#if I find more death experiences for Cass I will edit this post

[avayarising]

Deaths of Cassandra Cain

Part of the Batfam Death Project.

Cass has two very definite deaths and one implied death. She also spent several days in the Spirit World. Total time dead: up to a couple of days, plus Spirit World time.

Verifiable deaths

1. Beaten in the chest by Lady Shiva (Batgirl 1:25, 2002)

Cass asked Lady Shiva (her mother, though at this point she didn’t know that) to train her because she was losing her ability to read body language. Shiva agreed, but in return asked for Cass to come back in a year and duel her to the death. Cass agreed to this. When the time came, they fought on a rooftop, and Shiva quickly killed Cass with what looks like a pre-cordial thump.

Cass was raised to life again by Lady Shiva some unspecified time later through some unspecified technique (though she did say she had prepared for years to be able to do it) involving punching her in the chest again.

Time dead: Unclear, but probably of the order of hours. Since the location where Cass was resurrected was not where she died, Shiva must have had to move her corpse, so probably at least a few hours, plus however long it took for Shiva to do whatever she did to resurrect Cass.

2. Took a sword for someone else (Batgirl 1:72–73, April 2006)

So before Cass was born. David Cain made other attempts at creating the Perfect Warrior, and he started out by taking existing children (from Ra’s Al Ghul) to train, rather than attempting to breed one. One of these became known as Mad Dog: very skilled but almost mindless and uncontrolled. In a forest in the middle of nowhere, he attempted to stab someone, Cass leapt in front, and:

Even though it looks from this picture like that big fat knife goes right through her ribcage, heart, and spine, she still managed to kick Mad Dog in the face before collapsing and dying.

After Cass died, she awoke being carried by Steph.

Steph told Cass something she couldn’t have known (that Blüdhaven had just been destroyed), indicating she was really present and not just a near-death hallucination.

Of course, it later turns out that Steph was never actually dead at all, but at this point in time she is dead, and her presence is meant to be an indicator that Cass is truly dead.

Lady Shiva raised her (again), this time via a Lazarus Pit. (At this point, Cass has only very recently found out that Shiva is her mother.)

Cass came out angry with Pit Madness, but Shiva trapped her in a net and coached her through it. Cass calmed down in a matter of minutes.

Time dead: between several hours and a couple of days (Shiva had to carry her out of a forest on foot and get to the Lazarus Pit before she could resurrect her).

Bonus extra deaths

(Implied, inferrable, ambiguous and arguable deaths)

1. Probably died in Death Metal along with everyone else (Death Metal 7, 2021)

Cass probably died in battle when the Dark Multiverse invaded and destroyed all the worlds of the multiverse. All the remaining heroes came together in a hopeless fight against an army of their worst nightmares, including an apparently never-ending swarm of groblins (mindless evil Jokerised Robins led by the Robin King, an evil child Bruce Robin).

Cass’s death isn’t shown on panel and neither is her dead body, but she is definitely in the group of Bats standing ready to fight (far right, in an oddly ill-fitting Orphan outfit):

And later Evil Child Bruce Robin tells Batman that everyone else is dead, so that seems like Cass is dead too.

On the other hand, Evil Child Bruce Robin probably doesn’t know what’s going on away from his immediate vicinity, so it’s possible that Cass was drawn away during the battle earlier on and is still out there fighting in a different part of the field.

After this, Wonder Woman persuades the Creators to remake the world and everyone is fine again.

Time dead: unclear; might be up to an hour, or longer if it takes longer to remake the world.

2. Perhaps was shot by Lady Shiva at some point (Spirit World 3, 2023)

Thank you to @fantastic-nonsense for pointing this one out! During Cass’s trip to the Spirit World (see below) she was bitten by a kitsune spirit and regained the memory of a previous encounter in the Spirit World when she was dead. The flashback montage panel shows Shiva shooting Cass in the chest, followed by Cass’s revival in the Lazarus Pit in Batgirl 1:73 with its very distinctive hook and chain.

Although it’s most likely that this is just a conflation and reinterpretation of Cass’s previous two deaths and resurrections, the new method of death suggests that this could be an additional, off-panel, death and resurrection.

More details in @fantastic-nonsense’s original commentary here.

Afterlife visits

1. Pulled into the Spirit World (Lazarus Planet: Dark Fate, 2023; Spirit World, 2023)

When the Lazarus Volcano erupts and rains down Lazarus Water on the whole earth, it stirs up a lot of undead. In a graveyard in Gotham, Cass joins John Constantine and Xanthe Zhou (a ’spirit envoy’ who died as a child and was partially resurrected and is now both living and dead) in a fight against hopping vampires (jiang-shi) and a ‘ghost collective’ (a big ball of angry ghosts).

With Constantine’s and Cass’s help, Xanthe exorcises the collective, but on its way out the collective grabs Cass’s ankle and pulls her into the Spirit World with it.

In the Spirit World, she more or less gets adopted by Xanthe’s granny, who has also adopted another ghost, Bowen. (It’s not clear in this panel, but Po Po is tiny and only comes up to Cass’s waist.)

A kitsune spirit she meets there tells her they have met before, when she was dead, though she clearly doesn’t remember her time dead. (The spirit doesn’t clarify which of Cass’s deaths it is referring to, but since she was with Steph all through her second death, it is likely to be her first – but it might be a completely different one; see above.)

Of course, John and Xanthe go in after her and they eventually reunite. After a great quest, the freeing of the ghosts from their collective, and major reorganisation of the politics of the Spirit World, they all leave together through a portal.

Time in afterlife: several days.

Batfam Death Project Masterpost

[exhausted-pigeon]

@matchacheezo sorry it took me a while but there we are! Let's start explaining my unhinged (wel not really unhinged but surely complicated) headcanon for Cass and Jason has twins!

