#kryptonite factor

[headlesshorsemanxiii]

I suspect comic-book Madelyne Pryor (because I got into X-Men too late to know who Jean Grey was, until I started reading X-Factor) was the catalyst for my enduring love of redheads.

Also, how cool would it be to get an adaptation of The Inferno Saga?

X-MEN 97' - 1.03 | Fire Made Flesh Madelyne Pryor

[femmehaljordan]

So lets talk about Bruce and/or Dick trying to kill the Joker and how Jason would react

It would Not go the way so many people in the fandom think. Bffr Jason would not immediately be perfectly okay with them, in fact it would make his relationship with Bruce WORSE.

Like, you think Jason would be okay with Bruce saying he didn't kill the Joker because Superman stopped him? No he fucking would not!! Because he knows Bruce has kryptonite!! And sure, lets say Bruce didn't have it on him, and the helicopter still did explode so he did think the Joker was dead. THE JOKER SURVIVED AND BRUCE LET HIM LIVE. All it would prove to Jason is that he was worth nothing more than a temporary loss of control. People seem to forget that it wasn't JUST personal revenge for Jason, that was a major part sure, but it was also the fact that that wasn't the final straw.

"Ignoring what he's done in the past. Blindly, stupidly, disregarding the entire graveyards he's filled, the thousands who have suffered... the friends he's crippled... I thought... I thought killing me-- that I'd be the last person you'd ever let him hurt." -sourced directly from my copy of UTRH

It was the same thing as Tim being Robin. It wasn't solely about his death, it was that his death didn't change anything. People were put right back in danger because the Joker faced no real consequences other than a beating that was worse than usual.

And leading into the Dick thing, you think even if somehow, by some miracle, Jason forgave Bruce for all that it wouldn't go flying out the window the moment he found out Bruce RESUSCITATED the clown? You'd genuinely have to think Jason has no spine. Because not killing him is a personal choice, HELL even preventing others from doing it could have some form of explanation, but actively BRINGING HIM BACK FROM THE DEAD?????? There's no excusing or explaining that away.

But onto Dick. I genuinely think most people just. Haven't read Last Laugh #6. Dick sought out the Joker because he thought he killed Tim. Sure Jason was mentioned at the beginning, and sure Dick wasn't fully trying to kill him until the, "I hit Jason harder than that" thing, but as a whole it was less about Jason, and more about Tim. Because Dick hadn't gone after the Joker when Jason died, only when he thought Tim did.

I think it would be a step in repairing their relationship, but it certainly wouldn't be the magic fix people think it would. Because at it's core it wasn't because of Jason, it was because of Tim. Jason played a factor, but he wasn't the reason.

And there's also the immense guilt and "the Joker won" mentality Dick had about it. Jason would not be supportive of that, come on.

Anyway, just my thoughts around it, but I really shouldn't be surprised how people recontextualize stuff and treat Jason horribly OOC to fit him into the batfam.

[frownyalfred]

Mpreg with Eldritch Gotham and Fortress AI would be insane, that baby would be 0% human, congrats superbat! You created a new species!

Talking seriously... I kind of get them, the entities. Like, yes, this is body horror. But also. Bruce strikes me as one of those people who hates aging, who would work for Gotham forever if he could- that's why Gotham loves him back. And Clark- poor Clark, who is likely to live a long long time, and feel not only more lonely but more alien with each year- how much would it mean to him, to get to keep Bruce by his side? There's a very interesting hurt/horror/comfort play here.

I read a fic a few weeks back -- blanking on the name, but I think it was part of a Kryptonite challenge/series? Anyway, one of the fics has Bruce accidentally becoming a Kryptonian after touching some Kryptonite (gold? maybe?) and Clark's first reaction is so gut-wrenching. He's overjoyed, and tearful, because he's no longer the only one. Not the only Kryptonian -- but not the only one who's going to live forever. He won't have to leave Bruce behind, even though he was preparing emotionally to do so anyway.

But yeah, in that fic it was very sweet and heartwarming. But you're right, there's a great hurt/comfort/horror aspect at play here - Bruce doesn't have any say in choosing to live forever. But who does he blame? Gotham? Clark's overeager Fortresss AI? Clark didn't choose this for him, anymore than he chose to be born Kryptonian himself. Would working endlessly on behalf of Gotham make him jaded or distant? Or would he still bleed and agonize for his city like it was year one of his mission all over again? How does Clark becoming more Gotham-like factor into this? So many good questions here.

[owlwithanapple]

Eternal Engagement

Chapter 02

Signs of transformation

After what happened yesterday, Damian left your room at dawn. It was already the next afternoon when you woke up. You had been sleeping for a long time. There was a chair next to the bed. The strange thing was that this chair should have been in front of the desk, but you didn't think much about it. Recalling you felt that strength was drained for a moment yesterday, but recovered today.

Hearing... No change, just a temporary phenomenon.

You changed clothes and prepared to go downstairs. Before that, you saw a black car parked at the door through the window. You knew who was coming with that exaggerated luxury car. You went downstairs and walked towards the living room. A familiar voice came, and you leaned out to see who it was. You saw your daddy, Damian and uncle Bruce. The three of them were sitting on the sofa and talking about you in a serious manner.

You hid at the stairs, not knowing what to do. The point is, you didn't do anything bad, so why hide? A hoarse voice interrupted your worries, "My future daughter-in-law, don't you come and show your face to your father-in-law?"

"Uncle Bruce, don't call me that... It's embarrassing." Bruce is like your second father, always teasing you.

Your daddy was sitting next to Damian, trying hard to hold back his laughter, your fiancé was as arrogant as usual. You ignored him and stood at the stairs. Bruce saw that your interaction was at a stage of no progress. He chuckled and stood up walked towards you, opening his arms with a bitter smile "Give Uncle Bruce a hug?"

You know Bruce is comforting you in a more caring way, you go forward to give him a hug, he pats your back and then lets go. He knows Damian's tone is always sarcastic and annoying, it's normal for you to dislike him. He puts arm around your shoulders and takes you to sit on the sofa. Damian, who was scrolling on his phone, stops his fingers and casts his emerald eyes on the two of you.

"I heard from Clark that you heard a cry for help from a far distance. Did you feel any changes in your body after waking up?" Bruce clasped hands on his knees carefully observed your body and condition.

You shook head to indicate no, and he nodded slightly. You said, "I haven't changed at all. I felt my body was hollowed out when I touched Kryptonite yesterday, but I recovered today."

"What a disappointment. I thought someone had a chance, but nothing happened." These words cut through your heart like a knife. Damian put away his phone, with a smug smile on his face like he was laughing at you.

"Damian, shut up." Bruce glared at Damian, and you felt a chill with Bruce’s voice.

"I didn't say anything wrong, father. It's all true. You didn't say it clearly-" Damian stated the truth without hiding it, and those words hurt you badly.

"I... I'll go to the kitchen to prepare drinks for you all." You got up and left in a panic.

"Is all you can do to avoid reality? How pitiful." Damian said.

You don't want to marry him, don't want to spend your life with him, he has never been gentle to you. His cold and ruthless emerald eyes and the piercing words in his mouth are like several knives that keep leaving scars deep in your heart. You can't change the facts, because he is right. Everyone cares about your feelings, so they choose to avoid these factors.

You went to the kitchen in frustration, opened the cupboard and took out the tea bag to prepare for brewing. While waiting for the hot water to boil, you were distracted and vaguely heard your daddy and Bruce scolding Damian, but he just didn't care about anyone's opinion. Self-centered people, you feel very jealous, why is he better than you.

After the tea was brewed, you carefully placed it in front of the three people. When you were about to take the teapot to pour the tea, Bruce patted the empty seat next to you and motioned you to sit down. Your daddy poured the tea into the cup and pushed it in front of you. You took it and taste it carefully, Bruce patted your shoulder as if to comfort you.

"Don't take Damian's words to heart. You know how he talks." He showed a bitter and worried look when he noticed your low mood.

"I know... I don't blame him. It's futile to argue." You were frustrated but tried to hold on to your emotions. You put down the teacup.

"Little princess, don't be like this-" Your daddy wanted to comfort you but was interrupted by Damian.

Those words hurt more and more, they kept playing in your mind over and over again. "It's not shameful to face the reality. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for not being qualified to have super powers. You can only envy, jealousy and hate. It's a shame for the weak and it's useless."

You want to run away, run to a place where no one can find you. Run away? What happens after you run away? You can escape once, but can't escape forever. It just makes you more pathetic and cowardly, it won't change anything. You keep reminding yourself to be confident, but you are very depressed by Damian's words.

"Damian, everyone here is worried about her. You are her fiancé, why do you want to belittle her from an outsider's perspective? Instead of giving her enough encouragement and protection?" Your daddy trusts Damian as much as he trusts Bruce, and he knows very well that your mom doesn't agree with the engagement agreement. But he didn't expect that this time the words were too heavy, he could no longer suppress Damian's behavior towards you.

"Superman, I give her enough encouragement and protection, and what? I am her fiancé, but I also have my own ideas. Do you want her to expect something that she can't get in her lifetime?" Damian stared at Clark, without any room for compromise.

"I asked you to come to Metropolis yesterday to check on her situation, as her fiancé. Not as an outsider who would increase her negative emotions." Bruce tapped the coffee table, his tone as if ordering him to shut up.

You cleared throat and took a deep breath. "Daddy, Uncle Bruce, stop it. Let him say whatever he wants. I'm going to take a walk outside."

You left home with a frustrated mood. Your daddy came forward to stop you but you refused. You went to the farm and kicked the pebbles on the ground vent your anger, and kept cursing Damian. At such a long distance, Bruce and Damian couldn't hear what you were cursing except for your daddy's super hearing.

"Damian Wayne you bastard! Stinky Robin! Inconsiderate bastard!" After you cursed, your eyes blurred and felt unwell for a while. You began to rub your eyes, slowly became hot. You couldn't suppress it for long. You shot a red laser light towards the rice field, and it instantly caught fire and burned the rice.

