#I have so much to say about John Constantine but nothing to post for him unless I actually continue writing my essay about him my god

[mbirnsings-71]

I know way too many things but not enough to where it feels like I can just randomly infodump on Tumblr unless it's something very specific like Fandom Stuff and even then I'm not infodumping fandom stuff unless it's to my friends who have never consumed the media before because there's pure Joy that comes with me getting to be the one that shares a new thing with them it's so fun!!

[scribe-of-maat]

Ranking DC Pride 2023

9. Love’s Lightning Heart (???, ???)

Starring The Flashlight and The Flash, I think? When he called the dude “Ray” in the beginning I thought it was gonna be The Ray, you know? This only scores so low because I’m not at ALL familiar with anything Multiversity and this story especially seemed to be absolutely thick with that corner of DC lore. I get there’s a Parallax type of thing happening but... this was kind of hard to follow for a payoff that’s pretty lukewarm if you’re not well-versed in who this story’s about.

8. My Best Bet (Jon Kent/Superman, John Constantine

This is hit especially hard in my ranking because it’s the last story in the book and the only thing DC Pride about it is that it stars two Bs. They’re popular queer characters but I’m here for stories that are specifically ABOUT LGBT stuff, not about LGBT people doing stuff. There’s nothing to really talk about here.

7. Found (Xanthe Zhou, Batwoman/Kate Kane)

I’ve been meaning to read Spirit World, and since I hadn’t gotten around to it Xanthe being LGBT was a surprise to me, but not as much as Kate Kane showing up was. It feels like someone threw a dartboard at WLW women and plopped in whoever came up, cuz I guarantee if I flip the newest Batwoman issue open to a random page she’ll have a girlfriend-slash-situationship that won’t be too happy about her seeming receptive to some flirting. But hey, I like Xanthe more now so there’s give-and-take.

6. And Baby Makes Three (Xiomara Rojas/Crush, Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn, Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy)

I like Crush. I can’t claim to have read much of her, because for now that means enduring way too much Damian Wayne, but she seems like an incredibly interesting character. But I could not tell you why she’s here with Harley and Ivy. This, moreso than anything else, has a less than negative chance of being referenced again and it’s giving me even more of that dartboard feeling the last story did. Plus if there’s one thing Harlivy can do, it’s carry a story by themselves. I wish we’d gotten something about JUST Crush, is what I’m saying. I feel like this was a status update for Crush, like her washing ashore was meant to bridge the gap between this story and whatever she was doing the last time she showed up.

5. Teamwork Makes the Dream Work (Natasha Irons/Steel, Nubia)

Listen, I will always have space in my heart for the Irons family. I love Natasha, and I love John Henry, and when DC lets either out of the ether every other year I’m front and center. That, and the recent super-push Nubia has been enjoying made this story one I was pretty excited to read when I realized who it was about. But THIS ART. These faces are TRASH. Even without looking it up I feel like there’s a 0% chance DC would give a nonblack artist this story, so it makes it especially confusing as to why the characters look like THAT. The actual content was fun and even though Io needs to come up off our queen posthaste, I didn’t have any (other) complaints. But it’s SOOOOO UGLYYYYY.

4. The Dance ( Minhkhoa Khan/Ghost-Makes, Thomas Blake/Catman)

I knew Ghost-Maker was bi prior to reading this, somehow. I’ve been meaning to read anything about him because his design is so awesome but I was only really guessing this was Catman alongside him. I really don’t know anything about him, so this ranks so highly just because of Ghost-Maker. I don’t really have anything else to add here since this story’s ultimate purpose seems to just show off muscley dudes post-sex.

3. Anniversary (Lucas Trent/Midnighter, Andrew Pulaski/Apollo, Alan Scott/Green Lantern)

These showcases tend to have like, one story that directly addresses inequality if you’re lucky. This is that story, and it’s such a good one. Midnighter and Apollo’s fame as the canon gay Superbat sort of eclipses anything else about them, but that reputation is put to excellent effect here. Plus, Alan Scott, one of my favorite Green Lanterns, finally shows up. Revitalizing that old slogan to make it clear the LGBT isn’t going anywhere was fun, too.

