#also I wanted to draw the discowing

[rwoh]

he’s annoying him because he wanted milkshakes instead

[msfcatlover]

Batman Cass

I think this one will be shorter, since I'm iterating on a canon costume rather than creating an identity from scratch.

I know I'm giving Dick his discowing colors (several artists have actually given them to the Flying Graysons over the years, to keep Dick's costume being inspired by them without him just running around Gotham in his performance costume. I think Robin should be the tribute rather than Nightwing, but I'm happy to steal that as an excuse to put Dick in the blue & gold.) Cass's Batman costume was basically designed in tandem with the Moonbeam suit, so the two should compliment eachother.

Cass's cape is jet black, but the underside has a yellow-to-black gradient (ombre) where it's bright up high & fades out towards the edge. I'd actually make that highly reflective, since as Moonbeam Cass learned to use light as a weapon, and it makes her look downright angelic when the cape flares out, like she has a golden sun caught under her cape.

(This is definitely inspired by the fic Loading & Aspect Ratio, whose use of colors makes me rabid. Read it, please.)

(Have a quick & messy bit of concept art I threw together from the "Mark of Cain" cover to show what this cape might look like. Ignore the rest of the suit, we're getting to it.)

Next, Batman is losing about a foot of height. Cass will be compensating for this with ears. Not the super-absurdly-long ears Batman sometimes has, but still big.

(Thanks to broosepayne for literally collecting these. Very handy.)

She'll also be wearing lift-boots. Not platforms, not heels, those both threaten to seriously twist your ankle. But Cass is used to running around in lifts as Black Bat, and it helps make up the difference. Based on my observations of her costumes over the years, Cass genuinely likes fitted knee-high boots. (Is it a "make it more feminine" sexist command from on high? Probably. But it's a consistent part of her design, and I'm using it.)

(Something like these, probably. Maybe with a more emphasized/rugged sole, like these.)

For the cowl itself, I think Cass would probably still stick to her mouthless look. So probably something like Batman 1,000,000's cowl:

...which, now that I'm looking at it, I love the detail of the cape-clasp. And the shoulder pads kinda work too? She needs to add some breadth/bulk to her build, and their almost pauldron-like look is a nice callback to her Moonbeam days. Cass does wear more traditional shoulderpads under the suit, and then these pauldrons over the cape. I'd make them matte black, just slightly lighter than the cape. The little golden clasp should be bat-shaped, obviously. (This detail probably gets ignored a lot of the time, but it lets her have a bat visible even with the cape closed.)

Solid black body suit (also seen in the 1,000,000 pics) but I do think Cass should have a bat-symbol on her chest. After consulting my favorite chart, I think a slightly stretched version of the 70s bat symbol with a perfect circle behind it would probably be best.

(Quickly thrown together in GIMP. I really, really like the way the gold outline turned out, even though I wasn't leaning towards just an outline when I started.)

I think her utility belt is black, but the pouches are yellow/gold.

(Okay, this is the best version I can find, but I do want to draw everyone's attention to this comprehensive breakdown of every bat-belt because it's very impressive.)

Finally, rather than gauntlets, Cass wears black gloves with a folded cuff. Kinda like the Zero Year purple gloves, but with a much thicker cuff. The top & bottom of the cuff has a gold trim, but I'm going back & forth on whether there's more details (like capped knuckles or wire-thin fingerstripes) or if they're just plain aside from that trim.

(Here's the two best pics of these type of gloves I could find.)

I'm actually really pleased with this look. It helps Cass bridge the gap between her Black Bat (Batgirl) look and Batman, compensating for the difference in build decently well (especially when you remember most people aren't going to see Batman for very long or very well.) The wing-shaped shoulderpads & touches of glittering gold add a hint of showmanship, which means both thematically & color-wise she'll look good standing next to Moonbeam!Dick. The gloves then bring it back down to earth, looking like slightly fancier work gloves, emphasizing utility over flair or combat. Personally, I think the gloves soften the whole look a little, helping to show this is an older, more mature Cass who has taken an apprentice of her own, and especially how much she's healed & grown since donning the stitched-up Black Bat (Batgirl) suit after Steph's death. I even got to bring back my idea of the Shadows wearing Moonbeam's circle to represent their connection, very specifically with Cass's golden ring, to show that Cass is once again part of a matched set---it's just that this time, Cass is the shadow to Dick's light.

[dashingdcboys]

alfred: master richard, master jason, you are aware that you have access to as much food as money can buy, I hope ?

jason and dick: shhhh

[whispering-imp]

He looks after all of us.

It’s pride month and I’m wishing more than ever that Nightwing’s around to fight the homophobes.

[moonundernostalgia]

Cuirous to ask: Best Artist for Dick Grasyon out of the following: George Perez. Scott McDaniel, Marcus To, or Bruno Redondo?

Oh Hi Dear Friend

And congratulations for being my first ask ever 😅 Thank you so much i always wanted to do this

Anyways- In My opinion the order would be like (my least favorite to my favorite)

4. Scott McDaniel

I always had a problem with his art...it's always so difficult to me to read the past Nightwing issues with his drawing and honestly i don't blame him,it's just....not my style (i think it's ugly 😔)

3.George Perez

Iconic when it comes to drawing the discowing suit,i love the way he draws Dick too,but it's also not my favorite,at least in my opinion there's nothing REALLY amazing about his art,is just simple,but the simple it is it's still iconic 😊

2.Marcus To

Ughhh i didn't know which one i was going to choose but in the end i put Marcus in second place ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ he did a very good job in drawing Nightwing and honestly i love his style so DAMN MUCH. Dick looks so adorable on them 😍

1. Bruno Redondo

I mean... 🌚

His art is probably the best thing about the whole Tom Taylor's Nightwing Run...he nails the expressions,the colors,Dick's hair,his costume,absolutely everything about his art is amazing and i live for it 🤧

Not to mention my iconic and beloved Travis Moore... (I love this dude oml)

Again Thank You so much for asking.

Thank you for coming to my pep talk. Have some cookies while leaving 🍪

[candlebreak]

Okay, so I recently came across this post again, and it reminded of the rant I posted here about Bruce Wayne, Fashion Icon, and I decided I have procrastinated too long on drawing this.

The tl;dr of my rant is that the Batman costume was not made for the fear factor. It was not made for the utility. No, It was made for the Fashion.

(i.e., Brucie Wayne had an orgy with a bunch of models in Haute Couture Goth Fashion at the Fall/Winter 1996-97 Thierry Mugler Runway Show, and now he dresses Like That.)

So, without further ado, I give you...

The Original Batsuit:

And Its Inspiration:

Forgive the fact that I no longer have access to a tablet so I had to draw that fucker with my laptop’s trackpad.

[Full rant--and more potential BatLooks--after the break. If anyone wants to draw them, I will love you forever]

I personally subscribe to my own personal headcanon that Brucie Wayne is a fashion icon, but Batman pretends to hate everything that’s not shades of black and gray. In reality, though? In Bruce’s heart of hearts? B’s fashion sense is worse than Dick’s. Bruce LOVED the Robin outfit. He thought it was a “bold choice, distinctive.” He approved of Discowing. Even as Batman, he designs his cape and cowl for maximum awe-effect—not to scare criminals, but for the *drama* and the *fashion.* Seriously, the man had a perfectly serviceable set of armour, and he decided to add customized fetish gear, ears, and a cape on top.

Sure, in OUR world, Thierry Mugler was probably partially inspired by Batman, but in MY headcanon, Batman saw this masterpiece in the Fall/Winter 1996-97 Runway Show, probably slept with the model, and decided, “Ah, yes. This is what I shall wear to Fight Crime.” Or it may have been this look. Or this one. Or this travesty of a bat-ears headdress. Or this spiky black & yellow get-up. Or this banger from the Alexander McQueen autumn/winter 2002–3 runway collection.

My point is: Bruce had an orgy with a bunch of models in Haute Couture Goth Fashion, and now he dresses Like That.

Why yes, Selina WAS *also* at the Fall/Winter 1996-97 Thierry Mugler Runway Show, why do you ask?

*p.s. if anyone knows where that look from the original post came from (image), please please please let me know. I have a feeling that the rest of the show was suitably amazing, but I can’t find it through reverse image search :(

[sleeping-lilies]

Please give me your worst DC takes for entertainment purposes.

fuck, do you mean like the worst thing that i actually think or like the worst takes ive seen or like do you want me to fuck around and bait? i’m gonna fuck around and bait because i simply do not have bad takes, i’m too sexy for that and so is my brain, also i want to make this funny lmfao

the recent plot thingy for bruce losing his money has actually been really impactful and brilliant because taking a man from being a billionaire to a millionaire is a super humbling experience. this will majorly impact his character for the next couple of years.

it is an extremely big deal that NONE of the robins that came before tim wear pants. it is a MAJOR POINT in dc that TIM be the one to bring pants into the legacy, it’s HIS major character development and BIGGEST contribution to the mantle. jason and dick taking that away from him by adding leggings to THEIR robin uniforms in modern comics is DISRESPECTFUL to tim!!!

ra’s al ghul is a mega dilf, actually

discowing was b-ba-bA-AD nope nope i can’t do this one, sorry </3

ok this one is actually a bad take of mine and is completely serious oopsie, but i think we were all too harsh on the drake suit, like compared to other designs i’ve seen the suit itself wasn’t too bad it just had artists that didn’t do it justice. it’s just the name that makes me go 🤺

ok back to being “serious” lmfao, jason’s probably a really bad fighter i mean what does he do besides go BANG BANG BAANNGGG i bet he’s a kpoppie.

dc’s hate towards wally and all the flashes are justified those fuckers keep fucking up the timeline so they should repent by being tossed out lmfao

wait this one is serious again oopsie here we go again, the way dc draws dick grayson most of the time makes me go 😖 like that man is my favorite but dc does his character design dirty a lot, people point to this one panel and be like “this is the epitome of beauty” and now i gotta try and do the mental math of “is this actually terrible or do i have terrible taste” the answer is obviously that the art is terrible because i could never have terrible taste 😚

ok now back to “serious” damian is the best fighter in the entire bat fam and easily outclasses them, like he was training since birth to be an assassin and everything he could take on that crusty old fucker dick grayson any day. like i know dick has been training as an athlete and mega child prodigy acrobat since birth, and he’s been a vigilante since he was nine but he’s old and his bones prolly creak when he stands up wait wait WAIT I HAD TO SAY THIS ONE I SAW THIS TAKE WHERE THEY SAID DAMIAN WAS THE BEST FIGHTER IN HIS FAMILY AND IT WAS SOOO FUNNYYYYY

harper row is such a wild card in terms of characters that could be released in these past few years, like they really took a big risk with her and that’s really cool and it was especially cool how they changed cass’s backstory to revolve around that white girl. like, it added so much nuance to her story and so much more depth to her character instead of completely ruining it <3

personally i think if you don’t add a character i like in your posts then you are a bigot for any possible reason i can identify, sorry guys that’s how it works because the world revolves around me 😇

[river-bottom-nightmare]

Nightwing 79 Review

i said i would and i will. i did like this issue! not as striking and attention grabbing as 78, but i think this issue was meant to be a foundation one, laying out the groundwork for the future. overall, pretty good. also there wasn't enough bitewing. as promised, overly extensive metaphors and me reading too much into things under the cut

i know i've talked about this cover before, but this particular thing is oddly important to me, so i'll talk about it again

this is me, once again screaming about how artists put nightwing in traditionally feminine poses and how every time i see it i just get whiplash. i mean, true, the main reason why is because nightwing is a so often sexualized character, and putting him in these poses just increases the objectification, which is a goal that dc producers have. but there are very few popular male characters that do this. the only one i can think of off the top of my head is deadpool, but that was so obviously a critique and a way to make fun of the media industry. when they draw dick like this, they’re being serious. they’re putting him in appealing poses meant to show him off, and that’s something that’s traditionally only been done to women.

it's a very direct and very loud breaking of traditional gender roles in media, especially for a character as high-profile and historic as dick grayson. colour also plays a factor in this. the entire background is pink. i was absolutely shocked when i first saw it, when the teaser came out, because i cannot think of any comic book covers of male comic heroes this high-profile where pink is even just prevalent in the cover, let alone the majority of the cover. the pink does look beautiful: it offsets and highlights the black and blue of dick's suit gorgeously, but does it with more finesse than orange or red. but the fact that the stylistic choice was made to accent and draw this cover with aesthetic and beauty in mind, completely ignoring traditional hard-set gender rules in art, was a conscious choice and one i wholeheartedly support.

just another example of the sexualization i was talking about. i remember seeing harley quinn in this exact pose in suicide squad.

so far, taylor's been pretty dead-set on bringing alfred to the forefront of importance in this series. he wants people to know how much he loves alfred's character, and how much the butler meant to dick growing up. he was dick's father too. but what i adore is how taylor managed to stress alfred's importance in a way that didn't insult or belittle bruce.

this is one of the best bruce and dick interactions i've seen, and it's done in one simple interaction. in this, bruce is tough and harsh. he knocked dick down hard, but then he reached a hand down and helped pull dick back up. let me analyze their dialogue for a minute

on your feet: this is bruce telling dick to get up. he's trained dick, he knows what the younger boy is capable of, he knows his limits, and he knows what dick can do. this is bruce telling dick i know you're strong enough to get up, so get up and prove me right

are you just going to knock me down again?: surface-level, it looks like dick's complaining. he doesn't like bruce's rough training, and he's tired of bruce knocking him down. but look at his face in this. he's smiling up at bruce, knowledgeable and a little hopeful. he knows that bruce is doing this to help dick better himself, he's completely on board with the rough training, because they both know the rewards are incredible. also, he's teasing. he's bantering with bruce. there's an ease in that joking statement, one that belies affection and intimacy. they've only known each other for a little bit, but they're already slipping into a close familial relationship.

it depends on how fast you learn: this is bruce bantering back. this is bruce not being a stoic, unfeeling asshole. instead, he's shown with the dry humor that a good batman writer knows is a staple of the character. he's teasing dick, telling him he'll basically whoop his ass if dick doesn't learn fast enough. it's incentive for dick to train harder, while also being lighthearted enough to tell dick that believes in dick and doesn't want him to push himself too hard.

gosh i love the titans. also it looks like wally's staring at dick's ass.

this was cute. a prod at dick's silly and playful sense of humor, while not dumbing him down for the sake of a laugh. instead, he's joking about food, which is stuff everyone jokes about. this is the kind of stuff that'll actually make me laugh, instead of just making me vaguely uncomfortable.

bludhaven's almost always portrayed as a cesspool of a city. and to be honest, it really is. but this panel gives the city a meaningful history, while also giving us a reason for why dick moved there.

it talks of a time when people still thought they could beat the monsters. that if they fought hard enough, they could win the fight. it was a tentative hope that you could always overcome hardship.

dick's little "i like that it's still standing" shows how he still believes that, despite what the rest of the world thinks. despite everything that he's been through, dick is still tentatively an optimist, and believes he can fight the monsters of the world and win. it's a beautiful testament to his character, and i'm like that they added his signature element of hope back in. it used to be what he symbolized as robin, and despite his growth and character arc from robin to nightwing, this is one aspect of robin that i'm glad nightwing still has.

remember when i said "things that make me vaguely uncomfortable??" yeahhhh,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Shooketh Dick: A Sequel

(the expressions in this series are just,,,,on point)

this was an incredibly sweet and kindhearted thing for dick to do, but i found it kind of,,,,,,,,desperate? maybe that's just me, but let me explain.

dick's suddenly a billionaire, and he has entirely too much money that he knows what to do with. it's also alfred's money, what the man left to him, so dick forever links it with alfred. in addition to that, he's back and bludhaven and looking at it with "fresh" eyes. (at least, from a different point of view since he got shot in the head. then mind controlled.) he's desperate to do something with the money and he's desperate to help the people around him that so obviously needs up, so he comes up with an on-the-fly solution that's a little impractical and a little crazy, but it still helps and still does some good.

to me, dick seems a little lost. he hasn't completely found his balance yet, and he's trying to do things that will. he tries charity, because that's what bruce did and it's what he knows, even though he admitted that he always thought bruce could have done more as bruce wayne than batman.

they have a family group chat guys yall were right.

also, do i think that dick would ever actually get his wallet stolen?? no way in hell, he’d notice someone getting ready to pickpocket him a mile away. but i suppose it’s important to the Plot. 

okay this is getting interesting. first blockbuster, now maroni (+ the weird heart stealer guy). i can officially say that i am intruiged

this particular artistic quirk is shown a lot in this issue, and from this art team in general, but i feel like this panel is one of the best examples of it. it was stunning enough to take up a full page, and it’s well deserved.

the way they show dick moving is absolutely brilliant. as a reader, i like seeing these smaller versions of dick getting clearer and in more detail as they come closer to the screen. not only do they show depth in the picture beyond what a simple 3 dimensional piece of art does, it also shows the passage of time.

in addition, it showcases dick’s skill. dick spots these mobsters running after a group of petty thieves. he then, and follow me here, leaps off the roof of one building feet first, springboards backwards off the side of the adjacent building with his feet, gracefully continues his backflip, rights himself, shoots a line with perfect timing: just in time to soften his landing but not slow him down, execute said landing on top of a moving bus, keep running on the moving bus without missing a beat, shoot his grapple, use the grapple to swing, use the swing to build up momentum, then use the momentum to deliver a powerful blow to the mobsters. and he did all that fast enough to catch up with the mobsters, even though he was a ROOFTOP OVER. 

d a m n  s o n

this panel, the very first in the issue, is also another example of that art style, but a little more distinctive. i love the way they showed dick’s different costumes through the ages, along with him simply growing up. it’s a little heartbreaking, but a lot uplifting to see how far he’s come. thank god he got rid of the red. now all we need is the fingerstripes, and we’ll be golden

discowing my beloved. also i can’t clearly see discowing’s hair but it definitely looks like it’s pulled back. it looks like he put it in a ponytail. guys. guys. dick had a ponytail omg. 

he’s having a Hero Moment

are you talking about the city, dick, or are you talking about you? the kgbeast, the court, the joker. dick fell to each one of them, no matter how hard he fought. he won in the end, eventually and with his family’s help. but i think he’s feeling a little low, a little defeated right now. it’s almost like he needs a win, he needs to feel victorious, he needs to feel like he helped someone (hence the food and the hotel room), just because he needs to remember what it feels like.

these lines were supposed to resonate with you, and goddamn they did.

i looked at it from two ways. first, it’s the girl asking, begging nightwing not to hurt them. bludhaven doesn’t know dick the way gotham does, they’re still a little frightened of him. this child was brave enough to step in front of all of the other hurt and homeless kids and ask, to a strange man in a mask, if he was going to hurt them like the other men had. it’s heartbreaking, but commendable, and an echo of the city itself that dick’s decided to protect. they’re bloody and broken and terrified, but still gritty and brave enough to stare what they fear in the eye and ask it not to hurt them.

second, it’s dick seeing the question reflected in himself. recently, he got shot in the head and lost all his memories. while i think that the way ric reacted was a perfectly valid and human response to the situation, i think dick still regrets how callously and rudely he treated his family. then, he was manipulated by the court of owls, then he was brainwashed with a magic crystal by the joker. dick does have a guilt complex. it’s not a big as bruce’s, but it’s there. and right now, with this girl begging her not to hurt them, dick is probably thinking about all the times he hurt people, in control of his own actions or not, bc he “didn’t have a heart.” 

little ambitious don’t you think, dick?

also just look at the sunset colours loOK at the they could not make this any more obvious oh my godddddddddddddddddddddddd

in conclusion, i need more of her

[maxdark158]

OKAY SO I KNOW I SAID I’D FINISH ANGEL IN GOTHAM BEFORE I WROTE IT’S PARTNER FIC

but i got inspired so i wrote it anyway....

so... here it is...

Check out @ozmav they started this whole au!! They’re awesome!!

Characters are probably OOC because MLB is a kids show and chapter 1 Damian is kinda bad no lie

Angel in Gotham: Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part 3 ~ Part 4 ~ Part 5 ~ Part 6 ~ Ao3

Demon in Gotham: Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part 3 ~ Part 4 ~ Ao3

Fanart for AiG: Riddler ~ Joker thank you @thegreysman

Please tag me in any fanart you draw for this guys ^^

oooOOOooo

Damian was about ready to skin The Riddler alive. Sure, he should be used to Gotham villains at this point, but he wasn’t used to this peculiar situation and he didn’t know what to do.

Okay fine, he’ll give fucking context.

Marinette, the amazing sweet French Angel that he met because of her classes’ field trip to Gotham, was left behind by her class again. Damian was kind of sick of it, sick of people forgetting how astonishing she was. Not that he let her know that when she asked if he would hang out with her. He toured through Gotham with her, pausing when she sketched. They went and bought some fabric at some point, dropping it off at her hotel.

Then the god damn Riddler showed up and fucking ruined it.

Sure, Damian could appreciate that it wasn’t someone as awful as Joker. Maybe. Not really, because it was still the fucking Riddler who was a fucking villain that attacked them while he was with hi- with Marinette.

Damian and Marinette were in line to get ice cream when the widows were suddenly blacked out. Damian reached for Marinette’s hand and grabbed it, tensing. He heard the doors lock, and the few people in the shop were trapped. Trapped with the fucking Riddler. He pointed a question mark shaped gun at them and demanded that they go to the back room.

Fucking fuck fuck.

Damian held Marinette’s hand. He couldn’t see her face, he wasn’t sure he wanted to. She had to be scared, knowing that damage done here couldn’t be reversed like in Paris.

“It’ll be alright,” he found himself mumbling while glaring daggers at Riddler. Marinette nodded.

Damian reached into his pocket with his other hand and pressed the extra button on his custom phone. The one that would send an alert to his nearest family member that something was wrong. He hoped they didn’t take for-fucking-ever.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Marinette looking around. She must be taking stock of her surroundings, looking for an escape. There were four people other than them and the villain and his henchman here.

His anger was simmering. He made sure to keep a tight lid on it though – he didn’t want to give The Riddler anything to work with.

“Now that I’ve got you all here,” the Riddler cackled, “I need two volunteers to do the puzzle I set up until Batman and his batbrats show up! The others will wait here locked in a room as bait.”

Damian tensed. He had to stall for time he had to-

“We’ll go,” Marinette sounded confident when she lifted her and Damian’s still conjoined hands.

Fucking fuck fuck.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Damian hissed. He was very rudely ignored.

The Riddler grinned. “Excellent! A Wayne and a foreigner! Follow me!”

He couldn’t help but tense when he was referred to as a Wayne. He could feel the stares of the others that were in the ice cream shop.

Damian hadn’t told Marinette who he was yet.

She glanced at him but he walked forward. She caught up soon enough, and soon they were locked in with The Goddamn Riddler.

The room was about the size of the kitchen at home, not very impressive if you asked him. It was also bright gaudy purple and neon green. Squares were on the ceiling and floor. The entire place was an eyesore, truly. Grayson’s awful Discowing suit would fit in here.

But that wasn’t what he was focusing on. He was focusing on the wonderful angel in front of him that willingly volunteered them to play a villain’s game. Not just any villain either – the fucking Riddler!

“What did you do?” Damian whispered, not wanting the jackass in green to hear.

“We were the best bet,” she whispers back.

Damian blinked, trying to remember the other people in that room. The cashier hadn’t looked too good, and two of them were children.

“Tch,” she was right, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

He had to keep a lid on his anger. There likely wouldn’t be a chance to change into Robin while they were here, but he could still help. He still had the skill sets and the intelligence.

Well, presumably he would, but there was this stupid nagging thing in his head that kept telling him to look out for his An- Marinette. He didn’t like it. What was it called again?

Whatever it was, the feeling increased when The Riddler addressed them again.

“As you can see,” The Riddler gestured to the brightly colored room, “there’s a gameboard. And you two are game pieces. Make a wrong step and…”

He reached for his cane that was tied at his belt and pressed a button on it. The green square nearest to them made a beeping sound. The purple square above it opened up like a latch and bricks dropped from it.

The sound of the bricks hitting the ground was loud, Marinette and Damian both flinched. She gripped his hand tighter, and he returned the favor.

He glanced at the damage the bricks left. They went through the green square, opening up a dark hole below the floor. Damian couldn’t see how far down it was.

The awful and distracting feeling increased. What if that happened to Marinette?

The Riddler grinned, “as implied, if you make one wrong step then you die! Simple enough to understand?”

Ah. Worry. That’s what the feeling was.

It fucking sucked.

Damian shifted his feet, fighting to keep his expression neutral. The Riddler had a gun, and there wasn’t anything in this room for Marinette to hide behind. As enjoyable as it would be, Damian couldn’t attack him. Not without knowing for sure that Marinette would be safe.

He couldn’t tell what Marinette was thinking when she looked at him. Her brow twitched though – was she angry? Damian hoped not. Anger could lead to stupid mistakes and she very much could not afford to be stupid right now.

She turned back to The Riddler. “How do we know if any of the cubes are fake?” she asked. Her voice shook, and this time Damian had to fight back a smile.

He knew she was angry. She was making herself look scared.

Smart. Fucking genius. Of course she was intelligent he wouldn’t lo-

Like. He wouldn’t like her if she wasn’t.

Damian tightened his hand that held hers.

The Riddler smiled.

“I assure you there is a way to win,” he chuckled. “Now, who wants to go first?”

Damian was going to fucking skin The Riddler alive. Yeah, he’s used to Gotham villains at this point, but he hates being worried and he hates knowing Marinette is in danger.

He stepped forward, ready to offer to go first. If he distracted Riddler long enough, Marinette could maybe escape-

“I’ll go.”

Her voice was quiet but it still knocked the breath out of Damian’s lungs. What the hell? Why did she offer to go first, he was going to go first. She could have escaped!

“Angel,” Damian hissed, “What do you think you’re doing?”

“No takebacks!” the villain laughed. “Go ahead and choose, but make it snappy!”

Marinette squeezed Damian’s hand one more time before letting go.

Fucking fuck fuck.

Marinette paused, taking in her surroundings. She was deliberating for a long while. In the entire time, Damian fantasized about killing The Riddler in numerous ways. Sure, killing was against his father’s wishes, but if The Riddler was gone Damian wouldn’t have to worry anymore.

He was quickly discovering that he hated worrying.

“Go already,” The Riddler snarled. “Unless you want your friend to go-”

As much as he would much rather go in Marinette’s place, those words caused her to step on a purple square near her. Damian’s heart was in his throat and he felt that if he opened his mouth it would spill onto the ground.

Nobody told him that worrying made him scared! This is bullshit.

The Riddler chuckled, and fear began to drum through Damian’s senses. What if she was wrong? What if the hinges were a fake trap and she was about to die? What if-

Green Asshole clicked the button.

The square under her feet beeped.

Damian inhaled.

The trapdoor opened.

Marinette stiffened.

Nothing came.

Nothing besides a small white feather. She looked up as it drifted down, and it landed on her nose.

“Lucky guess!” The Riddler cackled with glee. “Let’s hope you can keep it up! But for now, it’s your friend’s turn.”

Thank fuck! Damian was getting antsy.

“Why can’t I play alone?” Marinette asked. He couldn’t see her face but Damian could imagine from her tone.

She was worried too.

“What, think your friend isn’t as lucky as you?” he asked. “Tick, toc, Wayne. Don’t keep us waiting.”

Damian considered backhanding the villain before deciding to just take his turn.

The squares on the ground were all identical. A quick glance at the squares on the ceiling proved the same. The stupid drumming of worry and that god-awful fear was messing with his senses, and all he wanted to do was keep checking on Marinette to make sure she was alright.

Fucking fuck fuck.

He began to step on the nearest purple one. He could dodge a bunch of bricks falling, right? He should be able to if he was wrong.

He hoped he was able to.

Damian looked up at Marinette. She looked terrified, eyes wide.

He wasn’t sure why, but Damian had the feeling that she knew what squares were good and what squares were bad. If she was so scared…

Damian didn’t step on it.

Her shoulders seemed to relax, ever so slightly. He met her eyes, and she glanced elsewhere. He followed her eyes to the green square next to the purple one he almost stepped on.

He stepped on the green square next to her.

When The Riddler clicked his button, another feather dropped down on Damian.

“Seems the little foreigner is helping the competition!” The Riddler growled. “You think I wouldn’t see the silent communication there? Now you have to answer a riddle for every turn, girlie! Answer correctly and you’ll survive.”

A spark of panic lit up and Damian felt himself scowl. He quickly let his face become neutral again.

Could The Riddler just die? Please? It would be easier.

It would be easier than watching Marinette struggle with the riddles. And they were in English! Her second language! Damian bit his lip.

“Take your turn,” the villain growled.

Marinette did, stepping on another safe space. When the feather fell, The Riddler growled lowly.

“Now answer this,” his voice was low.

He heard Marinette’s breathing quicken.

Damian’s fist clenched.

“What is the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space, the beginning of every end and the end of every race?”

Damian tensed more. He knew the answer to that, but it was a riddle about the English language and he was worried, dammit, he was worried that Marinette wouldn’t get it and-

“The letter E,” she had the barest hint of a growl in her voice.

Damian wondered if she wanted to skin The Riddler too.

The Riddler frowned. “Take another turn.”

More fucking panic.

“But what about mine-”

“Shut it, Wayne,” The Riddler growled at him. “Take another turn, girlie. Your luck will run out eventually.”

Fucking fuck fuck.

Marinette glanced up. He noticed that whenever Marinette went to take a turn, she looked up. Was the answer in the ceiling? Damian looked, but he only got a quick glance in when he heard something move behind him.

He turned. Drake was there, in costume.

This was his chance. Damian could sneak out now and change into costume. Drake could defend his angel – wait no dammit – Marinette long enough that she would be okay.

“How can you tell?” the villain was snarling. “How do you know which ones you can use and which ones you can’t?”

“Just lucky I guess.”

He made his way quickly and silently to the door, already unbuttoning his shirt. Drake shrugged and made an “Okay?” sign. Damian responded with a, “wait,” sign while shoving on his mask.

He didn’t care right now if he looked messy or not right now.

“No, you figured something out,” The Riddler hissed. “How? How did you do it?”

He nearly fell trying to change his pants and made a sound when catching himself. Marinette scoffed around the same time, almost as if covering for him.

“As if I’d tell you,” she sounded haughty.

Oh no. His panic was back full force.

Stupid fucking feelings.

He finished dressing and looked over just in time to see The Riddler lunge at Marinette.

FUCKING FUCK FUCK.

Drake yelled something, but neither of the two on the puzzle board reacted to it.

She sidestepped to avoid The Riddler’s lunge. Swept under feet to make him lose his balance. Dug an elbow to the side to topple him over. Jumped to avoid his attempt to bring her down with him. Kicked his remote away from him.

Holy shit.

Damian was, as Robin, quickly making his way over, but he let himself be impressed for a moment.

In that moment, the villain didn’t stay down. Once she kicked his device away he was up again, this time fighting her with more intelligent movements.

Damian’s worry was draining away though. Because the longer they fought, the more trained Marinette looked. It was known that The Riddler was not very good at fighting hand to hand combat.

She punched him in the throat – the fucking throat – before running into Drake.

“Woah, calm down,” Drake sounded just as impressed as Damian was. And surprised.

Because Damian was definitely surprised, so Drake had to be too.

“Where’s my friend?” she asked. Shit. “Damian, he came here with me and-”

“It’s alright An- civilian,” he stepped forward while Drake walked to the villain. “I carried him out while The Riddler was focused on you.”

She relaxed. Good. He was worri-

God damn it, he needed to stop feeling that.

“You knocked him out,” Red Robin commented from behind her.

What? Robin looked at The Riddler and yep. Out cold.

“Punching faces is stupid, you’re more likely to hurt your hand if you don’t do it right. Going for the throat is a dirty move but more effective.”

