Brothers

All our times have come, here but now they're gone

Today’s the day!!

Oficial Marcus (red robin comic artist) art

You know what’s interesting?

Dick didn’t set out to murder Zucco with the intent of being a killer. He viewed it as an unfortunate byproduct of his actions.

His real goal was to “purge the world of criminals” because “darkness needs light.”

Do you realize how unhinged that sounds? It means Robin wasn’t created from anger. It was created from the messed up psyche of a child who realized at 8 years old that the entire world needs something better than what it was given and so he went out and became it.

I cant properly explain how insane that is. It’s like putting the logic of the Joker inside the mind of child but turning it for good. Everything is falling into place now. That is why the Joker hates Dick-he is the one Robin the man couldn’t break. Literally COULDN’T because when he’s facing Dick, he’s facing the version of himself that would have existed if he had put himself to good. That was would break HIM.

Imagine spending the better part of your life doing your utmost worst to show Batman that people and the system are inherently evil only to have him fall head over cowl for a version of yourself to completely invalidate your reason for existing. How psychotic would you turn when you realize you have nothing to prove?

This also explains why Dick is so well adjusted and sociable in a way that Bruce and the others aren’t.

Bruce loses it when he loses his children, he thinks it’s a failure of his abilities and doubts his life’s work.

Jason loses it when he thinks he’s been replaced because his reason for being is having someone care for him.

Tim loses it when he comes to a dead-end. He feels helpless and lost when he doesn’t know the next move because his reason for being is being able to solve what’s wrong.

Damian loses it when he feels abandoned. He feels hurt and broken because he’s a child who wants to be loved.

The reason Dick was the perfect choice for Dark Crisis and to become the dawn of DCU is because his sole reason for being is to be the light.

That is why Bruce refused to destroy a planet when Superman asked him too. That is why Dick was the only person in the universe who could control the Darkness infecting him when even Deathstroke lost his mind to it. That is why the evil Justice League chose Dick of every one to kill-to make a point.

This is why he’s looked up to by major heroes such as Superman, Wonderwoman, the Titans, the children, the villains, and the civilians.

This is why Harvey Dent called Robin Dick “Batman’s secret weapon.”

Although anger was the baseline emotion, Dick doesn’t have anger issues because:

Robin wasn’t created for revenge. It was created with the intention of building a world so unrealistically good, that the level of the vision Richard Grayson was aiming for and set the standards for- is so terrifyingly inconceivable.

And that-is why he is a happy, feral, monster.

hope is a skill

"[Dick Grayson is] just this incredibly positive, pure force of good, and I wanted to show that to the world as well." — Tom Taylor

"Nightwing is…incredibly vital to the whole DCU and adaptable. He knows everyone. He’s served as a follower, and he’s served as a leader. He has connections to the Teen Titans and the Titans and the Justice League and the Bat-group… So, he’s facing the dark web, but he’s at the center of his own web." — Benjamin Percy

"In many ways, even more than Superman or Batman, Nightwing is the soul, the linchpin, of the DCU. He's well-respected by everyone, known to the JLA, the Titans, the Outsiders, Birds of Prey—everyone looks to him for advice, for friendship, for his skills. He's the natural leader of the DCU." — Phil Jimenez

"No matter how much he’s tempted to the dark, to vengeance, he always soars above." — Steve Orlando

"As Bruce's closest ally besides Alfred but somebody who Bruce probably pushes away more than any other person…Dick Grayson…is [Bruce’s] greatest tether to humanity. Dick's the person that would pull him back from the edge…Dick is an integral part of the Bat mythology and an endlessly interesting character." — Scott Snyder

"To me he's kind of the heart of DC Comics...he can be the heart and soul and carry the entire DC Universe." — Tom King

Dick Grayson: The Heart & The Soul

(according to his writers, his artists, and Bruce Wayne)

Panels: Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War: Scorched Earth | Batman: Wayne Family Adventures (S3) Ep. 137 Compromise | Infinite Crisis #4 | Infinite Crisis #3 | Batman (2011) #11 | Titans (2016) #19 | Batman: Wayne Family Adventures (S3) Ep. 155 Trust

JL finding out bat secrets, but it's in the most simple ways.

Barry: how old do you think Robin is?

Oliver: you met him last week, he's like 12

Barry: yeah but like, he was 14-ish when we started the justice league

Hal: maybe he's an immortal vampire like batman

Nightwing: that's ridiculous

Hal: we have aliens and gods on this team. Why not vampires?!

Wally: can't be immortal if he was 14 then but 12 now

Barry: I've cracked it, there's more than one

Oliver: Your genius amazes and astounds

Barry: So the first Robin should be like 30 by now

Dick: WHAT

Dick: 30! IM 26

Dick now in crisis: I AM NOT THAT OLD YET

Barry: Hold on, wha-

*Wally silently laughing at Dick despite them being almost the same age*

Oliver: Were you Robin?!?!?!

Dick: I can't believe this betrayal! It's called mid 20's and you're no longer invited to Christmas Ollie!

Oliver: I was invited to your Christmas!?!

Wally: Well, not anymore you're not

Hal: Can I come?

Dick: that's up to Batman

Hal:...

Dick: Coward, this is why you aren't invited to family Christmas

Barry: YOURE RELATED TO BATMAN?!

Oliver: I WAS INVITED TO BATMANS FAMILY CHRISTMAS?!?!?!

What I think each Batfamily member eats in a day:

Bruce: anything Alfred prepares. Something super dense in protein and fats that follows his detailed nutrition plan to support his vigilante activities. Taste is secondary. He burnt off his tastebuds years ago during a training exercise.

