#please someone talk to me about the original comics

[tothefiniteyou]

Blind Sight - A Retrospective

Includes spoilers for the entirety of Tales of Leonardo: Blind Sight, as well as discussion of suicidal ideation, depression, and other sensitive topics. Some of the panels included might be considered gory as well. I'm also writing this with the assumption that you're familiar with what happens in the story.

I'd like to begin this little think piece of mine with a disclaimer; I'm going to be fairly vulnerable with this, as this is a piece of writing that impacted me greatly for a variety of reasons. Let's get into it.

The beginning to Blind Sight really begins with the 5th issue of the second volume to Tales of the TMNT - Blind Faith. I think it's very bittersweet that the story begins with Leo comforting a small Shadow who's still afraid of the dark, because it's a good way of setting the stage and tone for this story. Phobias and fears are typically irrational, and we're afraid not just of what we can't see, but what can happen because of that. They can control us because we let it fester and grow, losing ourselves to that fear.

When Leo loses his sight in this story, he has to be confronted with the fact that life won't be the same. He doesn't think he can lead or protect his brothers anymore, and he doesn't have control, either. He's very much someone that prefers information to be clear and concise with no punches pulled. He needs facts, and he relies on his senses and logic.

I know Jim Lawson has been praised plenty for making everything monochrome to show how Leo cannot see and no longer remembers what things look like, but his prose doesn't get enough attention, in my opinion.

There's a lot I admire about this entire story, especially the moment in which Leo believes he has taken an innocent life. There's nothing dramatic about it, as Leo isn't the type to have some over-the-top reaction. He freezes, mouth partly agape, as he takes in the fact that this could be permanent and that he has lost the ability to do the only thing he considers himself good at. It's such a subtle display of grief, and I love it.

Really, there's not much I can say about the actual event where he's blinded, and it's not what I want to focus on, either. I want to highlight the aftermath:

This scene really gets to me because we, as the viewer, only have Leo's perspective. There's nothing to see, just a black and white landscape of shapes. I think it's a good display of the dissonance between the brothers here. Mikey's trying his hardest to find some positives, or to at least not make his brother feel different. Leo, however, wants none of it; his grief is narratively blinding him in this story, and this scene is meant to show that. He's saying he still enjoys it up here, but it's a lie. It's a lie because instantly when he's alone, Leo begins to have Thoughts.

With these pages, it's clear that Leo considers himself to be his swords, in a sense. He's a weapon - his whole life has revolved around defending and protecting. After all, Splinter raised them with a single purpose; revenge. But revenge is what led to him losing his sense of purpose to begin with, so even then, what good is he? What purpose does he serve now that he can't fight like he used to? If something is broken, you throw it away; nobody has use for something that can't even do the thing you have it for. At least, this is the idea he's subscribed to here.

Now, Leo is definitely no stranger to depression in the original Mirage series. Hell, I'd argue that Mirage Leo was really the blueprint for IDW Leo, who has a similar goofiness contrasted with these types of melancholic monologue to him. He's so fixated on what he no longer has that he can't even get past it. To him, he's as good as dead. It's harsh to say, but I think he's having such a huge identity crisis that a part of him doesn't even want to try. He's just... So tired.

Of course, I'm sure he'd give everything to be able to fight again, but that's for his brothers. When it comes to people that need control, sometimes the scariest thing is realizing that your control wasn't actually ever needed. He fights for his brothers, but what if they don't need him protecting them? He could fight again, but he wouldn't forgive himself if it hurt and endangered them. He'd also be hurt if they did well without him, though.

After the incident in which they are forced to go to Northampton, Leo isn't in a coma at all. He becomes testy and goes out into the woods to hunt and be alone, scarcely seen by anyone else. He's more closed off here than in 2003 & 2012 and never seems to really talk. He sort of gets past it when Raph ends up being nearly killed by the Shredder, but my point here is that Leo seems to have a lot of identity problems.

He couldn't protect his brothers or April then, so he hunts. What's interesting about that is the fact animals are good at sensing enemies and tracking their prey, similar to how the Shredder herded Leo to where he needed him for the ambush (I wrote a little fic about this too teehee).

Anyway, it's clear that Leo prides himself on maintaining order. Any setback can cause him to spiral because of his need for control.

I think that's why this conversation scares Mikey so much, basically insinuating to their other brothers that he's genuinely afraid of Leo killing himself, directly or passively it doesn't matter. His fears aren't unwarranted, either.

Now, it's revealed that this ^^^ is just an intrusive daydream of Leo's, but still. Up on the radio tower, he imagines what it would be like to fall off, his own weapon piercing through him. This, to me, is very deliberate. He's the weapon, defending his family, but also ruining the lives of others, bad or not. His sword blinded the one that retaliated and blinded him back, which may as well have sealed his fate and killed him. Also, doesn't this seem a tad bit similar to seppuku? In that he's killed by his own blade? Seppuku is seen as the only way to regain honor in the afterlife...

The resemblance is meant to be there, I think, because what are the odds his katana is able to break through the concrete with the force of its fall and be blade side up long enough for him to be impaled by it? I suppose it can happen, but I think it just shows how Leo isn't his usual, rational self right now.

(I think it's also interesting in his little daydream that he doesn't imagine himself jumping off. He can't quite bring himself to do it, so instead of stepping off himself, he goes out of his way to picture one of the rungs snapping, leading him to fall. Now, on a meta level this could be a bit of a diversion tactic to scare you and make it feel real, but ehh. I think it can go both ways).

Anyways, he imagines his death in gruesome, visceral detail, to the point he wonders if his death would cause the death of his family as well. His leaps in logic are irrational. Because really, what are the chances there's a special mineral from the sewers embedded in his feet, leading to government agents finding the lair and killing his family?

This is the scene I really wanted to talk about, as I find it to be one of the most brutal and realistic depictions of depression. Later on in this series, Leo basically implies that there's plenty of ways he can die, and they're all preventable. All he needs is a reason to do so (keep them from happening), but he currently doesn't have one.

I think it's the same thing here.

He's looking for a reason to step off the tower - either to jump, or to walk away and go back home. He doesn't need some grand sign, he just needs a reason. So, he considers what it would be like, to die. But he can't even go through with it all the way because then he imagines Raph dying because of his decision. This is what finally causes him to snap out of it, choosing to abandon his katana.

Even when contemplating death, his family is still the reason he keeps going. He needed a reason to live, and imagining his brother(s) dying is what did it. He weaponized his own intrusive thoughts to live. His own death didn't scare him, but his family did.

Yet, a piece of him still clearly dies, as depicted by him throwing away his sword. He doesn't want to be the weapon anymore, but he's not too sure what he is without it. He wants to make a point that he's more than the weapon. However, you can read him dropping his katana as him giving up, thinking he only kills and is no longer worthy of trying to protect. Not after killing an innocent man.

He doesn't directly kill his brother, but I don't think that matters to Leo. Not when he internalizes mistakes.

Never before have I seen intrusive thoughts depicted this way, or even suicidal ideation, really. It's....not quite comforting, but makes me feel seen, you know? Sometimes it's not really the happy thoughts that keep you going, but your own fear twisted in a way that fits your narrative.

The fact the first issue just ends with this ^ page is also so.... We don't get to see him actually step off, because a part of him never leaves. It's still there, not sure which direction to go.

Self-blame is both a canon and widely fanon aspect to Leo's character. By that I mean the portrayal feels a bit fanon, as I don't think Leo's perfectionist personality is really explored until Vol. 2 of the original series (although there is the Northampton arc...) It's definitely there, don't get me wrong, but it's more like his self-blame comes from a place of grief and fear. I think this panel might make it clear what I mean?

These deaths were because he lost his autonomy, blindly killing without being able to do a thing to stop it. He blames himself for everything, but I don't think he trains relentlessly to be perfect or to necessarily protect people the best he can. I think he's scared of doing the opposite. It takes more control to not kill a person than it does to do so, in a way. Anyone can kill another, but having the skill to pull back and merely disarm an enemy whilst protecting yourself and others is marginally harder.

But he's having a hard time knowing if it was worth it, pulling his punches. If he had killed the Foot soldier that blinded him, he wouldn't be feeling like this now. He wouldn't be unable to help his family (as he has been blind for months by this point I believe?) like he currently feels like he is. He was trained since birth to kill the Shredder, just to suddenly have to save people. That's a very different thing!

Splinter literally started their ninja training the second they began walking and copying his movements. He trained them for revenge, just for them to have to be vigilantes as the time calls for it.

I think what I'm really getting at here is that he's more than just angst; he can be silly and bossy just because, too (Leo is such a bossy older brother). But his fear manifests in the urge to do his best, and really a lot of his angst is self-made.

It's not just "I have to be perfect", or "I'm trying to keep you safe." It's something more, though I lack the proper words to describe it... It's almost like he wants to bear the burden in the case a scenario just like this one happens. If being the best means facing the worst, so be it. Hopefully that makes sense...

I want to get more into how IDW Leo and Mirage Leo feel very one-in-the-same to me, but I think that's an essay for another time. It's just very important to me for you to know that Leo often questions his devotion to Splinter in the original comics.

Not only does he say things like this, but in this story, when Splinter pushes him down the hill in the woods and forces him to find his way back home while blind, all Leo says is: "I knew it." He didn't expect his father to outright help him or to offer sympathies. He just accepted that he was going to have to look inside himself and solve this psychosomatic matter. Just another example of Leo internalizing the idea that hurt is all in his head...

He stated "You think I'm crazy." when Splinter suggested he was keeping himself blind, as well. It wasn't a question, and that, to me, really showcases that all Leo's have daddy issues /hj.

Anyways, sorry that this was mostly incoherent and didn't serve too much of a purpose. I really just wanted an excuse to get people to read Blind Sight... well, and to talk about the scene in which Leo imagines endangering his family because of his actions.

