I Get Winded By The Fact That Dick And Damian Fully Expected To Spend Their Foreseeable Futures As Batman

Controversial opinion, but I don't think I like good dad Bruce Wayne.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I don't like Bruce being a good dad, but it is hard for me to enjoy it when he's like that all the time. When he suddenly knows how to communicate, or what to do when there's an emotional issue, or that he's now smiling and reassuring his children so easily.

Is just too abrupt after what we've seen so far of him as a parent.

I can't buy this new version of Bruce without any deserved development or previous arc that triggered this drastic change in the way he acts, specially towards his kids. And I get it's usually like an alternative self, and he's always been like that in that kind of universes, but it just feels too easy.

Is like working so hard for something only to be given it without a chance of showing off all the work you've done to get there. Is not fulfilling or satisfying (to me).

And I get the hype, I do, but there's also so much history of the characters that wouldn't have happened had Bruce been truly that great and supportive dad that some portray. It erases too much for me to fully like it.

So, yeah, good dad Bruce I can only enjoy when he's had the proper growth as a character that doesn't erase everything he's done before and instead shows the long journey he had to go through as a person to get to that point.

You know what? I'm crying.

I'm going to have a long post translated into English because I'm bad at English and because I have too many emotions. The fourth episode was definitely a bombshell. In many ways. They gave us a lot of interesting questions and NOT a SINGLE DAMN ANSWER, and it's not like it's a problem. It's cool that Ling Lin has finally begun to realize himself and his desires in isolation from the forced image. It's cool that he ran to save Moon and realized how important it was to him. It's cool that so many people supported him, he's a bunny/sunshine/bun/big guy (as you like it better) and all that. But...

They replaced Nice so quickly...

Okay, let's say again: it was literally publicly announced to the fans that their hero, the man they believed in all this time, was not only replaced by someone completely different, but also because he died. He is not tired, he has not resigned, he has not given up his heroic work, no. Died. And okay, thanks to Ling Lin for not talking about "suicide." He's talking about "death." You can take his words in any way you want (although that's not the point, but still). It just kills me to think that no one, except for the person who was really close to Nice (Wrek), began to grieve for him. Okay, it hasn't been a day since Lin Lin's revelation, I get it. But at the end of the fourth episode, we are shown how the advertisement with Nice's face changes to Linlin's face and no one seems to notice, as if it were....normal? Of course, when the heroes in the world are constantly changing each other and appear and disappear as if at the click of your fingers (yeah, yes, understood, understood at the click of your fingers ha ha) changing a hero at the tenth rank shouldn't be unusual, but... Do the previous heroes get forgotten so quickly?

The first three episodes were filled with the fans' love for Nice. Peculiar, but warm in its own way. They cheered for him, they came to fan meetings, they supported him as much as they could.....And they forgot about him so quickly? Just because.......and why, exactly?

I'm pretty sure they'll show us the backstory of what happened. There is no way such a complex and at the same time terribly interesting character could be so easily forgotten by its creators. Especially considering the shot that recently appeared on Twitter...

In general, the phenomenon of Nice's character and his popularity among the fandom is a topic for a separate conversation, we are not ready for this conversation yet.

But I know for sure that no matter how the creators made him, no matter how crazy, broken, abusive and generally unstable he actually is, I will be delighted.

(what's the point, I'll support him even if he decides to rise from the dead and kill all the other heroes)

((Go ahead, dear! You're walking the road of rage and revenge, and who are we to stop you?)) So! I'm leaving a small message here (rather for myself) because I know that we still have a lot of interesting things to learn about other characters and many of my thoughts will get lost in the flood of new information.

DON'T FORGET HIM.

Never forget that he existed. He was there. It all started with him. And probably it all will end with him.

Not me scrolling through the Conclave tag only to see no one talk about the deliberate positioning and framing of the women in this movie.

Pulling up this movie I completely expected to only encounter Sister Agnes as the one woman we see in the trailer, the conclave a space that has been kept from the female members of the church. Now, color me surprised when I started the movie and most of the establishing shots we got were focused on all the women working in the Vatican.

