#dick is invited when he’s estranged from bruce

[silverwhittlingknife]

How do you feel about Jack Drake?? What are your thoughts on him and Tim’s relationship?

Anon, I hope you were interested in a novel, because look, I am fascinated by Jack Drake.  He’s key to a whole lot of what I find compelling about Tim as a character, and if I were in charge of DC, I’d bring him back to life.  This would make Tim unhappy but would IMO make for good plotlines.

Jack and Tim’s relationship is Complicated (TM)...

Jack and Tim hug in Nightwing 20 / Jack impulsively yanks a TV out of the wall in Robin 45 / Tim grieves in Identity Crisis

“I could tell the truth.  But I don’t.” - Robin 66

...and it involves a whole lot of Tim lying, and feeling guilty about lying, and thinking about telling the truth, and choosing again and again to keep lying.

And I think that’s great.

Below the cut:

Shorter version - key points about Jack

Really long version - my gentler take (vigilantism is choir and Jack loves sports) vs. my harsher take (Jack has some major flaws)

Final thoughts

Shorter version - key points about Jack:

He’s a bad parent.  He’s self-centered, he consistently prioritizes his own comfort and interests over his son’s, and when upset, he does things like order Tim off to boarding school.

But he’s never a bad parent in an actionable way.  He’s not like David Cain or Arthur Brown, who are abusive monsters.  Jack’s not a monster!  He just...kinda sucks.

He genuinely loves Tim. If Jack’s aware that Tim’s disappeared or is in trouble, he’s always worried and upset.  He periodically resolves to be a better dad, and IMO he’s always sincere.

And Tim loves him, a lot.  Tim’s protective of him and worries about him when he’s kidnapped or in danger, and when they’re reunited, Tim’s really relieved and usually hugs him (and Jack hugs back!). 

...But they have very little in common, and that’s a problem. Jack doesn’t value the things that Tim values, or respect the people that Tim admires, or care about the things that Tim’s interested in.  Tim lies to him a lot, but that’s partly because he correctly guesses Jack wouldn’t respond well if he knew the truth of what Tim’s up to.

The Batfamily is a surrogate family that Tim’s drawn to because of the ways his real family doesn’t meet his emotional needs…but also he feels guilty about that and disloyal. (And to the extent that his dad recognizes what’s going on, he's jealous and resentful!)

Very long version:

(LISTEN I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS)

Okay!  So first: Jack’s a character who IMO is pretty up for interpretation.  You can interpret him very charitably, and make excuses for the bad behavior, and fill in the blanks sympathetically when situations are ambiguous; or you can interpret him uncharitably, and emphasize the bad behavior. I don’t think either approach is invalid - it depends on what kind of story you’re interested in!  I have enjoyed Bad Dad stories and also stories that redeem Jack.

My personal take on canon is that Jack and Tim’s relationship is in a gray area.  Jack's definitely neglectful, and he does prioritize other things over Tim, but he’s never so bad that Tim can easily reject him, and he's never so bad that Bruce could justify taking Tim away.  He's just...not great.  Tim loves him, and feels loyal to him, but it’s a very mixed-up complicated love.

I have a gentler take and a harsher one which I switch between as the spirit moves me. xD

My Gentler Take (tl;dr: vigilantism is choir and Jack loves sports)

Here’s the core conflict: Jack and Tim are very different people with different values.  Tim idolizes Bruce and Dick and vigilantism, and secretly gets involved, knowing his dad will hate it. He gets increasingly wrapped up in his secret world and lies to his dad...because if his dad finds out, he’ll make Tim quit.

This is a great setup for an ongoing comic.  It’s practical, because it provides endless potential for plotlines, and it’s nicely thematic, because it maps closely onto relatable real-life situations with extracurricular activities:

Tim the drama nerd whose dad thinks he’s playing football and not in the school play; 

Tim the closeted-queer kid secretly getting involved in his school’s politically-active Gay-Straight Alliance; 

Tim the choir kid whose dad only values making money and wants him to go into the family business (and Tim keeps promising himself he'll give up choir soon, definitely soon, but maybe he'll stay in just a liiiittle longer, because they need him, you see, the last tenor left town, so...); 

Tim the computer geek with the sports-obsessed dad (this one’s just canon);

etc. etc.  

The extracurricular metaphor works pretty well for Tim’s relationship to vigilantism.  Tim's involved in his "extracurricular" because he genuinely thinks it's important and fulfilling, and he values it and wants to be good at it. He idolizes Bruce and Dick because they're good at it. He's been collecting information about it since he was a little kid, and hiding it from his parents because he knows they wouldn't approve. And mayyyybe there's also an element of low-key rebellion against his dad, and maybe that's secretly part of the appeal. And yet also as Tim gets more and more invested, he starts to daydream: maybe I could tell my dad and he'd be proud of me and supportive. But he doesn't, because actually he knows his dad would be upset and angry and make him quit.

And - again, just like with lonely kids and extracurricular hobbies - one of the things that happens is that Tim starts getting his unfilled emotional needs met ... by people he knows through this secret hobby. And people like Bruce and Dick start turning into a surrogate family. Which Tim feels guilty about. And also as Tim gets more and more wrapped up in their world, he has to lie to his dad even more, which means the distance between Tim and his dad gets bigger and bigger and more and more unfixable.

I love this dilemma. It's simple, it's recognizable, it provides endless sources for conflict, and there's no obvious solution! Tim can't tell Jack: he'll make Tim quit! And Tim doesn't want to quit, because he loves choir / art / theater / whatever.  Yeah, it’s difficult, and there are challenges, and sometimes he has doubts...but at the end of the day, he cares about it a lot.  And everything he values is there, and all the people he admires and cares about are there, and all he wants in the world is to feel like he's one of them and belongs there. So he has to lie, even though he doesn't want to lie, and he feels guilty about it...

...but also he ends up lying more and more.

(Sidenote: I think it's important that Tim chooses to keep lying - Tim's narration often glosses this as "I have to lie to my dad," and that's certainly how it feels to Tim, but this... isn't quite true. He has to lie to his dad, because if he doesn't, his dad will get mad at him and try to stop him, not because he literally has no choice about it.)

Other Reasons Why I Like The "Secret Extracurricular" Interpretation

(tl;dr it complicates not just Tim's relationship with his dad, but also all his other relationships)

Tim's problems have some obvious parallels to Steph and Cass, who both become vigilantes while rejecting their evil supervillain dads. But Jack isn't evil. And that means the Tim-and-Jack relationship is ambiguous and complicated in ways that I like. Steph and Cass can just leave their Bad Dads in prison, and say good riddance, and feel very righteous and triumphant about it! Tim’s more complicated. Tim gets into vigilantism ostensibly out of duty and altruism, but secretly, he's also involved for straight-up selfish self-fulfillment reasons. He's lonely, and bored, and his life feels pointless, but he thinks that Bruce and Dick are cool and amazing and he wants to be a part of the things that they do.  When his dad gets jealous of Tim’s relationship to Bruce, and feels like Tim’s looking for a surrogate family, he’s... not wrong.

And the ways in which Jack is not Actionably Bad complicate things from Bruce's POV.  If Jack was a straight-up villain, it’d be an easy call to keep in touch when Jack finds out and makes Tim quit...but he’s not a villain, not really.  So what do you do?  Do you try to surreptitiously stay in touch with Tim even though you’re ignoring his dad’s express wishes and thus forcing Tim to sneak around?  Do you respect his dad’s wishes and stay away from Tim even though you have a years-long relationship at this point?  

Again: a bit similar to the extracurricular analogy.  Say you’re the choir director and you’ve built this whole relationship with a kid in the choir, and you’re an important mentor to him and you care about him etc. etc. etc.... and then right before a big performance, his dad finds out he’s been secretly involved, and yanks him out.  How would you react?  Well, maybe kind of in some of the ways Bruce reacts.  You replace him. You’re annoyed with him. You miss him. You want him to come back. You’re also worried about him.  You’re upset with his dad.  But also... what should you do, exactly?

