One Piece Spoilers Ep 1092
The reveal that Bonney is Kuma’s daughter really re-contextualizes his first appearance in Thriller Bark for me.
A girl that looks just about his daughter’s age with the same pink hair and general attitude looks at him with unfiltered fear in her eyes. Did he see his daughter in her? Did he fear the monster he might soon become that would not hesitate to kill her? Did he wonder if his daughter would soon look at him that way too?
“If you were to go on a vacation where would you go?” He asks her as she squares up to fight him. And he sends her to what I’m sure he knows is Mihawk’s island with some trust that he is a decent man.
Just another small drop of angst in Bartholomew Kuma’s story :(
Batman: I have decided I will reveal my identity to one person
Justice League: !!!!
Batman: *walks over to Green Arrow*
Green Arrow: Wait wha-
*Hot steamy make-out session right in front of the League. Jaws are dropped, Superman’s eyes are red, there’s tongue*
Green Arrow: … huh
Batman: *raises an eyebrow* Do you understand?
Green Arrow: *now completely aware that Batman is Bruce Wayne due to how many make-outs the two of them have had over the years* Surprisingly yes
Justice League: ?!?!?!
Batman: That’s all *sweeps out of the room with a dramatic flare of his cape*
people who act like batman isn't "judge jury and executioner" because he doesn't kill people are like. genuinely so funny to me because. they're very obviously thinking of "executioner" as like. the stereotypical guy with axe who chops people heads off, and not, yknow, the literal definition of the idiom itself, which is about someone who has the ability to judge and then subsequently punish someone unilaterally. which is quite literally what batman does.
he has the ability to decide what is a "crime" to him, he is the one who decides whether people are guilty of those crimes, and he is the one who executes their punishment. the severity of the punishment doesn't matter - he is unaccountable to anyone else, and indeed is allowed to commit as many crimes as needed to reach his arbitrary ideal of "justice."
the ideal of batman is this: a man who is so fundamentally changed by an act of senseless violence that he takes it upon himself to fight back against the rot and corruption in the world. he does this not through political activism, not through ridding himself of his wealth in favor of a greater good, not through community outreach, but through an individualistic fantasy of being a hero.
and you'll say: charlie, but he does do that !!! he donates his money all the time, he funds social programs, hospitals, orphanages, gets people jobs -
and i will say this: so why don't things get better?
because here's the base of it. gotham, at its core, can't get better. no matter what bruce wayne does, there will always be more crime, more villains, more death, more people for batman to beat up in back alleys. because that's what sells.
reoffending rates don't matter in gotham, prison reform doesn't matter in gotham, what actually causes crime doesn't matter in gotham because that doesn't sell books.
and so here it is; dc has unintentionally created a world where batman can't win, but can't be wrong, and where thousands of nameless, faceless, only-created-to-die civilians must be pushed into the meat grinder that is gotham, to fuel bruce wayne's angst and vindicate his constant, tireless, noble fight against the forces of evil.
and then: a new robin, who is poor and who's parents are dead or gone because of this cycle; who is happy go-lucky and hated by editors and fans for being robin, for not being dick grayson, for being poor.
and this robin is written, unintentionally or not, to be angry at the ways in which batman's (the narrative's) idea of justice is detached from its victims. bruce seems perfectly fine to allow countless unnamed women to be at risk from garzonas in his home country, yet robin is the one who is portrayed as irrational and violent.
this robin is not detached from gotham in the way bruce wayne is: this robin is a product of gotham.
(and here's the thing. you can't punch aids. you can't fight a disease with colorful fights and nifty gadgets. and how would robin dying from aids add to batman's story; it would call into question the systemic changes that haven't been made in gotham. how does a child get aids, in batman's city?)
so robin dies, and then bruce (the narrative) spends the next couple of decades blaming it on him. it is jason's fault; he was reckless, he just ran in, he thought it was all a game. if only bruce had seen what was coming, if only he could have known that jason wasn't rich enough or smart enough or liked enough to be robin.
batman gets a little more violent, a little more self destructive. he hurts people more and almost (!!) kills a couple guys. this is bad because it's self destructive and "not who he is." it is not bad because batman should not be able to just beat people up when he's angry.
and then he gets a shiny new robin - who is all the things jason "wasn't": rich and smart and rational and he doesn't put who batman is into question. batman and robin are partners, and jason is a grave and a cautionary tale, and (crucially here) never right.
the joker kills thousands and it doesn't matter because they were written to be killed.
batman beats up thousands and it doesn't matter because they were written to be criminals.
and then jason comes back, and nothing has changed. there is a batman and a (shiny! rich!) robin and the joker kills thousands. (because it sells)
and jason is angry - he has been left unavenged - his death has meant nothing, just as willis' had, just as catherine's had, just as gloria's had, just as -
thousands. ten of thousands. hundreds of thousands. written to be killed.
but one of them gets to come back.
and he is angry - not only at the joker, but at bruce (the narrative) - because why is the joker still alive (when thousands-)
here is the thing - jason todd is right. not because the death penalty is good, not because criminals deserve to die, not because of everything he says -
but because of what he calls into question. why is the joker alive?
because he sells books.
