It's here. Be the first to read at the Cat-Tales Website and assuming their gremlins don't return at FanFiction.net
0 Kudo
Cat-Tale 50: 00000-001
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 Chris Dee.gothampm |
Cat-Tale 50: 00000-001 |
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Posts: 3928 01/05/07 21:32 Gothamite |
It's here. Be the first to read at the Cat-Tales Website and assuming their gremlins don't return at FanFiction.net |
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Abaddon8780 |
Re: Cat-Tale 50: 00000-001 | #1 | ||
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Posts: 345 01/05/07 22:56 Titans Together! |
...OhmiGod.
MASSIVE SPOILERS FOLLOW. Do yourselves a favor and read the story before you go any further. Just...whoa. When I found the hidden cover page for this one, I knew we were in for heavy times ahead. But...wow. This sure beats the hell out of the Joe Chill stuff we've had in the DC canon (and let's face it, C-T typically beats out DC by far). The pure hot rage and emotion Bruce felt was chilling. His snapping on Dick and Dick's reaction and thoughts were equally dramatic. It also further demonstrates Dick and Bruce's progress in their relationship lately. But, wow. Just wow. Happy New Year indeed. Exquisitely done m'dear, and props Mr. Myk for his contributions. "Here's to
crime!"
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Star Ranger4 |
Re: Cat-Tale 50: 00000-001 | #2 | ||
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Posts: 1316 01/05/07 23:47 Adrift in Space |
Yeah, you pretty much covered all of my reactions
there too Abaddon.
"I was an Otaku before those kids
came along and changed the meaning of the
word."
-- HM "Howling Mad" Wilson to more than one team-mate. |
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The Wilder |
Re: Cat-Tale 50: 00000-001 | #3 | ||
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Posts: 259 01/06/07 01:00 Gothamite |
I've always been a longtime lurker over here and
find the insights and comments made in these threads to
be almost as satisfying as the stories themselves. After
the big cliffhanger in the previous story and finding the
hidden cover, that definitely didn't prepare me for
everything that just happened.
The events, especially those last few exchanges, were chilling. With all of this occurring right after the safe issue, something big is definitely going to happen. This exceeded my expectations for such a monumental story, and I can't wait to see what Ms. Dee and MyklarCure have in store next. |
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nobby knobbs |
wo | #4 | ||
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Posts: 1 01/06/07 02:10 |
WO this looks like it will be good! well done
Chris
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JabberwockyPie |
Wow. | #5 | ||
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Posts: 53 01/06/07 04:19 |
Quote: pretty much sums it up. Wow. I am thoroughly impressed. I've been reading Cat Tales since . . . I don't actually know when - I had started reading from the beginning right when you posted the first chapter of "Strange Bedfellows", so that'd be about 2 1/2 years. I almost never post. It's partly because I can't log-in, but also because I can't begin to say how amazingly awesome every chapter and every story is. I really didn't like Batman very much based on what little comic-reading I'd done before Cat Tales. Until a friend introduced me to comics, I had avoided superheroes in general because I had seen too many reruns of The Superfriends on Cartoon Network when I was a little girl. I avoided most of the fanfiction because of another bad experience. (You don't know fear until you've read a multi-story "epic" where the plot consists of "Batman and Wonder Woman get married and have ten kids. Oh, and one grows up to be EVIL." It's truly more horrifying than William Shatner singing Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.) I've continued to read (and re-read) Cat Tales even though I don't read the actual comics anymore. When my family moved across the country and we were staying with a friend because didn't have a house yet, I had virtually no computer access for two months and I printed up the updates of String Theory as they were posted so I could read them and stay caught up. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes: Cat Tales is wonderful. Keep writing. You're amazing. |
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batfan7.gothampm |
Re: Wow. | #6 | ||
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Posts: 1 01/06/07 05:46 |
That was incredible! I'm impressed with your daring
to even touch this topic, although I have no doubt you'll
handle it better than I've seen it done before. This'll
undoubtably have quite a ripple effect. Eddie's already
feeling it and I wouldn't be surprised if it spreads in
unpredictable ways. Hopefully there isn't a JLA meeting
anytime in the next few days or I suspect there'd be mass
resignations among the ranks of heroes who happen to be
near Batman
 I have to admit a certain feeling of pity for the poor Riddler for picking the wrong day to try something. You think he might wonder what happened to Bruce that he'd turn so unexpectedly brutal or just pass it off as more of the same? I loved the interaction between Dick and Bruce. Dick really has grown up into an insightful and intelligent young man who genuinlly(sp?) cares for his 'dad'. I have no doubt he'll be as supportive as Bruce will let him be for whatever he chooses (as long as Bruce doesn't decide to do something stupid. Like push everyone away!) I can't wait to see how this will effect Batman and everyone around him. P.S. I usually review on FF.net, but thought I'd give this a try... it's kind of irritating to not be able to leave more than one message per chapter or acknowledge a responce to a review. So, yeah, um, Hi everyone! |
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Kessie.gothampm |
Re: Wow. | #7 | ||
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Posts: 176 01/06/07 07:00 PuddyCat Detective (PCD) |
Now, the question is, how long till the next
chapter? I'm sure it is going to be a doozy.
