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fairy glen, isle of skye, scotland

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sometimes i randomly remember how insane maggie stiefvater was for making ronan lynch—a man that can create reality—a man of god, when he himself is a god of a man. then to take this man and have him be not only in love with, but a literal soulmate of a man named adam. parrish. adam parrish. who, mind you, lives above ronan's very own place of worship. and is the namesake of the first of mankind that the bible says god made from the literal dust of the ground (adam parrish: comes from nothing, hair "dusty" in color) and appoints him to care for the garden of eden (adam parrish: sacrifices himself to ronan's sentient forest). then has adam viewing ronan as a god and ronan saying "maybe he dreamt (created)" adam???? like who just fucking writes that and goes about their life?

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bruce’s relationship with vicki falling apart because he was Too Sleepy is the most important part of the batman lore to this day.

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“Let me guess. Over six foot. Shoulders out to here. Arrogant and overconfident. In short, a pig.”

“And just my type.”

Barbara Gordon & Dinah Lance in Birds of Prey: Revolution (1997)

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BARBARA GORDON in BLACK CANARY/ORACLE: BIRDS OF PREY (1995) with art by GARY FRANK

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Did a critical analysis comic for one of my classes where I analyzed Batman/Nightwing: Bloodborne, watch me be so normal about the parentification of Dick Grayson

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Happy Birthday to Roy Harper! By Denise Zhang

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Edit Requests: Tara Markov for anonymous

"Here lies Terra. A Teen Titan. May she rest in Peace."

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Convergence - Batgirl (2015) #2 / The Kiss - Gustav Klimt / Starry Night - Vincent Van Gogh / Nightwing (2018) #118

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the idea that bruce and alfred are a father and son pair is far more modern than a lot of people seem to realise; pre-crisis, alfred and bruce met as adults, and the process of integrating him in bruce's childhood wasn't all or nothing at first. I have the suspicion the nolanverse was a big part in changing the shape of the perception of their relationship and maybe even influenced comics canon.

I personally only embrace the idea of alfred becoming bruce's primary caretaker and pseudo-parental figure if leslie remains involved as a foster parent at some point (my personal headcanon is that bruce's custody was An Issue because even if it was in the will that bruce would go with alfred because he was fucking the waynes, why would the kane family just accept it?).

but even embracing that pseudo father-son bond... approaching their dynamic as if this is the only or even the most prominent aspect of it leads to a faulty analysis of it, from what I've seen. especially because it misattributes the power in the relationship, which is not alfred's.

in my mind (and to a few mutuals lol) I've often compared bruce with the roman figure of the pater familias, beyond the idea of a modern patriarch (though this remains influenced by it). he's the only truly-independent citizen of the household, possessing authority and controlling all the goods and people belonging to the family: those under his patria potestas: children, wife, and the household's workers/slaves.

alfred is very much subsummed into that structure. he is bruce's subordinate and it looks like this was a feature of their relationship in comics canon even if/when bruce was the child in his care (which, again, I headcanon as being Complicated). as if, probably, alfred never thought it was his "place" to be anything but a employee first. that shaped the dynamic into what it became with bruce as an unchecked adult who... definitely didn't listen to alfred if he didn't want to listen to what alfred had to say. examples abound in new earth (my personal playground) of times where alfred tries to sway bruce in the opposite direction of where he wants to go, and he miserably fails as he's railroaded in the way.

a lot of people seem to think alfred is to bruce what bruce is to dick, or jason, or or or, and this is a false equivalence because alfred, neither doylist nor watsonian-wise, was never The Patriarch in bruce's life. whatever authority he could've had over bruce as a child was clearly flimsy and likely not acted upon out of deference of the expectations -both internal and external- of their relationship, and is absolutely non-existent with bruce as an adult.

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fun fact: when i draw roy, i base his features off rick may’s style of drawing him. his art might not be everyone’s favourite and he’s got some real wonk faces sometimes, but in the line-up of iconic roy artists, his style stands out from the generic super masculine sameface. there’s a femininity there that i like in the eyes and mouth.

also he’s got very plush, kissable lips, that’s super important.

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DC was too scared to make Letifos and Garth endgame, but I will never ever forget them.

They were so toxic. But God I love them. Who did Garth run off too whenever he needed advice? Or comfort?

They literally did that The Song of Achilles quote, before TSOA.

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The other Titans teammate whom Grant was often paired with was Tara Markov (Terra). Not that Terra, of "Judas Contract" infamy, who of course was dead by this point. Terra II is a separate character, despite having the same appearance, powers, and name as the original Terra. She showed up after some timeline shenanigans, with no idea of her actual background and origin. The possibility of her being the original Terra somehow resurrected was teased during her time with the Titans, but this would turn out to not be the case.

Whoever she is, she seems to be about Grant's age, and the two form a friendship. Of sorts. Tara tends to be abrasive, and Grant tends to take things personally, so it often goes about as well as you would expect.

Story time!

Their first interaction, during Grant's first outing with the Titans, sets up their relationship as teasing. Tara thinks Grant is a "dweeb" (please enjoy all the mid-90s slang featured in everyone's dialogue) and gives him grief about it. Their teammate Mirage tries to call her out on embarrassing him, but Tara sees no problem with her behavior. And Grant dishes the teasing right back.