"Oh my God... No no no... Daddy!" You ran towards the house.

Clark's super hearing was always focused on your heartbeat, until he heard your heartbeat was very panic and shouting from afar. He rushed to open the door at lightning speed. The rice in the distance was on fire, and your frightened figure was running towards him.

"Bruce! Watch her! I'll go take care of it!" Your daddy's first countermeasure was to put out the fire. He flew over quickly and rushed to the direction of the rice. A gust of wind blew over your head. He rose in the air and took a deep breath and exhaled in the direction of the fire. After a while, the fires finally disappeared.

You were tired of running and sat on the ground, panting. A pair of hands grabbed your shoulders from behind. It was Bruce, Damian who was standing by and observing. Superman, your daddy landed in front of you, the first thing he did was not to blame you, but to hug you. He released the hug and looked directly into your eyes. The traces of your laser eyes disappeared.

"Did you hurt yourself?" Your daddy gently touched your head.

You shook head to indicate no, and his worried expression made you feel very sad. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, daddy. My eyes were hot just now, that's it..."

"I don't blame you, I just want you to be safe." Your dad locked his eyes on Damian. In fact, he had some hope that Damian would take care of your feelings, just like he silently stayed by your bed while you were sleeping last night.

Bruce stepped forward to observe carefully and found the changes in your thermal vision. "I was amazed. She didn't wake up directly like Jon. She seemed to be changing herself slowly."

"But... it's intermittent, which is unreasonable. Why didn't her superpower burst out directly?" Your dad looked at Bruce in confusion.

"Let's go to the batcave. If we continue like this, I don't know if she will suddenly burst out with something. Damian, it's time to go back to Gotham." Bruce finished his words seriously and took out his phone as if to contact someone.

"Understood, Da-hm? Damian? What's wrong?" Your daddy noticed that Damian was distracted, as if he was thinking in a void.

"Is the method I use really effective...?" He muttered.

Damian cast his eyes on your face. This time he didn't say much but remained silent. You trembled, and suddenly an inexplicable feeling came over you. Usually he always has harsh words on his lips, but this time he is observing you very seriously. Why? Until he approached you and knelt on one knee.

You choked up, suddenly very nervous "Why are you staring at me like that?"

His eyes slowly moved down from your face, which was very different from the usual Damian. You were used to his harsh words, but suddenly he was silent, which made you feel uncomfortable. It was really hard to guess what he was thinking. Your father and Bruce looked at each other, not understanding what Damian meant by his intentions and actions.

Just when you wanted to open your mouth to ask more questions, he picked you up with his left hand. In a panic, you wrapped your arms around his neck. He picked up your shoes with his right hand started walking towards the house. He didn't say anything, nor did he look at you again. He was thinking about a lot of complicated details in his mind the whole time.

"Hey Damian Wayne! What are you doing?!" You panicked.

Clark and Bruce in the back didn't know whether to laugh or stop him, until Clark thought of the words and said, "To be honest, I'm worried about leaving my daughter to your son, Damian's mind is really hard to understand..."

"I understand. As a father, I have no idea either. But Dick once told me that Damian asked him how to treat a girl gently." Bruce put his phone away and walked in step with Clark.

"Huh? Him? You mean Damian?" Clark was so surprised that he almost shouted.

"Hahaha, surprise? I had the same reaction as you at that time and almost spilled my coffee." Bruce chuckled as he looked at the two of you.

"If he was half as considerate as Dick, maybe I would have less gray hair and feel at ease to hand over the life of the little princess to him." Clark breathed a sigh of relief and confessed before combing his hair back.

Bruce stopped his steps, Clark turned his head until he noticed that Bruce's eyes were still on the backs of you and Damian. "Maybe it's unfair to the two of them, but Damian gives me the feeling that he doesn't want Y/N to feel inferior for the rest of her life."

"But he shouldn’t use bad words, right? He's her fiancé after all." Clark was confused.

Bruce shook his head to show that he didn't understand. "I have no idea about my son. I hope they can get along. Maybe there will be some changes in the future."

At this moment, you don't know what to do. Only can wait quietly for him to stop. Damian Wayne doesn't say anything to humiliate you. You want to quarrel with him but don't have the chance. He doesn't express his thoughts. He values ​​his dignity very much, and then uses bad words to hurt others. This is why you hate him.

Damian will steal a few glances at you when you are not paying attention. His emerald eyes wander over you. He is making sure you are intact since you just lost control and used heat vision. He sighed silently, not because he was impatient with you, but because he was thinking a lot about your superpowers.

In the evening, Gotham City, Wayne manor—

Since your daddy and Jon have responsibilities cannot stay with you, you will be taken care of by the Wayne family for the time being. Although your mom is very dissatisfied, the main reason is Damian Wayne. But she still compromised for your superpowers. She added that if Damian makes you unhappy, don't be afraid of him, you are Superman's beloved daughter, you can fight him head-on. You are really inferior to your mom in stubbornness, no wonder your daddy is so obsessed with her.

You followed Bruce and Damian to Wayne manor to stay for a few days. You once did physical ability tests and reports with Jon in the batcave. At that time, you showed no signs of transformation. You were extremely inferior at that time. You still remember that you kept crying and making a fuss, even Uncle Bruce and daddy didn't know how to comfort you.

But there was someone who was very good at making you happy, a very kind butler of the Wayne family. When you got off the car, you saw him waiting at the gate, you felt relieved. It was him, Alfred Pennyworth. He came forward gave you a warm hug, he carried your luggage and walked into the house.

First, Alfred leads you to the bedroom Bruce has arranged for you, which is next to Damian's bedroom. Alfred suggests putting your clothes in the closet first, letting you take a good shower, asking you if there is anything you particularly want to eat, and then he goes to the kitchen to prepare dinner for today.

Damian didn't wait for Bruce to say anything went straight to the batcave. As soon as he stepped in, he was scanned and identified by the system, all the lights and currents turned on automatically. He started the batcomputer and clicked on Jon's physical analysis report. He sat down leaned back in the chair, reading all the details carefully, and then replayed the record of the first time you two experienced the meta analyzer here.

"Little D, aren't you going to accompany your fiancée?" A voice came from behind, it was Dick Grayson aka Nightwing. He stood aside wiped sweat, staring at the screen, which contained a video clip of you and Jon.

"Alfred is taking care of her, I have to be busy with important things." The keyboard made a rapid clicking sound, his fingers kept pressing on each key. He was analyzing all possible factors, and his eyes were all focused on the big screen.

"The important thing is about fiancée or her superpowers?" Dick curled his lips and smiled.

He stopped the movement of his fingers, clenched his fists said stubbornly, "Superpowers."

"You are so tsundere, why don't you just admit that you care about her? Bruce told me that you did it again said bad things to her. Let me guess, domineering play?" Dick turned the chair around and let Damian face his face.

"No, you think too much." Damian turned back to face the big screen.

Dick chuckled, walked over to Damian, grabbed his arm and pointed at his ring finger. "I wonder which stubborn guy loves his fiancée so much that rarely takes off the engagement ring except when he is on patrol."

"Fuck you! Don't say such nonsense-" Damian shook Dick's hand off and tried to argue but interrupted by Bruce clearing his throat.

"Hi, Bruce, welcome back. Where's the little princess of the Kent family?" Dick let go of Damian's hand while trying to hold back a laugh.

"She and Alfred are sorting clothes in the bedroom. Damian, should you be here or with her?" Bruce asked, his eyes fixed on the big screen.

"Alfred is with her. Besides, I have something to deal with now." The keyboard sounded again, his eyes were fixed on the big screen and he was busy.

"Oh my god, you also read the genetic test report? How much do you care about the structure of every cell in her body?" Dick was surprised, looking at the complex analysis system on the big screen.

"Jon's genetic sample was kept, and it has changed over the years. From a mortal's physique to a superpower body." He stopped his finger movement and pointed at Jon's report and said calmly.

"You want her to experience the meta analyzer again?" Bruce asked curiously.

"That's right. Take her genes and send them to the laboratory for analysis and testing. Maybe we can-" Before Damian could finish his words, Bruce tapped the keyboard.

"We can find out if she has changed since the first time." Bruce said.

Damian and Bruce looked at each other and nodded to indicate that it was correct.

Dick looked at the big screen, which was full of your information. Each one was classified in detail and stored in D.W's private folder. "Wait, why aren't your fiancée's things in the Kent Family folder?"

"Don't look at these fucking details!" Damian quickly closed and returned to the homepage of batcomputer.

"Hey, language. Don't let Alfred hear it." Bruce chuckled.

You put the clothes in the closet, Alfred went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. You sat in the living room watching the video playing on the big screen TV. You had nothing to do so went to the kitchen to help Alfred. He saw through your uneasy mood, so he asked you to clean the dishes and put them on the dining table in order.

"Miss Y/N, thank you for your help. I have to go to the batcave to inform them that dinner is ready." He bowed and prepared to leave.

"Ah, okay, Uncle Alfred." You nodded.

Suddenly, an idea came to him, he poked your shoulder smiled slightly "How about we go together? The Batcave has been upgraded a lot in recent years, do you want to visit?"

Your eyes widened and almost glowed "Really?! I want to visit!"

You followed Alfred's steps to the secret passage leading to the batcave. The moment you stepped into the elevator, the door closed immediately, and automatically descended to the batcave floor. You tapped the thick glass cover around the elevator, which was covered with super hard and resistant structural materials. While descending to the bottom floor, you saw Bruce and Damian in front of the batcomputer, and Dick kept waving at you.

Landing on that floor, the elevator door opened automatically. The environment was as quiet and cold as usual, could hear the sound of your footsteps echoing after walking a few steps. Dick rushed towards you, before you could say hello, he picked you up and spun around twice. As gentle and steady as usual, he said optimistically, "Hi~ Long time no see~ Kent's little princess~ Did you miss me~"

"Hello, Dick." You were surprised but happy.

