Images of and words about women warriors, viragos, amazons, she-devils and other name takers. It's light on the cheesecake and heavy on the competence-porn, but sexy is cool and submissions always welcome.
Introduction Stephanie: "Was any of it real? Was I ever really Robin?" Batman: "Of course you were." Stephanie: "Good. Then I was really par
I also updated the "Steph as Robin" page in the wiki, since it's regularly in the top ten of the wiki's most viewed pages (meaning it gets like 60 a month...lmao it's a STEEP decline after the top two pages).
It was created by my wonderful co-admin, with appearances as Robin listed, a look at sale data and reviews from her time as Robin, and a short description of the status of her time as Robin in different eras of DC's continuity.
(I also noted where links were broken for the reviews and added a wayback link for the few that were findable on there).
I updated the era descriptions and appearances, added a section for the news articles that came out that focused on Steph as Robin (from non-comic related newspapers and magazines, even!) and short section about the fight to get Stephanie a memorial case, linking to the still under construction controversy page. I think I'll also add a more detailed section for Chuck Dixon's vetoed original plan to make Steph Robin while Tim interned for Blue Beetle.
Okay, I think we've finally gotten enough to see how Brombal is characterizing Steph, and I can say I'm liking it so far. Super promising. First, the fact she's definitively in a leadership role, I love this so much for her. Second, she doesn't come off as cartoonishly perky so far, and her sarcasm is very present.
second, adoring that she and Yara are quckly forming a friendship. Makes me realize we've never had a Batgirl/Wonder Girl friendship before, or even significant teamup really, which is kind of an actual crime?
third, like Vic's summary of Steph here, on point, and some people might complain about this, but I personally LOVE the idea that Oracle trained Steph in hacking. I mean, she'd do that for her proteges, of course she would. I dunno if the comics have SHOWED it, if they haven't I wish they had, but I love the idea.
I also really liked the character work for Vic in this issue. I'm sure everyone's going to complain about boo-yah, but that's a drop in the bucket compared to him getting attention that isn't angsting about being a cyborg, and there was some really interesting stuff there.
I liked that him merging back with his machine self wasn't even a regret for him
The stuff with Terra was so intriguing too. I feel cautiously optimistic!
It's kind of weird to think of a Steph who's particularly conversant in blocking ports and SQL injection (not because she couldn't learn it, it's just so far from anything she's ever shown an interest in before) but she would actually be fucking amazing at OSINT and social engineering.
Also between her and Wendy and Harper's hardware thing and of course Babs herself, there's a real possibility here to make DC's conception of computers being mostly a thing women do, which would be kind of hilarious on several levels.
The FBI cut the phone lines during the 1977 disability rights sit-in. Then they turned off the hot water.
They locked the doors from the outside. One hundred and fifty people were trapped on the fourth floor. Half of them used wheelchairs. The government assumed they would leave.
Kitty Cone was thirty-three. She had muscular dystrophy. Her muscles were failing, but her logistics were flawless. She knew how to organize people.
The federal government had promised to sign regulations protecting disabled Americans from discrimination. The policy was known as Section 504. They printed the promise on paper. Then they stalled. Without a signature, it was just typography.
The protesters entered the regional Health, Education, and Welfare building in San Francisco on a Tuesday morning. They took the elevators to the director's office. They brought sleeping bags and catheters. They informed the staff they were not leaving until the law was signed.
By sunset, the police surrounded the exits. Kitty sat near the windows. She organized the floor plan. She assigned committees for security and sanitation. She kept her medication in a small cooler.
According to federal memorandums released decades later, the strategy to end the occupation relied on medical attrition. The building was not equipped for long-term habitation. The FBI calculated that a population requiring ventilators, specialized diets, and daily medical aides would voluntarily evacuate if the environment became sufficiently hostile. They instituted a blockade.
The blockade went into effect immediately. No food deliveries allowed. No medical supplies permitted through the lobby. Guards stood at the main doors checking identification.
Kitty's muscles deteriorated faster under the physical strain. She couldn't walk. When the phone lines went dead, the fourth floor lost contact with the press. The government waited for the quiet.
Kitty dropped to the floor. She realized the barricades were designed for standing adults. The police had blocked the hallways at waist height. They hadn't blocked the linoleum.
The floors were covered in cigarette ash and spilled coffee. She dragged her body through it. She crawled under the barricades to reach the restricted elevator shafts and unguarded offices.
