A fan of sardonic sprite (Guest)
Sat 10
Jun 202303:11PM UTC
Oh my gosh, if it’s okay I’m just going to word-vomit my feelings right now…
This really fucked with me. Oh, man this one was tough. Maybe the hardest of your stories I’ve ever gone through… and I think it’s cause you did such an excellent job setting it all up… all the high stakes angst and this is a family member’s worst nightmare especially a parent. Ras has such a demented mind and the kids and Bruce are able to deduce this but still can’t always follow his logic and reason. Oh man! And Timmy having a panic attack and no one knew his whole story and only Cass knew about the attempted assault for the intent of producing heirs for Ras… sheesh, that’s rough. And makes things harder to determine if the poison is administered to him and takes attention away from the others. I also didn’t realize until recently how much of a sexist bigot Ras is canonically in the comics. Like, Talia’s only flaw is apparently she’s a woman is well established in the comics (I learned that in the Talia podcast I told you about, which I found on YouTube. It’s a group called geek history lesson, the Talia one is about an hour long and pretty good overview of her published history. I’m gonna check more of them out apparently they do it for lots of comic characters). Sheesh. But it makes sense for this story and fits well with his character!
You know, I thought it was Dick for a little while, also had thought maybe Damian, cause they would be good but not too obvious choices for Ras to pick… but by the end with the breathing and stuff I was convinced it was Jason too. And then the twist! Oh gosh, see, Bruce doesn’t screw up, and when he does, he can fix it. It’s so unfathomable to me!
You know the freaky Friday movie with Jamie Lee Curtis in it, and the guy who takes therapy from her goes “you lied to me… you’re a liar!” That’s how I feel right now, you said no deaths in June of Doom! You lied to me, you’re a liar! 😭😭😭😂😂😂😭😭😭 seriously though, I was not expecting this.
This just ended so abruptly… the ending is so… so abrupt and final compared to the rest of the story, it just doesn’t feel like the end. Like, I feel there should be a continuation, a less whiplashy ending. Maybe it’s just cause I didn’t get the ending I wanted, but even if Dick’s death is true, I feel like there’s some closure that needs to be had with Bruce and Jason especially, as well as Bruce and the rest of the kids. Or that end note you crossed out would be fine too! 😉
Ok, here’s my theory that helps me cope with this tough heartless ending… Ras let’s everyone go, Jason is so upset and betrayed that Bruce didn’t listen to him and his big brother is dead, Bruce knows he let everyone down, not just Dick, at choosing the wrong kid… every kid is struggling with the death of their brother, friend, mentor, etc… so they go home to grieve and can’t really comfort each other, cause, you know, emotionally incompetent Batfamily… BUT, after they leave, it’s found out that the poison only feigned death, and Dick is still alive, but now he’s Ras’s captive, and maybe the poison has incapacitated him in some way, maybe keeping him from healing properly or impairing his memory or coordination where he can’t escape or communicate properly to let the Bats know he is okay. Maybe he’s trying to but all his attempts are futile. But maybe one of his messages gets through garbled, and Tim or Damian is able to discern enough to think Dick might be alive and launch a recon mission to see if Dick’s alive and rescue him. Meanwhile Ras may be having Dick do things for the league? (The storyline for Grayson comic strips is that Dick died but only Bruce and a few others know so now he’s a super spy and he’s trying to see what the organization knows about superhero identities, so maybe something like that…?)
anyways another thought, one I thought you might go with in your story for a little while, is that the antidote, when given to a healthy person, begins to have bad side effects but makes it takes a long time for them to manifest… so maybe Jason starts getting sick, Bruce is worrying so much but Jason is having a hard time talking to him cause of the broken trust from before, and Bruce wants to be there for him especially as he starts to fear he is dying but he’s also scared of letting his kids down, and then Tim and Damian rope Cass and Steph into their mission and it becomes fine and rescue Dick, and find antidote to save Jason too. Then after a bunch of plot rings and angsty tension I haven’t thought too much about yet, mission is accomplished, they bring back a healthy Dick then save Jason’s life and everyone hugs together and is eventually happy! Like the end of zugzwang, things aren’t better but everyone knows they’re going to be okay and get better, even if it’s not the same as before.