[asthe-crow-flies]

Hospital Bed - Lolina: Origins

i am obsessed with this concept album its on bandcamp please go listen to it i need to not be the only person who cares about this

[id: a digital comic consisting of three pages, in grayscale and red.

the first page is four panels, each the width of the page. the first is all black. four beeps go diagonally down across the panel. the second panel is mostly black, with a somewhat fuzzy light in the middle left of the panel. it reads "what is this pain? what is this place?" in the third panel, the fuzzy image of a person is visible, the edges of the panel are still dark. it reads "am i alive? am i awake? what are these scars across my face?" in the fourth panel, a woman in a lab coat and a mask, the doctor, leans in. the right side of the panel is still dark. a speech bubble from the woman says "you are home". the narration interjects with "they say". the woman continues "you are safe."

the second page is three panels, the first one taking up most of the page, with the other two next to each other under it. the first panel is a birds-eye view of a room in a hospital. in the center is Lolina, a woman laying on a hospital bed. she has black hair, a bandage wrapped over her eye, and a red cut down the side of her face. the doctor stands next to the bed. sideways, in large letters, it reads "hospital bed, I'm back on mars." the second panel is a close-up of the upper half of Lolina's face, focusing on her left eye, which is red, and the bandage covering her other one. it reads "but i am wounded." the third panel is a close up of the lower half of her face, focusing on the cut on her cheek held together with butterfly bandages, and the large bandage on her other cheek. it reads "I feel the scars."

the third page is a drawing of the doctor standing by the bed, from Lolina's point of view. across it is dialogue interspersed with small panels. the doctor says "we can regrow your cells," and next to it is a small panel showing cells dividing. then she says "we can restore," and next to it is a panel showing the right half of Lolina's face, with her eye and cheek healed. then she says "you will go back," and next to it is a panel reading "Sandy's Place" in glowing red letters. the narration interjects with "they say." the doctor continues "to the life you had before." under it is a panel divided diagonally into four sections, the first showing red lips, the second showing black hair swishing, the third showing a pair of legs wearing red high heels, and the fourth showing a body from neck to hips, wearing a strapless red dress. under that the narration reads "to the life i had before". end id.]

(I've never written an id for a comic before and there was some visual stuff that was really tricky to describe so if I've messed something up or if something should be clearer please tell me and I'll try to fix it)

[mollyrealized]

How Michael Met Neil

original direct link [MP3]

(Neil, if you see this, please feel free to grab the transcript and store on your site; I had no easy way of contacting you.)

DAVID TENNANT: Tell me about @neil-gaiman then, because he's in that category [previously: “such a profound effect on my life”] as well.

MICHAEL SHEEN: So this is what has brought us together.

DAVID: Yes.

MICHAEL: To the new love story for the 21st century.

DAVID: Exactly.

MICHAEL: So when I went to drama school, there was a guy called Gary Turner in my year. And within the first few weeks, we were doing something, having a drink or whatever. And he said to me, “Do you read comic books?”

And I said, “No.”  I mean, this is … what … '88?  '88, '89.  So it was … now I know that it was a period of time that was a big change, transformation going through comic books.  Rather than it being thought of as just superheroes and Batman and Superman, there was this whole new era of a generation of writers like Grant Morrison.

DAVID: The kids who'd grown up reading comic books were now making comic books

MICHAEL: Yeah, yeah, and starting to address different kinds of subjects through the comic book medium. So it wasn't about just superheroes, it was all kinds of stuff going on – really fascinating stuff. And I was totally unaware of this.

And so this guy Gary said to me, "Do you read them?" And I said, "No."  And he went, "Right, okay, here's The Watchman [sic] by Alan Moore. Here's Swamp Thing. Here's Hellblazer. And here's Sandman.”

And Sandman was Neil Gaiman's big series that put his name on the map. And I read all those, and, just – I was blown away by all of them, but particularly the Sandman stories, because he was drawing on mythology, which was something I was really interested in, and fairy tales, folklore, and philosophy, and Shakespeare, and all kinds of stuff were being mixed up in this story.  And I absolutely loved it.

So I became a big fan of Neil's, and started reading everything by him. And then fairly shortly after that, within six months to a year, Good Omens the book came out, which Neil wrote with Terry Pratchett. And so I got the book – because I was obviously a big fan of Neil's by this point – read it, loved it, then started reading Terry Pratchett’s stuff as well, because I didn't know his stuff before then – and then spent years and years and years just being a huge fan of both of them.

And then eventually when – I'd done films like the Underworld films and doing Twilight films. And I think it was one of the Twilight films, there was a lot of very snooty interviews that happened where people who considered themselves well above talking about things like Twilight were having to interview me … and, weirdly, coming at it from the attitude of 'clearly this is below you as well' … weirdly thinking I'm gonna go, 'Yeah, fucking Twilight.”

And I just used to go, "You know what? Some of the greatest writing of the last 50-100 years has happened in science fiction or fantasy."  Philip K Dick is one of my favorite writers of all time. In fact, the production of Hamlet I did was mainly influenced by Philip K Dick.  Ursula K. Le Guin and Asimov, and all these amazing people. And I talked about Neil as well. And so I went off on a bit of a rant in this interview.

Anyway, the interview came out about six months later, maybe.  Knock on the door, open the door, delivery of a big box. That’s interesting. Open the box, there's a card at the top of the box. I open the card.

It says, From one fan to another, Neil Gaiman.  And inside the box are first editions of Neil's stuff, and all kinds of interesting things by Neil. And he just sent this stuff.

DAVID: You'd never met him?

MICHAEL: Never met him. He'd read the interview, or someone had let him know about this interview where I'd sung his praises and stood up for him and the people who work within that sort of genre as being like …

And he just got in touch. We met up for the first time when he came to – I was in Los Angeles at the time, and he came to LA.  And he said, "I'll take you for a meal."

I said, “All right.”

He said, "Do you want to go somewhere posh, or somewhere interesting?”

I said, "Let's go somewhere interesting."

He said, "Right, I'm going to take you to this restaurant called The Hump." And it's at Santa Monica Airport. And it's a sushi restaurant.

I was like, “Right, okay.” So I had a Mini at the time. And we get in my Mini and we drive off to Santa Monica Airport. And this restaurant was right on the tarmac, like, you could sit in the restaurant (there's nobody else there when we got there, we got there quite early) and you're watching the planes landing on Santa Monica Airport. It's extraordinary. 

And the chef comes out and Neil says, "Just bring us whatever you want. Chef's choice."

So, I'd never really eaten sushi before. So we sit there; we had this incredible meal where they keep bringing these dishes out and they say, “This is [blah, blah, blah]. Just use a little bit of soy sauce or whatever.”  You know, “This is eel.  This is [blah].”

And then there was this one dish where they brought out and they didn't say what it was. It was like “mystery dish”, we had it ... delicious. Anyway, a few more people started coming into the restaurant as time went on.

And we're sort of getting near the end, and I said, "Neil, I can't eat anymore. I'm gonna have to stop now. This is great, but I can't eat–"

"Right, okay. We'll ask for the bill in a minute."

And then the door opens and some very official people come in. And it was the Feds. And the Feds came in, and we knew they were because they had jackets on that said they were part of the Federal Bureau of Whatever. And about six of them come in. Two of them go … one goes behind the counter, two go into the kitchen, one goes to the back. They've all got like guns on and stuff.

And me and Neil are like, "What on Earth is going on?"

And then eventually one guy goes, "Ladies and gentlemen, if you haven't ordered already, please leave. If you're still eating your meal, please finish up, pay your bill, leave."*

[* - delivered in a perfect American ‘serious law agent’ accent/impression]

And we were like, "Oh my God, are we poisoned? Is there some terrible thing that's happened?"  

We'd finished, so we pay our bill.  And then all the kitchen staff are brought out. And the head chef is there. The guy who's been bringing us this food. And he's in tears. And he says to Neil, "I'm so sorry." He apologizes to Neil.  And we leave. We have no idea what happened.

DAVID: But you're assuming it's the mystery dish.

MICHAEL: Well, we're assuming that we can't be going to – we can't be –  it can't be poisonous. You know what I mean? It can't be that there's terrible, terrible things.

So the next day was the Oscars, which is why Neil was in town. Because Coraline had been nominated for an Oscar. Best documentary that year was won by The Cove, which was by a team of people who had come across dolphins being killed, I think.

Turns out, what was happening at this restaurant was that they were having illegal endangered species flown in to the airport, and then being brought around the back of the restaurant into the kitchen.

We had eaten whale – endangered species whale. That was the mystery dish that they didn't say what it was.

And the team behind The Cove were behind this sting, and they took them down that night whilst we were there.

DAVID: That’s extraordinary.

MICHAEL: And we didn't find this out for months.  So for months, me and Neil were like, "Have you worked anything out yet? Have you heard anything?"

"No, I haven't heard anything."

And then we heard that it was something to do with The Cove, and then we eventually found out that that restaurant, they were all arrested. The restaurant was shut down. And it was because of that. And we'd eaten whale that night.

DAVID: And that was your first meeting with Neil Gaiman.

MICHAEL: That was my first meeting. And also in the drive home that night from that restaurant, he said, and we were in my Mini, he said, "Have you found the secret compartment?"

I said, "What are you talking about?" It's such a Neil Gaiman thing to say.

DAVID: Isn't it?

MICHAEL: The secret compartment? Yeah. Each Mini has got a secret compartment. I said, "I had no idea." It's secret. And he pressed a little button and a thing opened up. And it was a secret compartment in my own car that Neil Gaiman showed me.

DAVID: Was there anything inside it?

MICHAEL: Yeah, there was a little man. And he jumped out and went, "Hello!" No, there was nothing in there. There was afterwards because I started putting...

DAVID: Sure. That's a very Neil Gaiman story. All of that is such a Neil Gaiman story.

MICHAEL: That's how it began. Yeah.

DAVID: And then he came to offer you the part in Good Omens.

MICHAEL: Yeah. Well, we became friends and we would whenever he was in town, we would meet up and yeah, and then eventually he started, he said, "You know, I'm working on an adaptation of Good Omens." And I can remember at one point Terry Gilliam was going to maybe make a film of it. And I remember being there with Neil and Terry when they were talking about it. And...

DAVID: Were you involved at that point?