-

A bit of a premises:

1. We are going with Sandra old backstory, her sister was murdered by Guano Cravat, not David Cain, and Cain had absolutely nothing to do with her until well after she became Lady Shiva;

2. I prefer when Willis and Catherine are loving but struggling parents, with a lot of flaws but that are trying their best, that the outright abusive ways that are depicted in RHatO;

3. I haven't read has many comics I like (fuck ADHD) so my canon information is second hand, not very important for this but I wanted to clarify that.

Now in for the actual headcanon!

-

How Jason and Cass are twins

Cain wants a heir like in canon, and does find a suitable partner in Lady Shiva (who has become extremely famous after she took revenge on her sister murder has a wandering mercenary) and approach her with a proposal of her donating her genetic material to make the perfect warrior, but she refuses and laugh in his face.

Cain is determined to have the perfect child so he hunts her down and tries to force her in to collaboration but she is better an manage to kick his ass and avoid the LoA people that he send after her.

So Cain goes in another direction and investigate her past and find out her old identity, and the fact that she had donated her eggs to a fertility clinic before the death of Carolyn. So he has the eggs stolen and hires Sheila Haywood, a doctor that was in trouble for malpractice, to act has both the surrogate mother and pediatric for after the kids are born (because they would still have needed some medical supervision even with the batshit training he would put them through).

So they move to one of the LoA bases or something and the kids are born. Fraternal twins, and they are healthy and growing well, but the boy seems to be weaker than the girl, and Cain is all but ready to be done with Jason to focus on Cassandra.

Potentially Jason has some health issues that seen to make him a imperfect candidate, maybe he is born hard of hearing or something that a eugenicist piece of shit like Cain would consider lesser. The point is Jason is not the son Cain wanted and would not care if he died or disappeared.

But there is a guard there that has taken something of a shine to the boy, and he does want he can to help Jason in some ways.

Enter stage left a young Talia, who is there to see how the project for her father perfect bodyguard is coming along. She notices the way baby Jason is struggling, Cain disinterest, Shelia coldness towards both kids, and how it seem that only this guard seems to care about this child. so she takes the situation in hand, and help the man escape with baby Jason, and covers his tracks so the LoA would not find them again. It's not that hard, Jason was pretty much declared a fallied product and the guard was no one important, so they disappear.

The man ends up settling in Gotham and making himself a new identity has Willis Todd, single father, and meets there a struggling actress who ran aways from her family when she came out has trans. Her name is Catherine, and she absolutely adore his little prince.

-

And the things process has canon or whatever story I'm working on.

-

The details may change depending on stuff (like if I go with trans guy Jason), but this is the basic idea.

I have more ideas on Willis and how his experience shape the way he raises Jason but that isn't the focus there.

-

I hope you enjoy! 💜

EDIT because forgot earlier: anyone feel free to reblog and/or use this idea for their stuff, just tag me/message me so I can see it!

Also tagging @benbamboozled (because I added some stuff from the last time we talked about this) and @prodigworl hopping you enjoy it since it was your post that pushed me to finaly clean this idea up.

[robiinjason]

Hiii, do you have any recs for Robin Jason comics? I'd love to read more about him but I have no clue where to start. Love your art btw it's all adorable <3

Sure thing!!! And omg thank you 🥺🥺 your art is super cute too!!

If I were to rec One Thing as a starting point for Robin Jason, Batman #408-#429 covers Jason’s main run as Robin and his death arc and is the main essential reading I’d recommend. It’s fairly short and a good place to start imo! 

Among others, it includes his post-crisis origin and first outing as Robin, his first meeting with Dick, the Garzonas incident, and his death and its immediate aftermath in the Death in the Family arc. 

While Jason’s time as Robin in post crisis is fairly short and not as hard to get through as other characters with longer runs, i know Reading Comics Hard so I’ll make a shorter list first, with more recs under the cut!

Batman #408-#409 (Jason's origin)

Batman #410-#411 (his first outing as Robin)

Batman #413 (smart boy Jason)

Batman #415 (more good Jason moments)

Batman #416 (his and Dick's first meeting, also Dick and Bruce argue)

Batman Annual #12 (has a solo Jason story set at his school)

Detective Comics #569-#570 (Jason gets to kick the Joker's butt)

Detective Comics #571 (the Scarecrow kidnaps Jason)

Detective Comics #573 (this one’s just cute)

Superman Annual #11 (Bruce, Jason and Wonder Woman visit Superman on his birthday and stuff happens)

Blue Devil #19 (Jason is pen pals with Kid Devil)

Batman: the Cult (a 4-issue pretty dark miniseries where Bruce is kidnapped and brainwashed by a cult. Some great Jason moments)

Batman #424-#425 (The Garzonas storyline, or when Jason may or may not have pushed somebody off a building. Trigger warnings for sexual assault and suicide)

Batman #426-#429 (A Death in The Family, or Jason’s death arc)

I’ll be referencing this Jason reading list, since it’s what I followed when I started reading. It can be checked for a more comprehensive list of his appearances too, since I’m not aiming for a full list! (though I might edit it to include more stuff eventually.)

First things first, Jason got rebooted once during his time as Robin; he was originally a circus kid like Dick in pre-crisis (before the reboot), and later in post-crisis got his more well-known origin as the orphan who stole the tires off the batmobile. I’ll be focusing on post-crisis Robin Jason since I’m still reading his pre-crisis run, but the list I linked has more info on that if you’re interested!

Batman and Robin-focused 

Stories centered on the Dynamic Duo!

Batman #408-#429 - Jason’s post-crisis run as Robin, as mentioned above! The last four issues are the Death in the Family arc. The Batman: Second Chances trade collects a good chunk of these (#408-#416), plus Batman Annual #11 and a couple stories from before Jason’s post-crisis origin.