And it is such a deliberate choice, it does the film a disservice not to talk about it.

Because while Cardinal Lawrence is having his fifteenth breakdown during sequestering and Bellini finds the ambitious asshole within himself, Ray does all the leg work, and Bel---- we see the women work.

We see the kitchens, we see them cook, we see them stand aside. Most of the time when the Cardinals are conspiring it is the women who interrupt because they are busy working, walking, running errands.

And there is power in that.

I think it is very deliberate how often (and with such lingering gaze) the camera shows us the lives of the other half - partially to connect to the wider themes of the movie, on how Bellini asks for women to get more power but never thanks them, and how Benitez stumps them all by thanking the women preparing their meals when asked to say the prayer (considering his own probably tumultuous relationship to gender within the church).

But it also stands in direct opposition to a long tradition in story telling: servants don't exist. How often the heroes of a regency romance are "alone" because the two hand maidens and three maids don't really count.

Conclave doesn't do that.

It doesn't let us look away.

Between all the petty drama, the politics, and the real life consequences of the conclave, we never stop looking at the people doing all the work.

Yes, we follow the ups and downs of Lawrence and Co, but in doing so the movie reminds us again and again of the women working the kitchen.

And that was just such a powerful artistic choice in a movie about a famously misogynistic church... I loved it. And I had to talk about it.

Dick Grayson's talent for manipulation literally brings the world to its knees.

Part 1 post

My absolute favorite trait about Dick aside from his craziness is his ability to control every single person in existence. The best part is, he's so clever in the way that he does it that people almost never notice.

Bart Allen

"Oh! Ahh..you're trying to get my DNA sample. You need my spit! Ha! That's such a Dick Grayson thing to do."

Bart knows!! Dick's brilliantly sly okay. Honey catches more flies that vinegar? He takes it so far that breaks he the ceiling with it because by the time he's done, people don't even know they've been manipulated. And if they do, then what can they do about it? He always wins.

With friends and family he does it to make them feel better without being so overt and discomforting them.

Justice League: Road to Dark Crisis

Jon came to him when he was feeling lost and upset and Dick set up the perfect conditions to encourage him and pick him up. He's just so good at doing what he's doing but he does it for all the right reasons.

But the extent Dick can go trick and manipulate someone is off the charts. A virtuoso.

In a Titans comic, Dick literally spent MONTHS acting depressed and weak after Donna, Wally, and Garth were kidnapped to another dimension by a villain just so he could trick the villain into thinking that his career was over and bring him into the same dimension so Dick could take him down.

He fooled everyone.

Teen Titans: The Silver Age TBP 2 Part #1

"Batman taught me how to be a totally convincing actor! So if the only way you could send me here with your ring was if I filled my brain with evil thoughts, I just faked it! My facial expression was pure evil-but my mind remained pure good." MONTHS.

He planned, pretended, and calculated every single fiber of his own mind and body until the whole world was fooled by his acting. He tricked an interdimensional being who had psychic access. That means he was so extraordinarily manipulative, he can control his own thoughts inside his head to trick someone else. Voldemort's legilimens has nothing on Dick's talent.

Like Bart, sometimes his allies are aware of this like with Selina-

Gotham City Sirens Issue #23

Selina's literally having a mental breakdown trying not to fall for Dick's manipulation and tricks.

But even if they know he's manipulating them, they still are forced to fall for it anyway.

Gotham City Sirens Issue #23

"Damn it."

Like a goldilocks mad scientist - he does it just right.

His acting is just so on point that he outschemes the schemer.

When the Crime Syndicate (Superwoman, Ultraman, Owlman, Power ring, etc) arrive on Earth to take it over when Dick is Batman, Dick needs to do something fast. But to make things worse, there's a being that's so powerful, that both the Crime Syndicate and Justice League combined have a snowball's chance in hell of defeating him.

So what does Dick do? He runs the game.

Justice League of America (2006) Issue #52

Justice League of America (2006) Issue #52

"Of course he had a plan the whole time. He's Batman. He always has a plan."

Justice League of America (2006) Issue #52

He tricks everyone.

