I’ve been thinking a lot about how Cass’ journey as Batgirl (more specifically after losing her abilities) directly relates to her perspective as a martial artist.
I’m convinced that her choices wouldn’t have been the same if she weren’t a martial artist. The thing is, when you love fighting, and when you’re good at it, you become addicted to a lot of things. To winning, to discipline, to having absolute control over your body, to enduring pain for the sake of greatness. And as someone who, same as Cass, lost all of that without consent because of someone else, I totally understand why when given the choice to be “mediocre for a lifetime or perfect for a year,” she chose the latter.
That’s what training is, after all. Your legs shake and burn to get that stance just right, your knuckles bleed because you can’t afford to let the skin get soft, you practice that kick a hundred times because you can always make it faster, harder, smoother. In the back of your mind, you know that you’re dooming yourself to the aches of the future, but you keep going because the idea of not achieving perfection is worse.
When Batman tells her “it doesn’t matter how long it takes, what matters is that you give it everything you’ve got”, the most painful part is that she had already given everything. Cass gave her childhood, her happiness, her sweat and blood. When Cass lost her abilities, it was the equivalent of dismissing all the sacrifices that got her where she was, like saying none of it was worth it. She was the best because she had earned it. So, even if she tried to achieve that same greatness again, the I could’ve been more would’ve haunted her forever. She would’ve mourned that potential for the rest of her life.
Lady Shiva herself is a martial artist, and she was perfectly aware of what had been taken away from Cass and what offering it back would mean. Refusing her offer was never an option. The proof?
Just look how happy she is immediately after getting her abilities back. She doesn’t even care that she’s going to die.
She’s great again, she has agency over her body again.
Her sacrifices matter.
Batgirl (2000) #9
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Am I the asshole for resenting my father after he forced me into braces?
For context I am seventeen now but was forced into braces at twelve years old. While I did have very crooked teeth, I never wanted braces, my teeth never caused me any sort of physical pain or insecurity. I told him as much before I was put into braces. But he refused to hear it.
As far as I'm aware braces were not a medical necessity for me.
I've repeatedly tried to discuss it with him but he always tells me that he has a good insurance, one that covers dental care for all children under the age of twenty one and that I should be grateful. He also told me that if he didn't make me get braces I would be angry and upset with him when I turn twenty one.
I tell him that that's not true, that it's my body and I should have a say in the matter but he only says that he's doing what's best for me and refuses to discuss it any further.
What's worse is that each appointment is a drive that's an hour and a half away from where I live—they aren't open on weekends or evenings—so every appointment (once a month) I have to miss at least half of a school day (but usually it ends up being a full day of school) even if the appointment itself is only fifteen minutes. We do have a local orthodontist but my father refuses to take me there because he thinks the guy who runs the place is money hungry.
Anyway, I'll be getting my braces off in a few months. The orthodontic team has made an entire treatment plan for me—one that involves me wearing a retainer 24/7, indefinitely. And later getting implants. I don't want to follow this treatment plan and I don't like that it was made without me ever being asked how I feel about it.
I've told other people about it, and they've said that I'm making a fuss about nothing and that parents have the right to decide what's best for thier children. But I'm not a child anymore.
I know he was doing what he thought was best but I secretly resent my father for putting me in braces when I didn't want them. I think the fact that he never took my wishes into account or asked me how I felt makes him a bad parent. But maybe I'm overreacting.
Is he right? Am I the asshole?
What are these acronyms?
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The 141 boys as widowers. (bc i feel like torturing myself /j)
141 x late (implied) spouse! reader
cws: grief, mentions of loss, implied alcoholism/alcohol as a coping mechanism, mentions self-destructive behaviour, very brief mention of addiction, etc (Please lmk if I've missed anything!)
(Note: This little drabble is a little self indulgent, a bit about my own journey with grief. Each little 'story' thing does end with acceptance. Please don't read if you're not in the right headspace, and remember that you're loved and you're not alone, and make sure to reach out if you need help <3)
--
Price is the one inclined to bargaining. Maybe he could've done something - what if he'd taken a bit more time off work, what if he spent more time with you, what if he'd agreed to retire early with you, what if he was there? Ironically enough - he just ends up drowning himself in more work, probably turns to smoking or alcohol in an attempt to drown everything out.