Detective Comics #568-#582 - Jason’s Robin run in Detective Comics! It’s a fun read and Alan Davis’ art style is very cute imo. (Jason isn’t around from #575 to #578 due to getting hurt in #573)

Batman Annual #10-#12 - More Batman and Robin stories. #12 has a Jason solo story set at his school! 

Batman: the Cult - a 4-issue miniseries where Bruce is kidnapped and brainwashed by a cult. A pretty dark story and one of the last ones from before his death. Jason has some great moments in it!

Dc Retroactive: Batman - The 80s - Story from 2011 written by Mike Barr, who wrote Jason’s 80s Robin stories in Detective Comics!

Robin 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spetacular - One of the stories, More Time, is about Jason and Bruce and goes between the past (with Jason as Robin) and the present (with Jason as Red Hood). Short and very sweet!

Crossovers/Teamups

In which Jason meets or teams up with other characters, with or without Batman!

Blue Devil #19 - Jason is pen pals with Eddie Bloomberg/Kid Devil and teams up with him! 

Action Comics #556 + #594 - Jason meets Superman!

Superman Annual #11 - For The Man Who Has Everything, or where Jason goes with Bruce to Superman’s birthday, first meets Wonder Woman, and Stuff Happens. (Jason gets to be the hero!) 

New Teen Titans V2 (1984) #18-#31 - Jason joins the Teen Titans for a while! It’s fun to see him in a team and his characterization here is really good imo. (this is the span of issues he appears in but he isn’t in all of them)

Legends (six-part miniseries) - A DC crossover event! Jason has short but great appearances (the time where he breaks his leg, but wants to get up and help anyway).

Nightwing Year One #101-#106 - A rewrite of Dick's Nightwing origin with occasional Jason appearances until #106, which is a retelling of their first meeting where they work together to rescue Alfred. While I have Issues with the characterization of Jason in this, it has some cute moments and I’d be remiss to not include the story that introduces Dick’s nickname of “Little Wing” for Jason.

After his Death

Stuff dealing with the aftermath of Jason’s death and the impact it left on others. (Some of the stuff here is just listed for a single page or panel rather than a full story about Jason)

Batman #430-#432 + #496 - Bruce in the aftermath of Jason’s death. 

Batman Annual #13 - Jason appears in a flashback.

The New Titans #55 - Dick and the Titans find out about Jason’s death, and Dick confronts Bruce about it.

Batman: Year Three + A Lonely Place of Dying - While these focus on Dick and Tim respectively, they’re set after Jason’s death and show how Bruce is dealing with it. Year Three is in Batman #436-#439 and A Lonely Place of Dying (Tim’s origin story) is in Batman #440/New Titans #60/Batman #441/New Titans #61/Batman #442, also included in reprints of Death in the Family.

Detective Comics #618 - Has a nice little moment of Tim looking up to Jason.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #100 - The issue is mainly a Dick origin story, but in the end there’s a sweet and sad story about Jason’s beginning and ending as Robin.

Nightwing Secret Files and Origins - On the first story, Taking Wing, Jason appears to Dick as a dream/hallucination while the latter is having a near-death experience and accompanies him through various of Dick’s memories.

Joker: Last Laugh #6 - The one time when, upon believing Tim was killed and being taunted with Jason’s death, Dick kills the Joker. (the full thing is a six-issue miniseries)

Nightwing (1996) #63 - The aftermath of Dick killing the Joker (though he was revived), but I’m mainly including this for the one panel that shows a picture of Dick and Jason on what seems to be a ski trip.

Batman: Gotham Knights #34 - At the end there’s a story called “The Delusions of Alfred Pennyworth” about Jason’s ghost and Alfred.

Batman: Gotham Knights #43-#45 - Has a flashback to a Barbara and Jason teamup and a recap of Jason’s death as a social worker looks into it and investigates Bruce’s family.

Detective Comics #790 - Bruce talks to Cass about Jason on the day of Jason’s birthday.

Robin V4 #85 - The story itself is about the Joker reflecting on the Robins and Jason only appears briefly, but I think it’s worthwile to include as it’s one of the few times where the involvement of Jason’s mother in his death is acknowledged after Death in the Family. (Also there’s a panel where Jason kicks the joker on the crotch)

Green Arrow V3 (2001) #7 - The one panel where Jason is shown swinging around in heaven :)

Alternate Universes/Other Media

Some stuff that doesn’t fit anywhere else/isn’t quite comics/isn’t really canon, but I think is neat and wanted to include!

Letters - letters from readers sent during when Jason was Robin and after his death. They can be interesting to look through to get a sense of how he was seen by readers at the time (there’s even an eulogy by a clergyman!). The ones I’ve seen can be found in this tag, and this post links to a few too (as well as some other info regarding Jason and the vote that led to his death).

The Batman Files - A book that contains several files over various topics and characters across Batman’s history. Among other things, it has Jason’s death certificate. (mainly including this because early on I spent a while trying to find out how old he was when he died)

Tiny Titans #23, #29, #33, #39, #45, #47 - An adorable alternate universe comic in a kid-friendly setting! Jason’s design in it is very cute.

Batman The Brave and the Bold #13 - Jason and Robins from other points in time team up to save Batman!

Teen Titans Go! season 6, episode 17 (Egg Hunt) - He doesn’t actually appear, but Jason is namedropped and said to be Batman’s favorite Robin.

Batman And The New Robin (unmade cartoon) - An unproduced animated TV series from the late 80s that would have starred Bruce as Batman and Jason as Robin! Unfortunately the project was abandoned and the show was never made, but the full series bible is available to read in its entirety and a link to it can be found here! There’s a page on it on the Lost Media Wiki as well.

[punkscowardschampions]

Janis & Jimmy

After smacking Mia one (and Jim).