Jason: Diners or takeout. Balances it with a fruit. He knows the best places in Gotham where it's cheap and filling where he can eat his weight's worth of food and no one is glancing at his laptop where he is definitely NOT orchestrating any illegal activities. He does know how to cook a few basic things like eggs but he's got things to do and he'll cook when he has peace. Except. It's him so he doesn't do peace. Now if you throw him in the tundra or a difficult terrain? He'll be able to find something and grill it to cook it properly but otherwise, he's not going to bother.

Tim: he lives in a houseboat. He never considered the kitchen in his renovation and now the stove got replaced with a Bunsen burner to test samples he found on a crime site so he has no place to cook anymore. The cupboards are just makeshift armory and have like first aid kits, menus for takeout even though the delivery driver has sworn not to waddle in the middle of the marina with Tim's noisy neighbors and Tim's sketchy house that just looks slightly off to a civilian but Tim tips well so what can the poor lad do. There's only one cupboard dedicated to food and it's Zesti cans, Dick's nutrition drinks because Dick swears by them, and dog treats for strays and to bribe Titus. I don't think he ever learnt how to cook but he will figure it out if ever ends up in that situation where he needs to.

Stephanie: ramen with veggies and eggs thrown in for nutrition, Mac and cheese, anything basic with a skillet. She had to take care of herself when Crystal couldn't and her father didn't. She is highly self sufficient so she learns by watching Barbara or any YouTube tutorials for nutrition packed foods that taste good and are easy to make.

Cass: a pan to her is better as weapon to take down a mob. Food though is a rare indulgence she gets to keep so she goes to different places to try out different dishes. She doesn't cook but she likes to watch Steph hum while she's cooking and her body sways-dances contentedly to 90s punk rock.

Dick: whenever he gets time, he meal preps the quickest meals ever. Stuffs everything he made in the freezer for like three-six months if not longer because he'll forget. Is it probably expired? Maybe, but his stomach has withstood much worse. He'll have a bunch of nutrition bars and those meal replacement nutrition drinks stocked. He's used to cooking in bulk and the lesson in cooking is: if it tastes bad, you aren't adding enough herbs and spices. Luckily for him, he can store dried herbs and spices in airtight containers and use them for months.

Duke: home cooked meals with food that ISN'T seasoned by a former MI6 British butler. These are family meals made with love and care. He is living his life.

Damian: when he first came to Gotham, he ate whatever Alfred made though he did complain like a fussy kid. He still eats everything and values the high nutrition density but he will sneak in extra pepper and salt and make requests occasionally for halwa to sate his sweet tooth.

Barbara: no one taught her how to cook and she and her father ate takeout while he went through his case files and she listened on the police scanner and called in the tip lines to help solve cases pre-batgirl. She learnt how to cook during college because surviving on a diet of just pizza and ramen wasn't sustainable as Batgirl and she values being able to do things for herself. After becoming Oracle, she pushed harder to learn how to cook very well but even if she knows how to cook now, she is still bad at avoiding takeout (if she's not forgetting meals in favor of working that is).

Danny has found out that he tends to stay awake for weeks, if not months, at a time. However, when he does sleep, he needs to sleep for a way longer time than people sleep. Usually about one or three thousand years.

Clockwork and he figure it has to do with his body starting to absorb the Time Amulet that he shoved into his chest; his core, still growing, started to think that this foreign power source was supposed to be taken in, and has started to do so.

Danny's core is still ice, but it's also adapting the power of the Time Amulet to that; basically, Danny is mostly immune to time shenanigans naturally, and the other side effect is a huge influx of power to his core.

Problem; that is a lot of power, and Danny's body needs a lot of time to rest in ghost form to handle it without destabilizing.

So because he doesn't want to miss living his life with his family, he and Clockwork figure something out.

When he gets sleepy, and it's time for him to Sleep frfr instead of just an 8 hour catnap, Clockwork sends him to a different dimension that works on a different timeframe.

He gets a room especially made, hidden from the denizens of that world, full of never-rotting timeless comforts like pillows and blankets, and he gets to sleep.

They repurpose some of the Skeleton Army he won from Pariah Dark to serve him while he rests; they make sure he's clean, that the sheets and pillows are clean, and that snacks and drinks are available for his brief moments of wakefulness.

In this particular world, however, his sleeping chambers have been found, and he's being worshipped as the god of a cult.

They've carved a hole above his chambers, and for the most part haven't been too obtrusive, so the Skeleton Army lets them keep that hole. The cult has been sending food and treasure down, and since the Skeleton Army's primary purpose is to ensure Danny is well-fed whenever he wakes up and comfortable, they allow this.

Then the cult drops Bart Allen in the sleeping chambers, deliberately angling him so that he lands on Danny's pillow-bed, fully intending to use him to both wake up their sleeping god and be a sacrifice.

By the time Wally gets down there, ready to save Bart and defend him, the Skeleton Army is gently trying to pry the sleeping gods arms off of Bart, who has apparently become a living teddy bear for this thing.

"Uh..."

"I think they're trying to save me? This god likes to cuddle, I guess."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think he's just super tired. He might let go if you find a good enough replacement."

"Why can't you just phase out?"

"What if I wake him up and he starts searching for me? We gotta find something else he can cuddle with."

So Wally leaves on a quest, darting all over the world and bringing back huge stuffed animals in an attempt to find one that the god will accept as a substitute for Bart.

Bart, meanwhile, is living it up.

The Skeleton Army makes sure he's fed, there's like, a lot of video games that the cult threw down here, and while he is antsy cuz he can't move, at least this is actually the most comfortable bed he's ever been on.

But he is getting kinda bored, and none of the stuffed animals Wally is bringing in are working.

So he texts the Young Justice group chat.