Well, I feel better after writing out my feelings, man that was a hard read! Good job your story is so well set up and your characters are so well done as always! Though I hated the ending the twist is set up real well, not obvious and a shock but not out of left field too terribly bad either. Although I’m just going to have to pretend there’s a happy ending cause I can’t handle it otherwise. Great job! Thanks so much as always for sharing! 😊
Oof. On the one hand, I'm so sorry. On the other, yay that I did it well? Ra's is sick and Tim is fucked up and it causes all the issues. And ooh, I'll have to check out that podcast. Seriously, Ra's, 99% of your shit would be no problem if you just cave and admit that women can be badass too smh.
Yep yep yep. I wanted all the boys to be reasonable but Jason became most obvious, and then I thought, 'but it IS so obvious' and texted SK to choose one of my final three at random (she didn't know what for) and she chose Dick and I went OH SHIT THAT FITS SO AGONIZINGLY WELL
Neither was Iiiiii *sobs* I was wishy-washy and checked TWICE but SK wanted blood *sniffles*
So quite honestly the abrupt ending is because I literally could not continue writing heh. I NEEDED that endnote for my own comfort and if I added anything else, I'd seal Dick's fate and I could not do that. As it was I spent like half an hour staring into the void in rage and horror and texting SK, and then procrastinated on other tasks to sit and write Dick and Jason fluff for another half hour.
Ooooh, I like both your ideas. Fun fact, I did briefly entertain the thought that the antidote would kill anyone but the initial victim, but I thought that was TOO mean. You could even combine the ideas tho! Like the antidote being poisonous was Ra's's way to distract the others from the fact that Dick was alive, held captive, and forced to work for the League, and Ra's counted on the broken trust causing Jason to avoid the others so they wouldn't investigate the League for an antidote -- then Tim and Damian and Cass and Steph step up to be functional and save the day!
It was a hard write, I don't mind telling you, but it seems the technique was appreciated if not the ending lmao. And I have also imagined happy endings to sad stories to cope. I WROTE this and I'm imagining happy endings!
A fan of sardonic sprite (Guest)
Wed 14
Jun 202302:54AM UTC
Oh, man. See, I’m not often that messed up by stories but this one really did that to me. So yeah if that’s what you were going for congrats I guess! Like, last time that happened to me was actually reading a limited comic series, a 6-issue Batman story (Killing Time, if you’re interested), I just couldn’t tell whether I liked it or not the way the story twisted and ended. Like, it’s hard to describe, like it doesn’t end the way you want or even like but you also… see some sense in it? Gain something out of it even if it’s something you don’t particularly care too much about or agree with? Genuinely, Actually Enjoyed the journey even though you didn’t end up where you thought you would? So you don’t necessarily hate it, but you can’t really say you loved it either. Complex relationships man! 😂😂😂
I did like your story, you did a great job overall! I just struggled with the ending, which I am sure was the point of this story and like I said before your twist was alluded to some but still came out of left field so that was good! It’s nice to see someone practice the preach what they teach! 😊
Oh choosing Dick when Jason seemed to make the most sense did fit so well! It’s just so heartbreaking for Bruce, Jason and Dick especially, as well as the others.