2. Subspace Transmission (Jules Jourdain/Circuit Breaker, Jess Chambers/The Flash, Andy Curry/Aquawoman)

Jess was an extremely fun and memorable character from the start like, half a decade ago and that holds true here. I was super uninvested in the Circuit Breaker part of this story. I don’t know who that is, and even after reading this I genuinely don’t care. This made my heart hurt for more Teen Justice and Future State stuff in general. That Jackson Hyde cameo at the end was also perfect.

1. Hey, Stranger (Connor Hawke/Hawke, Tim Drake/Robin)

I was definitely in diapers the last time these two characters spoke to each other. When there’s been THAT big a gap in timeframe I can’t be sure how emotional a reunion can be to a modern readership. None of that matters to my enjoyment, because Connor Hawke is far and away my favorite Arrowfam member and his recent resurgence (even if too much of it is attached to Damian Wayne for my taste) has been such a blessing. DC only trots this guy out three times a year but god do we eat good each time. They just need to do a LITTLE more with him.

[artbribery]

I was reading posts from 2015 and there was this:

You want to clean the refrigerator, but you are afraid. You can feel your hope dwindling. Last time, it wanted a sacrifice. This time, all you have left to give is your soul. You don’t even know what’s in that tupperware anymore. Maybe it can wait another week.

So:

Usually you get Danny and John Constantine being relatives in some form by blood or magic, a soul-tax-evader/paperwork-hater dynamic, etc.

Now

Imagine that Danny Fenton is John Constantine.

What if his first Soul Deal was with the fridge’s food? The one that’s been there the longest? You know, the one on the very back?

Listen. I know he’s usually blonde but imagine that his hair was lighter, say, a very conspicuous shade of white.

Did something happen to him that he’s not Phantom, ghost halfa extraodinaire? 

Is this a tragic backstory? GIW/Parents mess with his core too much? Did he give his core up on a deal? Nobody knows...

Or maybe he’s just trying a thing and nothing awful happened. That’s an option.

Maybe he still has Jazz and she calls weekly to nag him about his habits and check on him between jobs

Or maybe he doesn’t and that’s the why of the next point

Danny being terrible at adult (if yes to angst: as a self destructive coping mechanism(?), if not then have it as a treat)

Or, 

John--as himself--lived in Amity Park. 

And, for our purposes, he had a part-time job in house cleaning services. 

Then, it was the very same service that the Fenton’s got convinced to hire.

Why? Because Jazz wouldn’t stand for it anymore and it was too much for them.

Them being: Either Jazz and Danny, who were kids dealing with stuff. Or Jack and Maddie, who often forgot.

So it fell to this poor sap: John Constantine. The Occult Cleaning Lad.

He knows he could trade a part of his soul to get the damn dinner monstrocity to leave, he does it all the time, it would even make his scam game better, but he ain’t getting paid that much.

Bonus

At the end of his life, at the Court of Death: 

The free-for-all ends and, out of all the demons and supernatural beings he sold his soul to, the only thing left standing is a sentient plate of half-burned, green-glowing, crusty lasagna.

He should’ve asked for a raise.

[teecupangel]

I honestly adore your yew branch series on AO3 and saw your Tumblr just now.

Seeing as you also posted for other DC crossover stuff what is your opinion on AC x Sandman crossover? I think it would be pretty cool if Desmond either woke up as a citizen of the Dreaming or as one of Morpheus' ravens (maybe Matthew?)

What do you think?

Thank you! I’m happy to know you adore my Yew Branch series :)

Other DC crossover ideas:

Desmond gets adopted by Batman

Desmond becoming John Constantine Problem (1/2/3/4)

As for an AC x Sandman crossover, I was thinking if I should make this full on Sandman lore gets added to AC world or if I should make this Desmond gets sucked into DC verse and make it Sandman-centric.

Then I thought… let’s make it vague instead so you guys get to choose if this is Sandman lore added to AC world or not. (If it is, the idea is the Endless are not related to the Isus in any way, they predate them and are the personification of the core concepts of the universe. However, the Calculations are connected to them in some way)

Anyway!

So the idea is Desmond becomes ‘connected’ to the Endless after dying to save the world. And I know you want him to become a citizen of the Dreaming or one of Morpheus’ ravens but… see… there’s one Endless that would be more… ‘attracted’ to Desmond in a way:

Destiny.

Considering Desmond is the chosen one and his entire life has been one long intricate planning by the Isus to ensure that Desmond is born and raised in a specific way and no matter how long or far he ran, he still became an Assassin just like his parents wanted him to be, Desmond is pretty much the poster boy for Destiny.

