#and for all that time--almost immediately post crisis--he was The Dead Robin

[cleromancy]

"why does jason have a white streak when other characters who die or use the lazarus pit dont 🤔" bc its a visual representation of how death and resurrection changed him in a way it didnt for the others you chud

[cleromancy]

ive said this before but my gut reaction to reading the scene in batman 422 pictured below for the first time

was "oh, shit. Jason's thinking about his *dad*"

and i mean it wouldn't have to be Willis, yknow, it could have been any older man hurting women jason cared about, but looking at that, the abusive willis headcanoning and later explicit retcon didn't come out of nowhere. (and it also doesn't negate that jason loved him anyway and was furious with twoface for killing him (batman 411, it comes up again in detective comics like almost immediately before DitF but idr the issue # off the top of my head). like, kids love their abusive parents way more often than they don't, idk what to tell you. people actually do love their abusers most of the time man its this whole thing.)(<- this is directed not at the other people on this post but rather some chuckleheads who made posts insisting that willis must not have been abusive bc jason cared about him. lmao. please be serious!!)

and i Promise that we can talk about jason and class stereotypes and how poorly hes been handled at various points, i promise we can talk about that without insisting that He Can Never Have Been Abused Actually. bare minimum he was the primary caretaker for catherine while she was dying to the point that he had to drop out of 5th grade to do it (batman 410). BARE MINIMUM jason had no idea willis was dead and he ASSUMED that willis was back in prison and had never bothered to tell jason or catherine about it (batman 408). like in the end his parents were imperfect bc all parents are imperfect, doubly so if theyre going through hellish circumstances like extreme poverty, incarceration, terminal illness and/or addiction... people are just really allergic to nuance and its so frustrating lmao. anyway.

all this just to say like. going all the way back to post-crisis jasons original tenure as robin theres the basis for a lot of this and people trying to insist that either 1) its not there at all or 2) its inherently Bad to explore jasons parents being imperfect, or deeply flawed, or god forbid even actively abusive... is goofy. it is goofy to insist on this. there is no one single correct reading of any fiction, comics and transformative works in particular have a built-in "what if" allowance, you can do whatever you want forever, etc etc. send tweet.

I saw a post going around about how Catherine and Willis Todd being bad parents was retconned in, and how that means we shouldn't talk about them or portray them in that light.

And I'm not going to wade into someone's post and start shit but that sentiment really bothers me. I'm a child abuse survivor, and this kind of lack of nuance and dictating to other fans and fan creators how to interact with a canon as complex and changing as comics just sits wrong.

To me, Jason is most compelling as an abuse survivor. He reads so clearly to me as a character not just with some issues, but with really core, developmental relational wounds. There is a deep grief to him that is really ripe for good story telling and interesting character interactions.

And some of us, hate to break it to you, had shit parents. Some of us were abused. Some of our parents were good people who were really bad at being parents, some of them were just honestly kind of awful all the way down. In saying "well so and so was good in the original version of the story so other readings are invalid", we're cutting off a lot of really interesting and compelling stories that reflect lived experiences of others. And when it comes to fan creations, we're diminishing some really fantastic work.

And this idea that portraying Catherine as an addict who died of an overdose directly equates to her being bad person? That's your own bias talking. Addiction is not a moral failing.

We should continue to explore these different aspects of Jason's story and characterization. We can talk the different facets of his canon backstory and how they're in conflict with one another, and the different effects they have on how Jason's story and characterization work, without being all weird about abuse and addiction.

[littledead-ridinghood]

This is part two of Jason crying over Bruce, but this time centering around his childhood. To note: All but one of these Jason's crying moments here are in relation to Bruce rather than Bruce actively going out of his way to make Jason miserable, but isn't that part of the parent-child relationship experience? adjacently fucking up your kid emotionally?

[part 1]

-----

Starting off strong with Jason's pre-crisis adoption arc! This is the arc where we get Bruce saying he'd literally give up all his possessions and money to be able to keep Jason around when he and Natalia are going full divorce parental rights mode over the boy. So, Jason's been put in an orphanage for the time being as the whole legal side gets sorted out and both he and Bruce are heartbroken. Jason spends a lot of time crying and being morose over the fact in the orphanage (panel one: being taken away. Panel two: no tears, but he misses Bruce a lot. Panel three: Jason's covering up the fact that he is crying) Wild arc. Bruce almost throws hands in a court of law. Jason is very unsure of his place in people's lives, is kinda shy & sensitive, and even has a slight stutter to match his apprehensiveness at times, but he loves being with bruce and calls the manor home. Also interesting to note, this arc comes in two halves. The introduction of Nocturna then a break where Jason becomes robin to which we then fall back immediately into Natalia now including a complicated custody battle.

this isn't a crying photo, but it's important to me. In this arc we're also given this panel of Bruce and Jason hugging and look at their size difference :( baby :( makes me think about, if comics wanted to hurt me more, how when bruce hears Jason's voice he naturally looks down sometimes instead of remembering that they're almost at eye level AND HE CALLS HIM HIS SOOOOONNNNN AND DC ACKNOWLEDGES ADOPTED PARENT_CHILD RELATIONSHIPS THST:S HID FATHER whhhhyhyhhyhyhyyyy sorry that got away me, way too much pathos, but also, come on!

Moving on to more robin days, still pre-crisis, but it's that weird mix of turning into post-crisis, it's almost right on the line, we have Jason breaking down in tears over fear toxin which makes him see hallucinations of Bruce yelling at him about how "Jason failed him". It's So Sad that in this story Bruce's greatest fear (which he used to overpower the fear toxin) is Jason dying and Jason's greatest fear is failing Bruce and then both ended up playing out in comics years later (Jason dying and Bruce believing Jason is a "failure" Bat's words, not mine). lots of feelings over it. See, what modern writers try to do today with Jason's robin years will never live up to the OG. What I mean by that is the entirety of Jason's pre and post-crisis run is soooooo foreboding and Jason has a lot of near-death experiences (usually due to Bruce's own short sightings that modern writers try to emulate through the trope that Jason isn't good enough to be Robin). What makes it so heart-sinking-to-your gut in his OG run is that in these comics, the idea for Jason to die, isn't an actual idea yet. And, now, looking back, it's this sickening accidental foreshadowing that modern writers lay on too thick, too "obviously he's going to die:/" when No, He Wasn't. Here: it's not an idea; Nowadays, it's the actual canon therefore it doesn't have the same effect as we already know the tragedy. It interferes with modern stories as they focus too much on his demise rather than his character.

here's one of Jason's near-death experiences. This is the arc before we fully switch to post-crisis!Jay. Bruce accidentally contributes to shooting Jason, in park row, a few blocks away from where they'll soon meet again once more by two stray gunshots.

No, Jason's not crying, but I think he would be if he wasn't half dead on the ground. Like the last part, this one's more implied. Anyway, the irony of Jason's almost dying in park row where Bruce's parents did by the same weapon, also to the chest, but this time the roles of parent and child are reversed though Bruce is still the only sole survivor *mwah* Art! Furthermore, the irony of Jason being reborn and rebirth in the alley mirroring his rise from the grave ~20 years later. Jason's entire existence can be encapsulated by full circles, foils, and parallels. I love it.

Moving on to older Jason! In Lost Days, Jason has a lot of breakdowns. He is very much not okay at all during the arc. Here, he's around 16 years old and this is after Talia's conversation with a catatonic!Jason where she tells him how Bruce misses him very much and loved nothing more than him and his older brother. It's an incredibly significant moment because the tear once again confirms that Jason is somewhat aware of his surroundings. Another moment would be when Jason fights all the League warriors but doesn't defend himself against Talia meaning he is aware of who he's fighting and has trust held for the woman. But, even then, he didn't have any emotional reaction to being slapped, he just took it without argument. The tear is significant because it's the first emotion Talia has seen this shell of Jason express, one of sadness, one over Bruce. Even in this state of a waking coma, Jason still has a deep love for Bruce and it hurts so much to hear that the man missing him.

Continuing the Lost Days theme! Jason has taken his swim in the pit and is coming to terms with all the missing time. The first two pictures are one right after each other where Jason finds out the Joker is still alive and Bruce continues the cycle of just putting the clown in jail

The third photo is of Jason having a mental breakdown on his way to Gotham over the fact that so many others died after him--He Was Dead--and it meant nothing, the joker was still killing

Jason's an angry crier! We see it here! We see it in UtRH! We even see it in the webtoon! It makes me think of that tumblr post, wet anger is terrible because it shows the other person that they got to you, and you cared--Still care. Shows you have a stake in the conversation, in the relationship, of what happened Really Fuckin' Mattered to you and Really Fuckin' Got to you. All of which links back to the sensitive side of Jason as well as how he tries to push down the fact that he cares for others and has a stake in the survival of the world (emphasized clearly in him saving the entirity of London and making sure the Arab students didn't get racially targeted and blamed even though Jason says he doesn't care about the world). Here though, it's the overwhelming emotion that he believed he mattered and Jay feels as though he's been sold a lie. He's angry. He's upset. He's hurt. He's miserable. He feels used.