Bruce and Alfred and Dick care about Tim as if he were part of their family, but he’s not part of their family, and there’s a lot of interesting tension there.

My Harsher Take

Jack never hits his son.  But his temper is a big deal.

In his worst moments, he takes out his anger on Tim’s stuff - wrecking his room, or ripping his TV out of the wall and confiscating it.  When he’s worried about Tim, he usually expresses that fear by yelling at him / punishing him / sending him away - threatening to send him to boarding school in Metropolis in Robin III, or threatening to send him to military school abroad in Robin 92, or actually forcing him to go to an all-boys' boarding school post-NML.  

This is bad behavior!  It is Not Good!  

And you can easily connect the dots to a bunch of Tim’s terrible coping mechanisms, like the constant lying and or the fact that Tim’s go-to methods for dealing with interpersonal conflict are 1) repress it and pretend it never happened (most of his fights with Bruce), 2) withdraw from the relationship until he can pretend the conflict doesn’t exist (when his friends get mad at him in YJ, he quits the team for a while), or 3) literally run away from home.

Also, Jack is a Manly Man with firm opinions about how men behave vs. how women behave, and he thinks boys shouldn’t be scared and thinks Tim should date hot girls and pushes Tim to work out and wants him to play football and expresses period-typical sexism, etc. etc. etc. ... and though obviously this wasn’t what the writers had in mind at the time, all of that is certainly interesting to read backwards in the light of Tim as a queer character.

More Disorganized Thoughts on Jack Drake

Tim’s our hero, so we’re naturally more sympathetic to him, but it’s also true that relationships are a two-way street, and Tim doesn’t value any of the things his dad values, either.  Jack at various points is shown to care about grades, business, money, boarding schools, archeology, football, a kind of macho bragging-about-dating-hot-women ethos, and a very public and performative kind of caring. Tim tends to respond with discomfort or disinterest or even disgust.  When Jack gets on TV to try to rally the government to save his son from No Man’s Land, Tim isn’t touched—he’s mortified.  When Jack makes some bad investments and loses money, Jack’s deeply upset and his self-image is majorly impacted, and far from being sympathetic, Tim’s annoyed and kind of contemptuous of the idea that this is a problem.  Jack thinks fishing in the early morning and going to tennis matches is a fun father-son activity; Tim finds it exhausting and tedious.  And so on.

This means that Tim often longs to be closer to his dad in theory, but this longing is more tied to fantasy than to reality. He rarely seems to enjoy spending time with His-Dad-The-Actual-Person.  So for example, when Tim’s deadly ill with the Clench, he has an extremely poignant fever dream about telling his dad the truth and getting hugged…even as he insists in real-life to Alfred and Dick that he does not want them to tell his dad what’s going on.

The same is true of Jack, who IMO genuinely wants to be closer to his son and is continually declaring that he’s going to turn over a new leaf and get closer to his son…and just as continually backs out of activities or loses his temper when faced with spending time with his actual son.

Tim and his dad sadly get along best—by far—in Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder situations.  When Jack gets kidnapped or is in danger, Tim worries for him (and Tim grieves him deeply when he dies).  When Tim disappears or runs away, Jack’s genuinely worried about him.  So e.g. they have a really moving emotional reunion and hug when the earthquake hits Gotham, and Tim panics about his dad’s safety and comes running home (and meanwhile Jack’s been panicked about Tim’s safety!).  It’s the day-to-day, regular life stuff where they don’t connect.

Jack's written quite differently by different writers. Mostly, Tim's parents are at their least likable in his early appearances and early miniseries (this is where you get, for example, Jack and Janet being nasty at each other while a pained employee looks on, and Tim disappointed to once again get news of where his parents are via postcard - "I guess that sums them up! Never know where they’re going to be–or when–or even how long!” - and Tim alone on school break, and Bruce and Alfred thinking there's something weird going on with Tim's parents, etc. etc.). Jack's more sympathetic but still often unlikable in most of Tim's Robin solo, and he's almost invisible (but positively treated if he does show up) in Tim's team books.

For obvious reasons, Jack's remembered way more sympathetically after his death. Tim's completely devastated by Jack's murder, which he arrives moments too late to prevent, and he basically never gets over it. We see him grieving Jack again and again in Robin, and also in Teen Titans, and also in Resurrection, and again in the Halloween Special, and again in Batman: Blackest Night, and all the way up to the end of Red Robin. Tim also grieves for an extended time over Janet - he hallucinates a happy reunion with her when he's feverish in Contagion, and hallucinates her in the final issue of Robin, and the reveal-your-buried-emotions song in Robin 102 brings up his grief for her too (meanwhile, other characters dance or laugh or otherwise get giddy).  Tim’s grief over his parents’ deaths is intense and long-lasting.

I'm not going to clip comic panels because this is long enough, but if you're curious, here's a nice and fairly lengthy compilation of comic panels with Tim and Jack.

If you're interested in a Jack-centric story with a softer-but-still-recognizably-canon take on Jack, I really like the way Jack’s narration is written in the one-shots Heart Humble (set shortly before Jack dies) and Never a Hero (Ra's resurrects him during Brucequest, and Jack's archeology skills turn out to be unexpectedly useful).

[disillusioneddanny]

If It Makes You Happy (then why the hell are you so sad?)

Tim took a bite of his ravioli and looked around the table at his family. It was Sunday dinner. A monthly tradition where every member of the family adopted or otherwise came to spend a few hours together. It didn’t matter who was arguing with whom, or how estranged from the family you were at the time. You still had to attend the monthly family dinner. However, there were times when Tim wondered if anyone would notice if he stopped attending. If he no longer came to the dinners where he sat mostly unnoticed by the rest of his family. Where he typically sat in silence, having not uttered a single word throughout the entire event. Would they ever realize he was gone? Did they even realize he was there in the first place? 

A part of Tim truly doubted it, if he was being completely honest with himself. Maybe that was why he hadn’t been able to share with the family his upcoming exhibit. 

Tim was in his fourth year of college. Where he was getting a degree in Art, Technology, and Culture. It was a major that allowed Tim to immerse himself in photography, video art, creative coding, and so much more. He had gotten to work in traditional analog and digital photography. Played around with film and art in ways he had never thought of before while also learning about cultural theory, the expression of ideas, and cultural practices which gave him the chance to truly discover himself. It was the first time he had ever chosen something for himself. 

His entire life he had been groomed to run a business. To at first take over Drake Industries one day and then later Wayne Enterprises where he was unfortunately CEO. But then he had learned about the ATC program at Gotham University and he had fallen in love with it.  He had always been obsessed with photography and even film later on as he grew older and spent his days alone in dusty old Drake Manor. And he had always loved to learn about cultures, he ate up the stories from his parents and their trips abroad. Had spent countless nights watching the people of Gotham and how they did things, and had absorbed it all like a sponge to make up for the fact that he was just a lonely boy living in a manor by himself. 

Even when he had joined the Bats and had made his tiny little place with them, he still fell back on his love for learning about others and his desire to tell their stories. It had just become an intrinsic part of Timothy Drake. 

And now here he was, slowly creeping to the finish line. He had his senior showcase coming up. A requirement for all students who were receiving a bachelor of fine arts. He was to show off all of his best work from the last four years. It was a chance for him to show everything he had learned, and to display his work with pride. 

He had toyed with the idea of inviting everyone to it. To let them see the love that Tim had cultivated over the last four years. He was set to graduate in just a few months and the pride he felt for himself was tremendous. And if Tim invited the Wayne family to his senior showcase, then maybe they could come to his college graduation and share the achievement with them then too. 

It was a big time in Tim’s life and he wanted to share it with them. 

He listened as a lull came in the conversation and carefully cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the others. 

“I have a senior showcase this weekend for my BFA. It’s at six in the evening in the Wayne Arts Center on Gotham Campus. I would be happy to see you all there,” he said hesitantly, eyes firmly trained on his plate of food. 

