Your brain is literally gynormous. Do you think Damian's and Dick's relationship is paternal? Because, as someone who has actually had to raise their sibling (do not recommend) it looks more like a guy that had too much in his plate trying to be the best caregiver he could, but not really being a parent, if that makes sense. I feel like the idea of him wanting to adopt him feels like kind of a retcon, couldn't really see it in the og run. But of course, it could be because it's not exactly the same as my experience (abusive father, incapable mother, yknow the drill). What do you think? All your posts are so good.
Also while you're at it, what do you think of Dick as a parent? Some elseworlds have played with the concept, and main continuity did something too with Olivia but T*m Tayl*r fucked that up too. I also wonder how Damian would be as a dad, but I don't think I've ever seen any stories with it.
omg anon thank you and thank you for asking!! this is literally one of my favorite topics!! i was thinking about making a post on this and now you gave me the excuse for it!!
Long story short, I don't think that “parental” is a binary thing. I mean, I know several bio-parents who are just guys with too much on their plates, trying to be the best they can, you know? And people can see parent figures in all kinds of relationships that aren’t blood or traditional moms/dads, especially with people who didn't know each other from birth. There are a million ways to be parented, and a million ways to act as a parent.
The way I think about it is, is Dick Damain's John Grayson? No, I don't think so.
But is Dick Damian's Bruce Wayne? Yes. Totally. Absolutely.
More under the cut bc I have a lot of thoughts.
I think to talk about Dick and Damian, we have to start with Dick and Bruce. So much about Dick and Damian is a reflection of the original Dynamic Duo, and I think that's very much the case with this element as well. From the start of their very long comic history, Dick and Bruce have been dancing around their relationship. We get early comics that say they're "like" father and son, we have Bruce saying he couldn't care about Dick more than if he was Bruce's son, but we also have places where they call each other their best friends, where they act more like brothers, etc etc.
When it comes to who our parents are, I think there is the responsibility, and the result. Certain people have the responsibility, the duty, to be our parents, and sometimes (because death or illness or being shitty people), they aren't able to meet those responsibilities. That never removes the responsibility; they don't stop being the parent. But they aren't able to create the result of us becoming good stable adults. That's where other people can step in, where the parental figure appears, and those are the people that we actually point to when we say "they made me the person I am today."
In fandom, we see a lot of Dick not wanting Bruce to replace his father, of him asking not to be adopted. I think this is a fine characterization that works with who Dick is, but Bruce is actually the one to say that he is not going to replace Dick's father. He says it completely unprompted, too. This is withholding the responsibility of being Dick's parent from Bruce, keeping him at a distance and reserving it as an honor for someone who can't hold it anymore, even as Bruce demands responsibility for literally everything else about Dick.
And I think that it's very telling of what Bruce's idea of a father is. The thing about having a dead parent at a young age is that the person of your parents is still tangled in the role of parent in your life; Mom is mom, not Martha, and because she's dead, the image of both Martha and "mom" is frozen. For Bruce, the relationship of father and son is frozen in the relationship of specifically his father and him. Of course Bruce is not Dick's father; Bruce himself is so different from what his conception of a father is. And as a fellow son, for Bruce, someone who just got back from 7 years abroad studying to be Batman, for whom the nearly 20 year old wound is still fresh, the idea of even wanting another father doesn't make sense, particularly for a boy that Bruce identifies with so hard that he becomes the third person ever to know who Batman is.
This looming memory is even worse when it's Dick's turn to be Batman. While Bruce looks at Dick and sees the memory of his own loss, the shadow of his own grief, Dick is looking at Damian and seeing Bruce. Dick knows very well who Damian lost; Dick is grieving what Damian lost more than Damian is. Bruce couldn't conceive of replacing a father, but Dick is struggling to imagining himself replacing Bruce at his job, much less who he was in his personal relationships.