BTW, don't know if anyone else is having this problem or if it is only on Firefox/Mac OS X, but all the quotation marks and hyphens were question marks. |
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Starfire.gothampm |
ooooh...wow. | #8 | ||
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Posts: 105 01/06/07 10:07 Gothamite |
So I read the prologue and I got that horrible
sense of foreboding. The one you're so phenomenally good
at creating, Chris. That little twisting in my gut that
says that the characters are going to go through hell on
earth and this will be astonishingly-painful-by-proxy and
I'm about to witness an awesome train wreck in progress.
(This is not the same sort of sick feeling I get when I
begin reading a work by someone who's skills are less
than phenomenal and I begin to realize that the work
itself IS a train wreck.)
I swear I've rarely found an author who can so consistently convince me that I'll develop an ullcer solely out of sympathy for what the characters are about to endure. (As I write that I realize that it doesn't sound horribly flattering suggesting that your work causes ulcers, but I must point out that this truely is a good thing, because my anguish isn't caused by the pain of bad writing but rather by such a superlative wordsmith who can forcibly reach out and cause me to utterly empathize and connect with the characters.) Anyway, I got into the first chapter, and that horrible twisting just kept getting worse. Who died? Who could it be? Lois? no it's a man. Who's at the funeral? Bruce and...Alfred? oh gosh it's his parents funeral! No! She's not going to dredge us through that anguish is she? No he's talking about Clark and Ollie... Can't be in the past... and about of a third of the way through the penny dropped. (I wondered why you didn't use the classic name, but then that would have been a dead giveaway, and that character's stories have always been rather pathetic.) So then the horrible feeling of suspension was replaced with another horrible feeling of suspension. this one being slightly different. It's that feeling you get watching a horror film and you start screaming at the people not to split up because they're going to die and they have no clue. I know it's coming because I'm not as close to the situation as the character is. I can see what the world's most brilliant detective can't while he's reading that rap sheet. and I know he's going to get hit with it and for all the brilliance of his 22-jewel mind he'll be utterly unprepared. And I want to reach out and scream the answer at him, just to give him some warning. And then we skip the fireworks and go directly to the aftermath and the building horror that Dick's going to endure. (Loved the inclusion of eddie taking the brunt of things. Wonder what he'll make of it.) What I really loved about the end of chapter one was that this was so utterly beyond the Psychobat persona. Even as Psychobat Bruce doesn't go THAT far. This was that inner child lashing out in mortal anguish at the pain from an utterly unguarded assault on his soul. That's a painful enough picture, but when you consider that the man who's suffering is one of the most finely honed fighting machines on the planet... scary thought. Brava. Part of me really wants to see that aftermath from Eddie's perspective. Knowing that this is not a Bat or a Bruce he's ever seen before. Hope we'll get to see it too at some point in this tale. |
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MyklarCure.gothampm |
Re: ooooh...wow. | #9 | ||
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Posts: 87 01/06/07 10:44 |
Quote: *head-desk* Damn, I feel old. 