Jason died when he was 15, was dead for 6 months and then was catatonic for another 1.5(this changes a lot bc sometimes he's catatonic on the street for 5-6 months, other times it's a year and then was catatonic in the league for another year). His last memory was of him dying, his next is his grave, and the third is the pit. For what takes over the span of 2.5 years for everyone else, happens to him in the time span of approximately 10 hours for him. Shockingly functionally for being whammed by some of three of the worst things to happen to him ever. And he still gets his throat slit soon after at the age 18 (I have the math written down somewhere, but canonically he came back to Gotham a couple months after his 18th, but even then he's technically 6 months younger than he should be due to 6 months dead and just know maybe the most streamline timelines aren't important and we should just read the stories without thought of precise age and time but I've never done it simple). damn. Someone, please ask him if he's okay. He's not. But it's the taking the time to care and ask that counts.

And, finally, to conclude Lost Days, Jason's reaction to Talia telling him that there's a new Robin.

What I've always found particularly obnoxious about how fandom treats Jason and Tim's relationship is how so many believe that Jason was absolutely seeing red, spitting blood when he found out there was a new robin, but really all he did was like...lay down and cry. That's kinda Jason's thing if you've gotten this far and haven't noticed. This also falls pretty in line with Jason's robin characterization. He's insecure about his role as both robin and Bruce's son. Even when Jason's 15, he fears he's always at risk of being replaced and being kicked out. When he finds out about Dick, Jason's first question is wondering if the older will want his role back. He never got the full support and help he need, no matter how much others did or didn't help, so when Jay's PTSD finally came knocking for its due, it's as if Jason never actually left the survival mode he lived in the entire time before Bruce. So hearing that Bruce "moved on" with a new robin, coming into the spotlight within six months of his passing (and Jason went through robin training, he knows how long it takes. He knows that that kid would've had to pop up within weeks of his murder (not to suggest Bruce wasn't hesitant about Tim going out so soon after Jason's passing), it solidifies that ever-present insecurity he's had his entire life that he's never been good enough for anything or anyone.

This one randomly hit me while writing meta, and I debated adding it because Jason isn't crying but Wow, is Bruce deliberately trying to be a dick. This one is a retcon with the age-old "You're not my dad" trope except, in a shocking twist, Absolutely shocking twist, the roles are reversed and *Bruce* says the "I'm not your father" line (something Jason has never said, mind you, towards any of the people he considers parental figures) (link here to my meta on that topic). I chose this image instead of the usual single panel because it's so much worse within the context it surrounds. When placed within its page, we, the readers, learn that this is one of the last conversations Bruce and Jason have before he runs off to Ethiopia to find his bio-mom. This is one of the last things Bruce ever tells Jason before the boy is murdered. Again, this is the retcon thing that I mentioned in the first part, these sorts of retcons don't make me feel bad for Bruce. This makes me feel bad for Jason. No wonder, after looking for a family for years, Jason would jump at the opportunity to have more. When the man he calls his father doesn't see himself as his father, Jason's desperation becomes palatable. The need to feel safe and wanted is overwhelming, especially with Jason's history of being rotated out for something "better" or "more important." Jason's relationship with Bruce is fundamentally different from all the other children because he started off by looking at Bruce as a father figure. And Jason constantly sees Bruce as Bruce first rather than Batman or compartmentalizing his own and other people's parts like Bruce does. Dick didn't want Bruce to be his father when he became his ward. This is important to their later years, when Bruce started acting like a parent, the two began to clash horribly. Tim wasn't an orphan when he became Robin and literally forged family members so he didn't have to be in relation to the Waynes. Steph would rather die than consider Bruce her dad. Cass was a grown woman compared to a child when she joined the bats. And Damian, DC believes Bruce and his father-son relationship is built in due to blood (that whole "I have one son" thing ugh). But, as seen in earlier panels, Jason did come into the manor looking for a father within Bruce (and Bruce, a son within Jason). You can ignore this retcon. Or you could not and read it as Jason being absolutely crushed at the thought that he found someone who wanted him as his kid only to hear he has been lied to this entire time. A la: like Shelia. A la: His worth lies in how well he is a "good solider"

obligatory elseworld: Once Again, Batman: White Knight! this time the original run, not the spin-off. This is the world where Bruce manages to "cure" the joker allowing him to go back to leaving as Jack Napier. The world's a little more realistic in the sense the joker's more a crazed fanboy who tortured Jason out of jealousy rather than a genocidal terrorist. On this Earth, he tortures Jason brutally in attempt to get him to reveal Bruce's identity. He's in pure misery. It's like a softer version of Arkham Knight where instead of being murdered, he is tortured (though here for substantially less time, a couple months as opposed to like 1.5-2 years in the arkhamverse), and instead of returning to the manor, Jason leaves Gotham. (It's later revealed Jason does actually go back to the manor, but he sees Bruce training the second robin (on this earth, he's the first) and feels utterly violated and replaced). So, here we have a crying Jason, tortured so thoroughly he's brought to tears over his relationship and involvement with Bruce that he reveals the bat's identity leading Jason to his freedom.

Anyway, Jason's overall character of Robin, OG run, retcons, and post-robin depictions, is characterized by heavy emotion, naivety, and hope. Personally, I feel Jaylovers would've been more lenient on DC's victim-blaming around Jason's murder if it did center more around his tendency to get overwhelmed in high-tension situations as well as how, throughout most of Jason's OG run, he is heavily portrayed as a lonely child desperate for love (his OG run says so itself. Again pulling from the introduction of Natalia arc, the narration box reads him "impatient for more love"). Though we know DC never would have done that as that makes Jason look too sympathetic. Saying "he died because he wanted to be loved" does not carry the message "he died because he was reckless" of which DC wants to re-write.

@tumblingxelian, I'm so happy you liked the last post and hope you enjoy this one too! If I've missed any panels* between Jason crying over Bruce within these two parts, please let me know, y'all. My "crying Jason" album, though extensive, is ever-growing. Again, these are just the crying in relation/because of Bruce panels sprinkled in with some of my "maybe Bruce shouldn't be a father" from my general "comic panels" album.

*I didn't add the Cheer panel because I refuse to acknowledge the story's existence I really don't agree with Jason's characterization within that story arc and believe how he got to the dream world situation is not based in his true character. The story fundamentally does not read like Jason as many aspects of, what I believe are, his core character traits are missing and I can't in good faith add a panel that reads like an OC (to *MY* interpretation of Jason). I also have a hunch that I did miss one panel from RHatO V1 when Jason's having his fever, literal acid dream, but I'm not sure. This realization is literally just hitting me now. I, for sure, missed a few BftC panels where Jason's having a mental breakdown over Dick showing him Bruce's will again. He's So Fucked up in that arc. And even though that arc doesn't read like Jason, the author admitted to wanting to write Jason as irredeemable as possible, as well as is one of the only confirmed (by the author) cases of pit mad!Jason, I say this with my chest, I like BftC better than Cheer because at least in BftC Jason is competent. Not to say I want that to be Jason's characterization, or even that I enjoy him written like that, but at least he despises the corrupt police force Bruce tries so hard to impress and that counts for something. I completely blanked on that arc and may do a follow-up part sometime in the coming weeks to see if I weed out any other panels matching the afformative guidelines.

[superman86to99]

Adventures of Superman #506 (November 1993)

Superman vs. Superboy! I mean, vs. Superman, since the Kid still insists that Superboy is definitely NOT his name and never will be. The two Supermen meet while the younger, radder one is dealing with some sort of deformed flying babies that are trying to kill him, which is the sort of thing that happens to you when you wear an “S” emblem on your chest.

These turn out to be deformed flying babies THAT EXPLODE, but the Kid is able to push them away with his (very non-Superman-esque) telekinesis powers. He then deduces that these things must have come out of Project Cadmus, the top secret genetic experimentation facility that created him, and brushes off the elder Superman to get back at those geeks by doing what he does best: being a brat on live TV.

So I guess the “top secret” part of Cadmus’ description is no longer accurate, thanks to the Kid. On the other hand, I kinda feel like the people of Metropolis deserved to know that there's a nearby government facility churning out genetic atrocities into their sewers.

The Cadmus gang sends Guardian to bring their wayward creation home so they can talk to him. Obviously the Kid isn't very interested, and for a while it looks like we might get the fight scene teased in the cover, but then Superman the First convinces Superman the Second that he should at least hear them out. And, while at it, ask Cadmus to tell him exactly what the hell he is. If he’s Superman’s clone, why does he have those weird TK powers? The Kid agrees, but... he doesn't like the answers he gets.

The Kid finds out that he's NOT a clone of Superman since, as established a while back, Kryptonians are damn hard to clone. So, since Cadmus was determined to create a new Superman after the original appeared to be dead, they instead took a clone of a regular, non-super man and genetically modified it to approximate Superman's powers (for instance, translating Superman’s “aura” into a telekinetic field). But who was that human DNA donor? Surely it was someone good and cool!

Just after the Kid wonders that, the quite evil and deeply uncool Director Westfield bursts into the lab and demands that this "super-punk" be taken into custody, probably so they can flush him down the toilet like Cadmus' other failed experiments. Superman makes Westfield see that making Cadmus' whistleblower disappear wouldn't look very good right now, but they can't just let him run around unsupervised. So, at Guardian's recommendation, the esteemed telepath Dubbilex is assigned to follow the Kid wherever he goes. I smell a sitcom! (Or a spin-off comic.)

