dc okay?

percy he/him

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

tag the ship

[questions-about-blorbos]

do you guys also have this ship but you like them as exes more than actually being in a relationship?

Yes

No

Voting ended onApr 4

[candy8448]

DICKROY DICKROY DICKROY ROYDICK ROYDCIK BELOVEDS THEYRE SO TOXINC I LOVE THEM

[dumbbitchnumberone]

You Know Doors Lock For a Reason, Right?

The Cruswade wages on. Here’s another Matt/Wade fic. Sort of.

5 times Peter walks in on Matt and Wade in questionable situations and one time they walk in on him

[cassiebat3]

batman (1989) #441

bruce trying to save a kidnapped kid about to be blown up and accidentally calls him jason 😶

[warrior-of-storms]

DC fic recs: Jason Todd edition

Please mind the tags

Dirt in the Sewer (T, 4k) - Arsenal & Red Hood team up with Black Canary & Green Arrow, and a bit more comes out than intended about Jason's relationship with his father.

hearts and (safe)houses (T, 4.5k) - Dick & Jason breaking into each other's apartments. Very soft, 3+1, there are kittens

no nightmares tonight (T, 2.5k) - Dick & Jason fluff

Saturday Family Dinner (T, 4.9k) - Role reversal fic where the Waynes are a mafia family & Jason is trying to live his best life under the radar. They find him despite his best efforts

sunny days mock me (G, 1.2k, Major Character Death) - Rena graduates high school. Jason does not.

DON'T STOP (THINKING ABOUT TOMORROW) (G, 2k) - Some softness for the Todds. They're very sweet 💜

To My Brother (G, 7.7k) - Jason misses his brother during Lost Days and starts anonymously sending Dick postcards from wherever he is in the world.

all my closets of backlogged dreams (and how you left them all to me) (G, 3k) - By all accounts, how UTRH should have gone if Bruce were a parent to Jason instead of Batman

Hearth and Home (G, 1.5k) - Jason gets a minor dose of fear toxin & talks to Dick

Prologue, Redux (T, 4.6k) - At two point in his life, Jason visits Gotham University with Bruce

door, opening (M, 110k, Graphic Depictions of Violence) - the Dick & Jason fic of all time!! If you enjoy them having a horribly complex but also deeply loving relationship, this is the fic. It's so afkskgsfjajf you know?

MISSED TARGETS. (T, 2.3k) - Jason and learning to handle a gun; as Robin and as Red Hood

The Drag of Fate (T, 13.3k) - Jason is Shiva's kid AU where Jason & Cass go on a sibling road trip to get answers

What Eurydice Felt (T, 3k) - Orpheus & Eurydice retelling with Bruce, then Dick, as Orpheus and Jason as Eurydice. Honestly very much a favorite, as is its companion piece that's in my Dick fic list.

Safe Space (G, 4.5k) - Jason & Bruce are not on the same page about who's supposed to be taking care of who in this arrangement

citrusy sweetness (T, 2.7k) - Jason & Dick & peeling oranges as a love language

The Cardboard Box (T, 4.7k) - the story of some of the other contents of Jason's box of papers from DitF. It's also one of my favorite Willis fics of all time

miracle (T, 3k) - Catherine-centric fic about Jason's early years. A very sweet look at the Todd family

inclement weather (T, 5k) - Willis-centric fic about a sliver in time when things weren't too bad yet. Also briefly guest-starring a young Cassandra Cain

Hope is the Thing with Feathers (T, 13k) - In which Jaybin gains time travel powers & Dick is always his destination. Has a really interesting disjointed chronology. One of my all-time favorite Dick & Jason fics 💜

sentimental (T, 2k) - Dick calls Jason while drunk with the Titans and they have a conversation about names & legacy (but like. In a slightly unserious way. Dick is very much plastered. It's sweet though)

To See the Stars (G, 2k) - Jason & stargazing, over the years

Daffodil (T, 8k, Graphic Violence) - Jason gets hanahaki & nearly dies of it

two birds on a wire (T, 6.5k) - Jason gets in trouble at school, Dick picks him up, they (eventually) talk

Parallel lines (T, 15.8k) - follow-up to Batman: The Cult!!! You know that if The Cult fics are out there, I'm gonna find them, this should be expected. Anyway the second chapter is alright but the first chapter is where the The Cult stuff is :)

Take Two (T, 4.2k) - Jason kills the Joker. It works out okay for him.