"Ahem, Master Dick. Please put her down, you will scare Miss Y/N. And please take a shower first." Alfred told him with a smile.

"Okay, okay, I know." Dick looked at Alfred's serious expression and laughed. He didn't put you down, just lifted you up walked to the position of the batcomputer and the other two.

"TT, put her down." Damian stretched out hands, and Dick dodged him.

"What? Are you jealous? I won't let her go~" Dick mocked him, but in fact Dick's intention was to expose Damian's jealous side.

Bruce and Alfred held back their laughter dared not laugh out loud, because they watched Damian trying to take you back, Dick held you and dodged Damian's every move. But Dick made a mistake, Damian used his feet to make a fake move towards his knees. Subconsciously, Dick let go of you for a moment, and when the opportunity came, Damian quickly slid over and caught you in his arms with both hands.

At the critical moment, you fell into Damian's arms intact without any pain. Bruce was amazed at Damian's skills, felt proud and impressed because he cultivated him. Alfred applauded Damian because he performed a good performance of a hero saving a beautiful woman. Dick smirked and whistled teasingly to praise Damian's behavior.

"Good job at protecting your future wife. I have to learn this trick. I wonder if Kori will like it." Dick poked Damian's cheek smiled as he left the batcave to take a shower.

"Well done, Damian." Bruce followed Alfred out of the batcave.

Meanwhile, you were in a very awkward situation. The two of you were suddenly alone. You were being cold to him, and he was hurting you with bad words. You stole a glance at him and immediately avoided him. He still wore the engagement ring. Strange, doesn't he hate wearing the engagement ring?

You cleared throat and tried to talk. "Uncle Alfred is ready for dinner."

He glared at you like a sharp knife ready to stab you. "I know."

He let go, and you walked towards the elevator after standing firm. He looked at your back, took a step forward and said, "I hate your inferiority complex because don't have superpowers. Don't think that you should have superpowers just because you are Superman's daughter."

You stopped and didn't even look back. You two obviously don't understand each other, he is like a mirror reflecting the depths of your soul. Why do you expect him to be gentle and considerate? It's a fact that he hates you, and stronger than you because of experience and strength.

Suddenly, a hand hugged your waist, the hand holding your waist was not strong enough to hurt you. You leaned your back against his chest, he lowered his head and his magnetic voice came into your ears, "If you feel inferior again, I will remind you again and again, even if it's bad words, don't indulge in that field. Because... my fiancée used to be a very confident and cheerful girl, even if she didn't have superpowers."

It was the first time heard him say such words at such a close distance. His words were cold and harsh, but with a hint of tenderness. You were shocked and enlightened. Before you could tell him what you thought, his hand loosened from your waist and he walked away from you. He walked towards the elevator door and pressed the button. The door opened automatically. He stepped in and leaned to the side, as if waiting for you.

"Why are you standing there? I'm hungry." For the first time, he was waiting for you.

You gently stroked your cheek with index finger to avoid his gaze, and couldn't help but blurt out the puzzled question "Is your brain broken?"

He rolled his eyes and walked out of the elevator, grabbing your arm and pulling you into the elevator together. "You are the one who is slow, and you are just inferior and jealous."

The two of you stepped into the elevator, the double doors closed then rose automatically. You stood in the corner silently looked at his back with his back to you. You couldn't understand him, whether he was angry or encouraging you, he didn't let go of his hand. He was wearing the engagement ring all the time, you couldn't tell. Daddy always said that he was very similar to Bruce, a little difficult to deal with but a good person. From your perspective, he is more difficult than Bruce!

"Are you angry with me? Do you hate me?" you muttered.

He pinched your hand hard and didn't hurt you. "Don't ask meaningless questions."

"Oh alright..." You were silent while waiting for the elevator to rise.

It reached the manor floor and the door opened. Instead of walking out, he let go of your hand and turned his head to look at you, gently pressing your forehead with two fingers. "I have never had those boring and negative thoughts about you, don't let your mind wander."

For a moment, don't know if it was your illusion, but the corners of his mouth rose, you were stunned in place without waking up from the surprise. Until he noticed didn't hear your footsteps, he turned around, and he waited for you for the second time. He walked towards you step by step, grabbed your arm and pulled you out from the elevator to his side.

"Superman's daughter, the future Mrs. Wayne, be confident." This sentence seemed to be encouraging or mocking you, you couldn't tell what he was thinking.

He put his arm around your shoulders and guided you to move forward. He let go and put his hands in pockets walked in the corridor with you at the same pace. You stole a glance at him, his expression didn't change at all, he looked as proud as usual. He looks like Bruce in temperament, maybe like his mother in personality. So curious about who his mother is.

When you get to the dining room, Bruce and Dick are already waiting, dinner is neatly placed on the table. Bruce puts down his phone taps the empty seat next to him to signal you to sit down. Alfred pulls out a chair asks you to sit down, while Damian pulls out a chair sits next to you. Dick leans forward with his arms on the table, his eyes wandering over your faces.

"Did something happen to you two?" Dick looks at Damian.

"Eh? Nothing, why do you ask?" You take a sip of water.

"Nothing is a good thing. Whatever comes out of his mouth is bad." When Dick's mouth curls up to tease Damian, Damian glares at him like a wolf.

"Bad... maybe there was a moment when I thought he was good..." You blurt out carelessly.

Bruce raised eyebrows blinked several times. He looked at you in surprise and then shifted his gaze to Damian's face. You were drinking water at the moment, not noticing that Damian, who was sitting next to you, had become stiff because of your words. Dick kicked Damian under the table to wake him up, he cleared his throat to calm down.

"Really? Then I hope Damian will always treat you well." Bruce smiled slightly, and Alfred came forward to fill his cup with water.

"Little D, did you hear that? Be good~ and don't be stingy about sharing your love~" Dick whistled and teased him with a smirk.

"Shut up and eat." Damian ignored everyone and started to eat dinner.

Bruce, who was present, breathed a sigh of relief with a smile on his face. Dick kept playing with Damian with his feet under the table. Alfred felt very embarrassed when he saw their ungentlemanly behavior, but he still smiled. There was no bad words or swearing, the atmosphere was somewhat cordial but you were still as nervous as ever.

You chat with them about some things while eating dinner to enhance feelings and interpersonal relationships. Although Damian is a man of few words, it is rare for him to say a few words without hurting others. Bruce thinks this is exactly what you and Damian need. After all, you two don't understand each other. It's always unpleasant to meet each other every once in a while. One of the biggest culprits is definitely Damian Wayne.

Just when Bruce and Dick were talking to you very enthusiastically, Damian noticed that there were a few small tomatoes left on your plate. If you are picky about food at Kent's house, Daddy will choose to help you eat it. If you are picky about food at Wayne's house, it is a big taboo for Alfred. Alfred noticed the remaining tomatoes and wanted to ask about it, but Damian quickly put them into his mouth and chewed them when you were not paying attention.

"Master Damian...you...ah...hehe..." Alfred held back his laughter.

"Shut up, Pennyworth." Damian wiped his mouth with a tissue.

Late at night -

It was a quiet night, the vast room seemed very quiet. You missed your family, the noisy Jon, the loud voices of Mommy and Daddy. You searched the contact list on your phone, pressed the dial button and waited for your family to connect the video call. It was connected in less than five seconds, and Mommy's nagging came at the beginning.

"Little princess! Are you comfortable and happy over there? Have you been bullied by Damian? Did Bruce give you good food?" Lois asked incessantly.

"Honey, calm down..." Clark was seen comforting Lois through the screen.

Jon inserted into the camera and waved happily, "Hi~ Haven't you gone to bed yet?"

Talking about happy topics, time flew by and it was already late at night. They were sleepy and hung up the call first. You put the phone beside the pillow and lay down. You turned over on the comfortable and luxurious big bed without any sleepiness. You were used to sleeping in a single bed at Kent's house, but now couldn't sleep. Looking up at the unfamiliar ceiling, it is indeed Wayne Manor, a luxurious, elegant and noble living environment.

Knock—knock—

You heard a crisp knock on the door, you threw off the quilt, got out of bed and walked to the door. You turned the doorknob and looked out through the crack of the door. It was Damian wearing his Robin equipment. He walked in without your consent, took out a communicator from the utility belt and placed it next to your pillow.

"Pennyworth will stay in the batcave. Father and I will go on patrol. If there is an emergency, use this to notify me." He tapped the communicator.

"Got it, be careful out there ..." you murmured.

"I will." He held the doorknob to leave.

"Goodbye..." You nodded slightly, feeling a little lonely and embarrassed.

He closed the door without saying goodbye. As expected, you didn't understand his thoughts. You picked up the communicator. There was a communication method with the letter R, the abbreviation of Robin. Time passed quietly for an hour, you were not sleepy at all. It was too quiet and didn't dare to sleep, fear that ghosts would appear on the ceiling.

Buzz-buzz-buzz-

You were startled by the communicator, you took it in hand in a panic to take a look. It showed the letter R, it was Damian. You held the communicator tightly began to worry, did he forget to take something? Impossible, that Robin would never make such a low-level mistake. The most forgetful one is Jon. Every time Jon forgets to bring something, it is Damian who prepares and reminds him.

It keeps ringing and you press the answer button "Hello? Dami-no, Robin."

"Still awake." His voice came from the inside.

"Yes, I can't sleep." You were very embarrassed and grabbed the quilt.

"Right...Wait for me, don't hang up." You didn't want to disturb his patrol, but he told you not to hang up. You listened carefully heard the groaning of someone being beaten and the sound of gunfire. As usual, he was busy fighting criminals and saving Gotham City.

It was quiet, no more groans or gunshots, only the sound of the grapple gun and the wind. Two footsteps were heard, he landed somewhere. He drew his sword, as if he was cleaning his weapon, and everything was so quiet.

"Just say whatever you want to say, I'll stay with you until you fall asleep." He said.

You were so scared that almost turned off the communicator. You didn't hear it wrong, it wasn't an illusion. He just said it very clearly, every word to let you know. You choked up and were very nervous. Could it be a trap? After thinking about it, you couldn't understand him. He was really hard to understand. He was harder than Bruce, confirmed!

