#give without taking

[frownyalfred]

but yeah in the same vein of Bruce’s kids only following his orders in the field…of course they do. in Gotham, if you don’t hit the deck when Bruce says “Down!” you’re getting hurt, at bare minimum. there’s no questioning orders or hesitating. you have to trust that when B tells you to do something, it’s in your best interest, or in the best interest of the civilians, to do it — and do it really fucking well. really fucking fast.

that doesn’t mean the JL give orders in the same way, even though they’re well-intentioned. that doesn’t mean they fully grasp an emergency scene or its civilians’ needs. they might not realize how risky an order they, as a meta, give to a fully human vigilante is. they’re not a tactician the way Bruce is — they’re not thinking in plans, and backup plans, and fallback plans and extractions.

so yeah, Dick doesn’t take direct orders from anyone but B. of course he doesn’t.

[marciaillust]

trapped in amber

[watchingwisteria]

listen there really was just something about how in the book, snow’s 3-page descent from hesitant lover boy to deluded mfer happens entirely in his mind. lucy gray gives him no indication whatsoever that she suspects him, that she’s going to leave or betray him. he’s just sitting quietly in the cabin waiting for her to return when that seed of calculated suspicion, which he has needed to survive the capitol, takes a hold of him and chokes the life out of any goodness left inside him. it really drives home your terror as a reader that “oh my god did he kill her? did she escape? what happened to her? why would he even think that?” in a way that when the movie had to adjust for visualization it lost some of that holy shit this guy has lost it emphasis.

[mokeonn]

"But if college was free, then people would abuse that and get useless degrees" hell yeah I would! If I could go to college without debt I would make it my job to get a degree in every little thing that interested me. I'd get a doctorate in film studies. I'd have a bachelor's degree for every science I like. I'd try to learn at least 5 languages with varying results. I would learn something "useful" like coding and then follow it up with a ""useless"" degree like art history. I'd be the world record speed run holder for getting every degree possible.

But I can't afford college without going into massive debt, so instead I spent the last 5 years trying to figure out what I am passionate enough about to consider going into debt over, because unfortunately being passionate about everything is extremely expensive to pursue.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Who is this sassy lost child?

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[choccy-milky]

sometimes you gotta lure your overly-studious ravenclaw gf into spending time with you 🥰 📚 ( from 'Every Teardrop is a Waterfall' by Kat_12739 on ao3, GO READ IT!!! the first story is about seb falling sick and still pushing himself/not admitting he's sick until he ends up in the hospital, the second story is about the birth of seb and clora's daughter and seb's reaction to clora almost dying in childbirth, and the third is about dealing with a fussy newborn lewis😭🥹THEY'RE SO GOOD AND SWEET AND SOMEWHAT SAD (not to mention beautifully written) so go check it out!!💖💖 )

[lilmelodrama]

Wolfwood carrying his I.V pole thingie as if it was Punisher, that's it, that's the post.

[were-wolverine]

jason, coming back from the dead and seeing tim as robin: how could bruce replace me? how could he give robin to someone else?

dick, who created robin in honor of his dead parents and then had bruce take it away and give it to jason without even asking him:

[ravenpureforever]

On one hand, Young Justice is kind of neglected by the actual superheroes that should be looking out for them in a lot of crucial ways and very much failed by the adults around them

But on the other hand Red Tornado straight up hosts a parent-teacher conference where their respective legal guardians all show up, barring Batman who’s in traffic so Nightwing fills in instead because Robin’s dad does not know he’s a vigilante which is objectively hilarious

[xxplastic-cubexx]

ok i finished it now what

bonus:

[speench]

nsbu fans listen to me, listen, most of the cast hasn't had an Ify moment yet where they talk directly to their ?? alter egos?? and before we see dynamics unfold with other characters I need everyone to consider: Liv and Kingskin as unwilling father and his newfound ride or die child trope that is all

[dan-ish]

Can we really call Cale oblivious?

When I was reading tcf for the first time I had the question "Why is cale oblivious to his own actions destroying his slacker dream? Why does this man turn the world upside down and still thinks he might be unknown at the end of the day? ?" In my mind all the time..

So, I decided to analyse his actions in his own perspective!

What did Kim Rok Soo do that was so different from Cale? Nothing really, in both lives he's doing the same exact thing :

• Fighting the evil beings with overwhelming advantage (as much as he could).

• Scamming the bad guys in whatever way he does it.

• Preparing several plans for most possible situations before stepping in.

•Encourages and helps his people to become stronger and uses their abilities in the most efficient way helping them 'stand out more than him' as he thinks.