Janis: Soz about the shiner, like Janis: Dunna how to dodge like a decent ref should obvs...you should work on that Janis: But forreal, you're welcome for the time you got to spend in the head's office with a cold press on #schoolboyfantasiesaremadeofthis Jimmy: 🤔 You mean this tiny insignificant scratch like Jimmy: I'd say get the pads out but between you and your nan lately I'm not sure my ego's up for that Jimmy: Your plan all along was it? 👌 she's no type of mine but I appreciate you trying to be a mate 😉 Jimmy: Best bit was Gracie doing her bit to defend my honor at the end there. Maybe I DO owe her one 😂 Janis: Alright, monty python 😂 don't be a hero on my account...oh wait, advice coming too late, my bad 😉 Janis: Ah well, if you're not fancying it like, pal, good thing I'll have her to myself all this week AND next 🙄 thanks mia... now THAT was the real plan all along 😏 Janis: At least you know what her shout is already 👍 though if you could spit in Mia's next, I think she'd take that and call it quits Janis: If you make like Rocky and get steak up on your bruises, I'll get my Da to cook it for ya after, we settled too then, yeah? 😘 Jimmy: Mia's plan 100% 🙄 Am I meant to be offended that she thinks you're a lesbian still? Because I'm taking it as a compliment #prettyboy 😂 Jimmy: Shame I've got too many disciplinaries to have her banned it'd be one less skinny latte to have to expertly craft Jimmy: Maybe. What sides are we talking about? I think one more smack down and I'll be demanding my chips triple cooked Jimmy: Warn your relatives Janis: Assumedly, pretending here her stinging text slams had her intended effect, and didn't just make me fall about, like #facesoprettyyoudontseeascar 🤞 Janis: Ugh, tell your boss to do one, 'cos they'd lose half their business if you did, think on, dickhead 😒 Janis: Know your worth, babe Janis: Gotta respect that Janis: At least my Brother doesn't need to bother fighting you now I beat him to it, ay? Jimmy: Who'd you wanna be, princess (bless Gracie Lou) and basketcase already taken and athlete being the obvious choice 💪 Jimmy: Tempting offer but you can do better Jimmy: Of course that was 1 of the 10! Should've seen that coming Jimmy: Can't lie I'd much rather take you on 😉 Janis: Never seen it 🤷 but boy is Charlie Sheen's bro, yeah? So sounds legit for the family I have to endure 😏 Janis: You're not gonna end up with Grace in the end are ya? 😤 just 'cos you wanna rock the leather fingerless gloves #lewk Janis: I'll never tell 😉 his ego definitely ain't up for that Janis: we can have a rematch any time any place Janis: i'm ready 💪 Jimmy: Me either. Still break you out though. Isn't that what they do? 🤔 I'll ask your sister but not before she gives me of precious bling to take down cash converters Jimmy: My bad boy image has taken too much of a battering, literal, for me to refuse the fashion 😎 Jimmy: Let's go then. There isn't a nurse but I can still play the concussed care and run. Say when. Janis: Probs after some cringe bonding and bants, thank GOD we got that outta the way, mate 😜 Janis: Most of her jewels are from Primark so I dunna how golden your chances are, don't tell anyone like #banginonabudget Janis: What lesson you in anyway? In PE rn so usually you wouldn't get a look-in (you ain't that special, babe) but they got me coaching the first years girls for a fucking team management module and...Give me strength Janis: we talking screaming when the ball comes their way levels Janis: so I'm making them do laps whilst I shout encouragements about how it ain't that cold from my warm as shit coat, like any gym teach worth their salt 😉 Janis: Gonna get an A, like Jimmy: Oh I dunno, you and Mia still need to hug it out 😉 bet she'd love it too 💘 Jimmy: I'm in art of course #tortured soul and everyone knows you're my muse so done deal there. Jimmy: I'd come snapping but I don't need the rep that'd come with background first years in their shorts Janis: I'd sooner watch a thousand chick flicks with Gracie Janis: amongst other fates worse than death Janis: but honestly #whyareyousoobsessedwithmehun? #toolittletoolateforthisloveaffair Janis: That's probably why you're so tortured 😉 Edie Sedgewick I ain't Janis: Nah, that wouldn't help your case, there's only so much bashing that I can be a party to in a day... Janis: I get to swap with Kayleigh Dwyer next period, meant to go write up about my experience but sure I can as easily do that wherever you need to get your inspiration from, like Jimmy: 😂 it's the curse of being so #goals, hun Jimmy: I don't have a clue who that is but like I've said before you take a decent picture. Now don't get a big head (it'd fuck with my framing terrible) but it isn't half bad being stuck with you Jimmy: There is always Mia's 🦆 pout if you're really busy but like Jimmy: Since you aren't I'm thinking back to mine? Twix will happily hear about any of your running or ball based experiences Janis: Kayleigh? Rude, she sits next to you in English, the one drooling all over you and the desk? Bless her, she'll be devvo 😂 Janis: I forgot you haven't had an Ali McKenna education, she was Andy Warhol's main bitch (aside from Basquiat, tea) in all his shit films, Bob Dylan was hard for her too but she weren't really arsed so he wrote Like A Rolling Stone about her Janis: At least you didn't come for my life that hard post-bath Janis: Bad enough like, I'd have to fake my own death forreal then Janis: She'd fucking love that...do her dirty in the edit, boo, no facetune 😂 Janis: A girl after my own heart that dog, kindred spirts 😍 Janis: sounds good, always down for being out of this dump Janis: your Da's unlikely to pop back for lunch, yeah? Jimmy: I've been calling her Kourtney #awkward Jimmy: Bet she loves it anyway Jimmy: Speaking of, I still have that project to finish up (deadlines long enough to hang yourself with cheers ms sheppard) might dedicate some space on that edit to the lot of them. Fancy helping as well as inspiring? 