As a last order of business, the Kid decides to give Superman his trademark to the Superman name, which his manager Rex Leech doesn't take too well. So what are they gonna call this teenage “S” emblem-wearing hero now? Superman has an interesting suggestion: SUPERBOY. Our young friend still isn't a fan.

But after storming out and thinking about it for a couple of pages (and trying out the name on some guys robbing a jewelry shop), the Kid realizes he's "earned" the title of Superboy and accepts it. Character development! And just in time for his solo series. ("That Non-Superman Clone Who Also Calls Himself Superman" wouldn't look good on a cover.)

Plotline-Watch:

The final page shows a shadowy figure shaped like the recently introduced Bloodthirst outfitting someone with a weapon-teleporting gizmo, then calling him "Bloodsport"... except that this dude is quite paler than the Bloodsport we met way back in Superman #4 (in an issue inked by current writer Karl Kesel, so you'd think he'd remember the character). This looks nothing like Idris Elba! What gives?!

Superboy is still bummed out because his friend Tana Moon left Metropolis without telling him where she was going, which is now known as "ghosting". In the end, Rex talks about sending Superboy on a promotional tour to establish his new brand, and the first destination of that tour will be... exactly where Tana went to hide from Superboy. This is now known as "time to get a restraining order."

Clark Kent is slowly morphing into a hipster the longer he rooms with Jimmy Olsen. For a long time I assumed all the bands listed in the panel below were made up, but turns out the only non-existing ones are “James Rock” and "Axel Rose". Luckily, Superboy was happy to give Clark's old apartment back to him (apparently only Pulitzer-winning journalists can afford it), so Jimmy won't hipsterize him for much longer.

Westfield gladly assigns Dubbilex to Superboy because it means there won't be a telepath at Cadmus to read his thoughts and find out about his evil plans (like sending the ugly flying babies after Superboy). Very clever, Westfield! Except for the fact that he thought that right in front of Dubbilex, who clearly "heard" the whole thing.

Incidentally, there's an apparent error in this issue when Superboy thinks "They won't take me without a fight!" and Guardian shows up and says "That's too bad, son. Because I don't want to fight you." How did Guardian know what Superboy was thinking? Obviously, Dubbilex patched Guardian through to Superboy's mind to assist in finding him. Now where's my damn Baldy Award?!

Is it me or is this page reminiscent of the cover to Superboy Prime's first appearance during Crisis on Infinite Earths?

Patreon-Watch:

Special thanks to your Patreon pals Aaron, Murray Qualie, Chris “Ace” Hendrix, britneyspearsatemyshorts, Patrick D. Ryall, and Samuel Doran, and welcome aboard to Bheki Latha (our first $6.50 patron ever!), Mark Syp, and Ryan Bush! You are all excellent. This month they got to read a long-ass post entitled 45 Things I Learned by Reading the “Death of Superman” Novel (Part 1), in which I talked about the stuff Roger Stern added to the canon in the first part of the Death and Life of Superman book. This includes Superman’s private thoughts on the JLI (and Guy Gardner in particular), what Lex Jr. calls Supergirl in bed, and Professor Hamilton getting romantic. Find out more at https://www.patreon.com/superman86to99

But now: the Don Sparrow show! Take it away, Don.

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow​):

The end of an era, at least temporarily, as Tom Grummett draws his last Adventures of Superman issue, moving onto Superboy (and I think still doing Robin at this time?) with Karl Kesel.  He’ll return for the quarterly Superman: Man of Tomorrow and other things, but it’s a long gap until he does.

A pretty good cover, with Superman and Superboy about to tussle.   Though it can be seen as cheaping out on the backgrounds, I always love radial rays as an effect.  

Inside the issue, we have a great splash page of Superboy getting attacked by botched clones, and I love the gesture here—having his head snapping away from the camera adds to the motion and action.  Great stuff. 

Though he won’t be drawing her again for a while, Grummett excels at the new, shorter-haired Lois in these pages.  Superman soaring to the skies is a great panel as well, and I especially like the way his cape and fist slightly break the panel barrier, giving it a sense of motion, again.

The sequence of Guardian acrobatically flipping from one ledge to another is very well drawn.  Ditto the splash on page 13, where Superboy loses his temper.  The body language in this whole sequence tells the story very well, as Superman is calm and patient, confident in his ability not only to reach Superboy with his words, but also withstand him physically.  

The way Superboy snaps the carpet, but controls it mentally with his Tactile Telekinesis is a great example of his unique powers in use.  It reminds me of a technique they tried on the CW Supergirl show (but almost immediately abandoned) where they made like the Kryptonian fabric of their capes was like “smart fabric” and could be used as a weapon.  

Lastly, the dreamy, child-like expression on Superboy’s face during the Peter Pan exchange is wonderful, and a fitting end for Tom’s run on the book. [Max: You mean the William Shatner exchange, Don.]

STRAY OBSERVATIONS:

I almost never like it when they reference pop culture stuff in Superman comics, particularly music.  Karl Kesel isn’t the worst offender in that department (that would be JM DeMatties a few years down the line, who had Clark Kent bizarrely asserting he loved the Beastie Boys) but Clark’s discussion with Jimmy about an apparently fictional musician working with a rolodex of early nineties names makes me cringe (as does trying to imagine how awful a “Hip Hop Lyle Lovett” or “Grunge Frank Sinatra” would sound).

The car poster on the wall of Jimmy’s bachelor pad looks for all the world like Robin’s Redbird, also a Tom Grummett creation.  (Fun fact:  Tom once told me he still gets {very small} royalty cheques from the Batman & Robin movie, because Robin’s motorcycle was called the Redbird, though that might no longer be true with Paul Levitz no longer in charge of such matters.)

Superboy (in no less than his third time calling those pink creatures “spuds”) references John Candy and Joe Flaherty’s “Farm Film Celebrity Blow Up” where the guests would frequently “blow up real good” and it does my SCTV loving Canadian heart good.  

It’s interesting (and a little sad) that they again note that Superboy knows things (pop culture, etc) without ever having experienced it.  I feel like there’s a lot they could do with this concept.

This issue reads very much like the end of the Superboy “Reign” issues, as Superman is more of a secondary character to the kid.  All of it begs the question of why Superman, or Guardian put up with Cadmus.  Superman has said in previous issues that he has moral problems with how Cadmus treats life with their cloning experiments, and they’ve attacked him in the past (and also stole his corpse!) so other than the fact that it’s a launchpad for Superboy’s series, there’s really no reason any of these heroes should associate with Cadmus.  Especially Guardian, who comes off as little more than an errand boy here.  He wants to bring Superboy in, but won’t promise Superboy won’t be harmed or imprisoned?  

Nice to see Superboy return to his “Slammin’” catch phrase!

An interesting bit of foreshadowing when Superboy asks Big Words whose clone he is, and who immediately enters but Westfield. [Max: That’s right, Westfield! Not Luthor! Sorry, sorry.]

[mistermead]

Water under the Burrows Bonus: Pay It Forwards

Water is the foundation of our society, and of every society.

About a year ago we started working on the script of Water under the Burrows. Soon it appeared that the project was rather more expansive than Judy is Dead had been, and the topic of opening a Patreon came up. We decided against it, as I didn’t want to feel that in some sense I was selling a product, and I certainly didn’t want to make some underhanded incentive to donate like putting material behind a paywall. And besides, we didn’t really need the money. A simpler (but probably less lucrative option) was to just make a tip jar of some sort, so I just opened a Ko-fi account and let people chip in if they felt like it. 

From early on we decided to donate any raised funds to some suitable cause, and I decided that a charity working to expand access to drinking water in arid areas would be fitting, considering the narrative framing around “water”. However, with the unfolding disaster in the Caribbean it seems more auspicious to pick a charity active in that area.

Hurricane Maria was the second category 5 storm of the pacific hurricane season this year, making landfall on sept. 18th and carving a swathe of devastation across the Caribbean islands, many of which were still reeling after damage from hurricane Irma just weeks prior. Infrastructure in many of these regions was already is disrepair before the hurricanes hit, compounding an unfolding humanitarian crisis. Millions of people are now without power, shelter and vitally, clean water. 

Waves for Water is an nonprofit that, in their words, works “to provide access to clean water through the distribution of portable water filters, the digging and renovating of wells, and the construction of rainwater harvesting and storing systems in places where groundwater is not accessible.” The first phase of their emergency response to Irma and Maria involves distributing water filtration systems that each can filter up to 1 million gallons of water. Bottled water serves an immediate and necessary need, but as the old adage goes, “give a man a bottle of water and he drinks for a day, give him a water filtration device and he drinks for 5 years.”

Being a minor group, W4W hasn’t been rated by most big charity watchdogs like CharityWatch or BBB Wise Giving Alliance. For this reason I was skeptical to pick them as the recipient of the money, but they do enjoy a “gold” rating with GuideStar(which to be fair, isn’t a watchdog per se) for their commitment to transparency, and in the end their design philosophy of focusing on low-tech but sustainable and long-term solutions was what won me over. 

