One Of Dick's Greatest Strengths Is His Ability To Manipulate Every Single Person In Existence.

I feel like Dick and Damian definitely do regard each other as father and son to a certain extent but in a way that is so tied to Bruce's "death" that they'll never actually say it. Damian will just keep referring to Dick as his Batman, a role that has only ever meant father to him, and Dick will refer to Damian as his Robin, a name that has only ever meant son.

Gojo Satoru is the prime example of a character whose very existence is rooted in weaponisation. His dehumanisation is so severe that it serves as a point of origination for who he really is. And while it is a fact that Gojo, as the strongest sorcerer, cares very little for his inherent weaponisation, it still doesn’t make his character any less tragic. Canonically speaking, Gojo used his weaponisation to bring his long term goals into motion, without his dehumanisation, the narrative would be very fractured. This is why the hidden inventory arc was the rawest, most jarring arc of the entire series because not only does Gojo get a taste of normalcy but gets hooked onto it to the point that he, a weapon of the Jujutsu society, lets a mass murderer roam freely for ten years. Gojo’s weaponisation is tragic when you see it from the lenses of a viewer. Because at his very core, he is human, which is why his blue spring of youth serves as the point where the entire trajectory of the manga changes because it is when he experiences something akin to normalcy. Obviously this doesn’t take away from the fact that Gojo himself uses his weaponisation to his convenience and often asserts himself a weapon to fulfil his motives but it just gives a lot more dimension to his character. He is not someone who pities himself for being a weapon, because he has honed himself as a weapon, along with the very narrative but that doesn’t take away from his innate humanness.

From having a bounty on his head from the moment he was born to experiencing a taste of youth, to loving and living and losing and then dedicating himself to give the next generation of sorcerers the youth they deserve, to fighting and dying by the hands of the strongest. Gojo fulfils his role not only as a weapon but also a human.

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

What if Dick could cycle through identities.

Dick Grayson has more identities than there are colors in the rainbow.

There’s Dickie Grayson - school favorite, basketball star, and mathlete. Best friend of the Titans and beloved love of many. Also a wonderful brother, devoted son, and dear grandson.

There’s Richie Grayson - darling of high society. Women swoon over him, men appreciate him (ie Roy’s “pretty bird”), and as a gothamite aptly put it, “who wouldn’t recognize Gotham’s very own Paris Hilton”.

There’s Ric Grayson - cold, night thrill seeking civilian with more trust issues than money in a trust fund.

There’s Nightwing - according to Supes, “your words are worth their weight in gold”. According to Bruce, “sometimes I feel he’s the only thing I did right”. According to Hawkman, “the one person the entire superhero community trusts after Superman”. And so much more. Strong enough to defeat Ra’s Al Ghul in a sword fight and be given the name “Detective”. Beloved hero and the pride and joy of the superhero community

There’s Agent 37 - An international, multilingual super spy who broke his partner’s hardened interior while rigorously maintaining his morals in the face of adversity. So handsome that while a psychotic murderer was chasing him and his partner, he reached up, switched off the spiral, and was so beautiful that the stunned woman went, “woof”, lost control of her bike and crashed.

There’s Renegade - Deathstroke’s apprentice who was carefully trained by him until he tricked the man and freed himself. Taught Deathstroke’s daughter Rose to be a hero and was punished by his nemesis through the Chemo bombing of Bludhaven. Yet Deathstroke still hugs him and says “Nice to see you again, kid. You look well” and leaves messages on his fogged bathroom mirror, “message received”, and waits in Dick’s bedroom while he’s dressing to let him know why he’s in the city.

There’s Crutches - mob enforcer for Black Mask and took down his crime syndicate from the inside out.

There’s Talon - His grandfather’s legacy of being an undead assassin for the court. The Gray Son of Gotham.

Finally there’s Robin - the 8-18yr old who went on joy rides with Superman, said “Holy ___ Batman!”, the one who was astounded when He asked if he would join the Justice league and Batman said, “no, you’ll be leading them”. The one who was driving batmobiles at 8 and singing songs to comfort victims that still remember him and his warmth 20 years later. The acrobatic prodigy that left the country in wonder. The first sidekick and role model for many young heroes that came after him.

He has many more identities I couldn’t name but - imagine if Dick could change these personalities in a heartbeat. One second he’s peppy and overjoyed Robin and the next he’s flippant and dismissive Ric Grayson. Oh the possibilities

I don’t remember where this quote’s from but: the man has a temper that could start wars. And a smile that could end them.