Flatline (T, 8.9k) - Jason gets injected with a drug that slows his body to the point he appears dead. He has to witness his family being convinced that he's dead, then fighting to save him once they realize he's not.

Back to Back (T, 11.5k) - Dick and Jason carrying each other to safety a lifetime apart. Really sweet brotherly feels & also they're both very injured both times if you're into whump.

wretched little recipes (T, 2.6k) - Jason triggers himself repeatedly searching for a sense of control, because as long as he's hurting himself, no one else can.

Grave Pretender (T, 4k) - Jason forgoes his elaborate revenge scheme in favor of being a petty drama queen, then gives up on even that to just go home.

things that make it warm (T, 4k) - Dick & Jason hang out, and Jason reflects on how much he loves his brother.

Under the Bridge (G, 29.5k) - A minor investigation spirals into something much worse when an enemy from Bruce & Jason's past resurfaces

Ricochet (Or, The Side Effects of Bring a Bibliophile) (Not Rated, 49.6k) - In which Jason joins a book club, lights his life on fire, has to deal with everyone else adding gasoline to his on-fire life, and eventually managing to put it out. Everyone just kinda sucks in this, it's great :)

I will leave the water like someone about to forgive (T, 10k) - Jason gets transported back in time to a few weeks before he died and attempts to save himself. Whatever magic brought him there disagrees with this plan.

Recollect, re-collect (T, 94.4k) - Jason gets hit with a spell gone awry and gets an opportunity to reflect on Robin, legacy, family, and what it all means to him.

Meaning (from the back of my broken hand) (M, 1.7k) - Dick finds Jason at an unexpected grave on Mother's Day

Bats in the Belfry (T, 5.7k) - In a time loop that isn't actually a time loop, Jason picks up the ghost of Dick Grayson hitchhiking on the side of the highway every night

Little Wing and Big Bird (T, 16k) - Jason goes to Dick for help when Bruce & Alfred attempt to kill him (really fun case fic w/ appearances from Kory & Barbara)

jigsaw falling (into place) (T, 7.6k) - Jason hears a rumor that the Bat is out of commission - he's been magically blinded. He decides to scope out the situation himself

The Bruce-mood (T, 47k) - Thanks to a stupid bet with Dick, Jason realizes that he has a secret weapon against Bruce: hugs.

A Better Choice (T, 18k) - A very canon-compliant Jason Lives AU of DitF featuring Dick Grayson hopped up on more Dayquil than is probably healthy

[mikakuna]

late to the convo but jason's relationship with barbara in three jokers, while ass on top of ass, gave some interesting insight into his character. i doubt it was intentionally done because Lord knows almost no post utrh authors intentionally give him depth. buttt i was really intrigued by the way he pines over barbara after they share a little kiss and how affected he is by barbara rejecting him.

considering it was barbara who initiated the kiss (i think, could be wrong-- kinda irrelevant tho), i don't think he actually was romantically into her but rather, he was taken by her display of care for him. he himself admits that nobody has ever treated him the way she does at that moment. above this screenshot, barb talks about how she was able to heal from the joker because of her support system, which jason blurts out that he's never had before.

they kiss right after this and then barb says that it shouldn't have happened. imo, jason showed no romantic interest in her up until this kiss (which is more a flaw of the heterosexual storytelling that authors can seemingly never resist) and then following this moment, he's sort of just trailing after her like a little puppy. he's very obviously starved for affection/care/love, which is what i think makes him ask barb for more of an actual relationship between them. it's not that he's genuinely into her.

neither of them were really into each other but jason especially wanted something with her because she showed him something he hasn't been given in a while- a sort of love and attention/concern. she gives a shit about him, talks to him like a fellow human being, sees him and his problems (ignoring her annoying outlook on it in this comic)-- and that's what seems to get jason.

his pining after her felt very much like he would've done anything just to continue being treated gently and with understanding. which is why i think he pursues her. sexual, romantic-- he doesn't care what their relationship would be. its kinda implied he would do anything for her to have him, even give up red hood (bad writing lmfao), and this really only shows how starved he is for love.

