My atoms have been corrupted by the batfamily🥰 PLEASE GIMME IDEAS TO DRAW I HAVE NOTHING IN MY BRAIN BUT A SAD FLY (who’s pretty insecure about their art) 15 years old! Tik tok by the same name if you want to check it out
I’m going to disassemble my iPad and throw each individual peice into a volcano im soooo mad rn
I was doing a re draw of an old drawing of all the robins and it was going great it looked soooo nice and I close my I pad for a bit and guess what….A BUCNH OF LAYERS A MISSING and I’m just super mad rn cause basically all Steph and maps are gone and dick looks like shit now but I’m still going to post the ones that survived this tragedy
I’m so upset rn genuinely my I pads drudging mysoginitic why did it get rid of the layers that had girls on them
If this flops I’m going to Ethiopia to visit a wharehouse
people act like damian is so stoic and serious and ignorant of anything fun. you fool you fell for the mask. he's drawing pictures of fluttershy in a notebook under the covers with a flashlight
Yeah sry I didn’t post yesterday…I’ve had a really weird week cause it was prom early this week and it was so fun and I took so many photos and me and my friend did the living room dance but then I also ate peanuts on Thursday and had to spend 6 hours and I was so tired after it wore off, and then I just had a really bad night yesterday which kinda spilled into today and idk I’ve gone back to that like numbness ig it’s defiantly been a leeks of being a wallflower week that’s the best way I can describe it
So i can draw Bruce now ig that’s good, kinda hate this drawing but like I have a better idea on how I want Bruce to look so it’s ok
Someone else did this with the super sons and I can’t remember who like I remember seeing it but idk remember but it was so cute and I got it on dvd yesterday so I had to draw it
Anyway it was sixth form induction day for one of my options and it was sooooo boring and hot
This was so rushed so I kinda hate damis expression
Based on this on Superman poster I want to get. Im so excited for super girl but also super scared it’s gonna be bad and we’ll never get a movie with a woman in it again
Star girl sketch based on yesterdays dcdle kinda want to do a drawing everyday of each character
Milkshake date cause ITS HOT AS FUCK in England rn at least for me and my eczema’s killing me and I want a milkshake soooo bad rn
And a style study I think it went pretty well but I need to finish the eyes
Me and my friend are gonna try to learn the dance from perks of being a wall flower for prom but we’re so bad at it I can lift her but barely spin
my gcese are finally over dude I’m soooo happy (gcese are like the exams up you take at 16 in England)
Which means I get three months off way longer than usual so hopefully I’m gonna be able to post way way more….i really won’t to open commissions but low-key I don’t think anyone would buy them
Does Ra’s have Tim’s Speen? A Deep Dive into Fandom Racism
The whole ‘Ra’s stole Tim’s spleen!!’ debacle is a very prevalent story in DC/batfam/tim drake fan spaces, with many people assuming its canon and creating even more content surrounding this narrative. This post intends to dive into the following topics:
The inherent orientalist writing of the al Ghuls
The canon events leading to Tim losing his spleen (spoiler alert: Ra’s doesn’t have it)
Why it is racist to parrot the idea of Ra’s having stole it
Common reasons people cite to defend this narrative
The inherent orientalist writing of the al Ghuls
First of all, what is Orientalism? Orientalism is a broad term describing the Western stereotype of Eastern cultures, or the Orient (particularly Asia and North Africa), as backwards and exotic. Coined by Edward Said, it describes the way Western civilization portrays itself as superior and rational, while portraying the Orient as irrational and wrong. Common orientalist stereotypes include the assumptions that Eastern societies are misogynistic, barbaric/violent, sexual/perverted, and inherently behind societally.
When it comes to DC, the way the al Ghuls are portrayed is inherently orientalist. They are of mixed arab/chinese descent - you can find some more details about that in this post by @/daminette-56 (the post is about Damian's Chinese heritage in particulal, but it still applies). They fit into the racist trope of the ‘Asian Assassins’ - elite East Asian ninja assassins which use traditional/ancient combat forms to kill. Ra’s is the controlling man, Talia is the Dragon lady/Femme Fatale, and their overall concept can be attributed to oriental views. This is furthered by the existence of Damian’s character, since it caused Talia to be converted to a 2-dimensional villain to facilitate Damian’s white saviour story when he is sent to live with his white father to ‘learn to live normally’, or to be civilized.Â
Despite this, the al Ghuls are interesting characters. Ra’s motive as an environmental terrorist and Talia’s inner dilemma over her loyalty to her father make them complex characters. Damian’s love for animals stemming from his upbringing with the al Ghuls The fandom tends to ignore this, however, and keep them as boring background characters without much depth.Â
When I analyze fandom racism surrounding the al Ghuls, it is important for me to distinguish between what is coming from DC and what is coming from the fandom. As such, it is vital to determine whether or not Ra’s having Tim’s spleen is canon.
2. Does Ra’s have Tim’s spleen?
The short answer is no.
Lets summarize the events which caused Tim to lose his spleen. Tim loses his spleen in his standalone Red Robin series. It happens in the second arc of the series (issues 5-8), called The Council of Spiders. There's a bunch of buildup, but Tim essentially teams up with Ra’s al Ghul to complete his current mission - finding Bruce, who is lost in the time stream. Tim agrees to work with Ra’s (after he kidnaps him and his coworker Tam), however he secretly plans to take down the League Of Assassins from the inside.
