Prompt Post - Part Ten

[yj_anon]

I am REALLY, REALLY SORRY about taking so long, guys, and about not being around much recently. I've been busier than I have in a while, and it just kept slipping my mind between uni applications and volunteering and all sorts- for some reason I thought we were much further off a new post.

If there is anything I haven't responded to, as of now, I'm

Comments

Re: Adventures in Batsitting 1

[thingamawhatsit]

Wally learned sign language from Hartley Rathaway, otherwise known as the Pied Piper, his former enemy turned good friend. Hartley learned sign language because he was born deaf.

Cassandra Cain-Wayne was never taught how to speak, not any language as we would think of it. Instead she was taught to read bodies. The movement, the intention, the motive, the meaning.

She’s a smart girl, but learning English is hard.

Wally starts signing when he speaks to her a few weeks after he begins to frequent the Wayne Manor, a habit of using it whenever he’s around people that have trouble communicating picked up from following and being dragged on Hartley’s volunteer work. He doesn’t even realize it, used to talking with his hands in one form or another all the time, until suddenly she steps forward, and points intensely at his moving hands.

“What?”

Wally stops, surprised at hearing her talk for maybe the third or fourth time in his presence. “Uhh, I said Alfred is probably almost done with -“

Cass shakes her head violently, and grabs a hold of his hands. Fumbling she tries to make them follow one of the patterns they had flown through just moments ago. “What?”

Wally blinks a few times, and then makes a gesture pointing downward, his eyebrow raised high in question. “This?”

She nods, a quick smile blooming on her face at being understood, and presses his hands together, pushing them towards him with hope. “More?”

Wally smiles down at her, and consciously signs as he speaks. “Anything in particular or you just want to see me talk?”

Cass shrugs, and Wally grins. “Well, let’s see. How do you feel about a story with your big brother Dick in it?”

Cassandra watches, entranced, as Wally talks in a way that she can see.

-

Everyone in the mansion begins to learn sign language, and while Cass doesn’t learn it overnight, picking up only a few words here, a mountain of them there, it is leaps and bounds easier for her than English. Moving her body is something that she understands, something so much easier to mimic than the noises that people make.

Soon Cass even begins to go to a class where she learns sign language with other children. It’s amazing.

-

Charity events and Galas are probably the most boring part about being the son of Bruce Wayne. When Bruce asks Wally to come to help out Dick will admit to being excited. This party at least should have something entertaining.

Alfred stays home with Terry and Damian, and so he doesn’t even have to worry about Wally going off to change diapers or stop Damian from biting people.

Wally, dressed in a suit Bruce had insisted in getting him for the occasion, heads straight to the buffet table, which is predictable. It takes a little while longer for Dick to make it over there as he is stopped by people wanting to say hello to Bruce Wayne’s oldest, and by the time he does Wally is smiling awkwardly at a predatory looking older woman.

By the time he gets close enough to hear she’s already asking Wally to - dance.

Steph gets to his side before Dick does, dodging through peoples legs like an obstacle course, and grabs onto his hand, glaring up at the cougar. “You can’t dance with him.”

Dick thinks she might be raising an eyebrow, but a few too many botox treatments have obviously made moving her face on the challenging side. “And why not?”

“Because Wally is my date, and he has to dance with me.” Steph juts her chin out defiantly.

Wally smiles indulgently down at her, and then looks over at the cougar apologetically, the hand not currently held by Steph going up to rub at the back of his head. “Sorry, you heard the little princess, looks like I’m spoken for.”

And with a victorious smile Steph drags Wally off onto the dance floor.

The two dance almost the whole night, until Steph finally manages to wear herself out, and Wally picks her up letting her fall asleep with her head on his shoulder.

Wally thinks it’s adorable.

Re: Adventures in Batsitting 1

[truth_of_ideals]

MY SMILE IS SPLITTING MY FACE WITH HAPPINESS

My favorite line has to be the about Cass, "Soon she begins to attend a class to learn sign language with other children, and it's amazing." For personal reasons, this is heartbreaking and amazing and gaaah Cass you are so lucky.

Re: Adventures in Batsitting 1

[thingamawhatsit]

I am glad that you are enjoying it, and that you liked the scene with Cass. I don't know a lot about her (especially since my main line of intake for DC is cartoons), but I do know that I love her, if that makes any sort of sense.

And this seems sort of off topic, but have you ever heard of the book 'A Man Without Words'? If you haven't go google it real quick. That's the sort of story that I feel like Cass deserves for the story arch of her learning language. There's this moment where the man first comprehends that things have names that still makes me tear up to think about. And dear lord, if you could did it in a comic book? Have it so that for the most part before that realization any parts that are from Cass's POV are done without speech - and slowly add things in - mental labels on items things like that.

