#robin meta

[stickdoodlefriend]

What I think each Batfamily member eats in a day:

Bruce: anything Alfred prepares. Something super dense in protein and fats that follows his detailed nutrition plan to support his vigilante activities. Taste is secondary. He burnt off his tastebuds years ago during a training exercise.

Jason: Diners or takeout. Balances it with a fruit. He knows the best places in Gotham where it's cheap and filling where he can eat his weight's worth of food and no one is glancing at his laptop where he is definitely NOT orchestrating any illegal activities. He does know how to cook a few basic things like eggs but he's got things to do and he'll cook when he has peace. Except. It's him so he doesn't do peace. Now if you throw him in the tundra or a difficult terrain? He'll be able to find something and grill it to cook it properly but otherwise, he's not going to bother.

Tim: he lives in a houseboat. He never considered the kitchen in his renovation and now the stove got replaced with a Bunsen burner to test samples he found on a crime site so he has no place to cook anymore. The cupboards are just makeshift armory and have like first aid kits, menus for takeout even though the delivery driver has sworn not to waddle in the middle of the marina with Tim's noisy neighbors and Tim's sketchy house that just looks slightly off to a civilian but Tim tips well so what can the poor lad do. There's only one cupboard dedicated to food and it's Zesti cans, Dick's nutrition drinks because Dick swears by them, and dog treats for strays and to bribe Titus. I don't think he ever learnt how to cook but he will figure it out if ever ends up in that situation where he needs to.

Stephanie: ramen with veggies and eggs thrown in for nutrition, Mac and cheese, anything basic with a skillet. She had to take care of herself when Crystal couldn't and her father didn't. She is highly self sufficient so she learns by watching Barbara or any YouTube tutorials for nutrition packed foods that taste good and are easy to make.

Cass: a pan to her is better as weapon to take down a mob. Food though is a rare indulgence she gets to keep so she goes to different places to try out different dishes. She doesn't cook but she likes to watch Steph hum while she's cooking and her body sways-dances contentedly to 90s punk rock.

Dick: whenever he gets time, he meal preps the quickest meals ever. Stuffs everything he made in the freezer for like three-six months if not longer because he'll forget. Is it probably expired? Maybe, but his stomach has withstood much worse. He'll have a bunch of nutrition bars and those meal replacement nutrition drinks stocked. He's used to cooking in bulk and the lesson in cooking is: if it tastes bad, you aren't adding enough herbs and spices. Luckily for him, he can store dried herbs and spices in airtight containers and use them for months.

Duke: home cooked meals with food that ISN'T seasoned by a former MI6 British butler. These are family meals made with love and care. He is living his life.

Damian: when he first came to Gotham, he ate whatever Alfred made though he did complain like a fussy kid. He still eats everything and values the high nutrition density but he will sneak in extra pepper and salt and make requests occasionally for halwa to sate his sweet tooth.

Barbara: no one taught her how to cook and she and her father ate takeout while he went through his case files and she listened on the police scanner and called in the tip lines to help solve cases pre-batgirl. She learnt how to cook during college because surviving on a diet of just pizza and ramen wasn't sustainable as Batgirl and she values being able to do things for herself. After becoming Oracle, she pushed harder to learn how to cook very well but even if she knows how to cook now, she is still bad at avoiding takeout (if she's not forgetting meals in favor of working that is).

[demonio-fleurs]

I saved this screenshot, with the intention of saying something about it.

But honestly the only thing that comes to mind is just a rehash of what I've said a million times, lol. This arc is Robin-centric, in a way. Not entirely, but there is definitely an emphasis on this being an important arc both for Robin, and for us, the reader, to understand her.

Robin has discovered crewmates who seem to care for her, and who have a much more... Free sense of adventure and what it means to be a pirate, yes. But she has also stumbled upon some of the first evidence of the Void Century in over 20 years. Her dream is not dead, as she thought it was after the disastrous events of Alabasta, and is still obtainable.

