#Arella

[alexandriaellisart]

sunrise

[hood-ex]

People telling Dick he thinks too much vs. Dick ranting about why he always has to be the one to have a plan:

Flash Plus Nightwing

TNTT (Vol. 1) #25

The New Titans #77

[fancyfade]

Forever at War and Mother by Fade31415

Just re-read NTT 1-6 so I wanted to do fanart... I chose to draw how I think the scene where Arella throws herself into the void after Trigon felt, even though she was clearly shown to be going in after him (rather than being pulled back).

Then of course I have more neutral colors + a quoteo I like for Raven (tho not from this arc)

Raven quotes I do like from this arc (or that are relevant for explaining the situation):

Now my mother guards the bridge as she must for all eternity. She, who believed in peace, must now be forever at war...

Perhaps you should have had me killed, because as I grew I could not be content with your passive approach to finding peace.

All my life I was taught the virtue of peace and the folly of battle. All my life I have believed that to fight was to cause your soul to wither and die. But my mother and the others in the temple azarath are wrong! life is too precious and too important to let you waste it so ignobly.

Refs used (link1, link2)

[bourniebna]

[Character Study]

The Parallel Beauty and Grace of Raven and Arella

“She stands strong and regal, and even before her face can be seen, you know it is lovely beyond all measure…”

Undoubtedly, these praisings are devoted to Arella’s beauty and grace, with her stance portrayed and face revealed during the narrative. However, right after that, a full-body close-up portrait of Raven putting down her hood, revealing her face, is meticulously drawn.

This is also the first time we know what Raven looks like, despite her many previous appearances when she was gathering the Teen Titans. The question is, why now? Moreover, compared to Arella’s dimly lit face, no shades of shadow are casted on Raven’s soft features, as if to make an emphasis.

And I couldn’t help thinking that maybe the adoration of a “strong and regal” stance and a “lovely beyond all measure” face is also acclaimed for Raven by the authors in subtlety through Arella. After all, why not reveal her face before that? And why not choose a half-body portrait?

The only sound rationale for me is that it was a poetic, artistic choice to paint the parallel beauty and grace of Arella and Raven - the mother and the daughter.

[bbraefairy]

the doves were a forecast of death.

[amor-immortalem]

Something quick I did for his birthday

That year Arella gave him a sheep plushie~

[joeysmuttonchops]

New Teen Titans (1980) #4

honestly the Raven and Arella relationship is one of the most important and powerful ones in early NTT period. Raven acts as the driving force this early into the book, but Arella is representative of the forces driving Raven

theres something there, that its as Raven ages out of childhood and begins to move on her own she finds a struggle-and she goes to her family and she goes to the system to ask for help, only to find that the resources aren't there for her anymore. that she has to manage on her own now. because she's changed, because she won't follow the rules, because the rules don't work for her the way they worked for Arella

and all Raven does in these early issues is ask for help. over and over again, no matter how many times she's denied it. she asks her mother and the people of Azarath and they say she's lost her way, she asks the justice league and not only do they deny her they demonize and threaten her. its not until she asks her peers that she's able to get help. i cant help but compare it to Arella being denied help from state agencies before being offered a new community on Azarath.

its not until Raven's peers ask her to that Arella changes her mind. Arella isn't able to change her mind until she's confronted with immediate danger, and outside thought. And there's something there too, that Arella wouldn't help when it was Raven asking but did when it was someone else. theres an immense seperation between the two: with Raven driving herself beyond a reasonable point and Arella needing external input to move at all.

[tzigone]

Raven and Arella

Which relationship dynamic do you like with Raven and Arella? I'm kind of fond of how I perceived the earliest one. They aren't close, really. Arella wasn't really her day-to-day parent and Arella then threw herself into the community in Azarath (arguably leaving one cult for another). But ultimately she chose her daughter over that life and fought Trigon and sacrificed herself to that end.

I'd like to have seen a different follow up when she was released, though - I thought her attitude towards Raven way too harsh and I don't find it consistent with her first representation (where Raven had to urge Arellato fight, and Raven was the more proactive). It also really bugged me that she wanted to see her parents when her not having a family was a significant part of her original origin.

