colddepresseddreamer - Tumblr blog

[colddepresseddreamer]

sibling grocery shopping adventure

[colddepresseddreamer]

have you ever loved a character so much that thinking about them is like getting repeatedly hit in the chest with an elephant 

[colddepresseddreamer]

I’ve been getting really into magical stuff recently and also DC so I’m just gonna drop this here:

Fae Dick Grayson

F A E

okay so fae stories are special to me because I grew up on hearing pagan folklore and fairytales about fae and fae adjacent creatures as good night stories so hooo boy yes I adore that trope! (I mean, I made Dick a Banshee in my fic Shuck so… hehe)

Anyway, Fae Dick Grayson! There’s just so many things you can do with it ✨

Robin appears from one day to the next, following in Batman’s shadow like a mischievous sprite, so honestly rumors have been going wild about him since day one. Robin actually being something non-human doesn’t really come as a surprise!

The fae folk are known for being awfully good at blending in with regular humans when they put their mind to it, the only thing that puts them apart (in most stories) is their otherworldly beauty, and Dick Grayson? Well, he’s definitely got that in abundance.

Just sometimes, when the light reflects off a surface in just the right way, when someone pours a glass of water and you happen to look right through the spray, or when you think you catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of your eye and you spin around— but there’s only Dick Grayson, even if a second ago you could have sworn you saw eyes where there weren’t supposed to be any; colors that aren’t supposed to exist; feathers where only skin has any right to be.

And, gods, all the talking. Dick is terrifyingly good at talking to people without actually saying anything, to the point where you walk away from the conversation feeling utterly drained after spilling your entire life story but when you think back on it— you can’t remember him ever telling you anything about himself. You know there were the usual pleasantries of “hi” and “nice to meet you” and “how are you doing?” but anything beyond that just kinda… seemed to spill out of you? It’s very strange. It’s very unnerving. By the end of the evening you other convince yourself you’re overreacting or you simply push the incident out of your mind altogether.

And there’s another thing about Dick. His name.

He only ever introduces himself as Dick Grayson/Robin. Never Richard. Never. Especially not Richard John. Names are sacred for the fae folk, names have power, so while Richard John Grayson may not be Dick’s true name, he treats it as such to honor his parents. None are allowed to use it. None except Bruce or Alfred on special occasion.

Of course, Dick’s “true” name isn’t exactly a secret so when someone does happen to use it… well, Dick may be… other… but he’s still intrinsically good in a way many of his kind don’t have the patience to be. Dick judges on a case by case basis, just like his parents and Bruce taught him. And usually people do not mean it maliciously when they use his name so he kindly corrects them and that’s that. But oh man, if they still insist on calling him “Richard”? Well..

“Oh no, it seems your credit card is being declined, sir!”

“Sheesh, you tripped over a root? In Gotham?!”

“What do you mean ten birds flew into your window last night? You live on floor level!”

“Dude I’m telling you that rash doesn’t look normal.”

“I… don’t think crows are supposed to follow you like that.”

It’s little things (most of the time, unless you really pissed Dick off) but they keep piling up, slowly driving you insane. You feel like you’re being watched, but it’s just a bird sitting on the window sill again. You feel like someone moved all your furniture just slightly to the right even tho you checked all the cameras.

The fae are kind, but they are also vindictive when crossed.

(Thanks to Bruce, however, I think Dick’s bouts of “vengeance” rarely go much farther than that though.)

Dang ok that ended up being an entire rant… wow. Anyway, yeah. Fae.

[colddepresseddreamer]

I keep thinking about how due to dc comic logic, characters are only ever Beat Up, Dead, or Perfectly Fine. IE there’s never lasting damage due to physical trauma unless you’re a woman.

But like, what if there was. Specifically what if when Nightwing beat Joker to death, Batman did resuscitate the Joker…but the damage wasn’t all reversible. We all know the danger of head trauma, right? Or oxygen deprivation to the brain.

And see, sure the Joker acts crazy, but he’s really very intelligent and very manipulative. He’s dangerous because he’s so smart, he knows exactly how to manipulative the people around him to get what he wants. Especially Batman. But if, say, traumatic brain damage meant he couldn’t put together those plans, those words, that carefully orchestrated chaos… that really declaws him, doesn’t it?

