#he wasn't even that old

[nebulouscoffee]

... well it's that time of the year already. If anyone's got a Star Trek ask I'd love a distraction <3

#was really hoping the new year could be a reset ugh #but this last week Alone has been so tragic #this lovely man who used to be the watchman at my school died #he wasn't even that old #he's been around as long as I can remember... he used to remember all our names & chat with all our parents & grandparents & now he's gone #just out of the blue #& then this girl I literally played with as a kid just randomly got this massive brain bleed out of nowhere #she's YOUNG like she's only a handful of years older than me she's literally still in her 20s I think. she has a newborn baby #now she's in critical care and we don't even know if she'll make it. she's my mum's best friend's daughter we literally hung out #idk this is messing me up a bit... like #it's insane how anything can just happen it's insane how little time we have it's insane #cw death #(I don't have many followers but if anyone wants me to start tagging these vent posts anything else pls do say so lol) #(I honestly thought I'd made the last of them) #(but unfortunately people I know just! keep! dying! & I can't really complain like this anywhere else. sorry)

[patrice-bergerons]

I'm at that age now where my high school teachers have started dying and I don't like it at all 😔

#he never even taught me but we shared the same school bus for years #see im here writing these tags but i strubbornly don't want to write *was* #a true extrovert someone who was always interested in others whether the students or the bus driver #he'd always make conversation #and an honorary turk too -- he was canadian but moved to Istanbul married in Istanbul ages ago #and he lived on the Asian side instead of on campus like almost all other foreign teachers #so he'd talk to the bus driver in turkish #in a time that was so rough it was always something i could look forward to you know? #and i wish id kept in touch #and i wjsh he was still here #he wasn't even that old #and he deserved so many years at the mediterrenean coast living the true emekli life #oh mr carter

[prahacat]

when the horrors catch up and you take an evening off to batch-process

#obi-wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #ahsoka tano #maybe obi-wan just read the outline for the next wip #why do i love to torture him so #one of my fav fanfic genres has to be meta fic horror #just imagine. how deeply disturbing it must be to find out you're a fictional character #somebody has *intentionally* written all those horrors onto you #and it wasn't even the guy who created you #he did his part. but the ppl who love it most to ruin your life and see you suffer are your fans #it's not enough that there's prob a lot of jedi rpf around in the gffa already. scarred obi-wan for life #lmao drawing anakin like this gave me so many flashbacks to my old ocs where almost every male character had that hair #also i have a job interview in one hour dsdsfhjgj #my art #prahacat draws

[darkeneddawning]

Escaped clone au

You know all those fics where Danny and Damian are twins but everyone first assumes Danny must be a clone? How about an au where Danny is Damian's clone who escaped the League after he was assumed dead. Damian could even have been the one to have "killed" him, back when Danny was a newly created, fully brainwashed clone minion and trying to kill Damian himself.

Danny gets adopted by the Fentons and canon goes on as normal, until Dan. Witnessing what would happen to the world should he turn evil really drove home to Danny how dangerous he is.

Even if he was confident he could be trusted with his absurd amount of power (which he isn't), what if the League of Assassins found out about him? Does he still have programming triggers from his evil assassin clone conditioning?

So, Danny does the responsible thing: he goes to Batman to turn himself in.

Cue Danny showing up on Bruce's doorstep with ghost hunting equipment, intel on the afterlife, and an almost unbelievable backstory. Somehow he still managed to be more well-adjusted than Damian.

More thoughts under the read more

Here's how I'm thinking Danny leaving the League went down:

After surviving his wounds but failing his mission, Danny (then an unnamed potential Damian replacement) knew there was no point in returning to the League. As a failure, he was meant to be disposed of. He even thought of simply allowing himself to perish, since that was what the League would do.

But he couldn't help but feel as though that would be a waste of a resource. Surely he could be of more use to the League alive than dead?

That tiny bit of rebellious logic is what caused Danny to go into hiding, only living on based on the off chance he would find opportunities to further the League's goals. Obviously, that mentality didn't last long after being exposed to the real world and meeting one Jazz Fenton.

