EYES WIDE OPEN IN A CITY ASLEEP

Sometimes the fact that they were teenagers just hits me like a fucking truck. Like, particularly the fab five. The realistics of child sidekicks are very much something you need to kinda ignore in order to read comics, but sometimes you think about it. They were children. And sure, there were generations after them, but they had help, they had support, they had the fab five and the other first generation Titans as a guideline, to help them. But the fab five only had each other. Their mentors couldn't understand, sure they were heroes too but there's absolutely a difference between an adult hero and a teenager. They were kids.

a part of duke and bruce's relationship I really like is just how honest and straight forward it is. like I haven't read duke extensively (just the major appearances like WAR and BaTS) but especially in all star batman it really stood out to me that he said what he was thinking and bruce reciprocated. Idk I just thought it showed how much bruce respected him, considering how closed off batman can be known to be

I think Bruce wants nothing more than for Duke to be the unique wonderful individual he is that is different from both himself and his other Robins and Duke wants nothing more than for him & Bruce to be champions of their respective heroic symbols forever. So Duke becoming Batman is something very acutely horrible for them both

Doomed siblings have me on a chokehold in a way no trope can ever achieve. Something so gut wrenchingly beautiful about two kids going through unimaginable trauma and coming out damaged forever. I always eat it up. Maybe they stay together and find solace only in each other, used and kicked out by society! Maybe they end up on opposite sides of the war! Maybe they end up betraying one another! Maybe one of them dies haunting the narrative forever! Maybe one of them destroys the world for the other! So many endless tragic possibilities!

stephanie 😭 stephanie brown 😭😭😭