MICHAEL: No, no, I wasn't involved. I just happened to have met up with Neil that day.

DAVID: Right.

MICHAEL: And then Terry Gilliam came along and they were chatting, that was the day they were talking about that or whatever.

And then eventually he sent me one of the scripts for an early draft of like the first episode of Good Omens. And he said – and we started talking about me being involved in it, doing it – he said, “Would you be interested?” I was like, "Yeah, of course."  I went, "Oh my God." And he said, "Well, I'll send you the scripts when they come," and I would read them, and we'd talk about them a little bit. And so I was involved.

But it was always at that point with the idea, because he'd always said about playing Crowley in it. And so, as time went on, as I was reading the scripts, I was thinking, "I don't think I can play Crowley. I don't think I'm going to be able to do it." And I started to get a bit nervous because I thought, “I don't want to tell Neil that I don't think I can do this.”  But I just felt like I don't think I can play Crowley.

DAVID: Of course you can [play Crowley?].

MICHAEL: Well, I just on a sort of, on a gut level, sometimes you have it on a gut level.

DAVID: Sure, sure.

MICHAEL: I can do this.

DAVID: Yeah.

MICHAEL: Or I can't do this. And I just thought, “You know what, this is not the part for me. The other part is better for me, I think. I think I can do that, I don't think I could do that.”

But I was scared to tell Neil because I thought, "Well, he wants me to play Crowley" – and then it turned out he had been feeling the same way as well.  And he hadn't wanted to mention it to me, but he was like, "I think Michael should really play Aziraphale."

And neither of us would bring it up.  And then eventually we did. And it was one of those things where you go, "Oh, thank God you said that. I feel exactly the same way." And then I think within a fairly short space of time, he said, “I think we've got … David Tennant … for Crowley.” And we both got very excited about that.

And then all these extraordinary people started to join in. And then, and then off we went.

DAVID: That's the other thing about Neil, he collects people, doesn't he? So he'll just go, “Oh, yeah, I've phoned up Frances McDormand, she's up for it.” Yeah. You're, what?

MICHAEL: “I emailed Jon Hamm.”

DAVID: Yeah.

MICHAEL: And yeah, and you realize how beloved he is and how beloved his work is. And I think we would both recognise that Good Omens is one of the most beloved of all of Neil's stuff.

DAVID: Yes.

MICHAEL: And had never been turned into anything.

DAVID: Yeah.

MICHAEL: And so the kind of responsibility of that, I mean, for me, for someone who has been a fan of him and a fan of the book for so long, I can empathize with all the fans out there who are like, “Oh, they better not fuck this up.”

DAVID: Yes.

MICHAEL: “And this had better be good.” And I have that part of me. But then, of course, the other part of me is like, “But I'm the one who might be fucking it up.”

DAVID: Yeah.

MICHAEL: So I feel that responsibility as well.

DAVID: But we have Neil on site.

MICHAEL: Yes. Well, Neil being the showrunner …

DAVID: Yeah. I think it takes the curse off.

MICHAEL: … I think it made a massive difference, didn't it? Yeah. You feel like you're in safe hands.

DAVID: Well, we think. Not that the world has seen it yet.

MICHAEL (grimly): No, I know.

DAVID: But it was a -- it's been a -- it's been a joy to work with you on it. I can't wait for the world to see it.

MICHAEL: Oh my God.  Oh, well, I mean, it's the only, I've done a few things where there are two people, it's a bit of a double act, like Frost-Nixon and The Queen, I suppose, in some ways. But, and I've done it, Amadeus or whatever.

This is the only thing I've done where I really don't think of it as “my character” or “my performance as that character”.  I think of it totally as us.

DAVID: Yeah.

MICHAEL: The two of us.

DAVID: Yes.

MICHAEL: Like they, what I do is defined by what you do.

DAVID: Yeah.

MICHAEL: And that was such a joy to have that experience. And it made it so much easier in a way as well, I found, because you don't feel like you're on your own in it. Like it's totally us together doing this and the two characters totally complement each other. And the experience of doing it was just a real joy.

DAVID: Yeah.  Well, I hope the world is as excited to see it as we are to talk about it, frankly.

MICHAEL: You know, there's, having talked about T.S. Eliot earlier, there's another bit from The Wasteland where there's a line which goes, These fragments I have shored against my ruin.

And this is how I think about life now. There is so much in life, no matter what your circumstances, no matter what, where you've got, what you've done, how much money you got, all that. Life's hard.  I mean, you can, it can take you down at any point.

You have to find this stuff. You have to like find things that will, these fragments that you hold to yourself, they become like a liferaft, and especially as time goes on, I think, as I've got older, I've realized it is a thin line between surviving this life and going under.

And the things that keep you afloat are these fragments, these things that are meaningful to you and what's meaningful to you will be not-meaningful to someone else, you know. But whatever it is that matters to you, it doesn't matter what it was you were into when you were a teenager, a kid, it doesn't matter what it is. Go and find them, and find some way to hold them close to you. 

Make it, go and get it. Because those are the things that keep you afloat. They really are. Like doing that with him or whatever it is, these are the fragments that have shored against my ruin. Absolutely.

DAVID: That's lovely. Michael, thank you so much.

MICHAEL: Thank you.

DAVID: For talking today and for being here.

MICHAEL: Oh, it's a pleasure. Thank you.

[cosmicbucket]

hey hi. about nimona. yes it's 100% about being trans. but as a nonbinary autistic person? this movie was really touching in ways I didn't even realise were possible.

the entire train scene actually killed me.

"Can you please just be normal for a second? I just think it’d be ... easier if you look human."

"Easier for who?"

"For you. A lot of people aren’t as accepting as me."

then, when Ballister asks what shapeshifting feels like - if it hurts - the way Nimona responds hits very close to home on my experience with stimming.

"Honestly? I feel worse when I don’t do it. Like my insides are itchy. You know that second right before you sneeze? That’s close to it. Then I shapeshift, and I’m free."

And then. "What if you held it in?"

"... I just... sure wouldn’t be living."

not to mention in the original comic, Nimona's parents believe that she's something synonymous to a changeling - that she's something that replaced their "real child". this myth was likely born as an "explanation" for neurodivergent or developmentally disabled children. the townsfolk talk about her getting "better" in the comic. as if there's a cure for the way she is. which is something autistic people deal with all the fucking time.

to end on a more lighthearted note, "I'm not a girl. I'm a shark." was so real of Nimona. I'm so happy they kept that in from the comic, because it was real when I was younger and it's even more real to me now.

this story is a trans allegory loud and proud. I do not want to discredit that with this post. but this story also makes me, an autistic person, feel seen. and that's so fucking important in today's world.

I love this movie to pieces. Please go watch it, and remember to be kind. You will change someone's life for the better.

[insertdisc5]

HI ISAT MURDERED ME OW THANK YOU. Also, some time ago, someone asked about where Siffrin's name came from and you said to ask again after release. It's after release. so

thank you and OH YEAH.

THE SIFFRIN NAME LORE THAT WAS TOO EMBARASSING TO TALK ABOUT BEFORE THE GAME RELEASED BECAUSE ITS NOT LIKE ACTUALLY IMPORTANT TO THE GAME BUT I GOT SHY I GUESS

i wanted to call siffrin something close to "sisyphus" because someone in the tags of the original comics was like "sisyphean nightmare" or smg and i was like oh my god... sisyphus.... -> ok im NOT gonna call them sisyphus thats SO tacky -> maybe i could have their friends call them sisif as a nickname... -> whats a name that starts with sif behindthename please save me -> siffrin....!!!!!! my little fella siffrin. sif for short. (no one ended up calling them sisif)

[lazyjellyfish300]

DD pt 3 part 2 of 2

Fem reader x Miguel O'Hara who is your Uber driver

This art was commissioned to accompany this chapter by the incredibly talented @/ejpuki on Instagram. Please go support the original artist!

Pt 1 , Pt 2 , Pt 3 1 , Part 4 , Part 5

Synopsis- fem reader drinks too much and the bartender calls a random Uber for her which happens to be Miguel O'Hara himself. Her friends suck and ditch her. There's a lot of tension on the ride home...

TW: MINORS DNI, some blood, little.violence, suggestive content ,age gap (reader 26, Miguel 34), this one is a sad one, inspired by the original comic

-----

Over the next few days you two text back and forth and talk on the phone. You feel so happy and excited about this budding romance between you two. It's been so long since you felt safe enough to let yourself catch feelings for a guy. You flood his phone while he's at work. Miguel isn't used to someone texting him so often but it's kind of cute how you update him on every little thing that's happening in your day and he has to try not to burst out laughing in the break room at some of the Instagram reels you send him. 

Your text convo: 

Miguel (pookie 🐻❤️) : Why tf would you send me a video of a banana cat with that sad music 😂😐🤨 and who is that white guy that's always randomly showing up at the end of videos with that whistle tune playing? 

You(amor ❤️): it's a meme babe you don't get it😂😂😂 it's supposed to be random, that's what makes it funny af. And that's Josh Hutcherson. You've never seen or read Hunger Games?! 

Miguel(pookie 🐻❤️): no, I haven't. Your sense of humor is a little broken I'm afraid. 🤨 You kids and your memes. 

You(amor ❤️): my sense of humor is just fine 😂LMAO you're only like 8 years older than me. 😂 we're watching it immediately! And we're going to Barnes and Noble to get you a copy. 😇 

Miguel(pookie 🐻❤️): hmmm fine.😌 When would you like to, cutie? ❤️

You(amor ❤️): This weekend please? ❤️❤️❤️

Miguel(pookie 🐻❤️): I'm so sorry, I'll have Gabi with me. But she'll be at her mom's next weekend. Can we do it then? ❤️ 

You(amor ❤️): that's okay I totally understand! ❤️ Yes please! I'm so excited ❤️ I miss you... 