So what happens when Jason comes back to find his killer is still alive….but not dangerous. At least, not like he was before. The anti-social personality disorder and just evil is still there, but a Joker without his sharp mind? Abandoned by his supporters and allies because what use do they have for a has been that can no longer put together a coherent plan? Terrified (secretly but oh so deeply) of a certain blue and black vigilante because he knows this one doesn’t have the same restraint, the same implacable resolve as Batman?

(Joker didn’t realize how much he relied on the One Rule until Nightwing—consciously, knowingly—broke it, and he came to the unexpectedly terrifying realization that Batman doesn’t kill, but Nightwing is not Batman.)

What happens then? When does Jason find out? And what does that change?

[colddepresseddreamer]

If I was Bruce it would drive me absolutely crazy that I couldn't complain to Alfred about my kids:

Bruce: "Alfred, you won't believe what Dick did. He's in space again! He didn't even give me a heads up or--"

Alfred, drinking tea: "The apple really doesn't fall far from the tree--"

"Alfred--"

"I suppose it'll be twelve long years before we see him, no messages, not even a postcard."

Or

"Alfred, I think Jason's sick. Tell Leslie to tell him to take a night off."

"A night off you say, Master Bruce?"

"Don't start."

Or

"Alfred, why the hell is there a tank in the backyard?"

"I tried telling them not to Master Bruce, but you yourself bragged about the ability to survive Houdini's act."

There is no scenario the kids can wind up in where Alfred is even halfway sympathetic to Bruce.

[colddepresseddreamer]

Something maybe only I and like three Gotham Rogues will be thinking about is that Batman gets a kid, you eagerly await to hear his Bat-themed name (you know after the Batmobile, Batarang, Batsignal you think this one's Batson/Batchild/Pup if you wanna get scientific) and the name's Robin. Okay whatever, we got a bit of a rebel going against the whole Batmotif or whatever, and then comes Batgirl (back on track). Then the next one is Robin again, Robin 3.0, Red Hood, Red Robin, Robin (though this one definitely could've run with a Bat-themed name based on the outfit), Spoiler, Robin Orphan Black Bat Batgirl (most of which make sense), and then Signal.

Conclusion: kids really didn't take after Batdad much.

[colddepresseddreamer]

Bruce, to Wally : Why should I let you date my son?

Wally : Uh, because I can't get him pregnant?

Dick : *facepalms*

[colddepresseddreamer]

Nightwing 103 variant cover by Travis Moore

[colddepresseddreamer]

Maybe it's Rebirth Outlaws where Jason has a base under a police station, but in that vein, I think Jason should have a secret base under a library or something. The librarians refer to him affectionately as a ghost who messes with their returns sometimes because he peruses when he wants, and he definitely donates books he treasures to populate the shelves.

[colddepresseddreamer]

The Batfam dreads Dick's birthday the most because they genuinely have no idea if he's just being nice or seriously appreciates their gifts/them breaking into his flat with his friends (who are pretty confident) for a "surprise" party/random birthday cigarettes on a rooftop. Or if he wants to be left alone, but somehow unless he's in deep space or deep undercover, none of them can ever let that happen.

[colddepresseddreamer]

Gotham's most sexy man spotted in vacation with his former ward and actually his sugar baby 🖤💙

[colddepresseddreamer]

Has anyone seen that spreadsheet image of all of Dick's origin stories and what elements they contain recently?

I'm looking for that post again. For research purposes (and to bookmark it so I can go back to it)

[colddepresseddreamer]

Yet another AO3 bot situation - please spread the word!

Hi, it's me again, the person who wrote that viral post about fanfiction plagiarism! Today I'm here to warn you about abuse perpetrated by bots who have stolen AO3 usernames.

There's currently an epidemic of bots going around leaving (apparently random) horrible, hateful comments on people's fics. This isn't the first time bots have invaded AO3, but the big problem with this wave is that they're using real AO3 usernames to do it.

I learned about this when another writer contacted me after receiving the following comment on their story:

Now, while that is my username, I DEFINITELY did not leave this comment (and anyone who would leave something like that on a fic should be slapped! What an awful thing to post). This fic is in a completely unrelated fandom that I have never participated in, nor has that author participated in any of my fandoms, so the probability of it being some intentional fandom drama thing to make me look bad is also low.

The writer whose fic the comment was left on enlisted the aid of some friends and tracked down other guest comments with unrelated usernames attached, which is pretty strong evidence that they are being left by bots at random.