(New Titans #0)

Which leads to banter about what stock roles that they play in the group and whom they would cast as themselves in a movie (popular heartthrob 90s actors, of course!).

Soon enough they're concerned teammates.

(New Titans #116)

But the insults stick around. And it's not always Tara who initiates them.

(New Titans #117)

As the youngest members of the team, Grant, Tara, and Bart Allen form a trio. During some down time, they go exploring in New York together, and Tara shows a more compassionate side. Like Grant, having friends is new for her. She takes it a step further and identifies them as a sort of family, and Grant agrees.

(New Titans #118)

...right before she goes back to the teasing. When he tries to console her after a rejection by telling her that he thinks she's cute, she makes a big show of pretending to be disgusted. Grant is a bit crestfallen, but this seems to be Tara's love language.

The three are also seen spending Christmas together by exploring Manhattan in Green Lantern 1990 #59.

When Grant and Roy clash over Grant's wish to leave on a personal quest, Tara is flippant. Roy assumes that she and Grant have never liked each other, so shouldn't she be glad to see him go? But she makes it clear that she's fond of him ("a little dorky, but he's cute") and "giving him a hard time" is her way of expressing that.

(New Titans #119)

Unfortunately, Grant hasn't picked up on that in their interactions. When he airs his grievances with the team during a fight, he makes it clear that he resents Tara's treating him "like I'm a walking zit with a pocket protector!" She takes offense at that, but by the time he stalks off in high dudgeon, she is more shocked than upset. This is the angriest that she's ever seen him, and perhaps she's a bit remorseful at how she has come across.

(Damage #13)

Grant never overtly apologizes to the team for what he says about them--as far as we're shown. But he and Tara are working together on normal terms again not long afterward, still bantering.

(Deathstroke #48)

...but now revealing some vulnerabilities to each other too. Grant is suspicious of Deathstroke, who reminds him of the ruthless family that runs the lab that experimented on him (and perhaps also of the Emersons), and Tara is afraid of turning out to be the original Tara Markov, who had a horrifying history with Deathstroke.

At the moment, Grant finds this fact to be TMI. But when it's brought up again during his second time with the Titans, he seems to be shocked instead. Maybe he didn't quite grasp what Tara is telling him here?

She continues to give him grief, pretending to object to his talking and his explosions.

(New Titans #122)

She goes a little too far during preparations for a mission in space, and Grant retaliates by sending energy through the floor to knock her down. She threatens him, but as ever, this is in jest.

(New Titans #124)

When he (not to mention the rest of the team) is in danger later, she is immediately concerned and comes to the rescue.

When the team reconvenes after going on separate adventures, Grant eagerly shows her a flower given to him by a new alien friend, and Tara seems less than impressed.

(This is not important, it just amused me.)

(Damage #16)

When Tara tries to argue with Roy, Grant tries to redirect her focus and remind her of where their current duty is.

(New Titans #125)

And she dishes out advice to him too.

Mid-fight, she goes out of her way to compliment him...backhandedly, of course (this is pretty rude slang). He snarks right back.

But he will sincerely compliment her later.

And she seems to be incapable of returning the favor without being insulting. Grant decides to just go with it.

Her powers are in full force in this scene, and it's pretty exciting for both of them.

And Grant gets the chance to use his powers to defend her after she gets knocked out.

He's a bit carried away with admiration, and there's an implication that they might have kissed if they hadn't been interrupted.

And Tara's last interaction with Grant will be to force a kiss on him as an attempt to placate him when Roy won't let him accompany the rest of the team to take Mirage to the hospital. She promises to keep him updated on the situation. But Grant has finally had it with Roy and walks out on the team permanently as soon as the others leave.

(New Titans #127)

She never does call. Grant seems to be forgotten as soon as he leaves.

Grant and Tara sometimes show up to the same big crossover events, but they do not speak to each other or work directly together again. The closest they get is standing near each other a couple times (notice that side-eye he's giving her!).

(Titans 1999 #39 / Young Justice 1998 #49)

She is killed in action not long after Grant joins the JSA. Her last words are a characteristically fierce "You want a war!!??!! I got your war right here!!!" and she dies from a fist ripping through her chest, a fate Grant will later meet too.

If they had gotten to interact again, I would have liked to have seen more exploration of their shared background of growing up alone and without a real family. They've adopted different coping mechanisms as a result--Terra presents a front of aggression, Grant is a people-pleaser until he's pushed too far--and this has affected their ability to connect. Tara genuinely likes Grant and enjoys his company, but she can't seem to interact with him without being mean. Grant can speak her language up to a point, but his insecurities can leave him vulnerable to her abrasiveness. They don't really know how to connect--so they interpret the regard they have for each other as romantic interest because hormonally-fueled kisses are easier than being open and sincere with each other. Under different circumstances, they could have been good friends, but at this point I think neither of them quite know how to do that.

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Dick and Raven being burdened by the desire to solve the world's problems.

The New Titans #71

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"Let's get you home, kid, and patch you up."

"You sure you're okay?"

From the DC Vault: Death in the Family: Robin Lives #2

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DC MEME - [15/?] favorite relationships (in no particular order)

Roy Harper and Donna Troy “I’ve loved you since we were kids… Long before we ever got together. And I’ll continue to love you now that we aren’t together” - Roy

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Dick canonically smells good

what a scent