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🪴hello....! Just wanted to message you all to tell you that your plural tim fics on AO3 are excellent to read...! We thought it was interesting how you chose Tim specifically, as we've been examining him in a plural light lately as well (being a fictive of BTAS Annie and examing my own source's plurality will do that, heheh). But again, fantastic job on those and we simply adored your portrayal. Judging by the comments it felt like it was very informative for people not too familiar with the terminology gaining traction. Have a lovely day, and thank you for existing...!

Thank you so much!!! 💗

I'm gonna be honest, we didn't put a whole lot of thought into picking Tim lmao, we kinda started it on a whim. We wanted some positive rep in the fandom, so we figured we'd provide it ourselves. We're really happy with the response we've gotten from both other plurals and singlet allies. It really feels like we made a positive impact, even if it's a fairly small one, and that's all we wanted

At this point our DC hyperfixation has passed, so it's unlikely there'll be any more of this series, but we hope it can continue to be a source of positivity and education for folks. It means a lot to see that people are still coming across it and getting something out of it

Anyway thank you so much for the ask, it made me really happy :D

#the quicksilvers say

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Batman Beyond: Neo Year (2022) #6

#thief of light... #oh no

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Do you know why batman doesn't have a police badge?

Because he doesn't kill people

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it really is such a shame that yj put the idea of clark being weird about kon in peoples' heads & that now that's kinda become the norm for portrayals of them bc the original version of clark coming back from the dead to find out kon a) existed and b) had trademarked the name "superman" while he was dead & was now threatening to sue for copyright infringement is pure gold. like i'm sorry, but that is an objectively superior dynamic

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Happy pride!

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I think people are right when they say that the horrible ways Bruce tends to react when one of his kids gets hurt come from a place of fear and helplessness, but I also think a lot of it comes from guilt. He feels responsible for it, and he can't handle that feeling because he never learned how to sit with negative emotions. So in order to stop feeling that guilt, he blames his kids for getting injured, or even dying

For example, there's absolutely no way Bruce didn't know Dick was just going to go to the Titans and reinvent himself after he fired him from being Robin. Everything about Dick's time as Robin was basically a neon sign flashing "I'm not going to stop fighting crime just because you tell me to". So Bruce had to know getting fired wouldn't stop Dick, and therefore wouldn't keep him out of danger. But if Dick keeps fighting crime against Bruce's wishes, then Bruce can tell himself that any injuries after that point aren't his fault, because he told Dick to stop

It's also why he has to say that Jason died because he was being reckless. If he admits the truth, which is that Jason died because he was a loving kid trying to save his mom's life, then Bruce has to take a hard look at why Jason was so desperate for a different parent in the first place. He might have to come to the conclusion that if he'd been a better dad to Jason, he might not have set off on a global search alone to find his biological mom, and this whole situation might've been avoidable. And Bruce knew why Jason went into that warehouse. Sheila didn't die immediately, Bruce actually talked to her, and she told him Jason was trying to save her. But the reality of the situation makes him feel guilty, so he has to blame Jason for being "reckless"

Bruce has to construct a narrative where he did everything right, and the bad things only happened because his kids didn't listen to him. He can't handle the thought that he might be in any way responsible for them being harmed, and because of this he ends up hurting them more

#bruce wayne #batman #dc #meta #abuse tw #the quicksilvers say

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What do you think of Bruce as a father? I understand that he’s not perfect, but I’m incredibly uncomfortable with the way he’s written as a parent. A lot of reproachful, unkind behavior gets brushed aside as “that’s just the way he is” or “he was under a lot of stress”. I don’t know, I wish the writers would take a lot more care in writing this part of him because it honestly makes me somewhat dislike his character as a whole 😔

Abuse discussion content warning below.

I have a lot of contradictory feelings towards Bruce. I think he loves his kids more than anything. I think he loves Dick more than anything. I think he has moments where he goes above and beyond the duty of any parent for their child. I think his reasoning for helping his kids is genuinely alturistic.

I also think Bruce is abusive, and I don't think it's one off tone deaf writers 'getting it wrong'. It's a consistent part of his character and goes back decades. And just as in real life, it's hard to reconcile the idea of a parent loving their child whilst also being abusive. It's not an easy thing to write about, so if I'm crass here, or get things wrong, I am sorry.