Being adopted by the Fentons was the best cover Danny could have asked for, since any odd behavior he couldn't hide while he was learning how to be "normal" was totally overshadowed by the sheer bizarre eccentricity of his new parents. He was still the neighborhood weird kid, but even that was a major upgrade from disposable tool, so Danny considered it a win.

Anyway, if anyone likes this idea, please feel free to have at it! Interpret it as you please :)

#dpxdc #dpxdc prompts #dawningwrites #Danny: I'm too powerful help please accept this 10 step guide that MIGHT give you a prayer of defeating me #Bruce: and you're saying that on top of all your potentially apocalyptic abilities you're also the ruler of another dimension?? #Danny: I know right?? they wouldn't listen to me when I said a teenager wasn't qualified. and technically I'm only 5 years old! #Danny's better adjusted than Damian bc he had Jazz to help him #and he didn't have to be anything other than a “normal” teen until his accident #whereas Damian had a bunch of traumatized and emotionally stunted vigilantes with a complicated family dynamic he walked into #Alfred did his best but there was only so much he could do without undermining Bruce or interfering with their vigilantism #Dan happened before Dani so she might not be in this (yet) #but if Danny's clones are still a thing I think he'd be even more traumatized by most of them melting #Dani: you don't know what it's like to be made by a rich supervillain to replace your original and then be discarded as a failure #Danny: ha ha so funny story #damian wayne #damian al ghul

[meagancandraw]

You ever think about how neither of them got to say goodbye?

#TSAMS #Sun and Moon Show #The Sun and Moon Show #TSAMS Lunar #SAMS Lunar #Sun #SAMS Sun #FNAF Sun #FNAF #Five Nights At Freddy's #MeaganCanDraw #I love New Moon a lot don't get me wrong but Old Moon's and Sun's relationship wasn't black and white (as much as NM wants to insist it was #YES Old Moon treated Sun horribly YES he wasn't the best person but #their relationship was also complicated and messy and they both genuinely loved each other despite everything #So much of what they did was for each other and that adds even more to the tragedy of their relationship and Moon's death #Sun and Old Moon's final conversation was them fighting #Moon's final in-person words to him were “I love you and I'm sorry” #to which Sun didn't say anything bc he was mad at him (which I don't blame him for given everything that happened in that episode) #Do you think Sun has realized this? How often does he go back to that moment #How often has he imagined himself saying or doing something different? Something that would've resulted in them leaving that bunker togethe #Meanwhile Lunar lost the person who gave him a new life and a family that actually cares about him #And he was in Moon's head for months and saw first hand how much his regrets and trauma affected him #Both of which would eventually destroy him due to the cycle of self-loathing he was trapped in #How much does HE think about that? #Anyway sorry for not posting for nearly (checks watch) two years?? #It'll likely happen again #1k

[theshriekingsisterhood]

The way I SPRINTED to my computer to make this the second Risky showed me this textpost

#what we do in the shadows #wwdits #nandor the relentless #Nandor #Autistic Nandor the Relentless #Autismposting #deadass i didnt even have time to rip HD screenshots I needed to get this baby OUT #a more Nandor ass post has never before been made #Obviously Nandor doesn't know wtf Autism is bc hes a nearly 800 year old vampire #In my mind tho Colin Robinson called him Autistic once and Nandor just assumed it was a complimentary adjective akin to Awesome or Majestic #'Guillermo which of these capes makes me look more Autistic?' #'Guillermo is that not the most Autistic painting of a horse you have ever seen?' #Colin Robinson wasn't saying it as an insult also just to clarify #Just as like #a neutral descriptor #which obviously applies to Nandor #Risky I love you and your brain it is huge and wrinkly

[fingolfinwiththesteelchair]

When River Song says that the TARDIS makes the trademark noise because the Doctor leaves the parking brake on, it implies one of two possibilities:

1. The writer hasn't watched any Classic Who, and was unaware every single TARDIS we see - including the Master's and a Timelord who's name I forget whose BODY makes the noise as he's popping in to talk to the Doctor - makes that trademark noise

2. The writer has seen Classic Who and all timelords as a collective drive their TARDISes with the parking brake on because they like the noise, which says some hilarious things about Time Lord society

Edit:

BEHOLD. A Time Lord who left his parking brake on! Don't ask where his parking brake is