What a beautiful moment.

[pinepickled]

The day comic bros understand that family and familial love is the entire point of Batman is not the day I will know peace but it is the day I will begin to heal

Like oh there's this little rich kid who's beloved by his parents, who aren't perfect but are there for him. And then they die, some freak event that no one could predict. Family ripped away from a young and innocent kid. He trains, he trains hard through his trauma and his pain at losing his family, searching and grasping for any reason at all to keep going,

And he decides to harness his greatest fear as a child before The Incident to make sure that what happens to him happens to no kid again.

He becomes the shadows but he is impossibly warm. He can deck a hardened criminal with enough power to put them out of commission for good, but he will sit and comfort a crying child who doesn't understand the world of violence around them. He'll walk prostitutes on the street home so they feel safe. He'll keep toys and candy in his tool belt alongside his weapons to give to scared kids. He'll put his money where his mouth is, even while the world perceives him as foolish and carefree.

And he'll even take in a little boy who, despite Batman's best wishes, goes through what he did.

And he'll learn to love that kid and he'll give that kid everything he can, all the love and care and understanding and acceptance that he was robbed of at the same age. They'll go out together, a man and something that could be his son, helping those who can't help themselves.

Batman will take his greatest trauma in life and he'll heal it, he'll start anew, with friends and family that he achieves on his own. With a son just like he once was.

Batman is not a cold blooded killer, he is not unaffectionate and cruel. He does not hate the Robins. Being kind, warm, strong, and caring to those under his wing is what batman is about

[lucky-katebishop]

Tim Drake Comics Pt. 2

Hiiii here’s more screenshots from the comics. These are from Robin 1993 issues 0-10 (I’m pretty sure...) @teenyturtle​ anyone else who wants to get tagged let me know! I’m slowly reading all of them so expect more posts lol

Dick with a mullet Dick with a mullet Dick with a mullet Dick with a mullet Dick with a- (also Tim is giving SUCH annoying little brother energy here I love it)

This panel is GORGEOUS I absolutely love the use of negative space (is that the correct term? I’m not an artist)

I love, love, LOVE seeing how Shiva’s training and Bruce’s training differentiates and how that results in Tim not knowing which side to take. Shiva would kill Stephanie’s dad but Bruce wouldn’t even hear of it. What would Tim do? Spoiler (lol)... he saves him. Because at the end of the day, he’s not a killer.

This boy thinks he’s going to die and the last thing he thought of was letting down Bruce!! I am not okay!! So much of Tim’s solo runs is him being unsure if Bruce is proud of him and doubting himself and his capabilities. But also, let’s not forget that he successfully took down the Joker I think within his first year of fighting by HIMSELF! That’s impressive!

Dick standing up for Tim is just *chef’s kiss* (especially because Bruce was SUCH an ass about the whole Jean Peal Valley situation)

I’m sorry. All the fanfics I’ve read don’t mention there’s a fucking ROBIN CAR! I need to know if there’s a toy. I need said toy. 

Oh wow. Bruce being confident in a Robin? Who fucking knew.

This panel is very beautiful though. I’ll give them that.

Okay now I understand why she’s always mentioned in Tim fics! Good to know she’s a comic character lol!

This is my favorite panel. Everyone else can go home. (In context, Ariana is telling Tim that she went out with another guy because Tim blew her off and he just... fell asleep... and this is after he kissed Stephanie... I can’t make this shit up)

Tim, NO. Don’t take ideas from rogues. Especially stupid rogues!

[stickdoodlefriend]

Every single one of them are brilliant in their own right and you don't have to downplay anyone to spotlight the other! The way they approach a problem is what sets them apart rather than 'intelligence'.

Dick carries a fingerprinting kit with him, relies on his experience and intuition he's built over time. Ra's al ghul calls him detective and for the longest time, DC referred to him as the second best detective after Bruce. If he's not in a solo run, he is able to place and direct other team members strategically to reveal light to whatever mystery they are solving to leverage their strengths. Yes, he jokes and smiles but performance is an art of distraction he has honed like a weapon. He hacked a computer that only knew tamaranean, so he's good with tech.

