#but don't go in with any baggage from the comics

[tomthefanboy]

Today was the day I learned that Cary Loudermilk from Legion (the taller, whiter Loudermilk, pictured here on the left) ...

was the "other guy" in the video for infamous 80s earworm Don't Worry Be Happy.

I had always been vexxed by his inclusion in the video, not as an insult to his talents as a clown and dancer, but because he was being given equal billing alongside the performer themself and superstar ROBIN WILLIAMS.

Bill Irwin had not even played his most famous part at the time! It wouldn't be until 1999 that he played Mr. Noodle in Elmo's World.

I'm glad that I can not only put a name to that face, but that it's a name that is associated with such high quality programming.

[cebwrites]

I saw a Zosan comic once where Usopp asked Zoro how he dealt with Sanji being so like that (swirly was flirting up the ladies per usual in the background) Before Sanji twirled his way around to fill up Zoro's mug, whisper something sweet into the kiss his pressed into his cheek, then twirled away as Zoro flashed a smug little grin Usopp's way

And I just think there should be more zosan art/fics like that

Yes yes the boys still bicker and have their little dick measuring contests and fight as always to tests their strength

But it's always done with a knowing smile even as they test the upper limit of each other's patience and outside of that? Sanji's just as loving as he would be with any other partner (Something that kind of bothers me in fic spaces is that Sanji's always portrayed as fawning over any and every fem person but when it comes to Zoro himself and they're intended to be shipped there isn't nearly as much of that same energy :/)

Zoro deserves to be adored and cared for just as much, flaunted to the world as Sanji's man and appreciated by him just as much as any woman if they're going to be in love dammit Sanji's weird and repressed pre-ts because seeing Zoro be out and unashamed of who he is while he's still struggling to come to terms that he even likes men and puts women on a pedastal as a result of intense trauma, I don't expect him to do all that for Zoro back then with that much unaddressed baggage

So I like to think that especially post-ts after Sanji's sorted his shit on Gender Island that he's more than willing to shower his marimo in damn near embarrassing open affection, and Zoro's receptive to it - not prancing around like Sanji is too, I don't think it's in his nature, but at least smiling in acknowledgement and the occasional heart fingers/hands across the deck that sends Sanji spinning with love hearts back into the kitchen to whip up Zoro's afternoon snack

Usopp, Nami, and Robin tease him about how he's become quite the perfect little housewife for his big strong man after maybe seriously trying to kill Zoro more than a handful of times before they were separated at Sabaody The truly genuine response of how he acted in the past makes him cringe, and how he hope to make it up to Zoro now by making sure that stupid moss knows that he loves him every day throws his peers off a little and earns a gentle smile from Robin in response

The teasing slows but doesn't stop from there

(Don't get me wrong I still like emotionally constipated ZS @/wellfine's comic about them saying I love you is still one of my faves to date I just want... more stuff of them being loving in conventional ways </3)

+ some quick gender thoughts as well since this ramble post is getting long and I might as well

I'm a ride or die trans!Zoro truther but I think it'd be sweet if Sanji came back from Gender Island cis, just- like an actually functioning person about it now He's gnc and plays with heels and makeup and dresses but he's still a man, only a man who's fully confident in who he is and confident in the fact that his supportive trans boyfriend still loves him not despite all of that, but because of it since that's who he is Zoro being a huge muscly trans man who still retains the ability to be tender and soft and in touch with his emotions instead of a meat-brained gym rat is so important to me personally actually asdfgsdfsd

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Catch and Release

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: AU where Jason doesn't die in the explosion and he and Tim end up attending the same high school months later.

Chapters: 8/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Tim Drake, Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, Sebastian Ives, Jack Drake, Janet Drake

Relationships: TBA

Additional Tag: Jason Todd Lives, Jason Todd-centric, POV Jason Todd, POV First Person, Tim Drake Has Issues, Tim Drake Has Issues, Tim Drake is Not Robin, Jason Todd is Not Robin (Anymore), Bruce Wayne Needs a Hug, Alfred Pennyworth is the Best, Alfred Pennyworth Knows, Stalker Tim Drake, Jason Todd Has Chronic Pain, Jason Todd Has PTSD, Angst with a Happy Ending, Unlikely Friends, Injury Recovery, Emotional Baggage, Rage, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Communicating

Chapter Eight: Pain in the Head

I hung out with Tim's friends and worked on character sheets. I spent three hours there before I told Tim I had to go. I had a great time. Don't get me wrong. But I was nauseous and didn't want to be sick at his house. Ives planned on sleeping over at Tim's place, so I didn't have to feel bad about leaving him home alone. I got a ride to the manor, and Bruce sat on the porch waiting for me as soon as I arrived. "Where have you been?" Bruce asked.

"I could ask you the same thing, Bruce... Can I go inside now?" I asked.

"You're pale," Bruce replied.

I wanted to lie down and nap, but I could tell Bruce didn't plan on letting things go. I didn't have the time or energy to explain myself, so I did what any reasonable teenager would do. I made myself throw up and burst into tears. "Jason," Bruce sighed before helping me to the family room. He couldn't accuse me of anything while I was sick. That and throwing up stopped the onset of a migraine.

"I'm so sorry, Bruce-."

"It's fine... When is the last time you took-. I swore I wouldn't ask you that," Bruce replied.

"I didn't think I needed them anymore... I thought I'd been feeling better lately," I replied. Bruce felt my forehead.

"I've been home for two days, and you-. Jason, I'm sorry for walking out on you. I wasn't trying to hurt you... I'm-. Our bond is different from the bond I have with anyone else. I'm holding on for dear life with you... And I know I'm losing you. I feel like you're slipping away when I look at you.

"I can't take the thought of knowing you suffered because I chose to leave you alone that day. Jason, you're so precious to me... And I'm terrified that if I let you talk about what happened, you'll say what I've been most afraid to hear," Bruce confessed. I wasn't in the mood for a serious conversation, but he was finally willing to speak about what happened to me.

"I don't hate you... And I don't blame you for what happened. I've been trying to tell you all this time," I paused, "I'm sure Dick told you I wanna die sometimes... But you don't realize what I have to experience every day."

Bruce exhaled through his nose. "Go ahead..."

"I wake up under debris almost every day... And then I lie about my nerve pain, which I know everyone can see. By the time I get to the mirror, I'm already so disheartened by the countless efforts I've made to appear normal that I barely notice my scars anymore. When I shower, my skin still hurts like the burns are fresh, and I want to cry, but if I do, I'd never get anything done. Then, I come down for breakfast... And sometimes the medications I'm on make me so sick I don't want to eat, but I know I'd be worse off if I didn't.

"Then I go to school, and you wouldn't believe what they say about me," I swallowed hard.

"Jason-."

"But I endure it because I know I have to... What I can't stomach is the isolation. Don't ice me out, Bruce," I begged. Bruce sighed.

"I don't know how-. I can't pretend that almost losing you didn't change the entire way I had to look at our life. You can't be Robin anymore, Jason, and I feel awful for having to take that away from you," Bruce whispered.

"You're saying our, but you mean mine. How can you expect me to step down from being Robin when you can't even walk away from being Batman?" I asked.

"Jason, it's been over a year, and you're still healing. I can't risk putting you out in the field again. Gotham needs Batman-."

"Bullshit," I snapped.

"Language-." "Oh! Go to hell! I told you about all my issues, thinking you would finally see me, and I realized you're no better than the rest of them!" I yelled. I couldn't help but get mad. I should've seen it coming. He'd never had the guts to say it, but I knew this was his way of shutting me out for good. It pissed me off. I threw my crutches and hobbled upstairs.

"Jason! Jason, you can't-!"

"Screw you!" I yelled as I went to my room. I slammed the door and packed my bag. I almost forgot I felt sick. He saw me as weak. That was the worst thing he could've ever opened his mouth to admit. He was no better than everyone that gaped and gawked at me. I was his walking tragedy, and I'd be damned if I let him treat me like a ghost.

I started packing with tears in my eyes. I wanted to get out of there before I said something vile. "Jason, don't be like this! Please come out and talk to me-."

"Bruce, I need to get the hell away from you before I say something I regret!" I hollered. "And I guarantee that if you follow me, I will never come home! Leave my crutches and get away from me!" I sat down and texted Tim. He was the only person I could trust at that moment. I asked him to come to get me, and he texted me immediately. I waited in my room until Tim texted me, and I left my bedroom. Bruce left my crutches in front of the door and retreated like always. I slung my duffel across my body like a messenger bag, hoping it wouldn't throw me off balance.

I swung the door open and left it like that. Tim took my bag and opened his mouth to ask if I was okay, but he kept quiet. It was for the best because I was in a particularly heinous mood. I fell asleep in the car and woke up in Tim's guest room. He was on the floor with Ives, eating pizza. My head throbbed, and I felt sicker than I did earlier. Ives glanced at me and got up to turn the lights down. "Sorry, were we too loud?" Ives questioned.