“That sounds nice, Tim. I’ll try to be there,” Bruce said politely before going back to his conversation with Jason and Dick. Tim felt eyes on him, though, and slowly looked up to find his little brother giving him a curious look. 

“What?” He asked, still trying to calm his heart just a bit. He still wasn’t sure why he came to these things, why he was even here. Just talking to the Waynes gave him anxiety. Just being here reminded him how much he didn’t belong. How other he was compared to the rest of the kids that Bruce had adopted? 

Damian tilted his head to the side. “I was not aware that you were getting your Bachelor's in Fine Arts. Will you tell me about your degree program? I have been thinking about getting an Art History degree but have been torn between that and a business degree.”

Tim gave him a small smile and rested his chin on his hand as he started to tell Damian all about his degree and how he was enjoying the program at Gotham University. The rest of the family went on to their own conversations while Damian listened with rapt attention to Tim describing the ATC program at Gotham U. 

The rest of the week was a whirlwind as he prepared for his senior showcase, he had sent out invitations to everyone he wanted to come see his work. The Team had already made a reservation to take Tim to lunch before the showcase before helping him get everything ready. And as the day came to be, they had made good on their word, taking him to his favorite Vietnamese restaurant in Gotham before taking him to the gallery. He blushed as he listened to his three best friend gush over his artwork, as they listened to him explain each piece. They asked questions and made remarks about what their favorite pieces were and even tried to buy a few pieces only for Tim to promise to give each of them prints of his photos. 

The three had left with quick goodbyes, each one giving Tim a hug and congratulating him before they made their way from the gallery. The rest of the evening dragged on as people came by and asked Tim about his photos and the small films that played on the movie screen on one wall. He smiled and explained each photo to anyone who asked. He had wanted to showcase his vigilante photos of the bats and birds but it had been too much of a risk to do so. 

Instead he had shown off his photos that showcased all of his favorite parts of Gotham. From the beautiful gothic architecture, the gargoyles that looked out over the city. He showed the photos from the last time Ivy had thrown a fit in Robinson Park and covered the entirety of the grounds with flowers. He showed the pictures of community from Crime Alley and the beauty of the strength of Gothamites who had managed to survive the worst of the worst. 

He also featured pictures of his family, of Dick hanging from a chandelier, of Damian training Titus to do a trick. He had a picture of Bruce, Alfred, and Jason sitting side by side as they each read a different book. One showed Cass as she posed for the camera in her favorite ballet form. They were some of his most treasured memories, there for everyone to see and enjoy. Tucker between the one of Damian and the one of Dick was a photo of Tim. He had taken forever to set up the camera and get the timer right. Alfred had simply chuckled the entire time as he continued to offer to take the picture for Tim but no one was meant to be behind the camera for that picture. It was the only family portrait of his entire family. Cass, Damian, Tim, Dick, Jason, Bruce, Alfred, they all sat smushed into a single couch together, wide smiles and laughs on each of their faces as Tim beamed from the far side, leaning into Alfred’s side. 

The gallery was meant to showcase culture that was important to Tim. To showcase the life that he loved and treasured. And even if he never felt like he quite fit in the Wayne Family, even though he knew that he was the expendable one, the replacement, he still treasured his family. It was why he had invited them, he had wanted them to see just how important they were to Tim. And maybe they would realize he was important to them too.

Only, the rest of the evening seemed to drag on, and not a single person from his family ever stepped through the door. He waited, shoulders tensed and smile polite. Every bit the gentleman that Janet Drake had trained him to be as he stood with his hands clasped in front of him. He kept glancing at the clock, waiting for Bruce or Dick or someone to walk through the doors, to say hello and look at all the work that Tim had put in the last four years in college. The hours ticked by until it was nearing ten pm and the gallery started to clear out, custodians came in and started to clean up around him. 

Tim cast one final look at the doors before he turned to his photos and started to take one off of the wall. 

“Master Timothy! I am so sorry that we are late,” a voice said and Tim quickly to find Alfred and Damian walking through the doors of the gallery. A small smile spread on Tim’s face as Damian bound forward. 

“I apologize,” Damian said softly, staring up at Tim with disgruntled eyes. “I got into an argument with Father and then Titus scared Alfred the Cat and we spent the last three hours searching for that blasted cat and when we realized the time we came straight here,” he said. “What did the others think of your exhibit?”

Tim’s smile fell and he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “They uh, they didn’t show up,” he said quietly. “But if you’d like, you guys are the last ones to show up. I’d love to show you everything.”

Alfred’s face fell at that as he stepped forward and clasped a hand on Tim’s shoulder. “That is their loss, my dear boy. I would love to see your work,” he said. Before he could stop himself, Tim pulled Alfred in for a tight hug, burying his face in the old butler’s chest as he held him close. 

“Thank you,” he whispered before pulling away. He glanced down at Damian and smiled. “How about I show you my work and then if my advisor is still here you can meet her and talk to her about the ATC program.”

The fourteen-year-old nodded his head once. “I would appreciate that,” he said before grabbing Tim’s hand hesitantly. He followed quietly as Tim showed them his pictures of Gotham, explaining the stories behind each one before he showed them his favorite pictures. His pictures of home and both men let out soft gasps as they looked at them. 

“Master Timothy, these are beautiful,” Alfred said, stepping forward to take in the picture of him, Bruce, and Jason. 

“The lighting for this is amazing, I did not know that I even smiled like that,” Damian said softly as he took in the picture of him smiling at Titus. 

“Oh Tim,” Alfred said quietly, losing all strict politeness that Alfred held so dear to his heart as he took in the family portrait. “This is amazing, Timothy. So absolutely perfect. I remember when you took this photograph. It was right after Thanksgiving dinner last year.”

“I was so irritated, Todd had gotten mashed potatoes in my hair,” Damian said with a huff, a small smile tugged on his face. 

“I did not even realize that Master Richard and Master Jason were hugging in this picture,” Alfred said, a soft smile sti on his face as he took in the way Dick had his arms wrapped around Jason’s shoulders, a wide smile on his face as he laughed at something Jason had said. A small smile sat on Jason’s face, his eyes brighter than Tim had seen since the older man had come back from the dead. 

Alfred tore his eyes from the picture. “How much?” he asked. 

Tim blinked. “What?”

“How much for the picture?” Alfred asked him, turning back to the family portrait. 

“For you?” Tim asked, blinking again in surprise. “Free of charge, considering it a thank you for coming to my senior showcase.”

“I would like this one of Titus and me,” Damian piped up. “It would be lovely on my desk in my bedroom.”

Tim sniffed, his chest tightening slightly. “I would be more than happy to give you both the original copies.”

“Timothy,” Alfred said, turning back to Tim, that soft, kind, smile on his face once again. “I am so incredibly proud of you.”

The vigilante’s eyes burned furiously. “I-I thank you,” he said, a soft sob slipped out of his mouth before small arms wrapped around him. Damian hugged him tight, his face pressed against Tim’s chest. 

“I am so sorry that our family forgot to come to your showcase, Timothy,” he said stiffly. “You are incredibly talented and it is their loss for missing out on this.”

Tim pressed a hand to Damian’s back, feeling tears building behind his eyes that threatened to spill over. “Thank you,” he whispered. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before he looked around and spotted his advisor. “There’s Professor Maheshawen. She’s my advisor. We can go talk to her and you can ask your questions, okay?”

Damian nodded and pulled away carefully, smoothing down the front of his sweater before he followed after Tim to meet his professor. Leaving Alfred to continue staring at the pictures with a kind smile on his face.

Alfred Pennyworth looked at the smiles on his charges faces and let out a breath. One of these days, Bruce and the others would realize just how important Timothy was to their family, how he was the one who held them all together. He only hoped that they would not realize that lesson too late in life. At the very least, Damian was now starting to understand just how wonderful Timothy Drake was. 

