B&R 2009 and 2011 runs have Batman and Robin’s relationship on a rocky start, so it’s a refreshing change!

Bruce rhyming with the pause like he’s really thinking about it LOL he's having fun!!

"You roll your eyes just like your mother" SO CUUTE!! a nice way of relating Damian to Talia in a habit haha (would also be neat if Damian had some of his mom's physical features heehee...haha...) Also "it's just us here for a bit." Would anyone else from the batfam be staying there in the future? 🤔

OKAY really want to delve into Damian cutting Bruce off here, since we're mostly in Bruce's POV atm.

Bruce saying that he's happy Damian chose to live with him seems to impose the idea Damian chose Bruce over Talia. From how Bruce thought Talia should "never claim Damian" i don't think that's something Damian wants to hear, especially after Damian already chose not to be on either of his parent's side!!

Batman VS Robin (2022) #4

In the end of his Robin book, Damian says he's still figuring out who he is, so i'm wondering if he's conflicted about losing that independence of being able to carve a path of his own now that he's with Bruce again. Either way, Damian's (VERY CUTE!!) self insert AU story gives us a glimpse of his concerns about his parents and not getting to be a teenager 🥺

ANYWAY. OBSESSED WITH THIS!! HIS COMIC THUMBNAILS!! THE RANDOM ANIME EYES IN THE CORNER!! WELCOME BACK ARTIST DAMIAN 😭

EXPRESSING HIMSELF THROUGH DRAWING FROM GORE/HORROR TO FAMILY/OBSERVATIONS TO EXPERIMENTING WITH MANGA/COMICS!! ALL SO VALID AND WONDERFUL 😭

Damian quoting Alfred and probably cooking something he used to make for him?? i'm crying

Detective Comics (2016) Annual #4

We've really gone from Damian just leaving a reminder for Bruce to restock the fridge to Damian cooking breakfast for the both of them 🥺

THIS IS MY FAV PANEL IN THIS ENTIRE ISSUE LOL fav just eating well, cheeks full of food, so cute!! and Damian sounds like he's referring to when Bruce enrolled him to the school in Metropolis lol Though Bruce's reason was also to benefit Damian, he's better communicating that this time!

Super Sons (2017) #10

LOVE DAMIAN'S ROBIN MOBILE!! glad he's moved on from the batmobile and just got his own - it's very much the opposite too in how it's bright, open, and bulky where the batmobile's dark and sleek!

The last part of the issue showcases Di Meo's action! i was pretty worried about it, because when i first saw his interiors for DC VS Vampires (2021) i barely understood what was happening im so sorry sir 😭 Honestly, it was still jarring but much better! HUGE shoutout to their Letterer Steve Wands, because the SFX and dialogue placement improved the flow a lot!

Final thoughts: GORGEOUS ART, FUN WRITING, I LOVE DAMIAN!! i'm analyzing way too much but i'm just so happy to have an ongoing with Damian again (with a writer that actually! likes him!) 😭 i also think Williamson's getting a better grasp on Damian's voice in this book compared to Robin, since Damian sounded more casual than normal there lol

My hopes are we get those fun stylized panels of Damian's art/comics where we get insight on his headspace similar to the shoujo panels from Robin!! Reunion of Damian and his pets!! And it's still early, but still holding out for Williamson to keep to his word on this!! 👀

#rambling #jfc i didnt expect this to get so long i really thought i was just gonna gush over how adorable Damian is in this issue LOL

[stirringwinds]

Hello hello! I have an ask request for you, if you fancy- Please reblog/ repost your favourite fic or art of yours, or one that you're proud of and let us know why 🙏

thank you so much for this interesting question! i have a lot of favourites, so it was hard to pick, but i'll talk about this one:

The caption for this one was: 'Father had an empire / Stretched down from the heavens / To the depths of hell… / Now those days are gone, / Now you have the heavens, / All that lies beyond, / And all the hope I claim / Since leaving me undone. / You have my hands — forgive me. / You are your father’s son.'

This is one of my favourites because I love digging into the tug-of-war that goes on between Arthur and Alfred so much—between being bound together as father and son (and the moments of sentiment and tenderness that did exist amidst their dysfunctional relationship), king and crown prince—and the sort of Titanomachy vibe of being rivals. Titanomachy because well, that's the story of the old gods being overthrown by the new generation of gods in a war to decide who would have dominion over the universe. And that's very symbolic of their relationship, especially after 1945 which really hammers in the changing of the guard. Alfred doesn't quite slay his old man (unlike how some other older nations might have)...but it's a real generational change. A real relinquishment of power that wasn't without some prideful bitterness and scorn on Arthur's part, inasmuch as Arthur always favoured Alfred amongst his children, and begged for Alfred's help during the darkest days of WWII.

One thing I quite enjoyed was redesigning the back of Alfred's jacket from canon—instead of the US Army Air Force jacket, this is a Navy G1 flight jacket, because I headcanon Alfred as a naval aviator during WWII in the Pacific. The USS Yorktown was named after the Battle of Yorktown during the American Revolution (as most of you know)—and was a real aircraft carrier that played a pretty crucial role in several pivotal battles like Coral Sea and Midway against the Imperial Japanese Navy. It felt very apt, because Lord Father (tm) himself rose to power as a maritime empire—and here is Alfred, marrying sea and air power to seize the very power of the sun (stars produce light and heat through nuclear reactions after all).

After all, the boast of global British seapower decisively sank underneath the waves at Singapore in 1941 with the destruction of the Repulse and Prince of Wales at the hands of the Japanese. Alfred doesn’t have a title but...in spirit, that’s kind of who he is to Arthur. His heir. There’s some irony going on with Arthur’s deliverance being him. Composition-wise, I had fun with putting Arthur next to Alfred—but in the shadow— the sun sets on the British Empire after all, but at the end of the day, it's the crown prince growing out of his father's shadow and stepping into his shoes. Yes, I am a bit heavy-handed 😂 but all the same—I absolutely love drawing Arthur and Alfred together, because there’s so much to depict with the competing and fascinating strands making up their dynamic.

#hetalia #hws america #hws england #rainbowfruitpastilles #lord father and the crown prince #(or) #garbagedad and trashson

[batbigbang]

Bat Big Bang: cracked but still salvageable

Author: @luxaofhesperides Artist(s): @fallen-jpg @minnow-doodle-doo

Rating: General Audiences Ao3 Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationship(s): Tim Drake & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Alfred Pennyworth, Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Original Character(s) Key Characters: Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson, Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd, Original Characters Summary: Jason had a garden. Jason had a garden that’s been locked away and forgotten about. No one will notice if he goes there. It's probably much worse than just going into any of Jason's rooms, but Jason had brought the garden back into bloom after Martha Wayne's death. Tim could probably do the same. It would be a good way of keeping Jason's memory alive. That is, if Tim can find it.

Or: Tim, in an effort to distract himself from the loss of his parents, decides to tackle the heavy grief haunting the halls of Wayne Manor after Jason's death. And in pulling a family together again, finds that he, too, has a place in it. Word Count: 81,939

Author’s Notes: it's here!!! the secret garden au thats been spinning around my head for almost a full year!!! this was a lot of fun to write and getting to work w my artists has been a joy. hopefully you'll all enjoy this just as much!! everyone thank my wonderful beta gremlinRy for catching all my typos and getting me to slow my roll on how sad i made tim.  and be sure to give my artists lots of love!! fallen-jpg and minnow-doodle-doo have created some absolutely stunning pieces for this fic and i am beyond happy to have been chosen by them for this big bang <3

Fallen-jpg Artist's Notes: This is my first time ever doing anything like this and it was really fun! Thank you luxaofhesperides for creating a beautiful story - I knew I wanted to draw it the moment I read the summary.

Minnow-doodle-doo Artist's Notes: When I choose this fic, I knew that Jason would be a ghost, and in the fic he is he haunts every word, every action. I wanted to illustrate that he was corporal, not just a specter. Tim who never knew Jason, thinks that they could've been friends, and that they could've shared the secret garden. Thank you Aryelee for being such an amazing writer. Go read it please.