One might even say that Desmond could be consider a ‘personification’ of Destiny.

But Desmond hates that. Destiny is the reason why he died. Destiny is the reason why his ancestors, the people he come to care for so much that he sometimes isn’t sure anymore if he cared for them because he saw and felt their memories or because he wished he could be them instead of being Desmond Miles, had to go through so much suffering.

Destiny is the very antithesis of what the Assassins try to protect: freewill.

So he ran away.

And he finds solace in Dream’s domain.

There is something peaceful in being one of Dream’s citizens. Of being in charge of providing sweet dreams.

Hopeful dreams.

But Dream is… well, Dream. Dream can provide nice dreams or nightmares. Dreams give people hope to continue living.

But Dream won’t go against the eldest of them, Destiny.

And it is during Desmond’s time as one of Dream’s citizen that he hears of another. An endless who abandoned his realm.

Destruction.

And so, Desmond sets out to find Destruction, hoping Destruction would give him a clue or perhaps even a way to get away from Destiny once and for all.

Unorganized Notes:

Destiny acts more like an aloof parental figure who thinks Desmond is having a rebellious phase. Destiny doesn’t hate Desmond and knows Desmond would come back. It is Desmond’s destiny after all. (What Desmond’s destiny though in relation to Destiny, no one knows, but Dream theorizes that Desmond is meant to be Destiny’s successor which horrifies Desmond)

Dream takes Desmond in and lets him give people hopeful dreams. Desmond finds solace in Dream’s domain while talking to Desmond makes Dream have a better understanding of what it means to be mortal. Dream usually appears to Desmond as an eerie pale man but Desmond is never frightened. He does like to joke that Dream needs to get some sleep. It does not make Dream laugh.

Death and Desmond have a friendly relationship and Death actually thinks of Desmond as an old friend because he has the memories of three other people. In Death’s eyes, Death has already met Desmond more than once. During the birth and the deaths of his ancestors and his own birth and death. However, Death is also on the side of Destiny, in the sense that there is nothing Desmond can do. For the sake of their friendship, they don’t talk about it.

Desire… well… Desmond hates Desire because, every time Desire visits, Desire always takes the appearance of one of his ancestors. Because they are Desmond’s greatest desire after all. The desire to give his ancestors a happier life. The desire to be like them. The desire to make their sacrifices mean something. The desire to meet them. The desire to… Desire knows all that and uses them. Desire has the greatest chance of pushing Desmond to do what they want but Desmond also has the shortest temper when dealing with them.

Despair makes Desmond feel uncomfortable because of how peaceful he feels whenever Despair is around. Despair finds Desmond beautiful because he holds so much despair inside him. The despair and grief of his ancestors and his own despair and grief. Desmond holds so much despair in him than any mortal should have. “But I’m still here. I still want to live.” “And that is what makes you beautiful, Desmond Miles.”

Delirium… Delirium gives Desmond a headache. Whenever Delirium speaks to Desmond, it’s always about random things and then there would be a sentence or even just a few words that makes Desmond believe that Delirium knows more about Desmond’s situation than Destiny does. On the other hand, Delirium loves Desmond because… well… Delirium is the absence of sanity and Desmond’s Bleeding Effect ‘delights’ her to no end.

Destruction… wellllll… Destruction is Desmond’s end goal so they wouldn’t interact until the very end of this plot. It actually took a while for Desmond to learn about Destruction because all the Endless prefer to call him “The Prodigal” or the “Lost Brother”. Honestly, Desmond wasn’t given any information about Destruction and the Endless believe that he had mistaken Destruction’s actual duties for something he thinks he can ‘use’ to escape Destiny. They believe (other than Destiny who remains quiet) that meeting and talking to Destruction would be the event that Destiny is waiting for so that Desmond would accept his… well… ‘destiny’.

[unknown1050]

JOHN CONSTANTINE2005

This is my first time posting here, and i've been obsessed over keanue aka john constantine lately so i made a short story.

(Join - john constantine x reader)

"Stop following me." His deep voice echoed around the alleyway but his footsteps never slowed.

"Not until you listen." Barely catching up, you spoke. You two have been walking for atleast 3 miles and he was maddening every minute.

"Whats there to listen to? I gave you my answer." The stepping stopped as he bluntly turned around, making you bump into his chest. With the same stoic expression he pointed your forehead.

