#Krypton factor

[weaversweek]

This week, a profile of Gordon Burns.

From Ulster to Granada, and mostly the host of The Krypton Factor.

Every winner is a superperson. Every contender is a superperson.

Also a look at Gordon's dabble into shoot-em-up Tetris, and A Word in Your Ear - a communication game show where Bob Holness could draw a picture like this on lunchtime BBC1.

Lovely lighthouse there, Bob.

Gordon Burns was a journalist by training, he hosted UTV Live and Granada Reports and later BBC North West Tonight.

Absolute hero, and we even mention his cousin Ed Sheeran.

[wahwealth]

https://rumble.com/v4sabdb-gordon-burns-the-krpton-factor-10-16-1989-uk-game-show-full-episode.html

The Krypton Factor, a most popular British game show.

[retrocgads]

UK 1987

[trashpandato]

Romance

Earth customs are weird. 

Kara knows this; has known it for many years. And sure, she’s spent all those years trying to learn, trying to understand what makes humans tick so she could mimic it successfully enough to not stand out. 

“Fake it til you make it”, Alex used to say, implying that if Kara spent enough time pretending, human behaviour would eventually become second nature to her.

And fake it she did. Some Earth customs were easy enough to adopt. Like wide smiles that cover up her pain, the concept of comfort foods or all-you-can-eat buffets, or even humans’ tendency to find excuses to turn any random day into some kind of celebration - Hump Day, Tax Deadline Day, Polar Bear Plunge Day, National Frozen Yogurt Day. (She’s half-convinced that most of these are inventions by Alex to confuse her, but she celebrates National Gummy Worm Day on July 15th anyway.)

But if she’s honest, a lot of the things that humans do, their customs, their rituals, still seem a little strange to Kara. Even after years of trying to understand.

Chatting up strangers, for example. On Krypton, interactions with someone not known to a person would have required some sort of intermediary, an introduction through a trusted person. If Kara had even dared to walk up to a stranger to talk to them, she would have faced discipline not just from her family but also from the broader community. When she first landed on Earth, she relied on Eliza or Alex to make introductions and felt intensely uncomfortable when kids at school would randomly talk to her. It took her a long time to believably mimic these kinds of human interactions, and if she’s honest, she still prefers an official introduction over just chatting up people out of the blue. (It’s why she was happy to tag along with Clark for her first encounter with Lena.)

Or there’s the act of blowing out candles on a birthday cake. Extinguishing light instead of keeping it burning as a means of celebration. The first time Eliza prompted Kara to blow out her candles, Kara was horrified and it took a lot of gentle reassurances from her adoptive mother to even consider partaking in this peculiar human tradition. To this day, Kara prefers her candles away from her cake and to leave them burning for as long as safely possible.

And then there are all the gestures associated with romance. With Krypton’s system of arranged pairings based on compatibility across a number of important factors, there was no need to wine and dine anyone. She could remember her parents showing affection for each other, but there was never any ritualized approach to romantic moments. Humans, on the other hand, humans have rules about dates, about which flowers are appropriate to give to someone and when, about who pays the bill at the fancy restaurant, about slow-dancing and little gifts and how many feelings to reveal and when. 

It’s a lot to keep track of and confusing, and all the romance movies in the world cannot prepare Kara for her first official date with Lena.

She shows up with plumerias, because she knows Lena likes those and she knows, knows, that she’s supposed to bring flowers. But then Lena has tears in her eyes as soon as Kara hands them over, and she’s also wearing this dress that hugs her body in ways that make Kara’s higher brain function fizzle out. So she doesn’t protest when Lena pulls her inside with her hands fisted into the lapels of Kara’s suit jacket, follows Lena’s lead when she pushes her against the kitchen island and kisses her senseless, and finds herself naked and sweaty in Lena’s bed not long after that.

When Kara’s stomach rumbles a couple of hours later and Lena calls to have some food delivered, Lena chuckles.

“We kind of did this all backwards.”

Kara frowns. “How so?”

“Well,” Lena leans in and presses her lips close to Kara’s ear, making her shiver, “usually, the clothes come off after the fancy dinner.”

“You humans have a lot of rules about romance,” Kara huffs, and Lena laughs.

“I suppose we do. But I’m happy to break every single one of them with you, Kara Zor-El.”

[nitewrighter]

Who do you think would be the best DC hero to appear in MAWS and why is it Wonder Woman?

...I think the best DC hero to show up in MAWS is Mister Miracle, actually.