"No, I-. How long have I been out?" I asked.

"Thirty minutes... Maybe an hour," Tim answered, "Do you need an aspirin?"

I pressed my palms against my eyelids. "No thanks... Tim, do you-? Who carried me in?" I asked.

"We both did. Tim got you out of the car but wasn't strong enough to get you up the stairs. It was a team effort," Ives answered, "You're heavier than you look." I let out a soft chuckle despite the pounding in my head.

"Know how I asked you to move in with me?" I questioned. "Could it still work if it were the other way around?"

"You wanna live here?" Tim asked. I nodded. "Alright." I was shocked. I thought he'd say no, but he looked thrilled.

[66sharkteeth]

I am SO sorry about that other anon good lord, who do they think they are??? You're a human being with feelings and emotions and hardships!! Or a shark I guess in your case, but my point still stands.

I, too, have been a long-time fan of your comic. CoB is my favorite webcomic and I've been loyally following and reading the updates since... end of s1?? It's been a while. BUT despite that, I know that you're still a person at the end of the day, and that sometimes you just need to get shit off your chest. It's far healthier to vent and get things off your chest than it is to bottle it up.

I haven't paid attention because I'm following like 500 different tumblrs, but may I suggest tagging your rants? That way, if people don't want to see it, they can just blacklist the tag, and you can keep getting things off your chest.

>>> Also just a reminder to everyone that YOU CURATE YOUR OWN ONLINE EXPERIENCES. The tag blocker and unfollow button is there for a reason. If you don't like what someone posts, either block the tag or just unfollow them. It's not that hard.

Sorry to that anon in that I didn’t mean to send any hate their way. I appreciate what you’re saying but I understand their point. I made this as a space for fans and I shouldn’t be using it for personal baggage. I’m just going to try to avoid using it like that from now on, so hopefully a tag won’t be necessary but I’ll make sure to do so if I do fall in that hole again. I hopefully just find a better outlet, but I just always appreciate being heard here, even if only by a few people. Even just a like on one of my posts tells me someone heard me and sometimes that’s just all I need. This was just kinda the only place I can get that since Twitter and IG would attract too much attention, and well, my private accounts… just feel like screaming into a void that just echos everything back and confirms everything I’m venting about. I’m gonna try to avoid venting here from now on and do my best to just keep it a positive fan space, but I appreciate all the support up til now whenever I’ve been having a bad night

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

Hey, I was just reading your idea for the ending of Homestuck and I noticed that in your write-up Davesprite died, which I found very interesting. I have always thought that Davesprite's survival sort of combated the idea of being bound and doomed to the Alpha Timeline, and the fact that he made it to the end was thematically consistent with escaping the narrative. What is your opinion on Davesprite, and what do you think his purpose in Homestuck is?

I really disagree with this idea that the "point" of Homestuck is to "escape the narrative," as if the characters discovering a means to unstick themselves from the alpha timeline (which is defined as "the timeline that brings about LE", and thus, has always been set up to be something that must be refuted for a happy ending) is not, in fact, part of the narrative. I think people tend to forget that John's aspect, Breath, is literally about choices and freedom, making the Retcon abilities a natural final culmination of his aspect, and that to master these powers, John was required to finish his planetary quest.

Or that when Dave and Rose discuss how much they don't want to finish their quests, the two of them are at their lowest emotional points (Rose having just gone sober and procrastinating talking with Kanaya, and Dave having just been reminded of his lost childhood innocence to the point he broke down crying). The point of them saying they don't want to continue their quests isn't "yeah, man, we're people, we don't have arcs, it's dumb to do quests" - because, again, finishing his quest is what grants John the ability to choose a new future. The point being made by Rose and Dave's reluctance is that self-improvement is hard, gruelling, unpleasant, and uncomfortable - that Rose doesn't want to do hers because it's painful to acknowledge that she was, indeed, a kid who needed guidance, and not the know-it-all-adult she was trying to be, and that Dave doesn't want to do his because it's easier to give up on it than to grapple with his feelings of inadequacy - easier to be a side passenger in his own life than to fight for a better future. We aren't supposed to agree with them that shirking their character arcs is cool and fun.

"They're escaping the narrative" doesn't actually mean anything... it's an odd battle cry that I believe arises from the HS audience's general unfamiliarity with postmodernism (and the fact that the story makes a hard swerve after Game Over in terms of themes and character arcs, which - given the context of Hussie's life and internet presence during and after - is pretty obviously the result of balking at continuing HS for any longer than they had to). Homestuck's storytelling methods, including its meta-ness, usage of the author as a character, etc. etc., are actually quite standard for that genre - having characters be genre savvy enough to comment on the tropes they see and act in defiance of them isn't new, Homestuck didn't invent that, and still counts as being "a narrative." It'd be "escaping the narrative" if John got his powers, grabbed everyone, zapped them away to somewhere the audience couldn't follow, and then the comic ended like that. But that's not what happened.

If we actually go back and look at Davesprite, his baggage is pretty consistently about the fact that he's not "the real dave". When Jade complains about Davesprite, Dave immediately goes "omfg, this is about him being salty he's not the real dave, isn't it". But that's not all that's in play with Davesprite, because Davesprite is a Dave, and thus a way for us to peer into Dave's psyche. Remember what I said earlier about Dave's reluctance to finish his quest stemming from his worries about inadequacy? That comes up again from Davesprite. The reason Davesprite is so concerned with being not the "real" Dave is because he thinks it's proof that he's inadequate (and, by extension, that the people around him are better off without him around).

DAVESPRITE: maybe she was that desperate to finally get away from me DAVESPRITE: between you and me john DAVESPRITE: i didnt really handle things with her as well as i could have DAVESPRITE: oh well maybe real dave will treat her better DAVESPRITE: or not i dont know DAVESPRITE: i did her a favor cutting bird dave out of her life

You know, because he's a kid whose brother was constantly physically abusing him under the guise of him not being strong enough, and Hussie outright says that know-it-all-ism, intellectual assertion and superiority, and mansplaining are traits Dirk tends to have at his worst. A huge amount of Dave/Davesprite's baggage is having spent so much of his life being made to feel less than Bro and not good enough, and then Bro died before Dave could get any closure on that front. And now, as a self-fulfilling prophecy, Davesprite's self-loathing and baggage cause him to ruin his own relationships - thus "proving" that he wasn't worthy of having them.

JADE: jeez you sure have some issues JADE: honestly it has become very tiresome listening to this sort of thing JADE: i thought davesprite had problems JADE: his issues i could kind of understand JADE: i thought you might be different, being the alpha dave and all JADE: but no JADE: you might be even more messed up inside than he was!

Therefore, Davesprite's character arc isn't about how "the narrative" has "doomed" him and he must "escape it," it's about how he (and Dave) need to address the root problem - their self-loathing and unresolved childhood trauma - and move past it. It seems to be a Knight thing to struggle with self-loathing, as Latula and Karkat have deep inadequacies and insecurities too, so addressing these emotional problems is literally part of Dave's arc set out for him by SBURB.

Moreover, Ultimate Self is in play, and in general, the comic has suggested that every iteration of every character is an extension of the original character multiple times. It's not just Dave and Davesprite who conflate themselves and play with the idea that they are ultimately the same guy - the Dancestors see their Alternian counterparts as being extensions of themselves, for example, and Heart players are explicitly said to have journeys of splintered selves, which can also be caused by certain classes in other aspects. What this concept of Ultimate Self brings to Dave/Davesprite is twofold:

First, it means that which Dave is "real" is moot - they are both equally real, and equally relevant, because they are facets of the same ultimate person. I think there's a reason that the person who brings up the Ultimate Selfhood spiel in the truncated ending we got is a mixture of Nepeta (the Heart player I think was intended to achieve Ultimate Selfhood in Hussie's original planned ending, since that's so Rogue of Heart) and Davesprite, who explicitly says that his baggage has been resolved by realizing that he's a part of this greater whole - in other words, finding acceptance with his place in the world, and with that acceptance, finding within him the well of strength needed to go fight LE (or, symbolically, to fight for a future free of what LE represents - which includes the shitty stuff that Bro imposed on him).

Second, what it means is that Davesprite dying (and getting to join the Game Over crew in killing LE) is, at worst, a bittersweet ending. Part of the Ultimate Selfhood spiel is that ALL characters will eventually reach that enlightened state as a final culmination of understanding their aspect (read: completing their personal growth journeys), so as long as a character survives the ending (which I believe all of them were originally intended to do), then eventually - even if off-screen - that character will remember being their other iterations, and doing the things their other iterations did. In a sense, all the dead ghosts from the bubbles (besides the dancestors, who are an antagonistic force overall) get to live on through the surviving cast.