But even if Damian isn't Dick's responsibility, Dick doesn't hesitate to care about Damian's future. "Who's going to save him if we don't?" At the start of the DickBats era, Dick isn't looking at Damian as a family member, really. He's looking at Damian as a victim, abet a very involved, very dangerous one. It's how Bruce looked at Dick too, before he had any reason to know that this kid would become something more to him. But, like Bruce, what Dick does to save Damian is bring him into the thing that is most precious to him; Batman. The mission. Saving people. A way to live in the world.
I know saying someone is the Batman to their Robin is like, a joke at this point. Something unbelievably cheesy. But you google "iconic duos" and Batman and Robin are one of the first responses. There's a reason for the joke. So imagine you are Robin, and your Batman is dead. And you have to go and find a new partner. Dick making Damian his Robin is heavy, just as heavy to me as adoption papers. Bruce made Dick his partner without any idea of what that meant. Dick, and the audience, had 70 years of expectation on what Dick and Damian could be. Dick making Damian Robin was a very specific claim, far stronger imo than just claiming him as a son would have been.
Because, to be honest (and speak to your other question), I don't think Dick thinks a lot about being a parent. I don't really think it's that important to him. Dick is a leader, a mentor, he deals with a ton of teenagers and kids through his vigilante work, he goes to Tim's sidekick parent's meetings and takes Jason skiing and more than that, he's also young. He's in his 20s. He should be at the club. I think he probably thinks he'll have kids in an abstract way, but it's not something he's looking for, consciously or unconsciously. He's not searching for connection, or to fix his mistakes or his past, the things that lead Bruce to adopting sidekicks. He'd be a great dad, and I think we see him being pretty good with his Elseworlds kids, but Dick is a very practical person, and him taking a kid in (vs finding somewhere else they can go) is not really the practical choice.
Except for one kid. There's just been one kid with legitimately no where else to go, where Dick is truly the only option, because going home meant only bad things for him. Dick made Damian part of his family in the ways that mattered to them both in that moment. With their lives, adoption doesn't really make a huge material difference on custody (if Damian wanted to leave, Dick couldn't have stopped him; Damian has access to basically unlimited money and can feed and clothe and wash himself. and possibly already has a phd.), and Dick wanted Damian to choose, anyway. If I recall correctly, Dick says he didn't think about taking Damian with him until Bruce comes back. He thought about taking Damian with him, thought that Damian might be better with Dick (his partner!!!!) than even with Bruce, his dad, the person Dick loves so much, only in the face of them being separated.
Meanwhile Damian, for all his blustering about how Dick needs to "earn" his respect, warms up to Dick startlingly quickly. For Damian, who had never known a father, who in his initial run hadn't even known his mother for more than two years, whose other male family is Ra’s al Ghul, his father is Batman. Even in Tomasi's kinder depiction of Damian's childhood, Damian only knows the Bat. And when he meets Bruce, the first thing he expresses is disappointment. Bruce the man is underwhelming and then goes and dies. So much for the mythic hero!
And then he meets Dick. Who manages to teach Damian something, who doesn't discount his skills even when he's wrong. Who proves that he is better at being Batman than Damian, and shows that he wants Damian around. And, even more importantly, who doesn't die. Dick is stable in a world constantly in flux. Damian screws up a lot in that run, and he leaves for long stretches of it, but Dick is always there when he gets back. There's no blame here, but the truth is that Dick is the one who stays.
Bruce was Damian's father, but what does that mean to someone whose never met a father at all? Bruce might have tried to connect with Damian before he died, but he doesn’t do it in a way that works. He doesn’t give Damian trust, he doesn’t encourage him in the ways Damian finds important…the first person to do that is Dick. Dick gives Damian responsibility, makes him part of the team. It could be argued that Damian didn’t deserve it, but we’re not talking about deserving. We’re talking about what worked. It sounds like as good an idea as making a tiny 8 year old acrobat a sidekick, but it undeniably worked for both Damian and Dick. Does that mean that either of these relationships were parental in the way that we think of it in the real world, in the way that a child psychologist would say is good and healthy? I have no idea. But they are the most parental in the absence of any other parents, and I think that means a lot.
