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soleminisanction · 4 years

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What’s up, I’m still thinking about Batgirl 2009 because that Scarecrow scene in Issue 3 is so ineptly handled that I’m almost offended on Stephanie Brown’s behalf. So I need to do a full essay.

Because it’s not as if Bryan Q. Miller didn’t know Steph’s history. I mean, it kind of maybe is, because he also cracks a joke that she needs to “sign up for a sewing class” after a literal decade of making and maintaining her own costumes by hand, but that’s a completely other rant.

No, it’s actually worse than that, because Miller actually brings her history up. Twice. Once, when Barbara is yelling at her in Issue 2:

And then, literally pages before Steph jumps in to get her face-full of fear gas, she mentions Black Mask.

That. That should be set-up for something.

But nooooooooo.

Just for the sake of comparison: almost 20 years earlier there was a very similiar sequence as part of a Detective Comics storyline called “Identity Crisis” (no, not that one). It’s the storyline where Tim earns his wings, he’s literally given his Robin costume at the very end, leading into Robin Vol. 1.

In it, he is constantly haunted by the specter of his father’s coma and his mother’s very recent death, as well as the question of whether or not he’s worthy to take up the mantle of Robin. And when he gets doused with fear gas, you know what he sees?

And you know what pulls him out of it?

Of course, the biggest differences between the two scenes is that a) Tim isn’t remotely responsible for his mother’s death (and him training to be Robin might’ve actually saved his father, since it inspired Batman to prioritize their case) and b) Tim isn’t fighting to Prove Himself. Just the opposite. He thinks that being here is going to cost him Robin. That’s what his hallucination of Dick means in the lower-right corner: he’s a hero not because of the mask, but because of how he acts, and by acting, he can stand up and save Batman.

That’s what earns him the right to be Robin. He was willing to sacrifice the thing he’d worked for, the duty he believed he had to fulfill, if it meant saving someone else’s life. And that finally impresses Bruce.

So, to recap: Tim goes in thinking that he’s sacrificing his personal goal to save Batman’s life, and overcomes his very recent trauma (his mother isn’t even cold in the ground they buried her the day before!!!) to save another’s life. That’s what makes him a hero.

Back to Steph.

Now you would think that if, as a lot of people have tried to sell me, Batgirl is Steph’s story of “overcoming her past” and “trying to make up for her mistakes” this would be the moment to do it. They’ve set it up, and that’s the narrative purpose of fear gas, to lay the psyche bare and force the characters (usually the victim) to face what they’re trying to keep hidden.

If you wanted to sell Steph’s motivation as one of overcoming trauma, this is the moment to pull out Black Mask. The man who tortured her almost to death. Or her father, who was undeniably abusive to both her and her mother.

Or if she’s truly racked with guilt over her past mistakes, this is the moment to show the people she’s hurt. The innocents who died in War Games because of her. Leslie Tompkins, shot through the back because of her actions in Africa. Or hell, Tim Drake, maimed and bloody and blown up and bitter in part because of her actions, the people she hired to attack him, or even just a paltry “because she won’t be there to help him anymore.”

“You did this to me. To us. To Gotham. Look at all this destruction. This is all your fault, Stephanie...” “No, no I’m sorry. I’m sorry!”

^ THAT is trying to make up for past mistakes.

But WHAT does she see instead?

“Boo hoo, my ex doesn’t think I’m a good enough superhero. He’s so mean, just like OG Batgirl. Why isn’t anyone nice to me? I only want to help, supposedly!”

(Side note - Miller also implies that the only reason Babs pushes back so hard against Steph as Batgirl is because “she’s jealous” and frankly fuck that. Have all the middle fingers in the world.)

Oh, and then she follows this up with a vision of herself as Spoiler ragging on her for her mistakes....because they’ve led her to almost getting killed, again, not, y’know, because she’s hurt people. There’s not even a passing thought for how it’ll hurt her mom for her to turn up dead (again) after she promised to be normal, which is the closest thing to an internal conflict she’d deigned to show so far.

And what pulls her out of it? What INSPIRES her to stand back up and keep fighting? What is her reason for being Batgirl?

She just wants to. It’s what she chose.

That’s it.

And then Babs calls her Batgirl for the first time (because she was so wrong to doubt her!!), and Steph is just, totally over the fear gas and ““capable of facing her ““worst”””” self because she’s just that inherently awesome.

No growth. No concern for others. No big mistakes to grapple with. No desire for redemption or reconciliation. Not even a desire to make her friend Cassandra proud. No. She’s Batgirl, and willing to fight through the pain of being Batgirl, because she wants to be. Because it’s super important to her self-esteem that she be allowed a third fourth second chance to play hero.