READ ON AO3

#2023 bat big bang #batfam #tim drake #damian wayne #alfred pennyworth #dick grayson #bruce wayne #jason todd

[themurderofcrowscollective]

Ok hear me out

Bruce with photo albums that serves also as a 'Before and After' and a reminder of how far he's come. Like in the early pictures are just the very few photos that Bruce had with his mother and father, as well as pics of Alfred, but really that's it because they were taken from him as a kid (obviously) and then nothing. Just two pages with four photos of Bruce and Alfred, but then on the next page after the two, there's a picture of Dick when he first got here. He really wanted to have a good photo to mark the day of his arrival and Bruce included Alfred in the photo too. Then more photos of Bruce, Dick and Alfred during the following years, and then BAM! A photo of Jason's first arrival! Such a young lad too. After Jason's death though, Bruce stopped taking pictures and there's also a drawing of Bruce standing in front of a window that Dick drew. And then Tim comes along, opening up Bruce's heart again and brightening things up again. More photos of fun times start to arrive, then a picture of Jason returning home after a while which is just him and Bruce hugging it out. Then the next two photos consist of Jason and Bruce being crushed in a hug by Dick and Tim, and then Alfred joining in too cause YAAAA!! The book gets filled to the brim with photos of new additions to the family, the fun nights of patrol and the summer vacations spent together, the holidays get more fun... then there comes another book worth of photos. And then another. And another. And finally the fifth photo album. When Bruce gets sad or questions himself as a father figure, he spends a lot of time in his study with those photo albums to remind himself that he's doing his best which is a lot better than in the past. Sometimes his kids take the albums and look at all of them though, for a bit of insight on Bruce and his early years of being a dad.

#batfam #batfamily #batfamily headcanons #batdad #batfam headcanons #batkids

[maccreadysbaby]

A Hundred Days to Become a Wayne

batfamily + oc insert

tw: vague mentions of abuse

wanna start from chapter one or read more? here’s the table of contents!

jason is in this one for like a hot second being fairly nice yay

part eleven

❝ TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD? ❞

MONDAY — 5:57PM

“YOU CAN ONLY PUT DOWN A CARD FROM YOUR HAND IF IT MATCHES THE COLOR OR NUMBER ON TOP OF THE DECK,” Dick explained carefully, shuffling the cards in his hands like some fancy casino man. Bentley watched in quiet fascination as he skillfully weaved the cards between his fingers.

It was nearing nightfall. Damian and Duke had returned from school hours ago, each one disappearing to different parts of the Manor to work on schoolwork that they had to do at home, which Bentley found strange. He’d slept in a little late, but spent most of his time awake doing tricks with Titus and letting Dick teach him how to play various games they kept around the house. Bruce was working in his office, Alfred was everywhere and nowhere, and Tim was still holed up in his bedroom after getting told he couldn’t go to work with a fever that high. (How high, Bentley wasn’t sure, but Alfred had seemed adamant about it.)

Bruce had left Bentley’s bedroom sometime around six that morning. Bentley felt him pick him up and put him back at the top of the bed ever-so-gently, and felt his hand land on his head and stay there for a few beats. And then his footsteps faded out of the room. He probably had to get ready for work by then, the child assumed.

The whole night before (or morning, he guessed.) had been very strange. Bentley had been doing things around the Wayne’s all along that would set his father off, like crying, or admitting he was tired, but literally reaching out for someone after having a bad dream? His father probably would’ve hit him so hard he went through the floor. Bentley never reached out for his father, even if he was there. Bentley never reached out for anybody. Because it only gained him pain. He didn’t know what had gotten into him the night before to make him act like such a… child.

But Bruce had not only let the kid hold onto his sleeve like some kind of weird leech, but he held him. Literally held him. While he was crying and everything. And then stayed there for, like, an hour and a half and just kept holding him until he was confident enough that he could go back downstairs. Bentley’s father had never done anything like that.

And it made Bentley feel really weird that he ended up liking it so much. Especially with a stranger like Bruce. He was still a stranger, wasn’t he?

He tried not to compare Bruce to his father too much. It made him kind of sad.

But, nightmare or no nightmare, it had been a pretty nice day. Bruce hadn’t said anything about last night, and he was grateful. He’d had a pretty blissful time (attempting) to not think about it. He did notice, however, that Bruce seemed to keep a watchful eye on him when Alfred brought him down for breakfast after the others had left for school. Not the kind of watchful eye his father used to dawn, though, that made him nervous and fidgety. It was different. He couldn’t really place why.

“When you have one card left in your hand, you say uno. It’s Spanish for one,” Dick explained, dealing them each seven cards. “If you can’t put anything down, you draw one from the deck.”

They were sitting in the downstairs den, facing each other on one of the long couches — the same den they’d watched the documentary about cats in. The bright golden sunset was shining through the curtains and illuminating the room nicely. Bentley had the game instructions (aka, a wildly stained and crumbled piece of paper.) sitting in front of him so he could read what each of the special cards did. Alfred (the cat) was sitting behind Bentley, curled against his back and purring. Titus had been in there with them earlier but bee-lined out of the room when he heard Damian arrive home.

He had been having a lot of fun letting Dick teach him classic games, as he called them. His father didn’t own games.

Dick placed the deck face-down and drew the first one off the top, laying it right side up on the couch between them.

Red five.

Bentley scanned the cards in his hand, and after a moment, put down a red two.

“Like that?” He questioned, adjusting the cards in his hand.

“Yep, just like that,” Dick put a red three on top of it, so Bentley put a blue three on top of that.

Bentley had considered putting his father’s plan in motion that morning. When it was just him and Tim upstairs, before he went down for breakfast. 

Hit your targets when they’re at their weakest, his father’s voice had echoed in his head. Hit them when they least expect it from you. 

It would have been an ideal time to go twist some words and shove them into Tim’s head, when he was sick and feverish and vulnerable. Bentley even had a plan for this sort of thing — it was easy to plant doubt in people simply by asking them questions, and who had more questions than the child that just got brought into the house two days ago? It was the perfect excuse to ask him all kinds of things about Bruce and his real parents. (Neglect was the word in Bentley’s father’s file, but he didn’t really know what that word meant.) 

But, for some reason, Bentley felt bad just thinking about it. 

So he didn’t. He’d get his father’s plan done, he would. Just not today. He was only three days in anyhow, he had ninety-seven more.

After a moment of silence, Dick groaned dramatically and drew a card from the deck. “Already backing me into a corner. This is what happens every time I play with Damian.”

After realizing Dick wasn’t going to put a card down, Bentley put a blue skip on top of his three, then a green skip, then a green 2x, which supposedly meant Dick had to draw cards and lose his turn.

“Has he been tutoring you?” He mumbled as he drew a pair of cards. Bentley smiled lightly and put down a green five.

“Uno,”

“I literally have nine cards,”

“Grayson,” Bentley jumped when a third voice echoed from behind them, turning to glance at Damian, whose arms were crossed. He was still in his neatly pressed school uniform, the same one Bentley had seen in his father’s photos. Something about him was different. A little tense, maybe, like Bentley’s father got when he was annoyed. Titus was by his side. “Drake is requesting your presence in a rather dramatic manner.”

Dick creased his brow, rising from the couch. “Okay, cover for me,” He stated, shoving his fan of cards in Damian’s hands as he passed on his way out of the room.

Damian made a tt sound, before heading over to the couch and taking Dick’s seat. Titus jumped up next to him, settling on the cushions. “He’s losing terribly, I see.”

Damian placed a green five on top of the pile, and Bentley huffed. His last card was a yellow nine. 

“Is he okay?” Bentley questioned quietly, drawing a card off of the top of the deck.

“Drake? He will be fine,” Damian stated, laying a green two down. “He often lets his physical condition get the better of him.”

Bentley put down a green four. “Uno.”

Damian laid down a 4x. Bentley drew his four cards and Damian laid down a red two. “I see you’ve become an adequate companion to the animals in my absence.”

Bentley glanced back at the cat. “I like them.”

“They enjoy being around you, as well.”

Both boys glanced up when Bruce whizzed past the door in a black blur, disappearing in the same direction Dick had.

Bentley still didn’t understand why this family flocked to one another when someone was sick.

Bentley put down a red reverse, then a red skip, then a red seven. Damian put down a red five, and Bentley put down a yellow five. “Uno.”

Damian put down a yellow three and Bentley put down his yellow nine, successfully emptying his hand of cards. 

Damian made the tt sound again. “I only lost because of Grayson’s incompetence,” He muttered, gathering up the cards and shuffling them. 

Over the next little while, they played a few more games. Bentley ended up with two wins and Damian with three.

“Boys,”

They both glanced back at the doorway, where Bruce was standing. “Dick and I are taking Tim to the doctor,” He stated flatly, eyeing Damian only a little bit weird, like he knew something Bentley didn’t. “I’m not sure how long we’ll be gone, but Alfred is making dinner.”

“Alright,” Damian replied blankly. Bentley nodded, and Bruce smiled at them, disappearing just as fast as he appeared.

Bentley wondered if Tim was actually sick, or if it was some secret superhero thing he wasn’t supposed to know about.

They were gone for a long time. Damian, Duke, and Bentley ate dinner with Alfred, and they watched something about fish, and then they scattered to go to bed, and Bruce, Dick, and Tim still weren’t back.

And it was storming. Which wasn’t a big deal. Why would it be a big deal? It wasn’t.

It was pitch black outside now, and rain was violently pelting the side of the house, creating an unsettlingly loud layer of white noise. The minutes on his clock seemed to drag on way longer than usual — it had been 10:58pm for at least twenty minutes now.