It’s definitely a deviation from what I’m used to seeing from you, which, again, is fine! Good for you experimenting with different types of stories and endings. I don’t think i’d’ve been able to do that, I’d lean Too much for the happy ending thats about always what I want in a story. Which is funny, cause I do believe in the “happiness is a sad song” philosophy. And as I get older some things with melancholy or bittersweet are nice for me to enjoy, at times. I think lots of times there’s just a time and place for it. And apparently my balance for stories I’m writing/imagining is always happy endings 😂
Oh, man, that makes sense you had to stop! It amazes me you couldn’t write anymore, that it was a physical/emotional struggle for you, I’ve heard of that happening to authors before but I’ve never experienced that. Rarely do I experience it reading other works too. I’ve experienced excitement reading, but not the sad/upset emotions as often. Maybe cause I tend to lean towards happy books, now that I am thinking about it? 😂
I’m so glad you wrote the endnote, and also the Dick and Jason fluff which I hope to see soon! 😊😊😊
So im totally 100% fine if your endnote is canon, what actually happens after the events of your story here! 😊😊😊 but also, I felt like you went to all this trouble to write a death, and have it in your story you shared, that you would want to keep the impact of that death and heartache intact, but then I can still somehow, someway have a happy ending at least eventually. So to in a sense have your cake and eat it too, that’s why I came up with those ideas. I’m glad you like them and I also like the idea of combining them together to make maximum impact angsty tension-filled heartbreaking harrowing journey that ends with Dick being rescued alive and Jason being healed after being poisoned by the antidote (the antidote being harmful… it's not too cruel as long as there aren’t 2 permanent death scenes! 😂) and Bruce mending his relationships with all his kids. I just don’t know if I could do it Justice writing, I’m not good at plots and thought processes and thinking from multiple peoples perspectives, but maybe one day I could, or I’d be fine if you ever wanted to write it all out too! If not I guess the thoughts will just live in my head, they’ll be content I suppose 😂😊
I’m sorry this story was a hard write for you but I’m impressed at it and at at you being able to write it, at your boldness and the twist you managed to write and shock me and several others on, and I’m glad you don’t mind me imagining happy endings to cope with it! Thanks as always for sharing your stories and writing me back with your thoughts and your thoughts on my thoughts too! 😂 Hope you have a great day! 😊
Oh, yeah, I've read stories and seen movies like that before. They're rough! They're the ones that make you stare into the void for a while until you get existential and have to go... idk, watch a Disney movie or a kids TV show 😂
I'm glad you think the twist hints were there. I worried after the fact that I hadn't left enough clues... mostly bc even I thought it was going to be Jason.
I think there's even like a C S Lewis quote about that... "Someday, you'll be old enough to believe in fairytales again." As we get old, our strength doesn't come so much from defeating monsters as it does believing we can still be happy after the battle.
Yep. It happened after "And Lead Me Homeward" too. I had to immediately go write the Wayne-Crazy iced coffee chapter bc I needed smt happy for my boys 😭
I see what you mean! Even if you want a happy ending, it can be the wrong choice if the death was... "earned" in a narrative sense. I didn't have time (or the thought!) For something as long as your proposal when I published this (hence the endnote) but you're right, it is a way to have and eat our cake! It's totally an idea worth pursuing. There could even be a way to co-write it, if that interests you at all. No pressure at all, just came to mind based on the other collabs I'm doing!
I also imagine happy endings to sad things, so I get it completely lol. That's what a lot of fics are actually -- "Fix-It Fic" is a popular tag!
A fan of sardonic sprite (Guest)
Fri 16
Jun 202312:16AM UTC
Sprite, I just want to say thank you! Thank you for such a sweet comment, and also for your story, which I just commented on.
As I mentioned I had some bad news this evening. Don’t want to get too much into it on a public message thing, but the sweet cuddle story and your comments were helpful. Your comment “As we get old, our strength doesn't come so much from defeating monsters as it does believing we can still be happy after the battle.” coming tonight, after my news, is something for me to ponder and gives me some hope and also something for reflection. Not that we can’t still defeat monsters, and not that miracles can’t happen, but like we’ve discussed the battles don’t always end the way you’d hoped they would. And miracles don’t always come the way you’d expect them to either. But we can still be hopeful and happy and believe in what’s worth believing in, whether it’s true or not, to paraphrase my favorite movie Secondhand Lions! So thank you!
So on to more of what you commented on, yes, those types of stories and movies can be rough, definitely put on the sweet kid movie! 😊
You probably could have put a little more overt hint in there about Dick or casted a little more doubt, but also looking back on it you can see that you didn’t leave us blind or without any breadcrumbs! I’m sure that’s a hard balance to strike when you’re writing!
I love your funny, “cracky” stories and your happy, sweet stories, so yay! I don’t know that I want to tell you to write more heartbreaking no happy ending angst stories though! 😂
Oh, I’m glad you think that those ideas are good! OH MY GOSH I’d love to co-write if you are interested! You’d have to help me a bunch I’m afraid, I kinda suck at writing! But let me know how we could make that happen, and I’ll see if I can do that! Oh my gosh that’s so exciting it’s like a celebrity is saying they want to hang out with you!!! I’m fangirling so much right here! 😊
Yes fix-it is a big go to for me for some stories, I realized when I was a kid I’d keep Anakin from becoming Darth Vader when I’d play Star Wars and my sister and I would always talk about why some deaths were totally wrong in Harry Potter and she actually wrote a Harry Potter story where some of the deaths are corrected when i was in college and I was her biggest fan! She wrote fanfic as a hobby long before I knew that was a widespread hobby for many people! 😊
Sprite, thanks so much I always enjoy talking to you and I’m glad we are friends! Thanks for making my evening a little happier! 😊❤️💕
I'm so sorry you got terrible news. That's never an easy thing, regardless of what the message is, but I'm glad my words were able to help some. You're very right yourself -- hope is one of the strongest things we have.