"i can be something else. or i can be just jason" is pretty heartbreaking because it gives insight into his self esteem and how he views himself. clearly he doesn't hold himself to a high standard if he's offering to be someone else entirely just for barb to keep giving him those little bits of affection and care. he refers to himself as "just" jason like he isn't much to begin with.

he got some affection from barb, was told something that any of the bats could've said, and immediately latched onto it like it was a lifeline. i feel like he confuses the types of love. now understandably, if i was kissed on the lips, i too would think there was a romance sparking between us, but jason just seems unable to distinguish between his feelings.

he's not romantically interested in barb but he's chasing after that care/concern/attention she gave him and will clearly do anything to experience it again. he just happens to think the only way for him to experience it again is through a romantic relationship with her.

"i will devote my life to making you proud" what a sad statement LMFAO but i think it captures a part of the kind of person jason is. a boy starved for love. that same little kid who wants bruce, alfred, dick to be proud of him. he wants to be seen.

he stays with the bats, with bruce, no matter how shitty they treat him and no matter how abusive bruce is to him because he can't distinguish between his feelings. doesn't know love from disdain or concern from abuse. he wants someone to be proud of him, to love him. and if he has to get hurt in the process, get beat on, isolated, yelled at-- if he has to give up some part of who he is just to get that sliver of affection and love-- then yeah he'll do it each time. he knows nothing else.

[red-capped-robin]

it doesn't make sense for jason todd to have white hair from being resurrected because no other undead characters have it, right? and the pit should have healed any physical injury and restored him to his prime, ie, no white streak. clearlyyyyy he got it from the intense and sustained stress of founding and running a gang with zero experience as a teen. it would also explain why some issues have the white streak and others don't; graying due to stress can be reversed!!! and this post indicates that jason's solo stories go fully black hair while his stories with with bruce, dick, or tim tend to give him the white streak. presumably white hair makes him more identifiable in stories with lots of black-haired bats, but the implication is that he's stressed the fuck out whenever he's with his dad

[casscainmainly]

PLEASE say more about your queer Luke thoughts 👀👀👀

OMG THIS ASK IS EVERYTHING TO ME :))!!! Okay so prefacing with this is only my interpretation, AND I'm not going to label Luke's sexuality specifically but more explore how queerness can be read throughout his story and in his character. But anyway let's get into it!

Being The Only (Straight) Son

I talked before about how Luke is a character constrained by societal expectations; he is the 'only' Fox son (this was before Jace was created), and he deals with all the expectations that entails. He sums it up like this (first panel):

Batwing #20

He had no "room for self-exploration," no time or place to figure out who he was. I think this makes him not knowing he's queer until now plausible, since he's never had time to think about it. And gender explicitly figures into this inability to explore himself. Luke doesn't mention being the oldest, he mentions being the "only son," which Lucius echoes when he tells Luke he needs to be a "responsible man" (emphasis mine). Being the eldest son means adhering to traditional notions of masculinity, which ofc entails heterosexuality.

You see this with Luke's relationship to Zena. I do think Luke likes Zena (and I think Luke is attracted to women), but their relationship is mired in strict expectations of masculinity:

Batwing #21

Zena lists things "a man" is supposed to do which Luke doesn't. He was a bad boyfriend but it's interesting that the text repeatedly highlights how Luke fails to live up to masculine standards, that he sucks at being a "son," a "man," a boyfriend. I also included the line where Luke says him and Zena haven't had sex because it hammers home how little time he's had to explore his sexuality. After Zena leaves, Luke has the interesting thought that "Zena Zlenko is the total package. Even my dad likes her." Luke's relationship with Zena ultimately leads back to Lucius' feelings, meaning part of him is constantly thinking about how his dad will perceive his relationships. This makes Luke's ghosting of Zena particularly compelling - Luke becomes Batwing to escape Lucius' desire for him to just be an office worker, but perhaps he's also escaping Lucius' desire for him to settle down with Zena as well.

