#reactions to Dick's death

[phantom-0-writer]

the case of the serial killer

3476 words (that was not suppose to happen lol - please send help)

ao3

Dick sat in front of his desk, eyes glazing over the same two lines for the nth time. He let out a tired sigh, and massaged his temples as he leaned back in his chair. 

The Bludhaven Police Department had been investigating the recent serial killings for the past month and a half, with Dick heading the case. Not that it was anything too out of left feild for Dick, he handled plenty of cases like this during his long run as Robin and even in his more recent years as Nightwing. Finding the clues, and piecing together the perfect picture came second nature to him at this point. 

The issue Dick was dealing with right now in fact had nothing to do with the case, instead it was something -or someone else. That someone, Danny No-Last-Name-For-You-Officer. 

The first time Dick had run into him he was doing his rounds when he caught some kids getting into a fight. Naturally he stopped in and the kids that had been trying to start a fight ran away at the sight of his uniform and car. Danny had been a little roughed up by then, but mostly unharmed. 

“Are you okay, kid?” Dick asked, kneeling to meet the kid eye-to-eye. 

Danny had looked at him with a defiance he wasn’t used to seeing in someone that wasn’t a cape, “I didn’t do anything.” He said instead of responding, pulling himself up to his feet. 

“Okay,” Dick nodded calmly, not wanting to frighten the kid. He stood up slowly, with his hands in view, “Are you hurt? I could patch you up, real quick, make sure nothing gets infected.” Danny wore ratty clothes, they had been nice once upon a time, but their time had long passed. 

Danny eyed him suspiciously, “No, I’m fine.” He said more calmly now. Roughly around the age of 15 to 17. Older than Damian, but younger than Tim.

Taking his chance, “You got a name kid?” 

“Danny.” 

“No last name?” Dick asked with a knowing smirk, letting himself appear more playful. 

“Not for you.” Danny gave him a mischievous smirk. Dick could tell the kid could clean up nice, but circumstances seemed unfortunate. 

Dick laughed at his response, to let him know that he wasn’t in any hot water. Danny watched him, waiting for his next move. “You hungry, Danny?” Dick asked casually, trying not to stare at the way the hoodie he was wearing sagged on his shoulders. 

“I’m a growing boy, I’m always hungry.” He scoffed, rolling his eyes. Dick laughed again, more genuine this time. 

“Alright, my treat. Let’s go.” Dick said, gesturing as he led the boy to his car. 

“What?” He asked, surprised, Dick turned around to look at him when he didn’t follow. “Why?”

“You’re a growing boy.” Dick echoed. Danny snorted, but followed after him nonetheless. Dick put on the GPS on his phone, even though he knew the way as Danny sat in the passenger seat. 

They spent the next hour together, falling into a steady rhythm of conversation and joking. After their first meeting, Danny and Dick ran into each other more. The grocery store, playground, library, school, so on. For the first 2 weeks it had been coincidental, but slowly Dick found himself looking forward to their random meetings, happy to see that the kid was doing alright. 

That had been until the first murder had happened. 

It had been raining, colder than the weather usually was around this time of year, the streets mostly empty. Dick had been doing his usual rounds on patrol, wondering how Danny was doing like he always did. 

The world has a strange way of giving you what you want. 

As Dick turned around the corner, he slammed his brakes hard at the figure who had been standing in the middle of the road. Dick got out of his car, leaving it on the side of the road when the person didn’t move. As he got closer dread filled Dick’s gutt as he made out the figure to be a cold, drenched Danny clenching his chest. 

“Danny!” Dick called, rushing over to the boy. As Dick got closer he noticed the boy looked pale and his lips were turning blue. 

“Dick.” Danny said hollowly, his voice barely audible over the loud rain. Danny turned to look at him with a shaken and horrified expression. 

Dick held his shoulder firmly, leading him to the car and out of the rain. Danny allowed it without protest, which only caused Dick to worry more. “What happened?” He asked once the boy had huddled himself under the blanket Dick kept in his car (he had gotten it after the second time he met Danny during patrol, the boy always seemed cold). 

Danny turned to him, “He’s dead.” He answered morbidly.

“Who?” Dick asked concerned, he didn’t think the boy had a father or brother present, at least not one that he had mentioned. 

“I dunno. Just some guy.” No one he knew then. 

“Danny, buddy. Can you explain what you saw.” Dick tried again. 

Danny took a shaky breath, “I was just heading home, y’know, from the library. And I heard a scream, so I went to go check it out. And it was a guy just laying there in a pool of blood.” Danny looked down at his own hands, his fingers stained in red. 

“Can you tell me where?” 

“Around the corner, across from Susan’s.” Danny said quietly. He must have been really shaken up seeing it, it wasn’t exactly normal to see a bloodied body during your regularly scheduled activities. 

Dick could go there later as Nightwing to investigate, but right now he had bigger things to deal with. “Alright, put your seatbelt on.” Dick said, putting the car in drive. Danny, not fully there, quietly did as Dick asked. At the next redlight, Dick called the Chief and let her know about the potential murder case and that he would be calling off for the night. He’d probably have to bring Danny in for his testimony, but that was later. 