Miguel(pookie 🐻❤️): perfect. I miss you more. ❤️

--------- 

Next Friday

Miguel drives to work, his heart like a dead weight in his chest and his mind racing with different scenarios on how he's going to tell his boss he's had enough. This isn't what he signed up for. The project he was overseeing at work was trying to create these "special abilities"in humans. One of the test subjects passed away this week and he'd be lying to himself if he said it wasn't messing with his head. He had nightmares about her. She couldn't have been older than 19. Her blue eyes frantic as she realized she might not make it off the lab table alive. Her horrified screams ringing in his eardrums. Miguel's fist clamped tighter around the steering wheel as he choked back a sob. He felt this was his burden to shoulder alone. He knew he was falling for you steadily now, and he didn't want you to go crazy worrying about him. He knows you love to try and fix people, a lot of times to your detriment and couldn't stand to see you in that position or live with the fact that he put you there. 

 He really didn't care for his boss, Tyler Stone either. Tyler Stone was the 6'3, blonde haired, blue eyed, egotistical vice president over Research and Development at Alchemax. He and the other higher ups just spent all day figuratively (and possibly literally) sucking each other off in boardroom meetings for the hard work everyone underneath them was doing. He was a businessman, not a scientist, and it became clear to Miguel that profit came first for him over scientific discovery and advancement, and his cronies shared the same philosophy. 

Miguel faced the man now, sitting in his office. Tyler sighed and walked over to his decanter set that sat in the corner of his office on top of a polished mahogany drink cabinet. 

"Care for some bourbon?" He asked, rolling up his sleeves.

Miguel pinched the bridge of his nose and nodded, closing his eyes for a moment. 

"It pains me to hear that you're wanting to leave, it really does." Tyler says as he pours the bourbon in two short, square glasses. 

"I chose you because I believed you could handle it. Your track record doesn't lie, Miguel. You were top of your class at Columbia University. I've seen your research and read your thesis that you did with them. You know Dain was actually the one that submitted your nomination to me when I was looking for someone to promote?" Tyler hands the glass of bourbon to Miguel who murmurs a low thank you. 

"My point is, if you leave, I got no one to replace you, and that makes my job even more tough." Tyler takes a sip of his bourbon and makes a small face. "I'm going to bat for your little science project every time I meet with the board of directors. I'll be honest with you, they're ready to trim the fat." Tyler's blue eyes bore into Miguel's over the rim of his glass. "But I tell them that this process, is worth the wait. We won't have these superhuman abilities lined up for purchase on shelves tomorrow. But give or take a few years we will be the first to break 100 bil in quarterly revenue when we roll this out to the public.  My point is, I'm willing to do whatever I gotta do to keep this project afloat because I've ran the numbers, I've seen what guys like you and Dain can do. It's a worthwhile investment."

Miguel takes a sip of his bourbon and winces. Fuck it, he downs the rest of the whiskey, his throat on fire. He holds out his empty glass to Tyler who takes it and goes to refill it, his back turned to Miguel.

 "I'm sorry...." Miguel finally says. "I've made up my mind. I'm flattered that you think I'm the right person for this job, but I'm telling you, I don't want to be the guy who all of this is riding on anymore. I'm not gonna gamble if people's lives are the chips."

Tyler's face went dark and he started tapping the side of his glass, his back still turned to Miguel.

Since when did this fucker grow a conscience? He knows he wouldn't be doing this job if he wasn't getting paid for it either right? He'd given Miguel and his team resources that any group of scientists would give their left kidney for. It was thanks to him in those board meetings that those ungrateful bastards even still had a job. And now their hang up is human test subjects? 

Tyler handed Miguel back another glass and said nothing as he watched Miguel down it. Miguel winced again as he finished his liquor, throat still on fire and cheeks starting to flush. 

Tyler turned back around, looking at the now setting sun on the horizon. "I'm afraid I can't let you go." He said calmly. 

Miguel raised an eyebrow, then suddenly his face turned white when Tyler held up an empty vial of Rapture, his back still turned to him. Tyler spoke again, his back still facing Miguel. "Alchemax is the only distributor of Rapture. Leave if you want, but I'm going to have to be forced to let the board know and involve law enforcement when they realize one of their silly little scientists couldn't keep his hands out of the cookie jar and became a needy little addict." He took a long sip. 

"You're not gonna make me look like a weak little bitch in front of the whole board. I don't lose, Miguel. You're not gonna fuck this up for me." 

Enraged, Miguel shot up, shattering the shot glass in his hand, blood gushing out of his fingers. "You fucking piece of shit!" 

Tyler remained calm. "You wanna hurt me? Go right ahead. I used your sign in to get this vial from the lab. The access history and empty vial next to my dead body will just deepen the hole you dug yourself. Either do as I say, or throw away your freedom right now and kill me before you even had a chance to see your little girl go to Prom." 

Miguel paused. This fucker was playing chess with him. Tyler took another sip. "It'd be a damn shame if you did. Especially about that new slutty girlfriend of yours. Did you even get to find out what her pussy feels like?"

That was it. Miguel threw his chair against the wall, the wooden legs splintering into the cabinet Tyler was leaning up against, a neutral expression on his prick face as he sipped more bourbon. 

Miguel turned and left the office, and slammed the door so hard the receptionist let out a small squeak of terror as Miguel tore down the hallway, rage seething out of his ears. 

  "Aaron?" Tyler asked in his cold expressionless voice. 

A short, balding man in his mid-thirties with green eyes and thick black rimmed glasses stepped out from behind a two way mirror in the corner of Tyler's office. 

"You rewrote the code in Machine A-2099 in sector 8, right?" 

"Yes boss." 

--------

You hummed happily as you lit a few of your favorite vanilla almond scented candles on your coffee table. You went all out with a smorgasbord of treats for your movie date night with Miguel including popcorn, gummy worms, Milk Duds, Pretzels, M&Ms, beef jerky, and root beer floats. As soon as you got off work, you cleaned the whole apartment top to bottom and put fresh sheets on the bed. You checked your phone anxiously.

Text convo: 

Miguel (pookie 🐻❤️): Good morning beautiful ❤️ how'd you sleep? Have a great day, I'll be at your apartment at 8 pm. 

You(amor ❤️): you just made my whole morning!🥰🥰 Good morning handsome! I slept great! I'm so looking forward to movie night tonight. I have a bunch of treats and goodies for us to snack on too. 😇

Miguel (pookie 🐻❤️): that sounds wonderful, baby. ❤️ Driving to work now, I'll text you when I get there but I'm not going to be able to talk much today. I have a meeting with the boss and a bunch of other stuff related to the project I'm overseeing. Just wanted to let you know not to worry ❤️ I'll call you at 6! 

6 pm came and went and you felt sick to your stomach. 

You(amor ❤️): Babe? Everything okay, I tried you twice. 

Nothing. 

You (amor ❤️): Miguel? It's 9 pm. Are you okay? Please just call or text me to let me know everything's okay...

It was now 10 pm. He wasn't coming. Your stomach lay in knots. You had called him 28 times with no answer.

What's happening? Is he cheating on me? Did he get into an accident? Is he dead on the side of the road while I'm hundreds of miles away and can't do anything?

He gets busy at work but he always, always checks in with you. You can't help but fight back tears at his untouched root beer float sitting next to yours. You knew going into this that you had to jump, knowing you were gonna fall and he might not be there to catch you. Well, here you were with a small dagger in your heart on what was supposed to be your second date. You couldn't help but let yourself get in your head. His rejection of you this time confirmed everything you feared about yourself. You laid down on the couch and sobbed quietly to sleep. 

------

That same night at Alchemax

Miguel's painful screams reverberated off the tiled floor of the genetics lab at Alchemax. The tall powerful man he was, was writhing on the floor in agony. It was as though his blood had turned to acid. His whole body felt on fire. Please God, if I'm supposed to die right now just take me already. He hadn't felt pain this intense ever before in his life. His eyes turned bloodshot, foaming at the mouth as his saliva bubbled and splurted out in incoherent gasps. 

Aside from his screams, the machine responsible for his pain let out a low beep. Miguel knew that a copy of his original DNA sample was logged into one of the gene altering machines that he set up when he was first put in charge of Tyler's superhuman project. He knew that as long as he had a drop of Rapture in him, he'd remain an addict defenseless against his new dependency Tyler forced on him. He had tried in vain to rewrite his current biology back to the original, but Tyler was one step ahead. Tyler knew nothing about science or how DNA worked, but it didn't take much to convince Miguel's bitter, jealous subordinate, Aaron Delgado to sabotage the machine. Very little was known about what type of effect that might have on a human, so there was a good chance he'd just die. Just what they wanted. Aaron and Tyler's smug faces entered the lab, watching Miguel suffer and taunting him, even pouring up another round of bourbon while they waited for the show to end. Yep, he'd be dead in just a few more minutes. They had an alibi and a cover up ready to go. They'd post his job opening by Monday and then they could pretend like this never happened. Miguel suddenly became still, his chest seeming to freeze in place, no longer rising and falling with his normal breathes. 

Gabriella, my little girl...I'm so sorry....I love you more than anything 

His eyes became glassy with tears. He was on his way to finding happiness with you too, only to have the rug pulled out from under him, now he was going to die here, alone. And those who killed him would never know justice behind their corporate wall of privilege and greed that would surely protect them. He uttered your name, his lips barely moving before his eyes fell closed and saw only black.. 