It wasn’t a big deal is what Bentley kept saying to himself from his spot on his bed. Every time the thunder cracked, he leaped out of his skin. It was his second night in a row clutching the covers of his bed in the dark. 

Why did this have to be happening right now?

So long as you stay scared, you’re weak, Bentley’s father’s voice resurfaced again. Whittakers aren’t weak.

He buried his face in his pillow and stayed like that for a while.

Thunderstorms had never mixed well with him. When he was younger it was screaming and crying, but now, it was just a combination of biting his tongue and trembling because the other things had been trained out of him. (Mostly.)

Maybe if he pretended to be fine, no one would know. No one would swing the door open and call him pathetic and hit him with the first thing they could get in their hand.

That’s what his father always did.

The thunder was just getting louder, to the point where it was rumbling the bed under him. He found himself stifling little sounds of fear at the sharp and sudden crack! that kept slicing through the air. 

He was fine.

But every time the thunder rumbled, and the lightning flashed, he imagined his father ripping his bedroom door open. He ended up putting his head under the covers so he stopped watching his door to wait for his dad. He was at the Manor. 

A particularly loud crack sounded, and he almost leaped off the bed because he could’ve swore he heard the door fly open.

But when the next flash of lightning came, it was closed. He was alone. It was just him in there, and he needed…

To get out. He needed to get out of the bedroom. It was too much like his.

He shakily pushed himself off of the bed, inching toward the door silently. Surely the unending rain and terrible thunder would cover up any creaks he made.

He wasn’t going to bother anybody — not Alfred, or Damian, or Duke. They were all probably sound asleep. Instead, he just needed to find somewhere to go. Somewhere where the storm might not be so loud. On the first floor, maybe?

Fear was just about the only thing propelling him forward as he made his way down the dim hall, heading toward the stairs. Every bit of common sense that would tell him not to traverse a multi-million dollar mansion at night was lost. The lights were on downstairs, but he didn’t hear anyone. So he kept taking it one step at a time. He continued into the empty entryway where the front door was, turning quickly into the first room he saw.

It was a library. Dimly lit by a few precariously placed lamps, it reminded him somewhat of home. The walls were lined floor to ceiling with bookshelves, multicolored spines giving the room a fantasy kind of feel. There was a fireplace at the front of the room that wasn’t on, and furniture spread around the large room into various sitting spaces.

And no windows.

He sighed lightly and walked inside, climbing up on a couch that sat against the wall. He pulled his knees up and rested his head on them. Maybe he could wait out the storm here and go back up without Bruce, or Alfred, or Dick, or anybody noticing. Thunder cracked but it wasn’t as shrill as it had been upstairs.

“I’m pretty sure Bruce didn’t have a redhead last time I was here,”

Bentley yelped in surprise when a voice emanated from the other side of the room. He anxiously traced every piece of furniture until he found the silhouette of who was speaking, holed up in an armchair in the corner, reading a book.

Jason Todd. Bentley knew as soon as he saw the white tuft of hair that stuck out at the front of his head. He was perched in the chair in sweats like he’d been here forever, even though Bentley never even knew he came inside the manor. 

“You must be Bentley,”

He only nodded, his face turning a bit pink from his sudden outburst. Maybe Jason couldn’t see it in the dim room.

“I’m Jason,”

Bentley said nothing. 

“Running from the storm?”

Bentley still didn’t say anything, glancing the opposite way. He was pretty sure that question didn’t actually need to be answered, because he was curled up on a couch and trembling in the middle of the night when he should be asleep. Not really the way he wanted to meet Red Hood.

He heard Jason shift slightly. “Me too.”

Bentley glanced over at him. Surely the Red Hood wasn’t afraid of thunder. He still stayed silent, wrapping his arms around his knees and resting his chin on them. He flinched when the thunder cracked again, and he was hoping Jason didn’t notice, but he could feel his eyes from the other end of the room anyways.

How many Waynes did he need to embarrass himself in front of before he learned his lesson?

He huffed, leaning lightly on the arm of the couch. A few silent moments later and it thundered again, and to Bentley’s horror, he made a weird squeak in the back of his throat.

“Atticus said to Jem one day, "I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird." That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it. "Your father’s right," she said. "Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corn cribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

Bentley glanced over at Jason strangely. He was still reading his book just like he had been, expression and position unchanged. What was he trying to do?

“‘Miss Maudie, this is an old neighborhood, ain't it?" "Been here longer than the town.’”

The thunder cracked again, but Bentley was able to focus on what Jason was saying instead. So he listened to him read a (kind of weird) book for a while, even though the storm was still raging outside, and slowly but surely faded into a light slumber on the arm of the couch.

—

He jumped when someone picked him up.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m just taking you up to bed,” The child’s anxiety stilled when he recognized Bruce’s voice, and he relaxed into him, wrapping his arms around his neck to keep himself from falling. (Even though he knew Bruce probably wouldn’t have dropped him anyways.) “The storm is over now.”

Bentley meant to say something, but it came out as more of an unintelligible hum against Bruce's shoulder. He thought he heard him say something along the lines of thank you, Jason, but he wasn’t actually sure. He just let himself be carried through the house and up the stairs, and Bruce laid him in his bed and tucked him in, touching his head the same way he did the night before.

Bentley fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

—

dedicated to @sassenashsworld 💛

—

tag list (ask me in the comments, and I’ll add your @!)

@fleur-alise

#batboys #batfamily #batman #bruce wayne #oracle #barbara gordon #dick grayson #nightwing #dc jason todd #jason dc #jason todd #dc red hood #red hood dc #red hood #cassandra cain #orphan #tim drake #red robin #stephanie brown #spoiler #duke thomas #signal #damian wayne #dc robin #robin #oc; bentley whittaker #oc; bentley #oc; john whittaker #mb; a hundred days to become a wayne

[inkedroplets]

how many stars am i allowed to send!?!?!?!!!! ⭐️🌟💫

Just as many as you would like! So I picked a couple sections from Rich Girl at random because I could ramble way too much about all of my fics. Alex set the box back down on the desk and pushed it back towards Lena, daring her to take it. She crossed her arms tight over her chest, almost looking like she was trying to hug herself. “I don’t believe you, Lena.” Lena smiled or at least tried to. “I am a Luthor,” she said offhandedly. “Never a good idea to—” “You know that’s not what I meant,” Alex said testily. “I don’t believe you’d let me leave here without taking the suit.” “Believe what you like,” Lena said patiently, neither confirming nor denying Alex’s hypothesis. “Either way, it doesn’t matter.” “No?” “No,” Lena said and reached across the desk and took the box in her hand. She noticed the abrupt shift in Alex’s body language, the way her already tense shoulders hitched even higher than they already were. She cradled the box in her hand and held it out to Alex. “Because I know that you love Kara,” she said and pressed the box gently into Alex’s open hand. “And that to protect her, you’ll do whatever you need to. That there’s not a line you wouldn’t cross to do it.” So in Rich Girl when Lena makes Kara a new suit, the trouble of how to get it to Kara presented itself. Their relationship at the time was still in such a precarious and careful rebuilding phase that having Lena simply give it to her felt wholly anticlimactic and too grand of a gesture to not lead to some kind of reconciliation. Something that Lena is still(was) tiptoeing around. I tinkered with the idea of Lena giving Kara the suit while she was in her vigilante-guise. I actually wrote a little bit of it but it didn't feel right so the idea of Lena approaching Alex came to mind.

At that point in the story, Lena and Alex's relationship is not only non-existent there was the nasty matter of Alex trying to bug Lena's office. There's no love there between either of them but there is some common ground. They both love Kara and they have done or would do questionable things to make sure she was safe. It was a nice moment between the two of them and what led to Alex giving Lena the kind of silent go-ahead a little later. She might not like the idea of Lena and Kara together but there was a moment of understanding that let her at least be okay with it.

“Bruce told me about your mother,” Diana said delicately, the expression on her face a mixture of sadness and unease. “You called out for her while Bruce was synthesizing an antidote… Lena, you were only a child when it happened. You can’t blame yourself.” “I know I was. I know that logically there was probably nothing I could have done.  If I had run for help, if I had screamed until my throat was raw, if I had swam after her, it probably wouldn’t have changed a thing but no matter how many times I try to tell myself that… It doesn’t make me feel any less responsible, any less guilty.” Something Bruce understands, she thought, thinking of the sorrowful kinship the two shared. How he understood better than most that some guilt, some wounds were ineffable. They remained. They persisted. Guilt wasn’t always logical and it often left deep scars.

“Even if I could portal out, I need to make sure the program never triggers. I can’t risk it, Bruce, and you know that.” She reached behind her neck, meaning to re-engage her helmet. “You’d do the same in my shoes. I need you to activate the Endgame protocol." He sighed and Lena couldn't help but notice how much like Alfred he sounded. "It needs your voice confirmation," he reminded her gently and she could hear him typing as well, the sounds of the keys being struck sounding somewhat echoey in the cave. It was a sound she would strangely miss. "Elizabeth." "I'll see that it's done, Lena," Bruce said. "To the letter."