It's not that he has no feelings for Zena, but that Luke finds the heteronormative expectations of what a guy 'should' be like in a relationship to be extremely restrictive. Somewhat important is that Luke never has the language for this, he never even reflects on why it was so easy to not talk to his girlfriend for months. Luke is not really a reflective person by nature, which makes it hard for him to articulate or even recognise these feelings.

Blackness, Queerness, and MMA

But the motherlode of all queer Luke interpretations (assuming there are more than just this 😭) is really Batwing #25!!!

Luke is a HUGE fan of MMA and this issue gestures to why. For Luke, MMA represents fairness, which is obviously extremely appealing to him as a Black teen. But Luke's instructor also mentions how "gay, straight, male or female" doesn't matter in MMA. MMA represents freedom from not just racism but also hegemonic masculinity.

Masculinity, sexuality, and race are intertwined of course. Black men and queerness are often seen as incompatible, rendering Black queer men often invisible or, to borrow from the study's title, "unthinkable". Young Black men often feel more pressure than their White counterparts to be "physically and emotionally strong". Luke, the 'only son' of a wealthy and famous Black family, has had to perform respectable Black masculinity his whole life: be non-threatening, a self-described "good kid," an overachiever, but also simultaneously strong and emotionally in control. Being a queer Black man would be too transgressive to be either non-threatening or traditionally masculine; being queer would go against the respectability politics that Lucius and Tanya uphold. For Luke, his Blackness interferes with the possibility of embracing queerness.

But MMA is a space where none of that (at least in Luke's eyes) matters. In the ring, Luke can explore "what kind of person" he is. This authenticity comes out in 3 random references to queerness in #25:

Batwing #25

Obviously these are jokes (I'm pretty sure the writers don't intend a queer reading), BUT it's interesting that this is the first issue queerness is referenced in the series, and it happens three times in a row. Given the opening monologue that "gay, straight" doesn't matter in MMA, given Luke's friend Russell's suggestion that Luke has a crush on his MMA teacher, given the bad guy's joke that Russell is Luke's girlfriend, given Luke's clear-headed response, given that this is what prompts Luke into using MMA to fight bad guys for the first time... There is just so much in this issue that links queerness to MMA, to a space where Luke feels authentically himself, that a queer Luke reading becomes so compelling to me.

If MMA is a space of authenticity to him, then Batwing - in many ways an extension of MMA, a symbol of absolute freedom from societal expectations - also contributes to Luke's growing understanding of his sexuality. There's nothing explicit ofc, but post-Batwing Luke is a lot freer and more open with his flirtations and romances. This is partially because I don't think any Luke writer post-Batwing read the whole of Batwing, BUT I think it makes sense (if we ignore the ending of the Batwing run which everyone seems to do anyway sigh). If early Luke is characterised by struggling with the expectations of those around him, later Luke is a lot more confident, expressive, and happy.

Detective Comics #943 // DC Power 2023 // Batgirl (2011) #44 (ignore how he looks here omg what was the artist doing)

Modern Luke is more casual and open with his relationships in a way early Luke never could be. Batwing (and his added life experience) has helped him embrace a more fluid, less restrictive exploration of his sexuality, one that focuses on his joy rather than anyone else's. I don't think this means he's fully embraced being queer (or thinks of himself as such), but in a queer reading this is a natural step towards a time when maybe he will openly acknowledge it. It's also fun that his most important friendships recently have been with Kate (a lesbian) and Jean-Paul. Speaking of Jean-Paul...

Homoerotic Friendships

The surprising thing about Luke is that, despite his outgoing personality and popularity in school, he is an isolated person. He leaves Gotham pretty immediately after Batman asks, only leaving behind his family and Zena (all of whom he has next to no qualms ghosting). Throughout Batwing, we see none of his friends except his high school buddy Russell, who Luke accidentally exploded and killed (well. presumably). I think Luke probably had friends at MIT, but he doesn't seem to keep in touch with them. There is something so juicy about Luke blaming himself for killing Russell, his closest friend who was called his 'girlfriend', who he convinced to do MMA with him (which in this reading represents a space for queer authenticity), and afterwards never forming close friendships with anyone again.