----

Pt 4 coming soon! Thanks for the support 🖤

@mysteris-things

[michaeljoncarter]

ok for real though, i am on my hands and knees BEGGING superboy fans to read the whole Superman: Mon-El/Man of Valor storyline thing. it is wild to me that i've never seen a single other kon fan talking about this because while, no, it's not about kon, the whole thing reads like one big love letter to 90s superboy comics. this was written by someone who's read Superboy (1994) in its entirety at least a dozen times, and it shows, and it's SO good

you don't need to know anything about mon going into it (and if you know of him via the cursed cw supergirl version, please god forget everything). this is his post-crisis (re)introduction & origin, and the thing that makes it so fun from a kon fan perspective is that it reworks his origin to basically be like this weird, upside down, backwards version of Reign of the Supermen

the basic premise of struggling to fill clark's shoes as the "new" superman in his absence is the same, but the reason it's happening is pretty much the exact opposite of RotS, and mon is a near-perfect opposite of/foil to kon. it's good enough on its own, but it's even better if you're familiar with kon's comics. it draws heavily from 90s superboy, and there are little references/inspirations scattered throughout that are soo fun to pick apart

kon himself only shows up a couple times, but those couple times are magnifique. this version of mon hasn't just been reworked to reflect early/RotS kon. this takes place very shortly after kon was resurrected after being killed in Infinite Crisis, which adds a whole new level to the opposite nature of their stories because this starts with mon finding out the illness he thought was cured wasn't, actually, and that he's only got a few months left to live

so it's kon struggling to come to terms with the fact that he came back to life at the same time mon is struggling to come to terms with the fact that he's about to die, and it is SO good. it's such an interesting dynamic, and they are just... so cute

(Superman #694)

(Superman #697)

i don't mean to oversell it, but man, there's really just something about stories where you can feel how much a writer loves the characters. this is definitely one of those, and it deserves way more recognition than it gets!!!

(here's a little reading order below the cut in a shameless attempt to try & entice you into giving it a go)

(this all happens as part of the whole New Krypton saga. mon's story is pretty self-contained, so you don't have to, but i do have a reading order for the whole thing if you're interested)

Action Comics Annual #10 (second story is mon's origin)

Action Comics #874

Superman #685 - 690, Annual #14

Superman Secret Files 2009

Action Comics #880

Supergirl (2005) #44

Superman #691 - 695

Action Comics #885

Superman #696 - 697

Adventure Comics (2009) #8

Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton #1

Supergirl (2005) #51

Superman #698

Adventure Comics (2009) #9

Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton #2

Adventure Comics (2009) #10

Supergirl (2005) #52

Superman #699

Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton #3

Adventure Comics (2009) #11

Superman: War of the Supermen #4

[thelifeofsharks]

I’ve been thinking about writing this for a couple of days now, debating as to whether I should say anything publicly but I feel I should as nobody seems to talk about this.

Firstly, can I just say how much we (Sophie and I) love you guys. We wouldn’t be making these comics if we didn’t have an audience and we appreciate you enormously. Thank you.

A few days ago someone posted one of our comics to a Facebook group with about a million followers. The credits had been cropped out and we weren’t credited by the poster. In fact, they blocked us so nobody could tag us. One of our followers took a screen shot of it and sent it to us and by then it had gotten over 100k likes and tens of thousands of shares. Far more than ANY of our comics have ever received on our own page. It’s very disheartening and frustrating to see that people like our work but just not when we have our name on it or post it on our own account.

We had the comic taken down (it took 7 attempts with Facebook) and had some other ones taken down on similar pages and groups. After that we had a barrage of angry and abusive messages, comments and emails from the owners of these pages. One of their arguments was, “Don’t you want people to share your comics?”. The answer is yes…and no.

We love when our followers share our content. LOVE IT. It’s brilliant. There’s a share button at the bottom of every post of ours. Please smash that button for all you are worth. It helps us out enormously.

BUT there are a great number of Facebook pages and Instagram accounts that just steal our stuff (and other comics) and post them without permission or credit and then monetise it. You’ve all seen them. They have names like “Daily Funny Comic” or “The Funniest Cat Videos”. Their whole reason for being is stealing other people’s content and then selling stuff in the link at the top of their account. There are groups of people making huge amounts of money doing this.

I’ve had a load of abusive messages from people who run these accounts, accusing me of stopping them from making a living because their page is now under review. A living made solely on the back of exploiting other people’s work. I’d ask you not to follow or subscribe to these pages. It’s a whole industry now, built on monetising other people’s work with nothing paid to the original artists. And before anyone comments saying it’s great exposure, it’s not about exposure. It’s the principle of people’s work being exploited for financial gain with the artist getting nothing.

So for those people running those accounts, I will report it to Facebook. I don’t owe you a living. Everyone else, please feel free to share our comics. We thank you so much for doing so.

Also we have a shop if you’d like a t-shirt or a book. We make everything ourselves. Baby needs shoes.

[necrolexic0n]

does Phantom get turn into stone or did it went differently?

IVE WAITED YEARS FOR SOMEONE TO ASK ME ABOUT MY THEORIES /REF

my swap dreamtale goes a lot more differently i think, i wanted to make a comic but i can do it later when ive got the blocking down

OKAY so: Autism Activated

<<everything below this talks about the origin of my dreamtale, why Phantom (Nightmare) is the way he is, and how Nirvana (Dream) came to be)>>

Welcome To DreamSwap

As far as this au goes, everything up until the stone is more or less the same. They keep their personalities of lively young children in the beginning, with only slight changes such as Dream being a bit more mischievous and Nightmare being a little more optimistically open. He corrupts the tree accidentally, yada-yada-yada, but not to prove to the villagers that he isn’t all bad, but because he listened to his brother’s encouragement instead of falling into his fearful depression. It was hope that fueled the action instead of spite.

All while this was happening, Dream had taken some apples with him to the village as hand outs to those in need, not just the one.

By the time he got to the tree and saw what had happened, he saw the mob. They were furious, engulfed by negativity. Dream couldn’t stand the thought of something happening to his brother, so in his quick thinking he started to take bites out of every apple in his bag. What he didn’t notice was the slow corruption of them. One bad apple, the whole patch goes bad. One apple tasted of rot, but even when he spat it out there was nothing he could do.

This is how Nirvana was formed.

He was consumed by a golden sludge. His bones creaked and cracked with the internal pressure of the magic, it barely holding him together. The pain was….more than the living, or even the dead, could ever perceive to withstand.

He grew addicted. To the power. To this…sensation.

The last words exchanged are unknown by anyone aside from Nightmare.

He watched as Dream wreaked havoc amongst the population with what little wits he thought he had left.

This would be the first moment that Dream would engage in bloodlust. The thrill of getting what he wanted. What the thought he wanted..

“BROTHER, NO, PLEASE—!,” Nightmare pleaded.

His calls fell upon a deaf skull.

His brother was nowhere to be found.

There were screams. Then silence.

…”Look what you made me do,” The monster muttered.

“Aren’t you happy?”

Nightmare didn’t know how to respond. His eye lights darted around, searching desperately for a solution. His sights fell onto a lone black apple between himself and the one who stole his brother away. Quick as a whip he lunged at the fruit as Dream simultaneously took to snatch him away, and took the biggest bite he could manage.

Something bubbled in his chest as a darkness formed over him. A comforting hold. The apple had taken the primitive shape of a soul. He had become mortal. His head spiraled with voices, not of his own, he could hear the cries and pleas for help. For hope. The comforts of sadness. The community in isolation. It’s deep…it hurts. He knows. The loneliness dissipates, as he knows what he must now do. The apple is safe.

He accepts his fate.

He pulls a sword from his magic, black as obsidian with a sheen that could drive envy from a diamond. Nightmare took to defensive stance. This was a warning

Dream had watched grossly, repulsed by this…clod’s..actions. Who did he think he was? He looked over to the once beautiful tree.

“No sense in leaving this stump around, hm?”

Suddenly the tree was sliced, forever severed from the connection of the two brothers. As if there was any salvaging it to begin with…

Nightmare turned towards the creature but only to be met with a dagger in his body.

That was not to plan.

As Night turned to ash, not dust, but ash, Dream realized what he’d done. He tore through the ashes in search of the apple and had nothing to show for it.

Something inside of him squirmed. The little guardian of light had one last request.

The ashes were spread across the stump of the tree as a final goodbye.

With that, Dream fled, never to be seen again within the foreseeable future.

Everything good was lost.