Do you agree? Or would you have chosen differently? Please let me know your thoughts on the matter. It’s funny how an animated movie about talking animals made this possible. Did any of you find inspiration in Nick and Judy’s example and worked to better yourself and your society? Please reblog with your stories, I’d love to read them. 

I for one can’t express my gratitude enough to everyone that helped us raise almost a thousand dollars... but I can sure try! Therefore, I extend a big thank you to each and every one of those that donated - literally - under the cut:

Anonymous - my very first donation was from anon, thank you so much! Mustang - Thank you so much for your generous donation! TaMarmot -  Thank you so much, it’s very appreciated!    huebris -  I have a lot to say but the abridged version is - Thanks! Shak - Thank you for each of the donations! Quilly - Thank you! Red Velvet Panda - Thanks, Panda! Bimpy the Wimpy Shrimpy - Thanks, Bimpy! How anybody can get any sleep nowadays is beyond me! Claudia - Thanks for the coffee! Karteufel - Thanks for the coffees! I appreciate it every time! Dogsport - Much appreciated! Alexandre Landsec - Thank you for all that you do! Jihwan Lee - Thanks muchly! Keep making that good music! pyrophoricitee - iyts a cip n ko-fi Nathan P - No, YOU rock! stevegallacci - a big thank you! And yes I have seen your work, keep it up! Kazookie - Thanks, Kaz! And I appreciate YOU! Every time you did your part to keep me up in the wee hours of the night. Funzinnu - Thank you for your many donations, I hope you liked the story! Jan - Your kind words are more than enough for me Jan, thank you! Rene - 2! Thanks Rene! Mojo - Thanks mojo, I got the Touch! Okie - Thanks a lot! Zanrok - Thanks so much! Cary Reese - Thank you! Enny - Thanks for your donation! Karazu - Thanks for your support! Wessa140 - Thank you! I will! Stubat - Thank you! Sorry there weren’t many ‘yeens, hope you still liked it though! A bobcat - I LOVE donuts, how did you know?

Mayu Zane - Thank you! Kazookieslama - Thanks again Kaz! kei - Bravo to you kei! TargaryenTurtle - You and me both buddy! Nathan - Thank you, just watch this space! Ozy Lellowen - And I appreciate your donation Ozy! Harry Lime - HARRY YOU MADMAN, most of the good karma in this post is thanks to you! Kamiten - I’m keeping, I’m keeping! Funzinnu - Thanks again and again Funz! Always appreciate your words of support! Ztpia -  Stubat - Oh I’m sure the damage isn’t THAT bad! You got the whole paypal donation thing down at least, which I love you for! IronicSnap - The kudos is all thanks to you Ironic! PocketPaws - and I truly love your words <3 CombatEngineer - YOU are amazing! Yoshimon - So glad you liked it, I hope whatever comes next will be good as well! InTheLionsDenOnDA - Thank you for your kind words! I don’t know when but there’s definitely going to be another project coming up! JAK072 - I’m so happy! doubleSidedTape - Tomato! FrigidGlacier - 100 proof babay! Master-Lux - And a big thanks to YOU for donating, Lux! Daniel Côté - merci beaucoup! Robin -Two thank you’s for a great reader! Thank you and thank you!  Eh - And all the best to you too! Nukukun - Thank you so much! Johnsoneer - That’s high praise! Thank you! Axel Ember - You touch me with your kind words, thank you so much! Silver26 - Thank yoooou! Joel - Thank you! Lapine - Thank YOU! Apetzu - YOU are awesome! rva98014 - Thanks! You know, I almost called pop-pop “Thomas” in the epilogue, no idea where I got that notion from! And for all the other anonymous donors, a big thank you to each and every one of you as well! I hope I didn’t miss anyone.

[newstfionline]

Monday, March 29, 2021

Are we heading for a post-pandemic ‘Roaring 2020s,’ with parties and excess? (Washington Post) This has been a year of extreme social deprivation. But the pandemic—like all pandemics before it—eventually will end. Then what? Will we easily transition from isolation back into the real world? For most of us, the answer probably is yes, although it may take time to adapt, according to social scientists who study human behavior. “Social skills are like a muscle,” says Richard Slatcher, a professor of psychology at the University of Georgia who studies the effects of relationships on health and well-being. “If we are out of practice, it will take a while to get back on the social bike, if you will, and ride it again. It has now become second nature to keep your guard up. We’re habituated to this new normal, so it will take a while to return to the old normal.” Nevertheless, scientists predict that after many more Americans are vaccinated, society might resemble what followed in the aftermath of the 1918 influenza pandemic, a decade known as the Roaring Twenties, an age striking in its excesses. “It was the biggest street party of all time,” says Robin Dunbar, emeritus fellow, Magdalen College, and professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford. “People have been cooped up for a long period of time,” Slatcher says. “We could be living through the Roaring Twenties again—this time, the Roaring 2020s.”

Expelled from US at night, migrant families weigh next steps (AP) In one of Mexico’s most notorious cities for organized crime, migrants are expelled from the United States throughout the night, exhausted from the journey, disillusioned about not getting a chance to seek asylum and at a crossroads about where to go next. Marisela Ramirez, who was returned to Reynosa about 4 a.m. Thursday, brought her 14-year-old son and left five other children—one only 8 months old—in Guatemala because she couldn’t afford to pay smugglers more money. Now, facing another agonizing choice, she leaned toward sending her son across the border alone to settle with a sister in Missouri, aware that the United States is allowing unaccompanied children to pursue asylum. “We’re in God’s hands,” Ramirez, 30, said in a barren park with dying grass and a large gazebo in the center that serves as shelter for migrants. The decisions unfold amid what Border Patrol officials say is an extraordinarily high 30-day average of 5,000 daily encounters with migrants. Children traveling alone are allowed to remain in the U.S. to pursue asylum while nearly all single adults are expelled to Mexico under pandemic-era rules that deny them a chance to seek humanitarian protection. Reynosa, a city of 700,000 people, is where many migrants are returned after being expelled from Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings. The Border Patrol has said the vast majority of migrants are expelled to Mexico after less than two hours in the United States to limit the spread of COVID-19, which means many arrive when it’s dark.

Cubans stage caravan to protest U.S. trade embargo, sanctions (Reuters) Hundreds of Cubans took to Havana’s famous seaside drive on Sunday in a colorful caravan of cars, motorcycles and bicycles to demand the United States lift its 60-year-old embargo on the Caribbean island nation. The caravan was part of a weekend of small protests and caravans in more than 50 cities around the world, including in the United States, supported by local authorities in hopes of influencing the Biden administration to change U.S. policy and to counter a campaign by Cuban exiles to keep the embargo in place. Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration took more than 200 initiatives to tighten the decades-old trade embargo on Cuba over four years, citing concerns about a lack of democracy and Havana’s support for Venezuela’s socialist government. The tightening of the trade embargo under Trump, a Republican, has inflicted further pain on the communist-run island’s ailing state-controlled economy, contributing to worsening food and medicine shortages.

Paris doctors warn of catastrophic overload of virus cases (AP) Critical care doctors in Paris say surging coronavirus infections could soon overwhelm their ability to care for the sick in the French capital’s hospitals, possibly forcing them to choose which patients they have the resources to treat. The sobering warning was delivered Sunday in a newspaper opinion signed by 41 Paris-region doctors. Published by Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper, it comes as French President Emmanuel Macron has been vigorously defending his decision not to completely lockdown France again as he did last year. Since January, Macron’s government has instead imposed a nationwide overnight curfew and followed that with a grab-bag of other restrictions. But with infections soaring and hospitals increasingly running short of intensive care beds, doctors have been stepping up the pressure for a full French lockdown.

Pope, on Palm Sunday, says devil taking advantage of pandemic (Reuters) Pope Francis led Palm Sunday services in an almost empty St. Peter's Basilica because of coronavirus restrictions for the second consecutive year and said the devil is taking advantage of the pandemic. Italy is in the midst of another national lockdown, which is due to end after Easter. On Wednesday, the pope ordered cardinals and other clerics to take pay cuts to save the jobs of other employees. "The Devil is taking advantage of the crisis to sow distrust, desperation and discord," he said, adding that the pandemic had brought physical, psychological and spiritual suffering. Since he was elected in 2013, Francis has made clear that he believes the devil to be real, saying in a 2018 document that it was mistaken to consider him a myth. In both his homily during the Mass and his comments afterward, Francis aid the pandemic made it more important than ever to look after those in difficulty, the poor and the suffering.

Myanmar army launches air strikes in Karen state, group says (Reuters) Myanmar army fighter jets launched air strikes on Saturday on a village near the Thai border in territory controlled by an armed ethnic group, the group said, as fears grow of civil war following last month’s military coup. The Karen National Union (KNU), the armed ethnic group that controls the southeastern region, said fighter jets attacked Day Pu No in Papun district, an area held by its Brigade 5 forces, at around 8 p.m., forcing villagers to flee. “They bombed the area... The villagers from that area said two dead and two injured,” a spokesperson for civil society group Karen Peace Support Network said, adding that communication was difficult in the remote region and there could be more casualties. The reported air assault is the most significant attack for years in the region. The KNU had signed a ceasefire agreement in 2015 but tensions surged after the military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government on Feb.1. The KNU says it has been sheltering hundreds of people who have fled central Myanmar amid mounting violence in recent weeks.

