Comment on The Year Of Wishful Thinking

  1. FrillyHeathen Sun 18 Feb 2024 12:56AM UTC

    Knowing that I wouldn't remember everything I wanted to comment while reading, I made an obnoxiously long list of bullet points. Here are the highlights:

    I've never had anything make me love the Bruce/Selina dynamic like this

    Love the vibes of how everyone hopes Bruce can keep up his resolution, but they still express heavy skepticism

    Alfred worrying about not being a good caretaker paralleling Bruce's own concerns is just *chef's kiss*

    The switch from Steph calling him Bruce to calling him Batman on March 5th? Devastating

    Bruce being in a constant state of, "I don't know what I did wrong" is relatable in the most painful as someone who was a very pragmatically challenged child

    Sobbing at the image of adult Bruce wrapping himself in the quilt in Alfred's bedroom.

    Lot of time spent yelling at the screen for Bruce to STOP and TAKE A BREATH and REASSESS

    *George Costanza voice* The rag doll got to me

    I cried real human tears in the real world from this

    "How unexpected the wat the things you lose make their way back to you" almost caused me to cry real human tears in the real world again

    Duke "I didn't use to be so angry all the time" Thomas has driven a knife straight through my soft, malleable heart

    Duke "This is absolutely how my parents played it" Thomas is an icon and a hero

    Of course, there are so many other things I could say. I think one of the aspects I appreciated the most is that Alfred was only human, despite the way that we like to laud him as a perfect saint. One of the most painful parts of growing up is realizing that your parents aren't perfect and they can't always be what you need them to be; Alfred couldn't or didn't always provide what Bruce needed, and that lack is made all the more painful by the fact that Alfred is dead and that lack can never be filled. And how that ties into Bruce realizing that he doesn't need to be perfect in order to still be a positive and vital figure in his children's lives has me almost crying real human tears in the real world again.

    Loved the Bruce + Steph bonding, the Golden Trio friendship, the way all the kids got to have their own moments, and the way that the fic ultimately weaves a picture of hope and human resilience. Also I laughed real human laughter in the real world more than once.

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    1. waterunderthebridge12 Sun 18 Feb 2024 02:07AM UTC

      This comment is kind of a masterpiece in itself like you really nailed what I was going for!! Duke Thomas is absolutely an icon who deserves the whole world <333. And I've always been interested in how the inadequacies of Alfred's parenting (distant, helper more than father) directly leads to Bruce's overcompensation (in some ways Bruce is TOO close to his kids, too involved). Everyone's a complicated mess and but they deserve so much love!! Thanks for your comments as usual :))).

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