Batgirl (2011) #45

This panel is Luke talking to Babs about Dick, but it's an astoundingly similar description to what Russell does in the back half of Batwing. Russell is Luke's 'past', someone who disappeared and came back from the grave to chase him around Gotham. And since in the Batgirl issue Luke is explicitly talking about romance, it's a fun stretch to see the Russell-Luke relationship as also potentially romantic. The relationship is extremely terrible for them both though, particularly Luke, and I think what happened with Russell (both in the past and in the more recent era) is the reason Luke has so few close male friendships.

BUT this changes with Jean-Paul. Jean-Paul is basically the first friendship we see on page for Luke and given the Russell history it means SO much!!!

Detective Comics #951 // #956 // #958

Luke has so much fun with Jean-Paul and it's that element of joy that was missing in so many of his earlier relationships. But they also are fiercely protective of one another!! This forms an interesting contrast to the Luke-Russell relationship. Luke stands up for Russell when they get attacked by the homophobic guys in the train, but Russell berates Luke for doing this because he fears retaliation. But with Jean-Paul and Luke, they go to BAT for each other without needing explanation. Luke convinces Jean-Paul to go to basketball games with him, mirroring him convincing Russell to do MMA. There are just so many parallels between Jean-Paul and Russell BUT with Jean-Paul there's a lot more reciprocity. Also look at the panel from #956 when Bruce asks Luke to do the impossible, and Luke IMMEDIATELY turns to Azrael and Jean-Paul IMMEDIATELY says yes. Jean-Paul is Luke's first real partner, a peer he trusts wholeheartedly, his first close friend after Russell.

There is some more stuff including how Luke reacts to Jean-Paul turning evil versus Russell (with Russell, he points out that it's Russell's fault and that he's not the victim anymore; with Jean-Paul, he steadfastly says Jean-Paul is a good man) but this post is long enough already so!!! Musings for another day!

Conclusion

To sum up I just think queerness factors into a lot of facets in Luke's life. It's not the only reading that can be made of what I've mentioned, but Luke being queer would genuinely add so much depth to his relationships with Lucius and Tanya, with Batwing and MMA, with Jean-Paul, even with Jace (who Luke somewhat resents for having escaped being the eldest son). What I enjoy so much about Luke is that to me he represents a very early-20s time in someone's life, gaining independence, figuring out your goals for the first time, chasing dreams that end up tasting more bitter than they seem. Grappling with being queer and reckoning with its consequences, especially as a Black man, would only add to the depth of his character and is already supported (in my opinion!) by the text. I hope this answered your question!!!

[ghostapop]

i feel like a lot of fandoms pride themselves on being gayer than the source material but have they considered being less racist and less misogynistic than the source material as well . could be revolutionary

[serdunkthelunk]

I think in the same way there's a 90/10 rule with horror and comedy (horror works best when it's 90% horror and 10% comedy and vice versa) there's a 90/10 rule for some relationships in fiction that's like. Wholesome and fucked up. A good friendship is at its most compelling when it's also 10% a bit fucked up. Fucked up relationship is at its most compelling when there's at least 10% of something actually sweet and substantive within. Do you get me

[zeetannas]

“fandom etiquette” people when you tell them that the racism and misogyny that is intertwined in their fandom practices/communities/the media they enjoy should be critically examined and treated like a genuine issue that reinforces systemic biases and oppression rather than ignored to preserve their perception that they don’t have to take responsibility for their part in perpetuating racism + misogyny

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

fanfic isn't an act of activism by the way. it's a fun hobby. writers write whatever they want for themselves as their silly little getaway/self-care. if you want "more representation" of something in fanfics, then you write fanfics about that thing you want. nobody is stopping you. but saying other fanfic writers as a whole are "the problem" or are "to blame" for "not including xyz" or "not writing about xyz" just isn't how fanfics and hobbies work.

[inact-ice]

This general convo is always going around in my fandom spaces (mainly poc, queer but like all encompassing, people who like women as like people etc), and we always talk about the systemic issues that feed into what people are interested in or choose to engage in and we have really productive, important and hopeful discussions… then I leave that bubble and people on the whitest website on earth are like “critiquing white supremacy and misogyny in fandom is silly and mean and pointless, bc we’re just having fun😊”

[cambieart]

Robin

Tim Drake

Stephanie Brown

[ruistalking]

"This chapter was terrible! It really mischaracterizes Tim. He would never have left Robin's post to focus on his civilian life! Bernard just ruins his lore! The Tim of the old comics would laugh at his current self, because the DC writers completely changed him!"