[aspiecrow]

So now we get to the third Robin, Tim Drake! And with Tim, we also get our first "circa" fancast! Basically, since Earth-46 is a fan project and therefore not bound to any restrictions regarding date and time and whatnot, I've decided to draw from any period of time for fancasts to get what I feel are the best actors for the job of portraying the Earth-46 versions of the characters! With Tim, that's Asa Butterfield circa 2013-2015, when he's around the same age that Tim is in Earth-46 (16 years old). Asa's a really good actor who I think could definitely pull off playing Tim!

In Earth-46, Tim's been through a lot, but not nearly as much of a trauma conga line as he has in the comics. He lost his mother and his father is still an abusive jackass, but in Earth-46, both Tim's stepmother (Dana) and Bruce successfully sued for custody, which they now share, with Jack Drake being estranged from his son. Most recently, Tim was one of the heroes charged with protecting Gotham while Bruce, Dick, Cass and Damian went on their world trek (Tim was invited along, but elected to stay behind with his stepmother and friends). He's currently sharing the mantle of Robin with Damian, and is also in a relationship with Spoiler (Stephanie Brown). Overall, while Tim's life has been rough in Earth-46, he's now at a place where he's actually, genuinely happy.

[m00nslippers]

Everyone Crushing On Jason 1

Well um...I said I had something nice for you guys and this is it, the prologue to the 'Everyone Crushing on Jason AU' that no one asked for. Unlike the AU you all know and love, this isn't actually funny, it's more serious. I want to write more of these, maybe turn some of the longer scenes into chapters. But for now I hope you guys enjoy.

- - -

It was a mistake.

Bruce should have realized that fact as soon as the matter was proposed in the monthly JLA meeting, but the truth was that he hadn't wanted to. Jason was doing so well. He'd been a solid member of the Gotham vigilante community for going on two years. He'd stayed out of trouble as well as any former Robin could, that was to say not at all, but at least the Red Hood was respected as a hero and no longer condemned as a villain.

And possibly even better than Jason's progress from villain to hero, was Jason's progress from estrangement to established family member. Bruce was finally at a point in his relationship with his second son that he didn't wake up in a cold sweat with nightmares of it all falling to ruin. Jason was comfortable, he was committed, he was reliable in a way Bruce had dreamed as being possible but rarely dared hope for. Even with all of the reasons Jason had to be angry at and resentful of Batman, of the world in general, he'd chosen of his own accord to let that go for something better and Bruce was so proud of him for that. It wasn't instant and it wasn't easy, but after all this time, Jason's effort and sacrifice should be recognized and rewarded.

He thought this could act as something to that effect. And if it didn't appeal, Jason always had the option to say no. Many had in the past, including Jason's close friend Roy Harper.

So one evening after patrol, Bruce dismissed everyone from the cave except for Red Hood. His other children trundled up to the manor with varying levels of drowsiness as Jason waited, cooling his heels by idly spinning in one of the desk chairs at the bat-computer. He was an intimidating young man at the best of times and even the absence of his weapons and leather jacket, thrown over the back of the chair, the arms fluttering as he spun, didn't exactly help. Red Hood was all black body-armor and tactical gear over a body every bit as honed and skilled as Batman's. Perhaps he should have given Jason a chance to change out of his uniform, if only for Bruce's nerves, but he didn't anticipate a fight so it didn't exactly matter.

“So what's this about, old man?” Jason asked, a curious quirk of his head, disturbing the lock of white in his hair. Jason's tone was casual, but Bruce was familiar enough with his son to recognize an edge of anxiety at being singled out. Bruce figured he deserved that. When he took the time to speak as Batman with one of his children, he rarely had good news.

“As you know,” Bruce began, “last night I attended a JLA meeting. A number of matters were decided.”

“Okay,” Jason acknowledged, and by his carefully controlled expression he was suspicious. Despite their growing closeness, Jason was always certain he was one mistake away from ejection from Gotham and exile from the family. That was Bruce's failing, as a leader, as a father. He hoped what he had to present to Jason would go some way toward relieving those feelings.

“One of those matters was candidates for membership,” Bruce explained. “Jason, the JLA would like to formally invite the Red Hood to join the ranks of the Justice League Alliance.”

For a moment Jason stared at him, large hands gripping tight to the arms of the chair, the flickering of a muscle in his temple above his sea glass-green eyes revealing the rapidity with which his mind was analyzing Bruce's words.

“I...what?”  he finally asked, mouth drawn into a frown. “Is this...is this a joke?” Jason's words held a hint of anger, as if sensing this were a trick to hurt him, even if he couldn't see how.

Bruce shook his head. “Not at all. Diana nominated you, Green Arrow and Black Canary supported the nomination.”

Jason raised a brow, surprised. “Ollie did? I didn't think he liked me very much.”

“He doesn't exactly like Batman, either,” Bruce reminded him with a slight smile.

Bruce's reward for opening up was a wide smirk of amusement that took over Jason's face and reminded him of his son's Robin days.

Jason chuckled, “Well you're not exactly a ray of sunshine, B.”

“Hn,” he hummed.

Jason stood up from the computer chair and took a few steps as if to find room to breathe, a hand rising to rub at the back of his neck, his lips tight with difficult thoughts.

After some consideration, Jason looked up at Bruce, his casual facade brittle and showing it's cracks as he asked, “Why didn't you nominate me? Is it because...you don't think I'm good enough? Do you not want this?”

Despite the straight way in which Jason asked the question, Bruce knew this was important to him, knew the answer had the potential to break him wide open.

Bruce took a step closer and put a hand on Jason's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. Pouring as much sincerity into his voice as he could, he assured his son, “Jay, you are absolutely good enough. You've proven it time and again. I didn't nominate you only because I didn't want to show favoritism towards my child, and because it simply wasn't necessary. I can't deny you've been unpredictable in the past, but the work you've been putting in the last year shows. You've been on the short list for a while now.”

Jason's voice cracked slightly as he said, “O-oh...” and ran a hand throw his hair in a gesture of anxiety. “I...it's not like I ever wanted this, ya know?”

Bruce nodded. “I know.”

Jason swallowed and weakly shrugged off Bruce's hand, gaze moving to look somewhere over his shoulder at the cave wall, maybe trying to convince himself of the fact as he stumbled over the words, “It's not like I care if you...if they...”

But Jason didn't need to convince Bruce of his self-sufficiency. He knew Jason was a strong person who did what he thought was right no matter the potential for risk or reward to either himself or his reputation. Jason would give up anything, anyone, even his family, even himself, if he thought it would save innocent lives. Bruce knew that—admired him for that. Jason didn't have anything to prove to Bruce on that score. Accepting or rejecting the offer wouldn't change that.

“You have every ability to turn down this invitation, Jason,” Bruce said, trying to explain, trying to reassure his son of his own strength. “I know you've never expressed an interest in joining the League, but I believe—the League believes—that you would be a valuable asset. Whether or not you want this, doesn't change that you deserve it. You don't have to decide now, and I'm here if you have any questions. I'm sure Dick, Barbara and Cassandra would love to talk about their experiences in the League as well, if you wanted to.”

Jason nodded vaguely. “I think I pretty much know everything. I've seen it from the outside for years.”

“True.” Of that Bruce had no doubts, he just wanted Jason to know he had resources to help him make a decision.

Jason sighed and looked up at the darkness of the cave ceiling as Bruce hovered, in case he was needed for something, anything. He didn't know what Jason could need from him, but he wanted to be there to give it.

“I want to do it, I think,” Jason said, appearing surprised at his own words, as if he hadn't realized that desire was in him until he'd voiced it. “Gotham's got a lot of vigilantes these days. The Outlaws are kind of defunct, to be honest. So...why not, ya know?”

Jason looked back at Bruce, his gaze intense as it always was, filled with passion and intelligence as he searched Bruce's face, trying to guess at his opinion.

Bruce simply nodded. “If that's what you want. I trust your decisions, Jay.”