As the light turned green Dick looked over at his passenger again to find Danny already fast asleep, heater blaring in his face. Dick smiled softly at the sight as he drove them to his apartment. 

After Dick parked his car he hesitated for a moment before deciding to wake Danny up so he could shower and maybe eat something. He could borrow some of Tim’s clothes. 

“Hm.” Danny blinked barely at Dick, “We're are we?” He asked looking around at the parking garage. 

“My place. C’mon lets get you cleaned up.”  Dick unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. 

Danny blinked at him in surprise, “What? Why are we at your place?” 

“Well considering I don’t know where you live, I had to take you somewhere.” Dick shrugged casually, letting the kid think Dick didn’t know he was homeless was better than him thinking Dick was pitying him. Danny would not appreciate pity. 

Danny didn’t retort, a true sign of how weary he was.

Dick made a quick dinner. You can’t go wrong with pasta and air fried chicken. While the food finished cooking Dick busied himself in random mundane activities, not wantong Danny to find him looking over a case when he got out of the shower. Dick pulled out an old cookbook he’d gotten for his highschool graduation, a gag gift from Wally, when something between the pages fell out. 

Picking it up Dick saw an old photo, one of him standing between his parents proudly after one of their performances. Sometimes Dick would feel a deep sadness when he looked at pictures of his parents and realized he had forgotten their faces, their mannerisms and their laughs. But this time, when Dick looked at the picture and saw his dad smiling at the camera next to his mom, he remembered Danny. It was strange how Danny had the same cowlick as his mom, same nose arch as his dad, a jawline that looked like his almost, before his larger muscle definition came into play. At the time that line of thought had been disturbed by Danny walking back into the living room and stubbing his tie on the foot of Dick’s sofa. 

After that Dick had made sure they had each other’s numbers. He called Danny anytime the weather was bad, or it was cold, or there was too much food at his house or whatever random reason he could come up with. 

After about a week of Dick calling Danny over, Danny came over on his own one night. 

Dick was dressed in his Nightwing suit about to head out for the night when he heard the front door rattling. Realizing someone was trying to break into his apartment and knowing that it wasn’t his siblings (they would’ve used the window) Dick quickly threw his domino under his blanket and threw on the first pair of sweats he could find, just in time for the door to open. Slipping a small pocket knife into his hands, Dick positioned himself to get a good view of the living room where the trespasser still was. 

Getting ready to get the jump on the trespasser Dick happened to get a good look at and noticed the familiar mop of black hair, and overfilled school bag by the door. Coming into view, letting his hands relax by his side, “Danny?” he breathed confused and relieved. 

“‘Sup.” He nodded casually before noticing Dick’s appearance. “Your pants are backwards.” He commented candidly. Dick could feel himself flush in embarrassment, but that seemed to send the wrong impression on Danny, The younger boy leaned in to whisper to him, “You got a special friend over?” He raised an intrigued brow at Dick. 

“What?” Dick spluttered “No.” 

“Sad.” Danny shook his head in disappointment, making his way to the dining table and plopped his stuff on a chair and pulled out a few well-used notebooks. “The library closed early today, so I thought why not break into the local cop's place. I got a paper due tomorrow.” He explained half serious, half joking. “You don’t have to worry about me if you were about to head out somewhere.” How had he known? 

“Uh, yeah I was just going-” Think, Dick. “-Get groceries.” Dick internally winced at the suspicious brow Danny gave him. 

“At 10:30 PM?” 

“Yes.” All that Bat training, and for what? 

Danny blinked, “Cool.” he said dismissively, turning back to his homework. 

Not looking a gift horse in the mouth Dick left his apartment stuffing his weapons into an old travel bag he had on hand and changing in the empty elevator. 

When he got home from his patrol (earlier than he normally would’ve) remembering to buy the aforementioned groceries for some semblance of a cover story he found Danny fast asleep over scattered papers on the dining table. Putting away the perishables, Dick picked Danny up (who snuggled into his chest at the contact - yes, Dick was definitely completely okay after that) and laid him on the spare bed he kept on hand for his siblings. 

The next few times Danny snuck into his house (Dick had offered him a key, but Danny had refused) things had gone similarly if not slightly more smoothly until the completely predictable and unavoidable happened. 

Dick was halfway through his usual route as Nightwing, stopping a few muggings, and investigating the serial killer case some more. There were almost 9 different murders at this point with seemingly no similarities between the victims, other than the method of death. After going through the most recent crime scene Dick’s heard his phone go off. It surprised him slightly since he usually keeps it on silent, but he was alone so no harm no foul. 

It was a message from Danny, it was probably a meme or funny video he had found. Dick could use a pick me up after another crime scene bust so he opened it. The message was not what he had been expecting. 

Danno: sos?  Danno: im at ur place

Fearing the worst, Dick dialed his number. Danny hung up before the first ring, which did nothing for his nerves. Rushing in the direction of his apartment, not even bothering to do anything about the costume he was wearing, the worst scenarios rushed through Dick’s mind. 