Beijing enveloped in hazardous sandstorm, second time in two weeks (Reuters) The Chinese capital Beijing woke on Sunday morning shrouded in thick dust carrying extremely high levels of hazardous particles, as a second sandstorm in two weeks hit the city due to winds from drought-hit Mongolia and northwestern China. Visibility in the city was reduced, with the tops of some skyscrapers obscured by the sandstorm, and pedestrians were forced to cover their eyes as gusts of dust swept through the streets. Beijing might face more sandstorms in April due to the unfavorable weather this year, the meteorological office said.

Philippines sends fighter aircraft over Chinese vessels in South China Sea (Reuters) The Philippine military is sending light fighter aircraft to fly over hundreds of Chinese vessels in disputed waters in the South China Sea, its defence minister said, as he repeated his demand the flotilla be withdrawn immediately. International concern is growing over what the Philippines has described as a “swarming and threatening presence” of more than 200 Chinese vessels that Manila believes were manned by maritime militia. The boats were moored at the Whitsun Reef within Manila’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone. The Philippine military aircraft were sent daily to monitor the situation, Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a statement late on Saturday. Lorenzana said the military will also beef up its naval presence in the South China Sea to conduct “sovereignty patrols” and protect Filipino fishermen. The Chinese Embassy in Manila said the vessels at Whitsun Reef were fishing boats taking refuge from rough seas and that there were no militia aboard.

Church Suicide Bomber Targets Palm Sunday Service in Indonesia (AP) A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a packed Roman Catholic cathedral on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island during a Palm Sunday Mass, wounding at least twenty people, police said. A cellular video obtained by The Associated Press showed body parts scattered near a burning motorbike at the gates of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province. Wilhelmus Tulak, a Catholic priest who led the Mass when the bomb exploded at about 10:30 a.m., told reporters that a loud bang shocked his congregation who had just finished the service. Tulak said the church’s security guards suspected two motorists who wanted to enter the church. One of them detonated his explosives and died near the gate after being confronted by guards. Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, has been battling militants since bombings on the resort island of Bali in 2002 killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

Cargo ship remains stuck in Egypt’s Suez Canal for fifth day after effort to free it failed (CBS News) A giant container ship remained stuck sideways in Egypt’s Suez Canal for a fifth day Saturday, as authorities prepared to make new attempts to free the vessel and reopen a crucial east-west waterway for global shipping. The Ever Given’s owners say a gust of wind pushed it and its huge cargo of more than 20,000 shipping containers sideways in the canal on Tuesday, wedging it between the canal’s sandy banks. Plans were in the works to pump water from interior spaces of the vessel, and two more tugs should arrive by Sunday to join others already trying to move the massive ship. A maritime traffic jam grew to around 280 vessels Saturday outside the Suez Canal, according to canal service provider Leth Agencies. Some vessels began changing course and dozens of ships were still en route to the waterway, according to the data firm Refinitiv. Some 19,000 vessels passed through the canal last year, according to official figures. About 10% of world trade flows through the canal, which is particularly crucial for transporting oil.

Insurgents Seize Mozambique Town (NYT) Insurgents seized control of much of a town in Mozambique on Saturday, after a three-day siege that has left at least several people dead and hundreds of other civilians unaccounted for as government forces try to regain control, according to private security contractors in East Africa and news reports. Nearly 200 people, including dozens of foreign workers, sought shelter inside a hotel in the town, Palma, after nearly 300 militants flooded into the area on Wednesday, destroying much of the town and sending hundreds of other residents fleeing into nearby areas. On Friday afternoon, insurgents attacked a convoy of civilians as they attempted to flee the hotel, killing several people and injuring dozens of others. Most telephone lines and communications in Palma were cut off as the siege unfolded, but the contractors feared scores of people could have been killed. The attack is the latest in a brutal war unfolding in the country’s north involving insurgent groups believed to be linked to the Islamic State. The conflict has left at least 2,000 civilians dead and displaced 670,000 more in recent years, according to humanitarian groups.

[lookatthisdork]

First Impressions: Harper Row

Pursuant of my long-term goal to write more about my AU-meta Where are the grandkids?, I decided to track down and read some of the New 52 canon of Harper + Cullen Row and Duke Thomas. Immediately after starting this quest, I realized that for my own sanity, I simply MUST write about why Harper Row bothers me. Because I actually LIKE the character, but I HATE the context she appears in.

I’ve read a max of ten issues with Harper, which is why this is titled First Impressions, not Final Judgement. If you don’t agree with me, cool. If you agree with me, also cool.

(Warning: this post is really really long.)

The first time Harper (named) appears is in the Court of Owls arc, saving Batman’s life. She is entirely unfamiliar to the viewers, but Batman knows her and tells her “I told you once already, leave me alone. I meant it.” Her name is dropped by Harper herself who, after Bruce storms off, says:

Ignoring my immediate cringe at “epic bat-fail”, this is a weird introduction. This had me going back to google, convinced that I had the comic order wrong. But no, this is Harper’s first named appearance. For some reason. (In media res is going to kill me one day.)

(She has a cameo in the first New 52 Batman issue, but lord knows she’s not recognizable without hindsight. This is her)

The next time she shows up in Batman #12, we actually confirm her hairstyle changed between her last two appearances via flashback. We also get a proper origin as well as an intro for her brother Cullen.

Two things here: 1) Harper focuses a lot on providing for Cullen, who would instead like his sister to chill out and live a little; and 2) Cullen would like to win the heart of Tim Drake. (+1 canon points for Cullen/Tim, if anyone ships that)

Harper goes to a Wayne gala, stuffs her bag with pastries, and chats with Alfred (who recommends she take some brownies, gosh I really love Alfred). She’s super skeptical about the Wayne development that’s going to replace her current apartment building because she doubts Bruce has even set foot in a neighborhood like hers, let alone knows enough to not screw them all over.

She comes home to find some people broke into her apartment, beat her brother and shaved “FAG” in the back of his hair. Which, wow, fuck his unnamed assailants. Cullen’s hair is pretty much unsalvageable, so Harper cuts her own hair to match in solidarity.

Harper has nerves and a spine of steel. 

We find out that Harper is emancipated from her abusive dad, her mom is dead, and she works as an electrical engineer (she’s not old enough to have the education for that, but comic logic, don’t think about it too hard).

Going home from school, Harper and Cullen run into the guys that messed with Cullen. Harper tasers the fuck out of one, but about a dozen more crawl out of the woodwork. The Row siblings are pretty screwed, but then Batman swoops in and knocks some heads. He leaves, and we get this:

If this were a manga, the artist would have drawn literal stars in Harper’s eyes on that last panel.

She then proceeds to stalk the shit out of Batman, watching what little video the internet has before staring at street cams long enough to notice that Batman is hacking them. Upon realizing this, she tracks down the physical grid mods for the hacks and improves them as a “thank you” to Batman. Of course, she runs into Batman chasing a dude down, almost gets hurt but still helps apprehend the villain. Bruce, bit of a dick that he is, tells her not to do it again and ditches.

Ignoring the weirdness with her in media res introduction during the Court of Owls, I honestly like this origin and I like the potential of Harper as well as Cullen. She reminds a bit of Jason with her more troubled childhood grounding her approach to vigilantism, and there’s a bit of tech-guru and stalker tendencies (lol) that echoes Tim. I get a bit of Stephanie too, though less so than Jason and Tim. She’s also unique in having a younger sibling that she has a solid, loving relationship with even before the Bat-stuff. I hope writers capitalize on the Harper-Cullen dynamic; it’s the strong point of this origin.

After the origin, things get...contentious. Harper next shows up in #18 which I think happens after Damian’s death? And maybe after Dick’s “death?” I’m not quite sure. She confronts Batman who is spiraling, beating on low-level people who don’t really deserve that level of force while also getting injured from stupid mistakes. 

This whole section echoes the time immediately after Jason died a lot, and her thoughts on the matter are pretty close to Tim’s (pre-Flashpoint). Which...isn’t a super good thing because Tim’s “Batman needs a Robin” shtick was a bit tone-deaf while Batman was grieving his youngest son back in 1988-9. In 2012, it was still a bit tone-deaf.

“I have no interest in knowing whoever’s under that mask. I don’t want you to be a person.” Harper, I know you don’t know Batman just lost a kid, but holy hell, you’re echoing the worst Batman tendencies Bruce has, please no.

(Also, while I’m making the Tim parallel, post-Jason’s death it was just Dick and Bruce against the world, with Dick firmly not at home (and Barbara still in recovery from the Joker iirc). Post-Damian (and post-Dick), Tim is still alive. Tim, the guy who’s origin involved pulling Bruce out of his funk the first time, is around for this second crisis of faith. Tim, what are you doing while Bruce is self-destructing here? Off with the Teen Titans and exploiting his New 52 origin as a reason not to be interested, I imagine.)