Unfortunately, we don't get to actually see the dissolution of Dick and Damian's partnership. DC conveniently skips over showing us Bruce coming back and Dick becoming Nightwing again; preNew 52, Dick is still Batman with Damian even when Bruce returns, and in the New 52, he's been Batman "Before" and we don't really see the end, just a vague aftermath. But if it did take that kind of change to make them realize their relationship had a flavor of "parent and child", had the makings of something like a father and son, well, they'd just be following in the original Batman's footprints.
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I wanna talk about Xiaolin Showdown's iconic betrayal scene
Disclaimer: I would have said that this post has spoilers for the show.. but does it still count if this is a cartoon from 2003? I dunno
Anyway, time to indulge into my hyperfixation once again
You see, there are shows that do something which can be seen as an interesting twist for that era. It can be seen as something special, iconic, recognizable, because of the way it was presented and the idea that it brought up
Even if there were shows who did that idea before, the show can still make it into something special that can bring a twist to its episodic structure it showed from the start
For me, Xiaolin Showdown brought that special twist with its introduction with Mala Mala Jong
For a show that seemed like an episodic lesson-of-the-week kind of cartoon, it showed its attention and care for continuity by telling us that they kept track of which Shen Gong Wu belonged to which, and by providing us a cool looking villain that was defeated in an interesting way
And, well, what made this thing even more special was the introduction to the first arc of the series that brought a full-on twist to its episodic style, being also the first arc that needed a short recap at the start of the episodes
The betrayal arc
Which is something that I want to analyze
First of all, what makes it interesting is the fact that Raimundo, a protagonist, willingly sided with the bad guys. No mind control, no corruption, and not even possession
It was his choice to join Wuya, which made it on more impactful when he chose to do the right thing in the end
Secondly, his betrayal is also interesting because it seems that what led to it was something simple, but you can actually go deeper into it
If you think about it, its possibility was hinted from episode 5, and what led to the betrayal is a series of circumstances and motives
Let me explain
At the beginning of the show, each monk got their special episode, where they get to fight their own showdown and show more about themselves. Omi got episode 1, Clay got episode 2, Kimiko got episode 3, and Rai got episode 5 (episode 4 showed a Shen Gong Wu that was useful in defeating Mala Mala Jong)
In his episode, Raimundo showed a desire to be active, ingenuity, arrogance, bravery, and most importantly, his reaction to failure: irritation, frustration, crossing his arms, deflective/defensive behavior, and closing himself off from others
He’s the kind of person who avoids showing vulnerability by keeping a lot of his emotions inside and showing tendencies of self-isolation, especially when he’s experiencing failure. One thing to keep in mind is that he later on showed determination of proving himself only after Fung went to talk to him, who he helped him redirect his frustration and energy to something productive
In episode 8 we get to see more of his bravery, heroism and even self-sacrificial tendencies, by facing the Sapphire Dragon on his own in order for his friends to have a chance to escape
And aside from hints of his kindness and care throughout every episode (up till episode 11 at least), episode 9 clearly showed his care & brotherly behavior from his worry that he had towards Omi being lost in New York
Although, episode 11 showed him being annoyed at both Kimiko & Clay, and how his frustration can lead to him wanting to distance himself from others
All of these are important elements for the season finale
Now let’s go to episode 12. The monks having to run away with their Shen Gong Wu is a direct conflict with Raimundo’s traits & beliefs: he hates staying still, he has a tendency to be heroic, he doesn’t like to feel defeat from the enemy and most importantly, he has a strong desire to protect others
So him staying away from an enemy that he only heard how strong he is, an enemy that was endangering Fung & the other people from the temple, was not an option in his mind
And just like in episode 8, he went to face the enemy alone in a desire to protect
And naturally, he was punished by this
Honestly, I really like this moment. In other shows, the character could have been appreciated, praised or even rewarded for this act of bravery (My Hero Academia being an example of that), because this is an heroic act, right? Because the character went to face an enemy, when others were running away and trying to think of a way to defeat it while people were in danger