Justice League of America (2006) Issue #52

And in the end, the Justice League wins and Dick saves the world.

Justice League of America (2006) Issue #52

I love how they characterized Owlman as a snake because that would make Dick a mongoose since mongoose eats snakes. And do you know what Mongoose represent in folklore? Action, adventure, boldness, fearlessness, impulsiveness, independence, optimism, rebellion, resistance, resourcefulness, speed, adaptation, agility, quickness, intelligence and wit. All characteristics that define him.

He plays the world like a chessboard, always five steps ahead.

He always has an ace hidden up his sleeve.

His thoughts are always masked behind a disarming smile.

He has mastered the art of manipulation.

And that's while he's outright fighting. His subtlety is just so seductive.

Take a look at the way he smoothly evades answering in this panel -

Grayson Issue #9

He's so smooth. She's constantly on the watch but she instantly fell head over heels for his charms in a half a heartbeat, that's just how good he is.

Grayson Issue #10

He's a master manipulator who knows exactly what to say and how to act to always end up winning.

It's seriously such a shame that one of his greatest skills and talents isn't talked about more because this man?! Flawless.

He's the spy everyone on TV wishes they could be. He's the type of spy people read about in history books and marvel at the ease, grace, and legendary story he leaves behind. He's the spy that everyone knows and dreams of in their fantasies.

Nightwing (2016)

And oh how they so are.

He can just get people to do whatever he wants.

There's a reason why Batman's only contingency plan against Nightwing is "Let's hope he fucks up." Because with his intelligence, skill, power, charisma, and raw talent - he's goddamn unstoppable.

I need people to be aware that Dick was an absolute menace to criminals when he was Robin, ok? 

Adeyemi tries to use Lawrence's words against him in saying they are seeking a pope who "sins, asks forgiveness, and carries on", but Adeyemi never gets to the second part. From the beginning, he insists that he has done nothing wrong, that he was not at fault on account of his age, that the child may not even be his! His tears aren't of guilt, he cries because he's disappointed he has lost. He's crying for the death of his ambition, his dreams.

In the same way, Tremblay denies his sins from beginning to the bitter end, even in the face of undeniable evidence. Tedesco finds nothing wrong with his fascist views.

How can there be forgiveness when the sinner will not even acknowledge the sin?

Do you think Sakura will get power up ? Yk his fights conclusion against top tiers are so disappointing> his opponents gave up or his friends help him .... They call him plot armor fighter on TikTok 😕

I'm going to be so real with you- no, I don't think Sakura is going to get a power up. At least, not in the way most anime series do it. Not in the way that people engaging with Wind Breaker as a fighting anime are hoping he will. The points in the story where people are training to get stronger are montages, depicted to show how everyone's putting everything into becoming strong enough to protect what's important to them, it's not about leveling up their fighting style or coming up with the one big move that's going to win them their next battle. Wind Breaker's just not that show, and it never has been. Sakura's climatic fights are never actually about him being stronger than the other person. Imma pull out that Kotoha panel from the very beginning, especially since Kotoha and Umemiya are the characters through which the fundamental points of the show are given to us.

So let's talk about Sakura's "disappointing" climatic fights. Yes, Sakura doesn't actually win these. His opponents concede. Why? BECAUSE FIGHTING SAKURA HAS MADE THEM REALIZE SOMETHING ABOUT THEMSELVES THAT CHANGES IN THAT MOMENT, and thus they no longer see a reason to keep fighting Sakura. Let's start with the first one, Togame Jo (🥰💖✨💕✨ Let it be known I LOVE TOGAME'S CHARACTER SO MUCH). Why Togame throws his fight against Sakura is definitely the one that's easier to understand. Togame has been trying to desperately keep Shishitoren together despite the fact that their leader was shattering into pieces for so long. He was feeding the words that would keep people in the group despite Choji's cut-throat new policy of "If you are weak, if you lose a fight, you're out. You're worthless and an obstacle to my dream of being free and having fun." Up until Choji's breaking point, the little guy was Shishitoren's sun. He was this shining bright light that could put a smile on any of the guys' faces and spoke so easily and freely about how they were all in this race together to become stronger and they would be the freest people in the world. Togame didn't want Shishitoren to lose that, to lose that Choji, so he tried to take the fall. He was new to being included into people's social groups, he was never as outgoing or lively as Choji. He could be the bad guy. He was okay with that.