You took a deep breath, brewed the words, then started to talk to him about some interesting stories you had experienced. There was a moment when he listened quietly, and at some moments, you could hear him fighting with criminals or eating. He also responded to you, without bad words, a few sarcastic words, but not directed at you, but at what you had experienced.

"Then, Jon and I..." You slowly fell asleep.

A wave of sleepiness hit you, you began to yawn. Talking for too long seemed to hypnotize yourself. You fell asleep on the bed, and the sound of snoring came into the communicator, but he didn't hang up the communicator. He was sure that you were really asleep, but he was still listening to your snoring. He chose to accompany you silently in this way.

Batman noticed that communicator was not hung up, he pointed at it and asked, "Robin, your communicator-"

"It's okay. Continue patrolling." He answered stubbornly.

"Robin, you can go back first in special circumstances." Batman found your name on the communicator, he held back a smile.

He was sure that you were asleep, he would only stay by your side and leave before you woke up. He rolled his eyes to avoid Batman, "No, let's continue."

Batman breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled, because he discovered Damian's considerate side, "Okay, continue."

In the morning, the sun shines through the curtains. You wake up and yawn and rub your eyes. The first thing you notice is the chair next to the bed. You raise eyebrows and feel strange. Why is the chair next to your bed? The second thing you notice is the communicator has been disconnected. You check the last call time is four o'clock in the morning.

You are surprised. You fell asleep at about one o'clock yesterday, but the call was disconnected at four o'clock. Could it be that Damian didn't hang up? He has been listening to the sound of your sleep? You feel so ashamed. You are an idiot! Wish your snoring is not unpleasant, otherwise he definitely use this to mock you.

"Miss Y/N, are you awake? I have prepared breakfast." Alfred's gentle call came from outside the door. You’re looking forward Alfred’s breakfast.

"Okay! I'll be down right away!" You get out of bed, wash up in the bathroom, change into your daily clothes, go downstairs after you are ready.

Alfred is pouring coffee, there is no one near the dining table. You just found out that Bruce and Damian, two busy guys, had gone to Wayne Enterprises for a meeting this morning, Dick went to Titans Tower to train with his teammates, Alfred needed to go out to buy some groceries.

You nodded silently to show your understanding, after Alfred left, suddenly the phone at home rang. You were the only one left in the manor, you had no choice but to answer it.

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Tag : @chibiduck

[sparrows4bats]

I don't know much about kryptonite biology but I've always wondered how Jon was an only child, like considering how powerful Clark is like I would assume when having sex he would have gotten Lois pregnant with twins or triplets maybe, and I'm bringing this up because of the Mpreg Damian Wayne post. Cause just imagine Damian finds out he's pregnant and as the pregnancy develops it becomes increasingly obvious he isn't having just 1 kid but like 5 or more... Just a thought.

This is a great questions and I will write you an AU ficlet on what if Damian was pregnant with triplets like right now, but you have accidentally activated an info dump.

So, how Jonathan Kent even exists is very interesting. Actually, in some timelines, he is concieved while Clark is depowered, allowing his hybrid DNA to exist. I don't know if this is retconned in the current continuity, but that's the reason given for him being Clark and Lois's only biological child.

There are multiple mentions about how unstable his DNA is and how it potentially may make him more powerful than his father but also may kill him.

It's also why Kon is the only successful clone of Superman and Lex. Combining Kryptonitian DNA and human DNA is difficult!

Now, in other timelines, like injustice, Lois just gets pregnant, so it isn't as big a deal in other universes, apparently.

Also, pregnancy of multiples is usually more dependent on the pregnant person than the sprem used to form the zygote.

For non identical twins, two or more eggs need to be released at ovulation. Factors such as age, genetics, or medical intervention make this more likely. They develop their own amniotic sac and placenta.

For identical twins, the cells split into two around 5 to 12 days after fertilisation and grow in the same sac. Again, this is rare, but genetics have a role. If there are identical twins in your family, particularly on the pregnant person's side, there's an increase in the chances of the zygote splitting. There are families with dozens of sets of twins.

Now finally the reason I didn't go with multiples in the story was the fact that Jon can hear cardiac activity. This develops at 6 to 7 weeks of growth, but an actual heartbeat doesn't exist until 15 weeks when the heart fully develops.

Identical twins can be hard to identify in early stages, but separate sacs are easier to find on ultrasounds

I imagine that when it first develops, Jon can't tell the difference. Doesn't even know what to look for, until Damian has an ultrasound and sees triplets. Two identical twins and fraternal sibling.

Damian seriously considers letting his family kill him as Jon panics beside him.

[asprinkleoftism]

i am begging you for cecil headcanons (◎﹏◎)

Cecil Stedman Headcanons

I gotcha fam! Honestly if Donald didn't exist, Cecil would be the one who has a main chokehold on me. Doesn't help that Walton Goggins voices him and I could go ON about that man. If you would like some more then don't hesitate to ask! I hope you enjoy!

Despite having grey morals, he genuinely does care for everyone and wants the best outcome for everyone. 

Drinks coffee black, no sugar, no milk. 

Sweets are his kryptonite. Tries not to indulge in them too much but decides to anyway because ‘fuck it I protect the world from assholes’

Drives a black BMW 530i Sedan

Favorite color is red

Holidays are the only time he feels even remotely relaxed. 

Usually will host the company holiday parties at the GDA to have a sense of normality. 

Dog person 

Scotch and vodka guy

Likes classical music and instrumentals

Has a short fused temper and does internally feel bad when he takes it out on Mark or Donald

Doesn’t show it but would love to settle down one day with someone he loves 

Will take hot showers or to just stand and lay in and contemplate life and/or what has happened recently

Cannot cook to save his life. Will get takeout every time. Highly sleep deprived is a factor in that. 

Night owl

Will show his emotions through his face expressions. No poker face for this lad

Reads during his free time and it's usually a dystopian novel to help cope with what is going on in the real world. ‘It could always be worse’

Has a world coin collection

Like with his books, he likes to watch horror or thrillers that are wild to help cope with what he does for a living but is down for a comedy. Detective and mysteries are some of his favorite as well

Lives off of energy drinks and not because of the taste but because of the caffeine. 

Served in the military before taking his role leading the GDA

Has PTSD from his time in the military but keeps it to himself. 

Pro supporter of LGBTQ and women's rights and equality of course

Is satisfied with punching assholes in the face when he can

Feels remorse for keeping the secret from Donald

Sometimes he has a hard time finding the right words for comfort but will always find a way to do so physically whether it be a hug or hand on the shoulder

Will play first person shooter games if he needs to decompress after a hard day

Mediates daily 

If he does somehow get into a relationship, he has a hard time finding time for both GDA and the relationship. Eventually learns how to manage both. 

Dreams of retiring one day and would give the role to Donald in a heartbeat once he does

Born and raised in the South

No pet names except for darlin’

Soft spot for animals. Do not put on Old Yeller. May cry, but will mostly be mad about how it ends. 

Will only put up the Christmas tree when it's December. 

Although very closed off, once he is with someone he slowly starts to open up. And despite being hard shelled, he does have a soft spot in his heart for the ones he loves and cares about. 

Despite being retired, he remains in the city out of habit

Secretly loathes change 

Likes puzzles but doesn’t like the tiny 1000 pieces one for they test his patience. 

Speaking of patience, he doesn't have a lot of it

Loves going out for dates. He feels as though staying in is ‘not taking the opportunity to do something while we are still alive’

Does his best not to bring work home with him but it is difficult for him to do so. 

The second he yells at his significant other for any reason he tries anything to make up for it. ‘I’m sorry darlin’. I’m a mean old bastard, I know.’ *proceeds to hug them and take them out to eat or buy them whatever they wanted*

Considering he is in the high ranks, he has a huge salary but doesn’t ever buy anything for himself and is genuinely shocked when his significant other buys something for him out of the kindness of their heart. ‘What is this?’ ‘It made me think of you so I bought it’ ‘..thank you.’ 

6’4 height like Donald 

Bad OCD and is working to try and have it managed 

Borderline almost an alcoholic only because he drinks to cope with whatever happens throughout the day. 

Loves to be the little spoon after having a rough day. Would lowkey kill you, jk, if you ever told a soul about it

Hold him close, run your fingers through his hair, and say sweet nothings to him and he is melting into your arms and the bed. Instantly puts him to sleep. Again would never tell a living soul about it. 

Bad habit of biting his nails out of nervousness

Early balding due to the acid attack that killed hair follicles in that area

Not a huge crier and it only would be around his significant other after being together for a very long time and after it has been built up and bottled up over time. 

Doesn’t trust easily so it would take him a long time to open up to his significant other

Secret talent? Excellent violin player. Don’t know why but it fits. 

Whether in public or private, he would kiss his significant other at any given moment. ‘We could be nuked at any given moment. I can kiss my goddamn partner if I like.’ 

[theycallme-ook]

Ok I'll be able to explain this better in a fic than I can via essay but I don't see Cass and Terry's approaches to Batman as, like, analogous if that makes sense?

Like, when I've seen ppl have them interact it's always w Cass bringing her standards and philosophy about Batman to Terry via training or preaching or whatever (not that I'm arguing against that tbc. She would, and should, do exactly that). The symbol means so much to her and she holds others to that just as much as she holds herself to it. But as interesting as that is, I've never seen ppl acknowledge the inverse and I think that means you're missing out on another layer of interest.

The problem as I see it is thus: the symbol of the bat does not mean the same thing to both characters. And both of them being famously stubborn, I don't think they'll suddenly budge on their ideas just bc a stranger tells them to.

What do I mean by this? Well, for Cass the bat, even removed from Bruce, is redemption. It's forgiveness. It's salvation. It's the power to be good enough to save everyone, do anything, fix everything. She holds herself to an impossible standard and refuses grace. No one else dies. Not on her watch. No criminal is irredeemable bc that would mean she is irredeemable. She always sees herself as just as bad, in a way, as the villains she is willing to die to stop every night.