When his apartment was in view the first thing Dick noticed was the open window that he most certainly had not left open. Quietly slipping onto the fire escape Dick peered through to see the scene. The only light that was still on was the living room light, likely where Danny was, but Dick easily noticed the hulking figure in the kitchen. He was easily too tall, and too muscular to be Danny. The figure moved slightly and the shape of a gun could be seen in his hands. 

Not wasting any time, Dick expertly slipped through the open window and tackled the figure to the floor, arm held at his back and escrima stick at his assailant's neck. 

“What the fuck-” The figure said startled at Dick’s unexpected attack, 

Now with a better view Dick was able to see the familiar red helmet and leather jacket the assailant wore, “Jason?” Dick asked, surprised. 

“I thought we were past this. Y’know let bygones be bygones, or whatever.” Jason joked easily, wiggling his way out Dick’s slacking grip. 

The situation finally unfolded in front of Dick. Danny had been in his apartment and Jason as Red Hood had also come to his apartment. Danny thought someone had broken in, and Jason also thought someone had broken in. Was Jason about to shoot Danny? Where was Danny? 

Quickly getting up, and ignoring Jason’s earlier remark he walked through the kitchen and into the living room, “Danny?” He called, not wanting to scare the kid. 

Jason gave him a confused look, but came to an understanding on his own when the familiar teenager peeped out from behind the couch holding a knife in his hands. His expression only became more shocked after he saw Dick, and it took Dick a second too long to remember that he was still wearing his Nightwing costume. 

“Aw shit.” 

Danny blinked at him, regaining his composure and pointing the knife at Jason, “Friend of yours?” 

After all the explanations had been explained they all sat around the couch, a stack of empty pizza boxes between them. 

“You saw me with a gun and you decided you could take me with a knife?” Jason scoffed at Danny, helmet left forgotten under the table. 

“I could take you without the knife.” Danny rolled his eyes, taking the last slice of pizza. 

“Big talk.” Jason puffed out his chest in some strange show of alpha male behavior. 

“Are you askin’ for a fight?” Danny challenged. 

Fearing the direction the conversation was taking Dick stepped in “Alright, you’re both pretty. Let’s break it up.” 

That had just been last week. 

Two days ago Dick had gotten a call from Danny. Danny usually didn’t call, preferring to text, but would usually answer when Dick called, 

“Hey, Dickface.” Danny greeted snottily. Dick noticed he was out of breath. 

“Hey, Danny. What’s up?” 

“You got the night shift today?” Night Shift was what Danny had taken to calling his vigilant duties. There was a lot of movement on Danny’s end of the phone, but Danny was always moving around so Dick hadn’t thought it was weird. 

“Yup. Whatcha’ up to?” Dick asked curiously, cleaning up his mess from dinner, leaving Danny’s portion in the fridge for later. The fridge was more stocked than it had been since Dick had moved in, he had purposely bought food that Danny would like, and the boy had finally begun filling out his skeleton. 

“Oh y’know, cardio. Getting those steps in.” He let out a winded chuckle, “When you get the chance, check out the warehouse on 12th street later tonight. The one with the cracked pavement outside.” 

“You got a lead?” Dick asked surprised, “From where?” He was suspicious, just curious. 

“A friend of mine told me. Thought you should know.” There was a thud in the background, like something hit metal. 

“You okay?” Dick asked concerned. 

“Yeah, it was a cat.” He said easily, Danny let out a hiss of annoyance, “Gotta go, Later.” He hung up before Dick could say anything else. 

Dick let out a tired sigh. The kid had grown on him like fungus. Though not entirely unappreciated, Dick was not ready to hear his siblings' inevitable comments on how he took after Bruce. Didn’t help that Danny happened to fit the profile. 

The warehouse had given them a few clues, but they still weren’t any closer to finding the serial killer. 

Danny hadn’t come by the apartment after that phone call. Or responded to any of Dick’s texts. 

This morning when he was getting dressed he got a call from the precinct. It was still 30 minutes before his shift. 

“Grayson, this is Officer Gomez, the Chief wants you in as earliest as you can get here,” Officer Gomez spoke urgently. 

“I can be there in 15.” He reported, slipping on his shoes and grabbing his keys. 

“Alright.” Gomez hung up. 

As soon as he got in the doors the Chief was waiting for him by the entrance. “Took your sweet time, huh Grayson.” she chided. 

“Dunno what you mean, Chief. I’m 15 minutes early.” He gave her a charming smile, and the Chief rolled her eyes. 

“There’s been a development in your case.” The Chief started as they walked together, Dick nodded at her in acknowledgement. But the Chief hesitated, before speaking again. That was unlike her. “There was another murder victim found, in the east district. Our night crew got an alert.” 

Most of the victims had been in the west district, based on the location south may have been a more appropriate transition. It could be a coincidence or it meant the killer had a personal vendetta against these people, or maybe just the victim from the east district. It felt like all the pieces Dick had managed to put together were falling apart again. 