I had a lot of fun drawing parallels between Bruce and Lena as the story went on beyond their bank accounts. Both of their lives are defined in a lot of ways by loss. Obviously they took far different paths but at their core, they're people who still feel a deep sense of guilt for not being able to save their parents. There's a sense of their parents names almost being taboo. They're not spoken aloud a lot even when they talk about them and I think it's simply because it's still too painful. So having Lena choose her mother's name for the protocol she would only activate when she thought she was about to die seemed right. To want to speak it one last time. A reminder of one of the biggest driving factors in her wanting to be a force for good.

#ask game #my writing #supercorp

[mauesartetc]

hello maue! ive seen you talking about helluva boss and hazbins character design and the like, so i was wondering if you could critique the character designs from the game doll eye? specifically the main three characters: alfred, mystery and kao. i have my own opinions about the subject matter, but im curious to see what yours are.

Interesting!

So right off the bat, I'd like to highlight a major issue all three designs have. Fun game for those at home: Without looking it up, guess the species of each of these characters.

(Answers below the cut)

Left to right: Alfred- Shiba Inu. Dr. Mystery- Oriental Longhair cat. Kao- Ram.

If you answered all three correctly, congrats! That's three more than I did. Alfred much more closely resembles a fox or coyote than a Shiba Inu (and his nose is so tiny I actually thought he was human at first glance). Dr. Mystery looks... somewhat feline, but the thick, striped tail reminded me more of a raccoon. And my gut reaction to Kao was "mouse", judging by what I thought were his gray cheeks, pink nose, and whiskers. And that's the thing: A character's species should be so clear that your gut reaction will be correct. If viewers can't see the resemblance, the design isn't communicating the information it should.

Another thing is that their poses are a bit boring since they're too symmetrical; like tell me you used symmetry mode without telling me you used symmetry mode. A symmetrical pose for a character is fine for orthographic/turnaround sheets so you know how they look from a perfect front view, but for a main pose it's kinda stiff and doesn't show much personality. It gels okay with the art style, which appears to be very flat and graphic. But there's no harm in giving even heavily-abstracted characters a little dimension.

Lastly, these designs are extremely bottom-heavy, with the feet taking up a disproportionate amount of space. Because of this huge disparity of visual "weight" between the feet and faces, our eyes keep moving to the feet, which isn't ideal. Generally (not always, but the vast majority of the time), you'll want to direct the most attention to the character's face, as the face expresses the most emotion. "The eyes are the windows to the soul" and all that. What are feet the window to? Blisters?

Anyway, here are my notes on how the designs are working on an individual level.

See, the thing about making a symmetrical drawing is, you better make sure one side doesn't have any awkward tangents, or they'll reflect on the other side as well.

And now, here's how I would redesign Alfred:

I mainly just made the face and ears look more Shiba-like, made the tail more prominent in the silhouette, and shrunk down his legs and feet a tad so the proportion gap between them and the face isn't so huge. I experimented with keeping the shaggy hair on the sides of the face, but it made him look more like a wolf or a Husky, and Shibas have pretty short fur. Also, I realized his shoes looked a lot like work boots, which wouldn't make much sense for a teacher to wear in a school setting. So I replaced them with dress shoes, which would be more appropriate for the environment.

Now let's look at Kao:

Not much of a change on this one. I lengthened his face, enlarged his horns so they're more visible, puffed up his collar to make room for his pointy chin and mouth, and did away with the ear. At first I thought just making it smaller would suffice, as its huge size was part of why I thought this guy was a mouse at first. But there's a lot going on up there already, so in the end I figured it would make things simpler if his ears weren't visible. I also incorporated eyelids that imply where his pupil-less eyes are looking.

Finally, Dr. Mystery.

The first order of business was determining the facial structure. Oriental Longhair cats have long faces and defined cheekbones, so I wanted that to come through in the drawing. The ears and bangs are now simplified, and the layering of the lab coat, pants, and tail makes much more sense. I also added a streamlined version of the tail fringe I drew in the initial redline, and separated the boots from the pants. The Meowth whiskers are gone; while they did provide a strong hint that Mystery is a cat, the face already has enough going on with the eyelashes, the bangs crossing over it, and the mouth jutting out at the side. I do think this version reads as "cat" without whiskers, but if they prove necessary, a simple line for each should do the trick.

In all three I tried to stay faithful to the angular, abstracted art style while making their species more clear and making certain features more logical and/or readable. This was a fun challenge! Thanks for asking!

#character design #doll eye #anthros #animals #redline #redesign #ask #animevillainscourge

[danibfdiii]

☆ Intro ☆

Hi! I'm danibfdiii, you can call me dani. I am a neurodivergent artist and writer. My main interest currently is BFDI, and my favorite season was BFDIA. My favorite characters are Golfball and Metal Leafy, my favorite host is Four. I've been into BFDI since 2019, and jeepers has it flown by.

Please don't make any mental hospital jokes on my blog of any sort as I have trauma from one!

I might do some requests so here is stuff i won't draw

42 ship art ( sorry I see them as siblings )

Host x Contestants

NSFW content

Ship art that uses canonically child characters ( at all. I do not care if you are shipping them with someone else their age it's still very gross to me.)

Any over the top shock art

Lotsa gore

Stuff I can/will draw!

fluff , angst, stuff like that

rarepairs ( pls pls pls send me rarepairs if my inbox is open )

mild/not a lot of gore

AU ideas

Ships

Headcanons ( if I can pull them off )

Doodle pages ( my favorite!! )

Algebrailens ( might take a while to grasp the designs though lol just figured out how to draw four )

Fun ideas ( like yes i will draw lollipop and spongy watching mean girls )

OC's

Just some basic boundaries:

Being friends is totally fine with me! As long as you can respect me and I can respect you we can be cool.

No anti LGBTQ , No racism, and no ableism.

Please don't follow me if you have an NSFW account as your main, I don't give a shit about sideblogs just don't use k!nk or NSFW accounts to interact with my account.

Please don't steal my artwork, I've used a special technique of signing for this but still someone could probably find a way around it.

If you actively go out of your way to bully ANYONE not so kindly get off my page.

DNI.

Alfreds Playhouse enjoyers

Proshippers

MAPS

Blogs that promote deteriorating behaviors

Child lovers

Sexist

Basic DNI criteria

Inbox: closed as of now

#do not interact #dni #dni post #do not interact list #boundaries #intro #intro post #introduction #bfb #osc #bfdi #tpot #battle for dream island #xfohv #object shows #bfdia #battle for bfdi #battle for bfb #art #artists on tumblr #writers on tumblr #neurodivergent #neurodiversity #actually neurodiverse

[wannabe-cartoonist-blog]

Some stills from my newest Hetalia animatic "Defying Gravity".

I went off a bit here, so check explanations/historical references below cut.

1: An alternate version of the empires America looks up to. Most of it gets covered up in the animatic (and they don't have eyeballs) but I ended up really liking this drawing so I wanted to post the full version of it here. Fun fact: I simply named this image file "men". They sure are.

2: Loved making the little England and America portrait and coloring to make it look more like a painting. I imagine England's pretty sentimental and has lots of portraits and sketches of his kids/important people (see point 4). I also enjoyed showing America's conflict here. Alfred will always have a certain fondness and desire for respect from his father, but at the same time, fuck that guy! "I'm gonna be my own person and not a crown jewel in your empire. It's not a phase, dad!"

3: There's too many Canada and America scenes for me to highlight, but I think that though they have their issues as Canada and America, Matthew and Alfred are still ultimately brothers and care about each other. Also, peep those flowers in the back. Wonder what that's referencing...

4: England's office over in the Colonies. Even though he's not here much, I imagine its quite eclectic. Colonial America probably liked to break in from time to time too to look at all the stuff England's horded/pillaged gathered over the years from around the world, despite England locking it when he's away. The portraits get covered up in the video, so I thought I'd give a more detailed look here. Obviously, the portraits are sorta abstract, but I did have certain people in mind when drawing them! Blue portrait: Charles the 2nd famous for the the Restoration (cue King of Bling from Horrible Histories). Green portrait: a vague King Arthur. Orange: Henry the 8th and one of his wives, probably. Purple: Queen Anne. Framed on desk: a baby America circa Jamestown (left) and a young Canada (right) circa 1763 (Treaty of Paris, when England officially acquired Canada from France).

Bonus: When you gotta tell your boss/national personification his son just stole a horse and ran off. British guards One and Two earned a special place in my heart when I drew them in the background like this in one frame. They done fucked up.