During this time, Tim survives an ambush by a group called the Council of Spiders. Later on, Ra’s tasks him with defeating this rival assassin group since he is the only one known to have survived an attack from them. Tim sets up a plan, however it backfires and they are attacked by the Spiders. In this attack, Tim is stabbed and resigns himself to death, however he is saved by White Ghost who stitches him up (presumably with the help of fellow assassins) and removes his spleen due to the damage it has sustained. When this happens, Ra’s is nowhere near.Â
Tim’s spleen is never mentioned again. The arc concludes with Tim blowing up all LoA bases that currently exist, and Ra’s threatens to blow up Wayne Enterprises in retaliation.Â
Ra’s is not shown to be nearby when Tim’s spleen is taken. He is not implied to have it. He is never shown in possession of it.
It is safe to conclude that Ra’s al Ghul is not in possession of Tim’s spleen.
3. Why is it racist to parrot the idea that Ra’s has Tim’s spleen?
The reason this fandom narrative is inherently racist is since it feeds into multiple orientalist stereotypes. As defined before, Orientalism is the idea that Western society paints itself as superior to Eastern society. Here are the two most harmful ideas it feeds into:Â
Creepy Brown Man imagery: Brown men in media are often painted as inherently creepy and dangerous. This is closely linked to the ‘othered foreigner’ trope, where writers focus on the otherness of characters of colour rather than any other trait. Now, I will not deny that Ra’s is dangerous. However, the way he is portrayed by the fandom as borderline obsessed with Tim, going as far as to keep his spleen as a trophy, clearly feeds into the ‘creep’ aspect of this stereotype. It also ignores the fact that Tim was kidnapped by Ra’s for this mission purely due to the tactical advantage - Tim was the only one to have survived a Spider attack, so it was logical to have him be part of the mission. Instead, it shifts the narrative to make Ra’s seem irrationally attached to Tim.Â
Sacrificing characterization for propping up a white character: Ra’s is never portrayed as anything other than an evil tyrant within the Tim Drake fan space. His characterization as an eco-terrorist whose goal is to save the Earth from ecological destruction is sacrificed, and he is instead characterized as power hungry, obsessed (see above paragraph), or plain evil with no reasoning behind it (all of which contribute to the Evil Brown Character stereotype separately. Together? It's even worse). Once again, it ignores the logic that accompanies Ra’s decision in choosing Tim, and either paints him as a poor victim attacked by Ra’s, or a fighter so powerful that even Ra’s had to acknowledge him. Any logic Ra’s applied to the decision is ignored in favour of propping up the white character.
4. Common justifications given for this narrative/storyline
It's literally canon! → as I've already broken down, it isn’t.Â
But Ra’s is obsessed with Tim!! He calls him Detective and respects him and his fighting! → Ra’s also refers to both Bruce and Dick as ‘detective’. This title is not exclusive to Tim and does not prove anything. Additionally, respecting someone as a fighter and stealing their body parts as a trophy for beating them are two very different things.
It is not out of character for Ra’s to take his spleen! He’s a cult leader and taking trophies from people isn’t uncommon !!! → Ra’s is an ecoterrorist. He has no use for anyone’s spleen. Although he is sometimes depicted taking trophies, they are in the form of land or material items, not body parts. (The assumption that Ra’s takes human body parts as trophies is also orientalist, by the way. Goes back to the original ‘Asian Assassins’ trope, as well as the ‘Barbaric Brown People’ ideal.)
the absolute robins are so cool too dude. Anyway my fuckass sister who’s probably gonna read this found my tumblr which like fine but I hate it cause this is lowkey private go away PLUS SHE SHOWED MY GRADMA???
This is gonna flop sooo bad cause I didn’t post last week but that’s only cause I was drawing it on my birthday and was going to post it that day then ended up crying for the whole day, fun fact if I cry enough I look Asian it’s really weird
I spent 12 hours on this bro I’m so tired of it I hate t oh my gosh
I got my prom dress today!!! I’ve been super busy lately but the holidays are soon so hopefully more art. I kinda want to draw someone in the dress but idk who it’s green so maybe babs.
Time :3 hour and 3 really wish I had longer to spend on art rn because I have so many ideas and I know I’m not producing as good art as I have in the past so I’m trying to find a faster style atkeast I think it’s easier to do with real life refs like I did with this one but there so hard to find does anyone have good ones :(
Tbh I did the face in like an hour I just can’t render clothes or red. Also side note can people stop reposting my old ugly art to Pinterest repost my new stuff or the pretty ones as long as you give creds idk
why did nobody tell me it’s dicks b day I found out like 2 hours ago anyway Shoutout to dick happy buddy
I love dick (pls tell me you guys know the panel where starfire is crying shouting I love dick)
I LOVE DISCOWING I DONT CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS LET MY MAN BE SERVELY DEPRSSD AND HAVE SOME PAZZAS
Any wip of what I was actualy going to do but I need some to high key bully me to finish it cause I hate drawing backgrounds and white people (I should say I’m white it’s a skill issue I don’t hate white people)
2 hours Catwoman sketch cause I’ve had 2 breakdowns today
Idk I just feel like I’m so stressed about everything rn and that my arts going to shit and it’s doing really bad and I’m getting my mocks back and I was super upset cause I missed a grade boundary by one mark cause my teacher didn’t mark eight one markers cause I wrote it o n the wrong paper and it’s just frustrating and I’m having issues with this one friend and just other stuff and I feel so overwhelmed with everything so yeah managed to have two breakdowns today but I got to miss chemistry.
Also broke a mirror…mirrors are way too easy to break that bitch cracked in half with ease
Anyway art. Not doing to great lately ig I’ve got art block and idk just ain’t doing to well on here which is discouraging and ik it shouldn’t be and I always say this but idk man
amandla
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