“Our latest victim was a male, caucasian potential of mixed descent, age estimated around 15 to 17,” that was younger than the other had been, “black hair, blue eyes, roughly 5’ 5”.” The chief turned to look at him now, “goes to Westwood High School, prefers juice to soft drinks, always feels cold to touch,” 

Dick looked at Chief in confusion, these were incredibly specific descriptions, and they sounded awfully familiar. 

She continued, “He lets his hot chocolate get cold before he drinks it,” Danny had done that once when Dick had brought him in for his testimony. “And he plucks the marshmallows out of it with a fork, and called it a snowman.” 

No.

“You keep extra snacks for him in the glove box of your car even though it’s against protocol,” 

No,

Dick hands were clammy when he pulled out his phone from his pocket. Personal use of devices was strictly against the rules. Chief said nothing. Dick found Danny’s contact easily in his recents tab. He held it up to his ear waiting for the kid on the other side to answer with his usual “What can I do ya’ for officer.” or some iteration of the classic “Hey, Dickface.” 

It went to voicemail. 

Danny always answered his phone, and when he didn’t he would text Dick a reason within the next five minutes. So he waited. 

It had been 10 minutes already. Why wasn’t he responding? 

Dick called him again. Voicemail. 

Nononono. Not again. 

How was it that Dick was always too slow. 

Too slow to save his parents. 

Too slow to get to Jason in time. 

And now too slow to solve this case.  

Dick Grayson was a failure in every way that mattered. 

He looked at the familiar body ready to be put into an ice chamber for further examination in the morgue. 

“Go home for the day, Grayson.” 

Go home and do what? 

Danny’s notes were still sprawled over the coffee table. He said he had a test next week. Danny’s food was still in the fridge. His bed was still a mess, and his clothes were on the floor. 

“Give me the case files. I’ll look over them again.” He didn’t recognize his voice when he spoke, he wasn’t even sure it was his. Chief didn’t argue, handing over the files. 

The day had gone by and Dick was still stuck in front of his double monitor desk, pictures and words blurring together in nonsensical smudges on the screen. 

“Grayson.” Chief called him. Dick looked up, catching a glimpse of the dark night sky from the glass doors. How long had he been here? 

“Yeah?” He responded dryly. 

“Head home.” 

Dick wasn’t sure when he had gotten to the front of his apartment, only realizing he had when the keys jiggled loudly missing the keyhole on the door. 

When he got inside he found Jason sitting casually on the couch, reading a book. “Oh Honey, you’re home.” He joked. 

Dick couldn’t find it in himself to laugh. 

Danny’s papers flew from the wind of the open window. Dick closed it. When he didn’t pick up the papers, Jason bent down to do it. “Anyways, where’s the kid? Didn’t you want me to help him with his homework or someshit. I need to beat it into his head that I’m better at him.” Jason said the last part loudly, letting it echo through the house in case Danny was hiding in its crevices. 

Dick turned to him, Jason looked back at him for a long moment before the mischievous look slipped from his eyes. “Dick, where’s the kid?” 

There was a deafening silence in the apartment. 

“He’s dead.” The table under Jason’s hands let out a loud crunch, as his face darkened. 

Before Jason could breathe an air of the threat of murder that was definitely ready to roll from his tongue, there was a quiet clatter in the kitchen. 

“Who’s dead?” Danny asked, appearing in the living room with a large bowl of cereal he was shoveling into his mouth.

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table of contents

#this was originally suppose to be a biosibling danny and dick but by the time i got to the reveal it felt kinda forced so i dropped it #but its still kinda in there if u like the idea #timeline who? #dick grayson #nightwing #danny fenton #danny and dick #jason is also kinda there #major character death except its danny #dp x dc prompt #dpxdc #danny got flashbacks to his parents basement activities when he saw that dead body #but dick thinks hes having normal civilian reaction to seeing dead body #jason and danny wanna duke it out #dick is being responsible #this is exactly the kinda bs i feel like jason would say #argue w the wall #dick got bruce's adoption tendencies #dick: i've only had danny for half a day but if anything happens to him i will kill everyone then myself #danny was just trying to help dick out w his case and what better way then to get the murder to murder u then pull an uni reverse #danny's in the living room lol #get it bc he's dead #bruce: says smt #danny snikering: over my dead body #dick: thats not funny danny #danny: its kinda funny #jason makes those exact jokes: i think its funny #danny instantly: nvm its not funny #steph and cass puppy dog eyes: can we keep 'im pretty please #kind of angst

[ghost-bxrd]

The “my baby” tiktok sound plays in my head when I think about That Part TM in owl song when Dick and/or Bruce finds Jason (and that scene in general, tbh).