"I. Work. Alone. Get that?" Not softly at all, he began walking away again.

Frustrated with all the whinning and begging, you still catch up- hoping to make a progress.

"Ugh, were basically partners anyway! I help you when you need help a-"

"No."

A soft huff escaped your lips, catching up you continued to explain why you should be his partner. He kept silent as you continues to ramble.

Your legs began to feel tired, as your throat began to feel dry.

Only a few more blocks left, and you could see his apartment- once he opened his apartment, you opened your mouth but he beat you to it

"You just want to piss him off don't you?" He says without turning around, "er- no... i just really wanna help out" you half lied over the fact you were suppose to be dead- you escape going hell and kind of summon one of his demons...

Totally trying to piss him off

He looked at you with a raised eyebrows, but said nothing about it- leaving the door open while he entered. A small smile creeped on your face, entering his apartment. Progress has been made!

Closing the door and locking it, you turn around to be inches away from his face, both of his hands are on both sides of your head, him leaning over you.

"I dont have to be explaining the risks of any of this, especially when your old man is involved."

"Leave the old dude alone... and yes sir." Sheepsily you could stop yourself from cracking a small smile.

"We both know how much an asshole he can be... you wont regret having me." You continued giving out your pinky finger, a childish promise you still use to keep such promises.

He looked down at your finger before back at your eyes, for a second you thought he looked else where but maybe your just seeing things.

Grabbing your hand that was led out, john held it beside your head like the other.

"Atleast we agree on one thing... its getting late- take the bed." His voice deeper and more husky he whispered. He stayed for a bit before dashing away in the kitchen.

Letting out a breath you didnt know you were holding, you could still feel how warm your face has been.

.....progress has been made all right!

[a-wild-things-rambles]

Hey, I saw your posts on thoughts about John. Fully agree. He's just our broken man. Now I propose - why do we fans like him so much?? Despite it all??

I'd like to read your two cents on all reasons why we like John Constantine (in my John brainrot era while I am waiting for my issue of Hellblazer, which got delayed to come)

Thank you!

And in my opinion its cause he's human. Hes messy. For all the magic, hes broken in a very familiar way.

Alot of characters with flaws have them in a way that's, let's say airbrushed, and the idea of a 'good victim' kinda shines through. If you forgive your abuser or the person thar ruined your life, your a hero. If you don't? Your an insane maniac.

John is miles away from being a perfect victim. But it makes alot of people relate to him, such as myself.

My trauma and abuse didn't make me a nicer person, I reacted, like alot of people, by being an asshole, hell the whole "dad abused him so he got into fights to feel tougher" is me minus the father's physical abuse.

Hes a messily flawed chareter, from his bones out, but he's realistically messy and flawed. Not oh I feel angry sometimes so I am afraid of myself and other flaws that often feel shallow and slaped on.

Another factor is the "english story type" to paraphrase and misquote, "Americans want to see people succeed where they failed, British people want to see people fail were they fail" a sweeping generalisation I know, but it does observe a trend in the countrys media's.

John is a failure. In many ways. And it's relatable. He can't or won't get a steady job, he's haunted by guilt and actual ghosts, hes a failure of a brother and an uncle and just a human being. He fuckes up almost every good thing that happens to him.

Sometimes in media its nice to be reminded that not everything's perfect. Sometimes it's nice to watch someone's life fall apart in similar ways to your own.

Johns authentic. There's a reason why so many of his writers report seeing him, he's a charecter that so easily transfers to our world.

Hes also an asshole. And who doesn't love a charecter that's a snarky mess.

Hes a perfect example of making a fully fleshed out person, not just a charecter, the kind of charecter that has such a clear personality.

Authentic. Is the best way to say it I think. There is nothing sanitised about John, and his story's are gritty and harsh and darkly ridiculous and they speak Truths. Not morality plays or grittynes for the sake of grit, but Truths, and story's. These are story's that could be about real people, and are almost always about real issues, handled with dark humor and some tough in cheek satire when needed.

If I had a time machine and interviewed all the various hellblazer writers, I bet I could get multiple new story's, personal and second hand anecdotes, for each story, the personal connections and real life events and experiences that went into the comics.

John is a reflection of our world and our issues, but through comic pages and some urban fantasy, it becomes easier to swallow, while also providing vindication and a reminder that these things do/did happen, in a world that feels so often like it's trying to erase them.

