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[mass-of-men]

national holiday

[mass-of-men]

this is the money garf. reblog for untold pasta and riches to come your way

[mass-of-men]

omg one of my fics is in a rec list, i'm literally about to cry. thank you for your support, it's so sweet!

random question since idk if you read fanfic, but if you do, any jason-centric fanfic recs where he isn't portrayed as needlessly violent / incompetent/stupid etc? or where swears don't make up 50% of his vocabulary?

basically, any fics that show jason is actually super competent at what he does and that address his backstory and his relationship with bruce in a realistic way would be fantastic, because they're so hard to find.

I literally only read Jason fanfiction, call me a connoisseur, or full of problems, but I feel like my taste is pretty immaculate if I do say so myself. At least, I know what I like in fanfiction and personality-wise, so I hope these help!

General Bruce & Jason relationship fics:

Two Weeks to Forever: Oneshot by MassofMen

This is actually a series where Jason is bruce's bio-son who got to grow up with each other. Let me tell you, the amount I wanted to cry at the lines: “In retrospect, two weeks and three years felt the same” is disgustingly immeasurable. Short little 1.5k words of bittersweetness where bruce mourns for his dead child. It just hurts in the best way. Super cute in that heartwrenching way. I can't recommend this one-shot enough; the child loss is palatable

The Jason Project: Oneshot by loosingletters

This one I wouldn't have doubted you've read, but it's Jason finding the bucket list he made as a child and then finding out Bruce had worked his way through it after Jason's death. This one I did cry reading. You know that feeling you get hit with when nostalgic for something that never happened in your childhood therefore you mourn that loss of experience? Ya, that's what reading this feels like. The absolute loss of childhood Jason almost had and then the hopeful ending of maybe trying to live some of those missed moments and memories(even if those events won't--can't-- be the same because of the overbearing cloud of his death). *mwah* art

when you were young you used to dream about fires: Oneshot by someplacewarm

Bruce travels back in time and winds up meeting Jason before Willis went to prison and Catherine died. What I like about this fic is that even though Bruce thinks about his Jason, it's not in a past!Jason, Robin!Jason, and RH!Jason way, it's in a pre!Bruce and post!Bruce way. So many fics are about who jason was and turned into, and it's nice to read a story that subtle acknowledges Jason as all encompassing without it being shoved down your throat. Bruce never explicitly states "No, no, he's back and he's still Jason." The hurt is written as a broad sadness of Batman just be upset it happened to begin with. Absolute gut punch where bruce is helping a hurt passed jason whilst knowing what comes

Competent!Jason:

More Chances Than Deserved: complete multi-chapter by Skalidra

a must-read for all my slit throat enthusiasts(such as myself)! Also would not be surprised if you've read this one, but it's so good. In UtRH, Deathstroke was canonically lurking around trying to merc Jason, so this is a canon divergence of Slade finding Jason after Bruce slit his throat. Due to the damage, Jason falls permanently mute, a divergence I need more content for because I'm evil and love angst. I like the call-back in the last chapter where, even though Jason is super competent in this fic, he still, as in the UtRH comic, succumbs to his emotions whilst fighting bruce, but in a believable manner. Though he doesn't necessarily win the final fight, he chews Bruce out massively and satisfying, leaving with the final word. I've read a lot of this author's work, and has a ton of competent!Jason fics(also a ton of dark fics which i do usually favor when reading fic in general)

Too Much Fucking Salt: Oneshot by Yidkirkin

My history says I've read this 22.5k masterpiece five times and I assure you it's definitely more than that. Highlights! Jason kills the fuckin clown! don't worry, that's not a spoiler, it's literally like the second tag. Do you really need more than that? Yes? Well, Jason is super poetic in this in how he describes his situation. I remember reading this story on the day posted and being floored by Jason's internal monologue on comparing himself trying to be accommodating and placating while the stress continued to boil and boil with a housewife. It's one of those bits of writing that has just stuck with me. The juxtaposition between Jason wanting to be accepted back in the bats with the realization he will never be able to heal with the Joker constantly breaking out, slaughtering, and, in the process, reopening Jason's own wounds with his trauma. Jason putting himself first because none of the bats put in any effort to see his side? Show-stopping