Now, personally, I think this would be a weak motivation even if Steph didn’t have a bunch of negative baggage hanging over her. I get that other people will disagree, and that’s fine. But I also hope that, even if this was your first-ever comic and you knew nothing about the extended Bat-fam history before this, you can understand why this series infuriates me so much. Especially since it became the fandom standard for how this character is treated, and how other characters -- like Babs, Cassandra and Tim -- are treated by her fans.

All of her mistakes get brushed away, mentioned in passing but never engaged with more than a shrug, and it’s always somebody else’s fault for not seeing how inherently great she is for trying so hard.

Bleh.

#stephanie brown #tim drake #batgirl #detective comics #robin #dc #long post #sorry #look the curse of being a lit critic is that sometimes you overthink these things #and you just need to get it off of your chest #negative #this is the last one of these I swear #ranting #it's my blog and i'll rant if I want to

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amandaoftherosemire · 6 years

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Sing For Me - Chapter Four

Fandom: Marvel Avengers

Pairing: Bucky Barnes X OFC (Sasha)

Characters: Bucky Barnes, OFC Sasha

Author: @amandaoftherosemire

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 1,705

Format: Series (Complete)

Warning: language, angst, fluff, slooooow-burn. (Future chapters will be NSFW due to smut)

Summary: Sasha has a plan to win Bucky over. She tries texting him in the hopes that he will be able to open up when they’re not face-to-face. It does not go as planned.

A/N: Not consistent with Marvel canon. I just started writing fanfic, please be patient. I’m open to constructive criticism and any help more experienced writers would like to offer. More slow-burn. This was ridiculously self-indulgent but if anyone has half as much fun reading it as I did writing it, I won’t feel too guilty over it.

Banner by @hellzzzbelle

Text in Bold: Bucky Text in Italics: Sasha

Sing For Me Masterlist

Chapter Three here

Chapter Four

Can’t sleep?

Bucky stared, nonplussed, at the message. He looked at the contact name again. The Ice Queen. It was definitely Sasha. But why? Bucky started to type. Deleted it. Started again. Deleted it. He felt like a complete moron. He typed out a quick two word response and hit send before he could overthink it any further.

No. You?

Sasha smiled. She had watched the three dots appear and disappear several times. She wondered why those two words took so long. Did he have to think that hard about just two words? Was he nervous? Or shy? Or annoyed?

Was she just embarrassing herself? Was she throwing herself at him? Just because she thought she felt something from him as he watched her the night before didn't mean he actually wanted to get to know her. Maybe he was blushing at her today because he was embarrassed for her, flirting and stealing his crunchberries.

"Stop," she told herself, quietly. "Just be yourself. That way if he does come to like you, it will be for you and not what you pretended to be. We've learned this lesson." She typed out a quick response, trying to be casual.

Nope. Insomnia blows. What are you up to?

Bucky was utterly confused now. He couldn't figure out what this was. Why was Sasha texting him at all? Let alone to ask what he was doing? Bucky decided to answer with the truth; it was easier than trying to figure this out.

Reading. You?

There. That was good. He answered her question and the 'You?' at the end made it seem more friendly. He hit send right away, not wanting to think about it further. He immediately regretted it.

Sasha smiled a little when she read the message. She already knew that Barnes could be a man of few words. However, it was a good sign that he was asking after her in return. Maybe he just needed a little nudge. She decided to try a little tiny bit of flirting.

Staring at the ceiling and trying to figure out what’s playing on your TV. ;)

She was trying to get him to turn his TV down. Disappointed, Bucky shot back.

Is it too loud? I can turn it off. I’m not even watching it.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Sasha muttered viciously under her breath as she shot off a quick

No!

Muttering fiercely to herself, "Too intense, Sash, too intense," she shot off another text.

No, it’s fine. I didn’t mean for you to think that I was complaining. I forget sometimes that tone doesn’t always transfer over text.

Bucky was beyond lost. Like, blindfolded, stripped, and dropped off in the middle of the Amazon rainforest lost. If she didn't want him to turn down his TV, what did she want? Why was any of this? Bucky opted for the safe answer.

Okay.

Okay? Okay?! What the fuck did that mean? Sasha was so aggravated she pushed herself up and out of bed and started pacing around her room. Okay? How was she supposed to work with that? What could she possibly say now that didn't sound crazy or pushy?

As she fluttered back and forth, it slowly dawned on Sasha that she had both hands in her hair and was tugging viciously. No, no, no, she thought, as she carefully loosened her fists and removed her hands from her hair. It starts with yanking hair, she reminded herself, and this is not a big enough deal for a panic attack.

Like that matters. Deep breaths, idiot; that’s how to stop it before it starts. Sasha didn’t want to go outside so she opened the glass door a crack and walked back to her bed. Climbing in, she sat cross legged in the middle and taking deep, even breaths, she closed her eyes.

Around twenty minutes later, a much more calm Sasha opened her eyes and flopped backward with a huff. Though meditation had helped calm her anxiety, it had done nothing for her irritation. After a few minutes, she knew she was never going to get to sleep with this whatever it was between her and Barnes unresolved.