However, the idea that after leaving Azarath and escaping when Trigon did that Arella would jump into "ordinary" life instead of getting to know Raven and spending time with her does kind ring true to me. Sort of because she did that before when Raven was an infant. And sort of from once when I read an article from a child raised in a cult but leaving in adolescence - her mother had an "ordinary" to come back, to a framework to live in, and could more easily feel like she belonged in the outside than the child could.

[meditative-phantomgirl]

Rae's mom

[ravensvirginity]

(CW: canon typical discussions of sexual assault)

Really niche fandom pet peeve but I hate when I see something that acts like the only thing that was wrong with what happened between Trigon and Arella was rape by deception. That did happen, and that on its own would be very bad (I'm absolutely in no way trying to say that that would be okay or anything but rape), but idk where the perception that he stopped assaulting her once he revealed his demon form comes from because that's very much not what happened.

This is Arella's account of what happened to her in her own words, and it seems pretty clear that Trigon kept her longer after she saw his true form. It's not hard to fill in the gaps.

This isn't even a misconception that can be blamed on non comic media. Obviously none of this was ever discussed in either of the CN cartoons, but it was in the DCAMU, and if anything it has more explicit confirmation than the NTT panels.

(The actual scene with the reveal is about 53 seconds in)

I'd guess where the misconception comes from is future retellings of Raven's origin that were condensed to be only a few panels. It doesn't matter all that much at the end of the day, but it just bothers me a little because it's not what happened.

I think it's also a little out of character for Trigon; as the sum of all of Azarath's evil, he's almost nothing but violence. I think that act being so violent is what made Arella find so much solace in Azar's teachings, and Raven hearing this story from her mother as her first exposure to anything related to sexuality made her internalize that her sexual desire is something dangerous and violent that she needs to keep tightly under control. The intended story fits the overall themes with Trigon and Arella better than the misrepresented version.

Arella as a character is so often misrepresented. DC doesn't seem very interested in that part of Raven's backstory at the moment, but I think the right writer could write a great story with her with a more modern tone if given the chance.

[alexandriaellisart]

[momachan]

"Odd, this scene's not playing like I remembered. Hadn't I already gotten into my costume by the time I finished with Wally? Brrr... A cold tremor up my spine-- I... Dick's... shivering-- As if-- the past and present... are merging... This costume... No! Robin is dead-- Jason Todd is dead!"

Teen Titans. Secret Origins (1986-1990). Annual #3. "Pieces Of The Puzzle."

[thebestestbat]

New Teen Titans (1984) #4 | Original Meme

[ID: A comic with two panels. In panel one, an angry figure points at distant houses and stick figures on fire. The figure has orange hair and green eyes (representing Lilith) and says, "She commited genocide." In panel two is an angry figure with long black hair, a yellow headpiece, and yellow earrings (representing Arella). She holds demon!Raven (drawn with red skin, four yellow eyes, long black hair, and a blue cloak). Arella shouts, "She was ovulating!!?" Demon!Raven has her face in her hands. End ID.]

generic version (for demon raven apologism) under the cut.

[ID: A comic with two panels. In panel one, an angry figure points at distant houses and stick figures on fire. They say, "She commited genocide." In panel two is an angry figure holding demon!Raven (drawn with red skin, four yellow eyes, long black hair, and a blue cloak). This figure shouts, "She was ovulating!!?" Demon!Raven has her face in her hands. End ID.]

[light-miracles]

Dick: I just don't know how to ask Raven out.

Bruce: That's alright Dick. The first time I had a crush on a girl I didn't know what to do either. Somehow I thought that sending her a note saying "get out of the city" was a good idea.

Angela:

Angela: Oh my God IT WAS YOU?!

[infpenguin19]

doodles today!

bonus:

[amor-immortalem]

Baby Horns pt. 1

Summary: with the beginning of spring comes the shedding of all young demons’ baby horns. What happens when the half-demons lose their horns for the first time? How do their parents comfort them?

A/N: I’ve been thinking about a headcanon I saw on here once about the brothers shedding their horns every year and began to think about how the half-demons that have horns would react to losing theirs for the first time. This’ll be multipart cuz I can’t remember how many of them have horns in their designs right now...

also keep in mind these blurbs are all happening at different times too like months or even (in Cyrus’ case) years apart

・・・〆・・・

Cyrus

The constant itching on his head is enough to cue Cyrus that something is wrong with his horns. It starts out mildly at first, only itching enough to be a mild annoyance. He doesn’t have his parents to ask about this, having been taken away from them so long ago, so he does his best to ignore it.

The itching only gets worse as the spring goes on, getting to the point where Cyrus is transforming into his demon form regularly and actively scratching his head against his bedroom door frame just to soothe the odd sensation.

Why do they feel so loose? Is the question that invades the bottle-black-haired boy’s mind as he inspects the onyx horns that haven’t grown much since they first came in jutting out from his scruffy, unkempt hair. Messing with them only causes the itch to intensify until Cyrus can’t help but to rut the side of his head against his bathroom door frame.

It feels so relieving until the half-demon hears a ‘snap’. Blue-to-gold-eyes snap open in horror to see the small, corkscrewed appendage fall to the floor in front of him.

“Korrina!” The tanned boy calls out to his captor who’s just downstairs brewing new types of medicinal potions to sell in her shop.

“Quiet down, Avaro” the witch sighs as she puts her utensils down, not even turning to face him. “I can hear you just fine.”

Cyrus pauses for a moment at the use of the name she’d picked out for him when she’d won him in an auction seven years prior- one that made him feel like a newly adopted pet.

“Don’t call me that. My name’s not Avaro and you know it.” The 12-year-old grumbles. “Use the name my real parents gave me or don’t call me by a name at all.”

“And I told you that old name was dead. Avaro suits you better anyway.” Finally turning to look at him, Korrina’s mint-green eyes widen in delight when she sees the horn clenched in his hand. “Are your baby horns finally falling off? Here. Come here.”

Excitement bubbles up in her voice and Cyrus is more than a little weirded out by it. When he doesn’t respond in the way she wants, Korrina uses magic to pull the pre-teen to her.

She takes his horn from his hand and places it in her bowl to be ground up later.

“I wonder if the other one is ready to come off too.” She muses as she cups Cyrus’ face with one hand to hold him in place and uses the other to test the horn still attached to his head. “It is!”

With a quick jerk of the wrist, the black-haired witch is able to snap it off his head.

“OW!” Cyrus yelps as he smacks her away with his wing, knocking himself down in the process. A small trail of blood trickles down the side of his face. “That hurt!”

“Ohh, my poor baby…” Korrina grabs a handkerchief and wipes the side of his face before uttering a spell under her breath and kissing the wound. “I’m sorry.”

“Get your lips off of me!” The half-demon growls as he pushes her away. “You’re not my Mom- don’t try to kiss my injuries to make them feel better. It’s gross.”

“Avaro,” the witch gasps with a frown, “You’ve always been my baby. I’m heartbroken that you would say that.”

“You really are crazy.” Cyrus hurries and scampers back off to his room before Korrina can do anything else. “And stop calling me that name!” He slams his bedroom door, now two horns short and done with interacting with his delusional captor.

・・・〆・・・

Azalea

“Muuum, my head itches!” Azalea complains as her mother does her hair from an official ball at the Demon Lord’s castle. “Will you scratch it for me?”

“When was the last time Dad filed down your horns for you?” Arella asks, gently scratching her nails over where her horns would naturally spiral out of her head. Perhaps they just needed to be tended to and that’s why the 11-year-old’s head was itching so badly.

“A while ago…” Azalea admits while leaning into her mother’s touch, eventually becoming so relaxed she let her glamour fade away to reveal her demon form.

“A long while ago it seems,” the human arches a brow at the look of them. “You’ve been avoiding having your horns taken care of, haven’t you?”

The half-demon freezes when her mother finally catches on to what she’s been doing as she answers with a quiet “maybe.”

“Well, now you know why your head itches. First thing tomorrow, were filing these-!” As she’s talking, Azalea’s horns literally pop off of her head. Arella looks down at her hands with wide eyes and concern.

As if on cue, Azalea happens to look in the mirror. Her eyes go wide as she sees what’s in her mother’s hands.