So what I've given to Davesprite in my ending is this: he talks to Nepeta and is told about Ultimate Selfhood, which comforts him WRT his place in the world and helps him deal with his feelings of inadequacy - we see him dead in the bubbles, where he and (Dave) get to fight/talk and complete their character arcs by reaching an understanding with each other - and then we find out that he died by playing a vital role in the fight against the Jacks, a kind of culmination of his acceptance of himself and his duty to choose a brighter future, which isn't fully a sacrifice/death because there's an explicit understanding that Dave will one day come to be Davesprite and (Dave) as well.

And then Davesprite and (Dave) go to fight LE, because LE is the villain of this story. He directly symbolizes immaturity, cruelty, and the worst parts of society - a child who deliberately stunted his own emotional maturity via greed, selfishness, and ambition, combined with the worst aspects of Equius (a casteist), Gamzee (a religious fundamentalist), and Dirk (Bro).

Let's not forget that Bro became as bad as he did because he was under the influence of Cal, and that an aspect of Dirk is literally part of LE. (Dave)'s arc - his reluctance to fight LE because of his self-loathing - has a clear trajectory of picking up his sword to fight LE not because the game or Grimbark Jade are telling him to, but because (Dave) decides that he deserves to fight for a better future, one where the things LE stand for are consigned to the void. Even if (Dave) himself is not able to directly enjoy this future, post-retcon Dave will, and via Ultimate Self, so will (Dave) and Davesprite, in due time.

As God Tier!Calliope says, and as I believe is how we should view the struggles of those who wind up in the dream bubbles:

CALLIOPE: you don't need to do anything. CALLIOPE: be who you've become, and who i didn't. CALLIOPE: consume the fruits of an existence i could never understand. CALLIOPE: live.

The dead, doomed, and irrelevant - including Davesprite and (Dave) - are the ones to fight and defeat LE, and by doing so, they symbolically render him "nothing more than a bad dream". Moreover, Caliborn explicitly says he's orchestrating his own defeat: if Caliborn has it his way, then everybody loses. Game Over was part of Caliborn's plans BECAUSE it would render everybody dead and in the dream bubbles, where they'd be in position to fight and kill him. This is the ending he's chosen - one where nobody gets to survive, and his servants, the Condesce and the Jacks - get to impose their will on what remains of the new world.

What he wasn't counting on was that the Heir of Breath would gain the ultimate power of Breath - the power to choose something new. Using this, he's able to create a timeline free of LE's will. He isn't escaping the narrative, but he IS shaking off the alpha timeline - symbolically, shaking off the shackles placed on them by cruel ancestors, creepy uncles, abusive guardians, and messed-up society. These survivors are then able to fight and defeat LE's living servants, thus clearing the path for a new universe free of his influence.

(Dave) and Davesprite dying, fighting LE in the bubbles, and being sucked in by the black hole are part of the ultimate sacrifice, a culmination of their arcs and a will to defeat the cruelty that defined so much of their lives - and that is what lets them reap the Ultimate Reward.

[theaudientvoid]

So, since both DC and Marvel are currently launching initiatives to created "simplified" continuities in a bid to attract new readers, I should probably do a periodic reminder about why efforts to "simplify" continuity almost never work, and even if they did, I don't think that simplified continuity is nearly as laudable goal as many people seem to thing.

In practice, attempts to simplify continuity almost always end up making continuity more complicated. Let's take the Marvel's current attempt, relaunching the Ultimate Universe. This is meant to be a new universe that readers can pick up of the rack without having to worry about decades of continuity baggage. So far, so good. The problem is that this is the second time that Marvel has done this trick using this exact name. So now, any time a prospective new reader hears about Ultimate Spider-Man, well which one are they hearing about. The old one from the 2000s who was a teenager, or the new one that's, like, 35?

The fate of the original Ultimate Universe is instructive. It went on for over a decade, and by the end had built up its own convoluted continuity, such that Marvel eventually decided to just pull the plug and merge it over into the main universe.

Now, keep in mind, the "New" Ultimate Universe is selling like hot cakes. Ultimate Spider-Man is currently out selling the main Spider-Man book. But how much of that is from "simplified" continuity, and how much of that is because Marvel editorial is committed to maintaining a status quo for the character in the main universe that many readers find uninteresting? (They still haven't undone One More Day.)

It's also instructive that Marvel chose to reuse the "Ultimate" name. If they really wanted to excise continuity baggage, presumably they'd pick an entirely new name, to prevent any threat of namespace collision. But that's not what they did. Presumably, they were hoping to capitalize on any residual good will associated with the Ultimate brand left over from the original Ultimate universe. Which new readers, who supposedly hate continuity, won't have.

All that being said, though, is "simplifying" continuity even all that worthy a goal in the first place? I'm not convinced it is. So, like, the thing to keep in mind is that Marvel and DC's business model is oriented around selling single issues to a small pool of collectors at exorbitant prices. Once a issues initial print run(s) end, it becomes an afterthought from the standpoint of the decision makers at the big two.

So, from the perspective of convincing randoms off the street to buy the latest issue of Batman, that decades of continuity baggage probably is an impediment. But, I would argue, it's not nearly as big an impediment that as the fact that single issues are a) expensive as fuck, and b) only sold in specialized stores. If you want to grow the population of comic readers, the biggest things you need to do are lower the price, and sell them in places that normies actually go to.

DC recently, with relatively little fanfare, started an initiative to sell collected additions of a handful of classic stories from their back catalog in regular book stores. Importantly, however, these special collections all collect 12 issues, and cost only $10. For comparison, ordinary trade paperbacks collect 6 issues and cost $17. Single issues run you $4 or $5. This is an okay start, but not nearly enough. If I was in charge of DC or Marvel, I would start by aggressively marketing our back catalog to non-comic readers at significantly reduced prices. Note that this would still allow us to continue selling single issues to super fans at full price, while also having a realistic prospect of growing the market. Because the idea that Marvel or DC can get people into comics by convincing them to walk into a comic shop off the street and pay $5 per issue for the latest crossover event is just absurd.

[pochapal]

32! Do you like HS^2?

i...genuinely do! i think sometimes there's a half-conception that based on the mere premise of my fics that i don't like postcanon all that much (omelette route was misconstrued as an epilogues fix-it fic in certain circles and pickle route is still sometimes seen as a "better version" of hs^2) even though everything i write is in direct conversation with and comes from a place of admiration for hs^2/the epilogues.

with hs^2 in particular i think it had some really electric ideas that we only got to see the very first brushstrokes of (thinking most pertinently here about whatever was going to go down on deltritus that we never saw) that, if they'd been able to get off the ground, probably would have eclipsed the epilogues as the most interesting part of homestuck. from the bits we saw the meat timeline stuff was definitely the weakest. outside of the jade/altcallie possession chapter a lot of that half of the story was fairly unsurprising character-driven extrapolation of the same angst we departed the epilogues with - and i largely agree with @hms-no-fun that some kind of timeskip here would have helped it feel a little less repetitive (although arguably there might have been? three years definitely passed with dirk et al but it was very up in the air as to how long it had been for the pursuit spaceship crew). i get why that never happened - both meat and candy were being told in tandem and candy ended on a buildup to an immediate conflict that needed to be followed in real time versus meat's meandering slingshot towards something more nebulous, so for the sake of structural symmetry that limited things a little.

i think i'm more amenable to a lot of hs^2's storytelling decisions because i wholly and entirely loved the epilogues from the getgo and it was so good to see that theme/tone be carried through to a more "traditional" mspa space, even if i wonder if the comic form damaged the story more than it helped it. i remember a lot of people getting weirdly mad whenever we'd get an extended prose scene instead of visual panels despite hs^2 being a continuation of the text-based epilogues. then again, the mainstream hs fandom as a whole fucking sucked when it came to postcanon and that's even more evident in how they've collectively memoryholed the whole thing so talking about audience reception is maybe not the most useful thing to talk about here lmao. idk i think people forget that homestuck is largely a story about people who suck and then who get better from sucking. it's just that nobody really likes it when that lens is turned inward onto the alphas/betas who outside of a small handful of exceptions in canon never really had any ethical issues that caused problems for them and others so i personally think it was very interesting and refreshing to explore how the kids' complacency wrt their baggage and trauma allowed them and their world to backslide so disastrously! roxy lalonde enabling jane's fascist ascension is fascinating storytelling actually! (side note: read through shadowed eyes)

hs^2's original characterwork is probably where the story shines the most. the fucked up dynamics between the theseus crew was super fun to read because there's honestly nothing more enjoyable than Supremely Divorced people deciding that makes them irredeemably evil now. the egbert gender stuff was really nice! i particularly enjoyed how, even though it came after the june egbert renaissance, it still managed to be its own unique take on egbert's gender arc that i think really encapsulated the originality driving the project. also forever shoutout to the candy kids my beloved candy kids my children who i will die for - for me in particular hs^2 was a fun time because i was developing my own versions of harry/vrissy/tav for pickle route in parallel to hs^2 and it was so enjoyable seeing all the overlaps and divergences with each upd8. also yiffy fucking rules on every level and even though she never got to be more than a promise she sure was one hell of a promise.