• Has no problem in retreating if the situation is not going as intended, prioritise his people's wellbeing above all else!

• Works from the rear as a strategist, but is always ready to step in whenever the situation goes south to flip the tables; not just turn them.

He has been doing this since he became a team leader and has continued in the same manner after transmigrating, so far almost 13 years !!

But here's the one most important difference between now and then: Cale is not affected by the White Star's curse anymore! Since it broke the moment he transmigrated into Cale's body nothing now is hiding his achievements from the world.

However, as a victim of both WS's reincarnation and og Cale's transmigration, (the curse's cause and its breaker) he had no idea, until recently, so this is the thing Cale does not understand the most. He may have figured out the concept of what effected him but he's yet to link his past to his present comparing them to the point he believes this is an important factor of why he's becoming a worlds wide hero.

So when he says 'i just wanted to be a small hero why isn't it working like it always has?!' he actually means it and is genuinely confused! (And certainly justified) Because why ,if he does almost the same strategy, is he's having different results this time!?

The variables become clearer if you have an outsider pov, for example: krs's curse made it that he can't cherish anything or be cherished, that's why all the people he cared about left him one way or another, This explains why Cale can't understand why his family care for him. Something inside of him thinks unconsciously "How are they still here?". It's not that he's in denial, it's rather that he has never been given the chance to process this love and care in his 40 years of life, for as soon as he starts to accept that he may have a chance of happiness, it's immediately stolen from him, leaving him more traumatized than before...

Another side would be that every time a chance arised for him to standout in public, like the speech thing he talked about, "something" would happen; a monster outbreak, an accident, or maybe an unexpected attack from some evil ability users...

Which means it's not only his desire to stay hidden that has been keeping his achievements in the dark as krs, it was mostly his curse and when he couldn't be praised he thought 'Well, who wants public recognition anyway?'

You can see he was well-known inside his feild, the government,guilds and throughout the company, He was almost an idol to the people in the brain team! But that's where it stopped, always.

So, it's totally understandable how Cale gets confused everytime he does something good and is praised and cheered for by the citizens; what he had learnt from YEARS of experience is that whatever he did, in the end it remained between these companies walls. [It mostly won't go further unless someone is digging around, like the assassins and illegal guilds that hated him]

No matter what good deeds he does, he can't be 'loved', for he is cursed to be left alone. I mean, we still barely know ANYTHING about team leader krs,his abilities, exact strategies, his team and their relationship with each other what other hardships did he face?

The speech curse is one thing we figured just recently and it never crossed my mind before that he could have been in such a situation...

Maybe he never bought a better house because each time he tried it would get destroyed because he "can't have anything to cherish" so he had to be stuck with the wrecked place that triggered his records and brought him more pain and suffering...?

Back to the point, krs was free to do much more without standing out, he didn't have these "fame/heroic consequences" as for he thought this was the norm for him at least, and tbf that's a major one less headache for him to deal with since he had enough enemies already. And he's a shy little boy but we don't talk about that !

And one little thing to note, he's used to trouble coming after him, and he has this sense of responsibility that he should be the one dealing with all of the trouble since most of the time he concluded that he was the reason everyone around him got hurt...and he can't forget so that's two reasons why he's now dealing with all these problems even if his actions now have such consequences or if it brings him more trouble.

If your daily life was like this of course you'll be confused to WHY ISN'T IT WORKING OUT I JUST WANTED TO LIVE IN PEACE !!!

[mamawasatesttube]

the whole "jason rules crime alley and none of the other bats are allowed there!!1!" thing is so funny like. tim LITERALLY lives in the theater where bruce's parents died,

[fantasykiri5]

Chat how are we feeling about this guy

[aingeal98]

More Jason and Cass thoughts (sorry but also not sorry) but if I was magically given full control over DC and could write what I'd want obviously I'd make Cass Batman but I've been thinking of what sort of reaction and role Jason would have in response. I think I'd write his version of "Congrats on the new job!" as a test, involving the Joker and civilians and gangs and Red Hood and a ton of explosives. Bruce failed me, and now he's given up. You're his successor, let's see how you handle this dilemma that freaked him out so badly he threw a batarang into my throat rather than let me avenge my own death in front of him.

So obviously Cass will overcome the traps and the puzzles. That's the fun part to show how competent both of them are and sprinkle in little character moments as we go. But then we reach the emotional crux of the matter, probably laid out as some sort of saw trap because it's Jason. Here I am, a victim of murder. You say nobody dies tonight but I did, and I want the man who did it dead. Not only did Batman fail to avenge me but he failed to stop the Joker from going on to create even more victims. What right do you have to stop me from getting justice for myself? What right does this man have to life after what he's taken from me and from countless others? I'm not trying to kill a random stranger, I'm specifically demanding justice for my own death that I never got while I was gone.