He had to convince himself he was okay with that, and tied (up his hair) himself to that vow that he wouldn't give up on the sun. Going so far as to put tinted glasses on to convince himself that the old Choji was still there..... somewhere. But what happens during his fight with Sakura? Togame realizes what he did was wrong, and things were never going to get better continuing they way they were. He shouldn't have let Choji change who he was, he shouldn't have let Choji change the rules of their race for power and freedom, he shouldn't have just bowed his head in order to stay by Choji's side.

But, if he what he was doing was wrong... If what he was doing was only letting Choji continue to suffer, feeling confused and alone, then... why were doing this stupid tournament fight against Furin? Why would he fight to help Choji have claim over both Shishitoren AND Furin? That wasn't going make Choji happier. And Choji realizing getting Furin didn't change anything would only make his mental state worse too.

Togame's heart wasn't in the fight. He didn't want to do all of this anymore. He was realizing everything they were doing was wrong, and more than anything else he was just. so. tired. Of pretending to be someone he wasn't. Of trying so hard to keep the broken shards who were once his friends together through lies and cruelty. So he throws the match. He lets Sakura land the punch and then says he gives up and can't move anymore. And what was it that made Togame realize all of this?

Sakura's declaration that he would never let others bend or change who he is at the top of his lungs. Of course, Sakura's words come from his past experiences and having people repeatedly tell him he should cover up who he was. That he should be ashamed of things that Sakura couldn't change about himself. But Sakura's words and refusal to waver or falter resonated with Togame. Yes, Umemiya laughed that Sakura thought what he meant by 'have a conversation with your fists' meant Sakura would hear words coming out of his punches. What DID happen during the fight though, was they both exchanged what their beliefs were, and Sakura called Togame the fuck out for lying to himself. That his actions wasn't what he was preaching. He was calling him out for being delusional about what his actions were going to achieve. If Togame wasn't struggling with his inner turmoil and was actually fighting with his whole heart, his whole BEING in the fight, could he have won? YEAH, PROBABLY. Sakura at this point was just some poor freshman kid who has picked fights with guys randomly on the streets for a good portion of his life. But Sakura puts all of who he is in a fight, at this point in the story Sakura fights because he thinks his life depends on it. He truly believes that fighting is the only way he can find anything of worth within himself. It would have been impossible for Togame to fight with that amount of will. And THAT'S why Sakura won.

Now, let's talk about Sakura's fight with Endo. Right off the bat, yes- other characters (including TOGAME HIMSELF) comment on how much Sakura has grown in such little time when they are watching him fight Endo. But listen, you're going to have to trust me when I say I don't think what's really being said here is that Sakura's PHYSICAL STRENGTH is so much greater. Why is Sakura leagues above where he was when he fought with Togame? Because at that point Sakura was still fighting for himself. In his fight against Endo? Sakura isn't fighting for himself. He couldn't give a SHIT about himself (Which- 😭). He's fighting because with every fiber in his being, he desperately wants to protect and keep Furin standing. Everything they've done for him; the kindness and care that they've extended to him. Everything Umemiya's gone through and fought for to make sure that his hometown could be a place where everyone can feel welcomed and laugh and eat in good company; to make sure no one feels like it's them alone against the whole world. Sakura would rather DIE than see that Furin get destroyed.