that said i do not think it's that surprising that hs^2 ultimately died before its time. the conditions of the story paired with the most demoralising and vicious iteration of the fandom meant the odds were stacked against it in a big way. you can particularly see the strain of that starting to manifest in the final ~6 months worth of upd8s where people were leaving/being pushed out of the project and every part of hs^2 was a completely hostile environment and the quality of the art and storytelling began to get a little shaky - which i can't really blame them for all things considered! it's hard to want to make the best version of a story possible when the overwhelming reception is a bunch of sanctimonious redditbrained weirdos screaming that you're evil and foul for making characters in a piece of fiction do unexpected and surprising things and also being sympathetic to trans women. there were of course issues with the production conditions of hs^2 that would have probably led to some sort of reckoning at some point, but it's very obvious that the traumatic pressure cooker of a fanbase that wanted nothing more than the death of this project and the ruination of everyone that worked on it threw this whole thing off the rails much faster. despite that, you still have to infinitely admire the team for daring to make something challenging and original in a sphere dominated by people who are content to regurgitate the same babybrained 2013 content ad infinitum - for just a brief moment, homestuck was truly allowed to be the literary masterpiece it's been all along. now people just treat it as more fandomslop to consume and that's perhaps the biggest shame of all.

in the end i think hs^2's legacy is best felt in the places haunted by its premature absence. i'm talking about the comic itself of course but also other spaces and people and projects. stuff that really engaged with the meaty thematic frameworks being thrown up in postcanon that now no longer have a mirror to talk back to - stuff like pesterquest and godfeels and the aforementioned through shadowed eyes that all massively are in conversation with the deeper artistic and philosophical principles underpinning this era of homestuck. if anything else hs^2 will continue to serve as a useful prerequisite for getting into some of the best stuff homestuck fans have ever made. we might never see what could have been, but at least the torch is still being carried by people who care.

[klbwriting]

Our Strange Duet

Chapter 6: Nightmare

Fandom: Red Hood

Pairing: Jason Todd x f!reader

Warnings: some violence, Bruce Wayne is a terrible father

Summary: YN tells Jason about Bruce and Jason goes on patrol

Taglist: @deans-spinster-witch @amberpanda99

Notes: just because 2 anons asked this, yes, I'm not a big fan of Bruce Wayne or Batman, BUT I don't hate him as much as this story suggests, it's just for the narrative I need him to suck this much (and depending on which comic continuity you're reading, he does suck this much sometimes)

Will someone care? Will I wake tomorrow from this nightmare? - Rent

               Jason moved aside, letting YN into the apartment.  Dick was chugging water, nearly spitting it out when he saw her and her bags.  She put them down by the door and moved to Jason, throwing her arms around him, hugging him tight.  She whispered something that Dick couldn’t hear, and Jason gripped her back, both of them just holding each other, ignoring the rest of the world.  Dick felt his heart pang in his chest.  Giant Jason, still something Dick couldn’t get used to, hugging this shorter girl, clearly gripping her tight but yet still being gentle, engulfing her until she was nearly one with him, and she was gripping him back just the same.  He was glad to see his little brother find someone that he could be like this with.  He needed someone more than his brother or his therapist, he needed someone to love him as he was now, without the baggage of his past.  YN seemed to be it. 

               “Love you Jason,” YN whispered to him, making him loosen his grip a little to pull back and look at her.  “I’m sorry about barging in like this…”

               “You are always welcome here, with me, anywhere with me,” he said.  “So why did you leave the apartment?”  She sighed and he led her to the couch, sitting down with her, not letting go of her hand.  Dick took a seat on the chair nearby.

               “I lied to you about what was paying for the apartment.  I really thought it was all Maroni and honestly, I felt ashamed to accept any money from him, but it was before we had met again and I didn’t have anywhere to go so I figured I would keep the place until I could get a job and afford something else,” she explained.  Jason’s grip tightened on her hand at the thought of her lying to him and she looked down.  “I could handle Maroni doing it, he probably owes so much in child support, and he listened when I told him not to contact me again, so what if he paid for my place for a while?  He owes me.  But Bruce?  He doesn’t owe me anything, he owes you and trying to use me to get to you?  That’s despicable.  And he had the place bugged so that he could hear use talking.  He told me when I went to see him that it wasn’t supposed to be me.  You were supposed to find out about the donor and then go marching to Wayne manor and I don’t know, fight him?  Thank him?” she finished her ramble and sat back, head falling to look at the ceiling. 

               “I’m going to call him,” Dick mumbled.  Jason shook his head, pulling back from YN.  He knew it was petty, but she had lied to him, everyone lied to him sooner or later. 

               “No, don’t, don’t bother,” Jason said.  He moved to grab his gear.  “I’ll be back, need to patrol tonight, big drug deal happening in Crime Alley.”  He looked at them both, barely making eye contact with YN.  “Maybe I’ll find the Batman while I’m at it, handle this myself.”  Dick got up but Jason shook his head.  “Take a night off Nightwing, see if your crime lab contact has information about that drug that Maroni is circulating.  I’ll see if I can get some samples of the actual drug tonight.  YN, whenever you want to get some sleep go ahead a use my bed I’ll stay on the couch when I get back.” 

               “Ok,” she whispered, the barely veiled hurt in her voice piercing through him, but then her voice saying ‘I lied to you’ came flooding into his mind and he just walked out the door without looking back. 

               “I really messed up, didn’t I?” YN said as she and Dick sat at the table.  He had made truly horrible lasagna for dinner, so they were eating frozen pizza as the smoke slowly dissipated from the room.  He nodded slowly and she looked down, forehead meeting the table.

               “He will understand after thinking about it.  I mean, you had just met again, you had already been living in that place for months and you never really knew who was paying for it.  Not like you sought Maroni out for confirmation,” he said.  “It’s just…”

               “Jason doesn’t trust easily and its incredibly easy to break his trust,” she finished, sitting back up.  Dick nodded.  “I still can’t believe Bruce would do something like this, all of this cloak and dagger shit just because he is scared of talking to his son.” 

               “I’m not that surprised by all this.  When me and Bruce first fought, he used Jason to draw me out, pull me back in,” he said.  She looked at him, shocked.  “O you didn’t know?  Me and Bruce fought about me wanting to be something different than what he had made me.  I wanted to be more ruthless, I didn’t care so much about saving the bad guys, not like Bruce.  I left and a year later he’s got another Robin, a kid around the same age I was when he took me after my parents’ deaths.  He didn’t contact me, had Robin do it.  And I, unlike Jason, felt right into Bruce’s trap.  Not only did I fall right back into the family, but I even lightened up, tried to be a good role model for him.  Then Jason killed that drug dealer…”

               “He killed someone as Robin?” YN asked, making Dick look at her as if he had forgotten she was there.  He nodded, eyes a little glazed over with the memory. 

               “He doesn’t know that he killed him.  They were fighting on a roof, Jason had chased him up there after finding not only a pile of drugs in his apartment, but also a photo album full of children…” he shivered, and YN made a disgusted face.  “So, Jason was livid, that rage he gets from the pit, it was always there inside of him, the pit just makes it come out easier, but it was always there.  That night he used it, kicked that asshole right off the roof.  Bruce was climbing the side of the building, trying to get to him before anything happened, the body fell right passed him to the ground.  I was there on the ground, just arriving from another bust up and found it.  Bruce took Jason back to the manor and laid into him, telling him he was lucky that the guy wasn’t dead.  Then Jason said, ‘I wish he was, people like that shouldn’t get to live’ and that was when Bruce gave up, I think.  Even though Jason didn’t die for another six months, that moment there was when he died for Bruce.”

               “What a pile of shit, he just gives up on his kids whenever they decide not to be like him?” YN said.  Dick nodded.  “I don’t like that Jason kills people either, but I have to see him kill someone who didn’t deserve it and a guy who clearly is abusing kids deserves it.  How late will Jason be out do you think?  I want to talk to him.”

               “I wouldn’t expect him back, he will probably go to a safe house by the school and get ready there before going to class,” Dick said.  YN sighed and stood up from the table, starting to clear it.  “Don’t do that, you’re a guest.”  She stopped, looking at him.  “You’re not going anywhere, are you?  I might as well accept that you���ve moved in?”

               “No, I will find someplace, I just don’t know when, but I promise I’m not going to be a freeloader, let me do anything around here.  I can cook and clean and I’ll pay you whenever I can…” she rambled.  Dick walked over and put his hands on her shoulders.

               “YN, calm down, you are family, and despite what we learned from Bruce we don’t abandon family,” he said.  She nodded and hugged him for a second.  He patted her back before he let her clear the dishes, cleaning up his dead lasagna. 