Here, this was not rewarded. It was rightfully seen as reckless, because being a hero is not just about acting. It’s about doing the right thing, it’s about knowing when it’s the best to act on instinct, and when it’s the best to take a moment and think on how you can help
Intention is not enough, as you can have the best intentions and still endanger the ones close to you
Master Fung was right not to reward him for this
And naturally, Rai doesn’t understand the reason at this moment of time. Because in his perspective, having the heart of a hero is enough, having the bravery to act in times of crisis and help others is enough. He still has yet to learn that you have to first think of a plan before acting, that a hero needs to be brave and wise
This situation is understandable on both sides. Master Fung sees the flaw in Raimundo’s act and doesn’t reward him for it in order to prevent it to become a habit, and Rai doesn’t yet understand what he was missing in his action and sees this as being unappreciated, as being a failure
And just like episode 5, he reacts to this failure like the last time: deflection, frustration, and isolating himself from others
As he walks off, Omi tells the others to leave him be, as this is Rai’s journey for self-reflection
Which frankly, was a mistake on the other’s (particularly Omi’s) part
And we know this because of episode 5. Because, Rai only worked on learning and bettering himself after Fung went to talk to him, otherwise he would have still been closed off from others. This showed that Raimundo needs someone to talk to him about the situation in this state, to provide him direction or to give him support. The fact that no one went to talk to him probably led to his thoughts and frustration intensify, which was a factor to his betrayal
Honestly, if the other monks went to him and had a conversation like Fung did in episode 5, maybe he would have striven to become better and prove himself
But I don’t say this to imply that the other monks are at fault for this. They didn’t know that this is what Rai needed, they didn’t even know how to handle this situation (as Rai seemed to reject them when they tried to support him), and Omi genuinely thought that he needed to reflect on his actions alone
(And they did go to talk with Rain when he left frustrated in episode 18, possibly showing that they learned from this instance)
I would also like to think that Fung was aware of Rai’s isolation tendencies, which is part of the reason why he asked him to stay when the other monks were getting their new training. He probably didn’t want Rai to be alienated from the group, and this could have been an opportunity to get him motivated to become better, by reaching to his competitive nature
But to be honest, this was a mistake on Fung’s part. Raimundo saw this as mockery instead of encouragement, and Fung should have gone to him or intervened when Omi (unintentionally) insulted him
But I could also see that in Fung’s point of view, him trying to reach out or talk to Rai could have made things worse, because unlike episode 5, Fung was the reason why he felt like this. So Rai would have either not listened to whatever he said, or he would have taken it as negative
Only his friends could have done something in this situation, but Omi already butchered it up, so what was left for Fung to do was to give him space. After all, Raimundo was not obligated to stay if he didn’t want to
If you think about it, Fung is an interesting character, for being defined by action and inaction. The feeling that he gives me is that he’s someone who tries and wants to help, but he’s unable to, either because of circumstances or by personal beliefs
And we do see how Fung’s beliefs contribute to Rai’s betrayal. After Raimundo gets more annoyed because of Omi’s comment, he decides to leave this unpleasant situation and go to a familiar place that he sees as a positive one: Rio
We see how his tendency to close himself off causes distress in him. He doesn’t know what to do with his feelings, and his choice is to stay in a place all alone while searching for something to help him relax, in this case being Rio’s sight
And this is when Wuya comes in
I do want to comment that it’s possible for this place to be a recurrence for Raimundo, where he goes to relax or take his mind off of things. This could explain why Wuya was able to find him that fast, since she did go inside his mind
Now, this moment of temptation seems pretty straight forward: Wuya offers him stuff he likes, and he chooses to betray his friends for that stuff. But from all we’ve seen so far, I would say that there was more to this temptation for Rai
First of all, he’s all alone. His friends are not beside him, and he didn’t get any direction for his feelings. And as we’ve seen in episode 11, it is possible for him to emotionally distance himself from his friends when he’s frustrated or annoyed, so it would make sense that right now he’s at odds with them