#doctor who #revival who #classic who #im like 300% sure other people have said this #but i cracked up watching the master materialize with a horse trailer #and the old dude who warned the doctor about the master wasn't even in a tardis and he did the fade in and out with his body #which was hilarious!! #and i could only think of this part

[cry-ptidd]

The difference between Canon Alucard and Abridged Alucard is that Abridgedcard knows how to use electronics

#seras what's a tweeter #alucard #hellsing #shitpost #hellsing abridged #there's no CANON confirmation that Alucard is shit at using a phone but. #i mean come on #that's an old man #he wasn't even flying the sr71 mf was using his telekinesis #probably can't even drive. his big ass can't fit in the car

[popsicle-stick]

having a segment of a coherent thought about the miss havishamification of artemis fowl

#like....yes. the obvious and intentional parallel is angeline #but artemis....artemis is the one who begins living in funeral wear as an expression of grief for a father who wasn't coming home. #he's stuck in this limbo of perma-childhood. forced into a horrible mocking parody of the of adult he was supposed to grow into #he wears nothing else. thinks of nothing else. CNN constantly blaring. surrounded by the old possessions of his father #yet he can never become him!!!! because he's a child. #& yet even when he DOES return artemis cannot leave this stasis. he never leaves his suits behind. colfer does not let him leave childhood #i lied. this was not coherent. society if i'd read enough theory to back this up #artemis fowl

[idontwanttospoiltheparty]

Look, I don't have the audio of this interview so maybe there's extra context that was cut out... but it is HILARIOUS to me how defensive he got when LITERALLY no one asked.

#Interviewer: Hey John! Isn't this fact about Ancient Egypt neat? :) #John: FIRST OF ALL I call Yoko mother but in the NORMAL parent way. she calls ME Daddy because Sean calls ME Daddy. #and CLEARLY Sean – the 5 Year Old – calls Yoko Mother (not mommy! that's what president-elect ronald reagan does!) #it's NOT Freudian okay? It's just a parent thing! #And Also I called Yoko Mother before we were parents together #(I wouldn't even rag on him much for this if it wasn't literally Not what he was asked about. Lol.) #john #80 #jy #ref #fiona.docx

[voiider]

fake psychic Tim but its just. its just psych. Jason dies and batman goes off the deep end so Tim (instead of becoming robin) starts going ham on the 'tips to the police' bc if the police can deal with the smaller crimes then Tim doesn't have to worry about batman killing a petty thief.

Except he's running himself into the ground and he starts getting sloppy bc he's giving the local police info, and bludhaven info (bc dick) AND probably giving Nightwing info when he can and someone catches him or he leaves a paper trail and then Officer Dick Grayson apprehends him and takes him in for questioning and Tim is like "you can't talk to me without my parents or a lawyer present, I'm a minor. And my parents are in Guatemala, so you better call my lawyer."

and Dick is like "kid you're not in trouble i just need to know who's giving you this information." Because there is NO WAY this kid isn't working with someone. Someone who is using a child to drop off information, which while noble to help the police, is putting this child in danger and tim is like, pretty offended actually. That it's being implied that he COULDN'T do this himself.

So he's like "im not working for anyone."

and Dick is like "you have to be getting the info from somewhere. I just wanna help."

and Tim is like AUGH ADULTS "I just- i figured it out on my own" and its CLEAR that Dick doesn't believe him which is, first off, super insulting, never meet your heroes, and second he shouldn't be talking anyway or admit that he goes out at night or Dick will do something stupid like try to make him stop. So he's like (rolling eyes) "I'm psychic. Are you happy? Can I have my phone call now?"