The TL;DR: If you receive a cruel comment from a (Guest) with an actual AO3 username attached, it's most likely from a bot. Please do not lash out at or dogpile the AO3 user who owns that name, and who in all likelihood has no idea that their name has been hijacked for evil.

If finding this kind of comment on a fic, even left by a bot, is likely to upset you, I would recommend changing your comment settings so that only users who are logged in can leave comments. To do this, edit your story settings, and under "Privacy," select the radio button that says "Only registered users can comment," as shown below.

Please spread the word to other AO3 users! And if you see mean guest comments on other fics, maybe let the author know that it's probably from a bot and not a real person who thinks their writing is bad.

[colddepresseddreamer]

You know that popular Fanon about Jason being Tim's favorite Robin, Tim stalking Jason, and Jason being Tim's favorite? Personally, I think Dick is Tim's favorite Robin. What do you think? I don't read a lot of comics, but obviously Dick and Tim are brothers, and I wish there was more Canon. Ps. English is not my first language. I'm sorry.

Okay I wish I had the energy to give a full comics panel breakdown of this in pristine incontrovertible detail, and have been silently hoping since I got this ask that motivation would appear. But it's become clear it won't so I will instead take the easier path to say:

YES DICK IS 100% TIM'S FAVORITE ROBIN THIS IS VERY EXPLICIT VERY DEFINITELY CANON.

Tim's backstory is all about how he saw Dick's parents' die, felt incredibly concerned for Dick, and instantly developed a lifelong attachment to him. And this connection remains a foundation of his character. Dick is the person he first reaches out to when he sees Batman slipping. Dick is the person who becomes his reliable big brother. And Dick is the person he will end up consistently going to for personal advice, vigilante visits, and let's-complain-about-batman chats.

He thinks Dick is the coolest person in the world, whether that's as the kid acrobat, or Robin, or an adult vigilante, or just Oh My God It's Dick Grayson (!!!!). His biggest hero is not Batman, it's Dick Grayson. He explicitly calls Dick the best. He doesn't think he can be as good as Dick--though Dick, in turn, thinks exactly the opposite. (There is actually something interesting to be said about their relationship in how Tim does put Dick on a pedestal in a way that can be helpful, but can also lead to unfair idolization and leave Tim unable to process when Dick does truly fail.) And their relationship is really one of the cornerstones of the 90s and 2000s batfamly, before the New 52 reboot.

Also, while there is no canon about Tim stalking Batman and Robin as a kid--he makes it pretty clear he kept up with their exploits via the news, not in-person--in his first appearance he does track Dick down to New York, break into his apartment when Dick turns out to not be home, and then follow him to the circus. Which, like, damn kid that is some serious stalking. You could get a felony for that.

(Meanwhile Jason, while he was dead, Tim mostly thought of either in conjunction with Dick as a past Robin, or on his own as a cautionary tale of what not to be like. It's just nowhere near the same as how he idolizes Dick.)

[colddepresseddreamer]

guys guys guys, you have it all wrong.

Dick Grayson does have a super.

Bruce has Clark

Jason has Bizzarro

Tim has Kon

Damian has Jon

And you know who Dick has?

Clark.

Dick has Clark. Superman was given the unfortunate benefit of having two Bats to have to defend and deal with. Superman, Clark Kent, is as much Dick Grayson's super as he is Bruce Wayne's. I am not saying this because i am a Superbat shipper, I am saying it because it is factual. Superman is Dick Grayson's Super.

Dick, Bruce, and Clark were the OG trio. Long before any other team. (besides them and alfred ofc)

Superman/Clark Kent is Dick Grayson's super.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[colddepresseddreamer]

Hate it when people erase Dick and Clark’s relationship. "Dick doesn't have a super" ummm actually he does. It's Clark. "Superman and Batman are the World's Finest" WRONG. World's Finest is Superman and Batman and Robin. Clark and Dick are as close as Clark and Bruce. This has been a PSA

[colddepresseddreamer]

Really glad we’re crowning Dick as the scariest batfamily member. Society is healing.

Don’t mind me, just imagining Bruce’s hands, big, soft, covered in the labor of violence, holding his eldest’s face, saying, “This is Dick. He’s the kindest person I know.”

Dick’s fists are behind his back. He’s holding some socialite’s bloody tongue in them. If they’re going to use it to talk shit about his father, they don’t need it. His smile is sunshine and war.