There is a rage that comes with biting your tongue. Every time you seal your lips to keep the poison from spitting out, it crawls back down your esophagus and burrows deep below your ribs. Dick Grayson is accustomed to swallowing his anger. His rage is an old friend, and together they have built a home that simmered just below the surface of his skin. How he longs to rid himself of the feeling. He wishes he could cry, scream, break, rampage. He wishes he could yell at Bruce until his throat was raw. He wishes he could smash his brother's glass memorial and watch as the shards scatter across the cave floor. He wishes he could make Bruce feel all the hurt and fury and resentment that brewed inside him. But Dick knows that would only make things worse. So, he bites his tongue and plays the part of the peacemaker as the fire in his chest grows more vicious by the day.
Above all else, Dick Grayson wishes he could confide in someone. He often fantasizes about unloading all his woes onto some nameless, compassionate stranger. In his dreams, the stranger answers back with all the words he wishes to hear. It's not normal to dream so frequently about spilling one's guts out to another, Dick knows this, but he wants it so badly. In the end, who could Dick ever tell? Outsiders would take one look at his mismatched family and deem them unhealthy, or toxic, or any other awful thing they could imagine. They would look with horrified eyes at the shards splintered across the hallway while the rising voices echoed along the walls. They would never get it.
Dick isn't in denial; he knows how it might look from the outside. But he also knows that nobody else could ever understand the intricate threads that wove his makeshift family together. From Damian's cultural differences to Jason and Bruce's class divide, Cass' mutism, Bruce's inability to express emotions healthily, and, God, all the trauma, the Waynes had learned how to dance across the delicate lines that linked them together. No outsider could ever replicate that.
Sometimes Dick lets his anger take the reins and gives as good as he gets. Othertimes, he bites his tongue and keeps quiet. Almost always, he feels guilty. He sees the way his barbs slap Bruce across the face. It churns his stomach to witness the distress across his father's physiognomy. But the alternative is to keep mum, thereby enabling Bruce's behaviour and indirectly hurting one of his siblings.
He wishes there were a way to keep everyone happy. In the meantime, Dick attends every recital and exhibition; he is there for every break-up and milestone event. If Dick is being honest with himself, he feels responsible for his entire family's emotional well-being, and not just the children, Bruce and Alfred too. He has an obligation to his family - a duty to be the perfect son and brother. So, Dick keeps his anger locked within himself. He pretends they are old friends inhabiting the same vessel. All the while, he prays that the gradual destruction of his soul is worth it.
Jason: What? Of course not! Don't be stupid, I would never eat that sugary monstrosity.
Dick: ???
-------
Bruce: 5 bodies found dead and a shipment is missing.
Tim: Any leads?
Bruce: Not yet. The perpetrator left no traces.
Jason: Who cares about some low-life drug dealers. Just blame it on the Red Hood.
Bruce: Jason, are you confessing to the crime??
Jason: Excuse me?! I am fully reformed you asshat. When are you gonna stop blaming me for every dead body you see!?
Bruce: What are you saying? I am so confused.
Tim: Me too wtf.
-------
Jason: You should go join the others.
Damian who was forcibly dragged to a park by Jason to have a "normal day of being a child": I have no desire to join a ridiculous game with unruly children.
Jason: Dude, don't be so dramatic. They're just playing a game of Red Hood.
Damian: They named a game after you?
Jason: No??
-------
Jason: You should go to sleep.
Tim: No.
Jason (jokingly): If you don't go to sleep, the Red Hood will haunt you and attack you in the middle of the night.
Tim: Been there, done that.
-------
Alfred: It seems somebody has been stealing cookies from the cookie jar.
Jason with crumbs on his face: Wasn't me! The Red Hood did it.
Alfred: Sir, you are the Red Hood.
Jason: Oh yeah...
-------
*bonus with Steph and Duke who grew up in the poorer parts of Gotham*
Dick: Who tf dyed my Nightwing suit pink!?!
Steph (who totally did it): Wasn't me!
Duke (who helped): The Red Hood did it!
Dick: It was Jason!? He's fucking dead.
*Steph and Duke cackling in the distance as Dick tackles an unsuspecting Jason*
Part three! I keep adding way too many pictures, but seeing that Jason is gonna pop up again, I don't see that changing anytime soon.
