#like saying 'damian cuts tim's line' doesn't really explain why that happens or what it actually means to either character
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casscainmainly · 3 months ago
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When discussing Batfam relationships, there's a tendency to focus on out-of-context 'events'. For example, when discussing Tim and Dick, many people bring up the 'giving away Robin' event without talking about their reconciliation immediately after or their lengthy history of love and brotherhood. Same goes for Tim and Damian; they are almost entirely defined by the early events of their relationship (namely the dinosaur murder attempt and the line-cutting), rather than their more amicable interactions later on, or their nuanced and complicated feelings for each other.
This is possibly why people want Cass and Jason to get along - there's no 'event' to make them dislike each other, so people don't think too hard about whether they would actually be good companions. On the flip side, many people use Batgirl (2008) to say Cass and Dick don't get along, without discussing their reconciliation in Batman and the Outsiders + evidence of their camaraderie elsewhere. (Also ignoring that 2008 is deliberately OOC for Dick).
This is completely understandable. Events are often glossed over in canon, so some of this behaviour stems from desiring a bigger unpacking of certain moments. Also, nobody has read every comic in existence, and of course you'd base your dynamics on what you have read.
However, I think it's important to remember that events don't exist in isolation, and relationships are defined not only by events but by how people interpret and learn from them. Singular events rarely define entire relationships. Personalities, belief systems, and relationships to others affect how events are viewed (case in point: to Tim, the line-cutting is more of an excuse to beat Damian into the ground, rather than a threat to his life. Damian is way more affected by the hit list than Tim is by the line-cutting).
Events definitely have a place in relationships, and I make headcanons based on singular events all the time. But including context, consequences, personalities, and perspectives into discussions makes for richer and more meaningful interpretations.
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