There are two ways this could go. The straightforward route if I knew my time on this run was limited would probably be a pyrrhic victory like the ones Cass's og series was so fond of. Just like Bruce in utrh, she acts on instinct and saves the Joker (and Jason this time) . A win technically, but she fails the test. Jason is once again vindicated but with nothing to show for it. The story ends with Cass sending the Joker back to jail and going back to the batcave, where the old Robin costume looms judgementally, highlighting her failure. It would be the most fitting end given their character molds, all tragedy and conviction and unstoppable force meets immovable object etc.

However... I think the option I prefer would be a little different. Cass levelling with Jason, a killer talking to a murder victim. She has no right to stop Jason from getting justice, she has no love for the Joker but she knows any death she allows to happen like this would devastate her, just like that death row inmate long ago she tried to break out but ended up letting go once the family of the victim talked to her and demanded justice. I think... In this specific situation, she'd just be honest. Morally she has no right sure. Personally she just really really doesn't want anyone to die. Give her one chance, please. Let her try it her way. Not demanding, not lecturing or insisting, just... Please. Don't do this. Let me try another way.

And then what? Jason asks.

In the end a deal is struck. Cass will take the Joker and lock him up, ensuring he never harms anyone again while also trying to rehabilitate him. But the second she fails and he gets free, Jason kills him and she won't stand in his way. It's the kind of deal that leaves both of them mildly disgusted and dissatisfied with themselves, neither of them naturally creatures of compromise when it comes to this specific topic. But Cass is willing to do anything to avoid death and Jason did not expect the new Bat to be so... Flexible? Kind of? Of course maybe she won't actually hold up her end of the deal and when the Joker gets loose she'll try and stop Jason from killing him and he'll get his miserable vindication, but right now this is something strange and new and he's mildly confused and curious about where it will go. He doesn't believe in her ability to contain the Joker forever but he's willing to let her try because her reaction to that future failure interests him. She's given him a sword of damocles to hang above her head and he didn't ask for it or expect it. It's the type of power he never thought the Bat would just... Hand to him.

The conflict ends with neither of them fully winning or losing. They both don't really know what to feel about this.

The thing is, the second Cass let's Jason kill the Joker she's hanging up the mantle. She's staking the Bat on this, because it's always go big or go home with her when it comes to saving others, even someone like the Joker. In this magical universe where I have unlimited power, Cass would lock the Joker in a secret bunker and have Leslie Thompkins talk to him daily, mostly because I think her pacifism speeches and debates in the comics would make a fun contrast to the Joker's evil sadism. (But what about his rights? Doesn't he deserve a trial and to be held in a regular prison? I'm going to be honest I think Cass would be very comfortable bending the rules on this specific situation. Morally questionable but I'd have fun with it. She's going to let Leslie treat Joker like her personal pet project to save his soul because yes she wants him to change but also she's got a city to save every night so go crazy Leslie, have fun.)

And the Batman series would continue with Cass as the lead, new challenges and new antagonists and every twenty issues or so for the first hundred we'll cut back to the Joker briefly if his chats with Leslie can help highlight some thematic element of the current arc. But bit by bit he'd slowly fade away onto oblivion, maybe getting referenced every hundred issues or so until eventually no one remembers or cares about him because there's so much else going on. Meanwhile Jason's got a good thing going as Red Hood, primarily based in Park Row and a tentative ally on the occasion when their vigilante work aligns. Unlike Joker he's a much more frequent character in the comics, and after say 10 years (this is my magical fantasy universe Cass's batman run is going to last for a very long time alright) when people think of DC characters they think of Red Hood long before they think of the Joker.

Is any of this realistic? Right now of course not. It's why I'd go with the pyrrhic victory if I actually got the chance, because it would be the best way to tell the story in the larger context of the Bat narrative. But it's my fantasy DC editor and writer daydream and I'm going to dream big. They're never going to be normal happy siblings, their personal demons will never fully let them be free and the looming possibility of losing everything they currently have narrative wise if Bruce comes back as Batman will always be there. But it's maybe the closest to peace they'll ever get. Unsatisfying and tame compromise that probably violates several laws and ethical codes but whatever. Cass has never read the Geneva convention and Jason's not going to shed tears over the Joker. Let him die relevancy wise if not physically.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

An unbothered queen has entered, and subsequently left.

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