#batman #tim drake #Cue Dick ALMOST not buying it but he's like 'okay kid' #if you're psychic prove it. #And Tim is like oh he thought i was serious??? Uh #“you're favorite animal is a bat.“ And Dick looks at him confused but then sorta pales a little and is like ”... what.” #and tim is like “and you really like nighttime... walks.” #And Dick like turns off the recording and is like “kid what are you saying to me” #and Tim is like “I know you're Nightwing. The ... spirits told me.” #and honestly it's more believable that a 12 year old kid is psychic than that he figured out who Nightwing was on his own #ted talks #anyways lots of fun hijinks can ensue. Tim is technically a security rick and even though dick REALLY doesn't wanna talk to bruce #he should tell him about this... psychic child #Which can just be more questions and Tim answering them and is like #if i wasn't psychic how would i know this. #and Bruce.... doesn't know. So they have no choice but to believe him #psych tim au #also including: bruce being like “.... can you tell my son (jason) i love him?” #tim would actually be pretty good on the field with moments notice observations #he's been trained his whole life to read people at parties and know what they want from him and what they mean #regular people are MUCH easier to read than the elite who say everything backhanded and all have like poised masks of perfection #raye was telling me their psychic tim au and i was like 'ok but what if just psych' #catch us out here both writing separate fake psychic tim aus

[natelia-aldelliz]

Ghost gifts a single tiny ear loop to Soap one day. Says he noticed Soap had pierced ears. That rings keep from handling a gun or a knife properly. He doesn't make eye contact, tries to hide his face, even as he's already wearing his balaclava.

Soap blinks. Ghost has already given him gifts and only behaved that way for the very first one. He doesn't understand. The earring is very simple, but seems to be made of expensive material and not only covered with a thin leaf of gold.

"Didnae it come with another one?" he says, jokingly.

But Ghost flushes, turns his head, and lifts his mask, only enough for Soap to see the glinting of the other earring on his ear. Suddenly he understands that it's not simply a gift. Ghost favoured practicality, but he wanted to give him a ring.

He grabs his hand as it falls back down.

"Simon, what is this?" he asks softly, not daring to be hopeful just yet.

With his other hand, he reaches out to gently turn Simon's head back towards him. His cheeks and his nose are flushed, it makes the warmth of his dark eyes, generally hidden behind a sneer or a bored expression, undeniable.

He looks nervous. Johnny's heart is beating faster. Could it really be...?

"I know", Simon starts then pauses, uncertain. "I know I'm probably not what you thought you'd have, when you were younger" Soap wants to interrupt, to scoff, to protest that Simon is way better than anyone he could have hoped for, but doesn't. He never wants to cut off his love when he's barely starting to open up.

"I know that I'm not easy to be with some days, that I'm not friendly and easy going like you, like someone you'd deserved to be with." he continues, unconsciously pushing his face more into Soap's hand. "But... I love you, more than I thought I could, and I'd like... I'd like to be with you, for as long as you'd have me..."

Johnny's heart is soaring. He has no idea how to react. He'd have to get all the giddiness out first, and the moment doesn't seem appropriate for jumping around and squealing.

"Officially," Simon continues, voice quieter, out of breath. "If you want to."

A gigantic grin splits Johnny's face. All of his limbs are buzzing, he needs to stand up, to run, to explode something. But he's terrified to spook Simon so instead he just squeezes the hand he's holding rhythmically and moves his feet back and forth.

"Baby, are ye asking me tae marry ye?" Johnny says. He's pretty sure his voice is wobbly, but can't really hear it himself as the blood in his ears is louder than the rest.

Simon's eyes do something, what is visible of his face looks like he has an expression on but Johnny can't analyze it now, doesn't dare to see the hope in his eyes, the pleading in his brows.

"I... Yes, I guess I am," the love of his life says finally. "If you want to. You don't have to."

Soap can't keep himself in check any longer. He's making a high pitched noise, jumping up and down where he's seating on the bed, and throws himself at Simon.

"Of course ah fooking want tae!!!"

Simon lets out an excited giggle, swept in Johnny's mood, and tightens his arms around his lover. No, his fiancé.

This is the best day of his life. He just has to deal with this mission tomorrow, and then they can start to plan everything.