Jason is highly strategic. His whole revenge plot took lots of contingencies and anticipation of people's actions. Yes he likes to blow things up and shares a knack for theatrics, but he knows exactly when the trigger is going to go off and when to remove all good choices.

Tim is persistent. He has an affinity for taking a thread and following it to the source and he takes whatever he has learnt from Dick, Barbara, and Bruce from his time as Robin! He is definitely not weak when it comes to a fight, but like Bruce if there is a second he can take to think instead of punch, he will take it. He is used to fighting in teams or duos (not saying he is bad at solo) but he excels at using other people's strengths to work together. He isn't intuitive so he worked hard to learn.

Damian is highly knowledgeable and he uses it to connect dots. He is proficient in deductions and because he wants to push to be the best, he is an incredibly fast learner. I'll admit, I haven't followed his comics too much to get some examples for him but if anyone has any additions, feel free to add!

Stephanie often gets the short stick of writers but she has been deducing her father's plans and spoiling them for years. That's how she became Spoiler in the first place. After that, she's worked with Barbara, Bruce, briefly with Dick to really get a lot of experience. To say that she isn't as good of a detective as any other Batfamily member would be reductive.

Highlighting Duke so that he doesn't pigeonholed as 'normal one': he is incredibly smart and that's how he met and impressed Bruce in the first place, solving the Riddler's puzzles when he was a child. He is definitely not normal or even good at hiding it. The only thing different from Robins is he doesn't care about Bruce's approval and that he's got great alive parents (yes they are okay now and he lives with them).

*taps microphone* is this thing on? Okay…

🎤 THIS IS A REMINDER THAT ALL OF THE ROBINS ARE SMART, GENIUSES IN FACT. THEY ARE IN A FAMILY OF DETECTIVES. THATS LIKE THEIR WHOLE THING. ALL OF THE ROBINS (AND THE REST OF THE BATFAM TOO) ARE CLEVER, STRATEGIC, AND CAPABLE, NOT JUST TIM. (No hate to my boy Tim, though. I love Tim.) YES, EVEN THAT ONE. Thank you. 🎤

[sidewalk-cracks]

The batkids encountering distressed children and calling them "sweetheart", subconsciously mimicking how Bruce would and will call them sweetheart when they're distressed, and not even realizing it?? Don't speak to me. I can't.

[gothamundernightlight]

I know we as a fandom don’t talk enough about the Batkids acknowledging how old Bruce is getting, but something I think we talk about EVEN LESS is the Batkids acknowledging Dick getting older.

Like Dick is pushing 30 in canon at this point, and realistically cannot do the same things he was doing as a kid. There is a reason a lot of athletes retire young, and Dick’s life has been brutal on his body, so eventually it’ll catch up with him.

Imagine if you will some random new JL/Titans recruit meeting Nightwing and asking “Is it true you can do a quadruple somersault?”

And Dick has to wince and say “I used to, but not anymore.”

Imagine the Batkids hearing that? Imagine everyone who saw him grow up hearing Dick acknowledge he is getting older and can’t do the same things he did in his youth. Imagine how they feel about their own age. Imagine the grief Dick must feel at knowing he’s losing the gifts his parents bestowed upon him, and the fact he’s out-aged them both.

Imagine Bruce painfully acknowledge (in his head because it’s illegal for him to emote aloud) that not only is he getting older, but his first child, his SON, is now the same age he was when Bruce took Dick in.

Imagine Dick picking the smaller option out on ice cream trips because his body can’t handle sugar the way it used to, or eating less in general because his metabolism has slowed down.

Imagine the Batkids sparring and Dick has to tap out because he can’t keep up with them all for as long anymore. Like he can’t keep still do a lot, and handle himself in a fight, but he is not showing off with flips the same way he used to.