-We already have hints at Apokolips as one of the factors which took down the Kryptonian Empire and Scott was raised on Apokolips.

-MAWS already has a major focus on technology as part of its worldbuilding and Mister Miracle is a very tech-y gadget-y superhero with the added benefit of also being from space like Superman. Also the fact that his flight is dependent on his Aero-discs would give him a noticeable visual contrast to Superman's style of flight.

-Scott's Mister Miracle definitely has an aspect of PERFORMANCE!! and SHOWMANSHIP!!! as part of his overall superhero persona which would be a fun contrast against Clark's more warm and gentle Superman.

-It would literally be so so so funny to see Scott nearly kill himself multiple times with his crazy Mister Miracle stunts and freak Clark the fuck out only for Scott to be perfectly fine.

-You have a very cool potential drama factor since Scott could be a refugee of both Apokolips's general suckiness and Krypton's attempts at conquest, so he could have a lot of potential interactions with Kara.

-Mister Miracle and Big Barda are basically a package deal, which means MAWS would have TWO wifeguys now, plus Scott and Barda also have a size difference like Clark and Lois but it's gender-swapped.

-Introducing the New Gods is a good way to HINT at Darkseid without immediately cramming Darkseid down everyone's throats.

-Introducing non-trinity Superheroes is a good way to significantly expand MAWS's universe without elbowing out Lois and Jimmy as Clark's primary co-stars.

-I love them.

BONUS: Basically since we see Clark be very conscientious about how much damage he can do as Superman, it would be very funny to have that contrasted against Scott and Barda, with Barda FUCKING WRECKING EVERYTHING and Scott cheering her on.

I love Diana, I do, but the heart and soul of her character is magic and mythology, and I feel it would be really difficult to introduce her to the MAWS-universe in a way that meshes with that show's worldbuilding without changing massive parts of her character. Again, I stress: I would prefer if other members of the Trinity got their own shows establishing them in their own rights rather than just being shoehorned into MAWS.

[shebeafancyflapjack]

Alison and Pat's friendship is extremely underrated and yet so cute. He's the first ghost who she connects with on a personal level rather than just an annoyance. He's the least problematic of all the ghosts in terms of respecting her personal space and just being overall friendly and helpful (despite sadly not having any powers). They watch the Krypton Factor together. They can have fun with trying to prank each other. He helps her master camping. She loves being able to bring a piece of his family to him at Christmas. In the finale he seems to sense her hesitation at leaving them and needs to prompt her to think of Mike and Mia first instead of them (or even herself). It's just a warm and fuzzy bond they have.

[fazedlight]

Burn

Over. And over. And over again.

Kara stared at the screen as she watched the simulation of Argo’s destruction - the dancing lights of the wave erasing the small asteroid - as she relived the familiar sensation of becoming the last daughter of Krypton.

Kara swiped at the simulation, shifting to Earth-38. Her adopted planet, a culture that she had once found alien and strange. Her younger self could never have imagined the love she would have for this green and blue marble, for the people of the new strange city who would each become lights. Lights that had been extinguished.

For a second time, she watched as her home was wiped from stars.

The simulation showed again how Earth had been scattered into stardust, and she thought about her loved ones who had managed to survive, stuck on one of the multitude of ships in a haphazard fleet around her above Earth-1. She was desperate to get them all on the Waverider, to give Alex a hug, to beg Lena’s forgiveness, even to hear an encouraging word from Cat… if they had made it.

Paragon of Hope, she thought, ripping off her glasses to watch the simulation again. I’m not the paragon of anything.

“An entire universe wiped from existence,” came a familiar voice behind her, sending chills up her spine, “Distilled down to a computer graphic…”

Kara spun on her heel, eyes wide in disbelief. But the bald, smirking man in front of her was real - and amused. “Gotta say,” he said, “Missing that wow factor.”

“Lena killed you,” Kara growled, feeling the rush of adrenaline in her veins. She killed you and she lost me, Kara’s mind screamed. She killed you for me and now she can never forgive me.

“Only for a little while,” Lex winked back.

There were lines she didn’t cross on Earth. No death if she could help it, and certainly no cold-blooded murder. But as she marched forward - eyes burning red and still carrying the shredded pain of grief in her chest - her only thought was I lost Lena for you. The planets of both her Houses were gone, Lena despised her if she had even survived, and there was nothing left but incoherent rage. Lena killed you, Kara thought, and I will keep it that way.