So i’ve been wondering abt how the next conflict will unfold after the current breather in the manga… and i can’t help but suspect (and hope) that maybe, just maybe it’ll have something to do w Suo.

I say this bc currently, it looks like we’re getting the backstories of the main group one-by-one (Sugishita, Kiryu, possibly Sakura).

And at the same time, chapter by chapter, we’ve been getting tiny little snippets of Suo’s suspicious actions/habits in the background: him wearing a swim shirt/staying out of water, Kiryu deliberately mentioning how he’s not eating again (there is a separate panel of this interaction, so it’s clearly important as it’s divided from other dialogues), him taking control of the conversations and manipulating them in his favor in both ch 171 and 172…

I really feel like something is brewing in the background when it comes to this boy, bc all of this happened in the last 4 chapters which he appeared in.

But most of all, what really concerns me is this line:

Throughout ch 173 he seemed to handle the tension of the Kiryu-family quarrel with such unnatural level-headedness, he’s the only one who is still staring straight ahead in the panel below, not being startled at all by the yelling.

He’s also the only one who’s observant enough to sit back in the same exact place after spying on Kiryu

All of these reactions, habits and behaviors just make me suspect that he might have a difficult familial situation, where he had to hide emotions, learn how to be observant and a smooth-talker, manipulate his way out of situations, grow up way too quickly…

And well, let’s not forget how he says that his best skills are at negotiating, making the enemy “cough up information” and do as he says…

I’m honestly kind of a believer of the “Suo has ties with the mafia” theory, or at least i think he has some seriously dark familial situation and knows some shady ppl… he’s the only person who Nirei had no notes on, nobody heard anything about his days before Furin (except that he’s a good fighter)… it’s all just too suspicious tbh.

And well. As the story and world-building progresses, each conflict in the manga has been more and more dangerous and intense: first we had the one-on-one’s with Shishitoren, then the more violent Keel-conflict, then we had straight up adults fighting in the Roppo-Ichiza vs Gravel arc, and ultimately the war with Endochika + Noroshi… i wonder what could be more intense than this last arc.

Still, Wind breaker hasn’t been truly dark up to this point, so i highly doubt that a story about a group of wholesome delinquent high schoolers would delve into some less PG stuff involving the mafia. The story is more about acceptance, community and personal growth, a violent and darker gang arc would be quite out of place imo.

However, i truly suspect it will be Suo’s backstory that’ll serve as a transition to the next conflict/heavier arc.

But as always, feel free to disagree, this is only just my personal opinion and theory<3

I agree with your points about how Suo and Sakura fool each other super well! I also love how differently they approach problems when a plan is needed. Like how Sakura tends to jump in headfirst, but when a plan is really needed he turns to Suo and trusts him to handle it. And Suo’s plans for protecting the bridge were legitimately brilliant, showing how correct Sakura was to trust him with it. (Seriously, Suo’s talent for strategy that goes beyond even their normal one on one fights and into planning out giant group fights is insanely impressive and I somehow never really see anyone mention that) But I just love that while being foils of each other they also support each other where they can and become much stronger for it

Going off on a tangent here, but Suo’s intelligence has to be one of my favorite parts of his character.

A little detail I like is how he references Japanese mediums of storytelling:

But the best example of Suo’s sheer intellect is during the Tsubaki chapters.

When Suo talks about the significance of Yui planting the dogwood tree, he first explains it’s Hanakotoba (Japanese flower language).

However, the “Am I indifferent to you” definition is not part of the dogwood tree’s flower language. In fact, Suo actually refers to this custom from the 19th century:

As Yui was the one who planted the tree (rather than Ito, the male), she (the woman) conveys that her feelings towards her husband are not of indifference despite his prior belief. Since this was a tradition from the Victorian Era (which predominantly took place in the United Kingdom and its colonies), Suo explains the meaning in English rather than Japanese.

And as you’ve mentioned here, Furin would’ve been cooked by Noroshi’s massive numbers if Suo didn’t come up with their main strategy. Additionally, Sakura would’ve never worked with Sugishita or realize that he can’t fight alongside other people properly if it wasn’t Suo who had guided him.

Because of Suo’s guidance, Sakura was able to take down enemies with Sugishita and fight well during the first half of Noroshi. In a way, Suo is the brains to Sakura’s brawn (and Nirei would be the heart).

My favorite thing about reading Dicks thought process vs literally how everyone else views him.

This is the least exaggerated version of this I will willing produce.

