Language is a River

Finally continuing these!! Only missing Sokka now.

Look, I knew Gene. We talked many times about the idea of Jim and Spock being lovers. He had no problem with it at all.

But you know what he did have a problem with?

Zippers.

He was adamant that by the 23rd century humans would have a better solution to fastening their clothes than zippers and buttons. And I mean, he felt passionately about this.

Passionately.

It’s because of this that those first gold shirts the crew wore in Where No Man Has Gone Before got scrapped in favor of shirts that didn’t show the fasteners. And also why the cast were sewn into their environment suits while filming Tholian Web and could only use the bathroom at lunch before being sewn back into costume til quitting time.

And it was the reason for Gene speaking quite sharply to me once—the only time he ever did — and I hung my head and felt like a kid in trouble with her dad. He read a slash story of mine and got on my case for writing zippers & buttons into the undressing scene. Really kind of chewed me out.

I’m surprised by your surprise.

The response to this post has made me realize how long it has been since Gene died. So most of you did not know him. (If you did, raise your hand. I know some of you are old enough.)

ETA2: we do use inches/miles in poetic ways ("he was lost in thought/miles away" or "his lips were a bare inch away").

In the ocean's deepest trenches, a wandering and ancient Pokemon is said to be a beacon of light to those who are lost...

I was trying to write some fic and started saving a bunch of comic panels to analyze Cass’s speech patterns, so here’s my notes for myself and others! Most of the panels are taken from more recent stuff, like Birds of Prey (2023), Batgirls (2022) and Batgirl (2024).

I have nine points:

Only speaking when necessary

Typically monotone

Sentence Structure

On the job vs off the job

Slang

Facial Expressions and Body Language

Miscellaneous

My personal headcanons (still with some evidence)

I've also been forced to split this post up, since I can't add more than ten images per post :(

1: Only speaking when necessary

Unsurprisingly, Cass doesn’t talk much. This is especially true in group situations, since she doesn’t need to drive any conversation.

[Birds of Prey, Issue #2: Zannah and Black Canary are discussing plans, going back and forth about how to get onto Themyscira. Cass adds “or they’ll be on high alert.”]

The panel above is from a scene showing the Birds strategizing, and this is the only time Cass talks. She’s silent the rest of the time.

For one-on-one situations, she still doesn’t expand much, preferring single-word sentences.

[Batgirl (2024), Issue #2: Lady Shiva dropping some exposition, and Cass asking a question with one word.]

In tense situations, she can forget to speak ‘properly’, dropping words like ‘I’ll’ in the panel below:

[Batgirl (2024), Issue #2: Cass fights Kalden the Unseen after he hurts her friend.]

Also, she’ll talk more casually with people she’s comfortable with, like Steph!

[Batgirls, Issue #4: Cass and Steph banter a bit before being interrupted by Barbara.]

2: Typically monotone

Cass sounds very monotone, a lot of the time. She barely ends her sentences with exclamation marks or asks rhetorical questions. It’s fun to see her contrast her with characters who are more excitable/long-winded!

[Birds of Prey, Issue #7: Cass and Bertha go back and forth after being beaten in a fight.]

Cass also keeps up her usual tone in most fights. Here she is, battling a giant squid creature, focused as ever.

[Spirit World, Issue #3: Cass chides her teammates for bickering at each other rather than focusing on the fight.]

When in more alarming situations, she’ll raise her voice like everyone else. It’s uncommon, but only because it’s uncommon for her to be overwhelmed.

[Spirit World, Issue #4: A mysterious force takes control of Cass and Constantine, Cass looks scared, shouting “Can’t control… my body!”]

Once again, she’s more expressive with Steph. She’s more comfortable with her, and matches Steph’s energy when they’re both excited.

Short Sentences with No Commas

As said before, Cass doesn’t talk more than she has to. Where most would use a comma, she ends each phrase with a period. She also drops a lot of ‘unnecessary’ speech.

Birds of Prey #1

[Birds of Prey, issue #1: Batgirl talks to Black Canary, where she greets her by just saying ‘Black Canary.’ without a hello.]

If she can be understood with just a word, she’ll only say that word.

[Batgirls, issue #1: Cass replies with ‘Soap. Towel. Favourite robe.’ when asked if she needs anything.]

[Batgirls, issue #1: Cass says ‘Movement. Grumpy neighbor.’ when Steph asks what’s going on.]

Ellipses

Cass uses a lot of ellipses, especially in the early days. She trails off often, and speaks slowly.

[Batgirl (2000), Issue #7: Batgirl tries to convince Batman she’s ready, stuttering.]

4: On the job vs off the job.

Cass is much more at ease and confident with her sentences as Batgirl. She trails off a lot more as a civilian.

[Batgirl (2008), Issue #2: Cass talking to a guy in her class, having an awkward conversation (likely also awkward since it’s implied to be romantic, but still).]

In the exact same issue, Cass as Batgirl speaks a lot more confidently.

[Batgirl (2008), Issue #2: Cass and Marque discuss their plans and trade information.]

5: Slang

Cass canonically picked up dialogue from watching TV, and uses some slang. Although she picked up English almost like a second language, she doesn’t speak like she was taught in a formal, classroom setting.

[Spirit world, issue #4: Cass says ‘gotcha’.] [Birds of Prey, Issue #9, Cass  says ‘sorta’ in her sentence.]

If Cass can get her point across just using her face or other non-verbal gestures, that’s her go to. No point using words when your face does the trick!

The page below is one of my favourites, since it really shows Cass communicating a lot without words.

[Birds of prey, issue #7: Cass makes her opinion on potential outfits known with her facial expressions.]

She’d also rather nod or shake her head, as opposed to saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

[Batgirls #3: Cass nods her head.][Spirit World #4: Cass shakes her head.]

7: Miscellaneous

Cass can’t storytell well at all:

[Birds of Prey, Issue #1: The team tells Cass she’s really bad at telling stories.]

Cass uses a lot of emojis:

[Nightwing issue #79: Babs remarking that Cass can’t help herself when it comes to emojis.]

8: Veering into Headcanon Territory:

Cass has a very basic grasp on describing what she’s feeling. In my mind, this translates to a very basic grasp of her feelings as a whole.

In the panel below, Cass is very confused about why she’s putting in effort towards her father, and describes him as terrible. She pauses a lot, indicating she’s having a hard time putting together how she feels:

[Batgirl (2000) #65: Cass tells David Cain he ‘sucks’, very simple vocabulary for everything that’s gone down between them.]

I also think Cass has echolalia, which is the ‘meaningless repetition of words spoken by another person’. This only happens a few times but I’ll peddle it.

[Batgirls #2: Cass repeats Stephs words ‘still sucking’, without much reason.]

Conclusion: