#and also limbo is a fuckin bop

[aplpaca]

head in my fucking hands my top played thing was a fuckin 2012 daddy yankee song

[dilfdoctordoom]

I've been compiling my thoughts on your response to my initial message about Babs' disability, because like you said it's a pretty complex issue(also I had no idea until now that the ask system ceased to limit one's message length!):

I've seen folks point out how it's come off as 'unrealistic' to them that Babs remained in a wheelchair pre-N52 when she lived in a universe filled with crazily advanced tech(I don't wanna include magic too since that somehow seems like more of a copout to me), with some of that actively applied to certain characters, like Cyborg. I mean, I remember the one issue of BOP where Babs gets her walking back temporarily & she's ecstatic about it, so what *is* stopping her? I've sometimes wondered why Wonder Woman doesn't lend the use of the "Purple Healing Ray" to Babs, since IIRC they were friends during her Oracle days? I've seen people suggest maybe because it could shorten human lifespans while curing ailments/injuries, though Idk if it's ever been explained that way in canon, while I also don't know for sure if Wonder Woman has shared it with Man's World for that same purpose. I gotta read more DC comics to catch up.

I don't usually ponder this side of the topic heavily because like how I just suggested, there is likely a number of valid workarounds to these sorts of questions, because what really mattered was the profound message it sent to readers seeing Babs become Oracle. Personally, the only big reason I think about this now is because I originally knew Babs best from the DCAU, so seeing the events of TKJ play out for Babs always seemed particularly rough to me =P I get that it's Moore's writing style, ala Watchmen, but jeez that's Barbara Gordon!(It's weird to think how if that comic wasn't written or at least made canon, where would Babs have ended up? She'd given up being Batgirl at that point after all) What if it was further down the in-universe timeline when Babs would get a hold of a recovery method, like the Batman Beyond period? It might be more expected that med-tech would advance enough for that, since we also get skycars and a Batsuit that can do basically anything. Would that be any different? I'm mostly just letting my thoughts wander.

Going under the cut for this.

Barbara Gordon is a fictional character. Barbara Gordon has no real autonomy; she does not have wants or desires. Any thoughts or feelings she does have are given to her by writers and artists that work on her character. It's critical to establish that first -- Babs is an excellent character, but she is still just a character.

I remember the one issue of BOP where Babs gets her walking back temporarily & she's ecstatic about it, so what *is* stopping her?

A better question: why does she need to get her walking back? We've had about a decade that proves it certainly doesn't help her character. Babs doesn't exist and when writers erase her disability 'because she's happier', the message for disabled people is this: being disabled = unhappiness. Everything done with this character has an intent behind it. There is a message to all these stories.

There was a message to Oracle. There was a message to Barbara fuckin' Gordon coming back from fridging (I've seen the debate on if TKJ was fridging -- it was, by definition. 'The killing, assault or maiming of a female character to forward a man's pain', that was what happened to Babs and the intent of the story was to fridge her). There was a message to her staying disabled and be an active, respected and beloved hero.

And like there are messages there, there are also messages in erasing that disability. Asking 'what's stopping her [from not being disabled]?' is missing the point entirely. Comparing her to Cyborg is also... very much not okay. I believe I mentioned it before in the last ask on the topic, but disabled people are not a monolith and Victor Stone is also disabled.

What's stopping her? According to DC, absolutely nothing... and we've all seen how ableist that story is. There is absolutely no reason that we can't have a disabled superhero. Out of universe reasons don't apply. That's something I want to stress: you cannot apply the reasons of a real person onto a fictional character to justify ableism.

Another important thing to note, that often gets cast aside: if it weren't for Oracle appearing in Suicide Squad, Barbara Gordon would've been forgotten. Like, let's be real -- DC's reaction to the character being shot and maimed was, verbatim, "shoot the bitch". Babs was going to fade away into obscurity. The only reason Babs didn't is that Ostrander and Co refused to let it happen. I know people love to stress how important Barbara was as Batgirl before TKJ happened... she was not important in the eyes of DC. To them, she had had her time and what happened in the TKJ, and the subsequent lapse in her appearances afterwards, were all more than acceptable.

Where would Babs have ended up? Comics limbo, if she was lucky. A cautionary tale. An eternally tragic figure. The list goes on and never goes anywhere good.

[parkiiinson]

music tag !!!

i keep saying i’m not dead but tbh i am lmao

tagged by @pickachujoonie

rules: list 10 artists you like before answering these questions (in no order)

mxmtoon

bts

frumhere

vague003

limbo

blackpink

la femme

red velvet

billie eilish

the pierces

what was the first song you heard by 6?

the fuckin queen, playing with fire.

what is your favourite song by 8?

russian roulette is !!!!!

what kind of impact has 1 left on your life?

i’m calmer and more motivated tbh, idk why, her music makes me feel like i can do what i need to get done.

what are your favourite lyrics by 5?

“i think that maybe i'm tired. i think that maybe you're tired. i think that maybe we're tired. we're just tired. we're still tired.”

how many times have you seen 4 live?

none, rip my soul :(

what is your favourite song by 7?

le vide est ton nouveau prénom (eng trans: emptiness is your new name || idk i googled it lmao i’m good at french yet).

is there any song by 3 that makes you sad?

missed calls pt. 2

what is your favourite song by 9?

party favor also when is billie releasing some new bops pls the gays are waiting.

how did you first get into 2?

i started watching this reality show called roommate because my friend told me too, and i got into exo from chanyeol then got into bts from an exo mutual.

how did you get into 10?

they made the pretty little liars theme song and that whole album is a bunch of bops.

tagging: @softpluto @ilovemyfriendalexa @exoverdosed