141, Gaz and Soap especially, will definitely be the only thing he holds on for. As capable as they all are, he couldn't just up and leave his boys without a captain - he couldn't make the same mistake over again, they gave him something to care for, to nurture and to look after.
I don't think he'll ever marry again - just making half-hearted attempts to peek into the dating scene whenever leave got especially lonely. He'd never be able to find anyone quite like you, so he eventually stopped bothering with it, finding warmth and comfort in himself and the other people he loved.
He keeps a photo of you, one of your handwritten notes, and any little trinket you'd given him at all times. Saved every single snippet of you talking he could - even still paying off your phone bill occasionally ringing your phone to hear your voicemail message, maybe sending you texts when things got especially hard. Definitely does chores the exact way you always did - from the time you went out to shop in the morning to how you stacked dishes. Loves hot showers but still takes a lukewarm one each morning because your habit of taking cold showers meant the water was never hot enough for him. I think he probably adopts something after the rough edges of the hole you'd left in his heart smoothed over.
It wasn't intentional in the slightest - maybe a stray cat had clung to his pant leg while he was on a hike or the task force managed to pick up an orphaned little kid on one of their excursions. He's very hesitant with them, still not quite trusting himself with caring for another being. But he warms up to them eventually. No matter human or animal, they've definitely been brought to your gravesite once or twice.
Maybe it would be alright, eventually. He'd at least have something interesting to entertain you with the next life he found you.
--
Soap is definitely in denial. Convinces himself it's a mistake - that when deployment's finally over, he'll trudge home, kick off his boots, and be met by his sweet love, bouncing at his heels like an overeager puppy and lathering his face in flittering little kisses. He still avoids coming home like the plague - resorts to anything from taking on way too many missions, to picking up another job on the side, even to staying in hotels as if he was in some sort of covert op.
He'd be forced to go back to your house eventually, though. Not home, it wasn't home without you there. Just the same four walls and roof he camped out in on deployment. Nothing warm or special about it.
He still pretended, though. Made your bed every morning the way you liked it and prepared meals for two every day.
While Price and Ghost undoubtedly pulled him out of his slump, Gaz was the person who really started him on the road to acceptance. Having the boys over near constantly was soothing, giving him something to occupy his mind with and overshadowing the cold emptiness of the house. The occasional cuddle piles and game nights reminded him of the warmth of their bond - like the nights they spent on stakeouts, letting their own sweet joy shield them from the brutal realities of their situation.
Gaz was the first person he cried to. Soap couldn't bear the way his buzzed sides were starting to fluff out, but he'd slowly gotten used to letting your gentle hands preen him and tidy him up. Of course, Gaz had noticed, and of course, he'd insisted that Soap just had to let him have a go at doing up someone else's hair. Soap didn't know when he'd devolved into tears - somewhere between the first gentle touch he'd felt in weeks and the crippling realisation that you'd never be there to do it again.
Either way, he'd managed to cry himself to sleep in Gaz's arms that night. He continued to sob himself away for weeks, filling each day with tears.
Until each day turned into each few.
And each few turned into once a week.
And slowly, his tears dried up.
It was an arduous process, grieving. But he stubbornly forced through it, just as he'd forced his way into your heart.
And he did his very best not to change. He determinedly kept the mohawk - even used the same shampoo because it made his hair feel perfectly fluffy under your touch. He did his best to continue being his perky, bubbly self, because he knew how you practically basked in his energy.
However, he still let himself grow, let his hawk grow out so he could braid it the way he'd always considered, and he let himself have his bad days, didn't force himself to keep up his energy when he didn't really have enough.
Admittedly, though, he never married again. He found temporary enjoyment in little flings, though he let them pass when the time was right. No matter what, he always came back to your house.
Sure, it wasn't quite home without you there. But you'd been there - no matter how little the time you'd had together felt in hindsight - so maybe he could learn to make it home again. For you.
--
Gaz is angry - furious to the point of enraged tears. If it was him? He'd understand. He'd hurt people, torn apart lives and taken his fair share of them. He deserved it. But you? It wasn't fair. In his eyes, you couldn't possibly hurt a fly, so delicate and tender and so, so soft. It just wasn't fair.
His attempt at coping is to delve headfirst into a tedious slew of missions - one after another after another. It gives him something to dump all his blind rage and hurt and desperation into. His morals were a writhing, flailing, unrecognisable mess for a long time, and the best comfort he could find was in the chaotic monotony of work.