#historical hetalia #hetalia #hetalia animation #hws america #hws england #hws canada #hws france #hws spain #wannabeartw0w

[codemonki]

Ok so I have a in progress owl house AU with the bat family. Now they don't really easily paste into the existing roles so there has to be a bit of editing and small changes. Here is the current role swap list.

Luz: Duke Thomas

Amity: Tim Drake (THIS IS A PLATONIC RELATIONSHIP!!!!)

Gus: Cass?? Maybe?? May give her a more dramatic backstory that Gus and that she left the "Emperors Coven" a while ago???? And she'd be older making Steph the younger one of the 2.

Willow: Steph??? Bc of the relationship between Willow and Amity?? Not quite accurate to Tim and Steph but drama?? Maybe?? Post breakup??

King: IDK YET LMAO

Hooty: Alfred...? Posh hooty....

Hunter: Damian

Golden Guard: Jason Todd

Ok so that needs some explaining, I kinda had to split that character into two because Jason could "die" and then come back as the crimson guard, but Damian fulfills the role of having been related to the Emperor. It'll be weird but kinda work?? I think??

I'm also not sure if I'll make Damian a grimwalker. I may be able to make him one that Talia may have raised?? In replacement of her old child she had with Bruce before they split??

ALSO DUE TO THEIR NATURE THERE WILL BE NO HUNTER WILLOW CROSSOVER HERE EITHER SORRY

Raine: Talia?? This could be so cool actually (Talia fits better in this role but It would be fun to have superbat. Unlikely though)

Eda: Bruce Wayne

Lilith: Kate Kane

Ed: Dick Grayson

Em: Barbara Gordon

The Emperor: Ras Al Ghul (dont know his situation! Talia may be a half elf in this)

They aren't aren't related but I feel like they got the vibes. Also idk if Dickbabs will be a thing here. I think it may have been a childhood relationship but they're almost outta school and Dicks with Kory.

if anyone has suggestions for who King may be lmk or how some changes in this could work??

Robin is a palisman that transfers around, Dick Grayson had it first, it being a palisman of one of his parents before they passed. When Jason started to hang around him and Bruce at the bathouse it eventually transfered over to him, and then transferred to Tim afterwards.

Dick Grayson did get a new palisman eventually though!! And it's reminiscent of Nightwing.

Jason does die and gets brought over to the Emperor and becomes the Crimson Knight and is stationed with Damian a lot. So missions Damian goes on, he is there as back up (As per request of Talia). He's a lot like the Young Justice Redhood at this point and my design is also reminiscent of that.

Tim's got the mid parents, may lean into the way Amity's parents are. He also doesn't have older siblings there to help out until Duke shows up and convinces him to go stay at bathouse permanently or something. (Dick and Babs do have a friendship with him though at school and try to get him to go to Dicks house more often but he doesn't)

Haven't thought about Stephs situation enough so if anyone has any ideas!!

As for covens, (I haven't thought about them enough RIP, will be added to as I get my act together)

Dick: Illusionist (Bruce doesn't have as bad of a relationship with the school as Eda did, though it did get worse after Dick started going!!"

My thought process was Illusionist is a very performative coven and he is a performer at heart <3

Jason: Bard Coven

I wanted to draw him with a guitar. Sue me. (It was a tiktok lmao I can't remember if I had any real reasoning)

Kory: Construction Coven

Because I could see her wanting to make things and she's strong

Duke Thomas: light glyphs so many light glyphs

He's gonna go through the Luz route and found the Bad Bat Coven (tm)

Bruce: Head of Bad Bat Coven

If anyone has any ideas for what covens other people will be I'd like to know 🥺.

#sorry for the long ass post #i have some designs drawn out for them but its unfinishdd #and only 7 people. #IM LOOKJGN AT MY NOGES AND SEE RENEE?? #SHIT WHI WAS SHE MEANT TK BE #fuck fuck fuck #maubd i was gonna have Kate do the Raine romance?? thingy?? #shes still gomna get renee #little old owl house au #the bat house #bat family au #bat family #dick grayson #bruce Wayne #kate kane #jason todd #cassandra wayne #Duke Thomas #PLEASE DONT SHOOT ME #ik thid is kinda niche or whatever but. hey. #shout out to my pals on Pony.Town who told me i should post this. #real ones.

[distort-opia]

Did joker ever try to make batman jealous? i think that would be so funny actually, imagine him not giving batman attention and somehow giving more validation for some other herói and bruce getting so mad lmao

The only example i can think of is injustice when he messes with supes but i wish there were more

Well, Joker has gone to different cities and has fought a lot of different heroes, over time. More often than not, he goes to Metropolis, though the thing is, to my knowledge, Joker hasn’t ever done this with the express purpose of making Batman jealous. Not even his actions during Injustice: Gods Among Us were for this reason, but rather (as Injustice: Year Zero shows), it was to prove to Bruce that Clark was not the incorruptible, all-good person Bruce believed him to be. It wasn’t to make Batman jealous, it was because Joker was jealous himself.

However, this ask did make me revisit some great interactions between Joker and other heroes, and there are a couple of interesting conclusions to draw from them, regarding this subject. Bruce doesn’t always show up outside of Gotham when Joker himself does; for instance, Joker goes to Metropolis because some businessmen are ripping off his clown brand to sell toys, in Action Comics #714. But Batman doesn’t appear, and Clark deals with Joker on his own. In a similar vein, after No Man’s Land, Joker goes to Metropolis to piss off Lex Luthor (in Action Comics #765), but Bruce is once again absent. Hell, in Wonder Woman (1987) #96-97, Joker goes to Boston because there’s an ongoing gang war and he wants to make the chaos worse, fighting and getting defeated by Diana in the process... because he gets out-crazied by her. She communes with Pan, the Greek God, who teaches her how to dance the dance of chaos, and then she’s just as crazy as Joker, and able to defeat him. (God, I love comics.) Anyway, Batman doesn’t show up here either. You can either chalk it up to him not even knowing Joker changed locations, him not having the time to travel to where Joker is, or him trusting the respective hero to handle Joker themselves. Or, sometimes it’s Bruce being an asshole and knowingly letting Joker go to Metropolis to test Clark’s mettle (like in Adventures of Superman #14). 

But, when Bruce does show up, it’s “I know how Joker works, you don’t. Fuck off.” And it’s kinda funny. I’m putting the rest of these instances under the cut, as always.

Alright, Bruce doesn’t show up in person to this particular caper, but I love the fact that Clark called Alfred to make sure Bruce does not find out Joker is in Metropolis. They both freaking conspire to keep Bruce in the dark, because they know Bruce would instantly go after Joker, and he needs the rest :))

Oh yeah, this is also the issue Joker gets saved by Clark and calls himself a “fruitcake”... All-around delightful. I also recommend DC Comics Presents #72 for Clark kidnapping Joker so him and Phantom Stranger can weaponize his insanity. They team up and have crazy multi-dimensional shenanigans, it’s fun.

-- DC Comics Presents #41

Now, this next one is a story written by Morrison, in which Joker goes to the fictional Vanity City and tries to enact his mad plans there (using dancing crickets for mind control), under the hero Aztek’s nose. However, Bruce shows up this time.

-- Aztek: The Ultimate Man #6

-- Aztek: The Ultimate Man #7

Besides Bruce going “I’m gonna deal with Joker myself!”, I love the explanation he gives Aztek at the end. “He’s playing a game with me, and it goes way back.” This is why I honestly think it’d take quite a bit to make Bruce genuinely jealous. Even when Joker goes somewhere else and fights other heroes, Bruce still assumes the game Joker plays is with him (and he’s usually right).

Aaand lastly, here’s a classic instance you might’ve seen floating around, but the context of the whole thing is honestly so funny. Joker... kind of gains control of Atlantis by talking? After falling into the ocean on accident? And then Aquaman has to get his kingdom back, with Bruce hearing about all of it and managing to find him:

Again, Bruce tries to take Joker down alone and bring him back to Gotham (“Joker’s been mine for quite some time!”), but the funny part is that he does let Arthur deal with Joker first after they fight about it for a bit -- in exchange for Atlantis’ location.

-- Legends of the DC Universe #27

(Worth noting that at the end, when Joker is presumed dead, Bruce is still the one to investigate what happened with him, and discovers that Joker survived.)

Even in Adventures of Superman #14, Bruce treats Joker going to Metropolis as an ongoing game; he turns it into an opportunity to test Superman. It doesn’t occur to him that Joker might genuinely like Metropolis, or Superman, and not come back. 

-- Adventures of Superman (2013) #14

So, to sum it up... understandably, Bruce consistently assumes the things Joker does are about him, at all times. Even when Joker goes away or fights someone else, so him expressing jealousy would require some extreme actions on Joker’s part. Kind of like Injustice: Gods Among Us, although even then... personally I read “This has always been about us. Why did you do this to him?” as despair, not jealousy. It’s Bruce saying “I’ve always been the one to sacrifice myself to contain your madness, why would you go and destroy someone else? Why wasn’t it enough? Why did you ruin him, someone good, someone entirely unlike me?” (Bruce does not believe the best of himself, that has to be kept in mind, I feel.)