Just like Togame, Endo isn't necessarily fighting for himself either. He's fighting so Takiishi, the person he loves and worships the ground he walks on, can be happy. The difference here? Takiishi doesn't really give Endo the time of day. Now, I wouldn't go so far as to say Takiishi doesn't care about Endo at all, he calls Endo by his name too at the end of the war, but the fact that he did so STUNNED Endo. Because Endo himself didn't think Takiishi gave two shits about him. But Endo had decided he was okay with that. Convinced himself that that didn't matter. He didn't love Takiishi for being kind or friendly. He thought Takiishi covered in blood and looking beautiful when fighting was hot (and I think there was also a feeling of kinship from Endo in recognizing they both felt so different and couldn't connect with other people in the world)

Endo feels ALONE in his love, even if he's with Takiishi physically. Even if he goes everywhere Takiishi goes and gives the man his whole being. Endo doesn't have a place he feels he belongs because he doesn't think he has been let into Takiishi's world, and that's the only place he wants to be. The Furin of the past too was very likely people who felt alone in the world. So they lashed out, picked fights with everyone, because they had similar frustrations and perspectives to Sakura when he first arrived to Makochi. So why does Endo throw his fight against Sakura? Because Sakura (to Endo's frustration because he was so close to convincing Sakura to leave Furin if it meant he and Takiishi would also leave. Withdrawing all the other fighters in the town wouldn't stop Takiishi from getting that fight with Umemiya at that point) decided, no, he would rather die than leave this little family he's been welcomed into. For whatever reason, everyone else decided Sakura was worthy and deserved to be a part of their family. He would hurt them more by deciding to stop fighting and just agree to leave Furin than he would by losing his fight against Endo. So what change did Sakura make in Endo? Well there was the fact that the way Sakura was fighting reminded Endo of Takiishi. But.... -

So what is so vastly different about Sakura fighting here than all the times Endo has watched Takiishi fight? You can see what it is reflected in Endo's eye in the page above. Why is Sakura fighting different here than when he first showed up and started fighting Endo? Because he realized in talking with Endo that HE is the threat against Furin. Not Takiishi. I think a part of Sakura was stressed about the fact that Takiishi was fighting Umemiya already on the roof. Sakura didn't know that this whole "war" idea, threatening the civilians of Makochi, pulling in so many people to beat down Furin and the town, ALL OF IT wasn't even about a conflict of ideals of what Furin should be. It was because ENDO wanted Takiishi to be able to fight Umemiya. That's it. There was NO REASON TO EVEN INVOLVE ANYONE ELSE. People were getting hurt, LIVES WERE IN DANGER, all because Endo thought it would be fun to go about it this way. Fun to tear apart Umemiya's dream project (also because Endo fucking loathes Umemiya). My point is, Sakura sole attention, sole reason for standing on his two feet is to STOP ENDO. Everything else has faded away into the background for Sakura. It is the OPPOSITE of what Endo feels from Takiishi. Endo has never been on the receiving end of such intense emotion from someone. Hilariously enough? This means technically Sakura's emotions got through to Endo. In a... twisted way, but Endo is a twisted, fucked up guy.

To Endo the only way he was going to win this fight was either killing Sakura or convincing Sakura to come with him and Takiishi. So Endo could keep Sakura with him. But Sakura wasn't going to stop when he couldn't fight anymore. He wasn't going to accept his physical limit, and he wasn't going to leave to come back another day and give Endo another euphoria-inducing fight. Endo is physically stronger than Sakura. If Wind Breaker was just about whoever is physically stronger in a fight winning, then yes, Endo would have won. But Endo didn't want to kill Sakura, because that would probably mean never again feeling someone capable of eventually being his equal in fighting and also directing that level of intense attention on him again.

Endo fell in love with Sakura. It's different than his love for Takiishi, and it's still fucked up and twisted, but ENDO DIDN'T WANT TO KILL SAKURA! And Sakura was either going to take down Endo or die trying. He would have kept fighting Endo until it killed him. But also, thematically, Sakura's resolve (a resolve that is backed by so many people, a resolve that proves he is not alone in the world) was never going to lose to Endo, who felt alone. Who was fighting for something alone.

I don't need Sakura to get a power up and win his fights with his physical strength. The entire point of Sakura in these big fights is to have a conversation with these people. To make a connection with them. Because no one is undeserving of personal connections. It's why even though Sakura (rightfully) thinks Endo is insane, he's still willing to be a friend to Endo. If Endo doesn't have someone who'll eat a meal with him, and he wants to hang out with Sakura? Then yeah, Sakura is going to accept Endo for who he is and sure, visit the guy to grab lunch or something, whatever. Because Sakura is adopting Umemiya's resolve, his perspective, and puts importance in making sure everyone can laugh and have a good meal with good company.

