SUNFLOWEROWO

Dick isn't in denial; he knows how it might look from the outside. But he also knows that nobody else could ever understand the intricate threads that wove his makeshift family together. From Damian's cultural differences to Jason and Bruce's class divide, Cass' mutism, Bruce's inability to express emotions healthily, and, God, all the trauma, the Waynes had learned how to dance across the delicate lines that linked them together. No outsider could ever replicate that.

Sometimes Dick lets his anger take the reins and gives as good as he gets. Othertimes, he bites his tongue and keeps quiet. Almost always, he feels guilty. He sees the way his barbs slap Bruce across the face. It churns his stomach to witness the distress across his father's physiognomy. But the alternative is to keep mum, thereby enabling Bruce's behaviour and indirectly hurting one of his siblings.

He wishes there were a way to keep everyone happy. In the meantime, Dick attends every recital and exhibition; he is there for every break-up and milestone event. If Dick is being honest with himself, he feels responsible for his entire family's emotional well-being, and not just the children, Bruce and Alfred too. He has an obligation to his family - a duty to be the perfect son and brother. So, Dick keeps his anger locked within himself. He pretends they are old friends inhabiting the same vessel. All the while, he prays that the gradual destruction of his soul is worth it.

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Jason: You should go join the others.

Damian who was forcibly dragged to a park by Jason to have a "normal day of being a child": I have no desire to join a ridiculous game with unruly children.

Jason: Dude, don't be so dramatic. They're just playing a game of Red Hood.

Damian: They named a game after you?

Jason: No??

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Jason: You should go to sleep.

Tim: No.

Jason (jokingly): If you don't go to sleep, the Red Hood will haunt you and attack you in the middle of the night.

Tim: Been there, done that.

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Alfred: It seems somebody has been stealing cookies from the cookie jar.

Jason with crumbs on his face: Wasn't me! The Red Hood did it.

Alfred: Sir, you are the Red Hood.

Jason: Oh yeah...

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*bonus with Steph and Duke who grew up in the poorer parts of Gotham*

Dick: Who tf dyed my Nightwing suit pink!?!

Steph (who totally did it): Wasn't me!

Duke (who helped): The Red Hood did it!

Dick: It was Jason!? He's fucking dead.

*Steph and Duke cackling in the distance as Dick tackles an unsuspecting Jason*

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For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about:

This is frying me. They're so unserious 😂

Damn.

Yes, yes, yessss Jason is back!

I might hate hate ginger Jason, but oh my god this man is fineeeee. Also, The Streets Run Red is a great tittle.

Hot and vindictive. Need that.

He's got a point. Nosferatu is crazy btw

Love this art style, Dick looks really good. But not as good as his brotherrrr.

Also what kind of logic is this?? High security prisons exist 😭

I'm being fed. I take it back, I really don't mind ginger Jason.

Oh! So this is where the Pride and Prejudice headcanon comes from!

What could be funnier than that? BAM!!

Guys I swear this is not supposed to be a Joker appreciation post. I can't believe how much I'm liking this.

Is that Tim in the back?? Why does he look like that??

I liked this little bat passage.

Rolling my eyes. I've always found this type of speech annoying. It's just so overdone. This monologue is no more compelling than the last 20 times I read it.

LMAO he is stressed

In his Iron Man era ✨

Dick's finally got a personality! Only took 3 volumes. Look at him being the voice of reason lol. He's kinda chopped tho.

I love Damian, he's grown on me so much.

"I just got back from the dead and though of you" LOL

OH???

Finally done volume 3! This volume was so much more compelling than the other two. Best characters were:

The Joker

Damian

Everyone else

Dick

And this is coming from someone who normally hates the joker! What a fun read! The ending was a little annoying; once again hit with a bunch of set up for the following installations. I get why it's written this way, but that doesn't mean I have to like it lol. Honestly, I've found the pacing to be off throughout the series, but that's just my opinion.

Tbh not really looking forward to the next volume where we will surely follow Bruce now that he has returned. I'm personally not a big fan of this era Bruce Wayne, but for the sake of researching Damian's character, I will persevere!