We then get this response:

Now, I haven’t tracked down Stephanie’s first appearances, but to my untrained eye, this strongly resembles of Bruce’s early and complete disapproval of Spoiler. And since Stephanie is noticeably absent from the New 52 at this point, we have example 1 of what I think is Pre-Flashpoint’s fans’ biggest complaint: Harper Row occupies roles formerly established by Stephanie and/or Cassandra. Because someone at DC (writers or publishing execs, I don’t know) decided to reset the Batgirls rather than port them over with their experiences intact, New 52 introduces Harper first (also Barbara, but that’s a discussion for another day). 

It makes some sense in the narrative to give Harper the same difficulties as Stephanie since Spoiler didn’t exist to pave the path, but Spoiler not yet existing was an arbitrary executive decision unpopular with long-term fans. It’s not weird to think that people who like a female batfam character from pre-Flashpoint - Stephanie, Cassandra or Barbara - are the fans DC should be courting to accept Harper. Giving Harper a parallel to Stephanie without also giving them Stephanie does the opposite - it alienates them and causes them to project their saltiness onto Harper.

Even after Stephanie is introduced, she comes back as Spoiler, losing her hard-won (very hard-won) progress form her days as Robin and Batgirl. Meanwhile Harper and New52-Stephanie become friends, meaning that an older Stephanie fan cannot consume Stephanie or Harper content without seeing the other girl. Thus Steph fans are constantly filled with low-burning rage at DC and probably also Harper for not giving them their preferred version of Steph.

It gets even worse with Cassandra. DC reintroduces her two years after Steph and four years after Harper’s first cameo, so Cass fans have been living in a content desert with no promise of salvation. Like Steph, Cass’s hard-won progress as Batgirl and Black Bat is gone, supplanted by a new origin as Orphan. Cass becomes good friends with Harper and Steph, which on the surface is great for original Cass fans - her pre-Flashpoint friendship with Steph is very important to her character. But now you’ve retconned away Cass as Batgirl playing rooftop tag with Steph. You’ve erased the gravity of Cass giving Steph the Batgirl title. Now Harper is a vital part of a dynamic that can no longer emulate the original.

And Cassandra killed Harper’s mom in her origin. Not randomly either - Batman & Robin Eternal has Mother - the villain of Cass’s origin and the B&R title’s final boss-villain - ordering Cass to kill Harper’s mom to forge Harper into a better minion down the line. Disclaimer: I didn’t read all of this arc - but tying Harper and Cassandra irrevocably to each other’s origins is really bad. To an older Cass fan, it feels manipulative, as if the writers are trying to give Harper some of Cassandra’s clout by making them both important to the same villain. Having entwined origins makes it near impossible to separate out Cass and Harper going forward if you like one but dislike the other.

I therefore conclude as a newer comic reader that there is nothing wrong with Harper Row herself and A LOT wrong with how she was packaged. By herself, Harper is a capable engineer and hacker who utilizes her expertise well and with training could be a capable vigilante. But with New 52 Spoiler and Orphan, she is a constant reminder of how this is not the Pre-Flashpoint Earth. Retconning the Batgirl histories back into existence would be the same as retconning Harper’s character development back out of existence. DC basically shot itself in the foot by resetting Cass and Steph while tying them both to Harper, dividing their original Batgirl fanbase into polarized pro- and anti-reboot groups. 

Which is a pity, because I really think Cass and Steph fans could have found something to like in Harper without the resets.

[whopooh]

Miss Fisher and the double ways of communicating

Why, Jack, have you written things in between the lines here?

When we had the lovely trope challenge of January, there was one thing I felt I didn’t tease out enough, so I want to do that in a separate post (even though I made a record comment over three comment boxes on @omgimsarahtoo’s fic, I still didn’t really talk about this).

My interest today has to do with a kind of double communication – that Phryne and Jack are communicating on two different levels at the same time, without really or only partially understanding it. In a way this exists already in the show: the fact that they are so guarded and keep their feelings close to the chest, talking in a kind of short-hand, and that their smiles and eye-contact and body language are saying things, but not the words. This tendency is explored in many fics in a wonderful way (please give favourite examples in the comments, I would love that!). 

Today’s theme is fics that make this extra explicit -- a double communication, in person and in writing, where the meeting and the writing form two different channels between the two.

In @omgimsarahtoo’s “The Breathings of Your Heart”, part of the soulmate challenge, it is the soulmate bond that offers this second level of communication. In this AU, soulmates have a connection via their skin, being able to write on their own skin so that the other can see the letters on theirs. That is to say, the soumate connection is a communication channel more than a mark. What makes the soulmate idea so powerful here is that even if it’s an external, natural force that has made Phryne and Jack have this bond, the reason the connection is working is due to what they themselves put into it.

The two of them form a bond with an unknown and unnamed stranger, where they can talk about things in a slightly different way than in their ordinary life. It’s succinct and mostly about important things, and the knowledge that there is someone out there to listen gives relief in hard moments. They turn to this other person in moments of crisis, grief, or loss, and they write in a way that cuts to the heart of things without any of the social surroundings’ embellishments. Phryne writes, after Janey’s gone missing, “She’s gone, and I’m alone"; her unknown soulmate answers “You’re not alone.” After a horrible battle in the war, Jack writes “They’re all dead, but I’m alive" and his anonymous writing friend answers “Good. Stay that way" --“Swallowing hard, he snapped the tip on his capsule and wrote the truth that was etched on his soul. And he cried silently in the dark when she replied.”

They also give each other not only comfort, but a kind of much-needed challenge – like when Jack writes that his wife left him and Phryne answers not immediately “I’m sorry,” but first “Did you deserve it?”  And when Jack writes to his stranger/friend after having broken the ties with Phryne after “Blood at the Wheel”, she – without knowing it is him – gives him the short advice “Perhaps if it hurts so much, it isn’t the right thing.” It is beautiful in its succinctness.

Thus, Phryne and Jack function as a kind of mix between pen pal, imaginary friend and diary for each other. As they do this unaware of the other’s identity, it’s only the reader that understands the kind of bond that is forming. The function of the soulmark is not to make them think of each other in romantic or intimate terms, only to enhance what has already been forming when they realise the identity of the known stranger, and it works beautifully. The unfolding of their relationship is still in the real word, the second level communication not taking over the events, rather forming a confirming shadow to them.

Another fic that explores a similar double communication is @milanima/ahotep100’s “Scribbling Strangers”, where Phryne and Jack in a modern AU start a conversation by scribbling on a park bench. A conversation that then transfers to e-mail, and where they discuss things with the stranger without realising who it is. Here, they almost simultaneously meet in life and in written form, and interestingly Jack takes a much bigger liking to the written version of Phryne. When Phryne comes with lunch to him at the station, he is sad he can’t go check the park bench that has been quiet for some time, realising he cannot say to her “No, I cannot eat the sandwich, because I need to go mourn the loss of a conversation with a complete stranger at a park bench in the botanic garden.” It is still unfinished, so we don't know yet how, if, and when they will realise the identity of their scribbling stranger.

I would be the most excellent thief, of course, do you want me to prove it?

Finally, one of the fics that explore the doubleness in a wonderful way is fahye’s “Fighting vainly the old ennui”. (I know I have talked about it before, and it is worth mentioning, and it actually also exists as a podfic, very well recorded, for anyone interested.) 

In this AU, Phryne is not a lady detective but a gentlewoman thief instead, given the popular name ‘the Bowerbird’. In a Robin Hood kind of way, she steals from people that are rich and crooked and deserves it, and gives the loot to charity. Jack is the policeman that works with the case. The elusive thief starts to leave notes for him, that become more and more personal and teasing: “Now that we're moving in the same circles, so to speak, I feel like it's only polite that we get to know one another. And thanks to the fascinating newspaper stories -- do you make that face all the time, or only when faced with journalists? -- I know a little about you.” By quoting literature and poking at him, her letters slowly make him fall in love with her.��At the same time, he meets the social persona of Phryne Fisher, and is intrigued. This doubleness works fabulously, enhancing their interactions, their affinity and the longing to understand more about the other, and Jack’s torment at being teased and talked to, but not being able to respond, is lovely:

The Bowerbird wasn't playing fair; Jack couldn't debate these pieces of paper. He couldn't tell pieces of paper and a growing pile of feathers that he, too, remembered the rare treat that was eating a single piece of tropical fruit in the heavy heat of a Christmas afternoon, stickying his best suit of clothes, which had been so clean and pressed for church that morning.    He wanted to catch her, he was going to catch her, if only because he had so much to say.

After his divorce is finalised, Mac – who has become his drinking buddy – takes him out for drinks and consolation, and we meet his inner thoughts about how life has ended up for him: "Jack smiled. Neither version of himself, before or just after the war, would have recognised him as he was now, with a lady physician as his foremost drinking companion and a jewel thief having replaced his mother as his most regular correspondent. People, lives, never could stop changing."

He is also taunted by his colleagues for the very odd and public relationship that he finds himself in: "Like everything else about the Bowerbird case, this had become a bit of a running joke: the thief leaving love notes for the policeman. Leave Jack Robinson alone with his crime scene, mates." Poor man.

Finally, the big turning point is that thief’s identity is revealed, by Dot coming to the station to ask him to help her mistress. Seeing the phantom of his letters and dreams and the woman that intrigued him finally collapse into one, that he has just rescued, he kisses her: “A dam months in the building had been knocked to splinters in his gut. He wanted to yell at her, and undress her, and pour poetry into her mouth with his own.”

