@kiragecko / kiragecko.tumblr.com
(dick beat him, obviously)
[Comic shows a young Tim!Robin shouting, "Race ya!" to Nightwing as he grapples away. Dick quietly calls him a dork, then starts counting.
"1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5! Wooohooo!!"
He starts racing after Robin, shouting "Ready or not ... !"
Also, Dick has cool long hair with blue highlights, and the coloured parts of his costume are a really neat blue edged in gold. It's a cool interpretation!
End ID.]
i think the worst thing in the world is seeing two characters with something weird as hell going on between them and you think to urself "wow i love the weird as hell thing these characters have going on between them" and you open archiveofourown.org and find out everyone else thinks they would actually be in a very normal romantic relationship
Me:
(Some) Other fans:
@cuephrase, my new fan obsession:
Subfandom: Batman
Media: All Media Types
Relationships: Gen (Jason Todd & Tim Drake, Ensemble)
Year: 2024
"You just turned fourteen a few weeks ago, right?” Jason whistled. “And I thought I died young.” Tim shook his head. Took a step back. No. Nope. No way. This was not happening. Or: After Tim dies, his soul remains stuck as a ghost at the Manor. Forced to watch Dick and Bruce grieve him and unable to do anything, the only thing making the afterlife bearable is Jason. Until the day his ghost departs. Tim assumes that Jason has passed on. But then the Red Hood breaks into the Cave. And for the first time, someone can see Tim.
Submitted by Stamp :)
Bc it’s fricken amazing what other reason does one need????? Incredible plot, dialogue and characterizations is a plus. Also very oof . mp3
Now THIS is a Batman story! THESE are Batman themes! Well well well. Yup. @cuephrase sure does understand Batman!
DICK NOT BEING ABLE TO SACRIFICE HIMSELF BECAUSE HE KNOWS WHAT IT WOULD DO TO TIM!
Yes. Authour understands these dudes very well.
Open up a poorly mimeographed book written anywhere from 70 to 150 years ago. The writing is blurry, with gaps. (And yes, if you know me, this DOES mean that my brain interprets everything as pictures instead of words!) Diacritics were written on afterwards, and some are missing.
Writing style is:
Charts exist, but are used noticeably differently. :(
Instead of the phonology being described straightforwardly, it's all brought in as changes to the original Sanskrit (or Old Indo-Aryan). You better have a good understanding of the minutiae of Sanskrit phonology, even if it's 3000 years before your period!
After reading the very short phonology description, you read the next 30 pages of descriptions of individual period words compared to Sanskrit. It's important to write a cheat sheet of all the acronyms, because this book is about all the dialects used across all of India over a 1000 year period, and the only indication of if THIS particular page is useful to you is brief reference to 'WAp.' half way through. Some of the phonology section's statements are contradicted by the examples. The authour agrees with you that this is annoying, but its what the grammarian in 600AD said, so the authour has faithfully included it.
Note that most of these words are actually from stereotyped accents recorded in plays of the period. (Or from Jain texts. Jainism is the BEST religion, because they wrote in the same dialect they spoke in, rather than in Sanskrit! I love the Jains.) So we don't know how accurate the dialects that are recorded actually were. It's like basing studies of African-American English on minstrel shows and Uncle Tom stories. They provide VERY valuable data about the period, but they ... need to be interpreted carefully.
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There is so much information! It is beautifully thorough! But its all framed in ways that aren't used outside of Indian linguistics, the terminology is really different, and the reproductions are hard to read.
(I just finished a section where it took an entire paragraph to figure out if they were writing 'ñ', 'ś', or 'ṽ'! It was 'ṽ'.)
If this was my main field, I think I'd be fine. But I'm trying compare languages, here. I forget things while I go off and study other languages that use different conventions! Reminding myself what 'cerebral' means (it means 'retroflex'), while trying to figure out if that corner of a letter is an 'n' or an 'i', while ALSO trying to figure out what a 'closed a' (saṃvṛta) is, because that's a Sanskrit thing so they don't need to explain it ... (while also trying to convince my disabled brain that the things on the page ARE words, really, even though they're slightly blurry) ... it's exhausting.
(Still, it is SO NICE to have actual period information! I'm being SPOILED!)