At his words, Jason's expression slid into shock, eyes wide and vulnerable as he repeated, “You tru-trust...”

Halfway through the word Jason's voice cracked and his composure broke. His shoulders wilted inward and a hand hastily moved to conceal his eyes as they started to glisten with moisture. Jason's jaw became tight with tension, his lower lip quivering with the effort to remain silent as the tears began to fall down his cheak. Bruce felt a clenching in his heart and stepped forward, his own hands rising uselessly as he hesitated, trying to decide if this was a moment when Jason would want to be touched.

Luckily Jason took the decision away from him when he surprised Bruce by falling against his chest and wrapping him in a tight hug. Giving in to his own feelings, Bruce returned the embrace, squeezing closely the body that was now of a size with his own but which he could still remember being so small. They didn't do this very often. Bruce couldn't even remember the last time he'd held his second son, but he was suddenly aware that he wanted to do it more, and perhaps optimistically, he thought that opportunity was one Jason might be open to.

But for the time being, he just hugged Jason and combed his fingers through his son's hair and let him break down so he could build himself back up better. For so long Jason had seen himself as broken. For nearly as long Bruce had seen him as broken. But Jason hadn't been broken, he was just deeply hurt, and though the scars would always remain his son had healed. He'd thought of Jason that way for a while now. Maybe with this, Jason would start to see it too.

In the moment, none of this felt like a mistake, it felt like a wonderful gift. Perhaps 'mistake' was too harsh a word, because Bruce didn't actually regret any of what took place this night. And truth to tell, he regretted little of what happened after as well. What he did know was with this decision, Bruce's life had become condemned to a new level of misery.

Because by this time tomorrow, half of the Justice League would be in love or lust with Jason Todd.

[letgraysonsheart]

“You didn’t even tell him, Bruce!” is what first breaks through his consciousness, forcing him up and out of the comfortable darkness. The words are so loud, and the owner's voice sounds too defeated and angry.

More and more of Jason’s senses are coming back to him as he is forced out of his slumber by the harsh and too loud string of words. He feels how soft whatever he is laying on is. It might be a mattress. That must make the thing under his head a pillow.

With awakening, because he must have been sleeping, comes the pain. It’s dull, more annoying than actually hurting, but it’s still there pinching his side. He can’t remember what happened, not yet. His brain feels like a clouded mess. He might've been drugged, it for sure feels like it.

“He thinks.. He said the colors were to draw attention, lectured me on what being Robin is all about.” There it is. That broken voice again. His brain is fumbling, trying to place a name to the familiar voice. The mention of Robin. It must be him they are talking about.

His heart rate picks up. Robin. Has he been kidnapped? But why would any kidnappers give him such a comfortable bed? He needs to listen, to wait, before waking up completely. The voices might say more, might reveal what’s going by being careless and thinking he’s asleep.

“You.. you just gave it to him, without explaining what it means, and you didn’t even..” the broken voice trails off. It’s so familiar. Is it one of Batman and his’ usual villains? No, for sure Jason would recall that. The voice wouldn’t make him feel comfortable or safe if it was one of their regular bad guys either. No, if it were, it would make tension seep into his body. His senses would’ve been kickstarted by pure instinct alone.

“Didn’t even what, Dick?”

Oh... Oh. Jason feels stupid. He'd already forgotten the brief mention of Bruce when he first came to his senses. But that voice, that’s one he will always recognize. That’s Bruce Wayne speaking with his voice kept, on purpose, without emotion. It’s not Batman nor Bruice, no - that’s purely Bruce Wayne keeping his feelings at bay.

It must have been Dick yelling earlier, then. Talking about Jason, like he isn’t there. Talking about Robin, the one thing they have in common besides being taken in by Bruce Wayne, like it was supposed to be his alone.

The pain in his side is becoming sharper, stretching outwards to the middle of his stomach and god how it itches.  

“You just.. and so quickly, - I shouldn’t be surprised, and not to mention the fucking tracker!” And wow. Dick is angry. Jason’s never heard him so outraged in their brief time being acquainted. He knew, had seen with his own two eyes, that Dick had his own darkness to deal with, but he hadn’t thought the older was capable of showing it so clearly and so unapologetic. At least not to Batman’s face.

It’s his fault, Jason realizes. He said those things to Dick, assuming the older had left Gotham to be a rebel and find himself. He hadn't known how far the hurt between Bruce and the older Robin went. How was he supposed to know the things the Bat had hidden from his first sidekick?

Jason had always assumed Bruce was just being his usual emotionally constipated self whenever he tried to bring up the first Robin. Guess it was more than an act. Bruce was so good at acting that Jason sometimes couldn’t see the difference.

He tries to calm himself when he feels the emotions from both the increasing pain in his side and the inner turmoil from Dick’s words try to take over. He can’t break, he doesn’t want to deal with this - he’s too tired.

“What gave you the right to -” Dick stops talking mid-sentence. Jason hears hurried steps, closing in on his painful right side.

“Jason?” There’s a hand on his right shoulder, warm and reassuring. He knows it so well, simply by the big palm and the rough fingers. Bruce.

But he doesn’t want to open his eyes anymore. He wanna sleep, his mind feels so heavy where it before was awake and alert.  

“His heart rates’ picked up,” Dick comments now on Jason’s left instead of the earlier right, and the anger is seemingly gone. The quick change in emotions makes Jason more vary of the older, of what Dick is hiding behind the perfected mask of calmness which he always seems to wear.  

“I’ll up his pain meds, let him sleep comfortably some more,” Bruce says, voice softer now than before. He doesn’t hear Dick’s answer. He doesn’t really hear anything as a cold feeling starts in his right arm and spreads throughout his body.

He wants to tell them to wait -  that he's changed his mind again. Their voices are so soft now. He wants to hear their explanations for their confusing words and he feels left out of the loop. It’s like Dick and Bruce has a secret that he isn’t invited in on, and he doesn’t like it one bit. 

He must’ve somehow said the wrong thing to Dick. Something that must’ve caused the hurt in the older man’s voice, but besides mentioning the tracker, he can't think of what it could've been. Yes, he had perhaps been a bit too proud, a little too straight forward, but nothing that should’ve hurt Dick so deeply.

It’s not fair. Jason wants to know what’s going on. He is the current Robin to Bruce’s Batman, and Batman shouldn’t keep secrets from his Robin.

Still, no matter how much he tries to get his voice to work and his body to move, the comfortable darkness comes for him. He tries with all his might to will the sleepiness away, but it doesn’t work.

He slips away from consciousness again.

Then he only dreams of vivid colors, estranged Batman's and bullets encased in green gas.

[thecomicsnexus]

BATMAN #367, DETECTIVE COMICS #534 JANUARY 1984 BY DOUG MOENCH, DON NEWTON, GENE COLAN, ALFREDO ALCALÁ AND ADRIENNE ROY

SYNOPSIS (FROM DC DATABASE)

From an abandoned house in Crime Alley, a cloud with several experimental seeds is released into Gotham City and upon reaching the Gotham River, the seeds start transforming into something else at the break of dawn. That night, Batman goes out on patrol with Jason Todd, as a first test for the kid in order to become his partner. At that moment, the seeds have evolved into hulking green creatures and they start to crawl all their way through the city, causing damage and destruction along the way. During their patrol, Batman and Robin come across one of these creatures, but they are unable to stop it and the only clue they get is a piece of the "tissue". Before the night is over, Batman and Jason consult with an herbologist and learn that the creature is the result of eugenic experimentation. Moments later, the green monsters have gathered at the abandoned place in Crime Alley, where Poison Ivy and her new accomplice, Dr. Lignier have started it all.

In the morning, Alfred Pennyworth returns to Wayne Manor, only to inform Bruce that he would be leaving for Montreal, but he doesn't explain anything else. Meanwhile, Commissioner Gordon has returned to work after his successful recovery from the stroke suffered and he is surprised to get assistance and true support from Harvey Bullock, who wants to make things right by start acting like a proper member of the GCPD, even though he fails at the task. Elsewhere, Vicki Vale has returned from Guatemala and she hopes that Bruce will take the initiative to resume their relationship, but he doesn't. In the meantime, a series of invitations for a spa arrive for all the members of the executive board at Wayne Enterprises, but Lucius Fox and Bruce decide to throw it away.