That moment of realisation, that two people are actually one, and that you know a person more than you thought you did, is really powerful. In @omgimsarahtoo‘s story, Phryne realises Jack’s identity before he does, and it first makes her waver, feeling almost too ominous. The final revelation is, like in fahye’s fic, triumphant: 

Taking a deep breath, he sat up straight and rolled up his sleeve to see the message from his soulmate... and froze.    Will you be coming after me?    A huff of incredulous laughter escaped him as all of the pieces fell into place. Of course he never felt more at home than in her company, never questioned that he was in love with her. Phryne Fisher was his soulmate. Who else could it have been?    He uncapped his pen, realizing that his hands were shaking slightly.    How is it that you’re always two steps ahead of me, Miss Fisher? I arrive Southampton, Oct 17.

This theme of communication is also related to another one I have written about earlier, "literature as communication,” where I highlighted some times when literay quotes are used as interesting -- and also double-edged -- means of communication between the two detectives.

I think there are more fics that can fit into this theme -- please tell me if you have a favourite I forgot! It is such a powerful and fun way to explore the characters and their relationship and affinity.

[velkynkarma]

End of Year Fic Meme

Better late than never, right? Keeping Parasite Knight posting on a daily basis was kind of exhausting so I didn’t have a chance to fill this out at the start of the year. Now I have time!

Thanks @maychorian for tagging me, sorry it took so long to get to it.

Stats:

List of Fics Posted:

Identity Crisis (38,460 words) (Young Justice, multi-chapter adventure team fic, complete) Routine Maintenance (50,777 words) (Voltron, multi-chapter, Shiro-centric with team features, complete) The Nature of Leadership (10,837 words) (Voltron, one-shot, Shiro-centric) Road Trip to End Times (12,649 words) (Voltron, multi-chapter, AU, paladin-centric, still ongoing)

Bonus: Parasite Knight (86,840 words) (Voltron, multi-chapter, Shiro-centric, complete) (was 100% written in 2016 but not posted until 2017)

Plus an assorted 5,636 words of notes for future stories

Total number: 4 (5 with Parasite Knight) Total Word count: 112,723 published in 2016 199,563 including Parasite Knight

Ship/Character Breakdown: No actual ships. All gen. Character focus: Robin/Dick Grayson 1, Shiro 2 (3 with Parasite Knight). But, RM, PK and Road Trip all have character focus on the whole Voltron team, so…not sure how to count that.

Do I favor Shiro? Yes, maybe a little bit, ahahaha.

Specifics:

Best/worst title?

Best title: I’m really partial to Routine Maintenance, even if the name doesn’t fit all the chapters particularly well. I also really like Parasite Knight because I struggled to come up with a title for that one, and that popped into my head. It was both fitting on multiple levels and it rhymed. ALSO it meant I got to call my writing file “Parasite Write” and I’m not gonna lie that really entertained me for stupid reasons. 

 Worst title: Road Trip to End Times. Titles are super hard for me to come up with and I was kind of in a rush to get the first of the prompts I’d written posted, so I just kinda took whatever first came to mind and slapped it in there. 


Best/worst first line?

 Best: “Shiro can’t put this off any longer.” ~The Nature of Leadership 
I kinda like that it immediately leaves you wondering, ‘wait, WHAT can’t he put off any longer?’ It’s a hook that means you gotta keep reading.

Worst: “It’s a miserable, exhausted, sweaty, mud-coated team of paladins that Shiro leads back to the Castle of Lions, after three days of trekking through the swamp-infested lands of the planet Ssagessh.” ~Routine Maintenance

This was my debut fic so I was still getting a feel for the fandom. I knew I had ideas that people would probably like, but I was a little worried that the first chapter I had chosen to start off with might not attract a lot of attention. It’s not a terrible opening but it had a kind of weak beginning.

Best/worst last line?

Best: “And, for the first time in a very long time, he feels surprisingly at peace.” ~Routine Maintenance Kind of funny that it gets the best last line but the worst first line. I really liked how the entire fic I was exploring Shiro’s difficulties and how frustrated he just was with his arm, and then finally I gave him a little peace at the end. It worked really well into the overall theme and I was really happy with the way this wrapped everything up, even if it was all individual scenarios and not one full fic. Worst: “He had a scientist to meet tonight, and it was an appointment he just couldn’t miss.” ~Identity Crisis I don’t really HATE this line per se, but it does require the context of the rest of the story to really make sense. Also, the entire last scene is completely unrelated to the main characters who had been the focus for the rest of the fic. I did it on purpose to replicate the way Young Justice episodes typically ended, but it also meant the character closure finished early, so this end didn’t have as much ZING as it probably could have.

General questions:

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted? Honestly I hadn’t expected to write much of anything this year. I did Identity Crisis right at the beginning for a fanfic contest a friend of mine was throwing, but after that I just hadn’t gotten much of a creative spark out of anything. Most of the fandoms I’d been in were pretty dead or getting there. Or, in the case of Batman, alive but not something I really felt like writing for. I am genuinely shocked that I managed to kick out 161,103 words in the span of 3 months. That’s insane. What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year? Voltron. Hands down. I watched Voltron on a whim when I needed something to motivate me through a massive art project. I used it just to give myself a goal after reaching a specific workload, since I’d run out of fic in my fandoms to use instead. I was not expecting it to be all that impressive, I just needed something to fill my breaktimes with. How impressive could a show based on a silly 80’s cartoon about combining five robot space cats into a giant robot guy be? I was not expecting to fall in love with it. After that I loved the show, and checked out the fandom. Again, this is often a killer for me as a fandom might not produce the stuff I’m interested in, or the writers just aren’t very good. Happily for me I stumbled across @maychorian ‘s Boom Crash almost immediately upon searching in the fandom and was like ‘shit, people in this fandom can WRITE’ and decided to stick around and lurk a little more. Honestly I only ever intended to lurk. I never intended to write for it. But then something just…happened and I thought of some ideas that eventually turned into Routine Maintenance, and then people really liked it and I felt like writing more, and…well. Here I am.

What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

I am really really REALLY fond of Parasite Knight and I was long before it was posted, so I’m gonna count it here, since it had 0 feedback/kudos/comments/reviews/etc in 2016. It was difficult to write in some cases, partly because it’s so intense a lot and that’s hard to keep up sometimes, and partly because it got WAY longer than it was ever intended to be. Originally it was conceived as a (fairly large) oneshot, but I kept coming up with more and more ideas and details that I liked too much to get rid of, and then it turned into an 86K monstrosity. Also this one was a little therapeutic in some areas (particularly at the end), since it dug into some less than comfortable areas of my own head-space. It was a bit uncomfortable to write some of the later chapters at first, but once they were finished I felt a lot better for it. So yeah. PK is kind of special to me.

Okay, NOW your most popular story. It’s a little hard to judge but I think this one is Routine Maintenance. It definitely has the most kudos, and has the highest comments-to-chapter ratio. Story most underappreciated by the universe? Road Trip to End Times has comparatively little focus compared to the rest of my stuff. I don’t really find it surprising though since it’s a zombie AU and that’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Story that could have been better? Honestly I was pretty satisfied with everything I wrote this year. Some parts of some stories could have been tweaked a little but I didn’t think any one fic had an overall major failing.

Sexiest story? lol sexiness in my stories that’s a good joke Saddest story? Nature of Leadership does pull at the heartstrings a little. Parasite Knight is also pretty agonizing through a lot of parts. Most fun? Routine Maintenance! It was really relaxing to just do individual pieces without having to sew a whole plot together. There was definitely a theme through the whole fic, but it was really nice to not have to worry about plot-holes and things. I was able to just write and I kicked out like a chapter a day because it was all self-contained. Plus I got to play with all kinds of different scenarios. It was fun. Story with single sweetest moment? There was some H/C in Parasite Knight that I really enjoyed writing, but I’m not sure if it’s sweet exactly since Shiro was still suffering (or only partly aware) through a lot of it. I guess if I had to pick something sweeter, either Ghost or Weight from Routine Maintenance. Both center around Shiro getting relief from his prosthetic-induced pain and he’s so genuinely shocked about it but so grateful. Hardest story to write? Parasite Knight. As stated above, it was hella long, it really got away from me, and there were some gritty parts that were difficult to write for personal reasons. Don’t regret it for a second though. Easiest/most fun story to write? Routine Maintenance. See above. Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters? Parasite Knight helped me get into all of the paladins’ heads better since I had to write out their core traits in quintessence form. That was an interesting character study that made me really pull apart what their defining traits were, versus their extraneous traits (ex. Hunk’s reliability/kindness being a core trait, while his goofiness or love of food are extra traits that are a part of him but don’t define his soul). It was a challenge but fun. Most overdue story? None, really. I don’t post anything until it’s fully written, so nothing can really be overdue since half the time nobody knows it’s due. Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? Kinda! Half writing risk, half social risk. After Routine Maintenance finished posting I hadn’t really intended to write more, but then @bosstoaster  commented on it. I was at work when I got the notification and had to literally leave my desk to keep from screaming in delight around all my coworkers, haha. Since I was a veritable Voltron n00b to the fandom I was blown away that one of the gen bigshots even noticed me. But I knew BT also did prompts, and I was like, “Okay, but I know BT also enjoyed my writing, so…maybe I could propose a fic trade?” So I offered to do a fic trade with BT, because I kinda also wanted to write more but didn’t have any ideas at the time, and also wanted to try prompts, which I needed more practice on. I think it turned out really well in the end and The Nature of Leadership was written. It was also a challenge for me because I had to take a prompt I hadn’t decided on and make it work, but I like that it made me think outside the box a little. What are your fic writing goals for next year?