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(Anyone know what the "two types of 'a' are"? Looking up 'vṛta' and 'saṃvṛta' has been less helpful than hoped, and none of my Sanskrit grammars want to explain. It's not the difference in quality between Sanskrit long and short 'a's. But I don't know what it IS!)
I have to offer: AU snippet where Tim travels back in time to Knightfall and bothers Helena about it :)
Helena's apartment had been invaded. There was a cape hanging over the back of her couch, a pair of boots tossed haphazardly on the floor, and curled up on her couch balancing a laptop at an uncomfortable looking angle with an open bag of chips next to him, was a familiar teenage boy in green tights and a sweatshirt.
She set her groceries down on the counter "What," she said, "are you doing here?"
Robin looked up. "Helena!" he said with far too much enthusiasm for someone she teamed up with once and who was now acting far too comfortable in her space. "It's a long story." He wasn't, she noticed, wearing his mask this time.
The show of trust was appreciated, she had to admit. The showing up without warning was not. Helena crossed her arms and gave him the do you want to try that again look she'd perfected on her students.
He grinned back, unphased.
Something critical is that probably the real dick grayson would absolutely never ever casually call BW Dad to his face, and truthfully even post-adoption in GK#17 the father-son thing is only like 49% of the Bruce & Dick rs although dick absolutely does lasso bruce into conversations as in “oh my dad does the same thing!” when hes having conversations w total strangers faraway from anywhere on the eastern seaboard where word could never get back and associations could not be made BUT WITH ALL OF IT SAID THAT DICK WOULD NEVER CALL BRUCE DAD TO HIS FACE, in Bruce’s like deepest, most potent fantasies, like daydreams and nightdreams and also canonically that issue where bruce is in that feartoxin dreamscape world in Batman/superman #65 where his parents are alive and bruce is romantically stable and dick is his son, Dick absolutely, and invariably, calls him Dad. But that element absolutely isnt on the table in the real world at all. It isnt even that Bruce Wants That—he doesn’t want a change to the very precarious working current order, not even a very small one bc its very precious & risk aversion reasons—but it’s also like a satisfying recognition of some real under-the-surface order in the world that bruce perceives but which just isnt in play in the real world. But it is something explicit and certain in Bruce’s head and something that Bruce is aware of. And sometimes he like closes his eyes and thinks of it or something.
#YEAH YES PERFECT #one of the things that i loved about the post-crisis batfamily #is that it was constantly TEASING family without ever quite getting there #everyone was very hesitant about words like 'father' or 'son' or 'brother' #and they all tended to get defensively couched in 'the closest thing i have to a brother' 'he was like a father to me' #'maybe that's what it's like... between fathers and sons' #or all the times dick & tim call each other brother but put it in air quotes. or the workarounds: my friend. my closest ally. #or when dick & bruce are performing themselves for strangers so then dick can say anything because it's half pretense #it's this dynamic where you alllllmost say you think of the other person as your family but you don't QUITE say it #and i loved this because i love the dynamic of 'we both care more about this than we're willing to admit' #and there's so much productive tension in that restraint & that unwillingness to say the words #and i feel like it loses so much of what i loved when you just retcon it and dick's just casually calling bruce dad. no!! no!!! #dick would not say that!!! he might think about it. or imply it. he might hint at it. he might put it in air quotes #but he would not say it straight out sincerely to bruce for all kinds of complicated reasons#and bruce would never expect it. not even want it precisely. because the person he loves is dick-grayson-as-he-is #and not really dick-grayson-if-he'd-never-had-other-parents-and-uncomplicatedly-grew-up-calling-bruce-dad #and yet sometimes. in the secret daydream of his own mind. (tags via @silverwhittlingknife)
#YES \o/#the tension of it all is the best part#how big and bedrock the emotions are vs. the unstable shatterpoint fragility they feel re: talking about them#like speaking a thing aloud could be enough to break it#vulnerability!! rejection!! giving up emotional leverage to someone who may (probably definitely) use it against you!!#the universe will conspire to steal from you those you love the moment you give away how important they are to you!!#these traumatized people#the bittersweet double-edged sword for Bruce of both wanting and not wanting to hear it (h/t @umbrellacam)
I really wish the West had more recognition of 'martial family' - the East Asian concept of mentor-student (and student-student) bonds. We've watered down the concept of mentorship so much that superhero-sidekick (and fellow sidekick) relationships just ... don't have a box, anymore.