#cod mw2 #john soap mactavish #simon ghost riley #ghostsoap #soapghost #and now a bit of angst as a treat : #soap goes on his mission and doesn't return - ghost immediately goes to look for him and only finds traces of a struggle #then price receives a bloody earring and instructions to give out state secrets in exchange for soap #ghost goes ballistic - price doesn't deal with terrorists but has to make them believe he does to gain some time #they need to find where they keep soap - when they eventually manage to rescue him he's in a pretty bad shape and cries when he sees ghost #he looks like he hasn't slept since he was taken and his lobe is covered in dried blood where his captors ripped the earring from it #he sobs in ghost's arms that he lost it #that ghost had given him something so precious and he wasn't able to keep it and ghost knows that it's only because he's been tortured and #sleep deprived but it still breaks his heart & he doesn't know what to do and how to make soap understand that he loves him no matter what #johnny needs a medic and fluids and sleep and stitches and a cast but he can't bring himself to let him go so he just carries him #and doesn't let him go until he absolutely has to even as soap falls asleep on the way back and even as the others look at him with a look #on their face - it doesn't matter anyway soon he'll be simon mactavish and everyone will know #as he's waiting at soap's bedside watching him sleep price comes in and gives him the earring - it's been cleaned and looks good as new #then price asks him if he's invited and after a minute of ghost looking at him with wide eyes he eventually nods #'of course' he says 'we wouldn't be anywhere without you old man' #and price gently punches him in the shoulder #'you have to stop calling me old the recruits are convinced I'm like 50' #and ghost smiles for the first time in a week - he won't stop though - not until he convinces the recruits that price is at least 60

[nightshadehoney]

This is extremely tomgreg-brained of me to say, but I think that the forehead kiss really shifted something. Because Greg was kind of Like That in the season 3 finale--slyly coming up to Tom and talking about women  he’s trying to have sex with.

 Pre-forehead kiss I feel like their relationship is really defined by Tom coming into Greg’s office or wherever and Greg reacting with apprehension about what kind of insane thing Tom might say or do this time, but after that scene it’s all “Prove it” and calling Tom “Tommy”. Even when Tom is being insane, Greg’s just like “calm down, don’t be sad :( “. I can’t think of a scene after that has that “oh shit, is he going to start throwing things” energy they used to have. 

Tom touching him on the head has just unlocked something in him. 

#he pushes back against the insults in the deal with the devil scene #but then he still says of course like it wasn't even a real question #would pre-forehead Greg have said of course? #he might fuck that old man #tomgreg #succession #hbo succession #tom wambsgans #greg hirsch #succession posting

[brb-on-a-quest]

I had a thought last night, and even though the only canon bat source I've had is WFA, and I've only *just* started getting into fanfic, so characterizations may not be accurate/have been done before, but IDK. I need this to exist out there.

Timothy Drake-Wayne writes fics sometimes.

It started off with the necessity of creating so many fake IDs. One thing led to another and Tim was coming up with backstories for all the Johns, Marys, and Joes that he invented while doing his Gotham digital surveillance. After all, he was trying to make these people's fake IDs look as real as possible, which meant more than just a name on a couple of sheets of paper.

It means creating a fake digital footprint. For each one.

So, on the rare occasions when things are calmer, and he's not immediately needed, he sits on his computer and types out head cannons for each of the OCs he has created. He spends a lot of time doing research on different cultures, neurodivergencies, physical abilities, and backgrounds to try and 1) paint accurate pictures and 2) learn. He hides the world building tidbits in a secret folder that he's taken so many measures to hide from Oracle (she already knows, but she doesn't actively look after finally figuring out what the folder of names, complete with physical descriptions, life stories, and preferences is out of respect for Timothy). (Also, all this writing knowledge actually comes in handy for crime-solving things, but he doesn't fully realize it at the time).

Tim even went as far as to make social media accounts for some of his favorites and posts bits and pieces of the head cannons to make them, again, seem like real people. Just in case. As a precaution. You never know.

Jason finds out somehow, in a freak accident and collision of siblings that so often happens. Tim is sweating bullets, trying to steel himself for the endless teasing. He is fully prepared to delete every single file that's in that folder and deny that it ever exists for all eternity.

Except Jason doesn't. Jason's too much of a literary nerd (granted, he prefers more classic literature than social media fics, but this is another thing he can connect with his little brother on- he's *excited*) to tease Tim about the writing. He kind of persuades Tim to take more time for his hobby because Tim has some markings of talent in his very specific creative niche. Tim may have also convinced Jason to try it exactly once, to create a fake Twitter profile for Mr. Darcy and create shitposts from his point of view. He has a great time with it once, and then he moves on (but sometimes he creates other accounts for other characters that Tim doesn't know about).