Let’s see…


Just keep writing. Focus more on steady writing and not burst writing.


Try not to get hung up on details as much. I know this is a thing I’m most known for, but it’s also responsible for slowing me down or killing ideas/writing momentum completely, because I have to come up with a reason for everything even if it’s never shown. Have to learn to just loosen up and write sometimes, I don’t have to justify every detail.

Maybe try more prompts? Might help with the above goal.

Try to write shorter stuff. (HAH. Operative word here being ‘try’)

That was fun! Eeeeven if it was me basically talking about the same 4 fics over and over again lol.

[lastgeeksdying]

Pitches I built a series of stories using the current DC cinematic universe as a loose jumping off point and how to plan it to go forward.  It is a road to get it where I want it, but I think it can be done.  One pitch a week each Friday until Justice League.   So this started posting after Wonder Woman is out but before Justice League.  In theory this means it'll run right up to the release of Justice League.  These speculations will be mostly written before Wonder Woman, with some small changes made following seeing Wonder Woman.  I've included a time line below, with one or two word teases of the pitches going forward.  However, much like this episode, I reserve the right to add titles that I forgot or that I feel will fit in to the mythology as I build out.  Today, I bring you The Batman. 

Here’s the basis of what I think will happen in the films that are already being worked on.  Also, I will be cancelling some of the other films that are set to come out.  DONE DONE DONE. 

Justice League will build the team, tease Darkseid.   Aquaman will be Aquaman fighting Black Manta, set up Ord as Ocean Master.  I'll mostly be treating it as having just been an Origin story. There is a good chance it will actually be Throne of Atlantis, but that isn't important enough for me to factor in when it comes to the pitches down the road.  Which, spoilers, will include a Throne of Atlantis Pitch Justice League: Apokalypse aka JL2  will be Darkseid arriving.(roughly JL:Origin) A Timeline of the Pitches so far are: (Wonder Woman) (Justice League) (Aquaman) (Justice League 2) Wonder Woman:  Fastest in the Jungle THE BATMAN Throne Brave Tower Fear Contract VS Court Identity Black Fall Eyes Serious Shazam Crisis Elegy Corps Peacemakers Young Effigy Society Reborn Kingdom Come Errant Knight Rotworld Return Night Inc The movie opens with a laugh.   A Camera Flashes and a gun shot goes off.   Batman and Robin head to Jim Gordon's home and find Barbara, in her Batgirl costume, shot.  He helps her and changes her out of her suit.  He brings her to the Hospital.  She tells him Jokerland.   Robin rushes out of the room.  Batman tells him to stop but he goes anyway. Sometime later Batman arrives at an Abandoned Amusement park.  The place has been repainted and remarked as "Joker Land".  Bruce travels to the security office and finds each of the guards dead.  Video starts playing showing Robin tied to a chair.  Unmasked.  "Tim Drake?   Bruce Wayne's adopted SON?  Certainly too old to be the old Robin.  Oh well."  Joker comes out of the shadows.  This is a classic looking Joker, his visual look is much more akin to the animated series Joker, but with the classic purple gangster hat.  As Joker strikes the final blow, a door opens in front of Bruce.  This reveals Tim's lifeless body.  A counter appears on the video as the room is lit up and reveals dozens of oil drums.  Batman runs out of the building, leaving the body.   As it explodes he dives out of the building landing at the Joker's feet.   Batman stands up and confronts the Joker.  We see a recreation of the final page of the Killing Joke: http://onlynerdsallowed.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/batman-the-killing-joke-471.jpg Except the ending isn't ambiguous.  Bruce stabs the Joker as he laughs and the sirens wail.   We cut to black and show the title THE BATMAN.   Text appears saying 15 years later showing a modern Ben Afleck.   A gang of Villains dressed as the Original Red Hood rob a bank.  As they come out of the bank a rocket launcher blast is shot and kills all of them.  It is revealed to be Jared Leto's Joker holding the launcher.   "I hate copy cats" Out of nowhere a shot flies down and almost hits the Joker.  Batman swoops in and brings him to the ground.   "Why batsy, I'm so happy to see you."   Joker tries to stab Batman. "I'm trying to protect you.  Someone has put out a hit on you. " "On me?  But why?  I love me!"   "They've pitted 8 of the best killers to bring you down. " "And what, you want that glory for yourself?" "If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead Tim." "DON'T CALL ME THAT."   Cut to 8 Killers each being told by a different person to kill the Joker and they will make 30 million dollars.   Batman calls for the Batmobile as Mr. Freeze ices the vehicle down.  It is at this point that the adventure becomes Batman trying to get from Gotham's first National to Arkham Asylum.   Batman fights down Mr. Freeze, learning that he wants the money to fund research for his wife.  Batman manages to beat Victor, but not without the wheels to the Batmobile being destroyed.  When Batman returns he finds that the Joker has run off and has to chase him down.   In a flashback, we see young Batman chasing the Redhood.  Over the comms, he tells Alfred to let Andea know he won't be able to make it due to car trouble.  We then see Batman taking down the original Joker when he was Red Hood and how he became the Joker by falling into Ace Chemicals.   Modern  Batman catches Joker and berates him for running off.  "You can't blame a clown for trying."  "No, but I can blame you." Jumping up, Thomas Blake attacks Joker.  "Oh, you aren't the fun kitty.  You're the lame kitty." Catman tries to reason with Batman,  explaining that with the money Blake and his Husband can run away from Gotham and never be in Batman's hair again.  Bruce considers this, and knocks him out.   Batman runs Joker into the Sewers, with Joker recounting a time where Batman and Robin fought the Joker in the sewer. Bruce clarifies that since this Joker is Tim, he doesn't remember the story entirely.  The real Joker had a room full of kidnapped kids he had been brainwashing into little Jokers.  Some of them would never recover and would go on to form the Jokerz gang.   Copperhead and King Kobra leap out of the shadows to Sting Joker with venom, instead hitting Batman who protected him again.  A delusional Batman tries to fight the Joker, but is easily brought down by the two of them. The Joker gets the upperhand and cuts King Kobra's throat and throws him into the water.  Copperhead tries to kill Joker, but is ultimately stopped.  Joker goes to kill Bruce, but pulls back at the last second.  Batman comes to and reiterates that he intends to lock him in Arkham and throw away the key.   The pair come up from the sewer and find themselves immediately under assault from Machine Gun fire.  Batman pulls Joker inside of a near by building and can't see who is shooting at them.  Batman notices they are on Second Street, and inside Gotham's Second National Bank.  He uses his wrist computer to summon a bat-drone.  This takes down the Machine Gun wielder, Two-Face.  The Bat Drone descends and reveals a secret compartment in the wall near where Batman and Joker came out.  It reveals and hidden stored Bat-cycle.   As Batman and Joker drive down the streets of Gotham a pink motor cycle appears.  The driver whips at Batman and Joker, pulling Joker off the back.  Batman Turns and stops.  The other Driver is revealed to be Flamingo.  "And who are you?" This leads to an epic chase sequence through the streets of Gotham, bursting through several icon locations including the Ice Berg Lounge.  This leads to a confrontation at the gates of Arkham.  Batman beats Flamingo and almost kills him.  Joker/Tim egging him on.  Bruce stops short of killing him and drags Joker and Flamingo inside.  Joker laments that even if Batsy didn't kill Flamingo, he's just as bad as Joker.  He let's his villains live.  He knows they likely won't get well.  And he permanently cripples some of his victims like Joker did to Babs.   Batman hands off Flamingo to someone he doesn't recognize, but demands to walk Joker down to a cell himself. He enters the mess room with Joker walking aside him.  Over the intercom "This is Doctor Hugo Strange, we are locking down the facility per the request of our special guest." Batman remarks "I didn't speak to Hugo Strange" A light highlights Deathstroke at the end of the hall.  "Your right, I did."   Deathstroke fights Batman and Joker.  Part way into the fight, Batman opens two cells and let's Grant Wislon and Rose Wilson join the fight.  The conversation that happens during this fight is about parentage.   Ultimately the two Wilson Children and Joker and Batman take down Deathstroke.   Rose and Grant voluntarily return to their Cells.   Joker tries to kill Batman once more just as he closes the cells.  He eggs on Batman to kill him.  Pushing him.  Bruce tries to get in touch with his Tim side.  He is not successful.  He returns Joker to the Cell.   Batman goes to the Warden's office and finds Clayface acting as Hugo Strange. Batman thanks him for his help in trying to save Tim.  Clayface asks why Batman would put his life in danger to try and save the Joker, and he says it's because he's family.   Bruce donates money to a cancer research facility in the name of Nora Freis.