Batman & Robin: Dark Knight vs White Knight

Here we go!

Starting off strong with Dick finally having a personality of his own. The new art style isn't as animated, but does wonders for Dick.

We're just going to pretend that this explanation makes sense.

This is so funny. No one was upset, and Bruce didn't even show up. Instead, he sent FLOWERS. Lowk her crashout is valid, this would be my villain origin story too!

Girl get up. He is not worth it.

Ha! Real.

The following dialogue was pretty funny! I keep oscillating between hating and loving her character. One moment she's witty and funny, the next she's being pathetically embarrassing over a man.

I did NOT see that coming! I've changed my mind, I love her. Now this is how you write interesting characters.

The first story was nicely wrapped up! All this for a man is still crazy imo, but it was an entertaining read. So far, the quality of the volumes seem to be increasing as the run continues.

Edit: Turns out the writer for this story is not Grant Morrison, but is Paul Cornell. This explains why I like the characters so much more lol.

Off to the next story!

Loved this! We get the cyclical moment of watching the movie that started it all with the full(ish) family coming together. Very cute!

I love Damian.

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If Dick Grayson were anyone other than a veteran vigilante raised by the world's greatest detective, set upon the streets at the tender age of 11, he might have missed the speckling of white dotting his brother's scalp. As it were, Dick was all that and more. He had overseen a team of superpowered teenagers, travelled across space, defended his very own city, participated in world-ending battles, and even acted as an interim Batman. But most importantly, he had a bone to pick.

You see, Dick had a serious problem, and that problem came in the form of a 6'4" hulking little brother. Despite their newfound, tentative working relationship, an undeniable tension existed between the two crime fighters. There was enough bad blood between them to fill up Gotham's Bay.

And while Dick couldn't outwardly do anything to compromise this partnership, he sure as hell didn't have to make it a pleasant experience for his former successor.

So Dick fell back on his passive-aggressive nature.

Grinning like a shark, he circled his wayward brother. "Is that some gray I'm seeing, Jay? The stress getting to you? Just not cut out for this lifestyle, eh."

Jason stared impassively at the older vigilante.

"You know, I always thought Bruce would be the first to go gray. Guess you're finally first in something." Jason snorted. "Pretty sure I was the first to kick the can, Dickie." The older man hummed in reply.

"You should start wearing sunscreen, wouldn't want to be the first to get wrinkles, too."

"Hate to break it to you, big bird, but you and B have already got me beat."

Hands immediately clamped to his forehead. "What?! No way! Take that back!" Jason laughed at his brother's antics. "Always so vain Dickie," he teased. Dick huffed. Admittedly, his game wasn't at its best today, and all his barbs were landing flat.

"You know, if you're calling me old, that would make you ancient."

"At least I don't look it! You look like an old man, maybe it's time for you to retire."

And wouldn't that be something, to finally have the Red Hood off the streets. They had tried so many times to eradicate his malicious influence from Gotham's ecosystem, but like a cockroach, Jason always found a crevice to hide in. He always came back.

Years ago, he might have rejoiced at that fact, might have been comforted in the knowledge that he would never truly lose his little brother. Acknowledging that he didn't feel that way twisted his innards and tangled his nerves. And so, Dick left that box untouched in a back-end corner of his mind and blocked all access.

He buried the malaise that came with thoughts of impassioned literary tirades, spirited late-night flights, unanswered phone calls, and his own casual cruelty.

He erased from memory the boyish face that never quite managed to hide his desperation for acknowledgement behind a petulant glare, and replaced it with visions of violence.

Nights swinging together over the metropolitan cityscape morphed into the sight of Tim lying in a pool of his own blood. Lounging in the warmth of Wayne Manor's sunroom was replaced by Damian's paralyzed form lying on concrete with a bullet in his back.

"You okay there, big bird?" Dick blinked as his mind catapulted back to the present. Jason smirked wolfishly. "Lost in thought? Maybe you should retire for the night. It's way past your bedtime, old man."

The ensuing cackles distorted through a voice modulator as Jason readorned his helmet and grappled away. Dick scowled at his receding profile.

Jason: 1; Dick: 0.

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