Re: Adventures in Batsitting 1

[thingamawhatsit]

awwww~ cass, you're breaking my heart! the only thing is she'd probably learn english-sign language (i think it's called, i can't remember) where it's pretty much the english language (grammar, small words like 'the' etc.) except you use your hands. it'd probably make learning english easier for her.

and stephanie deserves a hug for rescuing wally from that cougar. seriously. or maybe a plate of alfred's cookies to herself. yeah. >:)

op

[thingamawhatsit]

BTW the above comment is me as well -_-' sorry forgot to add that...

Re: Adventures in Batsitting 1

[thingamawhatsit]

From what I can tell, and admitadly I'm no expert, she would be learning ALS - American Sign Language. While I don't believe that any form of ASL has things like 'the' there are indeed two different ways that you'll see it used - the sort of verbatim from American English way, and the way that true ASL would be, with a different grammar and syntax that works better with the hand gestures used. The later would be the kind that you would find in deaf communities, and such. The way I see it she would probably end up learning both, and while it would cause some extra initial confusion for her knowing ASL that doesn't use English grammar would open up an entire world of communication and human interaction that she's been lacking in the form of that community (and far more quickly than she would gain from learning the other version, as even if the sign language helps her learn words actually speaking them would be a much harder, longer challenge, and take much longer to get to the point where she can have the same level of significant interaction with people, since the main problem has been and would continue to be, even with her knowing sign language recognizably English grammar, that other people can not understand what she is trying to communicate).

The batfamily would obviously have to learn ASL in the new grammar as well, but considering I don't think that they would have a problem with that.

Stephanie is devious. Not only did she save Wally, she got to keep him for the rest of the night XD

I'm glad you are enjoying XD

Re: Adventures in Batsitting 1

[thingamawhatsit]

i learned about something like that in my asl class last year, but i practically failed it so i wouldn't trust my brain on those subjects ^^ cass would probably LOVE the deaf community, most of the time body language and facial expressions mean more than the actual signs, and yeah learning how to say the words would definetely be the hardest part for her. ^^

Re: Adventures in Batsitting 1

[thingamawhatsit]

Having Cass be in the deaf community would open up a wonderful and unique world of storytelling, and it's a crying shame that it won't be seen (unless they decide to completely overhaul DC again and pick varied and complex story telling over whatever it is they seem to use as a bench mark now, or Cass gets her own completely awesome long running Elseworld. I would be all over a Cass Elseworld).

Re: Adventures in Batsitting 1

[thingamawhatsit]

i haven't read many comics with her in it but what i have read was pretty good, and she'd do well in her own comic. they should just make an elseworlds comic for all the characters where they live happy lives and the timeline isn't messed up every 5 years...

Re: Adventures in Batsitting 1

[banana_andthena]

I laughed at Damian being possessive of Wally; he's his red-head until Colin comes along~ And when Wally took out the small chemistry set and book I thought, "DEARGAWD WHAT ARE YOU DOING ARE YOU TRYING TO TURN HIM INTO A SPEEDSTER" followed by "... Jason's gonna be the explosives expert in the family~" when Jaybird set off 3 alarms~

Also, Cass. I saw a comic page a few days ago where her father trained her not to react when she was shot and I just-- my heart goes out to her so much. It went out to her in her section, too, because lol English :T. Oh! I searched the book that you suggested to Truth; it sounds amazing and awe-worthy. We're so used to having labels and names for almost everything, and for a person to not know a single word/name? It's difficult to get my mind around that O_O.

'She nods, a quick smile blooming on her face at being understood, and presses his hands together, pushing them towards him with hope. “More?”' -- "Cassandra watches, entranced, as Wally talks in a way that she can see." -- "Soon Cass even begins to go to a class where she learns sign language with other children. It’s amazing." CASS MAY I HUG YOU?

Steph is a saviour~ She's all "RAWR.NOPE.DENIED, YOU OLD HAG", and it makes me want to shower her with chocolate XD

I'm excited to see what Tim's would be~ And Terry, too, even though he's still a newborn? 8D

Re: Adventures in Batsitting 1

[thingamawhatsit]

I thought to myself - what is the way to Jason's heart? And the answer was most obviously explosives XD

It's an amazing read. I spent a day in a used book store reading half of it before I had to go, and I still wish that I would have spent the money I didn't have to get it. It makes you realize the kinds of attachments that we place on everyday little words, these extra things that they pick up in the course of living. And there's this sort of paradox invoked every time you really get close to seeing what it had to be like for him to languageless, because there really are no words to describe it. It touches on just how fundamentally different the brain works because we have words compared to someone who doesn't.

Basically if you ever have a chance to I'd recommend getting it XD

Tim's up in the next part, although I don't know that I did him as much justice as I have the others, and Terry, at least for the time being, is sort of interspersed around here and there instead of there being any one moment/thing.

Re: Adventures in Batsitting 1

[thingamawhatsit]

........................... Damian's from Talia and Terry from Selina, but Wally's taking care of their babies and changing diapers and probably (most likely) loving them so I'm just going to go ahead and non-ashamedly think of BatFlash.

Re: Adventures in Batsitting 1

[thingamawhatsit]

........you should enjoy the next parts *whistles innocently*