“Are… those my horns?”

“Don’t panic.” Arella says calmly, “I’m sure there’s a perfectly normal explana-”

“DAAAAAAAD!” The freckled half-demon takes off in search of her father, as if he might be able to do something about her missing horns.

She finds him downstairs as he’s teaching her twin brother how to tie his tie so the boy doesn’t manage to somehow strangle himself with it.

“What’s with all the racket?” Mammon finally lets Aurelius go as Azalea runs circles around them, freaking out about something he can’t really make out right now. “Hey slow down, kid, I can’t understand you.”

When the demon does finally manage to catch his daughter, she’s full-on freaking out about how her mother had just torn her horns off her head. Something seemgly backed up by Arella when she appears with the appendages still in her hand.

“Please tell me this is normal for this time of year.” The human frowns as she places them on the table beside her.

It takes Mammon two seconds to connect the dots before he’s laughing to himself.

“You look weird in that form without your horns…” Aurelius comments to his sister earning him a pointed glare.

“Yeah well at least I ain’t got wings that I trip over cuz they’re too big for my body.” His sister growls back.

“Dad says I’ll grow into ‘em one day.” The green-eyed boy pouts.

“Okay, enough, you two.” Mammon sighs, “Azalea, you’re gonna be fine. Mom didn’t tear yer horns off yer head, they fell off. Remember when y’all were loosin’ your baby teeth? Same concept applies here.”

“So I’m gonna be fine? That’s it?”

“That’s it.” Mammon confirms, ruffling his daughter's hair, much to his wife’s disappointment. “They’ll start growin’ back in a couple days until they’re ready to shed off again at the end of next year’s summer. I coulda told ya sooner if ya stopped hiding from me every time I brought the filer out.”

“Well maybe if that stupid machine wasn’t so damn loud, I wouldn’t…” Azalea grumbles as she smooths her hair down and she and her mother return to her room to finish putting her hair up.

・・・〆・・・

Zulima

Zulima was enjoying a nice trip up to the human world with her father when one of her horns plopped down onto the book below her. She’s startled at first before she remembers back to the conversation she’d had with her other father just days before leaving for this excursion.

Gathering the boney structure in her hand, the silver-haired 11-year-old descends the steps until she finds Solomon in the basement taking inventory of all his materials.

“Papa…”

“Yes, dear?” He replies absentmindedly.

“I’m becoming a woman...”

“hUH!?” Solomon whips around, one part in surprise, the other in bewilderment at just how casually his daughter announced such a big life event only to find the girl holding one of her horns in her hand. To find its just that makes the sorcerer left out a sigh of relief.

“Oh, you’re losing your horns. I thought you meant something… else.”

“I mean I got my period yesterday too, but I thought you wouldn’t want to know that.” It’s said with such a deadpan that Solomon can only pinch the bridge of his nose, vowing to have talk with Asmo when they got home about how their daughter delivers these types of announcements.

“Well, where’s the other one? I can make you a salve to help with the upkeep of your new horns using the old ones if I have both.”

“Still attached to my head.” Zulima drops her glamour to show the still attached horn jutting out from her silver hair. “It is really wiggly though.”

“Does it hurt when you mess with it?” Solomon asks as his daughter shakes her head. “Good, that means it’s ready to come off. Here, tie this piece of string to it.”

He hands the half-demon a piece of string while tying the other end to the doorknob. Once Zulima has her end secured around the top of her horn, Solomon simply slams the door shut and the horn pops right off. No muss, no fuss.

“There we go. Nice and easy.” Solomon smiles as he inspects his daughter's hair for any leftover bits of keratin that might’ve broken off where the horn used to be attached to her head. “I’ll take those, and you can go off to bed for the night. I’ll call your father in a bit and let him know that you finally lost your baby horns.”

“Okay, thanks, Papa…” without much else the 11-year-old is bounding back up the stairs.

Once she’s gone, the witty sorcerer deflates, pulling out his phone.

“‘Becoming a woman,’” he scoffs in irritation, dialing his partner’s number, “When I get my hands on you, Asmo, I swear… Why would he tell her to say it like that?”

To be continued (I promise)