-older gen JL: thinks wing is dependable, charming, intelligent and a great leader, impressed how much he’s grown and how well he’s done in the hero world

Heroes his age: the golden standard that everyone tries to match up to and fails at one point in their sidekick-hood before accepting yeah I’m not Dick Grayson and having him lead them in a hero team. The defacto person to look towards in a crisis situation, manages tasks efficiently and doesn’t let personal details affect him. He’s cool, calm and collected while still being the most empathetic man on the planet.

Heroes younger than him: straight up awe. if the heroes who saw his awkward teenage phase, discowing and are privy to his love life info. How do you think people who just saw ‘Mr perfect’ without any of the painful growth to get there and since about 9 billion things have happened since Dick was Robin people have too much to talk about to ever bring it up. I see their thought processes going something like this

-oh my god is that nightwing like THE nightwing like Robins big brother nightwing like the leader of the titans nightwing is he looking at me oh my god he smiled at me wtf wtf wtf until they hyperventilate

(Source how Kow talks about dick Grayson like 99% of the time- ignore all Dan Dido works )

Batkids: awe with a side of insecurity bc that’s the gold standard and how tf are you supposed to get there. Even if you’re an amazing fighter like Cass, the leadership skills, ability to talk people down, make more allies than enemies, infiltrate, lie, cheat, steal, put on a million different masks and come out whole.

How does he know what he’s doing? How does he look so calm and collected when the worlds ending

Batman and Superman (remember when they co-parented in the 60s yeah me neither): like uncomfortable amounts of pride like the type of pride that feels too big for your chest as well as implicit trust.

For B specifically Dick is his crowing achievement as Batman

VS

Dick Grayson at any given moment pre Tom Taylor run: everything is my fault, I suck at everything, I’m never good enough to stop bad things from happening to the people I love it’s all my fault and I will never be able to stop it. My life is an accidental trolly problem except I didn’t know it when I started, I didn’t mean to press any levers I didn’t know what I was doing I am a burden who must make himself useful as an apology.

Like Dick is in a constant spiral of how much he hates his limits and how he just isn’t ever going to be strong,fast,smart or good enough while everyone is staring at him with heart eyes like omg it’s nightwing <3

thinking about lawrence and bellini and how they think they know each other, and they do, but not without the clarity each expects...bellini's 'don't be so naive' comment comes out with such force. he's been holding that between his teeth for years. decades maybe. all the time bellini spent struggling with his ambitions, his resentments.

it's only now during the conclave that will make or break his career and redeem the course of his life, his chance to step up and take up the mantle of the dead friend he is grieving deeply. it's now that it comes out - how much he has been living like a politician.

presenting himself one way, upholding the virtues of justice and humility, enjoying his own flair in throwing down the gauntlet, listing all his ideals and principles.

add: dramatic refusal. add: dramatic exit. performing so well, even his oldest friend cannot see it. cannot see him, for who he is. and so of course lawrence's trust and belief in him cannot be true; but bellini can't help but crumble when it starts eroding.

he is a false icon and a false man. he envies what he sees of lawrence, the doubts he has which are turned towards god and not towards the church (a doubt he shared with the late pope, and can only confess to it through him, even in absence). his self-denial that keeps him safe from ambition, that makes it terribly easy to set aside as competition, makes him safe to rely on.

except lawrence has a courage bellini can't replicate. an ability to respond to circumstances and not merely react and hesitate due to the possible costly outcomes.

because he is brilliant, he can see risks so clearly, he is so deeply aware of the weight in every decision and that hinders him terribly, it is the hubris of the righteous, a self-hating sense of responsibility. who else but him should be pope?

the big test of character he faces is not a scandal with victims or a crime: it is only disappointing a friend, disappointing himself. only that. a very quiet thing happens, behind closed doors, like so many other quiet things.

lawrence breaks the papal seal. he breaks vows and promises and protocol and ritual; he broke faith with the institution they have served together for decades, and so bellini cannot hold faith with him, or the truth he is trying to bring to the light.

the truth does not, then, matter as much as the look of the thing. the risk is too great. oh, it is always too great, for aldo bellini to take.

it is only when he loses lawrence's faith, the last steady old living faith lawrence has, that bellini realizes he does not have it in him to live by integrity. what an ugly thing to know, and to learn from someone renouncing him, the one person he thought would not.

lawrence makes clear bellini's weaknesses, as he does for the rest, and bellini sees him clearly in the light of day after a night of looking at himself, and he is very sorry, and grateful to him, for being the crucible. the least of all evils, and the one who cuts closest to the bone.

he looks at the darkness inside himself and apologizes. so quickly, so simply.