Let’s just say that some of us remember watching too many episodes of
the SuperFriends when they originally
aired.I’m just sayin’.  Anyway... Hey guys, thanks for the responses. I’m sure Chris will have her own things to say, but I wanted to drop in (in my “writer” disguise ) and give a
quick “Thank you”. I’m glad you guys
like it and are intrigued by what we’ve done so
far. Believe me, the scheduling on this one was a big concern for me as well. Thankfully, because I know that my schedule tends to be flaky at best, I’ve prepared a lot of material for this story already in the hopes that we can keep close to Chris’s normal posting schedule. There's a lot more in store, but I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll just say thanks and... Hold on to your hats, boys and girls; it’s gonna be a bumpy (k)night.  Go back to your fucking Cracker-Jack lifestyle and I’ll meet you at the evolutionary bell curve. It’s sort of a tortoise and the hare story. -- Bill Hicks |
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SteelBlaidd |
Whats In A Name? | #10 | ||
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Posts: 60 01/06/07 19:11 |
Started reading just before Christmas, beautiful
work.
Does any one else wonder if Riddler might have got of just a little easier if Selina didn't call him 'Eddie'? |
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Chris Dee.gothampm |
Cat-Tale 50: 00000-001 | #11 | ||
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Posts: 3928 01/06/07 21:54 Gothamite |
Hi all!
Welcome to the first time-posters. Before we start on anything story-related, I have some very good news for you new folks and rare posters like Jabberwocky. At some point in the next two months we will be migrating to a new message board system that will be MUCH BETTER in every technical respect. You will not have to be a member to post, but if you join in order to have a regular way to track read messages (plus having a profile, inbox, friends, and all the rest), then you should be able to stay logged in without the snare of cookie, browser and firewall challenges some users experience with ezboard. Now on with the fun… >> ...OhmiGod. I so hoped the first word of feedback would be along those lines. Ha! Go me (and myk) Abaddon and Wilder: Hi. Yes you folks who found the cover had a glimmer of what was coming. I’m really glad that foreknowledge didn’t lessen the wham when it arrived. I wrestled with how much I should reveal in the cover and the tagline. Part of the decision was artist’s pride, I simply LOVE that cover and badly wanted to use it. But I also thought it was important to avoid what I call TZT syndrome. See, I have this theory that, with the exception of To Serve Man, what are considered the great Twilight Zone twists are mostly the great Twilight Zone performances. Think about it. Isn’t “And they’re in a zoo!” really rather, well, dumb?! It seemed like letting everyone know Crime Alley figured into the story in some way took the pressure off the Batman/Nightwing scene and the final reveal. It didn’t have to justify the buildup, it was just there to have what effect it would on the reader just as it was (which is pretty damn significant.) Thanks nobby knobs, and again I say WELCOME. Hope we’ll be hearing more from you. JabberwockyPie, believe me, I feel your pain. There are some persons out there writing what they imagine is fan fiction, all I can really say is: Take it away Alfred: “I do not believe those without a modest grasp of the language (or the characters they purport to be fans of) should be content to have their failings known by displaying their inadequacies in print.” >> The Superfriends on Cartoon Network (What’s that noise? Oh, Myk is laughing his ass off, that’s nice). I did enjoy the bumpers they had mocking them. Those were fun. >> I don't read the actual comics anymore. Me either. All I can really say there is: Take it away Grandpa Lapp from Witness: “Come out from among them and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing.” Anyway, thank you for all the kind words. Batfan7! It’s great to see you here. I too prefer the interactivity of the message board to ffnet reviews. As usual your comments hit many of the pertinent topics. And yes, dealing with Crime Alley in a major way was a big step. Like Selina’s origin story, it’s not something I would have ever attempted in the early days. We’re now nearly 6 years into the series, and it seemed like we were finally ready. Kessie… YIKES. First, yes the problem seems to be a MacOS/Firefox anomale, as I have checked both Fox and IE and can’t reproduce the problem. We should still address it. If the problem is on FFnet, they seem to be having all kinds of problems the last several days (including no author alerts or story alerts, sorry gang). You’ll want to file a bug report there. If it is at the CT site, email me if it is the prologue, chapter 1, or both, and quickly check another story where you haven’t had problems and see if it is occurring there also. Starfire! Not to worry, I come out of one of those theatre programs that has a “torture the audience” philosophy. While I don’t habitually abuse my readers, I do know that gastric distress can be a good sign (as long as it’s not that bad-writer variety which you so kindly reassure me this isn’t. Meow). You’re one of several people here, at FFnet, and in email, to wonder about, if not flat out name, Joe Chill. I will have more to say on that subject, from a backstage author perspective, as the story progresses. Right now it would still be premature. >> Hope we'll get to see it too at some point in this tale You and others will be happy to know that there are things that have been passed over temporally that will still be seen. Just what they are, I’m not saying. *highfives Myk in passing… And welcome, SteelBlaidd. Yes, I do wonder about that. So does Eddie as a matter of fact. ;) |