For Terry the bat also means redemption, but not in such a manic way. For him it's a chance to right his wrongs, make a difference and be a force for good in his community. He's not so worried about external validation. He doesn't psychologically need every killer to be redeemed. As the late great Dwayne McDuffy said, "Bruce's goal is to stop crime. Terry's goal is to help people." He and Cass have radically different approaches to the same mantle that aren't going to mesh 1-1 and I think it's unfair to both to hold them to the other's standard. Apples and oranges, yk?

And another major factor is that they come from radically different worlds as well. Cassandra comes from a setting already full of heroes, where there's a hope and lightness to the air. She sees Batman for the first time and feels hope. When they meet in no man's land he's entrenched in his mission and she's excited to join it. She sees him as someone who will never back down from the cause, never waver on his morals, holds himself to the standards she wants and will hold her to it as well. Terry's first experience with Batman is disappointment. He's born after the man already retired. The age of heroes is long over. Bruce is alone. He meets a man who's abandoned his mission and refuses to do anything about the murder of Terry's father. Terry is not saved by the bat, he's saved by a cynical old man who has to be convinced to hope again. They don't know the same Bruce Wayne. They don't know the same Batman. Cassandra's bat would never in a million years ask her to kill one man if it meant saving the world. Terry's bat already pressed a chunk of kryptonite into his hand and did

So idk I just don't think those experiences are neatly comparable

[raghhhhhyperfixations]

Baby Jay…

So, Jason was killed right between those awkward stages and ima just throw this here, right during his resurrection, he never had braces right or like, learned how to ride a bike? he missed those moments during his death and the time in the LOA.

So, throw this out here, Jason can ride a motorcycle, not a bike.

Proceed to watch him try to get on a bike in front of all his brothers proclaiming ‘how hard can it be?’ then start flailing and crying out, he ends up nearly speeding down a hill and falling flat on his face.

He needs training wheels.

Or:

He has the most crooked teeth you’ll ever see and he’s missing some including a cavity and Dick thinks it’s DISGUSTING, so he properly sets up a dental plan for his little brother and turns out they need to get superman and Bruce to u-haul this 6’4 grown Toddler to the dentist.

Because Jason is adamant in refusing, he’s kicking, biting, ew and threatening to pull kryptonite on Superman and a gun on Bruce.

Turns out he needs braces, he needs fake teeth and he needs one teeth pulled out, so a hefty dental course, and it’s expensive and of course Dick struggles to pay for this so… (Bruce wayne ‘This is my baby boy, my perfect son.’) Pays for it.

So here’s to Jason todd wearing braces for the next two years and his intimidation factor drops even LOWER.

Don’t get Jason started on other things he missed out because yes he still technically grew up.

He just also technically didn’t.

So cheers to Jason for not knowing either things.

(Here’s to him also not knowing what friends is or big bang theory or other famous classics, also here’s to Jason missing out on prom and other things he should have done.)

[practically-an-x-man]

Fifty Superhero-Inspired Whump Prompts

Couldn't find a lot of whump prompts I liked, so I decided to compile a few of my own! Here's a jumbo list of prompts for superheroes and enhanced characters:

Powers Stripped Away (permanent)

Powers Blocked/Forgotten (temporary)

Powers Enhanced/Too Much Power

Powers Out of Whack

New and Unwanted Powers

No Longer Human

Healing Incorrectly/Healing Around Embedded Object

Allowed to Heal... Just Enough to Survive

Loss of Healing Factor (first time healing at a normal pace)

Anesthesia/Painkillers Burned Off Too Quickly

Awake Through Surgery

Forced to Watch Loved Ones/Sidekicks Injured

Confronted with their Weakness/Kryptonite

Betraying their No-Kill Rule

Put Under Hypnosis/Mind Control

Coming Out of Hypnosis/Consequences of Hypnotized Actions

Telepathic Torture (it's all in their head)

Forced to Relive Trauma/Memories/Nightmares

Forced to Defeat/Kill a Former Ally

Downfall into a Supervillain

Chronic Pain from a Lifetime of Hero Work

Deemed a Villain/Public Scrutiny

Wrong Choice, Right Reason

Trolley Problem (risk a loved one to save civilians)

Dangerous Powers/Forced to Isolate

Alter-Ego Friend is Super-Ego Villain

Superpowered Sleep Deprivation

Starved Until Their Powers Shut Down

Made Into A Lab Rat

Identity Stripped Away/Living Weapon

Loss Of Limb/Eye/Something That Won't Regenerate

Enduring Extreme Temperatures

Physically Unable to Die

Supersuit Melts into their Skin

Child Mistakes Them for a Monster

High-Tech Imprisonment

Alien Disease/Parasite

Unwanted Tech/Cybernetic Enhancement

Adapt or Die/Powers Emerge

Grieving their Normal Life

Outliving Friends/Loved Ones

Accidentally Hurting a Teammate/Innocent

Died and Revived

Working for the Enemy/Undercover/Forced to Defy Moral Code

Foresight/Too Predictable/Can't Get Ahead

Trying to Escape Superhero Life/Tracked Down

Emotions Manipulated

Injected with Paralytic

Dazed, Drugged, or Concussed

Fighting Until They Tear Themselves Apart

[skjam]

Comic Book Review: The Best of DC #36: Superman vs. Kryptonite

Comic Book Review: The Best of DC #36: Superman vs. Kryptonite edited by Nicola Cuti Kryptonite is Superman’s most famous weakness, the shattered, radioactive fragments of his homeworld Krypton. The prototype version, “K-metal” was created by Jerry Siegel for a 1940 story that would have revealed Superman’s secret identity as Clark Kent to Lois Lane, changing their relationship going forward.…

[buds-and-baubles]

the disability allegory found in chris kent's story

hi everyone! i had talked about this briefly but wanted to talk about sometbing in chris kent's story that is in no way canon, but spoke to me in a way as being an allegory for chris being disabled.

those who have read for him are familiar to his being a story of six year old chris kent who endured abuse and neglect at the hands of his parents, zod and ursa, and how utterly devastating it was to discover.

when i had read that, i connected some of his various experiences that not only is he abused and neglected, but also disabled, based on the way not only zod and ursa describe chris, but also how chris describes himself (internalized ableism).

as well, his various experiences with his sickness when he wore the red-sun watch that got worse until it was removed and was destructive not only for chris but for the apartment, and the entire age-up plot.

starting off from the beginning of his story, he's brought to department of meta-human affairs and his first feat of lifting a tv set above his head is shown to be observed by a plethora of doctors. they move him when they discover he's kryptonian, having unknown but likely nefarious plans for what to do with chris.

anyone who is disabled can certainly feel like they're being observed through a looking glass by a team of doctors, and how our own autonomy is largely determined by those in lab coats who oftentimes do not care.

the next instance we can see an example of this allegory is during the time chris is wearing the red-sun watch. he needed it to learn how to control his powers, but in the end, it hurt him and he said nothing about how sick it made him until he was in absolute agony and lois removed it. which.. lead to a burst of pain and fear for chris and the destruction of their apartment.

those who are disabled will oftentimes, do anything they can for any management of symptoms even if it means other areas of the body may end up being caught in the crossfire.

i myself will avoid taking ibuprofen unless absolutely necessary even if it will help my pain because i don't want to risk it upsetting my gerd.

clark and lois are very good parents about all this and not only let chris know that it's okay to let them know when he's hurting, but that they will not do anything with a red-sun watch unless the new one can be calibrated for a child kryptonian rather than an adult.

the next instance of examples of the disability allegory is during his entire age-up part of comics, like the picture of a panel at the top of this post.

"perhaps the phantom zone has, in some way, altered his genetic structure, and that, in combination with exposure to earth's yellow sun, a mutation triggered."

oftentimes physical disabilities in the way this is described are a result of altered genetic structure where a mutation occurred. arthritis, for example, is a multifactorial disorder that can be a genetic disorder.

his entire age-up scenario can be read as this unstable genetic structure being a genetic disorder, possibly multifactorial due to many contributing factors.

another contributing factor to chris being possibly disabled could be due to the abuse and neglect he endured with zod and ursa, in addition to 'the nature of his birth'.

environmental factors can be huge due to the sheer stress and trauma of a kid trying to survive abuse and neglect can cause, alongside not receiving the proper amount of nutrition, healthcare, and education.

one page actually referred to what chris was experiencing as a disorder, actually.

"a kryptonian by birth, nightwing's genetic structure was mutated as a result of his conception and birth in the phantom zone. possessed of the standard kryptonian power set, he is marginally, if demonstrably, weaker than the rest of his race when under earth's yellow sun. kryptonite, while still lethal to him, takes longer to reach full effect."

"in the care of superman and lois lane, lor, renamed "christopher," began a new life, free from the trauma and hardship he had previously experienced."

"his education by both"

"upon reentry, he suffered the first of three bouts of "burst-aging" he has since undergone, his body growing the equivalent of several years in mere seconds. the source of this disorder is unknown, and nightwing is quite concerned when the next "episode" will occur."

this page certainly seems to align with everything i described, yes?

the way his "episodes" are shown feels rather in line with how it is for people who are disabled with a chronic illness, which has periods of flareups where the disease will be worse due to a variety of factors, oftentimes, stress.

and guess what was a suggested contributing factor for chris' age-ups? stress.

at the end of this age-ups where he is now an old man and doesn't have long to live, it is a cure of a bracelet on his wrist to maintain not his original age, but much younger than the old man who was on death's door. in fact, when it is removed, thara panics on his behalf.

this is a very real thing for disabled people, where their only treatment will be taken away, or treated like a pawn in arguments or healthcare battles. each year, many disabled people die due to the healthcare system refusing to give the treatments that can keep them alive.

the bracelet for chris, is like the arthritis meds for me that allow me to be able to walk.

the next example is a minor instance of two xenophobic (and ableist if you factor in the disability allegory) u.s. soldiers under general sam lane's command who had attacked chris.