Imagine the day one of the Batkids spots gray hair on Dick’s head, or realize that the lines on his face are just a little deeper than they used to be?

Babs keeps calling him the Boy Wonder as a private joke, but the boyish charm that Dick once had has since faded. He’s a grown man, and while at heart he still is the kid that brought light back to Gotham, his outside reflects the life they’ve lived and shared together, which didn’t just pass by in the blink of an eye.

And Jason pretends he doesn’t care, but realizes that Dick isn’t the same 16-year old kid that Bruce put on a pedestal. That he, out of all their siblings, saw Dick the most when he was in his prime, and that his older brother is just a little more fragile than he used to be.

And Tim thinks back to the days of him stalking Batman and Robin before, pulling out those old photos and realizing just how much Dick has aged. When did that happen, he wonders, and how much more will Dick change as he gets older?

Cass, Steph, and Duke acknowledge that Dick Grayson grew up, and left behind a legacy for them to fill, but they’ll always wonder what he was like when he was younger, and wonder how much longer he’ll be around. Bruce has been doing this vigilante schtick for 20+ years, but will Dick still be doing this when he’s Bruce’s age?

Damian takes it the hardest. He can’t look at Dick without thinking of him as the same Grayson who was his Batman, but the truth is, he’s not the same. His old portraits of Dick bear witness to that, with each one just a little different because time is not frozen to Dick the way it is with Ra’s and Talia. Damian privately grieves everyone he comes to care about in advance because death has surrounded him his whole life and eventually despite Dick’s promises that he’ll always be there for Damian, a day is coming when that promise will be broken.

But yeah. Older Dick Grayson. I have thoughts on this.

(Anyways don’t mind me. Just coming to terms with being the same age canonically as my childhood hero.)

[kookoofufu]

I love Oda but man is INSANE for not making the timeskip more relevant to the straw hats outside of power ups

Brook: Literally a rockstar??? There should have been a running gag where people ask Brook for his autograph at every island they visit! It would be so funny if some villains were starstruck fans trying to keep it together during a fight!

Sanji: It would have been great if the newkama recipes came up more than once. There could have been a gag where Sanji stops in the middle of a battle to literally cook a power up for the crew. Imagine this man dicing onions in Onigashima, force-feeding Zoro a stew during his fight with King

Robin: She worked under Dragon for two years, met Sabo and Koala and maybe Ivankov, she probably knows the Army's entire plan to take down the gov and yet it never comes up! Does she know about Kuma? Nika? The five elders? Does she secretly communicate with the Rev Army????

Zoro: I love the idea of Perona teaching Zoro about fashion. It wouldn't have plot relevance but imagine him busting out some fashion tips out of nowhere every so often.

I'd love to hear more ideas, the missed opportunities here haunt me.

Edit: link to ongoing collection of headcanons since some people only see the first four ideas

[stickdoodlefriend]

@sasheneskywalker has a lovely master list of Dick Grayson meta on their pinned post if you'd like to check it out with comic panels to support their characterization!

But here's a little bit about him!

Imagine this really hyper competent dude thinks that anything and everything bad that happens is his fault and he's responsible for being a safety net for everyone but it's fine 🙃 and he's loved by everyone because he's there for them even if he's his namesake sometimes. Like think Superman's kindness and optimism and Batman's neuroticism and skill combined in a human. Donna Troy is his absolute platonic soulmate and there's a reason why they're called wonder twins. He's great at leading and sucks at not forming attachments because his family (og titans) keep dragging him to lead a team and getting attached to them. He's very intentional with how he acts and prides on being in control of himself so he rarely loses his temper unless he's already in a bad shape. Hope this helps!

Least favorite: when he's a golden retriever puppy who's infantilized a lot, can't cook, can't do anything, eats cereal all the time and somehow keeps peak physique, loves hugs (his preferred form of comfort is hand on shoulder if needed), or who was a bloodthirsty child who wanted to kill Zucco or Joker. Also when they show him as a player or someone who's helplessly attracted to a bunch of different people and called a player. He's a serial monogamist in most of canon and is uncomfortable with being sexualized. Someone who doesn't have friends and needs the batfamIly while he's actually one of the most well connected superheroes.