Learn to Pick Ourselves Up (Jason Todd Zine Contributions): two-part series by scandalsavage

Just some nice, soothing "Jason putting his foot down and having the last word." Whenever I read their work, I always enjoy this author's characterization of Jason: smart, competent, and capable, but still manages that emotional aspect of Jason in a very well-mannered and realistic way. When he's upset, there's build-up where you can see where that flare comes from, but also follow through where Jason doesn't just "get over it" in three sentences. Definitely more of an emotional maturity competence read over crime-fighting competence read, very satisfying to see Jason walk away

Blind Justice: vignette also by scandalsavage

Just...it's a what-if situation that's just So Satisfying, yet Not at the same time. It's satisfying because Jason leaves, but also "fuck Bruce", ya dig? Some may not agree, but I would stand to argue. A short, simple 881 words where Jason scapegoats himself for Bruce and then leaves Gotham and never looks back. It is my interpretation of Jason that he has always been used as a scapegoat for other characters(in-world and out-of-world), and I believe that Jason is so used to being perceived as the "fuck-up" that he has no qualms about using that assumption to protect others he cares about. Think of him fighting off his mom's drug dealers with a bat in the very beginning of RHatO V.1, he's putting himself in harm's way purposefully because he's used to being beat around. Or in the new Nightwing Annual (T. Taylor, my beloathed) where Robin Jason says: "You want to hit a kid? Hit me." I think this small piece of writing encapsulates that side of Jason immensely.

I read a lot of Bruce + Jason fics, most of which are angsty and emotionally driven, but these are some of the ones I thought of off the top of my head. So, if anyone wants more recs, I will happily oblige. I enjoy gushing over media I love (if you haven't noticed my blog ;) ) Going through my AO3 history, I realize I read a lot of emotionally driven works with people who just happen to be vigilantes rather than "wow look at this man showing off his skills while fighting crime!" I didn't want to only hand over one-shots of Jason chewing bruce out, as good as they are, I also wanted to offer up "yes, Jason is so obviously uberly smart and good at what he does" so I tried to steer clear of heavy emotion having-the-last-word competent fics rather aimed for skill-based competence.

I agree, anon, it's so hard to find fics where Jason is not subtly bagged on in some way. And so many BAMF Jason tagged fics are too OP and unrealistic for my taste. Often times the best competent fics aren't gonna be tagged as such, but that also runs the risk of ending up with a fic where Jason can't even through a punch correctly. Really a gamble each time. My suggestion is to find an author you like for how they characterize. Then hope they have a lot of bookmarks or have social media to see what other fic writers they're in cohorts with as they probably write similar characterizations.

I hope at least some of these you haven't read and that you enjoy these recs! <3

[mass-of-men]

fandom people online will ignore the political landscape and blog about their blorbos all the time and then make the shocked pikachu face when abortions become illegal while they were blorbo blogging in the blogosphere

What do you want me to do about it on tumblr man. It’s tumblr.

[mass-of-men]

animators fuck me up. if you asked me to draw something it would take every ounce of my life to complete this task. if you then asked me to draw it again a little to the left I would die

[mass-of-men]

Doodle !

[mass-of-men]

I’m coping with the loss of Hal by joining in on the girl boss biphobic Dick jokes

[mass-of-men]

The word “swims” is the same upside down

[mass-of-men]

Palpatine’s Journey

[mass-of-men]

You know that feeling of terror when you get caught stealing Batman’s tires?

Me neither

[mass-of-men]

why do you think catch 22 (a show) so bad, especially in comparison to the book?

Excellent question! Now keep in mind I'm not an English major, I'm a History and Film major so I'm just looking at this novel as someone who has read Catch-22 around 10 times and I've watched the show in full around 4 times now and I talked about it when it first came out here.