               Jason did as he said, busting up the drug deal, and getting a sample of the new drug before the cops arrived to clear out the rest.  He stowed it away before heading into Old Gotham.  Batman would be patrolling around there that night.  Jason had kept up with what Batman and the new Robin did, always wanting to avoid them.  But today he sought Bruce out.  He wanted to draw him out fine.  But this was it, he would be done after this.  He wasn’t Dick, he didn’t care that Bruce had another kid under his wing, whenever Robin figured out that Batman wasn’t his friend or his dad then Jason would find him.  He could join the new family, the Robins Who Need Their Own Arkham club.  He soon found his prize, watching the Bat fight a few gangsters in an alleyway near the Iceberg Lounge.  Once he was finished Jason threw one of his Red Hood batarangs, making sure it soared right in front of Batman’s face.  Batman looked up and Jason walked away, going further onto the roof. 

               “Knew you would find me eventually,” Batman said from behind him.  Jason turned slowly, hands settling on his guns.  He knew that the armor was bullet proof, but his bullets would still hurt like hell.

               “I shouldn’t be the one arranging this meeting,” he said back.  He felt the rage in him, but he put a cork on it, bottling it until he needed it.  “I only came to say this, don’t go near her again.  Don’t ever do anything for her again.  Don’t contact her again, in any way.”

               “She came to me,” he answered.  Jason felt the cork loosen, one of his guns in his hand now.  Bruce looked at his hand and then back at the helmet. 

               “She did that to rid herself of you, now let her be done,” he said, the voice modulator not quite catching the menace in his voice.  The longer he stood there the more the rage threatened to spill over.

               “What about you?  Do you want rid of me?  Or are you going to come back, and we can talk?” Batman asked.  “Jason…”  That was it, his name, in that voice, he was gone.  The cork flew, releasing all the rage.  Jason was firing, Batman was dodging until he was on the edge of the roof.  Jason came running at him, tackling him over the side.  They were falling but, in that moment, Jason didn’t care, let him die again, he wanted to take Bruce with him.  Of course, that wasn’t what happened, Batman deployed the grappling hook and went up, letting Jason keep falling.  It was only a story, but still enough that when Jason landed, he heard the snap in his ankle, rolling and hissing as he nearly bit his tongue off trying not to scream.  He looked up to see Batman watching him for a moment before disappearing.  He opened his comms.

               “Nightwing?  I need help.”

               “I’m coming Red Hood, what do you need?”

[radioactive-earthshine]

Random but, any hcs about Kon and his life in Smallville with the Kents?

I'm just going to make a list and babble :) Here's some HCs including bits with Bart bc they did live only 4 hours away.

1.) Not closeting, not in the way people use the term anyway - it was a necessary time that Kon so desperately needed. He needed a place to be someone OTHER than Superboy because he could no longer function without that off-switch.

2.) Kon always had shown interest in his comics of living a life without the Superboy question and being "normal" but it was very rocky for him so I feel like his early transition with the Kents were likely no different. Ma and Pa likely had to endure his dramatics, mood swings and outbursts of anger as he adjusted to being Conner Kent and living in a space that had consistent RULES. This is not to say he was just suddenly dropped off with strangers, because he wasn't, he knew Ma and Pa beforehand having spent a little time on the farm.

3.) If you guys thought Bart was bad at first, Kon was probably worse as Kon had years of baggage to unpack.

4.) We didn't get to see anything substantial of those early days with him with Ma and Pa but we saw small glimpses of him just not appreciating Smallville and thought it was "boring" and outright claimed to have hated it. It's a big adjustment.

5.) Suddenly coming to the realization that he was SAFE where he was and could just BE without suddenly having a fist in his face was one hell of a day...

6.) Yes we all should mock the cishet jeans and t-shirt look but he really was trying to figure out who he was without Superboy as a factor. I don't think Kon ever really does solidly figure it out as Superboy will always BE a part of him and part of his core identity and it's a balance he needed to try to find out - even if it meant going to one extreme side of the spectrum.

7.) To tie into #6 Kon found out he really does have an All or Nothing personality when living with the Kents.

8.) He's allergic to goat products - boy of steel he may be but even he is not immune to goat intolerance. There is no evidence of this, this is a true HC. He found out because Ma had goat milk and he decided to try it with... bad results.

9.) I am obsessed with Kon in his 2011 solo taking the time to WALK to school instead of flying or running or taking the bus - Smallville really brought him down to Earth even though he already was a child of Earth. It grounded him and put a lot of thinks for him into perspective.

10.) Going back to those early days - he reached out to Bart a lot to vent and ask for advice of how Bart coped with Max. They BOTH went from never having to worry about hiding their secret ID and doing WHATEVER they wanted to suddenly having to worry about preserving their identity and operating in an environment with rules that were the antithesis of what they were used to.

11.) Kon's entire first few months with the Kents were literal immersive therapy and I am furious we did not get to see this - this would have made an incredible comic.

12.) Adhering to comic canon I feel like it was during this deconstruction of who he is he realized he was queer. To the surprise of no one.

13.) His first gift to Ma and Pa was a quilt he made himself - you can take artistic-Kon from my cold dead hands. He made it at school in secret.

14.) Clark was a cryptid in Smallville when he was a teenager and Kon really was no different as his deeds throughout town resurface those old rural myths that began 30-ish years prior.

15.) I ignore any and all parallels that Simon was set up to be Kon's Lex Luthor and instead he becomes his BEST civilian friend. We do however find out that Simon's parents were scientists that helped make Kon - Kon has mixed feeling about this at first but he knows he can't blame Simon.

16.) Even Kon cannot help going back to old shenanigans with Bart and they make crop-circles - well they DID before Clark told them to stop - the killjoy.

17.) Cows make him nervous - look - he knew they existed but he wasn't aware of how BIG they were and he knows he is strong enough to pulverize them into instant bouillon but that still did not prepare him for the fact that they are megafauna that you have no control over.

18.) Kon will always take out a tornado - no he doesn't care if it's a small one - he's not going to sit back and watch someone's house be subjected to damage the tenants may or may not be able to afford. If there are TWO tornadoes at the same time he gets into a contest with Bart over who can neutralize them first.

19.) Going back to his acclimation - there was a lot Kon had to sort of unlearn when he started living with the Kents. Stuff he learned from being with Rex Leech, and during his time at Cadmus under Jim. He finally learned what it was like to be a normal person instead of a parody of what a normal person was.

20.) During October, Kon got really.... really.... into making the BEST corn maze. No, seriously, stupidly competitive. Like, not only did he want it to be complicated but he also for an added flavor made Bart chase people around with a de-bladed chainsaw. People think Kon hired like 7 dudes to do this but it's literally just Bart. He also made sure to decorate it with fake blood, webbing, and busted out fog machines just for an added flavor of spookiness.

[fullscoreshenanigans]

I just think about it but the whole Ray's plan at the beginning would have failed in so many ways.

Connie could have wondered where was her plushie at the moment of crossing the door.

Imagine if Emma and Norman have run into Isabella on the way to the gate (because she would have heard them by exemple) and tell "mama, Connie forget her plushie" so Isabella would have took it and say "Connie meets her parents right now. It's better to not bother her. I'll put it with his baggage"

Can you imagine if they were come back to Ray, saying "don't worry, we meet Mum on the way and she took it"

Ray: *internal screaming*

I mean Connie was the LAST shipment before Ray. It was 3 months, more or less, before his own shipment. If he had failed, what could he have done? Said the truth? Would Emma and Norman believe THAT without seeing it? Well all the others escapees believed it. But Emma was deeply attached to Isabella, she had need to see the demons to believe it.

But i understand that making his plan tro motion when let's say Hao was shipped (i think it was him before Connie?) would have given more time, and mayvbe on security if his plan had failed to re-do it the next time, but then Emma would have to accept Connie's shippement if they were not ready. Sacrifie her to save all the others. Pretty sure that she wouldn't have, and i don't even speak about Don here.

(Continued)

It's kinda sad to think that, even if the escapees managed to run away from the farm, happy to be free, happy that Ray is alive and all, their survival wasn't assured until they got in the bunker and even before, until they meet Sonju and Mujika. I mean without Sonju and Mujika, Emma could have died of infection and Ray would have been killed by demons, few hours after have been saved by Emma and few MINUTES after have decided to live for his family. (Sonju saved him just in time) The escape would be over very quickly for them. Not sure that the other kids would have managed to survive alone, without their big siblings to guide them :/ (meaning they wouldn't have reached the bunker at all or at least a lot later) (meaning that Yuugo would have killed himself) (Goldy Pond wouldn't have succeeded as well that in canon, a lot more would be dead) (and can you imagine Norman's reaction after his escape TT)

The first thing I usually think of is what a crapshoot Ray's idea is to have Emma and Norman go to the gate with Little Bunny in the first place.

On the one hand, it's a testament to his faith in them.

On the other hand, he is so disproportionately lucky on his bet that the demons wouldn’t pick up on their scents right away. He had, at best, fragmentary knowledge of demon physiology from his earliest months where maaaybe he could remember how well their sense of smell worked?