She carried notes in her pockets. She found a single working payphone the FBI missed. She called the local news desks. She called the mayor's office.
She crawled back. When her arms failed, someone pulled her by her ankles. The Black Panthers heard the news reports. They crossed the police lines with hot meals. The FBI could not stop them without a riot.
They shut off the elevators, so she crawled.
The occupation lasted twenty-five days. It remains the longest non-violent occupation of a federal building in American history. On April 28, the Secretary of HEW signed the regulations without a single alteration.
The protesters left the building the next morning. They went back to their apartments. The Rehabilitation Act regulations laid the groundwork for every accessibility law that followed. The HEW building still stands on United Nations Plaza. The elevators run on a schedule. The doors are heavy glass.
Kitty Cone: the woman who crawled under the barricades.
Something I really love about early Oracle appearances is the emphasis they put on how important online friendships and community are to Babs as a disabled person.
The Hacker Files (1992) #6 / The Batman Chronicles (1995) #5 - Oracle: Year One
Academy Award winner Marcia Lucas has died. While winning major awards for her work as an editor for Star Wars (alongside a team of editors, including Paul Hirsch and Richard Chew; some of her contributions outside of her work with George Lucas include Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Taxi Driver, and New York, New York), she mostly disappeared from the public eye following her divorce and essentially retired.
While Marcia dispelled the belief that she singlehandedly saved Star Wars in the edit (and very passionately defended George's craftmanship and ideas, which she felt were undercredited, as well as the work of their team in general), there was a lot of work she specifically did and I thought it would be good to highlight just how much she did and give her credit where it is due. There is a lot that came from her that most don't know about. Most of those examples are from Howard Kazanjian's biography, A Producer's Life, published in 2021.
On some of the uncredited dialogue and story revisions for Star Wars:
On some of her work in Star Wars:
On having the iconic trench run on the Death Star as her biggest work while working on Star Wars:
On her uncredited work in The Empire Strikes Back:
On how her input changed the ending of Raiders of the Lost Ark:
On her joining the Return of the Jedi crew, an emphasis in finding the right cut for actors, cutting together footage of Luke in ROTJ after she and George disagreed with the characterization the director had given to Mark Hamill and unable to reshoot footage:
On editing the climactic ending in the Throne Room in ROTJ:
I wish we'd gotten to see a Bombshells take on Oracle, there are so many interesting directions to go with that, but I have to admit Vampire Fighter Pilot Barbara Gordon in a bayou lesbian polycule with Ravager and Enchantress is an amazing, incredible idea.
My new game Mer X Maid is out now! Its a pretty simple game. Barely 4 pages of rules (and they're very small pages), but as usual I wanted to create some rules comics to show how to play.
The game also uses character cards that provide instructions for each player role:
The game is available for sale as a PDF right now for just $3, with print copies available next month! Get it here:
Get it on the Yeld Store
Get it on itch
Get it on Drivethru
A short story of Night Nurse doing the job of treating superhuman patients and having to deal with crazy dino supervillain shenanigans. Starring...Night Nurse (Linda Carter), Komodo, Stegron and Doctor Strange.
She's only just started with this, so she's really carving her own path on it. So far, she has a few moments of brilliance amidst failures, but that's what we both expected for her 1st/2nd time ever trying it.
Give her a year or two, and I wouldn't be surprised if she was able to do this the way Booktok girlies imagine their heroines.
I'm gonna be honest, there's a reason I don't talk about Sellsword Arts, and it's mainly because I just don't like them as I find them obnoxious. That's not a condemnation of people watching them, I just don't enjoy them.
The other reason is that they know just enough to give an opinion that is entrenched in absolutist HEMA ideology with no room for experimentation or nuance, or in stage combat. I can't fault the latter, I don't do stage combat, so it's not something I can comment upon. But the rigidity of HEMA can bother me increasingly as it stifles development and informed speculation where we lack information, or takes the written word as gospel in a way that is somewhat difficult to reconcile with the reality of practise.
This means that I try to avoid their content, as it often starts with a position which is fairly well researched by people in HEMA, and devolves into David making blanket statements without any nuance. And that's when he's talking about well researched content. His video on axes being generally bad weapons was outright incorrect in almost all aspects, to the point a member of the group I'm in (who is something of an expert on axes, having recognised the lack of info and put years of study into actually learning how to make them work) addressed the topic.