They make a pact between the two of them not to tell the others; they'd ask too many questions and make it less fun.

But every once in a while, Tim would walk into Jason's place to crash for a bit, steal all of his Red Bull, update Jason on his writing projects, and get writing advice.

#Jason's writing advice is sometimes just “gun” which isn't exactly helpful #Jason's other writing advice is using techniques from all the old english lit books that he enjoys which is sometimes equally unhelpful #If people have actual fic reccommendations with this kind of thing pls send #I keep thinking about it too much but I do not have the time to flesh this out as much as I like #Wasn't even planning on posting this but then I thought about it too much #figured if I wanted to try testing out tumblr fic writing out anyway... y not? #I do other original fics too. Maybe I'll post those bc i need motivation to edit so certain people don't see trash all the time. #no promises tho #batfam #tim drake

[boyfridged]

Regarding Jason's pre-crisis characterization, would you say that he really is just a carbon copy of Dick or did he eventually grow into his own character in the span of his run time? Also, would you recommend it to a Jason fan to read about his pre-crisis days?

i don't think pre-crisis jay has ever been a carbon copy of dick actually! i know it's a popular opinion but frankly speaking, i think people who say that either have not read his pre-crisis run at all or have not cared enough to understand the story.

the fact that pre-crisis jason’s origin and background (in major ways, but not 1:1, that’s also a misconception) mirrors that of dick was not “lazy writing” and it’s not some sign of the general silliness and carelessness of the editorial of the times. it was very much a conscious, well-thought-through decision.

let me break this down (so that it doesn't become another essay):

to make it clear before i get into anything else: jay's background being so similar to that of dick is actually a way to set up a story about their differences. despite sharing so much experience, there are some key variables in both their origins and personalities that the writers clearly wanted to bring readers' attention to. i will circle back to it later.

i reckon a lot of dc fans who never actually got to read these issues have this misconception that the death of the pre-crisis todds was an exact parallel to that of the flying graysons. however, jason’s parents do not die in a way that dick’s parents do; in fact, joseph and trina todd die while aiding dick in an investigation after he requested their help (this is also why dick later says that he would take care of jason have bruce not offered; he feels guilty for their demise.) this is a deeply fascinating concept tbh, because the todds are like collateral damage to vigilantism; sacrificial lambs, and dick is responsible for it, leaving another orphan on the scene. it's a full cycle!

it was also a smart way for jason to enter the narrative this way because it gave him a link to his predecessor. unlike post-crisis, jason’s first contact is dick, which makes sense, because it’s a story about robin (as a disclaimer: the way post-crisis alters it is also sensible for the plot it tries to convey; but these are two various storylines, approached from a much different angle!)

and pre-crisis jay is a very much different character from dick since day one. dick projects on him vehemently, giving him the robin mantle (once jay tries out different identities btw), which jason accepts as a gesture of love but also dreads. he struggles with the concept of vigilantism from the start, while everyone around him assumes that this is simply the way things go because his circumstances are so similar to that of both dick and bruce. he has a seriously tough time trying to reconcile with the concept of dual identities. he questions bruce's motives and actions a lot more than both dick in his early days and post-crisis jason. he stares numbly at the wall after his first patrol. he voices his concerns.

here i also want to say, that while i absolutely do think everyone should read these stories, and there are some storylines that can be incorporated into post-crisis jay canon, it doesn't hurt to consider which of them do not fit into it at all.

post-crisis and pre-crisis jay have completely different backgrounds, and since pre-crisis jay has been brought up in a rather safe and stable environment, as i mentioned, he's much more confident in questioning bruce. on the contrary, post-crisis jay seems to be so delighted to be having an adult at all that his faith in batman is almost absolute (for most of his robin run at least.)

as i said, pre-crisis jay is also much more aware of the duality of the vigilante life. as a former performer, he says that it feels disappointing to know that none of the people whom he helps will know his name, and he is used to having an audience (he is aware that it is a selfish sentiment.) this is not a thing that post-crisis jay considers at all.

