#A Case of Distrust

[papsutimu]

Tiny Paul

It's all about man thinking we're the top of the chain, and slowly understanding we aren't. All our thoughts, all our theories, amount to nothing. We're just apes floating in the wide ocean of space. But to hell with it. Take your mind off it, have a drink, and do something good.

[superbat-lmao]

A mage who doesn’t like child soldiers targets Batman in Gotham. They know that several vigilantes connected to him are children or were children when they started.

Their vendetta against him basically boils down to, “What the hell were you thinking?” and they cast a spell against him accordingly.

Every day, a new family member will be able to read Bruce’s mind for 24 hours. It’s entirely random and the definition of “family member” is incredibly loose, but everyone knows the Robins are his children because of how berserk he went when Robin II died.

On the one hand, it’s a horrific violation of everyone’s privacy.

On the other, Bruce finally figures out what his kids think of him and don’t say. And his kids are finally able to realize that yes, he cares about them exactly as much as they want him to. He’s literally the absolute worst at showing it or communicating that, but he cares.

Dick gets confirmation that Bruce knows how good he is, how capable he is to lead a team. That Bruce doesn’t secretly think that when he screws up it’s because he isn’t cut out to be a vigilante. When he screws up, Bruce gets scared and lashes out in the only way an emotionally repressed father can, by making it worse. That Bruce doesn’t think Dick is incapable of looking after himself or making the right call. All of Bruce’s attempts to control Dick or his life were because he was scared. Because he wanted Dick to be better than him, and he is, just not in the ways Bruce was first able to see. Having more friends and being connected to people is infinitely more important than college, though it took time for Bruce to see that. Dick is Bruce’s first son and he couldn’t be more proud.

Jason realizes that Bruce loves him. That he tears himself apart over their relationship. That he feels there’s a clear line between Bruce’s opinion of Jason and of Jason’s actions. Because murder is wrong and Bruce’s philosophy is grounded in second chances. Because he just wants Jason to come home and his son’s actions scare him because he’s more isolated from backup than his brothers. Jason can literally feel how Bruce thinks, how he sees murder and how he thinks about himself. Bruce doesn’t think it’s a line he would be able to walk away from, and Jason feels more precarious seeing the world as his father thinks about it than in his own head. There is far less judgement in Bruce’s thoughts. Just pure concern. And self doubt over what to say. Bruce never sought to replace him, would have joined him, and has missed him. Those were always Jason’s major concerns.

Tim sees that Bruce views him as his son. That he wasn’t a substitute for Jason and he doesn’t secretly think Tim shouldn’t have been Robin. Bruce thinks that Tim reminds him a lot of himself and based on all the things people say about him, that makes Bruce nervous. Because he wants Tim to have fun and be a kid, not feel chained to work the way Bruce is. He knows they both have workaholic tendencies and wants better for Tim, wants him to have friends and a life outside of work. But Tim also knew Bruce at his lowest and so he will always feel guilty that it was Tim who pulled him out of his grief spiral, because Bruce wasn’t strong enough to do it himself.

Damian learns that Bruce was so excited for him to be born and devastated when he thought Talia had lost the pregnancy. That he was furious his son had been hidden from him. That he loves Damian and loved Talia and wasn’t sure how to separate out those feelings. That he would have wanted Damian no matter his level of training, if he gave up this lifestyle or anything. That there is nothing Damian, or any of his family could do to make Bruce stop loving them. Damian is wanted. He can also see that Bruce struggles with knowing how to handle him being a kid that acts like an adult. How he knows how capable Damian is, but that no children should go through that. Bruce didn’t have that sort of childhood. And while his own wasn’t exactly happy, he still got to be a kid. And innocence and youth aren’t things to be looked down on, just experienced. And Bruce doesn’t want Damian to not have those experiences, even if he doesn’t value them as others do. He learns that Bruce trusts him and that his father feels emotions acutely and strongly, such that he becomes reactive in a way that feels accusatory or disappointed but is just afraid.

They all realize that Bruce needs them and hates himself for needing them. That they are his children and he loves them and wants them safe. But that those feelings constantly war with how capable they are, how good his children are at what they do. How much they care about the helping and protecting others. That every time he says something they beat themselves up over, it’s because he’s scared they’ll get hurt or make a mistake that they can’t undo and will have to live with. He never wanted them to join him and it’s not because he thought they couldn’t do it, but precisely because he knows they can. And that sometimes, that isn’t enough. Even metas can get hurt and even Superman could die. By comparison his children are so vulnerable and there’s only so much he can do to keep them safe.

Does he verbalize this?

Bruce thinks so.

But all his kids hear is:

You were too reckless.

You disobeyed orders.

You’re off patrol.

And oddly? This solves like half of the current problems his kids have with him. Because they never really believed him before and always felt the conversations were one-sided.

It does create several new problems thought because Bruce just had like a significant invasion of privacy as the most paranoid person on the planet, so it takes a while for him to calm down and actually work things out with his kids in a way that lasts and isn’t just a bandaid over a bullet hole.