What made the balance particularly hard was the fact that I jumped tracks halfway to the finish line lmao, but I'm glad it wasn't TOO jarring overall.
Ahahaha, fair enough. It seems like I have a precedent of like... one per calendar year? Or thereabouts?
Awwww! No, I would totally be down to co-write! It would however require using another platform. Google docs is best, I have a false persona account for fic purposes, and many of my friends do too, but I totally understand if that's not for you. Let me know what you might be comfortable with!
Ohhhhh, that is a noble pursuit of your child-self lol. And GO YOUR SISTER YAY! We love protecting our faves from their mean authors lol. I'd love to set her loose on Finnik in Hunger Games... spoiler?
I'm very glad to have been there for you in our little way. I hope the next news are much much kinder <3
A fan of sardonic sprite (Guest)
Mon 19
Jun 202311:49PM UTC
Thank you, that sentiment means so much! And you don’t know how much the comment “hope is one of the strongest things we have” means to me, for many reasons! 😊
Impressive you swapped and still pulled it off so horribly well! 😂
Don’t make it too much more than that I don’t know that I could bear the strain! 😂😉
Oh awesome! So I’d just make a google account with like a pen name and let you know? I’d be down for that! Personally I really think I could learn a lot from having someone experienced help me through the writing process and observe how she does it! I really appreciate this offer and am excited to try it out! 😊
Ah, see I never realized it but Darth Vader is like the one, or at least first, evil dude I really liked… cause he’s a tragic character and he didn’t start out evil it was too much of a good thing that led him to the Dark Side. I was such a Star Wars fan when I was a kid! And still am! 😊 and yes, my sister wrote some awesome Harry Potter stories especially being her first time really writing and being so young too! I know my sister has read hunger games, I have not but have watched a couple of the movies. Fun fact, I was a huge fan of Suzanne Collins long before she ever wrote the hunger games… she wrote a series of books called The Underland Chronicles I was obsessed with when I was in 5th-7th grades! They’re awesome, if you haven’t read them highly recommend, starts with a book called Gregor The Overlander. Kids made so much of me for liking those books so much, I couldn’t get anyone to jump on that fandom train with me! When she came out with a new series I was so excited, then I read the blurb and it was about kids killing each other on TV and I said I can’t read that. So overtly bad for a concept… and then all of a sudden the Hunger Games was the bomb and I was like, I liked Suzanne Collins before it was cool! So frustrating for me. To this day I’ve only ran into one or two other people who read and enjoyed the Underland Chronicles. So if you read it and liked it, I’d love to fangirl about that with you too! 😊
Thanks so much for your kindness! I really appreciate it! Let me know about the google thing, and hope you have a great day!
Yep! I created a doc, and I'll link it in another comment. You can click on it and pick or create a new pseudonym account to join it. I'll delete the comment itself right away for safety, so you'll have to just click the link in your inbox. But let me know if it doesn't work! I'm excited too :) XD
My brother was a HARDCORE Star Wars fan until Disney took it over lol, so I've seen and know a lot. I enjoy it for sure, but it doesn't usually give me the 'feels' that other fandoms do. My first attempts at fic were also Harry Potter lol, and some Percy Jackson stuff. Ohhhh goodness that's rough. I have not read Underland Chronicles, but I'll have to check it out. It's very hard being the only person you know in a fandom, lol.
A fan of sardonic sprite (Guest)
Fri 23
Jun 202312:51AM UTC
Ah, awesome! I’ll be on the lookout for the link! Haven’t seen it yet, that’s awesome you know how to do that, so smart! :-)
Yeah my interest in new Star Wars stuff is just kinda meh for the most part but the original movies and the prequels are awesome! I also liked the Rogue One movie that’s the best one that has come out since the Disney takeover in my opinion.
I think you’d really like the Underland Chronicles! Let me know if you do read them! :-)
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