And it was all Nightmare’s fault. Or, so he thinks it is.

~~~

Over the course of nearly 500 or so years, after many days and nights and through much weather, the stump began to evolve in shape. Into the shape of a somewhat familiar figure.

The 500th year came about…the figure finally hatched. The Phoenix had not risen alone, the Guardian of Magic had been keeping close eye and informed him of the incoming plans led by his former brother.

Phantom was startled. Almost unprepared.

This is how he became a True Guardian.

[martiwikiwi]

ACESPEC ORIGINAL CHARACTERS EVENT FOR ACE WEEK 2023!

ACE WEEK is from 22nd to 28th October this year!! That's around the corner btw.

Back in the old Twitter days, I used to summon acespec creators to join me in a thread of their own acespec OCs with the goal of meeting more ace creators, their OCs, their projects and making friends! I thought it would be a great idea to bring the event to Tumblr this time... WITH NEW RULES!

So, during the ACE WEEK 2023, I want you to show the world your ACESPEC ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!

I want to see artwork of them, especially if it's made by you, and please add some cool info about them, it can be any silly detail, but I encourage you to talk about their asexuality and experiences, and it would be super interesting to know if your own asexuality affected the creation of the character. Tell us about their story, if they have any, and if they belong to a project you are working on. This will take place during the whole week, so no rush. I'll be reblogging pretty much everything with my side martaslavendergarden

RULES:

ABSOLUTE RESPECT. The asexual spectrum is full of different experiences, all valid. If I catch you trying to invalidate any creator or character, be sure I'll go John Wick. Also, I'm fucking tired of the invasion ace meme because I'm very punk and absolutely dislike any imperialist shit, so please, let's keep this event free of white supremacist shit. Thank you.

USE THE TAGS. Use the tags #acespecoc and #aceweek2023 so your post can be found!

LIKE AND REBLOG! This event's main goal is to find other acespec creators and not just make friends but also to create a cool community, so I encourage you to spread out your likes, cast reblogs and write some beautiful comments in the tags when reblogging.

Some questions you may have:

The identity of my OC is complex or tagless. SOUNDS COOL TO ME. Is their experience somewhere in the asexual spectrum? You can join the party and I encourage you to talk about it! I'm sure they'll be a super interesting character.

Marta, I have 500 acespec OCs. SAME. You can join all of the characters in one single post or make several of them and post them during the week, organise it yourself, no problemo.

Marta! I'm not an artist! But I have these cute picrews of my ace ocs. Can I participate in the event? ABSOLUTELY! Also, you can share the picrew you used just in case someone loves it and wants to make their OCs too.

Marta, I have this comic/book/whatever featuring my acespec OC. Can I unapologetically use this event to promote it? GO FOR IT.

Oh, Marta, I'm not acespec but I have this ace OC... Can I join the party anyway? THE MORE THE MERRIER! And I'm sure you'll learn a lot from other artists and their acespec OCs.

Marta, I have this ace headcannon of this particular character. Can I join the event? Not today, this event is only for YOUR ORIGINAL CHARACTERS created by yourself.

MARTA, I have this acespec OC I made in a videogame through character creation or whatever. Absolutely valid to me. Please provide a screenshot of your cutie and all their background story if you can.

I made this AI/NFTSHIT stuff. FUCK OFF.

Feel free to DM me if you have any doubts. Also, spread the word, I want to see many acespec OCs on Ace Week on this site!

[luxaofhesperides]

Listen. I love the dcxdp crossover. It’s a lot of fun! There’s so much that can be done for this crossover, with all the characters and settings and the many plots that can spring up from them. But as much as I love writing for it and sharing my fics with the community, there’s been a significant uptick in things that are rubbing me the wrong way. Some of these things have to do with canon vs fanon, but others are more about the shifting culture of the community.

(keep in mind that I only see things on Tumblr and am not in any discords, so my experience will be different from others bc I have a more limited experience with the wider community)

(putting it all under a read more bc its long)

Let’s start off with a look at what we’re doing as a group:

Building off of completed fics on tumblr: I always thought the etiquette is to not build off of a completed work without permission. Someone had an idea and executed it, then shared it with us. It should end there. If you want to add to it, contact the author first and see if it’s something they’re fine with; some will say no, some will say yes, some will say yes but be sure to credit them for the original fic. A lot of what I’m seeing is a completed fic gets added on to in a way that completely takes it away from the original idea. Having experienced this myself (on a requested prompt from someone else, no less), I found it kind of rude. Maybe it’s just me, but a completed fic is not a prompt request or something open for building up another story around. It’s already completed. Leave the story as is and let the author know you liked it.

Expecting others to write for you: the prompts are what build this crossover fandom, in my eyes. Prompts are posted and people create something around them, either as a group by adding onto what other people are saying, or as individual fics that one person wrote. Now I’m seeing people throw out prompts that are basically fic outlines, then begging others to write something for it. Like, those prompts are already written! They have very specific details! Why not write it yourself? You’re already halfway there, you can just write the thing you want to see and post it. It’s not about being ‘good’ or ‘bad’ at writing, it’s about crafting an idea to share to the world. Why ask others to write it for you when you’ve already practically done it?

But also, you are not owed fic. This might just be general fandom burn out talking, but being a fic author who has been treated like a machine? It sucks. I love writing, but I share what I write because what I wrote made me happy and I wanted to share that with others. I’m not a content creating machine who has to pump out fic after fic for other people’s entertainment. I just want to share what I love and having people pop up in my notifs only going “write more/tag me/sequel?/etc” is tiring. I get that it’s coming from a place of love bc you liked the fic enough to want to see more, but please actually talk about what I’ve already written instead of going “update? More? MORE????”

Hostility to DC canon: I get that DC canon is a mess, but it still is a canon and has a lot of cool stuff! I’m seeing a lot of posts recently about how dpxdc people refuse to engage with the comics, and I need to let yall know that this is not a new thing. DC fans also refuse to engage with the comics (it’s mostly batfam) and it’s very easy to tell who has and who hasnt ready batfam related stuff bc the fanon is incredibly wrong about characterisation and what happened in comics. But that’s for a different post.

I’m seeing both sides of the argument (this is for fun, reading comics isn’t required, don’t like don’t read vs it’s tiring seeing people butcher my favorite characters into ocs with their name/face, I want to share my love for comics but there’s so much pushback, it shouldn’t be weird to expect people engaging with a media to have actually engaged with that media). And I think you should engage with comics! DP is a unique case in which fanon is for the most part better and more interesting than the original show (also death to the author/butch hartman), but DC comics shouldn’t be engaged with in that way. If you like the characters you see in dpxdc, you should read about them in comics! The whole point of a fandom is that you’re a fan of the original media. That’s why you’re engaging with it in this way, writing within the world and characters and canon.

I don’t know how people write for fandoms when they’re not familiar with the source material. I wanted to write dcxdp so I started rewatching DP. I’m reading comics. I want to know the characters and their stories so I can have a foundation to write from, and also to better understand the media so I can share my love for it. The refusal to engage with source material while engaging with its fandom is so strange to me.

Also dc fans who love the comics are great! In my experience, they’re very kind and willing to help you jump into comics! Don’t know where to start? Pick a character or team and follow them! Want a reading guide? We’ve got TONS. want thoughts on a specific character or comic run? Just ask!

Now to more specific points about what I’m seeing in dcxdp works:

Mischaracterized batfam: this is a group of people who are disasters and have complicated relationships with each other. They’re kind, wonderful people who bring out the best and worst in each other. Why is Batman always adopting people. Why is this a running joke with the batfam. I get it being a joke the first few times, but I’ve seen it so often and done like it’s accurate characterization that I just. I can’t. I leave that fic immediately. I can’t do it anymore. Batman is paranoid and tried very hard to keep kids away from him/away from being a vigilante. Unfortunately all the kids he got are stubborn and smart so he was doomed from the beginning.

Superman and Kon: you guys are pretty much only pulling from Young Justice Animated which I think is a terrible adaptation, but that’s my own taste. But seriously. Clark is kind. That’s an important part of his character! He’s the strongest man in the world and he’s kind. He was also dead when Kon first appeared as a experiment from CADMUS in Hawaii. They’re not father-son, but they are family and they do care for each other, once they get to know each other. Also Kon is not an angry broody boy, he’s funny! And annoying! pls read kon comics guys, i promise youll like his actual character

Chronos??? Guys. Chronos is not a god in DC canon. He is in Greek mythology, but in DC he’s a Captain Atom villain and he’s literally just a guy who got obsessed with having perfect timing. He’s themed around clocks. He has nothing to do with time travel or time gods. The Speedforce is Time, basically, and it is not human. It is an eldritch being beyond our comprehension that can eat people. If it chooses to have a human form, it’s going to choose to look like Bart. Please read Flash stuff, it’s interesting!

Lazarus Pit Madness lasts like 5 minutes in canon. Jason having it, and being affected by it for years, is a purely fanon thing from the dc side. Not going to say anything more on this because it goes into Jason Todd discourse.

Repetition: I’m sorry but I’m tired of seeing the same things over and over. I barely see anything out of the dcxdp tags thats new and fun to engage with. Everything is the same variation of “Danny helps Pit Mad Jason”, “Bruce insta-adopts Danny”, “Superman is mean to clones”, etc etc. Think of any popular dcxdp trope and that’s all you’ll see. I get why these are fun and popular, but the way it’s being engaged with now? It literally makes me exit Tumblr and put my phone down.

Not every prompt has to go down the same routes as the other prompts. Please explore more options, branch out, twist those tropes around to do something new with them. And also stop going onto other people’s fics and saying “what about [dcxdp trope]? Cant wait to see [dcxdp trope]! You should have [dcxdp] trope.” If I didn’t include it, it’s not included for a reason. There are hundreds of other fics that write specifically about those exact tropes. Read those, or write your own. (im being super bitter here but please just let me write what i want to write without trying to pull the story into another direction for a trope you like. Im writing for me, but sharing it for you. Not every fic needs those tropes in them.)

Tumblr specific things: this is less about the content and more about general posting etiquette. Please put long posts under a read more. If it’s more then three paragraphs, consider adding a read more if there is significantly MORE than three paragraphs. Tag appropriately. Content warnings and trigger warnings should be at the very top of the post and in the tags so they can be properly blocked. If you’re posting fic/prompt, please double check your spelling and fix any typos you find because posts that are filled with excessive typos are difficult to read.