I started reading Grant Morrison's Batman run as Damian Wayne research for the fic I'm working on. Here are my live reactions! Currently reading: Batman & Robin: Dark Knight vs White Knight
Batman & Robin: Dark Knight vs White Knight (Part 2)
Tbh the volume 4 stories aren't written by Grant Morrison, but I'm including them since they're part of the Batman & Robin run.
So someone is going after anyone that is related to everybody that has spent time in Arkham. It looks like half the damn city's a target lol
Awww of course this would be personal for Damian. He's changed a lot since his introduction where he defined himself by his bloodline. We love to see the character development!
This is frying me. They're so unserious 😂
Damn.
Yes, yes, yessss Jason is back!
I might hate hate ginger Jason, but oh my god this man is fineeeee. Also, The Streets Run Red is a great tittle.
Hot and vindictive. Need that.
He's got a point. Nosferatu is crazy btw
Love this art style, Dick looks really good. But not as good as his brotherrrr.
Also what kind of logic is this?? High security prisons exist 😭
I'm being fed. I take it back, I really don't mind ginger Jason.
Oh! So this is where the Pride and Prejudice headcanon comes from!
The last part has gotten too long, so here's a part 2! Started reading Grant Morrison's Batman run as Damian Wayne research for the fic I'm working on. Here are my live reactions, hopefully it's a good run! Currently reading: Batman & Robin: Dark Knight vs White Knight
Batman & Robin: Batman & Robin Must Die! (Part 2)
I'm crying, the way the Joker is the best part of this book.
What could be funnier than that? BAM!!
Guys I swear this is not supposed to be a Joker appreciation post. I can't believe how much I'm liking this.
Is that Tim in the back?? Why does he look like that??
I liked this little bat passage.
Rolling my eyes. I've always found this type of speech annoying. It's just so overdone. This monologue is no more compelling than the last 20 times I read it.
LMAO he is stressed
In his Iron Man era ✨
Dick's finally got a personality! Only took 3 volumes. Look at him being the voice of reason lol. He's kinda chopped tho.
I love Damian, he's grown on me so much.
"I just got back from the dead and though of you" LOL
OH???
Finally done volume 3! This volume was so much more compelling than the other two. Best characters were:
The Joker
Damian
Everyone else
Dick
And this is coming from someone who normally hates the joker! What a fun read! The ending was a little annoying; once again hit with a bunch of set up for the following installations. I get why it's written this way, but that doesn't mean I have to like it lol. Honestly, I've found the pacing to be off throughout the series, but that's just my opinion.
Tbh not really looking forward to the next volume where we will surely follow Bruce now that he has returned. I'm personally not a big fan of this era Bruce Wayne, but for the sake of researching Damian's character, I will persevere!
Batman & Robin: Dark Knight vs White Knight
Here we go!
Starting off strong with Dick finally having a personality of his own. The new art style isn't as animated, but does wonders for Dick.
We're just going to pretend that this explanation makes sense.
This is so funny. No one was upset, and Bruce didn't even show up. Instead, he sent FLOWERS. Lowk her crashout is valid, this would be my villain origin story too!
Girl get up. He is not worth it.
Ha! Real.
The following dialogue was pretty funny! I keep oscillating between hating and loving her character. One moment she's witty and funny, the next she's being pathetically embarrassing over a man.
I did NOT see that coming! I've changed my mind, I love her. Now this is how you write interesting characters.
The first story was nicely wrapped up! All this for a man is still crazy imo, but it was an entertaining read. So far, the quality of the volumes seem to be increasing as the run continues.
Edit: Turns out the writer for this story is not Grant Morrison, but is Paul Cornell. This explains why I like the characters so much more lol.
Off to the next story!
Loved this! We get the cyclical moment of watching the movie that started it all with the full(ish) family coming together. Very cute!
I'm a big fan of Jason and Kyle being podcast bros, but in like the funny way. They have a weird channel on YouTube that's kind of niche, but still somewhat popular. The fans think it's really accurate cosplayers who get high together and method act. Since they both are a little lesser known heros, the JLA/Batfam/Lantern Corps remain unaware the channel exists.
Knowing how these two interact, I'd imagine there's a lot of memeable moments.
Some viral clips:
Kyle: If you were put into a position to defend yourself what would come out: the Robin training or the gothamite?
Jason: The gun, bitch
————————
Jason: So I'm sitting there, in Crime Alley, trying to stuff my face with the best chili dog known to man while some poor bastard gets robbed
Kyle: Wait, how good was the chili dog? Important info
Jason: 3000/10, would kill a man for it
Kyle: You'd kill a man for a half filled stale bag of doritos that's been stepped on
Jason: Yeah, but like, I'd probably kill Arsenal
Kyle: Damn, good fucking chili dog
Jason: Anyways, I'm enjoying my food, and all of the sudden I hear this agitating, grating voice.