Anyway, hope the rant was enjoyable, Anon! I entirely agree it’d be such an interesting story -- having Joker genuinely try to focus on someone else, break away from Batman and Gotham... Sadly it hasn’t been attempted, at least not to my knowledge. I am very curious how Bruce would react.

#mm. was thinking about Kingdom Come since Joker going to Metropolis and killing Lois AGAIN jumpstarts a Superman-related plot #but it's never said why he did that. and then he gets killed so. not a lot to go with there #asks #batman #batman meta #bruce wayne #joker #clark kent #aztek #batjokes #batjokes meta #my meta

[harperpresley]

Decided to try my hand at art again, and honestly seeing how I used to draw Alfred back then compared to now, I feel so happy. Still need to improve, but its fun! And I got to draw Maddie for the first time!

Anyways, decided to draw the twins from my fanfiction, The Graveyard Shift. Basically, Alfred has been dealing with becoming a vampire for a year and is now somewhat getting his sense of self and not being a feral boi. Gilbert is the one that turned him and Alfred hates him for it, especially since he comes from a family of Hunters.

His eyes are nearly red because he's been taking sippy sips of human blood.

Maddie meanwhile has spent the past year trying to find her brother, and is getting incredibly upset at her uncles (the 4 UK bros) trying to tell her he may be dead. She's at the point where she's gonna just go find him herself.

Also yes, I made Alfred be born in Canada here since a lot of people in AU fics usually have Mattie/Maddie be born in the US. It's funneh.

It's still super early in, but if yall wanna read what I have so far please feel free! You can read it here on Ao3!

#aph america #hws america #hetalia #alfred f jones #aph canada #hws canada #nyo!canada #madeline williams #hetalia fanfiction #Harper Draws #na bros #pls take note of the plaid i spent so much time learning how to do that

[thesinglesjukebox]

KANE BROWN - "I CAN FEEL IT"

A sample that’s no stranger to you and me…

[5.18]

Taylor Alatorre: "Even though the song does draw a fair bit from Phil Collins's 1981 song, the tempo is much faster."[1] [1]

Ian Mathers: As is often the case with modern pop country, "I Can Feel It" evokes a rural area; here, it's the Uncanny Valley. [2]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: So dumb! I respect it more for not being coy about using its big sample – Kane Brown and Dann Huff (who actually played on hits from Phil Collins' contemporaries, wtf) hit that big drum fill button over and over again, especially during the second half of "I Can Feel It." Worst part is that it works every time – this is a meta-level arena jam, a crass play that goes beyond the normal nostalgia-worship of so much of the contemporary pop landscape (secularly, across nearly all subgenres in 2024) by virtue of sheer shamelessness. [6]

Isabel Cole: Nothing we haven't heard before, more literally than usual, and obviously it's dumb, but sometimes you don't want smart, you know? It hits all its marks cleanly, and I like the weirdly roiling, tempestuous drama the track brings to a lightweight song about a drunken hookup (possibly why the hilariously incongruous video contains neither whiskey nor dancing — just a mechanic with a past and a dream). [7]

Katherine St. Asaph: The annoying hackwork here isn't the Phil Collins sample. It's that songwriting affectation, rampant in modern country, of awkwardly wording things that are phrases -- in this case "this is turning into a we-should-probably-get-up-out-of-here." (Why does this exist? Is there a thinkpiece?) The Phil Collins sample is, in fact, what makes this not suck. [7]

Mark Sinker: Time for every single song ever released to get its talking-point kinda-cover version. Time for “Weird” Al to become a worm-man god-emperor and rule over the charts for 3,500 years. A Million Golden Hits on the Golden Path.  [5]

Alfred Soto: Kane Brown shows the apparently infinite ways in which "In the Air Tonight" adapts itself to whatever sized foot you stick into it: instead of a cheatin' anthem, "I Can Feel It" focuses on the nervousness of would-be lovers courtin' on the dance floor. Almost everything works except for the guitar solo, an example of premature ejaculation. [7]

TA Inskeep: Theoretically this fusion of banjo, big-ass drums, and an interpolation of Phil Collins' most iconic song should be a lot of fun -- and Brown's winking voice would seem to be the right fit for it. But it all feels awfully forced, especially when Brown actually sings that he "can feel it coming in the air tonight" in the bridge. It's too obvious by half, not remotely country save for that banjo (which would be fine except that it's being billed as, y'know, country), and even though it's a clever idea, never fully gels.  [4]

John S. Quinn-Puerta: I'm tired of interpolations that aren't interested in engaging with their source. It's just so blandly tactical to put on the trappings of a hit to ensure the boring ditty that you've done ten ways to Sunday gets airplay.  [3]

Hannah Jocelyn: Everyone misses the kicks between the toms when they do “In the Air Tonight”! That's what makes it distinctive! "One Mississippi" was legitimately incredible (would have been a [10] from me) and a massive step up, this is trying to be some kind of epic tough country song but that clashes with the uninspired, lovelorn lyrics. By the way, Kane, you’re no mister Kingston. [5]

Nortey Dowuona: Gabe Foust, songwriter/producer for "Trailer Park Barbie" and "Bake It," lets Aaron Sterling handle the drums, and man, does he handle them. His take on Phil Collins's iconic fill kicks the song in the ass and brings it swimming up to Kane's deep baritone, buoying it as the second verse begins, keeping the song steady as Rob McNelley's seething solo dives below the chorus and surfaces on the bridge. The song relies less on the kick of "here's the Phil Collins drum fill, please clap" and more on "here's Kane Brown using one of the best baritones in popular music; leave with him and go steal that money." And Brown is in fine form; his quick trot then strolling delivery of the first verse snatches you up and leads so smoothly into the chorus that you are swept away, your hair flying in the wind, your eyes full of the moon before you can blink. The bass, played by Mark Hill (yes, that Mark Hill !!!?) comfortably purrs below, interlocking with the kick. It pushes Brown into picking up the pace at first, then smoothing out and sliding during the chorus. He delivers spurts of melisma briefly but remains in control of his voice despite the rising waves of the mix. It drifts away into the sky, but you're on a string, lazily drifting behind it. [10]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

#kane brown #phil collins #in the air tonight #music #country #country music #music writing #music reviews #music criticism #the singles jukebox #Youtube

[arcstral]

ooc; TOA Anniversary Munday!

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is. Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing! Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

Name: Soji

Pronouns: She/her

Birthday (no year): October 14

Where are you from? What is your time zone? United States. Both my parents are from South Korea. East coast resident (EST)

Roleplay experience: A little over 13 years of roleplay experience

Got any pets? One chinchilla affectionately dubbed Souji Man and a 'Shavanese' dog (short-haired Havanese) named Happy

Favorite time of year: Autumn

Some interests and things you like: The holy trinity of cosplaying, writing, and drawing

Some fun facts & trivia about you:

— I joined TOA during the peak of Covid quarantining in 2020 when there was a huge convention dry spell. The indie roleplay scene for Fire Emblem during this time was uneventful too. Having no productive outlet for cosplaying or writing, it lead me to join my first RP group which was (jazz hands) TOA

— My zodiac animal is a rabbit

— I have hundreds upon hundreds of hours clocked on Super Smash Bros from Brawl to Ultimate. You'll never guess who I main.

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? Final Fantasy XIV, Project Zomboid, Phasmophobia, Touken Ranbu, and Stardew Valley in order of frequency.

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: I like bug types; my favorite Pokemon is Scizor. While not Pokemon my favorite Digimon, Kabuterimon, is also a bug. Honorable mention goes to Greninja.

How did you get into Fire Emblem? Saw Shadow Dragon in my local Gamestop one day and didn't buy it even though it stuck out to me with its somber and less colorful boxart. Next time I saw a Fire Emblem game in the store, i.e., Awakening, I bought and played it. The rest is history.

What Fire Emblem games have you played? If we're talking start-to-end I've played and finished FE1, FE3, FE7, FE9, FE11, FE12, Awakening, SOV, 3H, and Engage. The remaining games in the series I've played to either early or mid game.

First Fire Emblem game: Awakening

Favorite Fire Emblem game: FE11 Shadow Dragon

Any Fire Emblem crushes? FE7 Rath was my first and only concrete FE crush. Marth was initially more of an aesthetic source of admiration though knowing his character better he likely exemplifies the ideal partner. Similar to Marth he's not really a crush, but right now I think a lot about Rafal, ironically less in the realm of looks or perfection and more at his attractive hot-and-cold personality.

If you’ve played the following games, who was your first S support? - Awakening: Chrom - Fates: Kaden was my forecast - Three Houses: Dimitri - Engage: Alfred

Favorite Fire Emblem class: Dracoknight

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class? Archer. My first class in FFXIV was an archer and my FE tastes will reflect that too.

