Comment on Emerald Dawn

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    Kara's well over the age of majority at the moment and from the Guardians' perspective she's just been hiding the fact she broke the law. Plus sure, she's done good things, but none of that means she didn't break the law, particularly from an absolute viewpoint. I mean, the Guardians thought the Third Army was a good idea, if it's that group in charge then it feels pretty likely they'd have a very strict policy on the laws and treaties they set.
    I don't mind honest critiques, but a lot of the critiques have been on things that haven't happened yet; like, this obviously isn't the end of the discussion. Lena doesn't know Kara's backstory fully, so there's no way she could bring it up to Kontross, and no reason for Kontross to thus defend their decision. When someone keeps criticizing despite knowing that the scene in question hasn't happened yet, I'm not sure how else to respond.

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    1. She is well over the age at the moment, but she was NOT at the age of majority when the supposed "crime" had been committed. I think they are giving you an honest critique about this issue but you may have been unaware of why they felt the situation you presented went against notions of fairness a lot of people in the United States (under our system of justice) kind of know from watching TV or reading books about legal cases and such. Just because she is an adult now you can't go and charge her for something she may have done when she wasn't legally culpable at the time the crime was committed. In your story, that event had happened way before your first chapter and that's why it doesn't seem fair to hold her accountable for something she supposedly did when she was a kid, which was arrive on Earth at age 13. If you use the logic of being well over the age of majority at the moment, Kal-El would be on the hook, too (after all, age-wise, he's older than Kara). Of course, he had no part in the decision to come to Earth and was also legally unable to be held accountable because he was sent here as a child. Also, knowledge legally doesn't matter in age of majority situations. A sixteen year old may know they aren't supposed to sign legally binding contracts but if they do, the courts mark the contracts null and void because the age is what matters, not the knowledge. There are a lot of instances where anyone who's mentally incapable of giving consent or is too young under the law cannot be charged for even statutory crimes (crimes if you did it and there is minimal proof, you're guilty). Say a seventeen year old boy has sex with a sixteen year old girl. In most jurisdictions if an eighteen year old man had sex with that same girl, he's automatically guilty of statutory rape and will serve jail time. But the seventeen year old boy, even if he is aware of the law about statutory rape (you cannot have sexual intercourse with a female under the age of eighteen [in most jurisdictions] even with her consent) will not be charged for the crime because he is too young, according to the law, to form the criminal intent in his mind to commit the crime. And that is kind of what you have here in your story. Even if Kara knew about the Guardian's edict, she was too young to be held accountable for it.

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      1. AO3 logo with text "orphan account"

        I'm aware of what they're saying, but it goes beyond that, from the perspective of the Guardians. Yes, if there was a one-time crime committed by someone underage it wouldn't be an issue, but to bring back the weapon analogy, someone at age 13 who buys an illegal weapon wouldn't be tried as an adult, but if they kept holding onto that as an adult despite knowing full well it's wrong, then they'd still be charged for possession. (And that's basically how it is for the Guardians). Even if it's the kind of thing they could get a license for, if they didn't even try to get a license, even if they'd have been given one, it still breaks the law.

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        1. Your argument doesn't legally hold water. One, I would loathe to use a "weapons analogy" for people. Weapons are chattel (legal term for property) and don't have rights. People do have rights, though. Even though they're aliens, both Clark and Kara are citizens of the United States. They have civil rights and would be protected under the law. Second, you are going against your own argument about why Clark shouldn't be held responsible. If what you say is true for Kara, it's also true for Clark. He's just as dangerous as a 'weapon' as Kara, so that logic should apply to him, as well. He's an adult who couldn't know as a child it was wrong but if he was told as an adult it applied to him, he'd probably point out, "Well, good luck with that since 1) your jurisdiction isn't recognized on Earth by any government; 2) your law is unenforceable since Krypton no longer exists, so what's the point of the law, to pick on two survivors of a catastrophe you did nothing to stop: and 3) I'm freaking Superman and can defeat any of your Green Lanterns plus, again, your Lanterns have no official jurisdiction on Earth, so they would be acting as vigilantes going after well-loved superheroes."

          Frankly, I don't see why the Guardians would care if you're using the TV show as the setting of your story. The finale of Supergirl's first season made it pretty clear that neither Super cousin can fly through space or go without breathing for the long period of time required for interstellar flight. So, essentially, they're Earthbound. If you were using the movie version of Superman (Man of Steel, Dawn of Justice), and by extension, Kara has similar powers and abilities, I could see your point about them being able to operate in space. If so, you should make that clear in your story.

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          1. AO3 logo with text "orphan account"

            I don't want to just get into an argument in the comments of the story. Like I said, if you don't like the premise of the story, there's not much I can do, it's written.
            Yes, they're not weapons, but it illustrates why some laws can still be relevant long after the instant they're broken. And, like before, Clark wouldn't be held accountable for a law he didn't know existed, while Kara could because she made an informed decision. Clark's just been warned not to abuse his powers; if he did the Green Lantern Corps would absolutely intervene (as I'm pretty sure they've done in some parts of the DC multiverse).
            They can't operate in space, but Earth's still part of this sector of space, Oa still exists, and they're still capable of going offworld (as both of them have in the show).
            It's fine if you don't agree with it, I don't write perspectives I agree with so I wouldn't expect it of the reader. All that matters is whether you can accept the Guardians as an organization with non-human values which would enforce such a law. If you don't, fair enough, this just isn't the story for you. No story's going to be for everyone. My understanding of them is that they can definitely have unreasonable standards, and even be downright antagonistic, if you're not happy with that interpretation, I've heard what you have to say, but it's too late for that to be changed.

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            1. All I was doing was pointing out the inconsistency in your own story logic. I don't have a problem with the Guardians having non-human values and this has nothing to do with perspectives. I was trying to apply the logic you came up with for your story. Kara was a kid just like Kal; so, neither of them was the age of majority for their species, therefore neither could have made an informed decision that would be legally recognized. Essentially, they should have been treated the same by your Guardians. But if you choose not to see the inconsistency in your logic, okay then.

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              1. AO3 logo with text "orphan account"

                That's never been what I've said though, in the story or in the comments. Kal had no knowledge that the law even existed because he's not old enough to remember anything of Krypton. Kara is old enough to remember the law, as well as its impact. It's nothing to do with age of majority, just age of awareness.

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