Kyle: Batman?
Jason: Worse. Nightwing
Kyle: *pfft*
————————
Jason: Favorite hostage story, go
Kyle: Once I was kidnapped on a jungle planet and the guys wanted to use my power ring to figure out if they could touch some weird looking sloth thing. They asked me if it was poisonous and I said no
Kyle: Then the thing bit them and the guy died like maybe 30 sec later
Kyle: And I was like, ☝️ it's venomous
Jason: I feel like might be manslaughter
Kyle: Didn't happen on earth, plus I was kidnapped. Doesn't count and if it did it was self defense
Jason: I wish the other lanterns knew how fucked up you are😒
I wanted to write a fun 5+1 fic with Jason and the rest of the Batfam, but I can't help but write them with constant animosity. Like this was not the direction I was planning on going, and I lowk might restart (at least I've only written a few introductory paragraphs).
That being said, my ideal Dick and Jason dynamic is one where Dick is still angry and passive agressive towards Jason, meanwhile Jason thinks that they are on great terms and is unintentionally ragebaiting his older brother.
Anyways this is what i have so far 😭 (first chap was supposed to be them finding out the origin of Jason's white strip)
---
If Dick Grayson were anyone other than a veteran vigilante raised by the world's greatest detective, set upon the streets at the tender age of 11, he might have missed the speckling of white dotting his brother's scalp. As it were, Dick was all that and more. He had overseen a team of superpowered teenagers, travelled across space, defended his very own city, participated in world-ending battles, and even acted as an interim Batman. But most importantly, he had a bone to pick.
You see, Dick had a serious problem, and that problem came in the form of a 6'4" hulking little brother. Despite their newfound, tentative working relationship, an undeniable tension existed between the two crime fighters. There was enough bad blood between them to fill up Gotham's Bay.
And while Dick couldn't outwardly do anything to compromise this partnership, he sure as hell didn't have to make it a pleasant experience for his former successor.
So Dick fell back on his passive-aggressive nature.
Grinning like a shark, he circled his wayward brother. "Is that some gray I'm seeing, Jay? The stress getting to you? Just not cut out for this lifestyle, eh."
Jason stared impassively at the older vigilante.
"You know, I always thought Bruce would be the first to go gray. Guess you're finally first in something." Jason snorted. "Pretty sure I was the first to kick the can, Dickie." The older man hummed in reply.
"You should start wearing sunscreen, wouldn't want to be the first to get wrinkles, too."
"Hate to break it to you, big bird, but you and B have already got me beat."
Hands immediately clamped to his forehead. "What?! No way! Take that back!" Jason laughed at his brother's antics. "Always so vain Dickie," he teased. Dick huffed. Admittedly, his game wasn't at its best today, and all his barbs were landing flat.
"You know, if you're calling me old, that would make you ancient."
"At least I don't look it! You look like an old man, maybe it's time for you to retire."
And wouldn't that be something, to finally have the Red Hood off the streets. They had tried so many times to eradicate his malicious influence from Gotham's ecosystem, but like a cockroach, Jason always found a crevice to hide in. He always came back.
Years ago, he might have rejoiced at that fact, might have been comforted in the knowledge that he would never truly lose his little brother. Acknowledging that he didn't feel that way twisted his innards and tangled his nerves. And so, Dick left that box untouched in a back-end corner of his mind and blocked all access.
He buried the malaise that came with thoughts of impassioned literary tirades, spirited late-night flights, unanswered phone calls, and his own casual cruelty.
He erased from memory the boyish face that never quite managed to hide his desperation for acknowledgement behind a petulant glare, and replaced it with visions of violence.
Nights swinging together over the metropolitan cityscape morphed into the sight of Tim lying in a pool of his own blood. Lounging in the warmth of Wayne Manor's sunroom was replaced by Damian's paralyzed form lying on concrete with a bullet in his back.
"You okay there, big bird?" Dick blinked as his mind catapulted back to the present. Jason smirked wolfishly. "Lost in thought? Maybe you should retire for the night. It's way past your bedtime, old man."
The ensuing cackles distorted through a voice modulator as Jason readorned his helmet and grappled away. Dick scowled at his receding profile.
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