Gosh, that audio breaks my heart every time :((( and once Dick finds Jason gone… yeah I can totally picture him saying something like this. It’s going to utterly destroy him…

#or does it count as eldest daughter syndrome? #eh anyway #dick’s reaction… isn’t going to be pretty #it will definitely deserve a grief tag #you know how in TSOA Achilles first reaction to seeing Pat’s dead body was to slit his own throat? #yeah it’s going to be THAT bad #I feel for poor Bruce #and Tim #having to deal with the fallout of everything happening #owl song #talon dick grayson #jason todd #batfamily #dick grayson #batfam #bruce wayne #robin #tim drake #batman #jaybin #Nightwing #a death in the family

[poorlittleyaoyao]

I'm also sad right now because, unlike in the novel where everyone totally sucks, someone DOES speak directly to Qin Su in CQL's treasure room scene. When Wei Wuxian comes up to check on her and confirm that she's not under a spell, he whispers "Jin-furen?" to her in concern. She doesn't acknowledge him, which feels weird, right? Why wouldn't she latch onto a potential source of help, especially one whom she knows is now affiliated with the influential Hanguang-jun since she saw them together during the banquet earlier?

EXCEPT

One of CQL's changes is to make Qin Su the target of Mo Xuanyu's unwanted advances instead of Jin Guangyao. So Qin Su, already having an awful time due to the incest marriage revelations, is now (as far as she knows) being addressed by her harasser whom she now knows is also a half-brother. No wonder she's not engaging! It's ANOTHER INCEST SITUATION! And everyone else is just standing there, except for Su Minshan, who snidely remarks "So Mo-gongzi brought us into the chamber just to see Jin-furen!" which! underscores! her probable concerns!

And I'm sad about it because maybe, if the Suibian reveal had somehow happened SOONER--if Jin Guangyao had replaced the head with something that attacked Wei Wuxian when he pulled back the curtain, forcing him to grab Suibian in defense, maybe--and Qin Su knew Wei Wuxian for who he was, then things would have gone differently!

#people who have rights in this scene beside Qin Su: #WWX (for making an effort); SMS (for being a dick but at least in a useful way?); JC (for reacting to QS's death when he enters) #that is IT that's the ENTIRE LIST #neutral rights for JL as he is a child #slight negative for JGY and NHS who earns points for appropriate reactions but lose them for uhhhhh creating the situation #negative rights for the Twin Jades who are just soooo fucking useless. especially LXC! #either his bf is innocent and just traumatically lost his wife OR his bf is a murderer and should be suspected in his wife's sudden death #and he just sits there being deeply awkward #I mean. relatable! but if you feel awkward you could at least try to be productive about it. get some funeral potatoes Zewu-jun damn

[heroesriseandfall]

Jason in Teen Titans v3 #29: “I know Bruce Wayne…if someone was trailing him for weeks, he’d know about it. You can’t be that good.”

The Bruce Jason is thinking of: In good physical health, mentally sharp, and extremely aware of his surroundings.

Tim: “I am that good.”

The Bruce Tim is thinking of: Hasn’t slept in days, fights for hours straight with multiple unhealed injuries, extremely emotionally unstable, is thinking of Jason 24/7 and can hardly pay attention to anything that doesn’t involve Jason or distracting himself from Jason, is visibly shaking and bleeding when Tim takes photos of him to show Dick, literally too exhausted to notice the 13 year old with the bike and camera who is hiding behind some rocks a few feet away.

#jason todd #tim drake #bruce wayne #red hood #batfam #they’re so ridiculous. #this week’s episode in ‘reading 3rd-hand accounts of Bruce’s reaction to your death does not actually give you a great understanding of it’ #also Timmy lmao he got found by Dick & some circus folks because he tried hiding behind a dumpster a few days later. #heroesriseandfall #dc #teen titans (2003) #teen titans 29 #batman: a lonely place of dying

[undertheredhood]

idc what anyone says, but jason todd would get himself legally resurrected (because as much as he hates it he kinda needs a legal identity sometimes) and not tell anyone about it, because the last thing he wants is to deal with the publicity of being bruce wayne’s adopted son again (he dealt with it before his death and hated it so much so being perceived as dead by the public was probably great for him).

jokes on him though, because barbara found out about it and told the rest of the batfam, and now he has no excuse to get out of anything.

#batman #jason todd #jason peter todd #red hood #dc comics #dc universe #dcu #jason was never the angry robin #robin 02 #legally alive ​jason todd #the internet explodes when the news comes out that jason todd is alive #the reactions of the people who knew him before his death are hilarious and that’s the only reason why he’s okay with people knowing #jason todd’s former schoolmates are in disbelief that it’s actually jason because he looks so different now compared to back then #jason's former classmates: what do you mean that hot guy who's built like a fridge is our dead classmate?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? #the media immediate snoops on him because hey it's new material #and jason who wants to get revenge pulls out the personality he had at fifteen to make the public fall in love with him #as a result there are multiple news articles calling jason todd husband material #everyone besides dick bruce and alfred are freaked out when he suddenly becomes a ray of sunshine #because they've never seen him act like that before #jason todd is a menace #jason ropes dick into it and they cause shenanigans together #batfamily #batfam #batfam shitpost #batfamily shenanigans #batfamily headcanons #jason todd headcanon

