Banished

USA people! Buy NOTHING Feb 28 2025. Not anything. 24 hours. No spending. Buy the day before or after but nothing. NOTHING. February 28 2025. Not gas. Not milk. Not something on a gaming app. Not a penny spent. (Only option in a crisis is local small mom and pop. Nothing. Else.) Promise me. Commit. 1 day. 1 day to scare the shit out of them that they don't get to follow the bullshit executive orders. They don't get to be cowards. If they do, it costs. It costs.

Then, if you can join me for Phase 2. March 7 2025 thtough March 14 2025? No Amazon. None. 1 week. No orders. Not a single item. Not one ebook. Nothing. 1 week. Just 1.

If you live outside the USA boycott US products on February 28 2025 and stand in solidarity with us and also join us for the week of no Amazon.

Are you with me?

Spread the word.

Sorry I had to do this xD Petey with his last opponent: Grampa!

Incredible how dc pushes the "Jason died because he was reckless" narrative to try and absolve Bruce of blame because, victim-blaming aside, that's worse, right? You understand how that's worse?

No matter how you interpret it, in Jason's post-crisis run, Bruce is gonna be partially responsible for Jason's death, because he was the one to offer him Robin in the first place in exchange for a good foster home (Batman 1940 #408), and because he had fucked up with Jason to the point he felt the need to run to a whole other continent in search for family (Batman 1940, a death in the family). Like, that part of responsibility, that remains no matter how you spin it, because regardless of why specifically Jason went in the warehouse, that's why he was in Ethiopia with the Robin suit in the first place.

But this aside, in canon? Jason goes in the warehouse because Sheila betrays him and he does what any hero, and many children, would do in his place: he wants to help Sheila, he listens to her, he trusts his mother. The people directly responsible for Jason's death, in canon, are Joker, Sheila, and crowd of goons that helped Joker and Sheila take Jason down in the warehouse. It's clear as day who the villains are in there and it doesn't add any stain on Bruce's ledger.

But according to that victim-blaming narrative that Alfred and Bruce (and others later on) spin in-story, and that dc spins in meta? Jason died because he was reckless. So it's Jason's fault right? Yes and no. I need to write a more detailed meta about the two types of recklessness and how confusing the two accidentally led to Starling writing a compelling narrative with Jason, but basically the important question here is why was Jason reckless. And Starlin answers us, in text, in a death in the family: Jason has been behaving abnormally recklessly recently, because he's suffering. Bruce tells us, straight up, that he suspects Jason to be suicidal. This isn't the first time Starlin's Batman says Jason is suicidal: even in Batman (1940) #416, Batman explains Jason's "reckless" behaviour to Dick as a symptom of being mentally unwell, and very clearly implies Jason already struggles with suicidal thoughts (which I maintain is the reason why Dick changed his mind on Jason so quickly and gave him his number with a "you can reach out to me, don't let a lack of communication become your achille heel" talk at the end of #416.)

And Bruce's POV mind be often biased, but we see, ourselves, Jason jump in front of bullets in aditf and it's like... As much as I'm not convinced with Bruce's random explanation for Jason's struggles in aditf, I do agree that he is being suicidal (and considering the stories that come right before this one, I completely understand why he would be.) So that's why Jason is reckless in aditf. It's not why he died, but if we listen to that victim-blaming narrative that claims his recklessness is indeed what killed him, doesn't that make Bruce more guilty? Because that means Bruce knew Jason was suicidal (literally jumping in front of bullets with apparently no consideration for his life) and left a fifteen years old active suicide risk alone in a completely foreign environment after having messed up very severely with him during the whole issue, and then he told him "do not go into that warehouse alone, there's a very dangerous guy who wants to kill you." In terms of responsibility, Bruce is actually very damn lucky Jason, like some impulsive suicidal teenagers his age would have, didn't think "oh well, I'll try my luck against the guy who wants to kill me alone and that way either I win and get reassured in my heroism and right to be alive, or I die and that saves me the trouble of buying rope and a step ladder!" Bruce took the Robin costume from Jason to protect him from this exact type of situation but didn't seem to realize the danger he was putting Jason in at that moment. And it's not just me saying that! I don't have the exact reference (I think it was in Gotham Knights?...to verify) Barbara, after finding out about Jason's death, literally tells Bruce that this is his fault and that she warned him Jason had issues.

Of course, all of this is moot point, because it's not why Jason went in the warehouse in the first place, but I can't help but feel baffled at the audacity of DC, who are so deep into their psychophobia, classism, general victim-blaming bullshit and ingrained stereotypical conception of the "troubled teen" that they don't realize that the revisionist interpretation of Jason's death they are defending is literally worse for Bruce. And I have to say, it certainly doesn't paint people trash-talking Jason and blaming him for his death to prop Tim up as "better" and "different" in a very good light either (especially since, if i'm not wrong, there's an arc in which Tim struggles with suicidal thoughts himself... especially since Tim's trauma happened after he became Robin and is, for the most part, a direct consequence of his heroism. Doesn't exactly paint the adults in Jason and Tim's life in a favourable light...)

Anyway, stop blaming Jason's death on his recklessness to absolve Bruce: you're only making it worse.

You are a long forgotten god. A small girl leaves a piece of candy at your shrine, and you awaken. Now, you must do everything to protect your High Priestess, the girl, and her entire kindergarten class, your worshipers.