(Chapter 28; we're not going to think how they were paying special attention to him as Isabella the youngest mom in the history of the Grace Field and who's off limits to eat's child, so he's the next best thing as her progeny if he ends up not being good enough of an offering for the demon god)

The only reasons the two lackey demons don’t come after Emma and Norman right away are they’re caught up in conversation and probably a bit intoxicated off the idea of being able to eat even "just a fingertip" of Conny (and being charitable to Isabella, she probably doesn’t notice them sneak away because she’s grappling internally over seeing the life of another child she raised for five years snuffed out and having to keep up an iron façade about it.)

I like to joke that Emma is integral to the escape plan for her sheer obstinate railroading of any hiccups of probability, most egregiously expressed in it securing someone with a Minerva pen who was willing to give it up for them so they weren’t left wandering aimlessly outside the walls of Grace Field, who only got the pen in the first place because she lit off a lantern as a child that a Minerva supporter happened to come across by coincidence,

(Comic of Krone's childhood earned from completing the aptitude test on the official site; reprinted in The Promised Neverland Art Book World)

and bringing two of the only few demons in the entire demon world who won’t eat them for different reasons to their aid when they most desperately needed it, and that only happened because Leuvis was bored one day 700 years ago and decided to help his brother and his brother's new girlfriend escape the imperial capital by bringing them his horse in the third light novel. I love TPN.

[maxwell-grant]

So if Doc Savage took some potshots at superman with the world's fair goblin and the whiskers of hercules, how would you envision a shadow story where shots are taken at Batman and inspires the villain?

I think that would be an embarassing display of insecurity. I mean, if you want a story where The Shadow deals with an imitator/copycat, The Cobra and The Third Shadow are right there, and there's nothing about them that would be improved if they were intentionally taking shots at Batman. Whisker of Hercules and The World's Fair Goblin (which wasn't written by Lester Dent) aren't really about taking shots at Superman, but they are clearly doing it and from a place of criticizing Superman for breaking suspension of disbelief with his superpowers and persona / grievances Lester Dent and other writers had with the new guy making a splash. What's the angle with Batman? That he ripped off The Shadow? Well everybody was ripping off The Shadow in those days, what, is he gonna take shots at The Spider, The Black Bat, The Phantom Detective, The Green Lama, The Whisperer, The Moon Man, The Clock, The Crimson Avenger, and The Sandman next? Come on.

All Gibson ever really had to say about Batman was that he called him once a "clowned-up version of The Shadow", and that's not an unfair assessment by any means (40s-70s Batman was a much different guy than 80s-onwards Batman). And people who bring that up for inflammatory purposes tend to neglect that Gibson was writing comics all the time, including many many comics where he was making The Shadow a much more kid-friendly Golden Age superhero. I don't think they were great for the most part, but he clearly knew the limitations and what the audience for different mediums wanted. His last writing credit was a Batman prose story for Detective Comics #500 that was clearly just a Shadow story with a name swap. I don't think Batman is to blame for The Shadow's obscurity (quite the opposite in several ways), and I think it's unfair to pretend like Gibson was cheated or wronged by Batman's existence just because Batman eclipsed The Shadow in popularity. I'm not defending plagiarism, I'm just stating that by all accounts, Gibson didn't care at the time, and he didn't care later, he mostly did fine (a hell of a lot better than Bill Finger, for sure, if you wanna focus on someone who actually was viciously wronged and cheated out of his work here).

A thing I've come to realize recently is that there just isn't really much of a palatable or productive way for Batman and The Shadow to process this history between them. Same as how there's not much of anything Captain Marvel can do regarding the existence of Miracleman, or how the Charlton characters could only thrive the further they stepped away from the shadow of Watchmen and dumped it's baggage, or how there's never been a Superman x Doc Savage crossover and there's not a lot that you could even get out of it even if it happened unless you were willing to go for broke. With other characters within their settings that don't have such direct of a connection? Okay. With pastiches? Sure, go nuts. But with the real guys who have real images/reputations/histories/expectations to uphold and also an unmovable elephant in the room regarding their connection and why this crossover is happening? Something will have to give, and in this case, it's not going to be the blockbuster headliner who is the biggest and most beloved superhero on the planet. It's not going to be the guy who has company guidelines dictating the strict moral parameters by which he operates. It's not going to be the guy who is defined by the ways in which he isn't, and can't be, like The Shadow.

There is no version of this crossover written from a Shadow-centric perspective that has Batman look good, and there is no version of this co-signed by DC Comics that has The Shadow look good. O'Neil tried as much as he possibly could by having Batman go full deferential fanboy, and if that ever flied with 70s Batman (and it absolutely wouldn't past a couple of issues even then), it's utterly inconceivable with post-80s Batman. Orlando (and Snyder, however much input he had) had the right idea in Bruce's tension around the guy and refusal to, regardless of whether or not he was trained by him, to accept him, but that is not a Shadow who gets to have his own adventures, that is a Shadow who exists solely as a negative space cautionary tale for Batman.

You can't square Batman looking up / being okay working with a guy who shoots people dead with guns (they keep trying to solve that with Jason in the Batfamily and it doesn't work either), you can't really square Batman continuing to have a Rogues Gallery problem with The Shadow as a thing that exists long-term, and you can't patchwork The Shadow into Batman's history blind to the fact that Batman is much bigger and more popular than The Shadow and therefore he will inevitably box The Shadow into his narrative. There are a million better ways to tell a "Batman reckons with his no-kill rule / vigilantes that break his defining trait" and even that is already very very very tired ground (The Batman pulled a real miracle in making this feel fresh), and it's inherently going to be reductive to the not-Batman party in question if said party is not usually a villain/guy who exists to make Batman look better. Again, if you wanna dig deep into the history and the weeds and the differences with no regard for publisher demands or expectations and whatnot, that's what pastiches are for.

There isn't a "The Shadow deals with an imitator/someone influenced by him" story that wouldn't be dramatically better and more interesting with a character other than Batman in that role, hence why good versions of those stories exist and Walter Gibson did them. And The Grey Ghost and Zorro are pretty much the only two ways "Batman meets his inspiration/the guy that came before" as a concept ever worked, and it's not for nothing that they are both fictional characters in-universe (Sherlock Holmes in The Brave and the Bold gets a pass, it's Sherlock Holmes).

So as far as The Shadow/Batman's shared history goes, I'd just settle for it showing up once in a blue moon to make Batman's day worse on occasion and that's it. Just a little shank in the ribs and a laugh in the dark, to keep him on his toes every now and then.

[ambrosiagourmet]

hiiiii i have a quick question about no reason but to starve: when does it take place relative to the postcanon labru comic? i ask partially so i can integrate this knowledge into my understanding of laios & kabru's dynamic in nrbts, but also into my understanding of the diplomatic relationship between malini and kakha brud

(i love your fic so much thank you for your gifts to dunmeshi fandom)

Oooh fun question, thank you!! I assume you mean this comic?

This ended up being longer than intended lol, so tl;dr short answer: it would take place after the comic, though the comic is not necessarily 100% canon to it.

More details and rambling below the cut:

So, in general, I'm trying to write in a way that is compatible with, but not strictly canon to, any post-canon content we've gotten.

In part tbh that's because I had WANTED to construct the timeline with the Kensuke extra in mind but then I totally goofed it and like the story basically takes place at the exact same time that the Kensuke story would. So it ended up more being like handshake meme thematical/character similarities rather than strictly canon.

Also I don't want anyone who hasn't read the extras to have trouble following anything (which is actually why I had to go back and add a bit about the situation w/ KB during editing lol. In the rough draft it was just like yeah yeah the reparations we've all heard of them).

That is all to say the story does more-or-less take place after this comic. The way I'm thinking about it, the initial negotiations referenced in the comic sort of laid the foundation for (relative) peace and cooperation, but there are still lots of specifics to work out - that's what the current delegation is in town for. It's probably less combative then the initial, uh... conversation... but I imagine there's still a fair bit of a "wring everything we can from these people" attitude from KB, so it's a slow process with a lot more smiling and nodding and going back to grumble privately later.

In terms of Laios & Kabru I think the story fits well after the comic for their relationship too... The group of them & Marcille are very much A Unit in the point where the story picks up (with Yaad also included, but not necessarily as close as the three of them). They all have been working together for a little while now, and are all committed to the work. They know a bit about how to navigate each other, and have some rhythms they've fallen into (like Marcille checking w/ Kabru about her hair, or everyone knowing that things are tense between Laios & Yaad wrt Marriage Talk).

What's still left unsaid is a lot of the deeper, more sensitive things. Part of the reason the fic opens on the question of Laios' Political Marriage (TM) is because I think it's a good example of a thing that WOULD remain buried for a while. Laios seems to not have given himself much room to think about romance, so it's something that hasn't been addressed out in the open. But they've got to deal with it eventually!! They have a life long task ahead of them all, and shoving skeletons into closets only works for so long.

(Laios romance tangent: whether or not you read him as aro or ace (and I personally put him somewhere in some grey zone there), I don't think that's a thing he would have realized yet in canon. Repression =/= happily uninterested, and I personally think Laios has repressed that shit hard.)