“Everyone has a part to play,” came the fractured voice of the Monitor, like a cold wave washing her back from the edge. “Even Lex Luthor.” Kara halted, dimming her eyes. And though she argued back, feeling her distrust bubble over with rage of the unsaved humans and Oliver and the destruction that was yet to come, she also wrestled numbly. Both with what the Monitor had done…

And what she had been prepared to do.

------- If you want a different take on Crisis, I also wrote a supercorp version a while ago.

[suzukiblu]

WIP Wednesday Game

Taken from @kedreeva.

It’s WIP Wednesday, time for a little accountability, sharing your work, and getting a kick in the pants.

Here’s how it works:

In a reblog of this post (so people can find you in the notes) or new thread (w/ rules attached) if you want to play on your own, post up to five (5) filenames of your WIPs; not titles, file names.

Post a snippet from one of them. Snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. We’re posting progress here. If you haven’t made any, go make some and come back to play!

After you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. You must then write 3 sentences in that file. If the filename is one you can't share from (for example, an event or gift fic), write 3 sentences on it anyway, and then 3 more on another to share.

That’s it! You can invite others to join in, or just post. I’ll be searching the reblogs to find people to send asks to!

If you’re reading this, you’re invited!

If you see someone posting a WIP Wednesday Game snippet, send them an ask! Make them write.

file names:

omegaverse nursing

feral omega murder-nanny Jason and pup Damian in the League

Krypton lives and Kara did not sign up for this

Billy adopts Conner and it actually goes pretty good!

YJ accidental baby acquisition

snippet from "YJ accidental baby acquisition":

"Thank you," Tim says, dropping the swab into the evidence bag. Kenley eyes him sourly for a last long moment, then makes a point of looking at Vic instead. Tim feels distinctly ignored. 

That's definitely not because Kenley's stopped seeing him as a potential threat, he knows, and can't help suspecting it's that they trust Kon more than they don't trust him. 

Or they think Kon's going to be easier to manipulate than the rest of them, given the clone factor, and–

"You're doing good, Kenley," Kon says, giving Kenley another gentle little squeeze. Tim remembers, again, how quickly he had that name to hand. "Want a lollipop or something after this? Gar's probably got some kicking around if Bart doesn't.” 

"Why?" Kenley asks. 

"This is basically your first doctor's appointment," Kon says reasonably. "Lollipops are traditional, right?" 

". . . hm," Kenley says, brow just barely creasing assessingly. 

"Kon, they've never eaten anything in their life and you want to start them off with candy?" Cassie asks, putting her hands on her hips and looking exasperated by the idea. 

"Yeah," Kon replies with a shrug. "Tasting stuff for the first time is really overwhelming, simpler flavors are easier to start with. Not gonna want to order them paneer right now, you know? Maybe get them some of those bottled smoothies to start, actually, on that note. I puked the first couple times I tried eating and I'm pretty sure my teenage stomach was more capable of handling solid food than a kindergarten one is gonna be. Plus sugar tastes good, and Kenley should get to taste something good for their first time." 

"Oh, uh, good idea," Cassie says, blanching slightly. Tim empathizes with the urge to backpedal on saying the wrong thing here. Deeply empathizes. He's not sure it would've even occurred to him to make sure that Kenley's first experience with taste was a positive one or that they might have trouble with solid food right off the bat, himself. 

Kon's "ours" comment is both making more and more sense and also is probably for the best, at this point. 

“What flavor do you wanna try?” Bart asks Kenley, peering curiously at them. “Wonder Girl's favorite is cherry and mine's orange and Robin's is green apple, so you might like one of those or you could try–” 

“Mango,” Kenley says, burying their face in Kon's chest and gripping his jacket again. 

. . . that's Kon's favorite, Tim knows. 

And he'd be a lot less concerned by that choice if Bart had actually mentioned that fact. Especially because mango is a much, much more specific and unusual candy flavor than something like grape or lemon.

[frownyalfred]

krypton discussion hell yeah!! i definitely think language preservation would be one of the key factors of keeping the kryptonian identity alive for clark and kara. as a child of immigrants there’s a grief to being removed from your homeland, even if you didn’t grow up connected to it for most of your life. the sense of not belonging where you are as you navigate the world takes a toll on your sense of self. for clark, knowing that there’s so little left of his heritage to preserve must be painful, even more so for kara who actually lived for years with a planet and people that no longer exist. idk i guess i wish we could see more of this explored in dc media. diasporas typically have an inherent tragedy to them

I agree 100% anon. There's so much to explore with a diaspora lens within Clark's character and Kryptonian lore in general. He and Kara are similar in so many ways, but often their own origins draw a stark contrast between them, because Kara knew Krypton, and Clark never did -- and those experiences both come with their own pains and joys. And they are both the future of Krypton -- because they have to be.