Are you sure you actually read comics and understand the character, and aren't just homophobes who hate Bernard and Tim's lore for no reason?..🫠

[warrior-of-storms]

More things I fully believe are true:

Jason Todd is either fully aroace or like very very low grayro

This takes him a very long time to figure out, if he ever does, because he goes the 0+0=2 route & thinks he's bi

The main reason he thinks 0+0=2 is that while he experiences little to no romantic or sexual attraction, he does experience high amounts of aesthetic & sensual attraction

In addition, he also has a long-standing love of romantic media and wants to fall in love, so he's kinda in denial about the fact that he just doesn't feel that way about anyone he dates. It's... it's close enough, right? What he does feel? It's not like what literally anyone else describes, but it has to be the same thing, right? (wrong)

He is and always has been desperate for love in any form. Even if he eventually realized he was aroace, I don't think he would ever come out or use that terminology for himself for fear of further isolating himself

[temperamentalaquarius]

I love that in Bruce's wildest fantasies his parents can live but the Graysons do in fact have to die because he cannot fathom living without his emotional support orphan

[nightwing-centric]

I constnaly think abt this. Dick wouldn’t trade what he has for the past. And (not shown in this panel) he thinks Bruce would.

And I just, it kinda devastates me just thinking abt it, abt how much love and devotion Dick has for Bruce, and sometimes he thinks it’s not reciprocated and he thinks Bruce would trade his current life for his parents life and he kinda made peace with that.

With feeling like maybe he will always love Bruce more

[hood-ex]

My brain made a record scratch sound as soon as I read Dick's inner dialogue in The New Titans #113.

"I’ve been fighting for so long. Have I forgotten what it is to live? Is that what came between us, Kory? Have I been immersing myself in work so I wouldn’t have to think of anything else? Have I been trying to control everything and everyone so things wouldn’t… slip through my fingers again. That somersault [the one he performed the night his parents died] was my rosebud, my last moment of real innocence. When that awful gunshot rang out, my childhood instantly ended. I was still in tears when he [Bruce] took me into his home. He gave me a new life. A good life. Maybe it wasn’t the kind of carefree child’s life I had till then, but it was thrilling and scary and fun. And even now I wouldn’t trade it for anything… except if I could just see my parents one last time to let them know how much I love them. And still miss them."

Because even though Dick admitted he would want to tell his parents he loved and missed them one more time, he didn't mention bringing his parents back to life, which immediately made me think of Devin Grayson's inner dialogue for Dick in Batman: Gotham Knights #14.

"You’re not an easy man to be close to, Bruce. As much as you may care about any of us, I know you’d trade it all in a heartbeat if you could have your parents back. And I’ve never really admitted this to anyone, but I don’t think I would. Trade, I mean. And I don’t think I’m ready to see your face if I told you that, which is why I’m never gonna send this letter. But I wouldn’t trade this for the world. Love, Dick."

Which then reminded me of this scene from Infinite Crisis #4.

[getanshi]

while im on my annoying asian sjw comics fan soapbox: there’s a big, weighty chunk of underexplored material about cass and race that feeds into cass’s relationship with her parental figures and the mantle. three of her four parental figures are white! the other batgirls are white! david cain did a lot worse things to cass than simply not give her a heritage, but the man certainly wasn’t teaching cass about her background or culture at all, and filling that in wasn’t something barbara or bruce were expected or able to do. she didn’t meet shiva until she was a young adult, so she went her entire childhood, however you may define it, without any grounding in her chinese heritage

and i think this is so striking for cass, a character who was conceptualized as being a young asian girl before literally anything else. cass being mixed doesn’t mean she has to ‘look mixed’—genetics are weird and people can come out a carbon copy of one parent—but its interesting that a character who is so visibly asian and has this reputation irl for being a minority hero and asian representation is actually culturally alienated to a startling degree. being visibly asian/nonwhite/other while completely disconnected is a real experience a lot of people have and it gives a lot of dimension to how cass might place herself in relation to the world and her loved ones.