Holy Fuck.

She was incredible.

“How’d you figure out his riddle board thing?” Drake asked.

“Anyone can figure it out if they look up! It’s obvious.”

“What?” he didn’t know what to look for.

“Oh!” Drake snapped his fingers. “The hinges?”

Marinette nodded. “He must have cut some corners because there’s no way the small hinges would hold a bunch of bricks.”

“Oh.” Damian felt stupid. Marinette had this. She had this in the bag. He was useless the entire time…

He slapped the feeling away. Get the fuck out.

Drake looked back at her. “You’re pretty smart.”

Damian fought back the urge to growl. Marinette wasn’t his Angel. She was an Angel, he didn’t have ownership.

“No, it’s something anyone would notice if they looked up! I just managed to use the knowledge.”

Damian raised a brow. So, self-confidence was something she needed help with, clearly.

He heard his father approach from behind. Drake nodded to him.

“Robin.”

Shit, what was wrong.

“Please allow the civilian to leave, we need to get The Riddler to Arkham.”

Oh, right. He sighed.

“I’ll guide her out,” Drake offered. He wanted to protest but father didn’t allow it.

Once she was out, he whirled on him. “I didn’t know Riddler was here or we wouldn’t have gone near the place, I apologize for putting a civilian in danger-”

“I just needed your help putting the cuffs on him,” his father sighed. “Then you can go to the police station and act as a victim.”

Damian nodded, heading over to The Riddler.

oooOOOooo

“Angel!” she was okay, thank god.

Without thinking, he grabbed her in a hug. He almost let go until she returned it, breathing in and out slowly. Marinette was really warm.

“I went back out to look for you, Robin told me you were here,” Damian mumbled. He stepped back, checking over her. “Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

Marinette shook her head. “I’m perfectly fine, Damian. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

He sighed in relief. “Don’t scare me like that again, Angel, please.”

She seemed to cave in on herself, guiltily. “I’m sorry, I should have given you more warning, or only volunteered myself.”

“What?” Damian shook his head. “No, I’m glad it was us two. The Riddler would have killed anyone else. I was more worried when you fought him.”

“You fought The Riddler?” The cashier was staring at her with wide eyes. His voice was loud enough that the entire station went silent.

Marinette laughed. She seemed less guilty now, only awkward. “He was bad at hand to hand combat. And mad at me. That made him make some dumb moves, most people would have been able to beat him.”

“Still,” Commissioner Gordan chuckled. “Quite commendable for a young girl.”

“It’s really nothing,” Marinette tried to wave it off. “We have a lot of villains in Paris. I’d be stupid if I didn’t learn to fight them.”

“The akuma!” a young girl shouted. “I saw on the Lady’s blog about superheroes!”

“Don’t believe everything on that blog,” her the slightly older kid mumbled. “There is no way sausage hair is a superhero’s best friends. Superheroes don’t make friends with civilians.”

“I only watch the videos of fights,” the young girl pouted.

“Miss, if you’re ready,” Damian saw Commissioner Gordan gesture to the empty room they used for questioning witnesses. “We need you to retell everything that just happened for the record.”

Marinette nodded. Damian let go of her fully, hating how it suddenly got cold without her.

He should probably admit to himself he liked her.

Hell no.

She followed the greying man into his office, not noticing the awed looks of those around her as she passed by.

After she left, Damian Wayne pulled out his phone. Someone had to let her teacher know she was alright, if they noticed her missing at all.

They’re fools not to notice her, but Damian was glad he had no competition from those idiots.

oooOOOooo

Unnamed Teenager From France Holds off The Riddler Until Batman Arrives!

“I was just doing what anyone else would have done,” she says. “He was pretty annoying though. His riddles need work.”

oooOOOooo

The Riddler was wearing a neck brace. It was a precaution, the stupid French brat only bruised his throat. He still hated how sore his vocal cords were.

He was in fucking Arkham again too. Because a stupid French girl wasn’t so stupid.

“Hello there friend,” a familiar voice called from the cell next to him. “It seems you aren’t smiling.”

He glanced over, seeing The Joker in Penguin’s cell. He seemed to be in the process of breaking out.

“Why don’t you tell me why?” The Joker’s face broke out into a huge grin.

[daemons-not-rogues]

@toastedside asked in a gc for rec's of where to start w/ Batman comics and it turns out I have a lot of Opinions™️ about this so I thought I'd make a longer post :)

Basically, it boils down to:

Start with what you want to read!

Admittedly, that's not very helpful if you don't know where in the comics to find the bit you want to read, so we'll work from there! I've listed below what I think can be good entry points to the Batman (& the Batman Family of comics) based on what you might be looking for. [Keeping in mind that this list leans heavily away from DC's Rebirth/New 52... maybe someone who likes the newer stuff enough to keep up with them can help me out there??]

[Note: links go to the full comics on https://readconiconline.to - BUT! I *highly* recommend using an ad-blocker with this site! Some of the ads make me really uncomfy. You have been warned!]

Also, the ⭐s aren't important other than that they represent some of my personal faves :)

1. Looking for slightly-silly, lighthearted classic tales (from long before you were born)?? Try:

Batman: the Classic Casebook (includes The Rainbow Batman⭐ and Batman Meets Bat-Mite)

2. How about stories featuring Batman's two original partners? Check out:

Batgirl/Robin: Year One for an updated (circa 2013) take on Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon's origin stories.

Or, if you've ever heard a reference to Babs' time in Congress and want to know more, try The Batman Family (1975) (Note: this is most definitely part of pre-crisis continuity and has little relation to the rest of the stories on this list, but it's a fun read ☺️)

3. Already know who your favorite Robin is? Are you sure about that? See:

For Dick Grayson, the OG™️ Boy Wonder:

Robin: Year One (above)

A throwback, but Batman & Superman's first Golden-age team up in World's Finest Comics #71 kicks off the "two dads and their son just having a good time" era

Not a Batman comic exactly, but New Teen Titans (1980) #1-8+ has the (pre-flashpoint/infinite crisis) origins of probably the most recognizable cast of the Teen Titans team (& features Dick striking out on his own)

Personally, I have... never really cared for all the retconning in 2005's Nightwing: Year One, so I'd recommend starting with either:

Nightwing (1995), the 4-issue limited run featuring #discowing ⭐ (honestly, the * isn't even for the story. The art is insane absolute gold. Dick's flowing locks. Alfred's green pinstriped suit. The artist's obvious thirst way they draw Dick & esp. when he's stripping off the suit. I just... can't even with this series. It never fails to make me giggle)

Or Nightwing (1996) #1 if finger-stripes are more your style (welcome to the Haven, Dick 😉)

For Jason Todd:

Batman (1940) #408 ⭐ (stealing the tires from the Batmobile will never not be a classic),

Batman (1940) #366-368 ⭐ (pre-crisis, but you will have to pry this version of Dick passing the mantle from my cold, dead hands),

Superman (1937) Annual #11: For the Man Who Has Everything (A throw-back: it's Clark's birthday at the fortress of solitude, and Robin saves the day!)