I think ultimately it comes down to how the show represents ending. It is not only a change from the book, it is about as far from the book's ending as one could get. I talked about the ending here but to go further into just having it end with Snowden's death I think completely destroys the not just Yossarian's story, but the story of the war itself.

Heller's book is designed in the way that Snowden's death is revealed throughout the whole book and it is not until the end that we get to see what really happened. Now I'm not saying I would have needed flashbacks to Snowden's death like in the 1970 film, but Snowden's name is mentioned so many times that his death is something that clearly represents the fall of the war and the military industrial complex to Yossarian. Snowden represents the lives and the feelings of every young man who joined the war in order to be, doomed to die.

Hell, 35 pages into the book, Yossarian asks "Where are the Snowdens of yesteryear?". He is quite literally asking the high command, where are the young men you sent into battle knowing they would not come back. Snowden's constant presence is a reminder of what war cost, the same as the Dead Man in Yossarian and Orr's tent. The book does an excellent job of making it so we as the audience understand why he wants to escape but can't actually fathom why until the end of the book when during his surgery, Yossarian remembers Snowden.

Now for it being my favorite book, to be honest I'm not a huge fan of Heller's style. I think it makes perfect sense for this book, in that the American military industrial complex is as confusing and nonsensical as Heller's writing is but the end of the book gets me completely. "It was easy to read the message in his entrails. Man was matter, that was Snowden’s secret. Drop him out a window and he’ll fall. Set fire to him and he’ll burn. Bury him and he’ll rot, like other kinds of garbage. The spirit gone, man is garbage. That was Snowden’s secret."

It is because Yossarian learns Snowden's secret he truly realizes he has to leave. And that is the part that makes the deaths of all his friends(although I'm not sure book Yossarian would call any one there his actual friend) all the more tragic, he knows he has to get out and yet has to watch all the people he know die one by one as if counting down to him. He is going to suffer the same fate as every other man there and he will have no way in the matter.

Like I said in my other post about the ending, Snowden's death is the beginning of Yossarian's story, not the ending.

To go back to the show for a moment, the ending has me feeling empty, but not in the way it was trying for. I don't think any Yossarian, let that be the book, the 1970 film, or the miniseries, would accept death and more so his fate.

His most famous quote is literally "Live forever or die in the attempt", it is not death that he fears but not being in control of his fate. Being send to die by people who won't even tell him why. I think that's why the book(and film by extension) ending works so well. Yes, he could die trying to row from Italy to Sweden, but it would be Yossarian's choice to do so, he is in charge of his ending.

That's why the show's ending fails because it is simply not Yossarian accepting his fate to die but to almost welcome it with no one left. He is not alone in the book, he has Danby and the Chaplain and most importantly he has Orr waiting for him in Sweden. The show Yossarian is unwilling to leave to go to Orr for... some reason. That's it, the show never explains why Yossarian doesn't go AWOL. The book does an amazing job at highlighting every attempt by Yossarian to leave in an ethical(more or less) way and him going AWOL is the last resort. but it is the only way he will not die in battle. Yet the show Yossarian is just willing to die for Cathcart, Korn, and Scheisskopf because he's too tired to even try.

I feel like the show was trying to twist the story into being about these wacky group of boys being screwed over by the military and how they all tragically die because of it, but the book speaks to so much more. Catch-22 isn't All Quiet on the Western Front, and I don't think the show runner remembered that.

Now that's not to say there aren't parts of the show I liked. I loved the cast, especially Christopher Abbott as Yossarian, the cinematography was beyond beautiful, and I still listen to the soundtrack. I just was so beyond disappointed as a huge fan of the novel when the show came out because it truly didn't feel like it was made by someone who had an appreciation for the work itself.

[mass-of-men]

[mass-of-men]

that was one of the shortest hospital stays of my life, but the highlight of the whole event is that i got the paramedics to read homestuck and listen to lemon demon.

[mass-of-men]

I just realized people who haven’t read the book would have no way of knowing how bad the show is

[mass-of-men]

Love is stored in the forehead touch

[mass-of-men]

YOU hates terfs