Second, he’s in clear distress. At this moment, he’s in search of an escape, for something that will make him get away from this unpleasant situation. So the offer of getting things that make him happy is even more tempting for the kid’s mind
And third, which is the most important fact, he’s in search of appreciation. All of this was caused by the feeling of being unappreciated, so Wuya offering him this and talking to him likes she sees something in him seems like a glimpse of appreciation, of understanding
And because of circumstances, this was enough to make Raimundo side with her
But this was not an immediate decision, not at all. I actually think this decision was made after he got the Reversing Mirror
Now, I do want to comment on the fact that he didn’t change his outfit in the showdown, which could be interpreted that he sided with Wuya at that time. But I don’t think that’s the case
You see, the beauty of this show is that it has a lot of details and subtlety that can be interpreted however you want, or if you see them they come off as a nice reward. The outfit change in showdowns is one of them
My personal interpretation is that it depends on the person’s perspective. On some occasions, if the person thinks that they need a special outfit for the showdown (example being some showdowns that are related with cold weather), then they will change into something fitting with what they have in mind. But otherwise, they will change into Xiaolin robes if they think (or feel) they’re on Xiaolin’s side
In this case, Raimundo keeping his casual clothes shows that he was not on Xiaolin’s side. I would like to believe that he was unsure on whose side to be, and he decided that he will choose at the end of the showdown
And well, I think Omi’s comment after the showdown helped him make a choice. That choice being Wuya’s side
I don’t want to make it seem that Omi is the cause of this, because this was a matter of circumstances. With all of the other factors and conflicted emotions he’s been through, Omi’s remark made him realize that, at this moment, he doesn’t want to go through the trouble of proving himself to the others, while getting more annoyed and frustrated in the process
He wanted to take the easy route that offered him an easier life
And this route was Wuya’s side
So yeah, this betrayal may look simple, but it’s a cause of circumstances, mistakes and a kid’s unhealthy coping mechanism, that being his tendency to close himself off from others
Also, I want to make it clear that you can have other interpretations for this! You can see this moment however you want, and it can be different from the way I see it, which it’s valid and great! And honestly, I don’t think the show planned it to be something deep in the first place haha
The fact that I can personally interpret it as something like this is one of the reasons why I love this show so much, and it’s why I seem to get back to thinking about this cartoon from 2003 so often
So yeah, this was my ramble about Rai’s betrayal
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The Fernweh Saga by @lacunafiction - Agnes edition
Who would have thought? 🤭
Agnes "Nes" Sigrún
🌑RO: James Corvin
Personality: sincerity // cautious // friendly // merciful
Traits: heart // compliance // believer
Past affinity: writing [horror stories]
Primary ability: empathetic impressions
Past susceptibility: receptive
☀️Fernweh: She never really thought about leaving Fernweh… It was her place, near her family and friend(s). She felt good there and assumed she’s gonna spend her whole life happily in this little town.
Even if Fernweh brings back devastating memories, she’s curious about what’s happening in Fernweh now, in her true home. It’s always been her dream to work in Turn The Page, and during her ‘short’ stay in Fernweh, she started thinking about it again. Why not stay for longer…? She would love to carry on her grandfather’s work and bring his legacy justice.
☀️Grandpa Jóhann: When she was young, she had an amazing relationship with her grandpa. They were completely honest with each other, and she loved him wholeheartedly. Some people thought that making her grandpa proud was her main hobby. She used to tell him all about her dreams that she had, which were always wild... and also about the nightmares… It took her by surprise when her grandpa, one of the most important people in her life, started being less involved. She was hurt and began to wonder if she had done something to cause the distance between them.
His decision to move her out of Fernweh so quickly after this tragic event made a huge impact on her mental state. She needed time to cope and be with her closest ones, especially her grandpa...but after all she didn't blame him. She often heard that she looked exactly like her mother…like her grandpa's daughter... She assumed he could not look at her, without thinking about her... And she could not blame him for wanting to escape that pain. Agnes knew it was the best thing that her grandpa could do for him, and she accepted it, too eagerly. She always too eagerly took the blame for everything.