Similarly, my squire is a dagger enthusiast, and she knows she's going to be at a disadvantage for it. She still manages to win more often than most people in the same position, and actually fighting her with a dagger against dagger especially is a losing battle. So of course, she heard "dual daggers doesn't work", and we decided we'd test it.
Right off the bat, we have some issues with how David approached the topic. First, in his video, he mostly spends time running blindly in, not parrying or binding, then claims it won't work. Compare with the clips of Squire Jess entering with a parry, and using the second dagger to attack into the opening underneath...
We've concluded that dual daggers (so far) is certainly not an ideal selection for combat, but also that (1) it is possible and can definitely be used to fight other lightly armoured opponents. And that (2) given practise, dual daggers can make an effective response to other larger weapons. It's also worth pointing out that from my perspective, dual daggers is up there with giant sword: not always the most practical choice, but it is a power fantasy for the target audience, and certainly feasible within a proper context. That's not even mentioning the use of dual short blades in, say, Kali.
So I hope Squire Jess and I can help support the Booktok and fantasy girlies that want to imagine their fighting style working, because Squire Jess is a 5ft-nuthin' girl half my weight and size, who regularly stabs me and throws me to the floor. Which I take as a point of pride—after all, I taught her!
I've done a lot of stage combat, and especially in writing and performances I'll admit that while I think a healthy dose of realism is good to ground things, power fantasies are fun to explore for a reason.
I also wholeheartedly agree with the stance that being too rigid in foundational points kills the ability to explore and grow. Foundations should always be a starting point to build on - and yeah, maybe not everything you explore ends up being good, but you never know what discoveries there are to make along the way. And that's part of the joy and art of things like this.
Obviously it makes sense that dual daggers is going to be at a disadvantage in a lot of situations. But the power fantasy of it is exactly - being at a disadvantage, and being able to find ways to use it anyway. To find the advantages others might overlook. I think the comparison to great weapons is perfect in that regard.
All of that is to say - I love seeing people approach something that is cool and fantastical from the stance of 'Is it possible, how can we make it more reliable, what can make this work, what can we learn from it?' as opposed to a stance of condemnation.
also I'm certain that specialized daggers like sword catchers or sai etc can be used to great advantage. no need to stick to straight-bladed stiletto style daggers.
A Tennessee library board has voted to remove its top librarian after she refused to carry out an order to relocate more than 100 LGBTQ-them
Article date: April 1, 2026
From the article:
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — A Tennessee library board has voted to remove its top librarian after she refused to carry out an order to relocate more than 100 LGBTQ-themed books.
The Rutherford County Library Board voted 8-3 Monday night to fire library system director Luanne James.
The decision followed a dispute over moving the books from the children’s section to the adult section. Board members said the material promotes “gender confusion.”
James had pushed back on that directive, saying the move would violate First Amendment protections and go against her professional responsibility.
“I stand by my decision and I will not change my mind,” James said during the meeting.
After the vote, her attorney read a statement on her behalf calling the firing unlawful.
“Librarians should not be used as a filter for political agendas,” the statement said. “I stood up for the right to read, standing for the citizens of Rutherford County.”
Dee called AO3 a “candy store,” and said the fan art she has seen, in particular, has been overwhelming. “I cannot get over the art,” she said. “We would have jumped at this. I would’ve given my right tit for all this art when I was in my twenties. Because you couldn’t reproduce it, you couldn’t send it out, but [now] there’s this fabulous art coming out every single day.”
Thanks to the author for permission to share this here, and for being just a really nice human being, and big thanks to the artist who did my mom’s portrait, above. -Zachary
Flora Sandes (1876–1956) was the only British woman to officially serve as a soldier during the World War I and the first woman commissioned officer in the Serbian army. Her life was marked by a constant appetite for adventure and military service.
Adventurous beginnings
The daughter of a clergyman, Flora was the youngest of eight children. Her early years were spent moving from one parish to another. She had a happy childhood and, from an early age, was particularly active and energetic. She loved reading tales of battle and became proficient in horse riding, shooting, camping in the wild, and driving cars.
As an adult, Flora was restless and easily bored. She had no taste for domestic life. She tried various jobs and notably worked as a typist in Cairo. She was also a member of two quasi-military women’s organizations, the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry and the Women's Sick and Wounded Convoy Corps.
When the war broke out, Flora was camping with her family. She immediately got into her French car and drove home, determined to make herself useful in any way she could.