Anyway, the same goes for various things with Kabru and Marcille, as well. They already trust and care about each other, but being vulnerable with other people is a long, messy process. Especially with all the baggage they have. It's something they still need to figure out!

It is also, conveniently, very fun to write about :3

[wolfjackle-creates]

I have to say, Ghost!Robin has me quite curious.

Dialog snippet, please?

Also, I love your writing, can't wait to see what your wrinkly brain comes up with next

Ghost!Robin is one I've written quite a bit for, though I haven't transferred it over to AO3 yet. You can find Part 1 here.

The summary, Jazz and Jason are meeting and decide to have a dinner at Wayne Manor to officially meet all of each other's relatives. That's everyone for Jason, but just Danny for Jazz.

Danny is the Ghost King and wants this night to be normal. He spent a full month preparing to get the one single evening free of any ghost business and he's psyched.

But the moment he sees Jason, all he can pay attention to is the ghost of the dead Robin that's hanging off his shoulders. So he tries to go through the introductions and dinner without letting on that he's seeing a literal ghost and it's working great. Until Robin outs everyone's secret identities. Then the cat's out of the bag.

I'm afraid I don't have any of the next arc written yet. And there's some things I don't want to share because ~*spoilers*~. But, I can go into how the Jason-Robin situation happened in the first place!

So, when Jason came back, his ghost was still separated from his body. Per the comics, he was mindless and had no memories and spent months in a Gotham hospital before Talia discovered him. She then took him and tried to nurse him back to health and when that didn't work, she dipped him in a Lazarus pit. The Lazarus pit rushed in and filled the parts of Jason that were empty because his ghost was not in his body. But with his body alive again and some semblance of his mind, his ghost was dragged back to the living world. Because the two pieces of who he was - his soul and his body - will forever be tied.

However, since the Lazarus pit filled the places that were empty, there wasn't room for Jason's ghost to reunite with his body properly. It's why his Lazarus rage didn't fade the way it normally does. Most people who are revived with the pits, they haven't been separated from their ghost as long as Jason. And the ghost can just slide back into their body. His ghost got all the bits of him that were hopeful and bright. The parts that made Robin magic in Jason's eyes. Because that is who he was before his brutal murder. And the Jason who was forced to go on living with the pits inside of him is the boy who was murdered and has all the baggage that entails. But because his ghost is no longer part of him, he can't remember how he used to be filled with hope. Or, well he can remember, but he is disconnected from those emotions. He remembers feeling like that, but it's impossible for him to regain those emotions because they're locked in his ghost and his ghost isn't part of him anymore.

And eventually it's been years. Jason has grown and changed so much as a person that, even if the pits were removed from him entirely, the spaces left wouldn't fit the boy he'd been when he died. Some of his anger is artificial, but a lot of it isn't. And the boy who believed Robin made him magic and had wonder and wanted to get an English degree... well, he can't just take all that back as-is and be back to that kid anymore. Too much has happened.

So part two will be about how Jason and Ghost!Robin manage to reunite themselves into one person. Even though their edges no longer fit together the way they did.

Thanks for asking about this one! It's still a favorite of mine.

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Catch and Release

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: AU where Jason doesn't die in the explosion and he and Tim end up attending the same high school months later.

Chapters: 6/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Tim Drake, Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, Sebastian Ives, Jack Drake, Janet Drake

Relationships: TBA

Additional Tag: Jason Todd Lives, Jason Todd-centric, POV Jason Todd, POV First Person, Tim Drake Has Issues, Tim Drake Has Issues, Tim Drake is Not Robin, Jason Todd is Not Robin (Anymore), Bruce Wayne Needs a Hug, Alfred Pennyworth is the Best, Alfred Pennyworth Knows, Stalker Tim Drake, Jason Todd Has Chronic Pain, Jason Todd Has PTSD, Angst with a Happy Ending, Unlikely Friends, Injury Recovery, Emotional Baggage, Rage, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Communicating

Chapter Six: Visiting Hours

I woke up from an antidepressant-induced sleep to Bruce setting my schoolwork on the desk. "Sorry, I didn't mean—."

I pushed my palms into my eyelids to keep from crying. "It's okay... I'm okay," I lied.

"I can stay home tonight if you want," Bruce offered. I shook my head.

"You're good," I mumbled. I wanted Bruce to stay, but I knew he couldn't. Bruce offered only to see if I'd permit him to leave. I could've been honest about my pain and made him stay, but I let him go. There was no way for him to know that I was lying. He didn't think to ask twice. I lay awake until I could drift back to sleep.

As soon as I fell asleep, I woke up with a jolt to a tap, tap, tapping on my window. I wasn't easily startled, but the thing was, there were no trees near my window. I pulled myself out of bed and grabbed a pen from my nightstand before approaching my window. I parted my curtains just enough to see if someone was out there, and sure enough, there Tim was. He'd climbed up the trellis to get to my window. I opened my window and pulled him in, despite every nerve in my body attacking me all at once. "Tim, what are you doing here?" I asked as I slid down to the floor. Tim didn't weigh much, but I was in so much pain getting out of bed took half my strength. He smiled and sat next to me. "You know I think you're insane, right?"

"I know... But I was worried you got in trouble for being out so late last night, so I decided to come and check on you," Tim whispered. Pulling him in the window sent my back into spasms which meant I couldn't stand, even if I wanted to.

"Tim, you didn't have to do all that. I didn't get in any trouble... I just—. I'm not feeling well," I explained. Gross understatement.

"You can't get up, can you?" Tim asked. He was so coolheaded about it I couldn't move myself to lie. I nodded. "I know you don't want any help, but I'm pretty sure I can't leave you on the floor like that."

I begrudgingly reached out for him, and he pulled me up. I winced, and he profusely apologized as he helped me to bed. "My dad threw his back out last summer and got stuck at home with me for a whole week... It was pleasant," Tim whispered as he pulled my blankets over me. I thought that would be it, but he pulled up a chair and dug in his backpack for something.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Hanging out with you... Unless you want to be alone—."

"I definitely don't want that... But do your parents know you're here? It's pitch black out there," I said out of concern for his safety.

"My mom and dad left the morning after they got back. They don't stay home for long," Tim answered. I frowned. At least I saw Bruce every day. He plugged up a projector and asked me if I could see okay from that angle. I nodded.

He set everything up and put the movie on. He sat on the floor, and I looked over at him. "Tim, there's a folding bed and blankets in my closet if you wanna spend the night... And I've got pajamas in my bottom drawer that might fit you," I offered. Tim thanked me and asked if he could use my shower. I nodded. The movie was some 90's sci-fi thing, but I didn't mind.

I fell asleep before he came back, but it wasn't such a deep sleep that I didn't feel him pull my blankets up. I faintly heard the creaking of the fold-out bed and Tim's gentle series of sighs. I think he was asleep too. Things were fuzzy after the movie. I was in a deep sleep by that time, only waking to the sound of Alfred bringing in breakfast. I turned on my side to see if Tim was there. His limbs hung limply toward the floor as he slept on his stomach, mouth agape. "Alfred, I can-."

"No worries, Master Jason. I'll bring up a second tray shortly," Alfred smiled. Alfred was good at keeping secrets. I winced as I pulled myself up to a reclining position and ate breakfast, waiting for Tim to wake up.

Tim took a sharp inhale and turned toward me. "Feeling better?" Tim asked. I nodded. It wasn't a complete lie. At least I was able to sit up. "Thanks for letting me spend the night."

"Thanks for being a good friend," I whispered, "Stay for breakfast. Alfred's on his way up with a tray for you." Tim nodded.

"Mind if I come back tonight?" Tim asked. I nodded.

I could tell he had something on his mind. "Did your parents say goodbye before they left?" I questioned.

"Mhm... Mom woke me up and sat with me for a few minutes, and Dad said his goodbyes on the way out the door," Tim whispered. He seemed detached from it all. I know how I felt when Bruce went away, but Tim didn't feel anything. If he did, he kept it under wraps. He changed into some of my clothes, and I chuckled.

"This must be what it's like to have a little brother," I laughed without thinking. Tim lit up like a Christmas tree. I don't think I've ever seen him so excited about anything. He stayed for breakfast as promised, and Alfred took him to school, leaving me alone in the manor.

I hated being alone. It was terrifying. So terrifying it forced me to call Dick. I hated being afraid. Anger was a much simpler emotion to piece together. I called Dick in the middle of a panic attack. "Hello?" Dick answered the phone.

"Do you remember when I met your friends?" I asked. It was all I could manage to say without sounding panicked.

"Jason, do you want to FaceTime?" Dick asked. I made a soft noise, and he initiated the call. I answered and took a breath as I looked at his face. "Hey," Dick smiled as he whispered in a horse-taming voice. "Stuck in bed?"