So what if he burned everything in his path to ash? At least the threat was dealt with.
Price and Ghost are the most essential to his recovery. He needs guidance, needs some sort of structure, and needs to relinquish the tight hold on his need to be good, to fix things, to help, to finally restore what he was so reliant on, even if that meant tearing himself to shreds in the process. What he needs is time to grieve, time to come to terms with the unforgiving reality - that it just happened. No-one did anything wrong, there was no violence or intent, it just happened.
He'll absolutely come to deeply regret everything he did in his grief-induced warpath, but eventually accept that he was hurt and lost and just needed the help - the intervention.
Like Price, I think he might attempt to put himself out there and find someone new every once in a while, maybe even builds up to a couple dates, but he never really finds interest in anyone. He definitely remains friends with many of the people he meets, but he just can't quite find a spark - mainly because they're not you.
He never throws out anything of yours, his wardrobe is still mostly full of random articles of your clothing, and the third drawer on the nightstand is still yours.
He always wears something of yours when he goes out, from shirts and shorts to hoodies, even some of your jewelry.
Despite it being admittedly pretty late, he finally watches all of the shows you liked and reads all the books you did. It makes him feel closer to you - cuddling up under your favourite blanket in your favourite spot and picturing you being there with him, imagining each and every one of your reactions, practically seeing your lovely face curl with smiles as you commentated over the whole thing.
Sure, you weren't really there with him anymore, but the sweet, warm mark you'd left on his heart was enough to carry him over until he inevitably returned to you.
--
Ghost is mostly depressed. He's so agonisingly hurt and lost, but you were his sun - what gave him life and love, and without you? He just couldn't muster up the energy to do anything beyond simply existing. Even he'd expected himself to crash and burn - follow in his brother's footsteps and drown in a spiral of addiction. But he just... Didn't. The affirmation that he didn't blow up and take everyone he loved down with him would be reassuring, comforting, but it wasn't. Not without you whispering praise in his ear, assuring him of his goodness and softness.
I think he'd also be reliant on Soap and Gaz, but Price would be a surprisingly big factor as well. No-one could ever really replicate the effect you had on him, the way your encouragement kept him going, but having some amount of structure, of motivation? It helped. Despite that, he absolutely tried to push them out at first, convinced that the acrid shadow of death looming over his shoulder would eventually take them as well. What are task force 141 if not determined and unfathomably stubborn, though, especially when it came to caring for their own.
Soap undoubtedly led the charge - seeing as his ceaseless energy and affection were mildly more normal (god knows Simon needed a little bit of comforting normalcy). Gaz came second, still snarky and headstrong as ever, but with softened edges and an air of gentle care. Price was last. He'd been there before Simon was Ghost, he was aware enough to piece bits of his past together - and he'd be damned if he managed to scare Simon, if he was the reason he regressed further. So he was tender. Delicate, even. Ghost would despise being handled like fragile porcelain in Price's kid gloves, but it soothed a part of Simon that hadn't peeked out since you left.
It'll take a bit longer than the others - more therapy, reassurance and care, but he'll recover eventually, let the wound you left in his porous heart scar over and go on as best he could.
I don't think he'll look for romance again either - his interest in it just died out alongside you. He wants to preserve the sanctity and tenderness of what you had, and is more than content with holding that love in his heart, and keeping it safe for you until he meets you again.
After you're gone, he attempts to follow your advice more, occasionally dragging himself out of his comfort zone, picking up new hobbies and trying to emulate your passion for life in himself, keeping a little bit of you alive with him. He absolutely douses the house in your favourite fragrance, refuses to use any hygiene products other than yours and carries something of yours everywhere, whether it be your ring or even your purse, just something to remind him he had to look after things (including himself) for you.
Even if you were cremated or buried in some other way, he'd ensure there was a gravestone for you placed alongside his mother, Tommy, Beth and little Joseph. You'd always be part of his family - his heart, and when his time came? He'd be buried alongside you, trailing along with you into whatever came next. By your side forever.
<3
Yippee. This was. A journey. /lh
Sorry if this isn't formatted the best, it was more of a massive brain dump that I forcibly shoved into something just about understandable lol
If you're seeing this, tyvm for reading mwah 😚😚
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