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Man, sometimes I read a fic where their version of Superman is so flat he couldn't even cause a papercut and the favored characters are all "Superman is the type of person who always thinks he's doing the right thing" and "Superman doesn't accept criticism" and "Superman is a bumbling farm boy hick stupid head" and "the Justice League is a bunch of elitist hacks and their club is only to hype themselves up because narcissism".

And I gotta. Like. Okay? That's a take, I guess. That's an opinion. It always takes me out of the story though, because it's presented as a known fact of the world of the fic despite little to no indication of those truths being reflected in the rest of the fic. It's a weird whiplash and it always leaves me almost ravenously curious as to what influenced this perception.

Sometimes it's explained as an unreliable narrator, sometimes an author's note will shrug off responsibility with "someone has to be the asshole lol", and sometimes it seems to be really and truly genuine and that is fascinating to me. I want to know the why's. I want to take them for coffee and listen to their perspectives. I want to understand.

One of my favorite Batman and Superman team up comics has a pre-jl storyline where they don't trust each other just yet. And because they don't trust each other, they both leap to save the life of a criminal being thrown out a window - they can't be sure the other won't just let this awful person die "accidentally". And because they were both distracted by that, an innocent hostage ran into the street in a panic and was struck and killed by a truck.

It was such a needless death. It was so bullshit and pointless. Both Superman and Batman recognized the need for trust, the need to let themselves be known enough, vulnerable enough, to not have this happen again.

And can y'all imagine how both their stories might have changed if future writers, canon and fanfic alike, kept that character growth in mind?

Another post reminded me of Jason Todd's very very first appearance and how he was also a circus-raised orphan who wanted to get revenge for his parents' murder, except this time he has red hair.

He got super retconned, obviously, and I think this version of him got unmade during the Crisis on Infinite Earths... But I like to think that The Prodigy is his spiritual reincarnation. I mean, they're both redheaded circus boys who wanted to be seen at Dick's brother, both "replaced" Dick and he didn't take it well, both went through a career-ending beating.

And just in general, redheaded Jason specifically haunts a lot of stories. I recall a Justice League one where a baddie put the League into their dream worlds - and Batman's was one where he and Selina were married and retired, where Tim had taken on the role of Batman with a Robin of his own.

Tim's Robin? Bruce and Selina's redheaded son.

I think this indicates as well that, at the time, Bruce didn't want Dick to be Batman. Nightwing is who Bruce wishes Batman could be, having him take over would be a downgrade for Dick. I also think that at that time he very much considered Tim to be capable of becoming a better form of Batman, one he could trust in enough to actually let go of his city.

Idk I'm just in a mood to push all these concepts together and gesture "you get me?"

I spoke to a guy at a convention who had written a Batman comic for DC. Genuinely don't remember who or which. But he said that he didn't have to do any reading for backstory or anything. Writers aren't expected to match the character progression of the other writers.

As long as the story can sell and fit in with the other planned projects, writers have a great deal of control over characterization.

I cry everyday because WFA doesn't give us any Bernard despite the WFA comic audience probably being more receptive of him. The current plot in it frustrated me so much cause like why do we get scenes in Tim's apartment and Bernard never shows up?! It could've been hilarious with Tim trying to hide Damis pets from Bear! And then Bear could've been like Tim's apartment version of Alfred and made everyone cookies! What are the WFA writers doing?!?!

They SISTER CODED Steph and Cass, they are actually having CASS consider KILLING, I honestly don't want them touching TimBern with a fifty foot POLL because they'd somehow brother code, friend code, and kill them both.

Like, I loved the first two seasons of the comic, but now they're attempting to UNDERSTAND CHARACTERS THEY NEVER COULD UNDERSTAND TO BEGIN WITH!? But I also hear you because HOW do you exclude Bernard from EVERY MEDIA!!!??? I wish season three was like the first two seasons and I wish we got a lot more TimBern, I wish Bernard was at least mentioned, but alas DC comics are to afraid now to be what comics are, PROPAGANDA AGAINST SOCIETIES EXPECTATIONS AND THE GOVERNMENT! Which is really sad, because I feel like comic book writers from the 60 maybe 70-ish to 90's would've loved having more freedom to make female characters and queer representation.

I'm no history buff, but I know comics have always been woke and now it's like they're borderline afraid to be??? Tim and Bernard deserve more and better, I hate that it's seen as forced or boring and not compatible because Tim Drake: Robin was cancelled, nobody ever really gave it a chance it feels like. Cass and Steph should've kissed by now, I'm sick of this forced sister relationship the writers are trying to push on them. I'm sick of Bruce being abusive or a sweet Dad, like the writers nor fandom can comprehend what a complex character is anymore. Also, Kory and Dick should've been married, and I'm tired of pretending like they shouldn't be.

When I say if I had the motivation to binge read hundreds of comics and write a fic that completely rewrote Batman from start to finish I mean I wish I had the free time because I WOULD BECAUSE UGH I LOVE THE CHARACTER'S AND STORY BUT THE WRITERS CAN LITERALLY EAT BRICKS!!!

