Khoa: I canāt let myself care about anything, Iām ghost-maker and Iām a psychopath. Itās what I grew up knowing about myself and itās the only thing about myself that I know is factual. So I cling to this belief for the sake of some sense of control. But in my comics Iāve shown compassion, kindness and care for multiple people, contradicting the facade I put up for others.
dctwt: Yeah he doesnt care about anything or anyone and heās abusive and manipulative and every instance of him caring is pure manipulation
i like to think that, as they traveled the world together, khoa and bruce got married in as many countries as they could. when asked, they'll say it was a form of rebellion since gay marriage wasn't legal in those countries, or that they wanted to participate in the culture, or whatever bullshit they could come up with on the spot.
truth is, they were two boys who only had each other, who loved each other and knew each other's souls at their rawest, unpolished form, and something in them both settled after each union. they had someone, they were someone's, before each other they were alone, but now...
hmmm something about btk #6, something about how the fence is the emotional and moral barriers that immediately set them apart once they're at luka's cabin, something about the cages they put each other in, something about the illusion of separation and the longing to be close, something about the fence being flimsy enough that either of them could break through if they really wanted to
Guys go read Blind Justice arc (detective comics 598-600), the comics where the artist doesn't waste a single opportunity to draw Bruce pretty and half naked, the arc where Bruce is suffering, tried publicly as a spy, suffers from nightmares, and uses wheelchair for a while
This was on a post about BRUCE having all sort of connection around Gotham, be it as Batman, Bruce Wayne, Matches Malone, or any other identities of his. I liked the original comment, because I myself have an hc that Bruce has engaged some sex workers to come at the manor and lie to the police that they had sex all night long. And knowing how irl sex workers do not trust the cops, no way Gotham sex workers trust their scummy pigs.
Anyway, I wouldn't be making this post if it wasn't for that answer about Jason. Reminder, this is a post about BRUCE, and here we are, making it about Jason and how he is the hero of Crime Alley. They are telling someone that their hc is wrong, based on FANON bs about Jason. Because, in the comics, Jason was a pimp (see: Under The Red Hood). That's the only interaction with sex workers he had as Red Hood I know of. Wait, he also used a girl trauma from being forced into prostitution against her (see: Green Arrow: Seeing Red) He also started a gang war and a drug war (see: Under The Red Hood and Green Arrow: Seeing Red), so idk when he helped people into rehab.
I don't remember him doing any of that. You know who I know did that? BRUCE WAYNE. (And other characters, but this was a Bruce's post so we are only focusing on him) Batman protects sex workers, cries them when they die and brings their killers or abusers to justice, when cops normally turn a blind eye. There is even a Batman: Black and White issue where he calls Superman to help to save a sex worker's life. Bruce is the one to help people get into rehab, to help people get better job, to leave the life of crimes. He is the one financing community centers so the kids have somewhere to go (See: Red Hood and Arsenal), and he is the one who come see these kids so often just to listen to them and help them (see: Gotham Knights). Bruce anonymously supports financially some shady businesses in Crime Alley so they don't close (see: Batman: Black and White). Matches Malone has many friends in Crime Alley.
Where did Jason did any of that? Where the fuck did he became the "ever competent Duke of Park Row"??? I'm going to tell you: NOWHERE.
Jason doesn't own Crime Alley or Park Row, the place where BATMAN WAS BORN. He is not their protector, and they do not prefer to snitch to him than to Batman, Bruce Wayne, Matches Malone or any other identities of Bruce!
Some examples of what I talked about under the cut.
~ Under The Red Hood - Red Hood is killing everyone fighting in the gang war, and he is taking huge cuts in drug trades, racketeering and prostitution. If the boss takes bigger cuts, that means the price rises, because the guys under him still need to make money themselves. However, with prostitution, it means the sex worker is likely getting less.
~ Green Arrow: Seeing Red - Jason killing his own guys
~ Green Arrow: Seeing Red - Jason using Mia's sexual trauma against her to get her to rally with him, after he kidnapped her and while fighting her.
~ Gotham Knights - Kids defending Bruce because he comes to the teen shelter every month and listens to them
~ Red Hood and Arsenal - Jason visiting the community center he used to go to and discovering an amnesic Bruce Wayne there. Jason thinks about how Bruce is the mysterious benefactor behind the center.
~ Batman: Black and White - Bruce giving money to a bar in Crime Alley so it stays open. As you can see from the art, sex workers work there.
~ Batman: One Bad Day - Mr Freeze ~ Matches Malone hanging out with some friends, and having a karaoke
~ Batman: Black and White - Batman finding the man who ordered the kill of a sex worker and dragging him to justice, because the system will not do it itself as he is a politician.
batman #664. he is the kindest man i know
batman #665. the kindness he gave came back to him when branca beat the fuck out of him and roxy and her friends found him in the alley and she drove him to safety
We cannot forget his first meeting with Selina where he beats up their pimp after seeing child prostitute Holly Robinson.