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katfairy |
Re: Cat-Tale 50: 00000-001 | #12 | ||
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Posts: 769 01/07/07 09:10 Ballistic Soprano |
.....Wow. Just.... wow.
Definitely not going with the obvious here, and Eddie seems to be Fate's new bitch. As for Joe Chill- I was never too impressed with that idea myself. That's one of the things the cartoon (BTAS) did right- they left him out of the story entirely, as far as I know. Though interestingly enough, you took care of the murderer the exact way I had planned for a future story. An odd thought, though, and one I've always wondered about- why didn't the killer shoot Bruce, too? Well, aside from the fact that, if he had, we wouldn't have a story. ***********************************
You always wanted advice from the 5000 year man, so here it is. Never get caught unexpectedly with a goat. They're fantastically difficult animals to explain, and people are so rarely ready to listen to your reasons for having the animal in your bedroom. Then it all gets rather unpleasant, in my experience. - Methos: "Bodypaint, Bartabs, And Beer" by Andie P. |
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Starfire.gothampm |
Joe Chill | #13 | ||
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Posts: 105 01/07/07 10:02 Gothamite |
Yeah I was kind of trying to not name names so that
I wouldn't spoil it for those foolish enough to be
reading the thread before the story. but since it's out
now...
I've always rahter been a fan of the whole "permanently unsolved" train of thought. It's like the Joker having an origin story BEFORE he gets dumped in the vat of chemicals. In theory it sounds good. If played well it could be phenomenal (as I'm sure Chris's will.) In actuality though, at least for the comics, it kind of sucks. For Batman it's one of those driving mysteries that haunts and obsesses him; in general he needs it. For the Joker it makes him less human, more insane and psychotic; he is a man without a past existing simply in the now. Now, messing that up by giving us the killer or the personal history works great in a self contained universe like Chris's. Because Bats is allowed to grow and change, and Joker could potentially be explored to be given a more sympathetic side (and when they try it fails so horribly badly. I mean really, the killing joke's worst mistake was giving him a history not to mention a history that utterly does not jibe with his abilities...) But in any kind of major ongoing medium like the comics or cartoons the characters have to be dynamically static. They go through horrible stuff and get some vaguely meaningful revalation that makes us feel like their character could be going somewhere... and then two months later it's back to the status quo because that's how it's got to be if they're still going to be churning stuff out in fifty years. Giving Bruce Joe chill gives him closure on an issue that in the comics reality needs to remain an open festering wound for him to continue to maintain the status quo. If they really want to close that would then in order for him to remain Batman they'll have to replace that motivator with something else. in Cat tales he's moved beyond the simplistic "I do this every night for my parents" view. He understands that while that is a major reason it's not the ONLY reason. so he can keep going... comic bats on the other hand keeps trying to get there but he isn't allowed to. so if they hand him Joe Chill now... that primary motivator is lost and going back to the status quo is completely illogical since everything has changed. So while ordinarilly if I were to see a story like this I'd be ready to hang the writer because they're going to totally screw things up here it's safe because Chris actually knows what she's doing and doesn't have to go back to the status quo. |
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Chris Dee.gothampm |
Re: Joe Chill | #14 | ||
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Posts: 3928 01/07/07 17:48 Gothamite |
You done good, Starfire. We generally like to go a
full day with the spoiler precautions, and after that,
it's pretty safe. If they're reading down this far 2 days
after the story comes out, c'est la vie. Anyway, I
appreciate the consideration you and others here take in
that respect. The gang at fanfiction.net are not so
discreet, unfortunately.