😈 Jimmy: #satireorshadeisit? Jimmy: Good. Keep the lovefest away from me. Last thing I need is Twix licking my wounds Jimmy: Packed up his sarnies myself so we're set Janis: The KardashiKlan clout, everyone knows she's the CLASSIEST sister, SO fitting 😂 Janis: Can't be anything but a sweetheart, can you? N'awwh! Janis: Hell yeah, you clearly need my talents for cuntery, you bring the skillz, I'll bring my winning personality and large head, like Janis: How fucking rude though, tell her to keep her antiseptic spit to herself 💅 #menaintshitbabygirl #imsorryyouhadtolearnthislessonsosoon Janis: Like I said, you're just too good for this world 😇 Janis: Maybe I'll find the time between being a muse and bad influence to make you one Janis: Its no steak apology but Jimmy: 👍 Too right Jimmy: Maybe if we take the mad bitch out she won't chew a hole in anyone's face (tempting as that'd be if it was any of Mia's squad) been enough facial damages sustained for one day Jimmy: Get some very #aesthetic shots for my A Jimmy: 😇 Always on that good boy track Jimmy: Maybe I can shout you a pie and pint in that spirit Janis: Goes without saying, need the skirting and your Da's shoes to be safe for another day Janis: Should bin off the rest of the day altogether, then you could take Twix to pick the kiddo's up, Cass would be made up getting to show her off Janis: you always after those best big bro points, I know Janis: and I know it, you always want me to protest too much the other way like 😈 Janis: wholesome afternoon of dog walking and homework with bae, no wonder the entire female population of the school is so jealous 😉😘 Jimmy: Did you just have a good idea? 😮 Jimmy: But yeah world's most bog standard bro coming through 🏆💪 get that middleschool clout cass 😎 Jimmy: We just can't stop being #goals however hard we try. Damn 😘 Janis: Don't sound so surprised dickhead! I'm a wealth of cunning plans or have you forgotten Janis: Didn't hit you that hard Janis: Now who's being modest Jimothy 😊 you know you're bestest Janis: whoda thunk it, bitch, not I Jimmy: Been a while can't blame me 😏 Jimmy: 💕 Cute Jimmy: How will I survive the aft? Janis: We can go back there if you really pining Janis: and I'M the one who's sexuality is always in question Janis: #fakebaebetterthanarealone Janis: Ha ha, keep testing me and you might not Jimmy: You'd never make it. Can't get enough of me 💋 Jimmy: If you'd rather be in school doing their tests don't let me stop you 😏 Jimmy: 😎 Jimmy: Told you i'm bad Janis: 😑 Janis: bet you break before i do Janis: we'll see how bad you are, won't we Jimmy: Last shift's 💶 on it Janis: Done Janis: I've got my eye on some new kicks Janis: At least even when you lose you can still pretend you treated me 😜 Jimmy: When you lose you can pretend you don't need a man to treat you Jimmy: so many #s in that for you Janis: Imma win when I PROVE I don't need you to treat me as much as you need me to treat you, sucka! Janis: and there ain't no point in nothing if it doesn't make your 'gram captions pop off #truerwordsneverspoken Jimmy: We'll see Jimmy: so soon too ⏲ Janis: you started your countdown already, boy? Janis: keeeeeeeen Jimmy: Not ready? Shame Janis: Born ready Janis: Admittedly, got the upper hand, nothing sexy about first year girls, despite what some fourth year boys might believe Janis: you surrounded by all them loose af art hoes Jimmy: How rude of me not to pull all your focus Jimmy: yep, those blunt fringes really get me goin Janis: Well s'why I know I got the W in the bag 🤷 Janis: Called that in the air Janis: whip off those unnecessary nerd glasses and there's real beauty under there Janis: #hotdamn Jimmy: For a rom com hater you've got all the cliches down 😂 Jimmy: Quietly confident now. That shit won't help you off screen 🏆💪 Janis: Oh, you don't recall how pushy my sister is? Janis: Let's call this off rn and she'd be happy to remind you herself I'm sure 😏 Janis: I'm sure you've learnt PLENTY off a whole different typa romcom that is all types of fucked IRL Jimmy: Only if she promises to bring Tam too. I need that model height for my shoot naturally Janis: You really wanna be that letchy photographer stereotype, huh? Janis: Get the whole squad 'round for a sesh Janis: Just know they'll start a # Jimmy: #rolloutladies Jimmy: 😂 Jimmy: I'll #bowout of that one thanks Janis: Sure? It'll give you a better chance of winning the bet Janis: #knackered Jimmy: I'd rather lose Jimmy: #takemymoneyandrunaslongasIcancomewith Janis: Sweet talker. Janis: Meant to be me with the gift of the gab 🍀 Jimmy: nope, real talker Jimmy: Got up close and personal enough with Mia today thanks. Still washing these hands Janis: Same, despite what she might think, not something I fancy repeating either Janis: Though I will if she talks shit one more time Janis: So watch out if you don't want the other side to match, like Jimmy: Don't make me say I'll do it all again Jimmy: so many stereotypes already in this chat Jimmy: 💕 Janis: Ew. 