We also cant forget Haddie McNeil [the daughter of a socialite who "sleeps with" (is raped by) older socialite men because she wants the feeling of a father who cares for her] whose death he feels very responsible for because he turned her down harshly. He is the only person at her funeral who cares that a 13 year old died. Her own parents are disgusted by her and accuse Bruce of only caring about her because he slept with her (he didn't).
And that's not the only instance he cares about a girl more than their own parents do.
Her own father, instead of grieving her, tries (and succeeds) to get batman hooked on venom. Bruce is the only one who cares about Sissy, as usual.
He cares about women and girls so much when even their own parents don't.
Wait, if I'm not mistaken, his first meeting with Selina is before he becomes Batman, while he is searching for a way to fight crime. So, his first act toward fighting crime in Gotham is punching a pimp.
bruce has had the name "minh khoa" written on his body for as long as he can remember, so when he meets and starts feeling a deep connection with "anton" he can't help but feel guilty. he thinks, because of the name written on him, there's no way this ends well. best to nip it in the bud. but he can't. no matter what he does, he can't ignore the pull in his chest every time he's around anton. even when he's left bleeding in the snow, when he has every reason to burn the memory of the man from his mind, his heart still achesānot just from the betrayal, as he tells himself, but also the separation. like a severed limb. and then comes the feeling of wholeness again, once he has him back. he thinks he might be broken, that there's something wrong in his head that's causing him to feel this way about a man who isn't even destined for him, a man who's a murderer, who's tried to kill him. this is temporary, bruce reminds himself over and over, every time anton kisses him, every night they spend wrapped around each other. it's for the best, anyway. if they really were tied together, then surely they're both doomed.
then they're together in a strange city, standing before a man they'd spent so long searching for. bruce hears that name spoken aloud for the very first time, directed at the man by his side. the sound of it feels like a sharp knife to the gut. or the smashing of a temple against the rough bark of a tree. the part that hurts the most isn't the false name, he expected that. what hurts the most is that antonāminh khoaāhad known. had learned bruce's real name years ago, had seen and touched his own name written on bruce's skin, had kept his own mark carefully hidden with makeup and bandages. he had known. and he said nothing.
as he sits alone in his quarters with minh khoa's blood drying on his skin, specks of it over the same spot where that name is written, bruce thinks to himself: surely they're both doomed.
i'm not even gonna pretend i'm sorry for saying this, dc was absolutely out of their mind when they made the pride comic w ghostmaker and catman. you're telling me Mr Perfection over here would settle for that mess of a man? catman? who's greatest feat at the most is surviving in the african wilderness with a pack of lions? that catman? the one who's been beaten effortlessly more than once by green arrow? that catman?? the one who villain teams only call as a last resort cause he notoriously sucks? that catman? the one who canonically smells like cat piss?? that one??
like i know most likely it was an inside joke/cop out. either "we're calling ghostmaker the new batman, give him a cat themed love interest" OR (what's most likely, since i know james tynion's heart) "we aren't allowed to make batman gay, let's use catman as a placeholder and hope people know what we're getting at." but still. don't play with me
present day ghostbat is soooo fleetwood mac silver springs coded to me, like... look
time casts it's spell on you, but you won't forget me / i know i could have loved you, but you would not let me / i'll follow you down til the sound of my voice will haunt you / you'll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you
something about how despite the years it's been since they were together just the memory of each other still haunts them both. bruce has been mourning what could've been since that day he was left in the snow. he pushes it to the back of his mind, vaulted away like everything else that's ever hurt him. the scar khoa left on him runs deep, but his capacity for suffering runs deeper. then it all comes bubbling back to the surface the moment bruce is confronted with those memories again. as dick had acutely observed after witnessing their reunion, bruce still misses his friend.
something about how whether he means to or not, khoa will find bruce in every single place he looks, in his belongings, in the things he strives for, in the people he meets/fights/fucks. in the voice he hears in his head that tells him so often "you can do better than that." since that night on the tarmac all those years ago, there has not been a single day where khoa wasn't reminded of bruce in one way or another. no matter his anger or his feigned indifference, he can never let go of the memory of bruceāa ghost, in it's own right.
they've been chasing each other for decades and neither of them realize.
The āgo for it, Nakamura-kun!ā anime release reminded me I always wanted to do a redraw of one of the manga covers that was circling around at some point. people would redraw it with their favorite pairings.
So of course I had to redraw it with Bruce and Khoa
EDIT: okay so I did some recoloring cuz I wasnāt satisfied with it. No idea how thatās gonna work if people already reblogged it. so this will be a learning experience.
thinking once again how ghostbat are yin and yang not just in their aesthetics and color schemes but in the fact that in all of bruce's morality khoa sees in him a viscous passion that steers him towards darkness, and in all of khoa's callousness bruce sees that same viscous passion that instead fuels his capacity to care and do good. something something we're both crazy