i also imagine that post-crisis jay would never tell bruce the (famous) words that he would be perfectly happy to be just his son and not his sidekick (which he does pre-crisis); not because the truth is different but because he doesn't fully comprehend that it's an option. post-crisis robin jay's compartmentalisation is barely existent if at all; bruce "gave him" robin even before he took him in, so the roles of a son & sidekick are almost one and the same for him, which is why i'd say the events of a death in the family occur at all (he "failed" as robin -> he runs away to find another parent).

and well. pre-crisis jay actually has friends. his world does not begin and end with his role as gotham's protector and hope. speaking of which, he also does not possess the same passionate relationship with gotham as post-crisis jay does.

there are of course many traits they share – i'd say they both have even more sympathy for criminals and an even stronger of belief in rehabilitation than bruce does. they are also both, in a way, a victim of the cycle in the family and projection – bruce (and pre-crisis, dick) assume that the way of dealing with grief is to go out into combat, which is not necessarily true for them. but ironically, i think, it's post-crisis jay who remains more innocent and is easy-going in the way he initially settles into the role.

ultimately, i think all batfamily fans should read pre-crisis robin jay's run because it's perhaps the only run that takes adoption and the topic of legacies seriously. and it's before the editorial and writers decided that batman having a child was lame, and that robin's role was just CA, so bruce is truly parenting. while pre-crisis bruce is much more of a sweetheart than post-crisis bruce is, so it may not all seem "realistic" for contemporary characterisation, it still gives a good idea of what a plotline about bruce being a parent could and should look like. i'm not going to lie to you, post-crisis jay's run feels seriously loveless compared with pre-crisis. pre-crisis, there's plenty of family tensions, and at times it appears that no one in this damn family understands each other, and yet there's so much fondness and care and desperate declarations of belonging. pre-crisis jay's story is genuinely, from the very beginning, a story about a child whose parents die entangled in a vigilante's investigation and who is thrown into a family of vigilantes, projected onto from all sides, and who tries to fill in shoes he never truly asked for in the first place. but dear god is there tenderness there. is there self-awareness and a serious attempt to conceive what taking over a mantle of a sidekick means. yeah. much more than it is in post-crisis.

#thank you for opportunity to talk about pre-crisis #because. truly from the bottom of my heart. it's such a good run. SO SO good. #back when dc used to say things that were true and beautiful #<- old man (23) getting sentimental over good ol' times (he wasn't even alive back then.) #dc #jay.zip #jay.txt #jason todd #core texts #pre-crisis

[mewtwo24]

Something about Hua Cheng's expression here is killing me--I know this is supposed to be a delicate moment of reassurance but the pure hater energy radiating off of him is just immaculate

#tgcf #hua cheng #xie lian #hualian #words cannot express how much I love hua cheng being a hater #hua cheng in this pic is that energy when you keep spamming the A button when an npc you don't like won't stop talking #like his face when lang qianqiu keeps going on and on about his parents meeting an untimely unjust and grisly end #is so 'it was hundreds of years ago and it wasn't even gege's fault for fucks sake grow up' #'leave my goddamn wife alone he raised you with love and diligence' #'you had your bloody revenge what more do you want. figure it out far away from us.' #spoken like a true ghost king who slaps eming every single time it expresses a single inconvenient emotion he has #every day i have to resist the urge to gush about hc he's just hilarious and peak every single time i love him #no notes just banger after banger after banger #that's the face of a man who was orphaned as a child and clawed his way through life to survive and keep his loved one alive + well #a bastion of unmoving strength for 800 years #unmoved by the whining of a young man born with everything and mourning the loss of his innocence way past his expiration date #10/10 hua cheng you've done it again #hc said 'oh? a traumatic life event? we have several dozens of those git gud' #and honestly i mean that with no malice i just feel like lang qianqiu is old enough to start parsing the world in a more nuanced way ;;;;; #as much as xl thought lying to him was the best outcome hc was right--the truth d o e s matter--and not just to absolve xl #its also about giving lang qianqiu closure and moving on. about qi rong facing the consequences of his actions #so much of what is wrong with the heavenly court is the obsession with maintaining appearances over being sincere #and so much of what hc adores about xl is that xl was never really interested in those empty words and empty sentiments #he truly wanted people to prosper and live well no matter the cost to himself