and dc has written a masterful character, through no fault of their own, because jason knows what is wrong, and he knows who is at fault - batman. (the narrative)
so the argument that bruce can't kill because he's not judge jury and executioner; the argument that jason is a cop or that jason is insane or that jason is in the wrong here; they hold no weight.
batman can't kill the joker because the joker sells comic books.
and jason can't kill the joker because the joker sells comic books.
so he will beg and plead and grovel - he will betray everything that is himself, he will forsake his family and his city and kill himself - just so that bruce (the narrative) will let the joker die.
he was condemned to death by an audience, and after he came back he has spent his whole life looking us in the eyes and screaming, asking, pleading; why is the joker still alive?
why are thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands (the number doesn't matter, see, because they're just a number. not people. not real.) why are we expendable for his story? why did i have to die just for nothing to change?
and the answer is money. and the answer is the batman can never be wrong. and the answer is shitty writing. and the answer is -
nothing jason can ever change.
which is the worst of it all. he is a victim with no power, and no one else in the world can see it. he is raging and crying and screaming at his father and his writers and you - and it doesn't matter. jason doesn't matter. and he knows it.
Had to when I saw the quote lol
I love Jason sm 😂
Og post @batfam-imagines
fat character who becomes a vampire and loses a ton of weight and blood can not sate their hunger but they can't eat anything they used to like anymore. everyone views it as a positive healthy positive development but they're starving and dying slowly but never truly dying, a living corpse. this is a metaphor for something
Batman (2016) #16
This is the funniest batfam meets JL crack fic I've read. Nightwing joins JL, they suspect him because he's close to B and it turns into the batfam doing a home alone on the JL. It's unserious and hilarious I was crying laughing and I really needed that after all the angst I've been consuming recently
Dick Grayson:
*runs the titans*
*works for the league*
*has a day job*
*solo patrols bludhaven*
*solo patrols New York*
*on call 24/7 for regularly scheduled Gotham crisis(es)*
*training at least 40% of new gen heroes at any given moment*
*infiltrating the current annoying cult, corrupt gov, spy organization, company, mafia group, evil underground ancestral foundations of a city and random corrupt modeling industry*
*monitoring drug pedaling in 3 cities*
*emotionally regulating 80% of his family bc why would they do it themselves? Nah let’s just ruin relationships for fun -cough Bruce cough-*
* maintaining civilian cover*
*canonically does volunteer work*
I am beginning to think nightwing doesn’t have anger issues he’s just overstimulated bc wtf
Like Dick take a break what is this?
————
Dick currently working on infiltrating the mob, after 4 days of 6+ hour patrols bc bludhaven has no chill an Arkham breakout, a performance review at work that took too long, organizing a titans outer space mission, just got back from training Jon Kent: no one call me plz god no one call me I can’t do this I have so much work no one. Call me plz
*phone rings* -it’s tim
He could ignore it but last time he left Tim alone for a month the dumbass lost his spleen and decided a cowl was a fashion choice (equally bad in his opinion)
Dick picking up the phone with his non broken arm: yello
Tim: so I accidentally maybe got kidnapped and maybe also started a cult around the concept of Batman and I’m out of energy drinks. (All equally dire in tims opinion)
Dick popping 4 caffeine pills: shut up I’ll be there in 30 don’t DO ANYTHing.
—————
Jason: sooo I might be engaged to an alien princess
Dick about to pop a Xanax: tell me it’s Kori or at least in this galaxy
Jason: nope
Dick: …. Can it wait
Jason: she wants to eat me, their species is like a praying mantis knockoff but with space and mind control.
Dick: yeah okay give me an hour I’ll call raven
————
Damian: hello Richard
Dick: what did you do.
Damian: I have been kidnapped by my mother
Dick: again
Damian: I feel it would be redundant to say anything
Dick: …….. alright I’ll call the nearest flying hero be there in a bit… keep ur spine where it is Damian or I swear to god-
——————
Bruce: cult
Dick who just got done with an undercover mission: anddd?
Bruce: we need someone to infiltrate it
Dick: I swear to god I. will. hurt. you
Bruce: hnnnn
——-
Babs: I have… acquired a child
Dick who is fighting deathstroke : …okayyyy
Babs who is watching the fight: she’s a little bit … traumatized
Dick, dodging a katana: preaching to the choir
Babs: can you do your whole, human empathy and kindness tell me ur life story I have puppy dog eyes.
Dick: ….
Babs: you owe me
Dick: … one day I will delete all your numbers and disappear
Babs cheerfully: you know no matter where you go I can find you hunk wonder see you in 3 hours don’t die before then!
I’m watching Wisteria Wand and Sword as my mindless cool down background anime rn and thus in the English dub. The main character Will’s voice actor sounds so pretty? Soft? Sweet? Real? Likable? Idk I keep zoning out, hearing his voice and zoning back in smiling. Great change from the usual fantasy MC voice.
Corey Wilder apparently. Don’t think I’ve seen or heard him in a major role before but I hope I do moving forward.
ONE PIECE SPOILERS EP 1085
I really wanted Yamato to join the strawhats at least as much as Carrot or even Vivi. I really wanted to see more of him. I hope we see Vivi again since she’s on the run now
Patch | She/Her | 22 | தமிழ் 🇮🇳🇺🇸 | I'm learning to draw so occasional fanart | Current Obsessions: One piece and Batfam
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