Chicago's Library

Personal Fanfiction Website
Website:	Chicago's Library
Author:	Chicago
Dates:	December 2002-April 2016
Fandom:	DCU
URL:	via Wayback; AO3 Collection AO3 Artwork collection;
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Chicago's Library is the personal archive for fanwriter Chicago. It was part of the Offpanel.net hubsite and contained both gen and slash fanfiction set in the DCU.

The archive officially closed in November 2016, but prior to that, in March 2016, its move to AO3 was approved by the OTW Open Doors Committee.

Stand-Alone Stories

• Homecoming - On a forced vacation, Barbara Gordon finds out that home is less a place than a feeling.
• Winter - In the middle of winter, a sick Robin refuses to leave his mentor to face the grueling Gotham Night. [Smitty sez: Chicago said this could be Potatoverse, but it's too good to pigeonholed to just ONE universe.]
• The Girl From Ipanema - Dick Grayson shadows a certain Cassandra Cain. [Smitty sez: It's stuck in my head now--read with caution!]
• Untitled - Alfred and young Dick Grayson have more in common than one might think.
• Unfic - It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...unfic! No Superman, but any more clues would be telling.
• Pride & Ice Cream: Some Things Are Easier to Swallow Than Others - Ice cream is the key to true friendship. That and saying sorry. [Smitty sez: Partner! It's virtual ice cream. It's Absolutely Fabulous. This fic made my week.]
• The Public Eye - The historic first meeting of Black Canary and...Bruce Wayne? [Smitty sez: Year One fic! I love Year One fic!!!] Second Place Winner of Yellow on Black/Kicking-n-Byting Contest!
• And So This Is Christmas - Martian Manhunter finds comfort in the smallest, but most meaningful of Christmas traditions. [Smitty sez: Tissue warning! I found myself inexplicably teary halfway through this one.]
• Tribute From Sandra - A ficlet from Sandra Miller to cheer up Chicago when the Cubs were slumping. [Smitty sez: Um, I had a bad day...I'll take a Martian...And Sandra coded! Thanks!]
• Die Laughing - There comes a moment when even the Joker needs to die.
• Pushed - In canon, Barbara broke up with Dick. She claimed he was getting too much like Bruce. Maybe it's the other way around?
• Antiheroes - Beware the characters who inhabit the shadows - you never know whose side they're on!
• Truth - Batman and Wonder Woman have been close. Could they get closer?
• Last Refuge of the Lost and Alone - It's Christmas on the Watchtower, and Green Lantern is finally coming home.
• One Terrible Moment - A speculative fic about events leading up to Kingdom Come.
• Uncursed - In an alternative universe, H'ronmeer's Curse was not so thoroughly fatal.

Slash Collection

• As Time Goes By - Bruce/Dick - Written for the songfic challenge on the Batslash list.
• Wish - Bruce/Dick - Written for the change challenge on the Batslash list.
• Last Page LITE - Bruce/Clark - Written for the last page challenge on the Batslash list.
• Double or Nothing - Bruce/J'onn, Bruce/Harvey Dent (implied) - Written for the last page challenge on the Batslash list.
• Need - Batman/Mr. Terrific - Sequel to "Stay" by 'rith.
• Left - Connor Hawke/Jack Knight - Written in response to suggestions from Smitty and Reccea.
• Shared - Mr. Terrific/Dr. Mid-Nite - No explanation, just got itself written.
• UN-Sex Challenge - J'onn/Bruce, Dick/Garth - Written for Darklady's un-sex challenge.

Martian Manlove Series

From her introduction, Chicago explains how the "J'onnverse" came about:

Over about a six month span, three things happened. The first was that I wrote a story called "Homecoming" and in the process of researching for it found my still vaguely formed Martian Manhunter obsession becoming something a little more serious. My friends, observing this, and being in something of a mood to play matchmaking games between comic book characters, posited a challenge. This was the second thing, the dare to find a way to pair Martian Manhunter and Batman. I laughed, and they laughed, and I said if I found the right story, I would. Then the third thing: DC Comics released JLA #58, and I learned of the disaster that had befallen J'onn.

Comics canon provided a scenario where imagination had failed. In fact, I have read a review of the final page of JLA #58 that complained that Batman seemed out of character, uttering more words of support to Martian Manhunter in his hour of need than he ever had to Nightwing or Robin or Batgirl or any of the other collection of followers Batman has. Anyone who has a long comics reading history will realize that that argument is a bit hyperbolic, but the general idea is sound. Batman was awfully solicitous of a gravely wounded J'onn J'onzz.

And so I wrote "Only Human," the first of what was to become a rather disturbingly large collection of fanfiction.

It wasn't intended to be so much, perhaps a story or two, just for fun. Then one of the chief instigators of the whole thing, Darklady, changed her stance and decided to persuade me that this was not a relationship doomed to failure. In proving the point, she became an active collaborator in the J'onnverse, and her stories are among those that you will find here. Adding impetus to the whole project, 'rith offered a bit of webspace and Smitty designed a site and suddenly a couple stories had turned into a couple dozen, all living happily in their own archive.

That's how it happened.

As to what the J'onnverse is? That is something I encourage you to investigate on your own. The stories are presented sequentially, in the order they are intended to be read, but there's nothing that says you can't skip around. Go where you will. The stories are archived by year off this front page; the sidebar links provide answers to questions about characters, continuity, comic books, etc. But enough from me. Please, enter and enjoy the stories.

Chicago

1/1/03

The series is divided by years, and the archive includes a page for fanart inspired by the series.

• YEAR 1: 39 stories, by Chicago, Darklady (and Chicago and Darklady together) and nw's chick
• YEAR 2: 56 stories by Chicago, Darklady, nw's chick, SKH, Smitty, StarStorm, ManEaterLad, Hotspur and Shadow Kyle. Includes a 30 fics in 30 days challenge.
• YEAR 3: 5 stories by by Chicago, Darklady (and Chicago and Darklady together)
• YEAR 4: no stories, but arc was plotted out this far.
• YEAR 5: no stories, but arc was plotted out this far.
• J'onnverse Art: art by Bats4Bats.

The page also included the following links:

• Offpanel.net Livejournal
• J'onnverse Canon Notes
• Martian Manhunter Fan Page (link via Wayback, Jul 11/01)
• The Dark Knight Fan Page (link via Wayback Dec 3/07)

Huge thanks are due to the people who have helped make this archive possible: 'rith, for hosting it, Smitty, for designing the Year One page and coding most of Year One, Nika, for scans and graphics support and of course the various J’onnverse contributors: Darklady, nw's chick, StarStorm, Luke, Smitty, SKH, Bats4Bats, Hotspur and ManEaterLad.

• wild applause* You guys ROCK!

The latest updates to the page occurred in 2004.