Like, Dick and Bruce's relationship is DEFINITELY more complicated than that! Bruce took him in as his ward, and later adopted him! (Though, those thing can also happen in martial/mentor relationships.) They are in this weird, delicate place that isn't quite what either of them wants, but also is the only thing they both could accept.
But, even if mentor-student bonds don't ENCOMPASS everything their relationship is, understanding them would help push back on the modern idea of nuclear family that seems to get applied to the Bats these days. Dick would TOTALLY have called Tim 'shixiong' if he was in a wuxia show, and it would perfectly encapsulate their relationship. It would also have helped EVERYONE to provide Dick with the same term for Jason. Tim could correct people when they called Bruce his dad by explaining he's Tim's 'shifu', and maybe fans would stop snickering 'doth thou protest too much?' Cass IS Tim and Steph's 'shijie', and that allows us to place her in the Batfamily without reaching or twisting her actual relationships.
The challenge that Dick and Bruce have is that they started out as mentor-student, and then both later realized that father-son MIGHT fit better, but neither is sure. If we don't understand how they started, and how safe and rich and deep that relationship can be, it's really hard to chart their journey!
They just want researchers in the enclosure to feel enriched and stimulated. ('The Enclosure' is what archivists call the shadowy world outside their archives in which so many people are trapped.)
Transcript Under the Cut
bat physical therapy thoughts:
A drawing showing how Jim Henson Performed Kermit in The Muppet Movie’s swamp scene.
This is the best picture I could find of how they customized the Studebaker so Fozzie could appear to drive the car. They crammed the real driver in the trunk. I think he was driving from a video monitor.
Day three of February’s third weekly WIP behind the cut; “interdimensional kidnapping via Robin”. Content warning: past child abuse, past sexual abuse. (( chrono || non-chrono ))
Getting through the marina and across the dock and onto his houseboat without getting spotted is a bit more difficult tonight than doing it solo tends to be, obviously, but Tim has zero interest in putting Kon down yet. He keeps to the shadows; follows the least-risky paths that he’s already scouted out and scouts out anew every few days. Admittedly he’s a few days late on a renewal, but there’s mercifully still a couple workable options. It takes a little longer to get done than usual, but it still gets done.
DC: this means I either have ALL the relevant data, or NONE of it, depending which era of comics we're talking about
Marvel: this means I have a solid foundation, but am missing out on a LOT of new developments
Still haven't figured out which is the better situation.
"if you think logan would be a bad dad you CLEARLY havent read the comics" i know what logan is like as a father because i HAVE read the comics?
logan would not retire to the woods to raise gabby laura jubilee and kitty in a cabin. i know this because he didnt do it.
A lot of alternate dimensional Wolverines HAVE retired to the woods to raise their kids. They have all been murdered. Early Wolverine also retired to the woods a few times with a partner. The partner was always murdered.
Modern Wolverine doesn’t try this anymore, because he’s seen the result! Amiko, Jubilee, and Laura were all placed with people he considered safe, in the hopes that they could be kept away from his demons. Kitty was a joint-parenting situation. I think Domino was already a young adult by the time he started hanging out with her, or at least in her late teens? His other kids he didn’t discover until they were adults. (And I’m ambiguous on Gabby.)
Logan LOVES kids, especially young teenage girls. He WANTS to be a good dad. But part of being a good parent is providing stability, and he is very very aware of how unable he is to do that. Could he still be a bigger part of their lives after finding them a safe home? YES! YES HE COULD. He’s an absentee parent even during periods he COULD be a part of their lives. He’s got major self-esteem issues, and fears about losing people, that cripple his ability to connect.
But if you look at how much he cares and extrapolate that he MUST be a good dad, you’re missing out on SO MUCH context. Dude might have reasons to suck, but that doesn’t change that he DOES suck at parenting.
Is there any list of stuff you wanted to see more in autistic representation? I'm autistic and I'm quite "stereotype material": white savant male good at STEM and who's not aroace but don't want a partner, and it bugs me that it's always like that, so I wanted to know what other people would like to see when I try writing autistic people.