[eeriehowl]

the way bel found a family that actually loves him, despite how they may all act on the outside, while rasiel was met with individuals who would let him be eliminated for their ends in a heartbeat. say what you want about varia not caring for each other, they don't actually feel that way. they have each other's back in the end. xanxus is there to kill rasiel when bel couldn't. he did not do it for bel's sake, but he was actually there to follow up on the havoc rasiel was raining down. rasiel? rasiel had no one to fall back on. not a soul was going to help him against xanxus' wrath.

after being introduced to rasiel and having him reveal how much he belittled bel, how he was allegedly constantly rubbing in his face that he was better than him, it's beautiful karma to see bel not being alone anymore. he's not the 8 year old kid that had no one to rely on except himself. he has a family.

what's especially heart wrenching about knowing their backstory properly is that you find out why bel acts the way he does. suddenly, we are told that rasiel's treatment of him is the source of so much of what makes up bel as a person. it clicks. i still most often see people thinking of bel as conceited, but i really don't see that. not with the context of him looking completely blank when rasiel says that he was always better, no smile, no retort.

when bel lets down his guard with lussuria in the manga interview, he is extremely dismissive throughout. he is in no way excited to talk about himself. he even says that he doesn't want to stand out too much at the end section of one of the volumes where characters comment on fanart. this kind of humble comment doesn't exactly fit the way people around him tend to view his vanity. bel's desperation while fighting as soon as he bleeds also seems like...more than just flashbacks to that fateful night that he killed rasiel. it's like the inferiority complex he must have built up kicking in, he has to win, he has to get validation that he can win. he can't keep losing like he did repeatedly to rasiel in the past. again, i have to emphasize that rasiel says that bel was always worse than him and bel does not speak out. the one who everyone would see as egotistical does not say a word to defend himself. just silence. not even a hint of annoyance. this all sounds like i'm just taking things from canon and making a headcanon through that (which is fine), but then you realize that bel's only dislike listed on his "vongola 77" character page is himself. bel calling himself a genius & making his royalty a statement is sometimes simply just for mischief, a funny excuse he likes to throw around, and other times a cover. maybe a few times, he actually believes it. when he succeeds.

on the other hand, rasiel fully believes that he is better than everyone else. i have no doubt about that. even when bel won once, he still thinks bel is inferior. that bel is trash in comparison to himself. but in the end, he got destroyed by bel's boss who labels *him* trash. throwing that straight at his ego.

#lord knows xanxus has belief in his officers so he wasn't concerned about them when rasiel suddenly showed up #just like he acts unconcerned every time squalo 'dies' before the rainbow arc......that is how much faith he has in their skill #and that cool reaction is also an ideal way for him to simulate distance #probably can't get my hands on it anymore but...also thinking about the story from one of the light novels where bel needs a dentist #he runs away because he doesn't wanna go and then xanxus actually sends varia to get him if i remember correctly #jgksrjgkrsjkgjksr #a khr ramble??? we are back in 2014 #also not trying to say that i think rasiel is the scum of the earth here but he sure is a dick #i like his character regardless #i certainly would like to see more of how it was after the ’death’ for him #khr 0

[bluegarners]

ive always wondered what dick's reaction to jason gloating over his assumed death, directly in front of bruce, would be

#like esp considering dick grieved so hard and was so shocked when he learned jason had died #like all the shit he went through with bruce after jason's death on top of his grief and his life continuing to spiral #like i really wonder what he wouldve felt in reaction to jason not giving him the same due #and in actuality using it as a point to hurt the man he loves and respects most in this world #jason todd #dick grayson #bruce wayne #utrh

[lovelesslittleloser]

now i feel the need to open your eyes to the glory of tim. tell me your problems with him. what makes him uninteresting. i can fix it

Okay, there’s nothing INHERENTLY WRONG with Tim, I just like his siblings better. But please know that I come from a place of only reading fanfiction and little-to-no source material, so some of my reasons here may be factually incorrect.

Damian was raised by assassins and has a really proper way of speaking, he uses swords (katanas?), and he really likes animals and the arts. He’s everything young me wishes I was, and everything I wish young me was now, just with more trauma, but it adds flavor, anyways.

Jason is a literature nerd who was a goodboy Robin, before he died and came back and started beating the shit out of people who deserve it, and also Tim. I am very biased and you can tell whose side I’m taking here. Also he’s hot

I don’t know too much of these three, but Steph seems to be One Of Us, in simple terms, Cass is selectively mute(?) and really nice to everyone, and Duke works during sunlight hours, so I think we should cut him a break, because he probably deserves it.

I don’t really even like Dick that much; he comes off as that annoying older brother character who cares too much sometimes, but usually his well-meaning actions don’t seem to have any huge repercussions most of the time. But also he’s a cop, and apparently obsessed with redheads, so I don’t know, man.

Most that I know of Tim is that he’s a stalker to worrying levels of obsession, he’s really good with tech and hacking, and he’s an insomniac whose eye bags are a brand that new money can’t get their mitts on. Weakly relatable, and not in a good way. If someone destroyed everything I love and framed it on me, I would become Tim, which is an ending no one would want.