However, Bruce and Lucius were the only ones to dismiss the invitations to "Exotica" and that evening, several members of the board go to the place, which is run by Poison Ivy. She provides them with a stress-reliever treatment, but unaware to them, she also doses them with gas that will lower their capabilities and after the session, they leave with a plant as souvenir from the place. When the men are gone, Ivy and her new accomplice relish on their victory.

The next day, Lucius calls Bruce to inform him about several mistakes done by the members of the board and when Bruce investigates, he deduces that the most obvious suspect is Poison Ivy. After dark, Batman and Jason go the abandoned house in Crime Alley and confront Ivy about the strange events. Since they have no evidence, there is nothing they can prove and Ivy has been released from prison following the law. Batman decides to wait until much later in the night to sneak into Ivy's laboratory and investigate. Unfortunately, he is attacked by the monsters created by Ivy and he calls for Robin's help. Jason descends and tries to stop Ivy, but fails and almost gets himself killed. In order to escape, Ivy sets the entire place on fire and her monsters are destroyed. Batman and Jason take Ivy's partner with them for interrogation and after reaching the exit, they find that Ivy is truly gone. Batman notices that Jason is grim after the mission and he tells the kid that they will still capture Ivy, but Jason's concern is far from that. He explains that when Batman was in danger, he called for help, but instead of calling for Jason, he called for Robin.

During morning in Gotham City, several executives from Wayne Enterprises leave the Wayne Foundation building under the hypnosis created by Poison Ivy. At that moment at the GCPD Headquarters, Commissioner Gordon is having troubles retaining Dr. Lignier, who was taken in by Batman the previous night, claiming that he is Poison Ivy's associate. However, without evidence, the man could go free the next day and Bruce Wayne is trying to press charges to prevent that from happening. Using Gordon's phone, Bruce calls Lucius Fox, who informs him about the missing executives and Lignier says something in a cryptic manner, suggesting that Ivy's plan has started.

Elsewhere, Jason Todd investigates the parks and natural areas of the city looking for Ivy, to no avail. In the meantime, Poison Ivy has captured and taken the executives to her underground lair, where she is using special equipment to drain the men's brainwaves and place them in her recently created "green ghosts", which are truly plant-men.

That evening in the Batcave, Batman and Jason analyze the evidence and Batman deduces that Ivy's fire of her previous hideout was intentional to throw them off her case. The two of them go back to the burned place in Crime Alley. At the place, they find a hole in the ground which leads them to Ivy's hideout. Poison Ivy manages to capture Jason and Batman is forced to fight her green ghosts. During the fight, Ivy explains that she used executives from Wayne Enterprises in revenge for her past failed crime and that her new plan consists in taking Gotham using the force of nature and destroy the city to start again anew. As Batman tries to keep himself alive, Jason manages to turn the situation against Ivy and he uses the same garrote that she used to capture him, twisting it around her neck and forcing Ivy to call off her monsters. Once the creatures are incapacitated, Jason knocks Ivy unconscious and Batman notes that the measure was perhaps too brutal, but he thanks the kid for saving his life.

With Ivy taken back to the authorities, the executives rescued and the evil plan thwarted, Batman and Jason return to the Batcave, where the Dark Knight tells the young kid that he is ready to become his partner. Like this, they start looking for a fitting new name for the new sidekick.

REVIEW

And Batman and... partner have finally become a team. The Poison Ivy plot is a bit of a stretch, but it doesn’t really matter, as the main focus for us is on Jason.

The art is also a bit more consistent in these issues, perhaps because it is the same inker. But still some horrible coloring mistakes (Lucius Fox was white!)

Batman also seems to be less than a jerk. Maybe he was estranged by Dick Grayson being a teen.

I give this story a score of 9

[itsybitsylemonsqueezy]

Gotham 4x02: A Liveblog

Well, it’s Friday morning, let’s go!

TL;Dr - Lucius is back! And nothing else matters!

Ohhh boy, it’s Scarecrow time. This should be good.

Awww, Harvey inviting Jim out on a date, good Harvey. Love you Harvey.

Wow, Jonathan, holy fuck... you’re... you’re clearly fine. You’re clearly... a-okay.

Also did your dad’s fear juice give you like super strength or something? You hauled a grown man onto that spike, how???

Meanwhile, Bruce is in jail. Good Job Bruce.

Jim’s here to be the Judgy Uncle

“We’ll talk more about this Bruce. But not tonight.” WOW, way to Disappointed Parent Jim

Also, why refuse to take bail from an actual billionaire? Holy shit. C’mon Jim, this place needs rebuilding every other week, you could USE that money

Burning files, that’s safe. That seems legal.

Estranged daddy Lucius! I still pet ship Lucius and Alfred as co-dads for Bruce X333

But also I’m just REALLY HAPPY to see Lucius Fox, holy shit!

Ahhhh, Gotham jumping on the It bandwagon, of course. How apropos

I must say tho, this fear sequence is shot beautifully, this is a really good way to describe what the fear juice does to you, good job show

Jonathan continues to be... fine. He’s fine.

Okay but... the IRONY in Harvey telling Jim to behave himself for Oswald and Jim pointedly refusing I... my my, how the turn tables.

I NEVER thought I’d see the day when Harvey would be brokering Jim and Oswald’s weird ass friendship

Ahhhh, see THAT’S the Harvey I know and love, mocking Penguin just for the fun of it, ahhhh, the good old days

Holy shiiiit, I think that’s the first time Oswald’s called Jim boyscout ^^; That’s Harvey’s thing what is the world COMING to? But clearly Oswald’s crush on Jim has moved beyond awe of him then into more of an outright rivalry, Oswald seems intent on locking horns with Jim these days, his admiration for him has tarnished. Probably because, you know, Jim is The Worst

Is the opportunity Zsasz? Oh god I HOPE IT’S ZSASZ! Would that I might see my baby twice in a row!

Oh... god. You’re not Zsasz.

So... unwelcome reunion with Barbara, dunno why she bothered to invite Selina, isn’t she only interested in Tabitha?

If it wasn’t for the fact that Babs is a canonical character who has to stick around to eventually marry Jim, I’d say just kill her ^^;

I see you have a sexy arsenal Babs, well done

Babs is a lot more restrained now, maybe she got some therapy ^^; wouldn’t that be nice? Actual therapy in Gotham

We’ll see how that whole thing plays out as we the audience know that Butch is not technically dead ^^;

But I miss him too Tabitha :c I miss him so freaking much

You’re So Good at making friends, Jim. Jesus, learn how to people

This is a weird time for Harvey to be saying no, mostly because this is eventually going to get undermined. Eventually, Jim will be proven to be in the right, Harvey will have to apologize for not believing him and that’s... that’s not what I want. Jim is WRONG, so much of the time, and he’s a DICK and Harvey DESERVES to righteously refuse him when Jim asks too much. Right now, Jim isn’t asking for too much, he’s taking an unpopular course, but... inevitably, Oswald’s plan will crumble, the GCPD will need to be reinstated as the authority, like... Jim will be right. And all this stand here will be is a mistake on Harvey’s part and that’s... really dumb, I don’t like that.