☀️Beckett Warrick: After what happened in Fernweh after James she had even more trouble interacting with other people and making new friends… However, Beckett was an exception. He was the first person who got to truly know her after the events in Fernweh. When she got the letter about her Grandpa, she considered hiding the truth from him, because she knew deep down that he would be there for her if she needed him… even if he would not particularly enjoy it. It's a good thing she’s such a bad liar…
Her main concern is about Beckett’s well-being. She noticed that this 'little' trip made a huge impact on him. He wasn’t supposed to be here, and it’s because of her that he–... She needs to make sure that nothing happens to her friend. And she will somehow manage to bring him back to his home.
☀️Reese Verner: They had an unconventional relationship. Reese saw her as a rival, while Agnes thought of him as a friend. She was confused about why Verner, someone of great importance, would even look at her see her as a rival. She knew there were better candidates for his games. She had only one question on her mind - “why?”. Despite Verner's playful teasing, Agnes always remained polite and friendly towards him, even when he attempted to push her boundaries. Girl knew how to keep her true feelings behind a warm smile she still does.
If I can be completely honest… Agnes was rather shocked that Reese still remembered her… and was actually looking for her, which sounded so unbelievably. His concern for Milton's well-being made her see him in a slightly different light. Of course, she already knew Reese had a good heart, but his behaviour really touched her. Additionally, Agnes noticed that Reese and James’ relationship became stronger and deeper… It’s for the best. James deserves someone as dependable as Reese. He will always be there for James.
☀️Sofia Dorran: Their bond was formed over a shared admiration for books and... the color blue. It may sound funny now, but these things became central to their lives and deepened their friendship. Sofia was the first person Agnes entrusted with her writing, and valued her honest feedback, knowing that Sofia would not make her feel bad if something needed improvement. They frequently borrowed books from each other's collections.
Agnes yearned for the days when she and Sofia had reading sessions together, sipping on their favorite beverage. The only issue back then was when the book ended poorly or their library didn't have any new positions for them to read. She's willing to know how Sofia's taste toward books shifted (if shifted) and how she changed as a person. She's also extremely grateful because her grandfather received constant care from Sofia and her mother.
🌑James Corvin: …Do I really need to tell you that James was her first crush? And that she never found the courage to tell him so? maybe now will be the time? Agnes and James were always together, wherever one went the other followed. They were inseparable. Agnes even used to bake oatmeal cookies for James with her mother's help. They dreamed of their idyllic life together. As friends, obviously.
Seeing him again after all those years was much harder than she anticipated. Agnes felt overwhelmed with stress from the moment she stepped out of her car. Every time she heard his surname, she unknowingly flinched. Her mind was full of questions about his well-being, life, and changes. She couldn't help but wonder if he would be happy to see her. …she did manage to hold his hand for a moment, I can consider it as a success
☀️Alex Corvin: Agnes has always looked up to Alex for their adventurous spirit and their willingness to embrace life to the fullest. She has always wanted to adopt a bit of Alex' wild side. Whenever they are around, boredom and dullness seem to disappear. They both share similar values and support each other's life goals.
If I would say which person Agnes was the most willing to meet during her stay in Fernweh that would be Alex. She was confident in their friendliness towards everybody and was sure that their kindness had not wavered. Agnes was touched when she heard that Alex was looking after her grandfather's bookstore… It appears that Beckett has a new admirer, which Agnes wholeheartedly approves of.
☀️Mal: Agnes has a sense that Mal might be suspicious, but she is quite naive and doesn't believe that he could mean trouble. Although she is wary of him and finds him a little untrustworthy, Agnes believes in being kind to everyone, and she is willing to give Mal a chance, not judging him by her own impressions of him.
☀️Goldie: Agnes is grateful that her grandfather had a furry companion like Goldie, who probably managed to brighten his spirits. She fondly recalls how her grandfather would tell her stories when he once had a dog, when he was younger and how his eyes would light up with joy as he shared his story. Agnes is committed to taking excellent care of Goldie and ensuring her safety.
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