What happens if Kara or Clark never have children? What if Clark never learned Kryptonian? Whose responsibility is the weight of an entire culture and history? Is it fair to expect him and Kara to bear that burden?

[starry-skies-116]

The Super Trio!!

More information about them below:

______________________________________________________________

Clark:

24 years old.

Is Superman (obviously)

His eyes fade from cobalt blue to sunset pink (a more alien feature) and they don't have visible pupils- instead, they're a shade of teal that blend in seamlessly with the rest of his eyes. His excuse to those who ask him about it are 'cataracts that hinder his vision' hence the glasses.

Has moles underneath both his eyes, as well as tiny black stud piercings.

Mild mannered, gentle and sweet- doesn't come across as much of a country bumpkin as his original counterparts, since he left Krypton when he was a child and not a newborn.

Krypton fell to a combination of political dissent and environmental factors, succumbing to civil war. So while Clark DOES have family, he prefers not to talk about them, much less associate with them. After all, they do bring back memories that he'd rather not remember.

Struggles with his sense of identity and purpose, and tends to be more defiant of authority since people have been trying to control him for basically his entire life. The past still haunts him even to this day.

Has knowledge of Krypton's history, as well as its technology- though he has to be careful about whom he discloses it to and where he stores it.

Basically 90% of Lois and Jimmy's impulse control.

Lois:

24 years old.

Intern at the Daily Planet and aspiring Pulitzer Prize winner.

Her mother is an immigrant from Vietnam- her biological father died before she was born- 'Lane' isn't her actual surname.

Younger sister is Lucy Lane, a New Metropolis Public Security officer- and US Army General Sam Lane is her stepfather.

Ambitious, determined, hardworking, single-minded and playful- basically hasn't relaxed a day in her life. Values the truth above all else.

She is, as Jimmy puts it, an 'unhinged driver.' To put it into perspective, she ran twenty red lights since she first got her license and only got two speeding tickets, and one time she reversed on the highway because she missed her exit (Jimmy was traumatized.)

As Perry puts it, she seems to have a seemingly 'endless' supply of energy, never being exhausted or apathetic. She's also quite perceptive, too, having quite the number of connections via her family- and eventually, her friends.

She has dyslexia.

She doesn't really get along with her stepfather, and doesn't often talk to him- so they don't really have a warm relationship.

Jimmy:

Real name is James, of course.

19 years old (or as he argues, 19 and three-quarters.)

The Daily Planet's photographer- enthusiastic and precocious, and rather easily excitable. Don't let that fool you, though, he's a shockingly adept detective with a penchant for uncovering the truth.

A good judge of character, willing to give others a chance and never overstepping boundaries if he can help it.

His photography skills are still a work in progress- much to Perry's chagrin, instead of clear photos of the subject specifically requested for the article, most of the camera roll is blurry images of Superman.

Superstitious, a firm believer in alien 'conspiracy theories' and the first to propose that Superman is, in fact, an extraterrestrial.

He and Lois are basically 'double the trouble,' as Perry puts it- which is why he assigns Clark to the General Investigations Department, to reel them in.

Has quite a lot of extended family, similar to Clark- unlike the latter, though, they're rather loving to the point of being somewhat overprotective.

Screams at the top of his lungs whenever Lois is driving- thankful for Clark's presence, since before the latter began to work for The Daily Planet, Jimmy was always in shotgun whenever Lois drove and took the brunt of the terror.

[radioactive-earthshine]

Thoughts on House of Brainiac pt 1 in Action Comics #1064

We got a good balance of action and whimsy, I really enjoyed seeing Lois taking time for herself to just (attempt) to do mundane things for herself with adult friends on her one day off.

I love that Kon and Kenan are regularly babysitting Otho and Osul. Also ngl it's funny that Kon doesn't even have a hero title here he's just 'clone of superman and lex luthor.

Kara is on a date?! 👀 I might have missed something but I do not recall her dating anyone so this is a fun little detail.

John and Lana as we know are now engaged and this was a fun way to remind the reader of that detail.