But I think the best example I can give is that Lemire's Robin and Batman is my favourite depiction of Bruce and Dick's relationship in years. It unequivocally writes that Bruce: A) Loves Dick very much. B) Is abusive. I'm very grateful for the fact that the book never side steps this fact.

I don't know. There's a lot of uncomfortable and difficult to explain things regarding Bruce's behaviour. It's all well and good to say the abuse stems from ptsd and trauma but then, is that just stigmatising mental illness, which is something that Bat comics (or superhero comics in general) do all the time? Do we really want to perpetuate that? And I'm not sure about the answers to any of that! I think the writers intent matters in these cases, and the thing that kills me is that there is no intent. Most of his writers genuinely have no clue what they've done, creating such a realistic cyclical depiction of an abusive parent. And a lot of the time, I really don't know how to feel about it all.

And yeah sure there's a lot of contradictions in his approach to his kids, but things that crop up again and again is denying them agency, unrealistic expecations, and a resulting coldness for when they fail to match them. I have seen, and I agree I think, that the very concept of Robin is abuse, and no not in the vigilante dodging bullets way, but in the Fear needs Hope Batman needs a Robin way. Placing the emotional stability of an adult as a responsibility of a child.

It's not just the hitting - of which there is plenty over the last fifty years to see - its the lack of communication, the financial control he exerts, the rejection and withdrawl of affection based on the kids having to hit impossible targets, the lying and manipulation... it goes on and on. Bruce ticks every box when it comes to parenting his kids. I don't blame people for wanting to scrub it, and they will have very sympathetic reasons for doing so. I get a little antsy however as that doesn't mean the actions and words are actually gone. Bruce smacking Tim was awful. I've seen arguments about its ooc nature and how it should be ignored and forgotten etc... but Bruce still hit Tim. I can open a book and look at it right now. Ignoring it doesn't mean it didn't happen.

I don't mind reading or writing fics where Bruce is decidedly not abusive, I do it all the time certainly, but in canon, I think the whole #NotMyBruce is well intentioned by also a bit dangerous. People seeing their own abuse reflected back at them, and how in many ways that can actually be quite affirming, only to have someone come along and be like 'that's not the real him' or whatever long essays they write about BtAS (which... he's still abusive in that I'm sorry but he is) being the 'their' Batman doesn't really help.

Abuse survivors don't want to read an iteration of such things versus those who in one way or another take comfort from it. The needs of one don't cancel out the needs of the other? I hope that makes sense. It's a very complicated thing to try and put into words. Many blogs have written about it much better than I.

I just think, the abuse is still there on the page, saying it 'doesn't count' because it was ooc (it's not) doesn't make it go away, and I think its dangerous to ignore it. I think it's important to draw a distinction between looking at what is shown on the page, and how that fits into a pattern of other instances, versus what you want Bruce to be, and how there may be contradictions about the abuse portrayed in other pages.

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Compilation of Lois Lane being terrible at grammar.

Bonus:

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I don’t know if its just me, but I am kind of frustrated at the status quo that has developed with Dick and Bruce’s relationship. I know that Dick is an understanding guy and Bruce is always really struggling with opening up, but can we please have just one moment of Bruce having to actually explain his actions, acknowledge how they might be hurtful, and apologize or at least make it right somehow, instead of Dick just being like “oh I forgive you” and justifying it for him?? 

New Titans #55

Like, did Bruce ever apologize for this punch??? No. And then there was that whole thing where Bruce gives Jason the Robin mantle. Not only does he not even let Dick in on whats happening with the superhero identity he created (using his family colors and the personal nickname his dead mother called him even) Bruce also takes Jason in after forcefully firing Dick with the excuse that he couldn’t handle the responsibility of a young sidekick:

Jason is even younger than Dick!! That is called being a hypocrite kids. Dick comes to talk to Bruce about it, and Bruce doesn’t even think he deserves an explanation:

Then Bruce tries to bullshit it and lie to Nightwing about why he took Jason in several times before he sends him off without even trying to apologize, like this whole drama is somehow solely Dick’s fault: 

