Originally Posted by
Arctic Cyclist
The first issue of Robin: SOB revealed that the iPod was a spying/communication device of either Ra's or Talia. Which answers one of the questions brought up by the long forsaken but still the best Damian tumblr @deconstructingdamian of where it came from and who gave it to him. Although Damian clearly didn't know that, given his reaction to Ravi talking on it, and I suspected it was Talia not Ra's as she's much more likely to take advantage of the lack of communication between the bats and drop of a small present knowing that Alfred, Bruce, and Dick all would assume the other got it for him, or maybe even Tim.
Oddly enough, the lack of his practicing his art, music, and theater doesn't bother me like it should because it explains his attitude and behavior regression. Way back in September @irene asked me if I thought Damian's mental health was better than Bruce's despite his past, and the answer was yes because of his nonviolent creative pursuits. His explanation to Carrie about why he wanted to get into theater is actually one of the reasons listed by the American VA and various young offenders rehabilitation programs as why acting and staging productions are highly effective treatments for C-PTSD. Creating art, be it music, crafting, painting, or sculpture is widely regarded as one of the best and most effective ways to work through and recover from traumatic experiences, particularly combat. So his not doing any of those things correlates with his going down a dark path and making terrible decisions in response to Metal, No Justice, and the cluster of emotional abuse and neglect that is King's Batman direction.
The iPod, though, that was some impressive long range story planning on the parts of Tomasi and Gleason.