"thought it took more to put one of the k's down."

"it does, so maybe he isn't a k."

a common experience for being disabled not only is being weaker than the average person, but also being seen as less than or not even human to an able-bodied society.

you know what the second sentence says? they don't even consider chris his own race because of his weakness. because of being weaker than the average kryptonian.

these soldiers aren't the only people who describe chris this way.

zod and ursa (ursa shown above), also describe chris the same exact way as the soldiers. i am unable to find an example i have of zod saying the same, but i know for a fact he has used the same words as ursa does.

"my disgusting, weak, mewling mutation of a son."

just everything in this panel fits exactly as i describe.

unfortunately due to the abuse and neglect, chris himself describes himself the same way. this in canon can be contributed to the mutation and nature of his birth as well as being seen less than due to his weakness by not only his parents, but even humans or other kryptonians who were in the phantom zone with zod and ursa.

"i don't, you're right. but i learned other powers in the zone--"

this line to me, speaks as other powers making up for his weakness, the disability.

"i'm not as strong as you or thara, not as invulnerable."

chris admits (and knows) he's not the same as other kryptonians, but it doesn't stop at that.

"we have always been more than kryptonian, have we not?"

"less, you mean."

look up above at the panel of ursa and you can see it's exactly how ursa and zod describe chris. that because of his weakness, he's not a true kryptonian. that he's a mutant, some freak born in the phantom zone.

internalized ableism is a battle most if not all disabled people experience. if society and even our own caretakers (oftentimes parents/guardians) subject us to abuse, medical abuse, and neglect, what is to be expected but to believe the words told to us? it is a battle i myself struggle with, to escape the thought process of being less than other people because i cannot do what others can.

one of the last examples was an unexpected bit i realized... chris and non's described dynamic.

non, the man who was lobotomized for trying to save krypton, and chris, the boy born in the phantom zone who is described as being weaker than most kryptonians and having a disorder.

non, who was the only person in fort rozz who treated christopher with consistent kindness. non, who is the only one who can understand what chris is going through.

that the phantom zone and their own bodies are their prisons.

the last example itself involves the phantom zone.

the phantom zone to me reads as a massive metaphor for loneliness, even described as loneliness in various issues. an encompassing depressing darkness of loneliness that only those who have been in it can understand.

chris describes the phantom zone as cold and lonely.

being different in any capacity is lonely. being disabled can be an incredibly isolating experience that will create a brand of loneliness you cannot control.

friends will move on without you in activities because you're tired. family will do so too. life will flash you by, while you stay contained at home, like it's a prison just as much as your body is.

and you know the god nightwing who was harmed and condemned to the phantom zone was lonely and missing flamebird, understood chris. knew how much he suffered.

that's really all i got! hope y'all enjoyed reading me finding examples of what i find to be disability allegory in chris' journey in comics.

[threewaysdivided]

compared to the other hero's in YJ how do you think Phantom stands up power wise. like Future Danny ripped the world apart and i know in some fanfiction that it is used as an indicator that he is high up there, but i'm interested in your thoughts.

This is an interesting question nonnie!

I generally agree with the idea that Phantom is in the upper-tier of crossover superhero powers, but I do have more specific thoughts so let’s break it down:

Danny’s power level

Just looking at the variety and strength of ghost-powers that Phantom displays in his show, I would put him in the higher rankings of most heroes when it comes to raw ability.  I alluded to this in my main DP x YJ Deathly Weapons fanfic, but to me Phantom shows signs of a pretty common power-scaling differential that happens when a solo-protagonist hero gets transplanted into an ensemble setting.  Within his own setting, Phantom had to be (or become) powerful enough to solve most problems/ fights all by himself – and some of those ghosts he ended up facing towards the end of his canon were impressively strong.  By comparison ensemble heroes are generally less-powerful because working as a collective means they don’t have the same need for aggressive self-sufficiency and also so that no one character upstages or outmodes the rest of the group from a writing perspective.

There’s also the nature of ghost powers.  Phantom needed to develop the raw strength to fill the role of solo combat heavy-hitter, but his base powers are versatile to the point of unsettling.  He has to physically fight against other ghosts because they have (and to some extent are immune to) the same abilities as him, but in a fight against other species he could potentially avoid, manipulate or exhaust an opponent with strategic use of invisibility/ intangibility/ overshadowing.

The back of Dinah’s neck prickled.  With flight to mask footsteps and intangibility rendering them undetectable by touch…  Nonthreatening as Phantom generally appeared, she was starting to understand why his kind had developed such an unsettling reputation.  The idea that a ghost could be present at any time - eavesdropping, spying, interfering - without any of them being the wiser was… disquieting to say the least. - Deathly Weapons, Chapter 17: Assessment

On top of that, he seems to be in a similar boat to Superman when it comes to physical weaknesses – he doesn’t have that many, and they’re often quite specific or hard-to-find.   The most easily-exploitable one is that Danny can run out of power, be slowly starved of ectoplasm or be knocked unconscious; all of which would forcibly revert him back to his weaker human state.  After that, he’s vulnerable to certain magics and ghostly-artefacts, which are more likely to be accessible to various DC/ Marvel heroes (although they might not know exactly which spells/items will be most effective or why).  Beyond those two, most of his weaknesses need to be specifically known about and actively sought out – anti-ecto-technology is obtainable but not mainstream, blood blossoms naturally repel/hurt ghosts but they seem to be rare in nature (or even extinct in the modern day) and then assuming you acknowledge Phantom Planet there’s ectoranium which is basically ghost-Kryptonite in rarity (and possibly even the same mineral in DP x DC settings depending on the crossover).  Much like with Superman, the most reliable ways to take down Phantom require actively knowing what he is and having prepared accordingly.

Based on those metrics, I want to place Phantom in the same power-band as Superman or the Martian Manhunter.  I’d consider their powers to be equivalent incomparibles – it’s hard to stack their abilities side-by-side and say one is objectively better than the others.  A no-holds-barred, knock-down drag-out fight between those three could get very nasty but it would be hard to confidently call a winner without knowing more about the external factors around them.

That said, I think the thing holding Danny back from being fully at that level is his experience: or rather his lack thereof.   Danny hasn’t had much formal training (except maybe some basic self-defence instruction from Maddie/Jack) and he doesn’t have a proper mentor either.  His personal experience mostly fits the narrow niche of direct open combat with other ghosts, mostly throughout Amity Park and surrounds (although occasionally in the Ghost Zone or further from town). 

Phantom has enough raw power and innate talent as a strategic lateral-thinker to get by, but I think that hyperspecialisation and lack of guidance would leave him with a lot of blind-spots.  His hand-to-hand is self-taught and probably missing a lot of best-practice basic techniques.  He’s also never had an experienced third party to observe him in the field and offer suggestions on alternative approaches to using his powers/ keep him from developing bad habits.  This is something Danny actually comments on in canon; he can take a long time to identify solutions (even obvious ones) that deviate too far from his default throw hands approach to fighting.  His powers could be more effectively deployed as a precision-instrument but a lack of coaching means he tends to falls back on using them as a blunt hammer because that was the pattern that came naturally when he was first starting out, and no-one was around to keep that habit from ingraining.

The place where you can see this lack of experience hurting him the most is in his lack of soft-skills.  Phantom didn’t have anyone to advise him on de-escalation, damage control, comforting civilians, interacting with authorities etc.  Add in the naturally-frightening nature of many ghosts and it was easy for him to fall into a public perception of being “the town menace”.  Danny is pretty decent at rallying both humans and ghosts (even erstwhile enemies) to his side in crisis situations but no-one has taught him how manage public relations outside of that.  He says it himself: he needs a PR agent.

On the other hand, Phantom’s heroics have inadvertently earned him a decent amount of potential political pull in the Ghost Zone.  He has enough positive rapport that some regular rogues will take his side or even actively seek him out for help in the right circumstances, and other more antagonistic ones have at least developed a degree of grudging respect.  There are several powerful ghosts that either have direct debts of gratitude to him/his team (Princess Dorothea, Pandora) or who hold him in high esteem for re-sealing Pariah Dark (The Far Frozen).  It’s possible that defeating Pariah might even have granted him a potential candidature/claim to an official position, and judging by the way the Observants and Clockwork pay attention to him, it seems that Phantom’s slow accumulation of power/influence isn’t going completely unnoticed.  However, again, Danny doesn’t have the awareness, experience or training needed to leverage that effectively – heck, he’s not even doing it on purpose.

With all that taken into account, I think Phantom would rank very highly in terms of overall potential, but at his current level he’d be in the lower ranks of the A-tier.  He could become a much more powerful figure with the right guidance but in his canonical state he’s underutilising or outright overlooking a lot of his most effective tools.

TUE Future/ “Dark Phantom”

The “Dark Phantom” presented in the TUE Bad-Future is interesting to me because while he’s a very powerful figure within that story, I don't think he’s a very good reflection of canon-Danny’s potential to do harm.

Gonna complain about The Ultimate Enemy for a bit: I’ve tag-muttered about this before but I’m one of the Phandom members who finds The Ultimate Enemy to be a frustratingly weak episode.  It has a potentially fascinating core premise (the “evil future/alternate self”) but the execution is so convoluted and driven by improbable contrivances that the whole ends up being far less than the sum of its parts.   

One of the biggest problems is that, rather than being a straight future/alternate version of Danny, “Dark Phantom” is actually a hybrid of Phantom and Plasmius’ worse sides.  He’s a distinct, separate entity which means he can’t work as an effective dark mirror to either of them.  (Compare and contrast the Justice League episode A Better World in which the Justice Lords acted as a dark mirror of what the actual Justice League members could become if they chose to abandon their morals and compassion in favour of seizing control and instating a totalitarian system of draconian crime prevention.)