Nurse in Serbia
Flora applied to the Red Cross, but was rejected because her nursing qualifications were deemed insufficient. When an opportunity arose to join a group of volunteer nurses sent to Serbia, she accepted immediately.
There, Flora encountered dire conditions, including a lack of medical supplies and running water. She had to learn a new language and performed operations and amputations herself, sometimes with makeshift tools. A typhus epidemic spread, and Flora contracted the disease but survived. Through these trials, she developed a deep affection for Serbia and admiration for the resilience of its people.
Yet Flora had always wanted to become a soldier. A Serbian soldier, impressed by her riding skills, once told her that her abilities were wasted in the hospital and encouraged her to join the army.
Through sheer determination, Flora gradually moved closer to the front until she came to work with a military ambulance. There, she befriended a seventeen-year-old Serbian girl who lived and worked with the army, dressed as a soldier.
Private Flora Sandes
Flora was confident, wore her hair short, and drank and smoked as she pleased. She paid little attention to conventions. She befriended Colonel Milić, who was impressed by her temperament and riding skills. He became her protector, but never treated her with indulgence.
Flora eventually asked him if she could join the army as a private. Milić agreed, but General Vasić warned her that she would have to follow the troops on a long and grueling march through Albania.
Flora asked whether she would be a burden. He replied that, on the contrary, she would be welcomed as a symbol of British support. Thanks to her skill with a rifle and her composure under pressure, Flora quickly earned the respect of the men, even though she was the only woman among them. She became something of a mascot.
She also helped procure food and uniforms and shared her cigarettes. She was soon promoted and reached the rank of sergeant. Flora felt she had found her place in the army. In her own words, she took to soldiering like a duck to water. At first, she held a romantic vision of war and enjoyed the strong sense of camaraderie. Over time, however, her outlook became more sober.
Reports praised her bravery in combat and held her up as an example to her company.
Through sheer willpower
In 1916, during the fighting at Bitola, Flora was wounded by shrapnel in the back and was hospitalized. During her recovery, she met Milunka Savić, one of the women serving in the Serbian army, who would later become the most decorated woman of the war.
Milunka was independent and fearless. She examined Flora’s wounds and praised her endurance. Flora, in turn, noted her stoicism and the way she concealed her suffering.
Flora later returned to England to raise funds for a canteen for Serbian soldiers, with the help of suffragist Evelina Haverfield. She gave speeches, including to audiences of British soldiers, and was warmly received.
However, her true calling remained at the front. She returned once again, this time rising to the rank of sergeant-major. She endured long marches and was eventually sent to the trenches, where she took part in night raids against Bulgarian positions.
She marched on bleeding feet, pushing forward through sheer determination. She continued to distinguish herself in battle, once stopping an enemy counterattack at the head of her unit. She held her position even in conditions of severe hardship, at times surpassing the endurance of the men around her.
Commissioned officer
After the war, Flora struggled to adapt to civilian life, which now felt distant and unfamiliar. She chose to remain in the Serbian army and became its first female commissioned officer.
She adapted quickly to the demanding role of second lieutenant. In 1920, she met Yuri Yudenitch, a former officer of the Russian army who was placed under her command. Flora was eventually demobilized in 1922.
In 1927, she married Yuri in Paris. She was 51 and he was 38. The couple held various jobs before settling in Belgrade. Yet Flora remained restless. She traveled extensively, gave lectures, and wrote her memoirs. She deeply missed military life.
A last stand
When Invasion of Yugoslavia by Nazi Germany began, Flora was briefly called back to service. At 65, she put on her uniform once more and left for the front. She was glad to return to the army, even if she regretted the circumstances.
Her return was short-lived, as the invasion ended before she could make a meaningful contribution. She was briefly imprisoned. Despite living under the constant threat of execution, Flora faced the guards with a confidence that impressed the other female prisoners. She was eventually released, but her husband died soon afterward.
After the war, Flora resumed traveling and visited her nephew in Jerusalem. Even in retirement, she longed for the army: “I miss soldiering, I loved it.” She proudly attended veterans’ gatherings.
Flora eventually returned to Suffolk, where she died of illness in 1956.
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Further reading:
Miller Louise, A Fine Brother: The Life of Captain Flora Sandes
Sandes Flora, An English Woman-Sergeant in the Serbian Army`
Shipton Elizabeth, Female Tommies: The Frontline Women of the First World War