But Tim is better than Batman no contest

#seduce me with your knowledge of Tim Drake #btw Batman does not include Bruce. Bruce is better than Batman in my opinion if that makes sense #does Babs count as a sibling? does Steph even count as a sibling?? #I hope there are two reactions to this: 1. someone sends a death threat 2. someone kindly corrects something I got wrong #tim drake #batfam #after typing ‘I don’t even like Dick that much’ I had to physically hold myself back from saying ‘though my search history says otherwise’ #putting it here because it’s fucking hilarious though

[boyfridged]

what strengthened me for you was lethal  what strengthened me for you was lethal  what strengthened me for you was lethal  what strengthened me for you was lethal  what strengthened me for you was lethal  what strengthened me for you was lethal  

#once again having feelings about dick passing robin to jay and his reaction to jay's death #you give someone a part of yourself and it kills them

[nostalgia-tblr]

You know, a lot of Loki fandom wank could be avoided if people just stopped assuming that everything Mobius says is definitely the literal truth and that he would never tell lies for whatever reason (like to GET A REACTION!) and can never just be wrong about things.

#also this just in: Mobius is not a therapist he's a cop #he called Loki a “seismic narcissist” yes but about a minute before that he said Sylvie was dead - why do people believe this man?! #he called Sylvie “the superior Loki” purely to piss Loki off in the hope he'd do cop work to find her to 'prove' himself not inferior #that thing about Frigga's death being Loki's fault is a dick move but considering his job is it really so shocking that he'd say that? #the interrogator has correctly identified the one person whose death the subject would never want to cause! he's gonna use that! #and i mean... it does work. it gets a reaction. it breaks the man he was trying to break. mobius got what he wanted from it #personally i think he DOES feel sorry for the little ice runt... but he'd ALSO say anything he thought would get the results he wants/needs #brb gotta go rant on twitter about how sylvie died in ep 4 (says Mobius) and yet we CLEARLY see her alive later on. PLOT HOLE!! >:( #mobius #fandom wank #loki series

[teleportationmagic]

Only unmessy Robin transitions were pre-crisis Dick -> Jason and modern Damian -> Tim (if you count that as a transition) and I find the absolutely hilarious

#You can make an argument for Jason -> Tim too by virtue of Jason being dead #but I feel like Jason's reaction after coming back more then makes up for it #Actually you could argue that the Steph -> Tim transition was seamless but Tim's large and varied feelings about Steph post-death #kinda disqualifies that for me. Personally. #Robin #telespeak #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #stephanie brown #damian wayne #I am also thinking about this specifically in contrast to the batgirl transition (which is normally handed down w/ Bruce in the picture) #and the Batman transition (Oh Noes Bruce is Gone. Also 33% odds that Batman kills someone)

[daz4i]

sometimes it's fun to hear abt how certain scams came down (at least when they have a happy ending and the people hurt get refunds or some other compensation) but man. there's always people who are gonna say "this was so obviously a scam and anyone who fell for it is just stupid" and i find that. upsetting ig? especially when the red flags are things you have to actively look for/be relatively well versed in certain topics to notice

like i watched a video breaking down the day before and how its scam went down and everyone in the comments is talking abt how stupid gamers are and only very little people are like "hey. most people don't read game news or follow every trailer and update about games, they just see one cool trailer and want to buy the game" and even then! people respond to it saying "well that's stupid, you shouldn't do that" like bro i don't think it's fair to expect people to research every product they're gonna buy 😭 online stores yes (as in, don't give your money to dubious sites who will steal your information or just take the money and run), but this was hosted on steam. read reviews maybe, but we're talking about pre-release wishlisting or first day purchases. obviously with the gift of hindsight this is very easy to mock, especially if you ARE the type of person who's involved in gaming news and thus knows what red flags to look for, but the vast majority of people aren't and it just feels unfair

ig that's the core of it?? it's unfair. like if someone gets away with a scam you shouldn't blame the people scammed, you should blame the scammer, who usually knows how to manipulate their words and promises all in order to get people to pay them, and hopefully get away with it through loopholes. by calling people stupid for getting manipulated, you only serve the manipulator and show other potential manipulators they can get away with it too if they just target the right people 🤷‍♂️ (which is shitty to do anyway, but if looking at it from a more selfish angle helps hammer it in - one day you could end up one of those right people. you are not immune to getting scammed)

#forgive me for the rant. i don't think any of this would be a controversial statement on tumblr but i had to let it out :P #i think we all have that reflex to make fun of the person hurt. schadenfreude and all. #(at least when it's manageable hurt ig. and not like. death. tho ppl do it with that too sometimes 🥲) #i'm not gonna blame anyone for having an immediate emotional reaction. but what do you do afterwards? #do you go ''wait. that's not fair. i should hope for the downfall of the person who HURT others. not those who got hurt'' #or do you go online and mock these people instead? which is a very preventable action btw. #if you want you can keep gleefully mocking these people in your head but like. don't be a dick. don't spread it around at least #btw all of this is true for stuff like pyramid schemes and such too. of course #if you know someone is involved in some of these try to gently dissuade them from it #calling them stupid will only drive a wedge between you and not help anyone involved. sorry #ok NOW my rant is over 🫡