The episode also tried to graft on a really mismatched moral of “don’t be a cheat”.  Rather than being a lesson on choices/ values/ power/ responsibility, Dark Phantom almost ends up being an offhand biproduct of Danny getting caught cheating on a freshman/sophomore-year career-aptitude test.  Instead of learning a lesson about himself/ his ideals/ his personal faults, Danny comes away from the episode with a cool new superpower after deciding not to cheat on the test after all.  Not exactly satisfying.

That mismatch and the convoluted levels of moon-logic required to make it fit severely undermine the idea that this version of Dark Phantom is “inevitable”.  There are too many steps that are too highly-specific and too easily-avoidable for the threat to feel real: Danny has to care enough about an early-highschool CAT to want to cheat, he has to somehow get the answers which he wasn’t intending to do in the canon timelineand only does as a result of Clockwork’s meddling, making it a self-fulfilling situation, he has to get caught using them, Mister Lancer has to hold the resulting parent-teacher meeting at Nasty Burger rather than a school office for some reason, the Nasty Burger Sauce has to 1. be dangerously explosive and 2. coincidentally explode while not only Danny’s parents but his friends and sister are inside, Danny has to be placed in Vlad’s custody rather than with his Aunt Alicia or closer family-friends, Danny has to ask Vlad to remove his Phantom-half and finally, Vlad himself has to agree to do it.  Take away any of those steps and this version of Dark Phantom doesn’t happen.  That’s not inevitable, it’s contrived.

But anyway, let’s look at Dark Phantom as his own entity:

One of the things that makes Dark Phantom much more potentially dangerous is that he combines Phantom’s raw power with Plasmius’ experience.  Like I was saying before, one of Danny’s biggest handicaps is that he lacks training/guidance and tends to underutilise his most effective abilities.  Vlad meanwhile has had years of relative freedom to practice and finesse a lower raw-power level; he’s much more skilled at advanced techniques like duplication and overshadowing (which he canonically used to force through his fortune-making business deals), as well as ecto-constructs.  Plasmius is also a lot more tactical and manipulative in how he applies their common powers.  Plus, the TUE version of Dark Phantom is a full-ghost, which means he doesn’t have a vulnerable mortal state that can be exploited as a weakness.

This is why I think it would be possible for TUE!Dark Phantom to successfully decimate other heroes in shared-universe crossover situations where ghosts aren’t common knowledge.  He’d be an unexpected, unknown enemy that the heroes have no effective way to fight (outside of a few magic users).  Combine that with many of the most powerful heroes being visible as public figures, and Dark Phantom having inherited Plasmius’ strategic/manipulative traits and it could be very easy for Dark Phantom to basically launch a premeditated paranormal blitzkrieg attack, using Plasmius’ skill with duplicates and overshadowing to subjugate any hero he couldn’t overwhelm with Phantom’s raw power level.  It would also make sense that Amity Park would become one of the remaining bastions in any TUE-style future, since having advanced knowledge of ghostly abilities and access to anti-ecto technology would tilt the balance more evenly and allow them to at least keep the danger out.

Mentally, it’s also worth noting that Dark Phantom is a lot more dangerous than either Phantom or Plasmius.  He’s basically the most toxic traits from both of them, removed from their more moderating/ compassionate instincts.  Based on the canonical explanation given, TUE!Danny had Phantom forcibly removed in attempt to remove the pain/ rage/ grief he was feeling over the death of his family.  This isn’t a model-hero-persona conceptualisation of Phantom a la Splitting Images; the TUE-version of his ghost half is a big ball of churning negative emotion.  And what are some of Danny’s toxic traits when it comes to negative emotions: he lashes out, falls into self-blame and self-destructs.  Then we add in Vlad’s toxic traits: he’s egocentric to the point of narcissism, he projects negative feelings/ blame onto others rather than accept responsibility for his own actions and he has a controlling/ sadistic streak.   

TUE’s Dark Phantom is the worst possible combination of an emotionally devastated teenager and an emotionally immature adult.  He’s a ball of pain and rage that blames the world for that pain, lashes out at it, feels worse for doing so and then blames the world for making him feel worse because he doesn’t have the emotional capacity to accept that he’s the one causing it.  Grief is love persevering but the feelings of love, connection and guilt that contextualise his pain were left in the human shells that remained of Danny and Vlad.  It’s possible that the Dark Phantom presented in TUE might not have the capacity to feel positive emotions or compassion.  He was never meant to exist as his own entity – he was an attempt to destroy Daniel Fenton’s negative emotions which went horribly wrong.  In some ways it seems like his reign of terror could be an angrier version of Dracula’s scheme from Netflix’s Castlevania or Haliax’s goal from the Kingkiller Chronicles – a drawn-out suicide note from an undead being who’s been dead inside for much longer, destroying whatever peace/happiness he encounters in revenge for being denied it himself, until such time as he either attains catharsis or finally ends the pain by destroying reality and himself along with it.  That’s the final thing that makes TUE’s Dark Phantom more dangerous than either Phantom or Plasmius – he has nothing to lose and no “better nature” or personal dreams that other heroes could try to appeal to.

So yeah, the TUE version of Dark Phantom could absolutely rip the world and other heroes apart, but I don’t think he’s a particularly good reflection of Danny’s capabilities in terms of either powers or personality.  There’s too much Vlad in the mix, and even then he represents such a narrow and extreme edge-case for each of their personalities that it’s barely representative at all.  At best he’s a warning for what these kinds of powers could be capable of in the wrong hands.

Meta-question: What is “power” in narrative?

Alright, now that I’ve (hopefully) answered the question, let’s finish with a self-indulgent thought exercise for extra credit.

There’s an anecdote which I’ve heard attributed to the Stan Lee, in which a fan apparently asked him “who would win in a fight between Superman and the Hulk?”  To which Stan apparently replied, “whoever the writer wants.”

While it can be fun to make tier-lists and try to rank how strong different heroes/villains/creatures are based on the rules of their respective universes, I think it can also be helpful to consider that– like all things in storytelling – power is a narrative device.  It’s a tool that the character(s) and storyteller(s) can use to create and solve problems.

A character can be extremely physically strong/ skilled/ knowledgeable/ influential in a specific area but how much narrative power they have depends on how well their abilities allow them to influence or resolve story problems.   And, as the omnipotent god(s) of the narrative, the storyteller(s) can choose whether to confront them with challenges that play to their existing strengths, or that force them to find other solutions.  What’s the best way to kill a vampire?

This is actually part of what makes Lex Luthor such an effective Superman villain.  Objectively most versions of Lex are just A Guy™ – on a physical level he doesn’t have anything close to Kal El’s Kryptonian strength or superpowers.  But he feels like a serious threat because he often comes after Superman in ways that Clark can’t easily steamroll with that brute strength.  Lex uses manipulation, money, influence, connections, politics, public opinion; Superman can’t physically fight him without playing into Luthor’s plans, and trying to face him in those other fields requires tools that Clark wasn’t handed as part of his Kryptonian heritage.  An invading alien army is objectively a bigger physical threat to Earth, but a competent Lex Luthor scheme feels more dangerous because – while we feel confident that Superman can beat down a legion of monsters – when it comes to the question of whether he can outwit Luthor, the outcome is a lot less certain.

Situational disempowerment is another of the ways a narrative can reign in an otherwise “overpowered” character: placing them in circumstances where they either aren’t given many opportunities to showcase their best strengths, or are kept from using them because the drawbacks/ risks/ consequences of using their abilities makes their power(s) a liability.  I’ve mentioned it before, but this is actually one of the tricks I’m personally using to keep Phantom’s massive powerset balanced against the other proteges in Deathly Weapons.  It’s also something I’ve been struggling with when it comes to Conner’s place in that story since the stealth-mission plot structure doesn’t allow as much room to highlight his core powers and personal strengths.   

Stories can create additional stakes for powerful characters by giving them emotional arcs which their powers can’t resolve.   For a published example, consider the series One Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100.  Despite how high-ranked Saitama and Mob are within the power-scaling of their respective stories, those powers don’t kill the emotional stakes because the things they actually want/ need can only be gained through self-improvement or making connections in ways separate from their powers (and in some regards their power level actively gets in the way of that).  This is also something I’m doing with Danny’s main grief arc in DW.   

Final Conclusion time

In terms of physical strength and range of abilities, I think Phantom would be pretty near the top of the power-scale in most superhero crossovers.  While the Dark Phantom presented in TUE might not be a particularly good reflection of Danny’s specific potential, a crossover version of the TUE timeline offers a pretty good litmus-test for how dangerous a strong ghost could be in a given universe: the combination of power level, ability range and highly-specific/ inaccessible weak-points poses a strong strategic threat.

On the other hand, physical strength isn’t the only strength.  Phantom has a decent level of potential political sway as well, but he also lacks a lot of the soft skills and experience needed to make use of his toolset to its full ability.

Stepping back further, the answer to how powerful Danny is in a narrative sense is really just “however much the writer wants”.  Phantom’s narrative power depends on the kind of story he’s in and the challenges placed around him – there are as many ways to situationally nerf our ghost-boy as make him OP, all without needing to alter his on-paper powers.

[1244950]

Superman x Transformers concept

Clark Kent, also known as the Man of Steel, is arguably considered one of the most important fictional characters in all superhero media. The Man of Steel has crossed over with many properties from He-Man to Marvel, all crafting intricate tales incorporating Superman, but Superman, as a character, can cross over so well with Transformers. If you had any other superhero, it wouldn't fit as well, and if you had multiple superheroes cross over, it would feel too bloated. But Superman could insert so well into a variety of Transformers stories and potentially be one of the best human characters in the franchise.

Clark Kent could, if not relate to all of the Autobots, spanning multiple continuities from the most obscure transformer to a prominent cast member. Superman can connect with and have chemistry with every bot. Optimus Prime, for one, is the go-to Autobot that Clark could connect the most with. Both share the ideals of being a symbol of hope for your kind and just leading in general. Prowl is an Autobot Clark would also connect with just because of Prowl's similarities to Batman. He would respect his actions but also try to reach out because, similar to Batman, Prowl tends to isolate, and the list can go on and on. Clark is someone who, at the end of the day, can inspire anyone to be the best possible versions of themselves, and it wouldn't be highly out of character if Clark was able to convert a few Decepticons back over to the Autobots depending on the continuity. It would be a walk in the park for Superman to convince characters such as IDW Thundercracker, TFP Knockout, and even IDW Megatron.