bellini apologizes; he makes amends; he offers supports, upholds the mirror as lawrence did, works towards a better future. it is another day. he is a politician, and it is another day.

when they reconcile he says: it is shameful to live this long and not know himself. and it is then, because he says that, at his prompting, in the example of that peculiar courage bellini has and thinks he does not have, that lawrance admits it. he does have a name scrawled in his heart, a small ambition; he is capable of wanting, even he would rather not.

and still, bellini leads the way for lawrence. in facing his failures to live up to his image of himself, in the possibility not only of regret and shame and struggle for dignity when facing the certainty of defeat (adeyemi) or denial, incomprehension (tremblay) - but in making amends.

lawrence's old trust in him is not baseless or empty, there is love between them still, because bellini is not that good of a politician, it turns out; he doesn't have what it takes to stick it out, to pretend at a thing he cannot be.

he is too true for it. he is brave, only not in the way he sought to be thought of. a quieter thing, less emphatic, more powerful by far. he is so clearly exhausted of himself. pretending at certainty is so much more treacherous and exhausting and dangerous than doubt admitted. and humility, the scholar learns, is the only possible road for knowledge of the self and the other and the world.

don't be so naive thomas. don't be so naive. but in the morning it is bellini asking for the name john, preparing in expectation and hope for his friend the moment he would ask him the term of his papacy after being elected. he asks without resentment, and with a new belief in him, a true understanding.

a reverse-baptism, which never happens, except for how it exists between them. what is the name of your fearful desire, your sin, your hope in the midst of hopelessness, your weakness like my own?

the dangerous ones are the ones who want to be elected. but aldo bellini is the one person who says, everyone wants it. he denies the possibility for false pretenses.

and because it is his friend who speaks of it, not tremblay accusing him of it or benítez offering it freely, but aldo bellini who asks what is the shape and sound of his secret faith in himself, lawrence can admit it.

if he can forgive bellini for it, he has to forgive himself. if bellini can face what sort of man he is, so does he. and he doesn't, of course, forgive himself for it, or give himself much of any grace. but he begins to believe that is it possible others might truly know his doubts and desires, and not look away, or be appealed, betrayed, renounce him for his humanity. bellini doesn't.

they see each other clearly now. they sit on the same bench, apart from the rest of the world, secluded in friendship.

in the script, after the explosion, they walk arm in arm for the last vote.

nice: futility in the pursuit of perfection

(spoilers for EP 1 under the cut)

note: i'll refer to the original nice in this analysis, not lin ling. (we'll talk about him later LOL)

this is purely based off of the official trailers, pv, character concept, and episode one, so my thoughts are subject to change as more episodes are released <3

in nice’s character concept, he’s is shown to be nothing short of a perfectionist. everything has to be perfect: stationary, plates, silverware (or goldware, i suppose) have to be in their rightful positions. all of his belongings are gold, white or fall in a shade of brown, black. even his pillowcase is set in a neat geometric pattern. his hero costume’s color scheme- gold, white, and blue- screams sophistication and poise.

nothing can be out of place- so why choose to die the way he did? it's messy, undignified- and most importantly, public.

what type of fan wants to see their shining hero's brains splattered out on the street? in his hero suit, no less.

nice wanted to permanently tarnish his image of being “perfection incarnate.” he decided to damn himself even further by pointing finger guns at lin before falling- a bittersweet farewell.

despite his endless pursuit of perfection- and having seemingly obtained it (with the title of no.10 hero, his face plastered across every other billboard in the city, and a beautiful girlfriend fitting of his clean, polished image)- i think nice hated himself.

his floor in hero tower is devoid of any personality or sentimentality. the only decor is a piano off to the side, two treadmills (the other presumably meant for moon)- and most importantly, a statue of himself- of nice- in the middle of it all.

offering a palm out to whomever stands before it, the statue almost seems welcoming, friendly. almost. it looks like it belongs in a city hall or museum, not someone's personal residence.

so why keep a statue of himself in his personal living space?

you could theorize he's narcissistic. i mean, people would kill for the prestige tied to the name "nice." (we even get a glimpse of this jealousy in his character promo- hello mysterious stranger.) maybe it inspires him as he steps into another day of being “nice.”

but to me, it’s a reminder fueled by self-loathing.

nice has nothing- is nothing- without being perfect, adored, and envied. he's a former ballet dancer- an art form known for its severe dedication to the craft. we don’t even know his real name. If he can’t be the perfect hero, what is he? And when that image is threatened, what will he do to maintain it?

according to the official trailer 3, nice says he will “use whatever dirty tactics it takes to prevail.” the “villain” we see in his PV calls him out on his hypocrisy, implying that he was involved- or at least knows of some of nice’s misdeeds in the pursuit of perfection.

hell, even his own hero name calls him out. To be nice is to be agreeable, pleasing. niceness is a surface level trait: a veneer meant to cover imperfection and rot. he's not supposed to be kind, much less good.