[vv-ispy]

Despair disease

[rabbits-of-negative-euphoria]

the idea that Christians bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ can still, through some gymnastic of free will, end up in Hell is one of the evilest doctrines the devil ever peddled

[catwomanarchive]

i think some of things i’ve seen regarding complaints against batcat are that selina distracts bruce from his mission and that she turns bruce “into a simp.” i think you’re not understanding the batcat dynamic because various adaptations aren’t showcasing selina’s background correctly and you’re reducing her role within the narrative by looking at it through the lens of romance. i think there is a push-pull dynamic between them wrt to ideology and that bruce & selina are never going to have a forever domestic life situation like lois & clark, but i do think bruce (when written correctly) will always go the furthest for selina & that has to do with what selina represents.

selina (much like harley quinn is later on) is intended to represent the underbelly of gotham. despite her criminality, she represents the underclass, the downtrodden, and victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. she represents the exact type of people within gotham that batman wants to protect from corrupt systems and disenfranchisement, as well as the types of criminals bruce desires to rehabilitate. to that extent - people like selina ARE a part of his mission, so he has to try his hardest to not give up on them and put them first. selina is a love interest intended to showcase the unlimited nature of bruce’s empathy and idealism, and that he will always have faith in her no matter what road she takes in life.

[ace-and-the-rpg-horrors]

i was sort of wondering why exactly i've been sympathising with Eva so much, apart from, admittedly, bias- i did start considering that due to that, maybe i'd been internally exaggerating how Wolfgang & Co had been treating her. but i replayed some of Chapter 1, and honestly? now i'm of the opinion that Eva was justified to be afraid of Wolfgang, even if what she did in response was inexcusable.

because it wasn't just that Wolfgang told the others to be wary of Eva (and Damon) which caused them to feel othered. consciously or not, he literally attempted to control their movement on at least two occasions- when he attempted to stop them joining in on the exploration of the pharmacy, and then when he demanded to know where they were when they reached the dining hall last.

in his defence, i don't think Wolfgang was being malicious in doing so, i reckon he did genuinely believe he was protecting the others. but in doing so, for the two members of the group he disagreed with, he actively attempted to further restrict their freedom- in a situation where they're all already trapped!! i'm not surprised that Eva, with frustration, mentioned during the trial how much she'd been watched and suspected- multiple times, if i recall correctly. of course it got to her.

but that probably wasn't even the scariest part for her. it was probably just how easily Wolfgang had taken a leadership role within the group and how willing they were to listen to him without question. only Diana really spoke up against him on one occasion and got him to begrudgingly "allow" Eva and Damon to tag along. i mean, on that note, the fact that Wolfgang even casually commented that he wanted group decisions to be allowed by him, following the minor incident of Desmond taking initiative and checking the room locks, was extremely alarming!! like i mentioned, i don't want to villainise Wolfgang, but it does seem like he has the tendency to be rather controlling, whether or not he realises it. i would be willing to bet that the herd mentality implication was done completely on purpose, considering that Wolfgang's animal motif is a sheep and the writing team have done the symbolism in the game so well.

for all this, i can understand Eva's point of view. i know that, as Wenona had mentioned, there's a chance that Eva didn't actually feel threatened by Wolfgang, but i personally am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. because if she was honest about being on edge, that would be a rather reasonable emotional response, in my opinion.

what else are you to feel when you're at odds with an honoured individual who effortlessly holds the power to turn so many others against you too and potentially put your safety at risk, if not terror?

[clumsypuppy]

man

[sisaloofafump]

Controversial in superbat space I know but I actually really love the canon interpretation of Bruce and Clark as the brothers that they never got to have

[nnoragamis]

it's honestly kinda funny to watch early fairy tail and how juvia and gajeel had most of the guild being really hostile and distrustful towards them pre-battle of fairy tail arc for actions that seem incredibly tame in comparison to the really, really fucked up things various antagonists did in the latter half of the series but got easy redemption arcs anyways for....reasons i guess

[kittycatred]

*squeeeeeee-ak! squea..*

[it nuzzles up closer to red's neck. comfy]

-- 🐀👍🏻

hehehe, i wish i could pet you little guy, i dont want to move too much though....

your so adorable, you kind of remind me of ruben in a way....maybe a much more smaller one though....

....i could really use ruben right now.....but i dont wanna go back to our website.....not right now.....i dont want to see.....that....again....

[im-all-out-of-ideas]

finally caught up to witch hat atelier

it remains in its peakness

[dualcasterjay]

building a saw trap where the very online tgirls of this webbed site have to explain why they specified trans women in a post talking about a way transphobia effects literally all trans people

[realmrooikat]

in many ways the pangkey dynamic could be compaired to harry and kim from disco elysium

[bisexualeddies]

i will not participate in the discourse but once again, i think some people would really enjoy watching interview with the vampire or lost or hannibal if what they want is to over analyse facial expressions and make theories about body language and what that look from three seasons ago means instead of weewoo procedural #384772 on air this week that is as straightforward as shows come where you're supposed to take most everything happening onscreen at face value

[shorthaltsjester]

bell’s hells fandom: what’s compelling about bell’s hells is their npc-ism and the way that they’re treated as nobodies

bell’s hells fandom when bh is treated as nobodies by the mighty nein: this is the cruelest thing the cast could’ve done to bell’s hells and their fans.

[de11amorte]

hi I just discovered this wonderful Crowskull artist & all I’m now thinking about is soft romantic lucanis/emmrich gestures.