Clark playing with the ocean here was just a cute scene and was beautifully done.

The headband is a bit much...

Naturally because this issue starts so blissfully mundane and domestic and happy we know shit is gonna hit the fan and shit hit that fan. But not before we were given a little crumb to chew on...

They were interrupted before it could be revealed but we can assume this is an anniversary of some kind- maybe their marriage, maybe the day they met, maybe the day Clark came back to life, something else. We don't know yet so we're left in the dark until that bit is revealed eventually.

Brainiac attacks Metropolis with the Czarnian army he had from a bottle-city and in the midst of the chaos Clark reveals that he doesn't have as much experience with Brainiac as Kara does - so we are not dealing with pre-Crisis OR pre-Flashpoint crisis canon in this case. Which was to be expected. Brainiac's encounters with Krypton pre-destruction has been a poignant part of Kara and Krypton's canon for a while now and would have been unwise to erase in my opinion. Having Clark leaning on her for direction is a welcome change from when he was exceedingly familiar with Brainiac.

As expected Brainiac is going straight after Luthor of whom they have had a long history together where Brainiac does in fact view him as the smartest human. Whether or not this is accurate is not really fairly quantifiable but Brainiac thinks he is, and that's what matters.

"Those Lobos" Amazing how LEX is calling Czarnians LOBOS. The smartest man on the planet people.

👀 We're gonna have to chew on this one.

Well Lex got what he wanted, his daughter to call him Dad.

Brainiac needs Lex's head for whatever he has planned and he took Lena and Mercy captive as a sort of bargaining chip to try to get Lex to comply, because this incarnation of Lex is not totally without feelings.

Lobos. Not Czarnians. Lobos.

He better start calling all Kryptonians Kal Els or Supermans.

While it is unlikely he had a direct hand in the attack this is likely something he started or helped to put in motion. And he confirms that he has an idea of what Brainiac is up to when he WARNS Clark to not allow Brainiac to obtain his family, or anyone WITH powers.

It is also interesting that he is referring to them as his family, not his 'brood' or 'kin'. Family.

Either way, Lex knows something more than what he is immediately revealing.

Remember, they CANNOT be captured. It's imperati-

.... Damnit.

So the worst thing just happened and all of Clark's family and close friends and several metas within Metropolis were snagged immediately.

However, Jon and Jay have NOT been shown to be captured (yet). We do not see either of them in this issue so it will be interesting to see if Jon (or Jay) will have some sort of part to play in this arc.

I wonder if Jay's powers would even let him BE captured in the first place. It might be likely that Williamson couldn't factor that in so he elected to keep it out entirely.

Huh. You know. THIS detail was originally Kieth Giffen's Czarnia when he made the back history of Lobo. Czarnia was such a utopia it didn't even have a police force because everyone simply... got along. Until Lobo was born and killed everyone. Now the Czarnian canon is quite different and for some reason every single member dresses exactly like Lobo which sigh while 'cool' makes the whole people feel one-dimensional and I do not LIKE it.

Just because I wear plunging neckline tops and yoga pants doesn't mean every human does as well. Heaven forbid if some alien species bases all of humanity based on my wardrobe. You're ALL wearing black and yellow.

Anyway, this "Lobo" is named General Chacal. And because he is named we're likely going to be dealing with him more.

ngl they are all so cute in their pink fairy bottles. Anyway, they're being taken into SPACE.

The last person to get nabbed is Lex who in an apparent show of self sacrifice prevents Clark from being taken. This could all be strategy but the comic is leading us to believe he does care for his daughter. So Brainiac wins this round.

The closing pages leaves a lot of mysteries still as to WHAT Brainiac is doing.

Thus far we know the following;

1.) He is LONELY and he wants to remedy that but he can't be normal about it. 2.) Lex and him have history involving his wildly important plan to not be lonely. 3.) His plan involves Kryptonians, and metas, so we can safely assume he is using their genetics in some facet. 4.) He NEEDS Lex to complete this plan. 5.) He intends to share his knowledge, what this means and with who is unknown but it could be he is intending to share it with other versions of himself due to the last page. 6.) Speaking of the last page, it is interesting because we are seeing a mosaic of different versions of Brainiac from across time and realities. It is still very much unknown what his plan is, he could be intending to make some sort of beefed up Frankenstein's monster version of a companion "Brainiac Queen" - or he might be planning on beefing himself up and a new population of Coluans or both. We simply do not know. Other mysteries; 1.) Destruction of Braal. - Why? 2.) I know Williamson mentioned he read L.E.G.I.O.N. so he is not ignorant that Brainiac DOES IN FACT ALREADY HAVE FAMILY that he's tried to kill multiple times. I hope he brings in Vril Dox II because if there EVER were an appropriate time, it is now. I'm really excited and next week we get pt2 in Superman 2023 #13. This is a big build up and it is hard to say where the fuck we're going.