💋 Janis: Best get your chat to as high a standard as poss tho, as all the guards and other inmates will be listening in Janis: Reckon's her Da can actually get me done Janis: Bitch be serious Jimmy: Doesn't he sell cars? Janis: Lmao, no Janis: Though he is 100% a used car salesman in aesthetic, you're spot on Janis: He is a lawyer or some shit so he knows realistically who gives a shit about a playground scrap but he'll try and scare my parents like they're fucking idiots so no one is ever mean to his little princess again Janis: That type 🙄 Jimmy: She wants to be a yank so bad it must hurt Jimmy: Remind me to cut my pops so slack next time he's pissing me off Jimmy: could be so much worse Janis: Too bad she's a few hundred years late for the mass migration to the states Janis: Only looking famished, like Janis: Same, wouldn't hate being as spoilt as she is but you know Jimmy: Yep, too bad you'll be waiting for those kicks Jimmy: 🎅's your best bet Jimmy: Not too late to back out 😏 Jimmy: Keep on his good side Janis: No chance Janis: I can keep him on side by keeping away from yours, simple 😜 Jimmy: You sure? There's literally songs about how much he loves 💋 Jimmy: I think he'll be mad if you don't cave Janis: 💋 for him from MILFs maybe Janis: I don't think it'll pain him to see you go without Janis: I see no mistletoe, like #demstherules Jimmy: 👌 Bet stays on Jimmy: Take your chances Janis: Way to make me sound more predatory than the big man 😲😂 Janis: If you're that scared, we can mark it down to a lose for you by default 😉 Jimmy: Not when I'll have you begging for a draw in a bit. Easy Jimmy: Just get ready to accept your loss, not reason we should both be sore Jimmy: #bruisedandbattered Janis: Pretty cocky for a boy who can't even promise A FEW bruises, like 😜 Jimmy: Waste of a 🤞 Jimmy: why talk about it when I can just do it Janis: As long as you start it, I'm allowed to finish it Janis: win win for me 😊 Jimmy: Cocky for a lass who hasn't won anything against me yet Janis: 😡 Janis: it wasn't a fair fight all those other times, thank you very much Jimmy: Maybe you were faking the skills as well as the 💕 Jimmy: awwh Janis: You won't be finding out any time soon Janis: ✌ Jimmy: So you keep saying, all talk I think 😂 Janis: All talk no action is right Janis: Prick 🖕😂 Jimmy: 😘 Jimmy: You're about me Jimmy: unlucky ☘ Janis: Shh Janis: Not all bad, I suppose, at least you've got a cute dog 😘 Jimmy: good point, what a you offering? first year having an asthma attack? 😂 #goals Janis: I never said I had anything worth sticking 'round for Janis: More fool ye for your 😍 Jimmy: Secret's safe. I won't tell Mia Janis: I think she's pretty confident she knows where she and I lie on the pecking order already 😂 Janis: not coming for her 👑 Jimmy: just her 👃 Janis: What can I say? Save daddy the surgery fees Jimmy: you're the 😇 you think I am Janis: it has been said Janis: oh wait, no it hasn't, ever 😂 Jimmy: Only because 🐶 can't speak Janis: The love is so real Janis: Its all the treats and walkies, maybe I'll have to employ the same technique on you when the bet is up Janis: Worth a shot 🎯 Jimmy: Start now #worthashot #haveyoubeentricked? 😂 Janis: I'm not quite as easy to distract as Twix Janis: All these dog comparisons, bit rude tbh, don't think I appreciate Janis: Will piss on your boots tho Jimmy: Unless we're playing pool or darts Jimmy: Make sure they're mine. My dad has only just replaced his Janis: Wasn't even you, it was pub lighting and a prick munching on his crisps too loud at the bar #dontflatterlike Janis: Will do 👍 I'm not looking to make him dislike me anymore than I already have lol Jimmy: #surejan Jimmy: least he's never about so no drama there. Been enough for one day Janis: #ihateu Janis: what's he even do, like? dead busy Jimmy: 💕 Jimmy: Warehouse Jimmy: Very much #goals Janis: Ah fun, lots of shitty shifts and long days like, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt too for being such a prick about poor Twix then Jimmy: Probably shouldn't. He bought her Janis: True...People never think how big a commitment a dog is though Janis: Twix be giving them puppy dog eyes like a pro Jimmy: before 🎄 too though what a prick Jimmy: can't even use the excuse Janis: Bleh Janis: Shoulda clued him in like 😉 #cuffed Jimmy: if I'd known he was going to do it I would've Jimmy: done now though Janis: Yeah, its just another stress you don't need, like? 😕 Jimmy: Snagged me you so maybe she's worth keeping about 😏 Jimmy: Because yeah she does take all the credit Janis: Smooth 😋 Janis: Can't go breaking my heart now, nor the kiddo's for that Janis: I can start taking her out again in the mornings, don't miss much 'bout dem days but it was decent having a running buddy Jimmy: Fancy some company or you wanna be alone with your true love? Janis: You reckon you can keep up, yeah? Janis: Not having you slowing me down 😉 Jimmy: Can't be using me as your excuse thanks 💪 Jimmy: maybe I'll come with then when I'm not working, leave you in no doubt Janis: Its a date, mate Jimmy: 💕 Janis: That's probably them more than sufficiently warmed up Janis: Get back to work, slacker 💚 Jimmy: 🎨📷 will do Jimmy: not too hard though, gotta keep my 💪 up for the victory party you'll owe me Janis: In your dreams, baby 💋 Jimmy: see you there 😘