I hope that answers your question! I haven't talked much about the contents of his story's, more the meta and ideas and themes surrounding it that are why I love him and hellblazer so much, and hope your hellblazer arrives soon!

[imxthexhandler]

💕 💕 💕 💕 💕

send 💕 or ( ‘HEART’ ) for me to randomly pick one of my mutuals and write at least two things about why i love seeing them on my dash, writing with them, talking to them, etc.

----------------------------

@bennyboylewis : Iz, you have been one of biggest supporters ever, and you’re one of the best friends I’ve ever made in life, and I’m blessed every day for you. I love you, girlie. You’ve been so kind and compassionate and patient with me, and I cannot express my gratitude adequately enough. Also, I love Ben. I think you’re the person I have the most AUs with period. I love Ben’s sense of loyalty and snark--Amelia does, too, even when that crazy mechanic drives her insane. You are an insanely talented person, and I hope one day you see it for yourself.

@tsushimanoonryo : I know we don't write together, but I love reading your threads, and honestly, the few times we've chatted OOC, you've always been so cool and chill to talk with. You're a highly creative individual, and I love all the amount of detail you've poured into your muse. Keep on being awesome!

@wildthiiing : Lanie, gosh, I’ve been writing with you for so long! Over so many muses... I love interacting with all of your muses, and Amelia especially loves Jane and Trip and Barney. I love reading your threads, I love seeing your headcanons and the things you post that remind you of your muses. Thank you for always putting up with my hyper ass. And all the spam.

@bokketo : What can I say about Onyx? They are very talented, able to write such vastly different muses, all of them very well. Onyx is an insanely talented writer and photographer, and they have been such a supportive and sweet friend. I'm very lucky to have met them.

@koiwrites : God, where do I begin with you? You have stuck by me through it all, you were one of my first partners on this hellsite! You are so insanely talented, and I'm always happy to see what you create. Thank you so much for putting up with me and all my screaming about our babies. Thank you for just being a friend and solid partner. I cannot express how much both of those have meant to me over the years.

@quiveringdeer : Nat is a very talented writer, and they have introduced me to different horror movies. Even though I am not a fan of Attack on Titan (nothing wrong with it, just the premise never grabbed my attention), I really enjoy reading her headcanons and ficlets about characters

@adventurepunks : Love this one so much. If anyone likes stuff from Amelia's DC Argus verse, you really have this one to thank. Between the adventures with Zee and Amelia or her romance with Roy. Although he is one of my favorite DC boys of all time, I never expected to ship him with Amelia--or that I would ship these two so dang hard. Not only are they so patient with me for replies, always willing to go along with any of my crazy ideas, they always check up on me, and they are just a sweetheart.

@thedemonconstantine : This person, right here, is an INCREDIBLE artist! Seriously, you need to check out their artwork. I don't know this mun too much OOC, so I don't know if their IRL job involves art, but I hope it does, because again, their talents are incredible. I'm often a spy on their John/Nick threads with @adventurepunks; I can't help it. It may not be my preferred ship for Constantine, but GAWD, their threads are SO GOOD! 10/10 def. recommend!

@blizzardmuses : Bea is just such a sweetheart and always indulges me with whatever crazy idea I throw at them. They are a very talented writer, and I'm always happy when I get to write with them or read their threads. If you're a Starfire or Red Hood fan, then most definitely I recommend following this one 10/10.

@audaxbellator : Oh, wow, Bethany, how long have we been partners?? Seems like it’s been forever, ever since I created Amelia. You’ve always been so kind and so sweet to me, thank you. Steve and Amelia are just perfect for each other, and I always get excited to write with you. Thank you for not only being a friend to me but for being a writing partner.

[aurhia]

Name 10 Characters from 10 Fandoms that you love

Tagged by: @late-to-the-fandom

There is... a LOT of DC Comics here.

1. John Constantine - John is messy, queer, finds himself continually in the shit but he always manages to drag himself out of it, not through heroic grit and determination, but from sheer bloody-mindedness and spite. He’s not a hero. He’s not the good guy. He’s just a bloke in extraordinary circumstances who does whatever he has to to get by (if that includes magic, then it does). Shitty things happened to me too when I was a kid, and the original Hellblazer comics gave me a character slogging through their shit in exactly the same manner I was doing. He’s not a survivor, he’s not an inspiration. He’s just going through it because there’s no choice but to go through it. He’s a jackass so I would stop short of using the words “identified with” but I did and do feel a kinship.

