#i'm sick!!!

[whatisthiswitchcraft]

it's hot water with honey and lemon time give it up for hot water with honey and lemon

[simplepotatofarmer]

this might be the dumbest thing i've ever had to read in my life.

for the record, this was a comment on my 'people still think people online they hate should be constantly punished for every mistake they made' post which is just wild that this person missed the point so badly.

also if you're angling for punitive justice over restorative justice i just don't trust you! at all!

[domestically-loving-monsters]

I'm Sick!

I have caught the plague!!!

Thankfully not covid just some sort of flu.

So, writing will be a little slow while I recover. And also expect some cheesy, domestic scribbles of monsters looking after a sick partner.

Because it's fluffy and cute and makes me feel better!

[thewrongmoon]

SIGHS... i'm already doing research on homosexuality in psychology in the 70s/80s but i'm gonna have to do it with the 50s/60s too, aren't i?

[dogdownloader]

I've been up for 6 hours and I haven't gotten up yet!

[jetsjunkdrawer]

I have been thinking about writing this post for literal years and I can't get it out of my head so here it goes.

I want to discuss DC comics weird relationship with the concepts of motherhood. The one I find the most fascinating is to do with Wonder Woman, and it will be the main part of this post, but I might bring up some more examples at some point. (They also can be very weird about concepts surrounding adoption sometimes?)

But okay let me bring up my main case. Please read and take in what I'm saying and if you have a relevant push back that has to do with Wonder Woman canon by all means you can send it but I'm way more interested in how DC has presented this as writers and storytellers and their justifications both in text and in the company than lore specifics.

Donna Troy has gone through many backstories, iterations, and conceptualizations. Her entire character creation was an accident! But once she joined the Teen Titans team she was cemented. She, along with Dick Grayson, Wally West, Garth of Shayeris and then Roy Harper were a team of sidekicks. Made to appeal to children reading comics who could then visualize themselves as the heroes alongside the big names the Teen Titans would garner fans themselves and their characters become some of the most popular in the DC comics lineup. Over time the kids had their backgrounds and statuses reinterpreted: Garth went from being Arthur's 'little pal' (I still don't understand that setup, Arthur you're a grown man whose best friend is a 10 year old with no home who you put in danger???) to being his son, Roy went from being a ward to adopted, same with Dick, and Wally would go on to call Barry his father as opposed to just an uncle.

That is, every one except Donna.

Now, if this reinterpretation over time never happened I don't think Donna would stick out. If none of the boys had their relationships with their respective heroes become, over time, not one of just mentorship or companionship or even father figures but literal fathers... then I think the way Donna and Diana are written and have continued to be written wouldn't present as questionable. I've had conversations with people before where they push back on my view that calling Donna and Diana 'sisters' is weird when you lay this all out, and I find it strange that I get this push back when you consider everything at play.

Even with Donna's continued rewrite of her origins the general outline remains that a fully grown Diana, who is an adult and functioning as Wonder Woman (and has been established for a while) finds her as a baby. She rescues her.

Diana then takes said baby to Themyscira to give to her mother to raise. As far as I have read and can tell this is never broken down, especially between Diana and Donna, as to why Diana didn't raise Donna herself. This isn't even touched on when Donna herself has a child and being Troia becomes an issue in her life as a parent. It's also not explained why Diana would think that a mortal child (she did not know of Donna's 'true origins' whatever that may be in this iteration) would be served well being brought up on Themyscira. In later versions Donna's resemblance to Diana, and some of that distinctive connection, is explained as Donna being a clone in one or another of Diana. This, too, is never brought up in Diana's decisions, or in Hippolyta's thought processes. There is no 'My daughter brought me this baby who she rescued from a building, has her powers, and is a spitting image of her but she won't raise her and has left her here.'

I've read two separate versions of why Donna leaves Themyscira around age 14. One is that she wanted to go to the World of Man, be with Diana and assist her. The other is that Diana requested her. This, too, reads as something thematic that could be explored in the same way the boys have had their relationships and dynamics with their 'dads not dads yes dads' over the years. But I haven't seen it explored in the same way. Donna yearning to be with Diana and always measuring herself up to Diana, in a way she does not do with Hippolyta and has absolutely no baggage with Hippolyta, but does with Diana...

