On July 18th, 2015, I realized that the Republican Party had left me behind. On this day, while seeking the Republican nomination for president, Donald Trump had the following to say about an Annapolis graduate who was shot down, captured and tortured as a POW by the communist North Vietnam regime:
“He's not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured."
This verbal diarrhea came out of the mouth of a man who used his father’s wealth and privilege to dodge the draft five different times due to his “bone spurs”. Donald Trump is a traitor, a repeated draft dodger and the largest fraud in the history of our country.
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The tragedy of Bor'dor is that he could've been deradicalized, and wasn't. And not only that he wasn't, but that there wasn't time for it. In isolation, his death could've been avoided, with time, but that isn't something that the Hells have right now. They have been well-outfitted, have many allies across the world fighting on their side, and have made enough of an impact to buy them a few weeks, but even that came at a great cost, given the loss of life we've seen in Uthodurn and here with Hevestro's circle.
And there are so, so many individuals among the Ruby Vanguard who are probably just like Bor'dor, who could be talked down from the ledge they've been egged upon by Ludinus's manipulations. We know this, actually, because the Nein did that for Essek, with, frankly, very minimal actual ideology—they did it by being nice and acting as someone else who listened.
But it's years too late for that, because there is now an army of those individuals, and they cannot be taken in isolation. They have passively caused significant loss of life across the planet by altering this solstice, and encouraging more through their ideological shoving, as in Hearthdell. There's no time because the war is already well underway—only the Hells have arrived in the eleventh hour. So the Hells can pity and mourn him, but Orym's assessment was right—they're at war, and the nature of this war is that it must be fought and won in order to even think about the future and rehabilitation.
The tragedy is that Bor'dor could've lived if there was time, but that time is already long gone.
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"I hate how they're writing Damian in Batman #146, he can't be that dumb, he's so ooc."
I mean, they're writing him almost as if he were a literal child who wants, no, needs to believe that his father's ideals aren't as fucked up as his mother's, who blindly believes in the man whom he learnt to trust despite being raised with widely different beliefs and ideals for the majority of his so-far short life.
Almost as if Damian were a pre-teen, or young teen at most (because how old can he be here, 13? 14?) who desperately clings onto the belief, onto the hope that his father hasn't really abandoned him, because his father is Batman, and Batman always has a plan, doesn't he? Obscure, complex, but a plan nonetheless, and it (almost) always turns out fine, so Damian needs to trust him, he knows he can, he knows that Batman is safe.
Logically, everyone else is older; I think the one whose age he's closest to might be Tim here, who's about 18 as usual, I guess. But Damian is a child, he's a child who's overall relatively new to Batman's antics, and he's a child who (unfortunately) rarely saw the difference between Batman and Bruce Wayne, a child who rarely got to meet Bruce Wayne at all, if you think of it.
You (you readers, not the characters in the story - because it makes sense for them to be so lost in the plot of their world that they lose sight of things) cannot blame a child for being delusional for believing with his whole heart that his father is not an evil bastard who's attacking everyone, allies included, family included. Because again, Damian doesn't really have a clear idea of how Batman and Bruce Wayne differ, he rarely got the priviledge to be with his father, Bruce Wayne, and not with his work partner, Batman.
You (readers) cannot really tell me that you're putting the blame on a child for 'snapping out of it' so late.
Of course, everyone is free to have their opinions, and if you think that this version of Damian is ooc or whatever, it's a valid, let's agree to disagree. But from a narrative pov, you can't possibly deny that it makes sense for Damian to be acting like this. He's a child, a literal child.
Expecting him to regulate his emotions as well as his sibs do is messed up. Which, by the way, they don't. Dick is a mess but keeping it together - except for the whole "punching your father senseless" thing, but good for him, I'd have done the same there. Jason is a mess and doesn't try to hide it, Steph is baffled and Babs is exhausted. The others are nowhere to be seen (and I'd have done the same pt2). Tim's the only one with a plan that's actually somewhat good - hope he makes Bruce snap out of his fear-induced little gateaway once and for all.
I know not many are fans of this run, but honestly? I'm digging it, it's possibly one of my faves. I love the drama, love the angst, love the plot-twists, like Damian snapping out of it just for Zur to silence him? Backup Robin who grins suspiciously like Jason? Tim ditching his phone - which is ossibly the most shocking thing? I'm hyped as hell.
All of this endless yapping to say that, okay, feel free to hate this or whatever, but please be humble enough to admit that Damian is being written exactly like he should be. I get it, DCAU gave us "Damian who talks like an old man, who never smiles and doesn't understand his peers" and it's cool. He's a bit like that in the comics too. But newer comics have a (very welcome, imho) tendency to write him as 'awkward' while simultaneously keeping in mind that he's a teen. And it's the best thing ever.
I, for one, needed reassurance at Damian's age. I needed an anchor and that anchor were my parents - growing up, the dynamics shifted but it's not the point. At 13, 14, or whatever Damian's age is, you're just a child who needs reassurance, because you're changing, the world around you is changing, and you're disoriented as if lost at sea. Writing Damian like that makes sense, it's not even up for debate.
He's not ooc, and he's not dumb either.
He's just a child.
Feel free to dislike how they're writing him, feel free to dislike literally every single detail about everything, this is a free world. But please don't tell me that needing a parental figure to be there for you, and that siding with said parental figure no matter what because they're essentially all you got left (rip batfam I guess?) - is ooc for a child. Damian is a child, don't forget that.
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One thing that really got me about this update is that while they’re back on the road now and Twi is alright…it’s not a victorious departure. It’s sorrowful, it’s fearful, and it’s ridden with guilt and regrets about what just happened
Their body language says it even more than their words do. They’re slumped, they’re tense, they’re frowning rather than smiling. Hardly anyone cracks a joke this time around.
Their journey is beginning to take a toll on them. And although the Shadow just suffered a crushing defeat he doesn’t have the same emotional aspect that our heroes have had — and continue to have — to deal with.
I definitely foresee some arguments — maybe even physical altercations — in the future. That alone makes them vulnerable to the Shadow’s revenge (which previous updates have shown he doesn’t hesitate to exact. He’s angry. He’s coming for the heroes. Especially Twilight.)
I look forward to seeing how this will all play out
Credit to @linkeduniverse
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