[auswomenwriters]

During February there were nine reviews of books in the History, Memoir and Biography category. Five of these reviews picked up books which I’ve dealt with earlier in other Round Ups, which is always encouraging to see. While it’s interesting to learn about new titles we have been reading over the past month, there’s also a shared camaraderie in reading books that others have read before us. If you’ve already read these books, why not check out how these new reviewers received the book too. Sue at Whispering Gums reviewed Anita Heiss’s edited collection Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia, while Janine at Resident Judge of Port Phillip reviewed Cathy McLennan’s account of acting as a barrister in Townsville and Palm Island in Saltwater. Claire Holderness commented on Bri Lee’s Eggshell Skull which explores aspects of the legal response to sexual abuse, while Kate@Booksaremyfavouriteandbest wrote a compilation post that reviewed Zoya Patel’s No Country Woman, and Magda Szubanksi’s Reckoning: a Memoir.

#gallery-0-5 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-5 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-5 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-5 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

And so, onto books that we haven’t discussed previously.

Being human

Many of the books that our reviewers categorize as ‘memoir’ often interweave personal reflection and experience with a more detached, academic examination of a cultural phenomenon. In Imperfect author Lee Kofman, who herself bears the scars of surgery, examines the myths about physical perfection. In her review of Imperfect, Cass Moriarty observes:

This book will make you rethink your notions of beauty, tolerance, difference and diversity….And the most appealing aspect of the book is the way this is done: Kofman is an academic, and her research and findings are meticulously noted and sourced, and yet she manages to tell a tale that is almost child-like in its wide-eyed curiosity, asking questions that most of us have considered but never been brave enough to voice, and peppering her solid academic records and philosophy with references to pop culture and modern circumstances. (review here)

Swapping lifestyles

The theme of swapping lifestyles often emerges in the memoirs reviewed for the Challenge. In the case of English-born Fiona Stocker’s Apple Island Wife: Slow Living in Tasmania, the swap is between urban Brisbane and north-western Tasmania. In her review, Rebecca Bowyer describes the book as a

simply delightful memoir of trading city life in Brisbane for rural life in north-western Tasmania….I’d recommend this book to anyone who wants something light and enjoyable to read, a bit of a laugh and a vicarious meander through life in the Australian bush. (review here)

Remembering

Two books about remembering and memorializing are rather more sobering.

Gaylene Perry’s 2004 memoir Midnight Water was shortlisted for the National Biography Award. It is the account of the hours immediately following the drowning deaths of her father, aged 45, and brother Brad, aged 25. In her review, Jennifer Cameron-Smith writes:

…By setting the memoir within such a short time period (just 10 hours), Ms Perry achieves a tight balance between the agony and shock of waiting, and memories of the past. (review here)

In our only history book during the month of February Jane Lydon and Lyndall Ryan’s edited collection Remembering the Myall Creek Massacre goes back further to 1838, when – most unusually- white perpetrators were convicted and hanged for the murder of twenty-eight Wirrayaraay old people, women and children. This book of essays is written to commemorate the 180th anniversary of this horrific crime and to explore its meaning both at the time, and now. Janine Rizzetti wrote in her review:

If you’re not familiar with the Myall Creek massacre, you will be by the time you finish this book, which gives a clear account of the event and the men involved. This book shows that it was all there: unarmed, defenseless, frightened old women and children; white onlookers too intimidated to intervene; wide distances adding a sense of menace, and averted eyes that cloaked these stockmen with the arrogance of impunity. (review here)

And so, February brought us new reviews of  four very different books. Let’s see what March brings.

About: I’m Janine Rizzetti and I blog at the immodestly-named The Resident Judge of Port Phillip where I indulge my love of reading, podcasts, history and seeing films and exhibitions just before they close. I am a historian, interested in Australian and colonial history, officially retired but more occupied than I thought I would be with my local historical society, playing with grandchildren, learning Spanish and now- mah jong!

History, Memoir and Biography Round Up: February 2019 During February there were nine reviews of books in the History, Memoir and Biography category. Five of these reviews picked up books which I've dealt with earlier in other Round Ups, which is always encouraging to see.

[theworstbob]

scattered thoughts on anw9 stage one part one

because the best time to post about american ninja warrior is six days after the episode airs right (all stats from my index, which is a combination of sasukepedia and my own notes)

~So after a year in which a lot of talented dudes got dunked on by the Giant Log Grip, the producers... Removed the Giant Log Grip? I mean, I get it -- the general vibe of ANW courses is something like “bars ‘n tramps,” so the Double Dipper and the Domino Pipes are a better fit for that theme than everything that came before. (Plus, given how Ultimate Beastmaster themed its course, I wouldn’t be surprised if ANW is trying to make its courses fit into a theme; I could see them trying to turn the courses into construction sites, simply because construction workers fit into some vaguely American ideal of hard work.) This is one of the more enjoyable iterations of the First Stage in a while. (Might this be a death knell for the Rolling Log in city courses? Because real talk, the American Rolling Log is garbage. Too much rolling, not enough log. I don’t like seeing an extra 30 seconds being tacked onto runs because competitors have to recover from goddamned dizziness.)

~I do wish they’d make it shorter, though! 2:35 is a long time to be on a course, and in this episode, we saw a lot of montaged runs and a lot of segments where we only watched one person take to the course between commercial breaks. We miss a lot of the First Stage, and we even see a few clears not mentioned at all until the end of the broadcast, and interesting clears at that! Andrew Lowes, a highly notable veteran, clears the First Stage for the first time since ANW6! Cass Clawson, three years after missing Stage Two by a fraction of a second, finally gets his revenge! Michael Silenzi makes his Stage Two debut after four years away from Vegas! It’s completely understandable why they chose to show who they did, those are all Big Names with Good Stories, but man, they couldn’t even find montage space for Andrew Lowes. They gotta consider paring down this course.

~Because while this is one of the more fun iterations of the First Stage, it’s also very much an iteration of the First Stage. The new obstacles are merely variations on old themes; hold onto something and fly, run on an angled platform, and balance bridge. I don’t think anyone would complain if the First Stage were to be overhauled. People come to this show to see people fulfill their potential, and you can only do that so much jumping into the same spider every year, and it’s starting to look like people are solving this course. 36 of the Vegas entrants from last season are making a return trip, the highest number in the show’s history, and of the 20 First Stage clears on Wednesday, 14 made it to Vegas last season, and only one is in their (legit stoked to be using the gender-neutral pronoun here) Vegas debut. Obviously, experience isn’t everything (poor Karsten Williams), but it’s proving more helpful than not, and with more competitors becoming more seasoned (54/100 competitors with prior Vegas experience), it might be fun to see these cats try to solve a new course. One understands why NBC is reticent to change the First Stage, it’s obviously something that works and more clears is probably better for NBC because it gives them more footage to work with, but it’d be nice to see an actual new challenge, not just modified obstacles.