[weaversweek]

Part 10 of "Which game shows have had the most episodes", this week going from J to LEA.

Which means we get a show Comedy Centraal could revive tomorrow.

Juke Box Jury, pretty much the outer limit of a game show.

There's always time to play Just a Minute.

And to play The Krypton Factor.

[wahwealth]

A very popular game show with a 17 year run, The Krypton Factor tests mind and muscle, click here to enjoy,

[spandexinspace]

Also also I guess this is big hater weekend but I really cannot stand how people praise DCAU Brainiac. Tying him entirely to Krypton and robbing him of his own story and origin totally flattens his character and, because I and I alone care, also ruins his family's origins. Making them robots in general makes them worse because the biological factor is a load-bearing part of their characterisation and you can't just replace that with programs or whatever techno-organic mumbo jumbo writers want to come up with (of the "Brainiac is a robot but somehow his descendants are both his descendants and organic" variety).

He doesn't need to be directly tied to Krypton to be an effective Superman villain and Krypton's demise in particular shouldn't be tied to him because that cheapens the idea of the planet's destruction.

[natequarter]

hello! do you happen to have any fic recs for ghosts (bbc)? i dont want to be mean because i think its great that people are writing for it! but a lot of the ones ive seen reduce the characters quite a bit? thanks. LOVE your ghosts and dr who fics btw theyre fantastic!! :)

oh thank you! my recommendations concerning the ghosts in general would be:

Chit-Chat by xenolinguist. a chatfic which is not my usual style but is a really fun work focusing on alison, mike, and all the ghosts

Fabrications by SwaggerStick. an incredibly funny piece which puts a new spin on series four's, er, piss lore

And So On and So Forth by V_Evergreen. this is probably the number one fic out of any ghosts fic that i would recommend. the moment between fanny and alison is one of the most perfect moments i've read in any ghosts fanfic. i cannot stress enough how much i love this work

We Are Dead And Buried (yet our ghosts might still learn) by someoneplsloverobbierotten. a long fic focusing on robin and an original character, but absolutely worth it. artemis' internal conflict is fascinating, and his personality thoroughly developed

House Share by Sheepyblue. from mike's perspective, detailing his attempts to bond with the ghosts. bar julian, none of the ghosts make an actual appearance here (for the obvious reason that mike can't see them), but it's nonetheless a very good study of mike's character, his relationship with alison, the ghosts themselves, and what it must be like to be alone even surrounded by people

Don't Let The Good Life Pass You By by Impossibly_Izzy. what if the ghosts came back to life? what if pat (and julian) were forced to reconcile his new life he's found with the ghosts with the old life he can never go back to? worst of all, what if humphrey had to shave off his beard? this fic answers all of these vital questions, and more. and it's well-written to boot!

Ghost of a Kind by LostKagamiWitchInTheIsles. another fic with an oc ghost which is pulled off very well. if i had a nickel for every time i'd read a fic with the premise, "what would happen if another ghost were added to button house (and didn't like the main gang)?" i'd only have two nickels, but both are brilliant. i love cordelia dearly, and i think you all should too

ere ever aeneas began by TheGoodDoctor. i honestly don't know where to begin with this one. it's very much one of a kind. basically, bbc ghosts, but from the perspective of... trees. [robin voice] you had to be there

Button House B&B by quiet_crisis_in_the_corner. an influencer visits button house. keith leaves a review. the ghosts help nobody at all. all in all, a pretty average and awful day at button house. the first two chapters are absolutely hilarious, and that's that

Thick Skull by thehappybones. rather than dying at button house, pat just about survives being struck by an arrow. decades later, he returns to the house after the recent death of his wife, carol, and finally confronts those damned ghosts. a quietly sweet what-if

Nothing Like a Round on 'The Krypton Factor' by neverfaraway. pat/captain, but more generally a work focusing on alison and her relationship with the ghosts. appeasement doesn't work on anyone, least of all dead people. feels as warm and friendly as an actual episode of ghosts, and as accurate to their voices too

humphrey-centric:

'Tis not hereafter by attend_the_tale. humphrey/original female character, with that relationship being the focus and his relationship with sophie the background context. i would be remiss not to mention the author's other work, Present Mirth Hath Present Laughter, along with it, since they have the same strengths: lovely characterisation of humphrey and sophie, a vibrant and realistic original character, and such a brilliant, deft depiction of elizabethan england. the prose, too, is wonderful

so uncomfortably alone (but not for long!) by hounds_of_love. captain/pat/humphrey, from humphrey's perspective. a lovely and very touching fic in which humphrey's loneliness is remedied, and also three idiots kiss, which is how i like my fanfiction

Battles of the Bones by thelastplantagenet. humphrey/sophie, set in the 1500s. concerns a timeline where humphrey and sophie actually learn to like each other, fall in love, kill the queen... you know, the usual. again works with its historical setting rather than against it, and the author has a wonderful knack for humphrey's voice in particular. i'm once again rereading this one. it's good

robin-centric:

songs for dads by whimsicaliity. better entitled, "the fic that cradled my heart, then smashed it to pieces." eerily reminiscent of gone gone, despite being written long before series four came out. i have reread this many times. i have had my heart stomped on many times. i cannot recommend this enough. robin/julian, until it isn't

Witness by TheArchaeologist. what can i say, except that this is a fantastic character study of robin? he's old, he's seen a lot and lost a lot, and he's hilarious. relatively short, but effective with its words

Made Our Cave An Everywhere by MadameReveuse. chess husbands, alternating between robin and julian's perspectives, detailing julian coming to terms with his death. i love fic which deals with julian experiencing "emotions," as those bleeding-heart libs like to think of them

It by Scriblit. emotionally devastating, but so well-done. a look at robin's relationships with all the ghosts, from humphrey to julian, but in particular his connections to mary and julian - and how robin and julian respectively deal with those relationships and the grief of losing mary. a fantastic addition to gone gone, but ouch, my heart

It's Pronounced "Rrogh" by vex_ing. this is a favourite of mine not just because it was inspired by a post i wrote, but because it's a wonderfully written character piece, and a beautiful explanation of just where robin got his name from

moon woman (his moon woman) by fivecenturiesverse. such a lovely exploration of the relationship between robin and mary, as well as robin's age and his connection to the moon. i have a soft spot for mary/robin, and the way that mary grows and changes here is also wonderful

The 62,019 Year-Old Dictionary by Robin Caveman by Turtle_ier. i am beyond obsessed with robin's perspective on life, and while i haven't read this one over in a while, it's a great portrayal of robin. the way it plays around with format also stands out to me

thomas-centric:

By the Fire by scribehotan. focuses on nigel the plague ghost, and his budding friendship with thomas thorne. a lovely, soft piece, with a very cosy setting. deals with nigel's plague-related insecurities, and gives thomas some nuance, which is more or less an instant way to my heart

What Twisted Webs We Weave by The_Purple_Opossum. a canon-divergent fic from isabelle's perspective, in which isabelle nearly dies and discovers that she is, in fact, haunted. by thomas. i think this is one of my favourite depictions of (of all characters) francis button: he puts isabelle down, but is not explicitly cruel, which lines up with what we know of him. so far, it's very well-written - and builds on the warped version of events that isabelle is familiar with, ranging from humphrey's supposed plotting to thomas's supposed duel over shelley

Feeling comes in aid of feeling by Eccentric_Hat. thomas/kitty. lots of lovely character beats, and the development of thomas and kitty's relationship is lovely. has some entertaining discussion of shakespeare - representation of disembodied heads in media is tragically lacking

Eternity With a Nuisance by charliest. focuses more on alison and thomas, but it's a wonderful exploration of both the ghosts' relationship to time and alison's relative mortality. also, anything which gives thomas depth is my shit

I Stand Unsure by midshipmanwilfrid. a brief but touching character study of thomas, focused on his troubled feelings on his own gender. the sort where you come away from it feeling as if you have woken up to a world both the same and fundamentally changed, and are not sure how to feel about it. quietly affecting

Renovations by Ailendolin. thomas-centric, focusing on his emotional repression and struggles with rejection, particularly in relation to his friendship with alison. a beautiful piece on alison and the other ghosts helping him for once. picking just one work for this author was incredibly tough, but this is one of my all-time favourites from both the author and ghosts fanfiction in general

one and the same by wizardmeats. thomas dreams of a happier life with isabelle. pat helps him come to terms with it. a beautiful analysis of thomas's personality, and his bond with pat is very (bitter)sweet

captain-centric:

Land to Light On by sistermichael. a captain/havers modern au, which in general is enough to make me walk away and/or zone out immediately. however! the captain, spain, and only one bed. perfection. the writing style is exquisite; the worldbuilding is skilled; the way it fleshes out havers' character is excellent. very much not something i would normally go for; good enough that i would recommend it anyway

The Blooms of May by kingofthefrogs. fantasy au, captain/pat, enemies to lovers. if you like gideon the ninth, this one's for you. if you like welsh mythology, this one's for you. i love anything with unique worldbuilding (and humphrey/sophie, which this also has), and this one is something unique. i'm hooked

oh, captain, let’s make a deal where we both say the things that we both really feel by seawall. captain/humphrey (or should i say de-cap-itation?), an extended exploration of the captain's developing feelings for humphrey and his dealing with grief. a beautiful work - generally i'm not that interested in the captain, but he's portrayed so well here (and, you know, i love caphrey) that i can't not love it

fieri sentio et excrucior by oui_oui_mon_ami. captain/oc, specifically the captain falling in love with a roman soldier who lives next door. not my usual thing, but a nice read nonetheless

passion and drive by cloudings. captain/thomas, which for some unknown reason i cannot get enough of. elaborates upon the ever-hilarious plot pitch of, "the captain fails to come out to thomas because the idiot thinks the captain's in love with him." one of those ones i keep coming back to

A Kiss, Then by SunriseBirds. also captain/thomas. one that i can say is wonderfully characterised. these two are hopeless idiots, and it's on full display in just how hopelessly idiotic they are here. ten out of ten, would recommend

drug club by Aziz. captain/thomas. the erotics of sharing drugs, a rooftop, and a houseful of ghosts who keep on interrupting your erotics. would you still love me if i was a worm?

(We've Only Got) So Many Tricks by radiocarbonblinddate. pat/captain, focusing on the immediate aftermath of pat's death and how the captain adjusts. beautiful depiction of the ghosts before they were the ghosts we know. cannot recommend this author enough. just read their stuff, and you'll see what i mean

Moving On by Pic_Akai. a very well-written fic in which the captain wakes up in the modern day remembering the events of ghosts, but nobody else except alison does. he helps arrange humphrey's wedding, finds love for himself, and doesn't strangle thomas. very sweet

overall, i would highly recommend anything by any of the authors on this list, but in particular Ailendolin, Sheepyblue, hounds_of_love, and kingofthefrogs. i hope this helps!

[nitewrighter]

So like... I'm reading Superman: The Man of Steel Issue #62 and initially I was kind of shrugging the Hamilton+Krypton parallel off because at first it just seemed like, "Oh, you're just juxtaposing Jor-El's dread at the impending loss of Krypton against Superman fighting against the impending total-death-of-earth-because-our-Sun-Got-Eaten." You have Superman's loss of power without sunlight juxtaposed with Jor-El's scientific mastery being ultimately helpless in the face of this existential threat. But then midway through it pancake flips the despair of the whole thing because Superman has what Jor-El doesn't--not heat vision or super strength because he's a yellow star-irradiated mutant of his species--but rather a planet that trusts him and is willing to work with him to save themselves. And like, this isn't even played in such a way as 'ough it's Krypton's fault this happened to them' but rather it's a thesis of "Interpersonal connection is our ultimate salvation, and it is so easy to lose that. Even if you're the smartest, most powerful people in the world. Especially if you're the smartest, most powerful people in the world."

You'll remember that "Kryptonians aren't even mammals" commenter i was talking about like... a week back. Like, they pretty much were operating from this position of, "If you posit any headcanons on Krypton that it was flawed or that there were cultural factors contributing to the totality of its destruction, then you're undermining Superman's immigrant narrative because you're making him quote unquote 'One of the good ones.'" But like...this is also where the line of speculative fiction vs societal narrative gets blurred. Speculative fiction is supposed to take certain worldbuilding elements to various extremes to illustrate how those elements operate within our society--and like, the crazy thing about Krypton is, that though there's a lot of aspects of it that were meant to be portrayed as extremes in the silver, bronze, and modern comic book ages, I feel like we have more in common with this fictional planet than ever. Like, is it really less relatable when you talk about it as a cold and alienating society when we're literally dealing with that right now?