And right after this argument, Dick goes out and, because he is a good guy, gives Jason his blessing to be Robin. Even though Bruce did nothing at all to apologize or fix the situation, Dick puts his feelings to the side and does what is right for Jason: 

Batman #416

And then Bruce is just like “thanks for doing everything for me, Dick, you’re a good guy” and lets Dick do all of the emotional heavy lifting as per usual. And Bruce never actually has to say sorry to Dick at all, or really confront this problem again ever. Even when they are actually on good terms Batman can never just take the emotional leap, and Dick has to make it easier for him: 

Gotham Knights #17

I thought this was a cute moment too, but can we please have some sort of scene where Bruce just straight out says what his feelings are for Dick are instead of this whole “i know you love me” thing that Dick does where Bruce never actually has to step out of his comfort zone? Dick is always jumping in and neglecting his own feelings on an issue in order to make sure Bruce never actually has to do anything ever. Bruce does this with everyone in the Batfam really, but its just been on my mind lately since the Nightwing vs. Hush issue. It was a really good comic, but that end with Superman being the best man…Dick seems genuinely upset. 

He figures out that Superman is the best man and he actually puts his head in his hands.

And he looks sad here. 

And then Batman is just like “oh…errr tradition you know!! wish i didn’t have to choose…” and then Dick explains it away for him and pushes his feelings to the side and offers a solution so that Bruce doesn’t have to do crap like always. I don’t think Batman even has a full sentence of explanation or really does anything to make Dick feel better about it. And why didn’t Bruce just let him know that he choose Clark as a best man before this, like a mature adult??? Ugh. 

I am just frustrated by this right now. 

#abuse tw

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okay, the more I think about it the angrier I get

Mia was not a sex worker, she was a victim of trafficking who was a child. She is a survivor. Hypersexuality is a trauma response, it’s not a good thing for a child victim to be reliving her trauma, nor is that something to love. I made that post because Mia’s story was the first time I’d seen any media tackle the ugly trauma responses to CSA, and showcase the ways in which real people respond to trauma. This was not a celebration of Mia’s trauma, but rather a celebration of the writing that allowed her to be a person with those experiences but who didn’t let those experiences define her. 

I fully understand wanting a positive sex worker character, and we should have more positive depictions of sex workers. But, in the words of the wise @lesbianmiadearden “being trafficked from the age of 11 to 15 is not a #girlboss moment.” Her story is literally about escaping being trafficked and ONLY THEN does she feel like she has a future for the first time in her life. 

Sincerely, a survivor who would like people to read the goddamn room. 

#tw csa

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I want everyone to never forget how Kevin Conroy was the greatest Batman - and for many, the one and only Batman, and that his performance was strongly and inextricably linked to his life as a gay man.

As written in his autobiographical pride short story, Finding Batman, he found the dual voices of Bruce Wayne and Batman through his own pain, frustration, anger, and yearning as a gay man subject to slurs, homophobia in his industry, and pain from losing friends to AIDs and a difficult family life.

Kevin Conroy was the greatest Batman ever to exist, and to honour his memory, never forget that the greatest Batman was a proud gay man.

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Rest in peace, Kevin Conroy

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Happy Pride Month 2022!

don’t repost/remove caption!

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Dick’s early years as Robin are just. You are ten years old. Tomorrow you have a math test. Last night you saved ten lives. You could not save the two that mattered most. Neither could he, which is why you are here. A year ago you spent your days in a trailer and your nights beneath the big top, and you were never more than 10 feet away from someone who loved you. Now you are adrift in a mansion full of ghosts. You want to go home. You climb up to the highest attic and scream as loud as you can just to see if anyone will hear you. For the crime of losing your parents, they put you in a cell. At night you leap from skyscrapers and remember how to fly. You go to bed and watch them fall. Sometimes you wake up and you are so full of anger you don’t know how you can survive it. You are trying to survive it. You want to kill a man. You rescue a baby from a burning building and his mother calls you an angel. You eat an ice cream cone on top of a gargoyle. You do not want another father. You need a friend. There is a secret only four people in the whole world know. You are one of them.

#fave #dick grayson

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😭 he is my fave and they’re my fave and i love them a lot ok 😭

Titans #22