Just... this is DOUBLY worse because now it vindicates Jim’s feeling that he’s a lone wolf who ALONE has a sense of justice, who ALONE understands right and wrong and that is SO TOXIC for Jim’s personality. He becomes tyrannical and violent when he thinks like that. I just... this is all so fucking stupid and is done in service of Jim, and it’s UNNEEDED. We already KNOW all this shit about Jim, we’ve already seen this a dozen times. Harvey’s refusing Jim should have come at a time that MATTERED, not this bullshit, and it SHOULD have been done in the service of Harvey. Fuck this noise, I am NOT here to support Jim fucking Gordon and his vainglorious quest to be the most Holier-Than-Thou in all of Gotham. That just shoves Jim RIGHT back to where he started in the pilot, that’s not progress, that’s regression, and it ONLY makes Jim a monster, it DOESN’T elevate him, it DOESN’T make him more interesting. Holy fuck. LET. JIM. BE. WRONG. Stop having EVERY story line support Jim’s TERRIBLE decision, stop enabling him! Let him be wrong, let someone else be right, and let Jim SWALLOW IT. Let him be humbled! For fuck’s sake! Make Jim digest being wrong THAT is character development, THAT is redemption, THIS is bullshit.

And you’re punishing Harvey for no goddamn reason and undermining him, so fuck you. I know this is how Harvey always gets treated but... god damnit.

*siiiigh* Sorry guys, I’m just REALLY pissed about that. 

Meanwhile, actual Joker make up because LOL this is a show about Batman

Meanwhile meanwhile, Babs and Oswald... also Ivy??? and ZSASZ! are here! Zsasz who is now in a candy store of guns! 8DDDDDDDDD Oh my sweet baby, at least you’re here, I love you

“People tend to hold grudges when you shoot their boyfriends” And you should know Oswald. You should know.

Why the fuck are Oswald and Ivy butting heads so much??? What the shit? Oswald, you’re TOTALLY going to push her away and accelerate her into, you know, becoming Poison Ivy, the lady with the sentient plants who WILL murder you

And now Jim gets dosed, it’s about time

And it’s Lee dying, of course it is

Ohhhh good, and NOW we’re indulging Jim’s suicidal streak. Why does this show always feed into the worst parts of Jim and never force him to be better? Jesus

Goddddd can we stop kicking the dead horse of Jim and Lee’s relationship PLEASE, please, I give NEGATIVE FUCKS. PLEASE. I’m so DONE with that story line, just let Jim and Harvey get married, please please please, why do you always neglect the fact that the person Jim cars MOST about is Harvey? Fuck you show

Meanwhile, Bruce is doing So Well

Bathook! We’re working on it, we’re getting there xp

Good job Alfred, you are my favorite

Ivyyyy :c If you leave her friendless, you’re only going to make her a WAY worse enemy to fight. Y’all gonna regret treating her like crap

Lucius!!!! Right on time, I love you baby X3333 I love you X333

LUCIUS IS THE BEST DAD. LUCIUS TOO GOOD FOR THESE ASSHOLES, TOO GOOD FOR THIS SHOW

A hand for a hand, the new law of Gotham. Just... flawless justice we have here.

That was good tho, I’ll take that

Mmmm, this has to be Oswald’s best and most cunning grab for power yet. He’s not pretending not to be a criminal, he’s using that very criminality as a comfort blanket, that’s ingenious

Hmmmm... maybe they didn’t fuck up Harvey as much as I thought, maybe I will like this angle. Harvey always has had a better sense of strategy than Jim. I love you Harvey, I love you so much. Please, please, survive this man, survive this show

YES JIM, BE GOOD, FOLLOW YOUR HUSBAND, BE HUMBLE, BE APOLOGETIC YOU DUMB FUCK

Yupppp, here we go, I kept warning you. I don’t like the fact that this isn’t from Ivy’s own smarts, her own knowledge of botanicals, but... ehhh, this trash show, I’ll take what I can get.

Hmmmmm... wish they showed Harvey being more useful than this, but, again, this show is lowest fucking bar. Still, Papa Falcone coming back will make me happy. And this leaves Zsasz in an interesting position, as I currently have no idea where his actual loyalty lies or who his employer is. If Zsasz is taken from Penguin, that alone will weaken Oswald’s position considerably

Btw this is a show about Batman

[itsworn]

Rolling Bones and More Surprises at the 2018 Grand National Roadster Show

Many hot rodders voiced outrage when the Grand National Roadster Show relocated to the Fairplex in Pomona, California, in 2004. After all, it had been a Northern Californian staple since 1950, settling in or near the city of Oakland for more than half a century. Some doomsday prophets predicted the quick demise of the event after the move. Yet, history has proved them wrong, as the three-day affair has grown by leaps and bounds over time. At first, the GNRS made use of three buildings; now, 14 years later, the crowd of 50,000 enjoyed seven packed halls.

Today’s show encompasses the whole U.S. car culture gamut, from rods and customs to lowriders and muscle cars. In fact, the 2018 edition had a building solely dedicated to muscle cars—more than 100 of them. They included some rarities, such as ’69-’70 Charger Daytonas and Plymouth Superbirds decked with wild aerodynamic apparatus.

However, one of the most talked-about displays was right up HOT ROD Deluxe’s alley, specifically the Rolling Bones’ amazing dioramas. Tons of books and magazine articles have been devoted to the East Coast–based group of hot rodders, highly influenced by the hobby’s early days. Led by Ken Schmidt and Keith Cornell, their cars offer a distinctive, aggressive attitude, and their owners drive them extensively all over the country. You can see them racing in a variety of motorsports, too, as reminded by the Bones’ retrospectives within the exhibit: time trials at Bonneville, hillclimbs, dirt drags, and The Race of Gentlemen. Thanks for your contribution to our scene, guys.

Among the other roadster show highlights: This year’s America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) competition gathered no less than 15 entries, with the ultimate accolade (and signature tall trophy) going to Dave Martin’s ’31 Ford, aka The Martin Special. Check out our May 2018 issue for a report on this noteworthy winner. And not far from the muscle car display was the always-successful Suede Palace, packed with historical rods and customs.

Closing in on its 70th birthday, the GNRS demonstrates that hot rodding remains as healthy as ever—and diversifying as never before.

Hopped Up: This year’s AMBR competition offered an impressive selection of entries. Among them was a true survivor from the 1950s: The Eddie Dye Roadster, originally built by the Ayala Brothers and now owned by James Bobowski. Circle City Hot Rods did a fantastic job restoring the ’29 tub, which appeared in the March 1952 issue of Hop Up magazine. It also raced at the 1951 Bonneville Nationals and was featured in the film The Lively Set.

McGee Tribute: The team of Por-15 and New Jersey’s Scott Helltesen joined the AMBR battle with their “Little Red” ’32 Ford roadster. The ’40s-style treatment includes a ’46 Ford flathead, Offenhauser heads, Stromberg carbs, and a ’41 Ford closed drive. The vehicle takes some obvious cues from the Bob McGee roadster, seen on the October 1948 cover of HOT ROD. But Scott did not go as far as hiding the door hinges, a detail distinctive of McGee’s Deuce.

TV Circa 1958: Don Prieto has re-created the first dragster campaigned in 1958 by the eminent “TV” Tommy Ivo. The latter happily talked with the GNRS crowd about the Buick nailhead-powered slingshot and its antics. Back in the 1950s, it was one of the first rails to perform wheelies, to the delight of the public.

Bones Heroes: The 2018 GNRS will likely be remembered for the display hosted by Ken Schmidt and Keith Cornell, the brains behind the Rolling Bones. The exhibit included more than 20 cars, built in a style reminiscent of ancient hot rods, like those seen in Don Montgomery’s historic hot rod books, for instance. Yet, the ’Bones tend to bring more aggressive elements to their jalopies: heavily chopped tops, extended wheelbases, and low-hung headlight bars. You can’t miss their style.

Fame: In front of the Tom Fritz banner sits George Poteet’s ’34 Ford coupe, an inductee of the GNRS’ 2018 Hall of Fame. (He has run more than 400 mph at Bonneville, among his many accomplishments). Motivated by a ’46 276ci flathead, the 232B Ford roadster parked behind, the third car built by the Rolling Bones, belongs to Jon Suckling.