~Did they abandon the conceit where qualifiers from each region had to wear a certain color to denote the region from which they qualified? That’s lame if they did. I always liked seeing how the competitors with brands worked the color into their get-up -- I will never forget Anthony Scott’s giant red watch -- and I feel the show loses a little visual flair without forcing yellow and purple onto the dudes.

~I feel like I’m burying the lede here a little bit: ALLYSSA BEIRD! You could have given me ten guesses for “second woman to clear the First Stage on ANW” and Beird might’ve been seventh. There’s still some measure of unpredictability with the women’s runs on ANW; because each woman gets hella Hero Edit, it’s almost impossible to say which one’s going to clear any given course, so I’m still surprised when Barclay Stockett makes it all the way to the last obstacle, or when Jesse LeBreck (my pick to be the second FWIW) gets hung up on Parkour Road and barely misses. But the show’s editing also spoiled Beird’s clear; we know that ANW hates ending with failure, what with the way they opted to make Jake Murray’s corn dog the final image from ANW8 First Stage and not Geoff Britten taking the plunge on Snake Run. So when you see Barclay Stockett make it so close, then Jesse LeBreck getting closer still, and then you see Allyssa Beird (arguably a less notable competitor than LeBreck, too) on the platform, you sense that there’s a reason ANW is ordering the runs in this order. And when you can predict the outcome, it makes the moment that much less cool. Still a cool moment, I feel like I’m burying the lede a little by complaining about the way the show is edited instead of typing ALLYSSA BEIRD! a hundred times, but I wish ANW could embrace failure a little tighter.

~Like, every time Joe Moravsky runs without an extended pre-run interview package, I get a little nervous, and that makes watching him do his usual Joe Moravsky thing on the First Stage that much more fun, y’know? I get why the show is the way it is, it’s trying to be aspirational reality programming before it’s trying to embrace the randomness and chaos of Sport and I respect that, I just so wish it could change something up.

~Nick Kostreski was entirely cut from this broadcast, and understandably so; while he made it to Vegas last year and was one of the eight qualifying clears in Denver, but those are his only two accomplishments of note; if they couldn’t make room for Andrew Lowes, it would’ve been kinda shitty to cut him for Nick Kostreski. BUT. He is now notable for being the first person to clear from p15 in their city. He was the last man to qualify for Vegas in Denver, then (assuming ANW still runs Vegas in order from ‘worst city Finals result’ to ‘best’) the first to qualify for Stage Two. (I’m assuming nothing good happens for Jody Avila or whoever replaced Charlie Andrews, we saw nothing good happen for Michael Johnson and Jesse LeBreck, and Donovan Metoyer would’ve been the first man up.)

~This is ANW editing done right: I believe they showed Travis Rosen failing Snake Run before they showed Brian Wilczewski this year, just to establish that the first obstacle is dangerous, which shadows how the show used Lucas Gomes’ fall on the same obstacle to set up Rosen’s. So you kind of knew someone serious would go out on Snake Run again this season. And when they showed Brian Wilczewski failing the first obstacle in ANW5, I got absolutely giddy, because he was so going in the drink, AND THEN! And then. ANW doesn’t usually revel in failure like that, because it sort of goes against their ethos, but even if they didn’t show Rosen before B-Wil like I remember, they still set up that fall very well. “This man’s family still makes fun of the dumb this guy did four years ago. Bear witness to the nothing this man has learned.” Like, Brian. Brian. You’re now the dude who’s failed the first obstacle twice. Why would you ever want to be that guy. (Also: nice to see Chris Wilczewski on the sidelines, even if ANW didn’t explain why he wasn’t there.)

~JJ Woods has done two of the ten or so most impressive things I’ve ever seen on this course, now. I still remember this dude beasting through the last three obstacles of the First Stage in thirty seconds back in ANW6, and now here he is, skipping a step on Parkour Run. Like, of course the parkour guy’s gonna do some parkour shit on Parkour Run. (#1 for me is still honestly Jessell Boseman’s one-legged Jumping Spider. I still don’t get how he did it. And Judas Licciardello landing a flip off the Double Dipper was dope, even if it was more showy than useful.)

~Just so we have an end, the 20 clears that have been either shown or mentioned thus far: CLE16 Allyssa Beird (8.48) DEN15 Nick Kostreski (17.72) DEN14 Michael Silenzi (19.44) SAN14 Cass Clawson (22.68) LAX13 Nick Hanson (5.03) DEN9 Drew Knapp (5.03) CLE8 Mike Bernardo (24.90) LAX7 Kevin Bull (27.95) KCT6 Lance Pekus (45.48) SAN6 Andrew Lowes (6.68) DAY5 Travis Rosen (28.80) SAN4 Brent Steffensen (33.66) KCT4 Eric Middleton (23.52) LAX4 Flip Rodriguez (30.55) DAY3 Sean Darling-Hammond (6.26) LAX3 Josh Levin (14.30) DAY2 JJ Woods (16.73) SAN2 Thomas Stillings (32.88) CLE1 Joe Moravsky (42.76) DEN1 Ian Dory (7.34) So the next episode will have Brian Arnold, Meagan Martin, Jamie Rahn, Jon Alexis Jr, Mike Meyers, Dan Galiczynski, Najee Richardson, Mitch Vedepo, Tyler Yamauchi, Jeremiah Morgan, Drew Drechsel, Jessie Graff, Ryan Stratis, Daniel Gil, Nicholas Coolridge, Abel Gonzalez, Adam Rayl, and David Campbell, plus 30+ other talented athletes, so they prolly ended up with over 40 clears. Or maybe they didn’t! Maybe ANW is going to subvert all expectations and show an episode where everyone just gets completely hecked! WHO KNOWS! (They prolly broke 40.)