Batman community I am once again asking for your help. This time I need you guys to tell me your preferred way to characterize Richard "Dick" Grayson, because every time I write his character I feel like I'm doing it wrong. Could be based completely in canon or fanon or a mix of both, IDC.

Nightwing enjoyers, I am calling upon you. Please help me. The city(my writing) needs you.

[oneshotprincess]

i read this post on tumblr the other day that talked about how dick's time at haly's as part of the flying graysons made him particularly receptive to bruce's teaching methods to the point where bruce thought 'wow parenting is easy!' and then immediately got the next kid killed ://

and honestly? yea

dick's training as a flying grayson really is an overlooked part of his backstory. he already was doing death defying stunts and back breaking training! that was normal for him! and that probably 1) gave him a thing for perfectionism even before bruce, 2) primed him for bruce's specific brand of bat training and other neuroses and 3) made him think that yea, ofc, none of this is a big deal.

its amazing. truly the duo of all time.

[stickdoodlefriend]

The main difference between Dick and Cass is that Dick is Bruce's son and Cass is the Bat's daughter but I don't know how to explain that without scratching at the walls.

[ktkat99]

What if living and working as vigilantes in Gotham has gradually turned all of the batkids into metas one by one, except due to the 'no metas in Gotham' rule, they all go out of their ways to hide the changes, believing themselves to be the only one.

Nightwing gets thrown from a roof during a fight and flies safely down to the ground, acting like he'd caught himself with his grappling line.

Red Hood insists that he's fine, despite those around him clearly hearing his bones snap and seeing his limbs get bent and twisted in ways that would one hundred percent cause serious injuries to anyone else. Strangely enough, x rays and other tests always show that he's fully healed, no matter how bad the initial injury was.

Cass slips into and out of shadows, blending in eerily well. People think that it's just training and talent, but others swear she's appeared in fully locked and sealed rooms, vanished without any available escape route, and snuck up on powerful metas despite their extremely heightened senses.

Damian has an unnatural ability to connect with animals, to the point that even the most abused or neglected critters will trust him in a matter of minutes. He says it's just about being calm and going slow, but when he thinks he's alone or accidentally leaves his bedroom door open they can sometimes hear what sounds like a conversation between Damian and whatever latest animal he's snuck into the manor.

[demonio-fleurs]

It is interesting seeing Robin fighting for the first time since Alabasta.

In Alabasta, she seemed a lot more expressive with her emotions in her fights. I do think part of that was that "Ms All Sunday" was a persona she built separate from her normal personality, in order to survive, especially since we know from later on this calm demeanor is Robin's true personality, but it's interesting to see the differences.

There are still times where her emotions are shown on her face, or through her words, though. For the most part she shows her anger at the destruction of the past through her fighting, but in this panel we get to see more of just how angry she really was.

[casscainmainly]

God this panel kinda drives me crazy. From Batman & the Outsiders #17, Shiva asks Duke about his suit, whether it was his choice. And how does Duke respond? He... doesn't. He parrots what is clearly something Bruce said to him, but never clarifies whether it was 'his choice' at all. Because both him and Shiva know it wasn't. And he acknowledges that his suit, with all the Batty-ness (ears, symbol), was specifically designed to make him like Batman.

Then Shiva suggests dark red, which is what Duke wore in We Are Robin and has connotations to Robin as a whole. Duke's reaction - can we let it go? - can be read in many ways, but to me it suggests Shiva's words hit home. He does miss the Robin colours. Becoming the Signal wasn't his choice, but becoming Robin was.

(And throughout this run, Shiva says both Cass and Duke are being held back by Bruce. With Cass this is a clear allusion to being Orphan over Batgirl, so it's not farfetched to read this conversation as being about how Duke was denied Robin to become Signal).

