robinwinggrayson

[robinwinggrayson]

Posts asking people to justify why they like/dislike fictional characters are weird. People like what they like and sometimes that really is the answer. How do you justify why you like the color red? Why would you even ask someone to? And how does it affect you in anyway?

I typically avoid these posts like the plague but I’ll bite and answer your question as if it’s being asked in good faith.

It’s extremely rare to see female POCs in fantasy. Even rarer for those characters not to be enslaved, maids or motherly figures. There’s no nuance, no complexity. Fire and Blood isnt great imo but for some, Nettles is the first/only smart, resourceful female POC in popular high fantasy. And she’s cool enough to be a freaking DRAGON rider. For you she was forgettable, for others she’s a rarity we wanted to see adapted to television.

There’s also those who want her included because she IS important to the plot. Her relationship with Daemon (which I do believe is platonic so I’ll ignore the grooming stuff) exacerbates Rhaneyras paranoia and rage which would be entertaining to see. I truly believe shipping culture and Team Black/Team Green brain rot has made people forget that some of us just want to watch a compelling story. The actors would slay this storyline, we want to see it.

Interesting enough, plenty of male characters from the book who’ve done nothing for the plot appear in the show but I’ve seen almost no posts calling for the justification for their inclusion which is just so predictable.

So yeah, some of us are disappointed about Nettles exclusion from the story and yes, it IS Nettles as a character we like outside of Daemon or whatever male character.

I keep hearing about Nettles this, Nettles that. And I know I'm about to be eaten by the fandom but I am also about to lose it! And I want to understand why.

I have read the book Fire & Blood many years ago. At that time I wasn't too impressed by it. All the characters were petty or evil and I was not fully invested in anyone so I don't remember too much from the book. I remember that Alicent was an evil stepmother and that Rhaenyra used to be a beauty and then became fat and felt insecure over her appearance and that made her resent Alicent more, since Alicent remained slim after the pregnancies. Somehow that got really stuck in my mind. I remember the poor dragons dying and I remember mentally supporting Rhaenyra's claim, not because I liked her very much but because she was chosen to succeed. And I remember that I loved Daemon's and Rhaenyra's relationship and how fiercely he supported her claim. I never forgot that part and maybe that's why I was biased to like them in the tv show from the beginning. But what I don't get is: why would people feel so strongly about Nettles? To me, I am so happy if she gets cut out because I had to go back to the book to actually remember who she was. Nothing about her stayed in my memory. Why would I like her? I didn't like any of the dragonseeds, I remember them being traitors more than anything. Even if Nettles wasn't a traitor, even if she was a nice girl, was she that important in the plot? Or people are just savagely upset because they wanted to see Daemon be a little cheater and groom another girl to prove them right all along? It wasn't even proven to be true in the book! I never bought it, that's why I forgot! Is it really Nettles as a character that people like and miss or do they just want another opportunity to hate Daemon more? As if there aren't enough opportunities already. At this moment it wouldn't make any sense at all! And the theory that Daemon survived the battle of God's Eye to live happily with Nettles for the rest of his life? Is that Daemon, the same Daemon that we know? For God's sake, that would be preposterous, blasphemous even. Just give me one good reason (Daemon aside) for Nettles to be important in the show.

[robinwinggrayson]

I’m tired of purity police batfam fans trying to force their personal interpretation of decades old comic book characters on everyone.

Bruce is not a “good dad” or even a dad at all in many canons. You’re free to only enjoy content where he is a wholesome good dad but it’s not “bad writing” or “out of character” every time Bruce hits one of the Batkids or says something insensitive or generally is an asshole. Bruce is a severely traumatized man who has centered his life around his rage and desire for vengeance which has also isolated him from most meaningful relationships, he’s not going to suddenly have the emotional maturity and interpersonal skills to be a doting, perfect father figure. There are definitely writers who take it way too far like Tom King’s obsession with Bruce torturing the Robins and only caring about Selina. Or writers who portray him as not caring about Jason or even hating him when Jason’s death literally was the most impactful in his life other than his parents.

But Bruce is often far from an ideal father-figure even when he’s well-written and in character especially to Dick and Jason, I would argue he really wasn’t even that fatherly to them - he treated them more like his bros because Bruce is a case of arrested development, he was not much more mature than Dick and Jason until Jason’s death forced him to grow up and reevaluate. Exploring Bruce’s complexity and greyness in context of how his actions affect those around him doesn’t make someone a bad fan, it’s in fact more based in the text that the overly fluffy big happy bat family (which is again fine to enjoy, but I’m sick of the superiority complex like anyone who likes anything darker and more complex than that is not “pure” 🙄).