My MLP OC by the name of Midnight Promenade

Anyways so Bruce Wayne is an overgrown manchild with attachment and control issues and hitting your kids, even if they are adults, is fucked up.

The Robins & co are not often possessed in a way that "justifies" beating them.

Just because the "adult batkid" swings first (usually because Bruce is being preemptively shitty, like lying to them and forcing them to the place they died at to re-trigger them about their death, or having secretly faked their death after their real actual temporary death and forcing them to submit to pretending to be dead and going undercover on a mission he wants them to go on, to pick some non-random examples) does not mean subsequently beating them into submission isn't abusive as he has a position of emotional power over them.

Additionally, there are ways to abuse your kids without beating them. Such as Tim's 16th birthday thing. Everything Bruce did to Stephanie pretty much. Isolating them (multiple incidents of this including the 16th birthday thing, the implications that Bruce doesn't want Robin!Jason to work with the Teen Titans, Stephanie again, his general stance that Cass doesn't need to get involved in more civilian things because "she isn't interested" & encouraging her worst habits). Pressuring Duke operate in the suit Bruce gave him despite his personal preferences being something else might not be strictly "abusive" bit it's definitely over-controlling of him.

And look I don't give a fuck what in-universe justifications there are. if the person you have power over, adult or child, stops hitting back, you really don't have any fucking excuse if you keep beating them (RHATOv2 25, I think the dick thing was still in forever evil, right? or was that the beginning of Grayson?). I'm still not over the "I wasn't beating my kids I taught them a coded language that I was sending them messages by hitting them." <- not a normal thing!! No I don't care that they're vigilantes no one else in-universe does that shit!!! FUCKING NO ONE!!!

And! I mean there are instances where that's the case like Dick cussing Bruce out about Jason's death and Bruce punched him. Yeah I'm familiar with visual symbolism and what that was meant to do at the time, that doesn't change the fact that when we get further patterns of the behavior, the context stops fucking mattering. (Uhh, didn't he also hit Tim after Catwoman left him at the altar? I don't really read for him often so idr.)

God, other people probably could go on in more detail and my recollection here might not be perfect bcs for once I'm not just going and pulling up every fucking source like I normally would, sue me I'm sick, but hoooly fucking shit. "Yeah he hit them but it wasn't abuse" that's really the take you're going with here??? That's really the take you're fucking going with here????

Jason does a really interesting thing in UtRH where he consistently positions himself with the other victims of the Joker. Every speech he makes about the Joker is essentially "them and, worse, me". The worse there being because Jason is Bruce's son. His argument over the various moments (and this goes for Lost Days, as well), comes down to this: It is bad enough that Bruce didn't kill the Joker before Jason died. That, in itself, when the Joker had already killed who knows how many, when he had already shot Barbara (and Jason was alive when that happened, canonically) - that is nearly indefensible.

But even if he forgives that. Even if he accepts that.

The Joker then killed Bruce's son. And not only did Bruce not kill him them, he continued to not kill him, even when bodies continued to pile up. Note that at this point in continuity, not only does Joker likely have a body count well into the triple digits, he's also attempted mass infanticide and killed Gordon's wife (fiance?).

And yet. For his moral code, for his peace of mind, because it would be too easy - Bruce lets him live. And inherently, in the world of DC as it exists, letting the Joker live means letting the Joker kill. Even if you don't agree, it's certainly what Jason believes, look at what he says:

"I thought I'd be the last person you let him hurt."

So here's our scene: Jason, who has been positioning himself as both Bruce's son and also just another victim of the Joker, is holding the Joker at gunpoint. The options are: let Jason kill the Joker, or kill Jason.

Him or me, you have to choose.

This is a choice. This was always the choice. Inaction is still a choice. Every victim of the Joker is also a victim of the collateral of the no killing rule.

Him or me, you have to choose.

Bruce has to choose. No more pretending his choice doesn't have direct victims, no more acting like no-killing doesn't also mean accepting that the victim's of the Joker are a sacrifice to the rule.

Him or me.

Him or me.

Him or me.

You have to decide. You have to choose, now, while his victim looks you in the eyes. You have to choose while the victim still has a voice to tell you you're making the wrong choice.

But Bruce is Bruce. And he tries a third way. And everybody loses! Bruce finds a way to win and everybody loses - but then, maybe that's been the choice he's been making this whole time, over and over. Until there were graveyards full of the consequences.

If Jason is going to be wrong, let him be wrong and cathartic. Let him be wrong and still a voice of every victim. Let him be wrong and unforgiving, uncomprising, demanding every hero to choose, to look at the graveyards full of bodies and know their role in it.

Let him be rage and grief and blood crying for blood, of everyone who has ever been collateral.

I'm curious, what are nudibranchs? They sound neat.

nudibranchs are a whole order of marine invertebrates!! they're commonly called sea slugs!

you might know the sea bunny (Jorunna parva) which went viral for being so adorable with its little tiny bunny ear like rhinophores:

but nudibranchs come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and places all over the world!!! they range from literal bean size (blue glaucus) to Absolutely Mahoosive Specimen (black sea hare)

as much as i want to give a little kiss to every single one of them, it's recommended not to touch them because some of them are venomous, and some are protected under law depending where you are in the world! i will do so from a distance instead

Fanart/a slight redesign of Elaine from Seven Deadly Sins