When Donna moves in (and for the most part in most canons she does move in to Diana's home at first) it is the exact same setup as any of the other sidekicks with their heroes, except for Wally who has alive canonical parents.

Thematically Diana being Donna's mother or mother figure is much more consistent with the narrative tropes, the story functions and layout, and with the arcs and themes within Donna's character (and I feel Diana's).

It is never framed as weird or unreasonable or off to label Bruce, Arthur, Barry, or Oliver as fathers. Even when Bruce and Dick's age gap is narrowed he's still framed as Dick's father. Even when Wally's parents aren't seen as abusive Barry still ultimately becomes his 'true father' to the point that Barry's biological children end up jealous of him. Hell, many many fans get upset when Clark refers to Conner Kent as his brother, and not his son, because of the genetic component. By all accounts it sticks out that Diana isn't in the same position. Diana was an adult when she met a BABY Donna, she is still an adult with a job and home and stability when Donna comes to live with her as a teen, Donna and Diana are in the same status and structures as the other examples and function in the same way, and if you want to argue that Diana couldn't be a mother when she found Donna due to her heroics and time constraints that same argument can't be had when Donna is a teen. To have them constantly use 'sister' like Bruce used 'chum' feels off. In all the rewrites and recontextualisation DC never, ever attempts to make Diana a mother.

And why? If it's all right there, not just with all the other examples but with the stories themselves being ripe for the thematic weight of Diana being Donna's mother, why would DC avoid it?

My theory: because Diana being a mother isn't appealing to men.

If Bruce is a father it doesn't undermine the power fantasy that men have. He can be a father, he can be hot and sexy and Catwoman still wants to fuck him.

If Diana is a mother this undermines to men the fantasy of wanting her.

Perhaps, also, for female writers, there might be the concept that all women have to be aligned with wanting to have kids, and being baby factories, and rejecting motherhood. And if this was in a vacuum I probably wouldn't be writing this post. I'd be like well, we don't want one of the biggest female superheroes to be stuck in a kid - mother role and that's understandable and a good reason not to go there, I guess. That could be the explanation. Even if I have further thoughts on that. Why doesn't this work?

Well, because... Wonder Woman has had kids. Twice now. There's an alternate universe child from a while back who would come in and out of main canon, and then there's... Trinity. And yes, they're both biological children of Diana. Because for some reason DC is now obsessed with biological children and bloodlines (the emphasis on Damian being blood related, the Trinity thing, the way Jon has pushed out other members of the Superfam, the Jay Garrick and daughter situation, etc, etc). So even though DC avoided making Wonder Woman a parent in any way while doing it to all the men in the same position at the same place in time, they're happy to play up her having a biological wonder child later... so long as we also don't really SEE Wonder Woman BEING a mother. That would be so unsexy.

Furthermore, why do I think a) Diana being Donna's mother would be good thematically and how do I see it working b) Diana and Donna being mother and daughter is more narratively cohesive than being 'sisters' and c) Diana being Donna's mother is good in terms of visibility and stories about motherhood (see also DC's track record on writing motherhood).

a) Diana being Donna's mother would be good thematically for a number of reasons. Diana and Donna are connected often through this mirroring lens. Even if you remove the overt clone storyline Donna is very much a reflection of Diana. They look the same, they have the same powers, and they have the same upbringing. This is true in many households - a daughter being a mirror image of their mother. Who am I? How am I different? Do I measure up? Can I measure up? And while you can argue that this happens in the case of sisters, the age gap between Diana and Donna is too large: as I said, Diana FOUND DONNA AS A LITERAL BABY. Donna and Cassie being sisters works better for the same iteration of these themes, and feels more natural and genuine. Donna and Diana are too stark to be the sister mirror image theme, they fit a mother and daughter. On top of that a mother that does not have time to raise their daughter and instead sacrifices that time and ability for a bigger cause or lifelong ambition is relevant. It IS a story. While Diana is a wonderful and noble person who has done a lot of good, her deciding to pass her child (and if you use the clone story where Diana CREATED Donna and then finds her later as a baby this is literally the case, Donna is the progeny of Diana and once Diana found her she gave her away) to her own mother to raise is something Donna can and should be able to struggle with. You did not want me, and you did not give up time to be with me, but am I allowed to resent you and be upset when you did that in order for this bigger scheme and greater good? Is all I can do try to be near you as much as possible, do the same work, and make you proud while being worthwhile? Do I need to make your sacrifice of our relationship worth it by following in your footsteps? Why was I not enough for you?