Legends of the Dark Knight: Norm Breyfogle (TPB, collected 🦇 comics mostly from the 80s, many of which feature Jason as Robin)

For Tim Drake:

Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying (1990) (collected from Batman/Teen Titans, Tim's first appearances after Jason's death),

Robin (1991) (Tim abroad, featuring Shiva and King Snake),

And Robin II (1992) ⭐ (Batman's out of town, but don't worry - Tim and Alfred have got this covered 😆)

For Stephanie Brown:

Honestly, you for Steph you *have* to start with Spoiler's introduction/origins. See: Detective Comics (1937) #647-649 ⭐, and

Showcase '95 #5 ⭐ (for the Spoiler stand-alone story)

From then on, she shows up every few issues in Robin (1993)

For Damian Wayne:

honestly, I... probably wouldn't recommend starting here? Maybe I'm too biased towards the 90s, but I just think you miss out on a ~lot~ of Batfam history if you do

If you're sure though, his first appearance is in Batman (1940) #655 circa 2006

4. Does Oracle's all-around badassery make you swoon? SAME

It's not her earliest appearance (that's in the 80s run of Suicde Squad, believe it or not), but for her origin story, see 'Oracle: Year One', in The Batman Chronicles (1995) #5 ⭐

Birds of Prey is iconique Oracle!Babs. See Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey for the start of their adventures (and if you fall in love like I did, there's a good reading order by ComicBookHerald here, since there are a half-dozen differently-titled one-offs and mini series before the start of the BoP serial in 1999)

5. Love you some Cassandra Cain?? Me too!!

Her first appearance is in Batman (1940) #567 - BUT, it's the middle of the NML run, which is sooo good I recommend the whole thing. Depending on how much you want to bite off, I'd even recomend starting as far back as Batman: Contagion, because it's really really good.

Below I've listed the progression of major arcs in that era (most bridge the entire Batman Family of comics, from Detective Comics, Shadow of the Bat, Robin, and Nightwing, to Azreal, Catwoman, etc.). Any of these could be a good place to pick up the comics!

Batman: Prodigal (after B broke his back in the Knightfall arc, Dick Grayson temporarily takes the cape. Great for Dick & Tim brotherly bonding, plus flashbacks where Dick retells his origins)

Batman: Contagion & Batman: Legacy ⭐ (Ra's Al Ghul tries to take Gotham out with a plague)

Batman: Cataclysm & Batman: Aftershock/Road to No Man's Land

Batman: No Man's Land ⭐⭐ (Cass!!! The whole Batfam!! Oracle and the GCPD!! Huntress!!! Plus the A++ characterization of the rogues *cough*Ivy*cough*Two-Face*)

What do you think? Do you have different recommendations?

[fanghuas]

"I, too, love panicking at the neon disco" with whoever you want? You said send prompts so here I am to support :D

You’re the real MVP, friend. Sorry this took so long and also if you were expecting anything like…quality?? I don’t know what happened here.

The manor’s ballroom had not seen much use in recent years. The amount of galas and fundraisers and functions and what have yous that Bruce Wayne threw on a yearly basis was not negligible, but rarely did they take place in his own home. Intellectually, Bruce knew that the chances of someone wandering off and finding the entrance to the Batcave were low, but no risk was always better than a little risk.

Besides, his home was not for public consumption. Once upon a time, it had been almost like a haunted house to him, but his children had remedied that, filling it with life and laughter and yes, the unmistakable sound of fighting and priceless china shattering. He wouldn’t trade it for the world. Even if most of them didn’t live in the manor anymore, even if at times one or more of them refused to step foot inside for months on end, it belonged to all of them. Gotham’s high society had no place there.

Initially, Bruce had fought to keep the house untouched by time, more mausoleum than home, but all of that had gone out of the window the moment Dick Grayson had come into his life. First it was just Dick’s room, transformed from a neutral guest room to something as vibrant and full of personality as Dick himself, then a framed picture of Dick and Bruce in the study, then the little Batman magnet Dick bought and stuck on the fridge.

And it didn’t stop. More change came along with Jason, with Tim, with Damian and Cass and Duke. Even Stephanie and Barbara had left their mark, despite never having lived in the manor. Pictures in the hallways, books moved around in the library and new ones added to the collection, a drawing room slowly turned into a home cinema, pets and all the equipment that came with them, socks left in the most incredible places.

Bruce was wary of change, but that was one development he could live with.

It was on a late evening when Bruce – after a particularly rough night of patrol and an early morning WE meeting – had just woken up and stumbled into the kitchen for a cup of coffee that he heard it. Faintly, from across the manor, a sound he couldn’t quite identify but that immediately put him on alert. In his half-asleep state, he was at once convinced that it was intruders. None of the kids werehome today besides Duke and Damian, and at this hour the two of them could usually be found in the cave, sparring. Then the mysterious noise couldn’t have come from them. Bruce changed course and took off towards the source of the sound in a sprint.

As he drew closer, he realized that it was music, loud, pumping music, but his mind hadn’t quite registered the implications of that by the time he threw open the ballroom door and barrelled inside. The sight that greeted him was incomprehensible. He stood at the doorway, panting, all of his kids plus Barbara and Stephanie staring at him in varying degrees of concerned amusement.

Fighting to smooth out his expression, Bruce ground out, “Why does the ballroom look like a neon disco?”

It was truly a sight to behold. A bright pink disco ball had been attached to the ceiling. The long, rectangular table that usually adorned the unused dining room had been dragged to one corner of the ballroom, every inch covered in plates and glasses, a pair of glowing lava lamps on each side, Tim’s laptop – the source of the music – balancing precariously in one end. Bruce idly noted that the song now playing was Fly, Robin Fly.

Dick was wearing his old, affectionately dubbed discowing suit. The rest were clad in bell bottoms and spandex jumpsuits and patterned or nylon shirts, paired with platform boots and mismatched jewelry. Even Damian was wearing something that could vaguely pass as a disco outfit. The various styles at play clashed enough to give someone whiplash and the large room with its polished marble floor, high ceiling and tall glass windows made for a rather strange discotheque.