There’s probably a lot more to talk about, but just getting this much out is tiring and, frankly, I don’t want to think on it any more today. If you reply/add comments, I won’t get to them in a while bc I will be writing ghostlights and yhk fic to lift my mood :)

[nerdybird34]

Batfamily Pets🐶🐱

I know most of you probably know that a lot of the batfam members own pets but do you know there names and what breed of dog/cat/whatever they are? Well I do!(or at least I have a good idea)

Bruce

The ONLY pet Bruce has is Ace. I know it’s said that Ace is Damian’s dog but no, Ace is definitely Bruce’s canine companion. But what breed of dog is Ace? I know that in batman beyond they make it look like Ace is a rottweiler/great dane mix (I don’t really see the rottweiler side of things but I read an article and someone said that he is supposed to be a mix of those two in batman beyond). Now, in most things they make Ace look like a gray or black great dane but he is actually a german shepherd. In the original comics Ace is a brown german shepherd (they sometimes would add black spots to his fur), he is also known has Bat-Hound and has fought along side the dynamic duo.

Alfred

I don’t believe Alfred has any pets (except for the children).

Dick

Has you all probably know Dick has a cute little pitbull puppy named Haley! She’s grey with blue eyes and a white stripe down her face and on her chest. She has been known to fight crime next to Nightwing has the doggie vigilante Bitwing! 

Jason

Yes, Jason actually dose have a pet. I think his dog is only talked about in a few comics but basically he befriended a stray female dog while on a mission in Mexico. And he named her…get ready….Dog. Her name is Dog. He named her this claiming that Damian got all the good pet-naming genes. I don’t know what breed Dog is but she looks to be a grey putbull?? Now, in my batfamily fanfics I write Jason having 2 dogs, Killer and Bullet. Killer is a grey female pitbull(she’s basically Dog but with a better name). And Bullet is a male rottweiler.

Tim 

I’m pretty sure Tim dose not have a pet. He may have had a fish or something when he was a little kid but he’s too busy for one at the moment.

Duke

No, Duke has never been known to have a pet to my knowledge.

Stephanie 

Steph doesn’t have a pet either and if she would ever get one it would probably be a cat.

Barbara

She has a cat named Misty and a parrot named Charlie. I don’t know what kind of cat and I don’t know what kind of bird. Sorry lol

Cassandra 

Cass has not been shown to have a pet as far has I know.

Selina

She of course has had many cats over the years including but not limited too Isis, Miss Kitty, Diablo, Hecate, Julio, Kitty, Lover, Otto, Slinky, and many others that she feeds or that she has in her apartment.

Damian

Damian has A LOT of pets and he absolutely loves animals. The pets that he has that I am most familiar with are Goliath (dragon-bat), Bat-Cow, Titus (dog), and Alfred (cat). I know he has been shown to have a turkey and a monkey but I’m not sure what else. Bat-Cow is a white cow with brown spots, Titus is a black Great Dane, Alfred is a tuxedo cat, and Goliath is a creature he owned while living with his mother.

Well, that’s all I have for the batfam’s pets! I hope you all enjoyed this and please let me know if I missed anything. Thank you!🖤🦇

[misaldragon]

The mercs (and others) red flags.

Saw someone else do a post like this, hated it, decided to give it a try at it. Please keep in mind this is my personal list so if you don’t agree with something that’s a-okay. I welcome constructive criticism and questions.

Scout: Talks to people who aren’t there (See the comic where Zhanna tried to bed scout), major ego (to be fair he is god's favorite but still), will pick a fight with someone for you (If you have social anxiety like i do you’ll want to shrivel up and disappear), kills people (this is just going to be a given with all the mercs), and dates might be cheap due to him spending all his money on Tom Jones merch (Scout may set aside money for dates with you if you say you want to go somewhere else though but man cannot buy a house for the two of you).

Soldier: Man is as dumb as a bag of rocks (he drank led water cut him some slack… Also dumb enough to fall for just about any scam), like scout he will also fight someone for you but be much louder and bombastic about it (please i just was to not exist, no, don’t fight the dad in front of his kids), VERY proud american (as an american, this country sucks), and will yell at you, other people, anyone, that baby in the stroller? Getting yelled at! (Generally very loud person and doesn’t care who you are… Also kills people).

Pyro: Do you collect bones? You do now (Due to Pyro vision bones are probably candy or flowers or something to Pyro… They have good intentions but my god is it scary/creepy if you don’t know about Pyro vision), bones might be animal or human bones and also general body parts (Pyro vision again), will not shower around you.. Do they shower (they don’t want to be seen without their suit on but will let you clean the suit with them in it), and will probably steal your lighters (this is going off a hunch but also stealing is not something i like… Also kills people).

Heavy: Works very closely to Medic a lot of the time (and Medic is… A lot), VERY happy to do his job (and since his job is killing people this can be concerning), maybe a bit too attentive to his guns (can certainly be off putting to see a minigun in a small bed next to a larger one), and he was out of touch with his family (as shown in the comics when he's worried about his family only to find out they have been defending themselves just fine).

Engineer: Probably a workaholic so he may forget dates (note, he’ll also do his best to make it up to you if he does and start setting up reminders for himself he’s just not used to being in a relationship because of his job), makes southern sweet tea (as someone who lives in the south i know how sweet our tea is, if you don’t want cavities from looking at a drink don’t let him make sweet tea for you), probably shot at you before (mans paranoid because of spies, don’t sneak up on him), and would pressure you to ride a bull (mechanical or not but he’d prefer it to be mechanical and one he made to make sure it’s not to much, still won't take no for an answer when it comes to this only… Also kills people).

Demoman: Substance abuse (alcohol, congrats to the original you got one right), probably mommy/daddy issues (his mom seems to be an angry elderly woman, dad is dead so it seems there's something there but that could just be me), believes in monsters/ghosts (i don’t but given how the world of TF2 works this is more a IRL issue), has probably blown himself up at least once (possible that he might blow you up if he's REALLY drunk… Also kills people).

Medic: This man is a walking red flag, made a deal with the devil more than once, stole his pet doves, stole a wedding van, puts animal organs in people, manipulative (mostly seen with the tfc team when he had to manipulate them to put animal organs in them), stole a man's skeleton, medical malpractice, probably not mentally well, will take your organs, and kills people… Probably not all of it either.

Sniper: Can skin any animal or even person flawlessly and tell you how too (creepy, and i don’t want to know), very good stalker and hunter (he does this with you because he wants to surprise you with something you like but conversation is his weak point so this is the next best thing in his mind), Pyro isn’t the only one that’ll bring you animal bones (at least he’s a bit more tactful about it, making it into actual stuff like alligator teeth necklaces, deer antler coat hanger, and snake bone coasters for a few examples), probably doesn’t shower as much as he needs to (at least he brushes his teeth… Also kills people)

Spy: Will eventually leave you like he did all his other partners (which we can see with Scout's mother since he didn’t help raise Scout), is french (must i explain?), secret past (will keep as much of his past a secret as he can but also find out everything about you he can), and he never fully trusts you (he’s a spy, it’s understandable but sad.. Also kills people).

Miss pauling: Does not have time for you (unless you join her on missions but that is a large order), doesn’t fully trust you (this is from vibes), cannot fully devote herself to you or the relationship (her loyalty is to the administrator), can kill you without anyone noticing (its just scary to think about).

Saxton hale!: Can and will fight people for you even if the person just looked at you funny ( the police have been called several times), will fight a hippy just because they are a hippy (He really likes fighting), willingly and knowingly sells weapons to mercs (man can kill and condones it), will jump out of a plane with you… you have no choice.

[pooce-art]

Today's 123 Rhodes Island translation. Its Santalla! Another new CN operator, though not really a new character.

With this done, I only have 2 left to do until I completely catch up! Unless they release a new one between now and thursday night.

Notes: this one is pretty minor When Zima says that they're from honey country, its literally more like "we are honeyians" like how you would say American, its just one of those do I make it more clear or like try to make it funnier.

the other notable thing is when Santalla says "but inside Sami's borders... heh" I originally thought she was talking about an accent cus she uses the character for words 话 but it just didn't make sense at all, so after asking someone this is what I got. it just seems like 话那就 is a bit of a filler, but 那就 does mean "then"

not really a translation thing, but an important thing to note is that Santalla's village was mascaraed by Ursus troops after they claimed their land as under Ursus, so she understandably has a grudge.

as always, please tell me any criticisms or comments. feel free to reuse or repost my translations as long as you credit me.

original comic link:

https://terra-historicus.hypergryph.com/comic/6253/episode/5766

[archiveikemen]

Liam Evans Main Story: Chapter 24 (Crazy Love)

Premium Avatar Challenge Story

This is a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes with no guaranteed perfection. I do not own any of the original content. Please support CYBIRD by buying their stories and playing their games. Reblogs appreciated.

❥･• Warnings and FAQ

I don’t expect much. My heart that just had that thought was screaming to hear the words that would be spoken a mere second later.

Liam: Kate. Back then, I couldn’t take your hand.

Liam: I couldn’t bring myself to reach for your hand that you so desperately held out to me.

Liam: However, I…

His trembling fingers gently touched mine.

Liam then firmly grasped my fingertips before wrapping his larger hand around my hand.

Liam: Ahh… I…

Liam: The whole time, I wanted to touch your hand like this. By my own will, I… I wanted to grab your hand.

The warmth between our interlaced hands made my heart stir painfully with emotions.

Right now, Liam and I were living in this situation because it was inevitable.

Liam: Kate. You always believe in tomorrow.

Liam: Even when tomorrow seems full of uncertainty and dreadful, you take a step forward and face it while trembling at the same time.

The pair of eyes in front of me softened and narrowed, as if embracing my show of courage.

Liam: I… I want to become someone who can stay by your side. I don’t want anyone else to have that position.

Liam: I may not be the best at walking towards tomorrow. But if it’s a tomorrow with you in it, I want to run towards it together…

Liam: Kate. The way you’re the only one I look at and chase after is almost comical.

Liam: So… please, be there in my tomorrow and waiting for me.

(... Yes.)

(These are the words I’ve always wanted to hear.)

Liam: Don’t go anywhere. Don’t… don't leave me behind…

(...)

(Leave Liam behind?)

Kate: W-Wait a second. Who’s leaving who behind?

Liam: You leaving me behind.

Liam: You decided to leave us, so this dinner party is to bid you farewell—

Kate • Liam: :O

Kate • Liam: Could it be…

Victor: Ahaha. Sorry, Kate.

Victor: I just couldn't wait any longer.

???: It was this middle-aged man’s (Victor) idea in the first place to lie. I mean, I did go along with the idea, so this is on me too.

Liam: … Harry.

Back from his mission, Harrison was nearby enjoying the sweets with a satisfied grin.

Harrison: I have the curse of a lying fox. Did you forget that my words shouldn't be easily trusted?

Liam: By any chance… was everyone in on this?