A lotta y'all be writing Dick as this terminally lonely man with no friends like 3/4s of the DCU isn't fighting over who gets to be his emergency contact

zoro spending most of his waking hours in the company of the moon (himself). his vigilance when in solitude, his natural inclination to the night being a reflection of himself.

zoro sleeping with the sun (luffy). the hours he allows himself to relax and let go of his alertness. always on the deck, bathing in sunlight. his sleeping hours being a reflection of the vulnerability he allows himself with luffy, with the crew.

sun and moon zolu you have my heart

How do you feel about suo character? Do you feel his arc will start after kiryuu?!

Suo! my little shit! my favorite instigator!

jokes aside i love Suo! he's an incredibly interesting character and not just because we know jack and shit about him

he's a good foil to both Sakura and Nirei and i would love to study him under a microscope and all three of them play off each other So Well

Suo was really the one to break the ice when Sakura first arrived at Furin, which considering how Furin is probably wasn't really something that Sakura would've needed in the long run but it made things easier especially for Nirei's nerves

he does a lot of small things in the beginning (showing off how he can get people to accept his requests like he says himself side note love how both of these examples involve Sugi)

it's kind of funny in the way that Nirei's usually the first one to reach for Sakura (i talk about it more in my ramble here), Suo acts as the kind of bridge to allow Sakura to reach others or vice versa (others reaching to Sakura i mean)

during the grade captain vote, no one was speaking up to volunteer themselves or others and only when Suo volunteered Sakura did the others speak up to agree but also spoke highly about Sakura in the same vein or again going back to him breaking the ice with Sakura meeting the rest of 1-1

i love his relationship with both Sakura and Nirei (do not fucking separate this trio /hj) and how they both affect him

Suo's true emotions, hell possibly even his "real" self under all the masks he puts up, are brought out because of Sakura (his proclamation of taking the top spot and his clear, honest passion) and Nirei (running away from where Suo was protecting him so he could properly focus on the fight)

(anther side note i think this panel is one of the few times we've seen him lose his composure)

which actually kinda brings me to another point and it's a very small one but interesting nonetheless to me but it's the panel of Suo and Kaji training together

the matchup always intrigued me and im dying to know what the thought process was here (there's a fic that explores it here please im begging yall to check it out) esp going the route of both of them having smth that they want to hide (Kaji's berserker beast v Suo's merciless brutality) because they hate that particular version of themselves (though in Suo's case i dont think it's... hate but more like a general distain of it, not how one should properly act kind of thing) granted this is all hc'd territory so take it with a grain of salt

im certain that he envies / admires how Sakura and Nirei can be so open about who they are so authentically (and even push past their perceived limits) which im sure is what drew him to them to begin with (this goes into that beautifully) because whatever he went through has made it so he feels as though he cant be his authentic self

as for whether or not i think well get his arc after kiryuu... honestly i feel like his past might involve the Next Big Arc in a way? i know ive seen people speculate hes got connections with the yakuza and i could see that tbh

through my VERY CURSORY LOOK into leaving the yakuza, it doesnt... seem to be as a big a deal as i was expecting? if youve got a good relationship with the person you work under then its pretty easy for you to leave, though reintegrating with society is the hard part from there. i read that it is possible to just... kinda vanish too, though that wouldnt stop another member from tracking you down (and no fingers are being cut off)

if not a full blown yakuza, i could see Suo being part of a different gang and for one reason or another he left it so his former gang members track him down to either a. drag him back or b. punish him for leaving. not sure if his master would be part of said yakuza / generic gang or if his master is the one who got him out of there (which. hilarious if thats the case boy just went and joined another gang instead)

i dont know if his arc will start immediately after Kiryuu (i could see Nii-sensei throwing in a mini arc that leads into Suo's (like with Ito into Gravel)

whether or not it will though i love this silly lil guy! my craptastic gentleman son