2. Evie Carnahan (all of the Mummy’s characters really but if I had to pick one) - I don’t think I even need to explain this one because it’s obvious.

3. Spock in TOS - Spock was an example of someone with deep emotion and deep internal conflict who exercised supreme control over themselves and instead of it making him stern and strict, it made him compassionate and thoughtful. I was not allowed to show and have any real emotions as a kid, never had any space to process any of the things that happened. If I had any negative showing at all it caused innumerable problems so I learned to mask, to smile when I wanted to scream and cry. Spock was an important touchpoint for me in that process. And while that might read as a negative, it really was good to have a positive model of that kind of self control. 

4. Mal from Firefly - I’ve stepped back the last few years due to over-commitment but previously, I was always the captain of this, the leader of that, and there were two exchanges Mal had that perfectly reflect my own approach to leading: the scene where he’s like “I said, you’re on my crew. End of.” and “We’re still flying” “That’s not much.” “It’s enough.”

5. Wonder Woman - Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman is my first and biggest role model in life so there’s that. I’d include all incarnations here: The details change, but nothing stops her and when she takes care of a problem, she takes care of it. One way or the other. Also the first time I went “Hm, maybe I’m not straight.”

6. Jaskier from the Witcher - I’m unfamiliar with the game or the books, so I only know this character from the show. And I’m admittedly also influenced by his band’s music, which is incredibly raw and passionate. The epitome of “do I want to bang him or be him?”

7. Dana Scully - X-Files came out when I was in college. Back in the day, there were no women like Scully on tv. Also on the “do I want to bang her or be her” train

8. Lois Lane - I spent a lot of time on newspapers in school and my first real job out of college was at a paper (though as a designer not a journo). Lois Lane is that saying about Ginger Rogers doing everything Fred Astaire did but backwards, in heels. Lois did everything Superman did but without powers, backwards, in heels, and still always got her story.

9. Poison Ivy - I mean. Are we sure she’s a villain? She’s RIGHT. Also, I have a massive green thumb and my partner’s primary characters always echo Harley so...

10. Princess Leia from Star Wars - All the girlboss reasons you might imagine, reinforced by the Space Mom that Carrie became. At the time, women having their own agency and being smart and savvy was a rare thing. 

I tag anyone who is looking at this post, made it all the way to the bottom, and hasn’t already waxed poetic about their faves. If you are seeing this, tag, you’re it.

[legends-live-in-memories]

“How Did All This Happen?”- A Memoire by one Marinette Dupain-Cheng 1

Soooooo I decided to write this. much longer than the other things i posted, also very tonally different. I will definitely continue that other fic tho. I was just brainstorming and now this exists. Yeah.

 without further ado

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

People Fucked Up and Now It’s All Marinette’s Mess to Clean Up I

This was not how Marinette planned for her night to go. Granted, she also could not envision it going literally any other way. The woes of making a deal with the hell-raiser himself, John Constantine, she supposes. She truly hoped Adrien was having a much better time than her with his cousin in London. After the circus that was the past three years, he deserved some reprieve, even if it was with his bratty doppelganger. Regardless, Marinette. Was. Not. Pleased. No matter how many times she thinks over her plan, recalculates every step and decision, she could not fathom this night ending well for her, or anyone really, but mostly her. And no amount of old Ladybug or Guardian luck could help her. Now, if one were to wonder what kind of tragedy had befallen Marinette on this disgraceful night, a brief history of the last three months could enlighten such a person. Or better yet, let’s start at the beginning. The Real Beginning.

So, things existed. Obviously. First there was nothing, and then, something. And as more things began to exist, as new schools of knowledge and concepts and ideas began to, well, exist, Kwamis formed as well. Each Kwami was the physical manifestation of these ideas or abstracts. Creation was the first, coupled with Destruction. And as more things began to exist, more things began needing to be protected. Thus, the Kwami of Protection. This went on. For a while. Soon thereafter there were Kwamis of all types. Jubilation, Time, Strength, etc, etc, and etc. Now these Kwamis did not linger in one spot. They roamed across the far stretches of existence and interacted with the life they found.