I do disagree with the conventional wisdom that ongoing concerns like comics need to keep the characters artificially frozen in a stage of development. That's what everybody did up until Babylon 5, where Joe said: this is STORY not a FRANCHISE and so, like in Cat-Tales, characters change over time and if that bothers the guys making action figures, TOUGH. It works spectacularly well because that capacity is what makes them truly human. Now I'm not really advocating everybody (least of all DC) trying it, because as we've discussed elsewhere you can't do it as a stunt. You can only evolve characters properly if you understand and respect who they were to begin with, who we become tomorrow depends on who we are today. Off my soapbox, boy this is fun. I'm talking in the message boards again. *happy dance* You'll have to excuse me. I missed this. Last year's busy started in late February if you recall, and never did let up. Also I've had a little too much caffeine this morning. Going to need it. Off to break ground on chapter 2. Ciaomeow. |
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Kendra.gothampm |
Re: Cat-Tale 50: 00000-001 | #15 | ||
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Posts: 823 01/07/07 19:55
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OK...I'll admit...I've been out of the
"Cat-Tales" swing of things for a
little bit...
But...The cover of the latest REALLY caught my eye...So I HAD to read.. OMG!!! Chris.... I don't even know WHAT to say!?!?! Amazing! I'm dying to read the next chapter! Good work lady!! Kendra ********* You have the right to remain silent, so shut the f--- up! You have the right to get an attorney. If you can't afford one, we'll get you the dumbest goddamn lawyer we've got. If you get Johnnie Cochrane, I'll kill ya! -Lethal Weapon 4 |
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BenRG |
Re: 00000-001 - Prologue and Chapter 1 | #16 | ||
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Posts: 294 01/07/07 20:08 |
He was there when... when... WHEN WHAT?!?:
 You are a
cruel, cruel author to do that to me. Okay, you've hooked me. This was a lovely bit of Selina and Bruce. You had me completely fooled as to exactly what Bruce's problem was. However, you vindicated my belief in what Selina's problem was. It must have been such a relief for Selina to find out it was just someone else seeing those mementoes of the Wayne murders that set Bruce off, not a lack of trust in her. Okay... onto Chapter 1... Wow...  Great
writing Chris. Bruce has never been more human. You've
really managed to capture the character of Dick well
too.So, 00000-001 is the BatComputer crime file number for the Batman's first case, of sorts - the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne. It is also an unsolved case, of course. How can Bruce find one mugger (possibly retired now, or even dead) who he saw only once decades previously? Well... maybe, just maybe... he will find you. No wonder Bruce is mad almost to the point of losing it (as Eddie, aka "Fate's New Bitch", found to his discomfort). I think that Bruce had imagined that meeting in so many ways - In an alley as Batman vs. scum or even in the court watching Harvey prosecuting and the guy being sent down for a long stretch. How, though, just how... is he to respond to a dying man's plea for forgiveness? BenRG's Rating: 9/10 - This could be the big one; the one that will make or break the Batman and Bruce Wayne the man. ~*~*~*~ They call me BenRG But... I don't know why... ~*~*~*~ |
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Unregistered(d) |
Re: 00000-001 - Prologue and Chapter 1 | #17 | ||
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Posts: 0 01/07/07 20:35 |
I've lurked on this board for a long time--I think
it's been 2 years and I've always been meaning to sign up
for an account because I've enjoyed reading the responses
to the stories here. With this new story I realized I
could not put it off any longer...