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? Blue Lions

If you were an Engage character, which Emblem would you Engage with? Marth. Need me a princely ghost boyfriend I mean advisor with a good head on his shoulders.

How did you find TOA? Through Fire Emblem roleplay related tags

Current TOA muses: Marth and Rafal

Who was your first TOA muse? If you don’t have them anymore, could you see yourself picking them up again? Marth is my ride or die Fire Emblem character and that extends to him as a muse.

Have you had any other TOA muses? Besides Marth and Rafal I've also written Xane. Though there isn't a lot of data, my second muse slot historically (and presently) being reserved for dragons tickles me a lot.

Do you think you have a type of character you gravitate towards? Not really. My tastes are unexplainably versatile. I can favor the sweet and friendly golden boy type characters, or the less pristine and morally ambiguous "bad boy" types, and everything in-between. This isn't just true for TOA but also for characters from different series. My friends have a lot of trouble forecasting possible favorites for me because of it.

What do you believe you enjoy writing the most? Emotions. Conflict with those emotions. Mwahahahaha

Favorite TOA-related memory: The first few months into my TOA debut when everything was bright, fresh, and new. Meeting new friends and forging bonds with other characters was super fun and I still remember who was around me during that time. Farina (written by Maxie) is the closest muse to Marth in terms of when they joined TOA and who has stayed to this day.

Got any delusions that didn’t see the light of day in TOA that you’d like to share? I tend to be very stable, loyal, and proactive in my delusions. If they're strong enough I pursue them, like Xane and Rafal. Rath would be among them if I ever replayed FE7 and if I determined having three muses wouldn't make my performance suffer over all.

#◜ ╰ ♕ ◦ › battlefield command ‹ MEME. ◞ #marth (and my) toa anniversary is tomorrow so it might have been timelier to save this for tuesday :thinking: #but mun monday was too good to pass up

[tatedeco]

My recs for Nightwing!Dick-comics

This is the real meat of it when it comes to Dick Grayson-recs. Most of his modern stories have been as Nightwing ever since he took on that mantle in 1984. You will hear different recs from different people but these are the stories I personally enjoyed the most. Strap in because this is a long list:

Nightwing's Solo Title

These are the stories I liked the most from his solo title. If you want to read Nightwing as a main character, these are the stories I can recommend:

1. Nightwing: Rebirth by Tim Seeley (2016-2017)

Recommendable? Yes, perfect for newcomers. This very much feels like it brings Nightwing back to his roots. You can't go wrong with this as your first Nightwing-comic.

What is it?

It's Dick going back to being Nightwing (he was a secret spy before but don't worry about it). He goes back to his city Blüdhaven and re-establishes himself there.

What do I like about it?

This just captures why Dick is such a beloved character for me. It includes the fun of reading him but also his grit and need to be independent. He very much makes Blüdhaven his own. Blüdhaven is a delightful setting here. Seeley reimagines it as a former whaling town that tries to reimagine itself as a neon-lit casino city. It's a flashy underdog city that fits Nightwing.

This run has one of my all time favorite romances for Dick with Shawn Tsang (a former low-tier villain) and it introduces one of my favorite DC villains Raptor. Giving Dick a villain who is connected to his mom and his circus days is brilliant in my eyes.

2. Nightwing The Untouchable by Sam Humphries (2017-2018)

Recommendable? Yes, one of the best Nightwing-arcs ever. A short read that is collected in one volume. This follows Seeley's arc directly so you could just read this once you've finished the Seeley-issues.

What is it?

It's a story arc where Nightwing fights a new villain The Judge. This villain is very much connected to Blüdhaven, the sea and Dick's past.

What do I like about it?

Sam Humphries filled in on Nightwing directly after Seeley left but he gave us one of the best Nightwing arcs ever. I love how this arc draws on Dick's past and the Blüdhaven-setting to create a new villain. The Judge feels very mythological and the story is well-told over a short time. Humphries did so much with so little. I'd love to see him come back to Nightwing for a longer run.

3. Nightwing by Tom Taylor & Bruno Redondo (2021-now)

Recommendable? Yes, also for newcomers. It's currently going on so you would be very up-to-date with where Dick is now.

What is it?

Dick's return to form after his amnesia (don't ask, you don't need to know). He is heroing in Blüdhaven again and trying to change his community through his newly-acquired wealth He inherits a lot of money from Alfred who's been dead for a few years (but will hopefully return soon).

What do I like about it?

This entire run is just pure positive vibes. I feel like it very much captures Nightwing's positivity and empathy. Fans of Dick/Barbara will also have a good time here because Babs is featured heavily. The plot moves very slowly - which makes this run a bit controversial among many fans - but if you're here for the vibes and the slice-of-life, you'll have a good time. There are also many team-ups, especially with Babs, Tim and Wally.

The art is also to die for. Bruno Redondo is just perfect for Nightwing. There is an entire issue that is one continuous chase-scene and it's one of the most impressive Nightwing-issues ever. Every Nightwing-fan should at least pick up Nightwing #87 for this reason. It's a masterpiece of comic artistry.

4. Nightwing by Peter J. Tomasi (2006-2009)

Recommendable? Yes, a very self-contained run that shows how connected Dick is to the DC universe. Dick is very competent but also fun here. It's all collected in one book.

What is it?

This run has Nightwing move to New York and have adventures there. He is very connected to the DC-universe and there are some cameos and team-ups. Superman shows up at one point, Wally, the Justice Society, Tim Drake... Our boy is beloved.

What do I like about it?

You very much feel how integrated Dick is in the superhero-community. At the same time, he is very independent and competent. There is an especially epic fight here that I won't spoil. You have to love a run that starts with Dick jumping out of a plane for fun and Bruce giving him the disappointed DadTM-vibes.

Nightwing with the Titans

These are the stories where Nightwing is part of the Titans. Either he is the lead for an arc or he gets some great character moments within the team. I also threw a team-up with Wally in here for fun:

5. The Judas Contract (1984)

Recommendable? Yes, if you're interested in Dick's first appearance as Nightwing and classic Titans-stories. This is *the* Teen Titans-story. It is an arc within the pages of New Teen Titans/Tales of the Teen Titans. Be aware of the dense 80s style. It's manageable though.

What is it?

Deathstroke makes his move against the Titans and captures all of them except Dick. Dick takes on the identity of Nightwing and has to save his team with the help of Slade's son Joey Wilson.

What do I like about it?

If you read all of New Teen Titans (which you should because it's a masterpiece), you'll feel the masterful build-up to this arc. It's a pretty well-known spoiler but I won't spoil it here in case you're not familiar.

This specific arc shows Dick fully stepping into his own and moving forward with his new identity. It's a central piece of characterization for him. He's also really badass here, the way he takes on Deathstroke. He's the only non-powered Titans but he deserves to be there 100%. This arc really shows what Dick contributes to the team.

I also love the introduction of Joey. He's a great character - a pure cinnamon role with a compelling backstory and a great addition to the Titans. One of the few mute characters in comics. He actually communicates in sign language.

6. Titans: Rebirth (2016)

Recommendable? Yes, for the pure fun factor.

What is it?

It's the Titans coming together again. Wally is the driving factor here. He was erased from existence for a while due to the 2011-reboot (don't ask, you'll learn everything you need in this comic) and makes his friends remember him again. This time, the team consists of Dick, Wally, Roy, Donna, Garth and Lilith. Bumblebee and other characters also join at some point.

What do I like about it?

I love all of the characters. You just feel the love these long-time friends feel for each other. There are also so many great Dick & Wally-moments. The overall vibe is just very wholesome and I love spending time with all these characters.

My only gripe with this run is that the Titans are quite obedient to the Justice League. In my mind, the Titans should be their own independent network. The point of them is that they don't want to be controlled by their mentors. Still, this is a great run for anyone who likes these characters and wants to spend some time with them.

7. JLA/Titans The Technis Imperative (1998-1999)

Recommendable? Yes! A great story-arc that highlights what makes the Titans so special and different from the Justice League. There are information boxes for all key characters so newcomers should be able to catch up.

What is it?

An event-comic in which all the (former) Titans get abducted for a specific reason. The JLA and the Titans have to deal with what develops into a global crisis.

What do I like about it?

This story arc highlights why I love the Titans so much. They are friends who are close enough to be family while the JLA are more like co-workers. Many of the Titans get some great character moments, including Dick. There is a particularly heart-wrenching page here that says a lot about Dick's relationship with Bruce. Always a gut punch for me when I see it. Again - it's complex.

8. The Flash plus Nightwing (1996)

Recommendable? Yes, for everyone who loves a good Dick & Wally team-up. This is very much a beginning point for their very close friendship in modern comics.

What is it?