His power levels should be discussed since Superman is one of the most powerful superheroes ever. If you want to put Superman in this universe, a big argument is that he's just too powerful. However, putting a regular version of Superman in any Transformers world, there are various factors that could ensure Superman would be on the same level as a normal cybertronian. For example, blaster fire from a cybertronian could act like a kryptonite, actually making him take damage; different types of Energon could weaken Clark. Clark's morals would also prohibit him from doing any real damage to the Decepticons, and usually, many villains in DC take advantage of this. Big-hitting Decepticons are no pushover, especially Megatron himself. I don't see a regular version of Superman easily beating Megatron without backup or help, not to mention cybertronians can be very durable, so Clark wouldn't be able to punch through them.

Inserting Superman into the Transformers can go about differently and would be easier if he were the only superhero on Earth. If it were in TFP! Superman could have a position similar to Agent Fowler. However, Clark would be a neutral party working to establish relationships between Earth and Cybertronians. Being an alien but living amongst humans, Superman could act as an ambassador. The same could be applied to IDW. Superman would definitely have a problem with Optimus annexing Earth without Earth's consent but would still work with Optimus to establish a relationship. Bayverse would be the same, but a significant conflict could arise with Superman learning the humans have been secretly hunting the Cybertronians.

This could also breed a lot of conflict and hurt Superman's status as a hero and a citizen of Earth in general. For one, Superman choosing to side with these robots instead of them could hurt much of the human population. They have to be able to convince world leaders that the Autobots are good and different from the Decepticons.

Anyway, ramble over. I just had to yap.

[frownyalfred]

Hi! I don't know a whole lot about batflect but I saw you answer that last ask about it

I was just wondering, would Bruce being pushed over the edge by Superman to break his no kill rule because he sees a man who can't die (so it seems) and that breaks something in him psychologically

After losing people so many times to meeting someone who can't die would seem like a major fuck you by the universe

I can see why you'd ask this question, but I think an interesting thing in BVS specifically (not all DC media) is that, at no point is Superman ever publicly or even privately 100% confirmed (by Lex, the Government, Bruce, etc) to be immortal/unable to die. We're not even sure, as an audience halfway through the movie, what the total effect of Kryptonite is on him. Could Bruce's spear have killed him? Why did the Kryptonite gas work? Why did Doomsday manage to kill him? Etc.

The way Bruce hunts Clark down in the movie, it appears that he was convinced by Lex's research that Clark could be killed. But he's clearly not 100% (key word) certain, or at least not certain about why and how. Hence all the contingency attacks/weapons. We know that Kryptonian cells degrade upon contact with Kryptonite -- but what does that mean for death itself? We see Superman get hit with a nuke onscreen, but he doesn't die.

I believe Bruce 1) thought Superman could be killed somehow by Kryptonite but 2) was unclear on the specifics and 3) this was mostly because he wasn't thinking the why through, thanks to Lex's manipulation and other factors. I don't think he was motivated, or primarily motivated, by the idea that Superman couldn't die. If anything, his primary motivation was that Superman should die, and that he was the only person motivated and equipped enough to do it.

[beastboyisbestboy]

Beast Boy vs the Robins is a really interesting question because the way they present themselves and their personas is so radically different.

Robins, for example basically start from square one, maybe with a skill in a very specific lane like gymnastics or acrobatics. Then they work to build off of that, weightlifting to stand toe-to-toe with demigods, sourcing tech to fly alongside superhumans. And they have to think around their problems, improvise on the fly, swing up rather than punch down, flee rather than fight.

And they always, always have to over-posit themselves. Leverage the intimidation factor as much as humanly possible because everything else counts against them. If they’re in pain, no they aren’t. If they fucked up, no they didn’t. If they improvised that, no they planned it from the beginning.

The most important thing is that a Robin backed into a corner always bites.

Beast Boy however was granted legendary power as a matter of luck. And he’s lived with that, trained to utilise that for most of his life. At the slightest provocation he could stomp you under an elephant foot or bite you with a crocodile mouth. A tiger paw can decapitate a person with a hard smack. Or if he’s feeling creative, he can sneak into an apartment as a fly and then inject the target with the deadliest venom known to man.

His power is pretty much limitless, with no conceivable drawbacks like Kryptonite or “yellow”. He can turn into a dinosaur or a dragon. He can turn into fucking Starro, a creature that goes to toe to toe with the Justice League regularly! If Garfield Logan so desired, he could turn into a big space whale, crush the earth and then live his merry life.

You wouldn’t know that by talking to him.

He pretty much downplays his skill at every given opportunity. Preferring to pour his energy into socialising, acting, playing with his friends. He has one of the most tragic backstories in Titans canon, but he’s a friendly happy-go-lucky dude who doesn’t take sparring seriously and could take or leave the superhero life, but he just wants hang out with his bros.

So that’s the kicker isn’t it. Who would you rather be defeated by. A team leader, who no matter what, is gonna try and bring their all against you, every time.

Or

A superhero who isn’t even trying?

[abigailnussbaum]

Lower Decks, "Fissure Quest": Scattered Thoughts

As someone who has had a complicated relationship with Lower Decks precisely because of how rooted it is in references, fanservice, and callbacks, you'd think this episode would be my Kryptonite. But you know what, I'm going to let them have it. One episode from the (thoroughly unjustified; this show could have run another five years, easy) end, I don't think it's fair to complain about Lower Decks being Lower Decks. And while I didn't unreservedly love this story (more on that below) I actually found the complete immersion in references (while leaving "our" main characters offscreen) more tolerable than a lot of episodes that center around how these new Star Trek characters just happen to be Star Trek fans.

(Also, I'm holding out hope that, having gotten the fanservice component of the show out of their system in the first half of the two-parter, the Lower Decks writers will end their show by telling a Lower Decks story, about the Lower Decks characters being heroes in their own right. We shall see.)

Obviously the fandom focus is going to be on canon(-ish) Garak/Bashir (and it is rather clever how the episode manages to have its cake and eat it on this front, distancing these versions of the characters enough from the originals that if this ship isn't your cup of tea it doesn't have to color the baseline story). But to me the most important choice in the episode is T'Pol. I was talking just recently about how screwed-over this character was - not just by the Enterprise writers' sexism, but by a backlash against Vulcans that spread through DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise in the late 90s/early 00s, and which Lower Decks has been at the forefront of addressing (Discovery and SNW have, in comparison, been rather wobbly on this front). T'Pol, and Jolene Blalock, have for a long time deserved the kind of redemption Seven of Nine has gotten, and hopefully "Fissure Quest" isn't the full extent of it.

(One complicating factor is that Blalock has left acting - she apparently goes by her married name these days, and is credited only as "Jolene" in the episode credits. This might complicate a potential guest appearance on SNW, for example.)

Another thing I liked is that this episode functions as a redemption for William Boimler without going too hard on this point. He's still fundamentally different from our Boimler in not-terribly-likable ways, but he gets to save the day and to behave like a real officer and captain, without becoming just another copy of OG Boimler. I also appreciated that all this is achieved while keeping the Section 31 of it all to a minimum. Boimler is still working for them, as evidenced by his badge (can we pause for a moment to contemplate how nonsensical the idea that Section 31 have their own uniforms and badge design is?), but their name isn't even mentioned, which I am taking as an indication that the Lower Decks writers agree with me about the misguidedness of this whole concept.

(Also good: a sciency, risk-averse Mariner who nevertheless rises to the occasion and saves the day.)

And having said all that, here comes the complaint: I am largely on W. Boimler's side on the whole matter of the multiverse, and when he went into his rant about how it's all just eye-catching variations on familiar things without any substance to back them up, I wanted to stand up and cheer. Until, that is, I remembered that this opinion was being voiced by a character who is a) a villain, and b) in the grips of depression. The fact that the opposing view is expressed by Lily motherfucking Sloane is, I think, a pretty solid indication of what side the episode wants us to come down on, but I remain unconvinced. It would be nice if multiverse stories were about exploring endless possibility and, through that exploration, learning more about where you started from. But most of them are just about putting a new hat on a familiar character and getting excited over the hat.

Which I think the episode itself mostly bears out. Boimler's crew are all fun and cute, but none of them go very deep into the characters or stories they're riffing off. Garak and Bashir are together simply so fans can have the visual or them as a cute married couple, not as a result of any attempt to grapple with how these two complicated, flawed characters might actually end up in a romantic relationship (or, for that matter, with the fact that Garak ends DS9 in a quasi-suicidal state). T'Pol deserves her more generous, more serious story, but it's telling that this story (she's best friends with Curzon Dax!) feels almost random, a reminder that what Enterprise did with her - stripping her naked, insulting her Vulcanness, and killing her loved ones - doesn't lend itself to a continuation that is worth following. And the Harry Kim gag does nothing to address, and in fact tries to make a virtue out of, the stasis that character was held in for seven seasons of Voyager. I don't want to ding the episode too hard, because I did end up enjoying it. But the conclusion I take away from it is that if you want to really explore a character, especially one who has been overlooked, you're much better off doing what Picard did with Seven of Nine, moving forward from where they left off while giving them more serious consideration, rather than just cycling through a bunch of different variations on them.

Finally, does anyone else think that Curzon Dax was originally meant to be Jadzia Dax, and things just didn't work out with Terry Farrell? Given how every other crewmember is someone who was screwed over by the narrative or the writers, or just something the fans have long wanted to see, the choice of Curzon seems to stick out. A Jadzia Dax who wasn't killed by Dukat (and an opportunity for Farrell to come back to Star Trek after the bad blood of her departure from DS9) feels much closer to the "fan wish fulfillment" ethos that seems to have been this episode's brief.