Dennis the Menace: A menacing attitude characterizes all Rolling Bones rides, as exemplified by Dennis Varni’s ’32 Ford Tudor, which has been chopped 5-1/2 inches. Power comes from a 241ci Little Red Ram Dodge Hemi, equipped with three carbs and a Scintilla Vertex magneto. In the back, notice the ’37 taillights on each side of the drilled spreader bar. There is also a Model T spring over that quick-change.

Gentleman Racer: Part of the Rolling Bones exhibit featured a tribute to The Race of Gentlemen, revolving around Dick DeLuna’s ’34 Ford five-window entry. Notice the radical 6-inch chopped top and laid-back windshield. In front of the 284ci ’49 flathead V8, DeLuna chose to install a heavily modified grille from a very rare Canadian Cockshutt tractor. Yes, the spelling is correct.

Workshop Chop: How cool is this recreated antique workshop? Casanova Racing Concepts teamed with the Rolling Bones to show Larry Hursh’s ’32 Ford three-window coupe, surrounded by period-correct goodies. Incidentally, the picture hung on the left is by artist Etienne Butterlin, the editor of PowerGlide, a French rod and custom magazine.

Oh So-Cal: Besides owning the 232B roadster, Jon Suckling from the U.K. is having the Rolling Bones create this mean-looking ’34 Ford three-window. It has a few traits in common with the Gray/Lanthorne (and later Jim Travis) So-Cal Speed Shop coupe, starting with the mail slot-style roof. Built in 1950, that original Bonneville contender is now part of the Bruce Canepa Collection.

Evolution: A handful of Rolling Bones’ project cars tend to change over the years. Take William Medcalf’s ’30 Ford coupe, for example. In its previous incarnation, when owned by Tommy Ellis, it had a distinctive track nose. The roof makes the vehicle immediately recognizable, as it mixes pieces from a ’36 Ford, ’46 Ford, and ’48 Mercury. The ’57 Y-block Ford delivers about 400 horses.

Old Tin: The vintage steel building welcoming the Suede Palace lends itself ideally to the affair. Being part of the invited (about 50 vehicles) remains an honor. It mixes nicely finished rides and a handful of race cars, plus some survivors, such as Alex “Axle” Idzardi’s ’32 Ford truck (left) originally built in 1958, a true time capsule. Chopped top, channeled body, shortened bed, nerf bars: It’s perfect. Axle happens to be the promoter of the Suede Palace, and he did double duty this year, curating the muscle car display as well.

Suede’s Best: Bret Sukert brought his Deuce from Washington and went home with the Suede Palace’s Best of Show award. This most impressive build uses an original Ford body, purchased from Dick Page in 2009. Foss Hot Rods and Mitch Kim, respectively, handled the paint and pinstripes. We dig the ’50s vibe of Bret’s project, especially the white interior and running boards.

Tuxedo Coupe: That’s the name of this ’30 Ford, owned by Hot Head Speed Shop’s Louis Stands. The build started a dozen years ago and was recently completed with help from Grabowski Speed Shop, which helped with the 4.5-inch chop. Bolted to a 700R4 transmission, the Chevy 350ci has been smartly dressed to look like a vintage 283.

Hers and His: The Branch family has been heavily involved with hot rodding for years. That’s Diana’s colorful ’29 Ford, sitting on ’32 rails and powered by a ’40 221ci Ford V8. It keeps company with Tom’s Deuce, equipped with a more unusual 304ci ’55 Studebaker mill. The modern T-5 transmission and ’56 Chevy rearend make for a great cruiser.

The Traveler: A GNRS regular, John Foxley came from British Columbia, Canada, to show this ’32 Ford coupe. It has quite a history, having been chopped 3-1/2 inches and channeled 6 inches around 1948-1949. Note the raised rear wheel openings, too. John used a bunch of traditional Ford components: 59A flathead, ’39 gearbox, ’40 brakes, ’40 rearend, plus ’49 Mercury gauges in a ’40 Ford dash.

Estranged Winner: Based in the Pacific Northwest, the Estranged Car Club gathers a bunch of top-notch rides, such as Steve Gilligan’s ’32 Ford five-window, which was the Suede Palace’s Best Hot Rod winner. Steve’s family has been into hot rods for decades. He owns a nice fleet of them, too, starting with the famous Orange Crate ’32 Ford sedan quarter-miler.

R&C Star: Oregon’s Kim and Cedric Meeks unearthed a Deuce with a great story. In 1953, Ernie Martin traded a new Schwinn bike for the car and finished it for the 1959 Portland Roadster Show. It appeared in Rod & Custom magazine in August 1960, while being drag raced during that same decade. Today, it still wears the same orange/bronze paintjob applied almost 50 years ago. Look for a full feature on this car in an upcoming issue.

Spruce Deuce: From Waco, Texas, George Jezek’s ’32 Ford sedan was seemingly hot rodded in the ’50s, paintjob and seat covers included. George kept the ’50s theme throughout the project, using a few favorites of the era: flathead V8, ’39 Ford gearbox, dropped and drilled axle, Guide headlights on a dropped A bar, ’40 Ford steering wheel, and more.

Head Scratcher: Here is a ’32 Ford pickup that had folks wondering. Built in 1956 by George Cerny, Cal Rothe’s truck now welcomes a rare Moser 350ci Chevy assembled by Aardema-Braun. The small-block, which appeared on the cover of HRM in August 1971, uses double overhead cams and a total of 32 valves.

Those Lines: Dang, the ’51 Kaiser unveiled by Chris Gomez has some gorgeous lines. Admire the long quarter-panels. Fabian Valdez, owner/operator of Vintage Hammer Garage, managed to paint the unusual coupe in time to be displayed in the Suede Palace.

Elegant Emperor: The Suede Palace’s Best Custom trophy went to Chris Johnson and his ’51 Ford Custom, fitted with a 250ci Chevy inline-six. A member of the Emperors car club from Victorville, California, Chris started his project with a bone-stock example in 2012. The ends of the grille are original, but he handformed the center section, then brazed the three components for a one-piece look.

A Crown for Russ: One of the Suede Palace’s most colorful rides was Russ Meeks’ ’55 Ford Crown Victoria. Russ’ name is well known within our scene, having worked for Gene Winfield as far back as 1964. He additionally built a ’30 Model A roadster with a flip-up body and Olds Toronado V8 in the back. It won the AMBR competition in 1972 when in the hands of John Corno (Where It All Began, July 2017).

Artful Imperial: Artist Max Grundy has been a regular fixture at So-Cal hot rod and custom shows, though he also excels at designing cars, too. His latest endeavor is this 383ci ’61 Chrysler Imperial, with bodywork and paint by Mike Howell. Max designed the turbine-style wheels, a fitting choice considering the space-age-inspired automobiles of the 1960s.

Village Fiesta: The bright Mexican village has been part of Pomona’s fairgrounds in one form or another since 1952; hence, it’s the perfect backdrop for a bunch of rods and customs gathered next to the Suede Palace. Incidentally, the buildings have been repainted since last year’s GNRS. To the right sits David Villarruel’s chopped ’49 Pontiac.

The Medusa: Galpin Speed Shop’s Dave Shuten put his latest find on exhibit, this ’32 Ford Tudor known as Medusa, still wearing its original ’50s lacquer paint. He added several cool parts, which he has gathered for 10-plus years, such as the N.O.S. Ansen Top Eliminator rims. Lack of hood allowed the crowd to peek at the Cragar blown small-block Chevy.

Prolific Richie: Based in Burbank, California, Richie Valles owns an inspiring list of customs and lowriders built in his shop, Unique Twist. Here is one from his fleet, a chopped ’50 Chevy Fastback dubbed Tangerine Dream. Art Vallez handled the upholstery, while the low-to-the-ground attitude comes courtesy of a TCI air-ride system.

Cackle-Cackle: Outside Building No. 4, visitors enjoyed the sound of a supercharged Hemi engine during five “John Ewald Nitro Fire Ups” in memory of longtime drag racer and Top Fuel dragster owner John Ewald. As you might expect, the nightly shows brought a lot of smiles from the public.

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