It's Dick & Wally going on their yearly vacation where shenanigans happen. Did I sell you on it yet? It's just one issue so it's a very quick read.

What do I like about it?

These two are just too much fun together. There are so many great character moments and you can just read it with some bare knowledge about Dick & Wally as characters (any fanfic-reader should be fine). The plot is also really wacky. Not spoiling it - but it gets wild.

I also love the premise that Dick & Wally go on yearly vacations together. It's a retcon (in the sense that it was never mentioned before & Dick&Wally weren't that close before) but it works so well - one of these great retcons. Since then, these two have been one of the best comic friendships. (And I like to ship them of course. So, any shipper's heart will also find some great moments here.)

Nightwing with the Batfam

These are the stories where Nightwing's relationships with the Batfam are in the foreground. I have two great arcs that deal with the relationship between Dick, Bruce, Alfred & Tim. They follow up on each other so you could just read them one after another:

9. Batman: Year Three (1989)

Recommendable? Yes, if you have bare knowledge about Batman-lore and Dick & Bruce as characters. Again, fanfic readers should be fine. This is very much related to Dick's backstory with Zucco - the killer of his parents. The arc is contained in Batman #436-439.

What is it?

Such an underrated story arc. Basically, it takes place after Jason's death and deals with the possibility of Tony Zucco coming out of prison. We see Dick, Bruce and Alfred reacting to the Zucco-situation.

What do I like about it?

This takes place after Jason's death but before Tim's introduction. So, it's a very dark time for the Bats - Bruce in particular as Batman gets more brutal. I love how this little arc illuminates Dick, Bruce & Alfred as characters. The characterization is very nuanced.

There are a lot of flashbacks back to Dick's time as Robin and the way he deals with grief. In the modern time, Nightwing tries very hard to get Batman back from his more violent tendencies. Great character moments for Dick, Bruce & Alfred!

10. A Lonely Place of Dying (1989)

Recommendable? Yes, again with knowledge of basic Batlore. A requirement for Tim Drake-fans because it's his proper introduction as a character! You can easily get this collected. It takes place directly after Batman: Year Three.

What is it?

The introduction of Tim Drake that takes place after Jason's death. He has figured out Batman's identity and sees the brutal rampages Batman goes on. So, that little fanboy goes up to our boy Nightwing and tries to convince him to become Robin again.

What do I like about it?

This story sold me on Tim Drake as a character. It is very much a case for why Batman needs a Robin. Tim, Dick & Bruce get great character moments. Dick's & Bruce's relationship is very complex here again. You also see Dick meeting one of his little brothers for the first time which is a lot of fun.

Nightwing with the Outsiders

This is a very special time in Nightwing's history. This recommendation shows him with the Outsiders - a more edgy team:

11. Outsiders by Judd Winick (2003-2007)

Recommendable? Yes, if you want to see a moodier Nightwing with a more edgy team. Also, for any Dick/Roy-shippers. I see you and I hear you. This is like the Dick/Roy-bible.

What is it?

The Outsiders form as a black ops team. Their mission statement is to do what other teams aren't willing/ready to do. Roy gets Nightwing on as the leader. Other team members are Jade, Anissa Pierce, Grace Choi, a version of Metamorpho (it's complicated) and Indigo.

What do I like about it?

On paper, I should dislike this concept. Nightwing is very moody here and a giant asshole (I love my boy but he screws up hard here). There is very much a reason though for Dick's mood shift:

Donna - his bestie - died before the Outsiders formed and the Titans disbanded for that reason. Dick is very much grieving and doesn't want to join any teams. He doesn't want to get close to anyone again for the fear of losing them. Still, Roy gets him to join the Outsiders under the condition that they won't be friendly with each other - purely professional.

So, the premise of the comic and the context explains Dick's cold and harsh behavior. I like this comic because it's interesting to see Dick in this dark place. Despite his attempts though, he can't help but get attached over time. He also has so many fights with Roy. The tension between these two is running high - no wonder you see so many Dick/Roy fics related to this time (it's headcanon though, I don't want to mislead anyone here).

Also, the characterization for each team member is supreme. I hadn't read much with characters like Jade, Anissa or Grace before but they quickly became some of my favorite DC-characters.

Dick/Roy may not be canon here but Grace/Anissa is a *canon sapphic romance* within the pages of this comic. It's a wonderful relationship and very unexpected for the early/mid 2000s. So, this may also interest you if you are looking for some cool LGBT+ superhero-couples.

This comic shouldn't work on paper but it did. It has so much heart that I can recommend it also to those who may not find the idea of Nightwing in his edgy-phase appealing. An interesting time for his character that I'll probably dig into at some point with a future post.

Events

Events often concern the entire DC-universe. They bring characters together. Here, I recommend an event where Nightwing is part of the larger cast and gets some character moments that made me very happy as a Nightwing-fan:

12. Infinite Crisis (2005-2006)

Recommendable? Yes, also if you are interested in reading an iconic DC-event where most of the DC-universe comes out to play. This also has some great moments for Dick & Bruce's complex relationship.

What is it?

A giant DC-event. Basically, characters from the old DC-universe try to erase the new DC-universe because they believe that the new universe is too dark and corrupted. What is Dick's role here? He's involved in the action and there are some great character moments that will make most Nightwing-fans squeal with joy (okay, maybe it was just me).

What do I like about it?

It's an epic event. The action is big, so many great characters are here, incredible art... But apart from that, this event shows how much Bruce loves, respects and appreciates Nightwing. I won't spoil this moment but it shows how important Nightwing is to the DC-universe. The original plan for this event was to kill Nightwing off so they were really trying to make you sentimental about him. Thankfully, he didn't die so we only get the wonderful character moments highlighting our boy's impact.

It also has another big character moment in Nightwing's history that is related to his city. Slade is a real bastard here and this is a key event in their rivalry.

Comics that didn't quite make my list:

Nightwing by Chuck Dixon (1996-2002)

Recommendable? Depends, if you want to see where much of Nightwing's lore comes from and don't mind older tropes and writing.

What is it?

The first long-running Nightwing-solo. Dixon established Nightwing as a solo hero in Blüdhaven after his time on the Titans. He takes on a lot of organized crime and one of his most iconic villains Blockbuster.

Why do I not quite recommend it?

This is probably the most iconic Nightwing-run. It firmly cemented Nightwing as a solo hero and established Blüdhaven as his city. If you want to understand where much of Nightwing's lore comes from, you should read it. I'm personally glad I read it and got a lot of enjoyment out of it.

I wouldn't quite recommend it though especially to newcomers because it feels quite dated in some of the writing and art. A lot of the tropes are well-worn and I needed some time to get into it. The plot can feel a bit unremarkable with Dick working his way from one forgettable gangster to another.

Dick is also characterized in a more angsty way. It fits with this point in time because he still has a lot of tensions with Bruce and is struggling with his independence. Still, not my favorite characterization of his. I'm definitely grateful this run exists though because modern Nightwing builds on this a lot. Anyone interested in Nightwing's history should read it.

New 52: Nightwing by Kyle Higgins (2011-2014)

Recommendable? Depends. It's very understandable for newcomers but it is held back by more company-wide decisions. What do I mean by this? Let me explain.

Why do I not quite recommend it?

In 2011, DC rebooted its entire universe. Newcomers could just jump on. This also goes for this run. In principle, it's cool that newcomers can just pick this up but the New 52 (as it's called) had a lot of issues though which you can feel here.

A lot of the beloved Batfamily-characters are missing (Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown) and the lore is very stripped down (this Nightwing was never really part of the Titans). So, the entire universe feels more empty and bleak.

More importantly though for this run, there were a lot of Batfamily-events (Death in the Family, Night of the Owls). These events call all of the Batfamily together and they interrupted the storylines that were currently happening in Nightwing. So, you can feel that Higgins isn't really allowed to let loose because he has to write around these events.

So, I can't really recommend this run as one of your first Nightwing runs. I would still encourage anyone to check it out eventually because I got a lot of enjoyment from it. You can feel that Higgins has a lot of love for Nightwing and when he is allowed to let loose (especially towards the end), he has some brilliant character moments.

I would be happy if he came back to Nightwing at some point with more creative freedom. He still delivered a solid run despite all the hurdles he was forced to overcome. There are just other runs which are more in line with the more classic Nightwing-lore that I would recommend first.

This is it! Take some deep breath because this was a long list. Again, these are all my opinions and there may be stuff I missed or haven't read yet. Nightwing-fans are quite divided on many of these stories.

So, pick what seems interesting to you. I've got enjoyment out of pretty much every Nightwing-solo run (except the run with the tentacles, don't ask).

I have a list of Robin!Dick-recommendations up and I'm going to make one for Batman!Dick-recommendations.

#nightwing #Comic recommendations #titans #new teen titans #batfamily #bruce wayne #tim drake #wally west #dick Grayson #dc comics