Duke-as-Signal is a symbol of 'people like Batman', but Duke-as-Robin was a symbol of youth, of community, of diversity and of choice. He was a Robin formed without Batman. I know there's no going back, but having Bruce choose the name, the suit, and the time of day that Duke goes out makes the Signal such a fraught identity. I love the yellow, the suit, and the daytime aspect, but I just wish they were Duke's choices, not Bruce's.

[goodoldfashionedengineer]

I really don't like the narrative of "Bruce thinks if he hadn't made Jason Robin, Jason would have ended up as a criminal."

I much, much prefer the narrative Robins (2021-) gave us. Jason knows he did illegal stuff to survive. He did what he had to do. But has been called a crook, a criminal, a kingpin and similar stuff so many times and yeah, he is one, that he believes this narrative of "oh, I so would have ended up as a criminal." Jason does not have a high opinion of himself. He knows his skills, he knows what he is, but his self worth isn't big.

And then you have Bruce. Who doesn't think that at all. He expects Dick and Stephanie to still be heroes if they hadn't been Robin. But Jason? No. Jason would be successful. He would use his skills, combine it with a passion and help others that way. In #5, they were all in a simulation based on Bruce's idea of what their lives would've been if they hadn't been Robins. And Jason? Jason is a famous race car driver. So good that he wins and wins and wins. He has his own charity dedicated to his mother. Every single penny he wins goes to that charity.

[umbrellajam]

ok sorry I just have to yell about this real quick -

Nightwing (Vol. 2) #139 - The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul, part 6 Dick: "I let you make the choice for yourself...because I knew you'd make the right one."

Dick didn't know shit, lmao!! "Because I knew you'd make the right one" my ass lol.

Let's rewind two minutes shall we:

Dick: "Tim... Listen... There are no easy answers... But you have the right to make the choice for yourself." || Dick (internal narration): "No-win. If I stop him, I don't trust him. If he goes through with it, I shouldn't have trusted him. C'mon, Tim..."

He doesn't know what choice Tim is going to make, whether his grief will overcome him and he'll take the Lazarus water or not, and has in fact been physically fighting Tim this entire issue to stop him by force. But ultimately he knows it's Tim's right to choose for himself, and decides to hope, and have faith in his brother.

And he has that faith rewarded, and reaffirms it afterward, despite the fact that he wasn't sure.

And paralleling that moment of "yes of course I knew you had it":

Red Robin (2009) #12 Dick: "How'd you know? How did you know I'd be there to save you?" || Tim: "You're my brother, Dick. You'll always be there for me."

TIM DIDN'T KNOW SHIIIIIIIIT HGKLJDKFLSD

At least not consciously! Being caught by Dick is certainly not something he planned for, as he seems to be trying to imply.

Again, rewind:

Tim (internal narration): "I did it. I saved the people he loved. I saved everything he worked so hard to build. No compromises. He won't say anything, he never does. But I know. I know that Bruce will be proud of me. Not a bad day." || Tim: (in the midst of pASSING TF OUT) || Dick: (swoops in and catches him)

Tim may not have actually known that Dick would be there. But that catch... A falling Tim being caught by Dick is a motif that occurs over and over and over across the years of their relationship. Why do I feel like there's a part of Tim, faint as he faded out, and much stronger when he woke up, that went, "Oh, it's Dick - of course if it was anyone, I knew it would be Dick"?

After their conflicts and miscommunications in this arc, after Tim sweeping back into town and explaining not a single thing as he races to thwart Ra's, despite Dick's frustrated pleas, after cutting Dick off with a simple, "Batman...trust me," and Dick's responding, "Of course"....

Tim feeling like he knew, even if he didn't know, or plan, or expect. Because that's his brother. And choosing to express that trust, after Dick chose to trust him...

Just. Dick and Tim. Verbally reaffirming their faith in each other, even after in-the-moment doubts. BROTHERS. My emotions.