First of all, I just want to say I really didn't see that coming! But I also didn't read the story summary before I started reading this new one. I was just glad that there was a new one and I jumped right in. I had thought the title of the story 00000001 referred to the first homicide of the year (my newspapers were full of stories about the first homicide just after the new year) though I thought the zeros in front of the "1" was weird. If I had read it on the Cat-Tales website I would have seen there was a dash in there. I do wonder if Alfred wasn't so insistent that he spare some time to see what Edward Vaniel wanted, would Bruce have ever found out? There are so many ifs to think about--if this man had never killed his parents there would never had been Batman. I loved this line: "Or he may have been the man that changed the world." I've always wondered why the guy that killed his parents didn't kill Bruce either, but I've decided that as Daniel and Bruce are approximately the same age he probably couldn't do it. Although there seems to be no love lost between the father and son, Edward did order Daniel away so he wouldn't have to hear his confession so perhaps he didn't want his son to think so poorly of him. One last thing: Poor Eddie. I was really glad when we learned that Eddie was finally able to get back into the game but then you learn at the end that Bruce broke both his legs. I guess it really comes down to bad timing. |
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Unregistered(d) |
Re: 00000-001 - Prologue and Chapter 1 | #18 | ||
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Posts: 0 01/08/07 04:01 |
Tres Magnifique!
I can't wait to see your full take on this subject. The prologue and first chapter are off to a wonderful start. I bet this will be one of your best and that's saying a lot. Way to go! |
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Starfire.gothampm |
True... | #19 | ||
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Posts: 105 01/08/07 06:01 Gothamite |
I'll give you that Chris. and I frankly agree with
you. you've most definitely proven that characters don't
have to stay static. that is however the conventional
wisdom... and quite frankly I'd rather they maintained
that conventional wisdom for now, at least until they get
editors and writers on board all at the same time who
truely understand the characters and can write them
properly as they grow and develop.
I shudder to think of what the current establishment might do if they suddenly decided that permanent character growth would be a good thing. |
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Jarissa Paxton |
Re: True... | #20 | ||
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Posts: 545 01/08/07 10:49 |
Quoth Katfairy: I agree with ObsessedRita. *If* it was, indeed, this guy, then I could easily accept that he didn't shoot Bruce because -- for just an instant -- he saw his own son in this boy's frightened face. And then, whether Edward really was the killer or just happened to be an active criminal at the time it happened and has deluded himself, he's confessing now because he subconsciously equates Bruce with his son. Daniel says he doesn't love his father, but feels a duty toward him; perhaps Edward feels a duty to his essentially-orphaned boy, motherless and fatherless just about as long as Bruce. Edward knows he's not going to get the absolution he craves from Daniel, nor the emotional punishment he deserves, for being a terrible father after all these years; so he's focused all his unresolvable twinges of conscience onto Bruce Wayne. And as we all know from The Addams Family, it's very easy for strong, intolerable emotions to be displaced into other feelings on other people. In a way, it's the most selfish thing a dying person can do, to dump this huge firestorm of feeling onto those who must go on living with what's been said, and not said. At heart, Edward doesn't care a whit about Bruce Wayne, regardless of who might've stood in that alley; he wants to salve his own mental discomfort, not to truly make amends. I don't have any idea how he *could* make amends, because how do you square that kind of debt? Meanwhile, it occurs to me that if modern software can age a face in a scanned photograph to show us what someone looks like after the picture was taken, then it can probably do the reverse. Does Bruce still remember that face, after all this time? Why has he never chosen to do a police sketch and then have it aged to a set of current-day projections? And if he did, would it be at all similar to Edward? Hmm. Maybe there's some lingering, unresolved turmoil here for Bruce, too. If he hasn't tried every possibility and failed to find the killer, then he hasn't failed yet.... Or maybe I'm reading too much into a very shallow, dying man. It'll be fun finding out! |
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