Hi!
Honestly, I just want more autistic characters in general. There are hardly any!
Here are some things that I have never seen represented:
Mod Rock
Hello!
To be honest, just characters that don't generalize autism. On one hand you have "representation" that's all "all autistics are boys, 12 or under, who like trains and barely speak" and on the other you have "hi, I'm a very low/no support needs autistic who is very socially acceptable and lol like imagine liking trains instead of having Real and Cool special interests like me" (sometimes it's overdone to the point the character quite literally doesn't have any autistic traits). Too much autistic representation made to combat a specific stereotype just ends up shitting on the people who do in fact exist. Some people say that "ahh all autistic rep is those damn boys with they trains!!" but I don't think anyone would say that this kind of representation is actually good or thoughtful - not because of the train or the boy, but because these characters are barely treated as humans most of the time.
We need more complex representation of all parts of the spectrum, from successful savants in STEM to "obviously disabled" autistics who are intellectually disabled, have huge mobility delays, and stim at all times, to "everyday" people who just have their special interest, don't get social cues, and are kinda awkward.
I'll take a "stereotypical" character that's actually explored and developed properly over a cardboard that's there to be a "subversion of autistic stereotypes" any day.
mod Sasza
Hi,
I largely agree with the mods above. Mostly I want autistic characters treated like people and not plot devices.
But I wanted to say specifically: I want autistic characters of color. I am basically begging to see more autistic characters who are not just white people. We exist too, and really I barely see characters who have autism and aren't white.
Also, I want to see autistic characters with romantic and/or sexual partners. I feel like autistic characters are often desexualized or infantilized in a way that has them only rarely having a partner.
And I also want to see autistic characters whose special interest[s] isn't "useful" to their life, it's just there. Just part of their life. Like, it isn't their job. I feel like that's often a default.
Like Sasza said, we really need more complex and thoughtful representation of the spectrum. I don't need 'subversion' of autistic stereotypes, not particularly.
The subversion itself would be an autistic character being more than a plot device and portrayed with thought and care to the things that make their life difficult, the ways their autism affects the way they interact with others and the world, the things that make the person unique and themselves, and not just focusing on one of those aspects and ignoring everything else.
Hope this helps,
mod sparrow
Hi!
Thank you to the people who pointed out I forgot to put a link in!
Unfortunately, I have also lost the link to the post I intended to link here. It's one describing various kinds of AAC, from high-tech to no-tech.
If I find it again, I will link it in the original post.
Mod Rock
I'd love to see stories from autistic perspectives including "low empathy". The challenges of trying to show they care, of figuring out what their loved ones want and need. The extra work that is needed, just to be seen as "not caring", rather than "actively cruel".
Strongly second the AAC usage, but I also want more of the wide spectrum of other unique communication styles. I'd LOVE to see accurate echolalia, especially with loved ones that understand at least a percentage of what they're communicating.
People ENJOYING their special interest(s). Too many grumpy professors, I want them HAPPY. We used to see autistic fans back in the early 2000s, when fandom was seen as weird and creepy. Love to bring that image back, but as passion, rather than obsession.
I'd cry if I saw a loving representation of a Downs autistic person. For personal reasons.
Whole families that are neurodivergent. We exist, and the dynamics are different from "normal" families with a single autistic person!
Autistic friendships. Autistic-ADHD friendships. FRIENDSHIPS.
Autistic aunts or uncles. Kids delighting in the unique perspective and weird statements of an adult who cares about them. Kids are really good at picking up on adults acting "weirdly", and often think its really cool! Especially if their parents act like its fine.
But mostly, any depiction of stereotypical autistic traits that includes an accurate representation of what's going on inside the character! I'm so tired of award winning stories that "imagine what it's like to be autistic" in really othering ways. We have enough autistic writers out there that those types of stories can become obsolete!
i have general questions about comments on fics. Is it customary for authors to answer comments? Some never do, is that because they want their comment count to remain true? I find it confusing how there can be such a big difference. Is it different in different fandoms maybe?
Hi! Thanks for asking!
Some do and some don’t, it really varies from person-to-person!