This is particularly poignant when it is put hand in hand with Donna's own parenting. Donna initially walked away from her powers to be with her son and for his benefit. She gets them back and returns to being a hero. She is challenged in court and has to fight for custody, where her own superhero life is put into question and framed as making her a bad mother. Is what Diana did, stepping away from Donna and putting her into Hippolyta's care, then the most ethical and best thing she could have done? Does Donna disagree and say I fought for my son why couldn't you do that for me?

Hippolyta being the grandmother who raised her granddaughter, and the granddaughter eventually going to live with her mother as a teenager, is also something that happens. And is thematically rich and interesting. It's also unique amongst Donna's peers, and it is a way to look at motherhood as something that is neutral. Diana's choices have pros and cons. And whatever way you look at it there is room for discussion and nuance, just like with Donna's own motherhood. And that's what motherhood is. It's a very human look at motherhood that I think we need.

b) I answered this above by accident but yes, Donna and Diana are more cohesively thematic as mother and daughter. Donna and Cassie are the 'sisters' that they thematically keep trying to match Donna and Diana to.

c) I also answered this above but I'm going to diverge into what I mean by DC's motherhood problem.

DC has a big issue with writing mothers in a way I don't really see with fathers. Mothers in DC get split into two directions: present and wholesome (but not a superhero), bad or absent or tortured (and a powered individual).

Martha Kent? Present and wholesome. A very classic view of motherhood. Lois Lane? Similar but with a kickass twist, her sons keep getting erased or aged up so she can stop being super motherly. Jade Nguyen? Often presented as a terrible mother and a terrible person. Talia Al Ghul? Same. (hmmm... pattern?). Donna? Tortured by her motherhood in every step of the way and then child was killed off. Iris West? Not allowed to raise her own kids on panel. Meloni Thawne? Not allowed to raise her own kids on panel, forced to be an absent parent by the narrative. Dawn Allen? Died before being able to parent. Jason Todd's mother? Betrayed him.

In Young Justice: Cissie's mother was abusive, Anita's mother was dead, Cassie's mother is still inconsistent, the only one who was a superhero of the three was the abusive one.

Having Diana be a mother who knew her lifestyle was unsuitable and made the decision to have Donna be safe and raised by Hippolyta (Donna's grandmother) in Themyscira, and to visit her as often as she could, but that still be a point of tension would be a wonderful and layered addition. Having Diana take Donna back as soon as it was viable and then try to guide her but those cracks still inform Donna's decisions: marrying at 19, questioning her identity, getting pregnant young, having a rocky marriage, the parenting fights, still unable to form a cohesive sense of self into her 20s (Wally's versions of her), choosing relationships that don't serve her, self-sacrificing to a fault for all her loved ones, her death and resurrection...

And Diana having to face whether any of her actions or decisions played a part in any of that and the what ifs and what to do nows of it all.

Just like Bruce, Oliver, and the others, have had to over the years face whether their decisions with the boys have informed their lives and actions and to what degree. Except that Diana has had Donna since almost day 1. That's a whole new layer of cause and effect there.

But okay, that's my take. I think it's wild of DC to let the boys be sons and Donna be a sister, and it feels misogynistic to have Diana never be allowed to be a mother in such a meaningful way but the men? Yeah, they're dads. Dw about it.

[eurosleaz]

sadie and [REDACTED] and i don't like it at all!!!

[allevilsarc]

gen is just gonna hold her hand, no reason. absolutely none. she also will not let go of it.

the feeling of gen's hand in his is ... well, it's nice. it's different, but it's nice. lucy's eyes flick down to where they're joined, fingers laced together. she could ask them why they're holding her hand; why gen's spending the time in her life showing kindness to a person who, by all accounts, doesn't deserve it.

instead, her attention turns back to the television screen, her hand tightening around gen's. maybe it's nice to not ask questions for once and just-- experience things.

be affectionate with lucy. / @walkeddeath