Roger: Heh.

Alfons • Elbert: …

Jude: Huh? What are you talking about?

Ellis: Jude. Shh…

Liam: Pfft… ahahahaha, gosh.

Liam: Seriously, this is why you all are villains!

William: Only realising that now?

Liam’s laughter was carefree.

His smile was like if stars had fallen from the sky, sparkling brightly and captivating my eyes.

Kate: Fufu…

All the tension that had been building up inside me was released instantly. Warm tears trickled down my face.

Liam: Kate…?

Kate: … Sorry. I just… I just felt so relieved… to see your smile…

Kate: The way you’re smiling right now and communicating your feelings to me is making me so incredibly happy that I can’t help overflowing with love for you.

Liam: …

Liam: Sorry, Kate. I’m about to do something very selfish.

(Huh?)

With my hand in his, Liam dashed out of the dance hall.

Liam: — Let’s go.

William: Haha. Is it alright for the star to be absent, Queen’s Aide?

Victor: Yeah, that’s alright. I love watching those kids living freely.

…

Liam immediately hugged me tight the moment we ran into his room.

Kate: L-Liam?

Liam: I know that I shouldn't take away the star of the party.

Liam: But your tears were so beautiful and lovely… I didn’t want anyone else to see them.

The way he looked so much like a dejected cat made me forget about the tears I shed just a while ago and smile.

(I’ll gladly accept anything that will happen.)

Kate: Please don't apologise. … That actually made me happy.

Liam widened his eyes in surprise before frowning and nuzzling his cheek against mine.

Liam: Mm… don’t let me get too carried away.

Despite his playful tone, I could sense his unease.

Liam had been suppressing his own feelings so long, so I wanted him to express what he truly felt in his heart.

In front of me, at least.

Even if it's something confusing.

(Don’t hesitate when our gazes are locked like this.)

Kate: … That’s okay. Whenever you’re thinking of me, please believe that I think the same way about you.

Liam: Really?

Kate: Yes. Really.

Liam: Then…

(Ah…)

He pressed his lips against my ear, gently nibbling on it and sending shivers through my body.

Liam: If I’m thinking that I want to touch you more, is it still okay for me to assume you're thinking the same way…?

Liam: Touching you isn’t enough. I want to make love to you until you’re all wet and dirty, is that okay…?

(... There’s only one answer.)

I nodded, and Liam held me down on the bed and slid his hand underneath my dress.

The dress I had specially put on for Liam to see was tossed to the edge of the bed, my bare body covered in nothing and glistening with sweat.

Kate: Haa… ahh…

(... I’m going crazy.)

Liam’s tongue roamed my chest, my skin still feverish and my body limp from my first climax.

Kate: Ahh…

Liam: I figured you’d like it when I do this to you. … I’m going to make love to you a lot.

Knowing that my body had become easily aroused because of all the pleasure he had brought me, Liam smiled and spread my legs before pushing himself deep inside me again.

Kate: Nngh…

Liam: Haa… you’re so warm… Kate…

My legs wide open, Liam thrust into me over and over again, making me scream in pleasure.

Kate: aahh…

Liam: W-What’s the matter with me… I want you so badly… I’m going crazy…

I was so captivated by the passion in our gazes as our eyes met, I forgot to breathe.

The hungry look in his rose-coloured eyes was like that of a cat in heat.

As if to satisfy his hunger for love, he indulged himself in my body and warmth.

Kate: …

For a moment, I found his ferocity frightening.

However, my intense feelings of love for him surpassed my fears; and so I tightly embraced his sweaty back.

Kate: It’s okay. You don’t have to hold back. I’ll give you everything you want, all of it.

Liam: …

Liam: … Yeah.

Liam: Perhaps… up till now… I’ve never truly lived.

Liam gently guided my hand to his chest and placed it over where his heart was.

I could feel his heart beating like a small animal’s.

Liam: I don't know why… my heart is racing like this…

Just feeling it with my palm wasn't enough, I wrapped both arms around Liam and embraced his whole body.

…

Kate had fallen asleep from exhaustion after countless love making sessions. Liam gently stroked her hair as she slept peacefully by his side.

He’s spent many sleepless nights like this, but none of them were as peaceful as tonight.

For the first time in all his years of living, he thought that the silence of the night felt pleasant.

Liam: … Thank… thank you… Kate.

At that moment, it started raining in his heart.

The rain that signalled the onset of an episode had always been ice cold. But, this time, it was soft like a gentle rainfall in springtime.

He heard the voice of the other him who lived inside his heart.

(... It’s been a while. I’ve been wanting to meet you.)

… What, you’ve never initiated a talk with me before.

(I’m sorry for everything up till now.)

… ~ silence ~ …

(All this time, I’ve always thought of you as a Grim Reaper luring me towards my death. I was wrong.)

… ~ silence ~ …

(I lived my life as if I were a dead man. You were only trying to remind me that I was alive, weren't you…?)

… What about it? So, what do you want? Do you finally want to get rid of me?

(Nope, you’re the other me. You’re the scars from my past wounds. That’s why, you definitely won’t ever disappear.)

(But I want you to watch me. Watch as I walk towards my tomorrows.)

… Do whatever you want.

Just know that if ever you go back to being a coward, I’ll drag you back into the darkness. Remember that, yeah?

The sound of the rain faded away and disappeared.

Liam: …

Instead, all he heard was the sound of Kate’s breathing as she slept soundly.

He would surely tell Kate about the peaceful night first thing in the morning when she wakes up.

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Eyes and Ears

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: An AU where Barbara finds Jason instead of Bruce.

Chapters: 7/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Barbara Gordon, Jim Gordon, Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Sheila Haywood, Original Character(s)

Relationship(s): Jason Todd/Original Character(s), Past Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson

Additional Tags: Canon Divergent AU, Older SIbling Barbara Gordon, Jason Todd-centric, Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Jason Todd is NOT Robin, Jason Todd Has Issues, Jason Todd Has a Crush, Adopted Siblings

Chapter Seven: Seaside

Barbara went out as Batgirl shortly after dinner, leaving Jason home alone to wait for Jim. As the night progressed, Jason lay on the couch watching tv. He wanted to be awake when Jim returned. It reminded him of how Jason often waited for his parents to come home, and that's what worried him most. As hard as he tried to stay awake for Jim's return, he couldn't keep his eyes open past two in the morning.

Jim dragged his feet as he entered the house around three in the morning. His body and mind were weary as he hung his coat up and kicked his shoes off. He turned the tv off and smiled at Jason, who lay curled up on the couch, holding one of the throw pillows to his chest. Jim picked Jason up and held him for a moment before taking Jason to his room to tuck him into bed. Jason took hold of Jim's wrist and mumbled, "Don't go... Please don't go." His voice was broken. Jim pushed Jason's hair back.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here... We might have to go get ice cream in the morning, though," Jim whispered as he sat down on the floor by Jason's bedside. Jason turned on his stomach, facing Jim, and he opened his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked. Jim took a deep breath.

"Mind if I tell you what happened and why I was gone so long?" Jim asked. Jason nodded.

Jim talked about his work with Batman and how many bombs they had to defuse around the city, and Jason stopped him. "But are you okay?" Jason asked. Jim paused, and his shoulders dropped.

"I'm exhausted, and I feel bad for how I left you earlier... I want you to know that I would've come home hours ago if I could've. I don't want you to think I abandoned you," Jim whispered.

"You were working," Jason yawned.

Jim left the room and showered, and climbed into bed. He lay awake for a few minutes only to hear Jason's footsteps in his room. Jim lay still and listened to Jason make a shuffling noise before complete silence. He turned on his side and met eyes with Jason. Despite the pounding in Jim's head, he opened his mouth and whispered, "It's cold down there. Come up here." Jason hesitated for a moment before climbing into Jim's bed, and he closed his eyes. Jim threw the blankets over Jason and took a deep breath.

"I was dreaming about my mom... My birth one. I mean, I don't know her, but maybe this is the way she wanted things to be. Maybe she didn't want me," Jason whispered, "Maybe she doesn't want to be found..."

Jim kissed the top of Jason's head. "I can't imagine someone not wanting a kid like you... But I honestly hope that even if you do find her, you'll consider making this your home for good," Jim whispered.

"You'd want me to stay for the next five years? Like until I turn eighteen?" Jason asked.

"Or until you're ready to leave home. I figure if you're still living with me by the time I retire, we could go live in Maine... Get away from all the noise. We could go fishing there," Jim whispered as he went on to describe the coastal cities and the lighthouses and the silence. Jason's breathing slowed, and Jim kept speaking as if Maine was some fairy tale place.

Jim drifted off to sleep only after he knew Jason was fast asleep. They both slept late into the next day, only waking once the sun was too bright to ignore. "Pop?" Jason asked as he sat up, and Jim groaned. "Therapy?"

"Mhm, we'll pick someone out together... But first, let's go eat, okay? I promised my son I'd take him out for ice cream," Jim smiled. Jason got out of bed, and he stood in the doorway.

"I know I just kind of got you, but... You're the best dad I've ever had," Jason whispered before waving. The words made Jim's heart heavy. He got cleaned up and dressed before leaving his room and ran into Barbara in the kitchen.

"You do realize that you just can't promise him ice cream and make things okay, right?" Barbara asked. Jim nodded solemnly.

"I know," he replied, "But I did talk to him about therapy, and he said he'll give it a try as long as I'm there with him."

"How'd you manage that? He wouldn't even—."

"I took a different approach. Do you want to come with us to get ice cream?" Jim asked. Barbara nodded.

"Sure, why not. I have a day off... Also, I noticed... This is the second night in a row that he hasn't slept in his bed," Barbara noted. Jim nodded.

"I know. But last night was sort of my fault. He was gonna sleep on the floor," Jim explained. Jason came out of the bathroom and stretched out. "Hey, I'll be downstairs." Jason nodded and moved to follow Jim before Barbara took his hand.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Barbara asked. Jason nodded and stood in the kitchen with her. "You okay?"

"Train me," Jason whispered.

"What?" Barbara exclaimed. "No! Are you crazy? You're just barely thirteen, that's way too young—."

"How old was Robin when he started? He didn't exactly look like he was in his early twenties," Jason whispered.

"Robin wasn't my baby brother. You are," Barbara replied as she tried to walk past him, and he grabbed her wrist.

"I already lost one family. I'm not gonna lose this one," Jason tightened his hold on her wrist, not to hurt her, but to let her know he was serious. She sighed.

"I'm not letting you in the field, but I'll consider it," Barbara replied, and he embraced her. She stood still in shock for a moment before hugging him back. "I'm serious. It's not a yes. I'm just thinking about it."

She tried to keep a stern look on her face, but she couldn't help but smile. "I call shotgun, Barbie!" Jason smiled as he ran down the stairs.

"Wait! No one calls me that!" Barbara shouted as she locked up and followed him down the steps and out to the car. Jason chuckled to himself in the front seat.

While they were eating ice cream, Barbara tried to think about the idea of a partner, but she knew he was far too young and much too traumatized to be out in the field. On the other hand, he would be too busy training to worry about losing them and decided that keeping Jason preoccupied was her best option.

She understood where Jason was coming from, but she was no Batman. She could only allow him to dream, nothing more. Barbara secretly hoped that he would lose interest as his fear of loss subsided. Only time would tell.