#halque thoughts

[halque]

On the topic of sexualization in comics and how it is quite literally written and drawn into female characters, I think of Batgirl 2000 issue #39. I think about how, on the SAME page that Cass admits her overwhelming discomfort at being perceived as a body first and a person second, she is being depicted like a pin-up model.

A full-body panel, with the curves of her body accentuated in long, sweeping lines. Showing off the very bikini that Barbara says she "should never have made [Cass] wear..." in an open and unassuming posture, like she hasn't just opened up about her wild distress at being subject to objectifying stares. The writing itself presented an incredibly important message, especially for female audiences, but who was that full-body panel really for?

[halque]

so tired of jokey silly generally happy characters being seen as dumb and incompetent PLEASE STOP. dick grayson is not an idiot just because he is joyful and bouncy he is a highly trained vigilante of years on top of years of experience and hes SMART. hes CUNNING. stephanie brown is not emptyheaded just because she jokes around and makes occasional mistakes shes an expert strategist and hacker and everything else and shes HIGHLY CAPABLE. barry allen and hal jordan are not unintelligent just because they act friendly or snarky or lightheartedly to other members of the jla and arent batman-level serious about everything they do barry is an established forensic chemist and hal is a test pilot meaning he has an extensive knowledge of physics and meteorology and aerodynamics and plane dynamics and STOP WRITING THEM OFF AS STUPID PLEASE I CANT TAKE IT ANYMORE

[halque]

dick's main form of affection isnt to hug or kiss its to violently wrangle someone in his arms and smush his face into their hair like mmprhh

[halque]

the problem with most post spyral fix-its is that they consecutively air out trauma after trauma (which would kill dick) and try to dismantle bruce from the head of the family (which would kill dick)

[halque]

AND ANOTHER THING IS that people make fun of or jest about ric grayson because haha it's his bald arc it's when he's ugly and offputting and not MY dick grayson but IN REALITY his stubbled scarred bald head serves as a visual narrative in tandem with his written narrative. like for dick grayson a largeeee part of his appearance is his dark luscious locks his big poofy hair he's literally dick puffyhair grayson AND WHEN HE LOSES THAT of course he is still beautiful and radiant but he's not ATTENTION-CATCHING... one could only see ric's beauty if they were to look at him for a prolonged period of time whereas one immediately clocks onto dick's beauty because his hair catches their eye DO YOU GET WHAT I MEAN. RIC IS FREER THAN DICK GRAYSON WILL EVER BE NOT ONLY THROUGH STORYTELLING BUT IN THE EYES OF LITERALLY EVERYONE ELSE AROUND HIMMMM HIS APPEARANCE IS QUIETER AND IT SERVES AS A REFUGE AND SHELTER

[halque]

i think dick grayson is at his most charming when he's genuine and caught off guard to the point of acting without reservation.. regardless of what he's doing when he's being real there's this inexplicable pull and a sacred yet grounding warmth surrounding him and yet only certain people can recognize it for what it is and the people that don't are instead drawn in by the facade he puts on and get caught up into the narrative that that facade of dick grayson wants attention and is nothing but shallow and these people are the ones who believe it is only natural to take advantage of him because the facade works too well and even if they see the real true him they will never understand that what he really is is deeply human in a way that somehow feels greater than life and

[halque]

i think something horrible is that dick grayson will always put himself in positions of service for other people regardless of what situations surround the circumstance and so there will always be people who believe it is their right to take from him whether it is through his acts, his body, or his whole being and sometimes those people are the people he loves and trusts most and they dont do it to be nefarious or evil or consciously selfish but they believe it is natural that dick grayson gives and as such they believe it is okay to take what is assumed will be given anyways but its not and never is and sometimes they will never understand

[halque]

something to be said about this parallel. and how babs is the overlap between the two, playing essentially the same role--she doesn't want bruce to be the culprit. of course she doesn't. but in the face of their unwavering stance, she feels responsible to be the one who can handle it all if their worlds all come tumbling down.