This went several directions, my bad, I'm just so pressed lately about these issues DC has and the lack of TimBern in my life U_U

"win a MMORPG" is from when my brother was showing me the Sword Art Online Abridged series. Apparently, everyone is trapped in the video game until someone 'wins' and the crowd of players were like "??? My evil dude, do you even know what this game IS??? There is no winning."

I loved your tags, btw. And yes, I imagine Dick would make a point to check in with Tim about him and his friends, and maybe put out some feelers to the adults in the other kids' lives to check in.

I think Tim and Dick would both want to keep a familial relationship with each other and they'd both be the type to put in the effort. It wouldn't be the same relationship, but that's the thing! That's normal! Sibling relationships change as people grow up and no longer live so closely together. Like everything else in life, it takes work.

I wonder how much of the Young Justice run files would Dick have had access to at the time they were occurring? Does he know about Gun Batman, Santa's death, and that time Empress killed Jason Todd, or did Tim just file that paperwork and never bring it up? Maybe Young Justice in general is a sore point between Tim and Dick because it was YJ's inexperience that got Donna killed.

I fully believe in the Suicide Pact tho. If one of them can't be talked down, or brought back to sanity, or contained from becoming their worst nightmares, the other three will take them out and it will destroy them all to do it. "If your last act is for us to have your blood on our hands, then your hands will be just as bloody. We go together, bitches. Mutual assured destruction."

I don't remember whether canon revealed Tim's specific Hit List contingencies or not, I lost that comic book awhile ago.

So I'd like to make shit up and invite people to add to the list. I've said before that I like to imagine that Damian just found the Hit List file and saw himself and immediately went to Nightwing, and I think it'd be funny if the Hit List was actually either A) Tim's customized playlists for everyone or B) the stupidest plans that might work as a mockery of Batman's contingency list.

In this episode I want to focus on option B, what would be on the Stupid Plans List if someone goes evil.

Damian - erase his Cheese Viking saves. Tell him his sketches of Batman are technically furry art. Buy him Robux???

Dick - lead him to Gotham zoo, get him to the elephants. Strategically leave powdered sedatives on ground, hope he licks? Dress as Jaybin, talk him down as hallucination.

Jason - just cut my own throat this time fuck.

Bruce - call Clark. Call Diana.

Cass - aw shit here we go again

Steph - Join. As a treat.

Cassie, Kon, Bart - all else fails, Core Four Suicide Pact 👍

Ra's - tell him I'll be his heir if he wins an MMORPG of my choice. Maybe he'll forget to Lazarus bathe?

The thing my mind keeps going back to is when Steph is at the very start of her Robin training... And Bruce and Pennyworth just give her one of Tim's uniforms to train in.

And it's fucking uncomfortable for her because she is a physically different person. She can't move in the damn thing without something tearing, her getting a wedgie, or her getting winded because her boobs are so compressed! And yet, Bruce and Pennyworth make such a big deal about how they guess they'll have to get her a uniform that fits.

Even getting part of the cave sectioned off so that she can change in private is shown as something she feels she had to earn.

It was so frustrating to read that whole damn arc.

I'm not going to claim Steph was perfect or that every decision she made was right, but it was so clear that she wasn't being supported like she should have been.

Every so often, DC is reminded by Steph fans that War Games is a thing that happened and that its many injustices against her and her fans still need to be addressed and every so often, DC responds with a comic that says "Bruce was right to manipulate and fire her and she deserved to be tortured and killed"

Today's the anniversary.

Goodbye Jaybin, you were a goddamn delight.

No, don't tell me that. It's just a little spicy, like eating too much pineapple. It's totally fine.

I've already had to realize this about bananas, I'm not ready to lose strawberries too

Strowburry melk

(Source)

This breaks the record of Strom Thurmond, segregationist asshole senator from South Carolina, who spoke for over 24 hours in a futile attempt to kill the 1957 Civil Rights Act.

Hey, you know what would be absolutely tragic? What if Jason were alive because of traditional ghost story reasons - he cannot rest until he is avenged?

If Jason kills the Joker, or if anyone kills the Joker in Jason's honor, then Jason has to rest in peace whether he wants to or not. That's how the stories go, don't they? The spirit can move on once their Unfinished Business is Finished.

Would it be quick? Would he collapse immediately, like a puppet with his strings cut? Would he feel his heart leap in one last beat of vicious satisfaction?

Or would he feel the gentle embrace creeping up on him slowly, the way his limbs grow stiff and cold. Would he have time to stumble to his family, his team, a friend, a sibling, a lover, and feel the burning heat of a living person hold him as he stutters out confused goodbyes?

It's been so long since his last stay in the coffin, he's rebuilt an entire life. And he's losing it again. Because of the same bastard man.

Just a thought (⁠✿⁠^⁠‿⁠^⁠)

Can confirm, actual home video of me. Don't judge, I was a young thing back then.

Bet You Love Cat With a String. I’ll Raise That Bet With a Cougar with a String.