And as for the “incest” ship shaming. Even setting aside that it’s fiction and fictional incest has no impact on real incestous abuse. The “Batfam” overall isn’t equatable to a real life adoptive family except in fanon and some recent comics, it’s a complex found family where each characters have unique relationships with each other (many of which don’t resemble actual family relationships). Batman and Robin were not father-son in comics until recently, in fact they were an important queer symbol for older queer folks and a lot of queer people aren’t happy with them being turned into a father-son dynamic and suddenly demonizing a classic queer ship as “perverted” and “predatory”. Dick and Jason and Tim didn’t grow up together as siblings and again whether they even see Bruce as a “dad” varies a lot. Tim doesn’t consider Bruce his actual dad and neither does Barbara because they have dads already. He’s a mentor figure at most, not their parent. It’s one fanon interpretation that every single one of them sees Bruce as a literal father and each other as literal siblings, there are many other valid interpretations of these relationships and it’s annoying when one fanon view takes over to the point where anyone who sees characters with countless interpretations differently is labeled and excluded.

[robinwinggrayson]

[robinwinggrayson]

Nightwing 108 variant cover by Dan Mora

[robinwinggrayson]

Bruce told Dick that he’d not only be a JL member one day, but that he’d lead the team because he’s the best.

That said, there’s something very “take-your-child-to-work day” about teenage Robin’s involvement with the JL and now I head-cannon all of it has another gauntlet from Batman that Dick/Robin passes with flying colors.

[robinwinggrayson]

I know the world hates Gotham War and shit but can we take a sec to appreciate Damian’s reaction to his father waking up from a coma? I legit lol’d.

[robinwinggrayson]

"If you tell me that you're proud of me, I'm going to own Tim a hundred bucks." I'M LOSING IT just imagining Tim sidling up to Dick before Bruce shows up, ".....hundred bucks says he's proud of you by the end of the speech. .................five hundred says he cries and hugs you." while Dick is like "............................you're on." (Tim probably refuses to pay up afterwards because "You stopped him before he could say anything! He totally would have! I'm not paying you anything." "Show me where it says that in the rules, Tim, that I can't step in and cut him off. Show me where it says that in the rules." and argue about it for ten straight minutes before Jason tells them OH MY GOD SHUT UP ALREADY.) ANYWAY, OF COURSE THOSE HORRIBLE LITTLE GREMLIN CHILDREN OF BRUCE'S WOULD BET ON THE LEVEL OF EMOTIONAL CONSTIPATION HE HAS IN ANY IMPORTANT CONVERSATION, THEY ARE AWFUL, AWFUL CHILDREN.

[robinwinggrayson]

changed my mind. roy IS jasons best friend (was nice to him once 10 years ago and jason doesnt have any other friends so roy ranks #1) and roy does not remember jasons name half the time

[robinwinggrayson]

Dick throwing hands in “The Batman” animated series? That IS Dick Grayson. Intelligent, computer-savy Dick in YJ? That IS Dick Grayson. Dick being sassy and handling business in almost everything else? That IS Dick Grayson.

Jason Todd doesn’t own anger.

Tim Drake doesn’t own intelligence.

Damian Wayne doesn’t own trauma or fighting skills.

Dick Grayson has been around for decades, longer than any other batfam member besides Bruce and maybe Alfred. He’s been around long enough that nothing is truly canonically out of character for him (to an extent, for better or for worse).

I’m not trying to dictate head canons but it’d be nice if batfam content across SM wasn’t flooded with comments about how a show of toughness from Dick is actually more like so-and-so or how Dick being a good spy/detective is more like so-and-so. Especially when I’m a fan of so-and-so and I don’t enjoy tearing other characters down to lift my fave up.

This rant is brought to you by the dumbest comment section I’ve ever seen on the clock app.

[robinwinggrayson]

Bruce can’t let go of Dick, Dick thinks it’s because he doesn’t trust him. Instead of talking about it, Bruce dramatically jumps off (let’s go of) a falling beam to prove that he does. Can’t believe people actually want them to go to therapy.

Nightwing: Rise of Raptor

[robinwinggrayson]

I love that we all have beef with Dick in Batman vs Robin

[robinwinggrayson]

Dick Grayson flying with Clark, Kara, and Jon.

[robinwinggrayson]

[robinwinggrayson]

Bruce loving and supporting Dick hours

[robinwinggrayson]

dick gets to be a fully actualized character who is actually shitty to his siblings sometimes and struggles to forgive them or understand them and wants to live his own damned life and focus on himself for once

he gets to be bossy and controlling and use their trust in him against them when he’s angry because he’s not perfect

he gets to get overprotective of Bruce and think that the others don’t understand him like he does. he gets to scoff when they say Bruce is a certain way because no, he’s not. you don’t know him like i know him.

he gets to defend them and hold down his loyalty and love to them with his teeth to anyone and everyone (including Bruce) and then say the meanest thing they’ve ever heard in their lives to their faces.

he gets to make mistakes and not apologize, because it would just be too awkward to bring it up again. he gets to reflect his father’s worst and best traits, and be all his own.

he gets to be a good brother. and a bad brother. and be loved all the same

[robinwinggrayson]

Batman’s got jokes.

Their relationship in this run (so far) is everything.

[robinwinggrayson]

Remember that time in Young Justice when Dick trusted Tim to lead a team for the first time and he handled shit like a boss but a building blew up and the ENTIRE damn Justice League appeared from the ether to stoically stare at him and stress him out but then Dick zoomed in and was proud and Tim was happy?

I do. Such a small moment but said a lot about their relationship.