“Oh my god, you should have seen your face,” Jason said, delighted. “Looked like you were having an aneurysm.”

Dick elbowed him in the ribs.

“I was not –”

“It’s alright, Bruce,” Tim cut him off with a snicker. “I, too, love panicking at the neon disco.”

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “I was not panicking.”

“You burst in here like caveman spongebob,” Duke informed him, matter-of-fact.

Bruce really hated it when his kids ganged up on him. “I don’t know what that means.”

Cue another round of snickers. God, Bruce was not awake enough for this. He was starting to think the imaginary intruders might have been easier to deal with.

“Ballroom,” he repeated flatly. “Disco. Why.”

Barbara spoke up, taking pity on him, “Cass wanted to know what the disco was like. Some people decided this meant we ought to throw a party.”

“And we were so right,” Stephanie declared, bumping her fist with Dick’s.

The explanation somehow did not make any of this easier to take in. He felt foolish and wrong-footed after the way he’d reacted, mind instantly going into fight mode. He was used to his kids causing a ruckus around the manor, but he was even more accustomed to danger awaiting in every turn, and coupled with his disorientation, it had been easy for instinct to take over.

“You could have mentioned it beforehand,” Bruce grumbled.

Damian snorted. “We informed you of our plans twice this week, father.”

Bruce squinted. That didn’t seem right. Cassandra had mentioned something about dancing, but disco was not the first thing that had come to his mind, and now that he thought about it Damian might have talked about a possible family gathering later in the week, but –

“I’ve told you guys,” Dick said, exasperated. “You’ve got to tell him once, as soon as you come up with a plan, and then again at most two days before it goes down. He’s old, he forgets things.”

“He probably was around when disco became popular,” Jason said.

“I was not,” Bruce said with great dignity.

Disco was the child of the late sixties and seventies. He was born in 1982. There was a respectable gap there. All of them looked at him with great skepticism. Stephanie disguised a giggle as a cough. Bruce was surrounded by family, and yet he stood among traitors.

“Join the party, Bruce,” Dick urged him with laughter in his voice. Bruce knew something was coming. “…You’re never too old to boogie.”

Bruce turned the full force of his glare on him. Betrayed. Utterly betrayed.

“Oh my god,” Barbara wheezed, throwing her head back with a laugh. “Dick, please never say ‘boogie’ again in your life.”

Bruce’s lips twitched. As perplexed as he had been to wake up to this, he had to admit that it was nice. All the kids together, messing around and having fun. No screaming matches, no brawls. The most dangerous thing in the room was a glitter marker that Stephanie was wielding, Tim and Damian already sporting smears of glitter along their face.

“I’ll stay for a bit,” he said, stepping farther into the room. Then, in a deadpan, “If you’re sure you can tolerate having an old man in your midst, that is.”

(Send me prompts!)

[whetstonefires]

okay so we can agree that dick grayson has some crappy fashion sense and just doing the Most of what whatever is in at the time but still considered weird, but what about jason? hes had some awful outfits/costumes but regarding his civilian clothes, i mean he had a nerd aesthetic as robin but now.. any ideas on his general fashion?

:D I actually tend to love the way Dick dresses? There’s a certain energy he puts into it that makes me smile–I mean, okay, some of it is just ugly, but the Discowing suit for example I like. He should grow his hair out again, also.

As for Jason, assuming I haven’t disqualified myself from talking about fashion ever again…his most basic Red Hood look, with the combat boots and the brown leather jacket, I tend to read as just the way he preferentially dresses.

This is…also more or less how I dress, when it’s cold but not parka weather and I have nothing to look nice for, so I haven’t put a lot of thought into it, just had a sort of hindbrain ‘unk, comfy-safe’ reaction and moved on, because obviously everyone would like to dress this way. ;}

(If one expects to get shot, one would include body armor. It is nice when your pants have many, many-many pockets.)

Jason has clearly got a sense of style and is inclined to melodrama, more like Bruce than Dick, but (also like Bruce) when he’s putting together outfits I’d say his priorities revolve more around the reactions he expects to get, rather than how he personally feels about the clothes.

So his looks are going to vary widely depending on both the effect he wants to achieve atm and how accurate his models of other people’s perspectives currently are.

If he’s experiencing major cognitive distortions, his ability to dress himself is likely to suffer severely, because his choices are filtering through three different layers of judgment call rather than the one Dick bothers with.

When his mental health is good, this means he’s likely to lean toward more tasteful or at least subdued choices than his big bro, because he has his own inclinations –> his idea of how he would be judged for these inclinations –> his reaction to this imaginary judgment, and the averaging-out of these will usually yield an unobjectionable result unless his goal is to offend.

Or, as I said, when his sense of reality is otherwise skewed.

I’d theorize what Jason actually likes is to feel comfortable, which is partly a texture and weight issue but also there’s how nice it is to have clothes that fit, and I think he appreciates high-quality materials. The feeling of a shirt that will last and last rather than starting to fray at the collar or pill up after you wash it four times is its own sort of security, no matter how much murder drug money you have stashed in the Cayman Islands, just like having canned goods in the pantry that you may never actually eat.

…Jason also has a fairly good color sense, I think; he’d never have chosen Robin’s colors on his own because the point of those is to be a glorious eyesore nobody can look away from.

If he’d been designing his first hero suit freestyle, it would probably have had two colors that only semi-contrasted, probably one neutral tone and something bright. Probably still red, he seems to like that color, though this is true for thematic reasons so who knows.

Maybe he’d have gone out in two shades of blue.

If adult Jason was choosing his own look for, say, a fancy party, I think he’d go for an Italian style suit, tapered to draw attention to his waist and shoulders but not his hips or legs, probably in a warm medium grey if he was feeling daring enough not to default to black. With boots, definitely, not shoes, but probably nice ones.

If he was trying to look good and also be an asshole, starkly black suit, possibly two-piece instead of three, red shirt, and sunglasses in the house. Or a crimson waistcoat over a black silk shirt, if he was trying to be an asshole but also having fun. Leather gloves. Probably no hat, but if hat a really ostentatious one.

I guess I see Jason as a very adaptive, situational dresser? He’s very aware of status and affiliation as encoded in clothing, so he uses fashion primarily as a means of communication, which is critically different from using it as a means of self-expression.

(This would be why he dressed like a dork in his early teens, given the choice; the look he was going for was respectable hard-working ward of millionaire. Which was perfectly true, but you can see why he was motivated to actively sell it.)