I nodded. I couldn't look at Dick and speak at the same time. He'd seen me like that a few times, but I think it calmed him to see me feel something other than anger. He always knew how to pull me out of it. "Alfred's out?" Dick asked. I nodded. "Ohh... Okay, I see. Alfred's coming back. He always does... Until then, I'm not going anywhere. I'm just making a grilled cheese sandwich and avoiding my responsibilities. I heard you've been coming home from school later and later... Girlfriend?"

I shook my head. "Boyfriend?" Dick questioned.

"No," I mumbled. Dick grinned. He managed to distract me long enough to get me to talk. Dick might have asked a hundred questions if that's what it took to get me to relax.

"I like the secrecy of it all," Dick chuckled, "But I hope you're not doing anything dangerous. Can you promise me that you haven't done anything dangerous?"

I nodded. "I promise. I've been doing homework every day after school," I answered, "Most dangerous thing I've done is take a cab home every night."

"Dangerous for you or the taxi driver?" Dick laughed. I smiled and shut my eyes. "Want me to stay while you sleep?"

I nodded and sank into the pillows. I could hear Dick fiddling with plates and shaking a bag of chips in the background. I fell asleep and awakened to the feeling of someone taking my phone off my chest. My eyes shot open, and I grabbed their wrist. To my shock, I realized it was Bruce. "It's alright. Your phone's dying," Bruce reassured me. I wondered how long I'd been asleep. I looked around the room for a clock, and Bruce pushed my hair back.

"You've been asleep for hours," Bruce whispered, "Want me to stay tonight?" I shook my head.

"Bring back ice cream? Doesn't matter what flavor," I whispered. Bruce smiled and nodded.

"Okay... It's not that late yet, though. We've got a few hours. I wanna talk to you," Bruce whispered. He sat on my bed next to me, and I tensed up because I knew he knew something. "You talked to Dick today... Right?"

I frowned. "Yeah, Alfred had to go run errands, and I—. Bruce, I'm okay. I lost my grip for a second. Only a second," I whispered.

"I know... Jason, remember how we talked about the dangers of you telling all you know to a psychiatrist?" Bruce questioned. I nodded.

I thought psychiatrists were off the table. They were a liability that neither of our alter egos could risk. "What if you told bits and pieces? Do you think it would help?" Bruce asked.

"Can't I just talk to you?" I questioned. Bruce went slack-jawed, and he looked me in the eyes. I think we were both terrified. "Bruce, please."

"Jason, I love you, but—." He stood up and left me alone. Bruce abandoned me.

[mythsandheather]

I've been pretty curious about the LO Critical side. I'm asking genuinely but what are the reasons why LO has such a strong anti Fandom.

Do people not like it? I was curious because it seems like a lot of lo critical/anti lo blogs seem to enjoy certain aspects and characters. Is it the author people don't enjoy?

Like I said I'm really being genuine. I think people have the right to have like their own critical space for a free webcomic. It's just interesting because it's like. This Fandom has a second Fandom of people who seem to hate the comic.

The anti community for any fandom is sure to be a complex place that’s usually, in my experience, more built on pain and disappointment than anything else. Pain because something important to you no longer provides comfort, maybe even perpetrates harmful themes for your own personal experiences, and disappointment because this is something you used to love and you wish could be better.

There’s two parts of the anti community for LO. There’s one part that, as you said, still holds some affection for the series, for memories attached to it and for some characters. There’s also another part that, again as you said, straight up just hate it.

I’ll briefly touch on the first part. They can see so clearly how LO could be infinitely better and that’s frustrating. They can see all the flaws they didn’t notice or didn’t want to see before and are exasperated by why it’s allowed to continue this way. Let’s not forget that a significant number of LO’s critics are people who were young teens and read it in their formative years without realising what they were being so carelessly exposed to.

With that realisation, there’s a level of anger and horror at learning what was put in front of them, marketed as safe and heavily promoted at every turn, and it’s only gotten worse over time. That must be an absolutely gut-wrenching thing to feel over something you loved once.

So in that sense, you’re correct; a big part of the anger comes down to Rachel herself and her choices.

Then there’s the other part of the anti fandom, the part that just out and out hates it and always has. This is where yours truly fits in.

Now, I was super active on tumblr during 2014-2017, when fandoms like Steven Universe, FNAF and Undertale were at their peak. I had to learn, trial by fire, how to be real critical of any media I consumed. There is certainly a downside to this, I tend to see the negatives of anything I enjoy first and then find positives later. The upside is it’s certainly been one helluva way to improve my media literacy and spot the bs from a mile away.

A lot of people don’t believe when I say I got skeevy, uncomfortable, gross vibes from LO from chapter one, but I did. I don’t know what it was, but it set me off so bad that I couldn’t get past “her butt is shaped like a heart” and never read it again.

Now I’m willing to admit that this part of the fandom, like me, are the way we are because we were never the target demographic for LO.

Therefore, when it came out and got popular, we were the ones who were absolutely baffled and the ones who got dog piled and called every name under the sun by fans for a long time…that is, of course, until a lot of those fans grew up, realised what they were reading and turned on the series.

As I said, the critical side of any fandom is complicated and this is just my two cents.

I could do a much longer post about how fucking angry I am at Rachel personally for the fact she’s from my country, a country who constantly gets ignored, and given this amazing chance that so many of us wish we could have, yet chose to peddle her self insert x celebrity crush jailbait fantasy.

I could talk all day about how physically sickened I am that she’s taken so many aspects of trauma experiences by myself and millions of others and used it as ignorant, glamourised, fetishised shock-material.

I could go on at length about what a racist, misogynistic, homophobic piece of baggage she is and how she’s permanently done damage to another culture while completely misrepresenting ours…but I won’t.

I’ll just draw more mean art of Persephone’s giant lips and Hades accidentally letting the air out of them with his mosquito nose instead.

What’s Rachel going to do? Draw a goofy, technicolor caricature of me in her comic that’ll blend into the background, be only half finished and look like a recoloured Persephone in her otherwise pristine and totally professional looking masterpiece that’s definitely not losing readers? Oh wait—

[roipecheur]

...did marvel seriously kill Frank off just to make a new Punisher?

So, this made me look up Joe Garrison, because I've not been following Marvel that closely beyond DD as of late, and I was actually not aware. Afaik, Frank zapped himself into some fucked up hellscape world at the end of the last Punisher run (which s u c k e d and I hope it gets retconned entirely), so he's not really dead, but it seems like Marvel is, at least for now, claiming that they've retired him. In true comic book fashion, though, it seems like they've given him a way to come back. I mean. Dead characters come back all the time in comics to the point where it's one of the things they're known for, and Frank isn't even dead.

As for Joe Garrison:

Extremely funny to me that his last name is Garrison

In Punisher '87, they had Lynn Michaels and Payback as alternative Punishers, including in an arc where Frank was supposed to be dead, and they didn't stick around. Frank did.

Frank, as some articles claim, also had "problematic baggage", meaning that right-wing paramilitary idiots and the police liked to co-opt his symbol. As a new character, Joe Garrison is supposed to be less "problematic" and have a clean slate. But listen. Listen. This is not going to stop people from co-opting the Punisher symbol. Even if they're trying to make this carbon copy of Frank (who also lost his wife and family) less brutal and more compassionate, he's still got a (vaguely redesigned) skull on his chest, and he's still out there shooting people for vengeance, and, oh yeah, he's still called the Punisher.

Punisher 2020 really read like, "hmmmm there are some unfortunate implications to the way certain people are relating to Frank's character, so rather than address those in a satisfying way that makes sense, we're going to nuke his characterization and stick him in hellscape land for a ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ amount of time." Seeing Marvel go from Punisher: Kill Krew to that was so disappointing bro. Like watching a fucking train wreck.

Yeah, Frank has baggage, but you know what he also has? History. Flavor. He's a product of his original context and the time when he was created, and there are ways to adapt that for modern readers that fucking work. (Netflix!Frank did a bang up job of this tbh). Joe Garrison is a former SHIELD agent rather than a war vet. Imo about half the point of Frank's character is how the war taught him violence and he resorted to that as his only response to grief, and it really seems like Marvel thought it was a good idea to copy Frank and sand down all his edges.

As a silver lining, it looks like we're going to see more of MCU Frank in Disney+ Daredevil. Now that the writers and actors have won their strike and with it better working conditions that will hopefully give more respect to their skills, I am tentatively hopeful that it will be better than what the synopsis of Disney+ DD sounded like before (😬). Don't know how much Frank will be in it yet, but maybe this will inspire a little more interest in the character, and we will get another 616 run of Frank at his best: getting forcibly befriended by every child, dog, and senior citizen he encounters in between episodes of gratuitous violence. 😎✌

On a final note, if Marvel wanted to separate Frank from the disturbing amount of people that seem to take him for real-life inspiration--which is the wrong idea to have about any comic book vigilante, lethal or otherwise--all they gotta do is give him a new hot dude version of Microchip and make them fuck like rabbits. Every right-winger who likes the Punisher would immediately drop him like a hot coal. But Marvel won't do that because they're cowards.