The Oxymoron Of A Humanities Obsessed STEM Nerd

This line in R.F. Kuang’s ‘Babel’ absolutely kills me. The hope and crushing grief all at once at the implications.

You can’t help but imagine how this might have shaped the story’s ending had Robin read it. If he knew he wasn’t the only one left out there, if he might have found solace in the chance to become the saviour older brother he lost in Griffin. If he knew there was someone still out there he could save. Just like the implied story behind Griffin’s years at Babel, this is one we’ll never know.

And the idea that Robin and Griffin were both, ultimately, more expandable than they knew, that they were conviennent, but not NEEDED in the years to come just strengthens the parallel of the fight between the empire’s ’unstoppable’ injustice and the worth of small acts of rebellion. We’re left to wonder how this cycle may repeat all over again, left to erase Robin and Griffin’s memory, or follow the same track to rebellion.

And yet as we progress with the characters through the story, we still get caught in the fantasy of the dream. We believe the magic can save them, we focus on the relationships, the love and surely that is enough.

So then when death comes, as it always was coming, it’s still a shock to us. Because is life the reality, or the systems we choose to create? Is it the small moments, or the massive legacies?

- - -

Bruce: Dick come down for a check up I saw you take that hit for Tim.

Dick, halfway towards the cave exit and still going, in the quietest voice possible: im fine

Bruce: Say squirrel and you can leave.

Dick:

Bruce:

Jason:

Tim:

Damien:

Dick: …skweeerrehl.

Random Socialite trying to have a normal conversation: So, I heard your ward was in an accident. How is he?

Brucie Wayne: Oh you know, not happy being stuck inside all the time but we’re finding ways to get through it :)

*Cue Dick wheeling up in some sort of vaguely elephant shaped monstrosity, cast legs strapped to the sides with no clear means of steering or propulsion*

12 year old Dick: hi :)

Brucie: :)

Random Socialite:

From that point on it just gets completely out of control. Every weekend Dick is spotted in some new contraption: a race car, a hobby horse, a rocket - he’s driving around stealing the show. Bruce is just happy he’s actually easy to keep track of now, and the kidnapping rates have gone down dramatically since he’s strapped to at least 50 pounds of metal at all times.

Years later when Jason is in a similar situation he thanks whatever higher power is out there Bruce donated the chairs to charity so he doesn’t have to be wheeled about in a glorified trundle truck.

Picture the justice league losing their collective shit having to declare a world level threat, scrabbling to gather every single hero they have to try and contain the the results of Bruce Wayne and his children using all their skills for evil.

Picture every generation of titans having to work together to have a chance against their version of Robin, an entire team just for one bat.

Picture the league trying to strategise and target Damien’s Robin first, isolating the smallest to try and draw out the others and instead making things 10x worse when the baby of the family starts calling for help and they trigger every single Protect Instinct the bats have on top of the mind control