Over a half an hour after Bucky sent his "okay" message, and long after he'd given up on a response, his phone chirped.

So I’m never going to sleep as long as it’s in my brain so I just want to apologize for being such a disaster. I was trying to make small talk before I started subtly charming you into being my BFF so I can ditch Tony once and for all but, if I may mix my metaphors, that went tits up before I even got out of the gate. And if that last clause didn’t give me away for the ridiculous creature I am, I don’t know what will but I am sorry.

Bucky read the message three times, just to be sure he was reading it right. It had been so long since a dame like Sasha had flirted with him, he hadn't recognized it for what it was. He felt like a fool.

In his defense, girls like Sasha didn't go for him these days. The sweet ones went for Steve now, hardly a surprise. Not that Bucky lacked for female companionship, but he attracted a different kind of woman. The dames he'd been with since he'd his recovery had been drawn to the dark in him, attracted to the danger. They made it clear that they were in it for the night and nothing more.

He loved this new century's broader acceptance of female agency, sexual agency in particular. As a matter of fact, women who knew what they wanted and didn't hesitate to ask for it were his favorite thing about the future. But he understood and accepted that a certain kind of dame wasn't for him. He wasn't fit for a dame who lived in the light.

On the other hand, she had said she wanted him for her BFF. He mentally thanked Peter for explaining that one to him a while back. And Sasha was flirty with all of her friends, regardless of gender. Flirting back, just a little bit, could be harmless, right?

Bucky read her message for the fourth time and drew a blank on how to respond. He couldn't access the suave ladykiller he'd been back in the day. He didn't know how to talk to a dame like this anymore. He had to say something, though. She'd laid it out and he couldn't not answer. He was an asshole, not a monster. Finally, he sent the first thing that came to mind.

Clause?

Sasha looked at the single word message in disbelief.

"Are you fucking joking me right now?" she hissed. Fuming, Sasha shot back an answer.

It wasn’t the whole sentence that gave me away, just the last part after the comma. Thus, clause.

Bucky was cursing himself viciously under his breath when he heard Sasha hiss and his head snapped up. He looked to his open glass door and realized Sasha must have her door open, too. He hadn’t understood what she had said, but the aggravation came through loud and clear.

Bucky's face spread into a wolfish smile. He just couldn’t help himself. There was something satisfying about pestering the sweet ones. Back in the day, he’d liked to tease a dame, rile her up, and then charm her back into his arms. With a grin, the next text he sent was designed to irritate.

Thus. Okay.

I'm going to murder him, Sasha thought, as she screamed into her pillow. She was fairly certain that 'okay' had become her least favorite word. Even worse than 'moist', and god, did she hate the word 'moist'. Seriously, 'okay'? Fine, she thought. She had explained herself and the conversation was closed.

Ten minutes later:

So, we cool?

Bucky had to give her credit. He was fairly certain he had heard her muffle a scream of rage. He had nearly choked to death stifling his laughter. Since then, however, not a sound. Aside from that one scream, she was a stone cold professional at seething in silence.

He had been dying waiting for her to respond. He didn't know how she had gone so long before texting him again. Bucky felt amazing. He had forgotten how much fun this part of the courting dance could be. Still, he felt like she needed one more good push before he could start bringing her back around.

Sure.

Sasha sat in the middle of her destroyed bed. She had thrown the pillows to the ground and torn the blankets apart. She, with a rigidly, coldly controlled hand, delicately set her phone on the nightstand and concentrated on deep breaths. Tony was right. Why did she even want to be friends with Barnes? The man was a complete asshole.

Fifteen minutes later, her phone lit up.

Can’t sleep?

"FUCK YOU!" Sasha shouted at the top of her lungs.

Since the day she had first walked into Avengers Tower to meet with Tony after she hacked into his private servers, she had never once heard Barnes really laugh. She assumed he did, just not when she was around.

However, when she shouted, she heard in response a loud roar of laughter. She was so astonished, without thinking, she shouted, “Shit! The door’s open!”

Bucky howled. There was really no other word for it. Despite herself, the sound of Bucky’s genuine, uninhibited amusement charmed her. She pressed her lips together, trying to hold on to her indignation.

Unfortunately, Bucky couldn’t stop laughing. Her continued silence just made it more and more life-threateningly funny to him. He knew the longer it took her to laugh, the less likely she was to laugh at all, but he just couldn’t wrap it up.

With tears streaming down his face, and a touch of fear that he’d gone too far sliding up his spine, he finally heard her laugh. She chuckled wryly, clearly against her will, and Bucky laughed harder.

Finally calm, Bucky was wiping his face with his sleeve when his text tone went off. He looked at his phone and started laughing again.

No. You?

Chapter Five here

#bucky barnes #bucky #bucky x ofc #bucky barnes x ofc #marvel #avengers #fanfic #fanfiction #pantswrites #fluff #angst

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