“Nice” has to be perfect, and whoever held the mantle before lin was unable to afford the cost.

I think the Biggest Lie DC told is that the Robin mantle is meant to be a Legacy.

All I see from it, is Dick constantly compensating for the fact that it was initially stolen from him, and making nice with the next kid who inhabits it, and being weirdly obligated to taking them under his wing, out of a strange sense of moral obligation because he felt responsible for the role he made.

What’s weird is the fact that no one’s supposed to be Robin after him. He didn’t just “outgrow” it so much as he was mentally estranged from the role because of his disagreements with Bruce.

It’s Bruce who went territorial with it. It’s Dick who realized Robin could never be divorced from the idea of Batman.

Bruce went out of his way to give the costume inspired by the Grayson’s Death Shroud to a boy who never met them.

An appropriate legacy would be Clark inspiring the idea of Nightwing and essentially giving Dick his blessing to be patterned off of him and a “Super” legacy, while giving him the freedom not to be an echo of him, because Dick wanted to be his own man. That right there respects the term of Legacy.

Another Legacy, would be the Flash. Wally literally took the same mantle because he loved Barry, was inspired by him. He honored that Legacy. It’s a more literal interpretation of the word Legacy.

When the FUCK did Jason ever honor the Dick Grayson Legacy?

Was he ever even told about the origins of that mantle?

What inspired it?

No. He had no idea because Bruce just handed Robin over and thought he could replace Dick. Robin is an idea of Dick’s. It’s Dick who excels. Its Dick who fights crime and defends the innocent.

It’s nothing personal for Jason.

It’s just a cool idea to be “Batman’s Partner.”

No one’s honoring Dick’s Legacy.

It doesn’t exist.

What it became was a means to “Partner with Batman.” Wearing it, one gets to have the Dick Grayson “Experience” and hopefully “do it better.” (🙄Bitch please)

Bruce doesn’t ever realize how entitled he was in handing the mantle off to Jason. And later when he’s too mentally and emotionally sick after Jason’s death, Tim comes along.

But Tim also doesn’t honor the “Robin Legacy.” How can he if he’s being thrown at Bruce as a crutch for his mental health and well-being?

Dick as Robin was never “suicide watch” for Batman. Or a “reason for Batman to take care of himself.” And if he was, how is that a legacy?

Truth be told the Grayson Legacy never existed.

Dick never passed on a Legacy. He actually never had a say in it. It became an obligation.

Dick never had a say or a choice or an option to give Robin away to Jason. It’s only AFTER THE FACT, he gives his “blessing.”

But in honesty, he’s being noble in doing so. He’s not there to crush the dreams of an orphan kid. Bruce taught Dick how to Hope. And how everyone needs a little hope.

Robin is a dream.

Not a legacy.

And it turned into a Nightmare under Tim’s hands. Robin suddenly became a way for Bruce not to go off the deep end. And Dick didn’t have a choice because it was either allow it and buy Bruce time to get better, or stop Tim and let Bruce implode.

And implode Bruce did.

Suddenly, Bruce could wield the Robin mantle as a way to Manipulate Stephanie Brown and manipulate Tim Drake into staying because the dream of being Robin was a temptation both of them couldn’t handle, and Bruce knew that. He banked on it when he set their own insecurities against them.

The only time the Robin mantle went back to being a dream was for Damian Wayne. And even then it wasn’t a choice either. It was either do that or watch the kid self destruct or Destroy everything. For a kid who was a knife and nothing else, it was a way to become someone more noble. Dick helped him raise his standards to the inspiration of *Dick’s* version of Robin.

To become someone who doesn’t serve self interest.

Robin helps. Robin saves. Robin serves. Robin sacrifices. Robins hands aren’t bloody. Only his red breast, where his heart is.

Robin isn’t necessarily a personally driven story. Isn’t a coming of age story.

Dick’s Robin was always a Knight who served a kingdom Bruce dreamed up because between the two of them, Bruce was more hopeful and idealistic. Bruce dreamed up a Gotham that didn’t exist until Bruce and Dick tried to work to that end.

In actuality, Bruce taught Dick to dream.

And then Bruce went mad and the Robin mantle stopped being a dream Dick created and instead became a curse.