[my-thoughts-and-junk]

Got so excited about what was in vault 47 I forgot I was listening to a radio play about fallout 4

#random thoughts #fallout #what could it be that gave nick such a disturbed reaction? pre-war nick valentine? commissioner turner? johnathan widmark? #one of the members of BADTFL? #nope it's just. the silver shroud? who was actually a real person? #which is hilarious and i DO think that's what they're going for but the fact the silver shroud bought and hid in his own private vault #is WEIRDLY SIMILAR to eddie winter and also is very much a dick move considering he was a bringer of justice #and like. his vault was literally made for only two people #'shielding the innocent' my ass #also if the crystal jewel whatever does end up being legit and they don't end up doing a weird reset and make everyone alive again #im gonna be SO PISSED #it would be so cool if the crystal like basically reset reality so that nothing happened #and the end of the show is the closing of an entirely seperate case and nick is so fucking confused #i would also like it if the crystal didn't work and everyone stayed dead but if it DOES work and they DONT USE IT imma be pissed #i like that the ss is close friends with nick hancock and danse the identity crisis trio #and that apparently ss and danse were an item? that's cool #also like that the ss is a lady that's a great choice #literally no one gives a shit about nate and it's hilarious #i am wondering which deaths were based on who was available and which deaths were written in from the beginning #loving the fake ad breaks the one about sugar bombs was REALLY well-voiced on the mom and kid's part #i DO wish it took on a more classical noir approach in terms of structure and plot #like it started off like that and then everyone started dying but it's just a personal preference so whatever #LOVE the sole's very clear personality and how she didn't make all the right choices in-game like with the cabot family ending

[fightwing]

something the agent of spyral plot missed out on really going into was how often futuristic, best in the business, #1 spyral face hiding spy tech was proven useless by dicks own personal brand of stupidity

#like i dont think it was an oversight more of like an actual decision #because helena would reasonably not send dick to places he couldve run into anybody #but ur telling me constan.tine and midnig.hter could take one look at this faceless swirl and be like 'oh yeah lolz thats nigh.twing' #like they shouldve had some MOMENTS between people dick knew well 🤨'ing this spy thats doing flips on the roof #like the whole grays.on series was about how dick cant just stop being himself #like dick running into a tita.n thats like 'u dumb fuck i TAUGHT u that move' or like tim whos like how many times do i have to #figure out ur identity through ur flips #altho both unrelated and related im a fan of the 'tim knew something was up' club based off bruces reactions to dicks death #someday i will be free from spy.ral brainrot but alas that day is not today <3 #anyways meeting faceless undercover supposed to be dead agent 3.7 threads when #im in the writing mood and thats a threat #most importantly have a great day friends :) #* i'd love to write but that's just not realistic / ooc.

[northernpansy]

please know i say this with love in my heart and respect for the grind but I’m beginning to feel like i watched a different show from the people theorising about izzy redemption arcs because i came away from watching it completely certain that at some point he’s gonna end up on Blackbeard’s ship wearing Blackbeard’s clothes with his face burned off

#my partner had the same reaction as me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #i have nothing but love for Izzy fans #and goodness knows I’d be in a glass houses situation if i were to be a dick about being an antagonist apologist (loki my beloved) #but i think he’s actually gonna get murked on screen 😬 #would i be an izzy Stan if he didn’t resemble my dad so much & is this just an outlet for my patricidal thoughts we simply will never know #our flag means death

[navree]

“...but there are moments when, if anyone performs an act of kindness towards him or does the most triffing service, his countenance is lighted up, as it were, with a beam of benevolence and sweetness that i never saw equalled. but he is generally melancholy and despairing...” 

need more people to actually read this book so i can see the end of “frankenstein WAS the monster” takes about someone who is so miserable and traumatized and grieving that he ends his life acting thrilled that people would show him basic human kindness while he was half dead, all because he handled One situation not perfectly at the age of seventeen and the creature decided to be a GIANT ASSHOLE about it forever

#personal #victor frankenstein #god walton's descriptions of victor at the beginning just make me so depressed #'broken by misery' 'the dark tyranny of his despair' we couldn't keep one family member alive to give this boy a hug #victor would have the most SYMPATHETIC villain origin story if he'd lived #fine he was a bit of a dick about the creature when he created him #the creature responded to that by *murdering his kid brother and framing his friend for it so she'd die* #and then when victor was less than tolerant of the creature for that reason and then decided not to make him a waifu #he decided to murder his best friend and then his wife and then victor's dad ended up dying too #which to him was like the equivalent of throwing a goddamn temper tantrum like a baby #just ONE of those deaths is a perfectly valid reason for wanting someone dead #or hating them for the rest of your life #like i'm generally pretty measured about this and of the opinion that victor and the creature were in a mutually abusive relationship #but idk how to inform y'all that the creature is the bad guy!!!! #mass slaughter of innocent bystanders because people are mean to you is NOT an appropriate reaction that good people have!! #anyway no victor was never a monster (the creature wasn't either until he made himself into one by being shitty) #and i don't think he deserved what the creature put him through not even a little bit