Some Kwamis decided to form a magical pact which intergalactic historians would later dub the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum. Sounds familiar? The Kwamis themselves were completely blissfully unaware of this title, lest they would have explained to these beings, Maltusians they were called, that they were not in fact, electromagnetic but more so a part of the Powers that Be. Kind of. But this side-story involves the formation of a few universally known Lantern Corps, and that is a barrel of monkeys our exasperated narrator does not want to touch with a ten-foot pole. Or ever.

Other Kwamis, who stuck close to what would become known as the Milky Way, were discovered by a mage who granted them the ability to interact with humans. This mage— and Marinette was silently cursing his descendants, herself included, for if it weren’t for this absolute mad lad, none of the subsequent events of this night would have transcribed—had bound the Kwamis to magical jewelry called Miraculouses. An interesting side effect of these Kwamis being bound to the miraculouses was that the wearer could call upon the powers of the Kwamis for their own usage. The mage feared what could become of the world if this kind of power became so easily accessible, so he created the Order of the Guardians. The Order was dedicated to training young mages to protect, wield and harvest the powers of the miraculouses. The Order swore to true neutrality; wishing not to impose their will on one side or the other, to maintain balance and to not upset the natural order of the world. 

This went surprisingly well for a few millennia, that is, of course, if you ignore the sinking of Atlantis, the extinction of the dinosaurs, the Black Plague, the creation of the Lazarus Pits, Pompeii, to name a few completely egregious instances—not necessarily in order of course—and well, the point stands that it could have been astronomically worse. Until it was.  

One young mage and Guardian in training had caused the downfall of almost the entire Order of the Guardians. All the centuries of history, teachings, artifacts and even the people at the head temple, were lost to the calamity. Dozens of Miraculous Boxes were lost, destroyed in the fray. The Kwamis themselves were relatively unaffected, being immortal and all, but the magical jewelry binding them to the earth were broken, thus those Kwamis were lost to mankind once again. Only one singular box, and the young mage himself, survived. The new Guardian of one miraculous box was left to scour the earth in solitude. Well, about as much solitude one could have with 17 pocket gods as company. The fact that the only box that survived was missing two more miraculouses caused the already stressed guardian to grey further. But that tidbit of information would be a problem for later. And for someone else entirely too. Oh joy.

But before that sequence of events, aptly named “Marinette’s Trial by Fire,” however, the young guardian had a couple more life mistakes to make before he reached his internal quota apparently. Rather than travel to another sector of the Order on the other side of the earth, this young mage stumbled upon another organization, one similar in architecture and hierarchy but a pendulum swing in the total moral opposite. Yes, that’s right, the guardian found himself upon the League of Shadows, led by Ra’s Al Ghul in his endeavor of global cleansing; by acts of ecoterrorism, but who sweats the small stuff, right? There, the young guardian, who adopted the name of Wang Fu, met his first love Ming Hong and they had a son. The son had a daughter he named Mei. Now Mei was only a few weeks younger than Ra’s Al Ghul’s grandson, Damian. Now with an appropriate heir, and someone to procreate with said heir, Ra’s Al Ghul gained a special interest in the small Fu family that originally flew under the radar of the League. 

Now this is where things continue to go downhill, but not until much, much later in this story. Ra’s Al Ghul, despite his radical ambitions, was particularly good at playing the long game and understood when he couldn’t accomplish a task directly. This being said, he recognized that, due to prolonged exposure to the Lazarus Pits, his soul could not bear the strain of being a wielder of a miraculous and so he waited. Waited until a suitable heir was sired and could copulate with an heir to the guardian of the miraculous box, desiring to create a bloodline of genetically suitable successors and wielders who were loyal to him and his cause. 

Ra’s ordered for the Fu family to have a place on his court and ordered for Mei Fu to be trained in mastering the secrets of the miraculous. And master she did. By age 6 she was fluent in the coded language of the magical text, or as fluent a 6 year old can be in any language, and she had mastered 7 out the 17 miraculouses. By age 10 she was as skilled as the grandson of the Demon Head in combat and could handle simultaneous wear of 3 miraculouses. Her training, however, had to be put on hold as somebody thought usurping the Demon Head was of the utmost importance that glorious Tuesday and staged a coup. She wished Deathstroke had lost more than an eye that day, but a girl can dream she supposes. Mei and her grandfather were separated from the rest of the League and journeyed west. Somehow they ended up in Paris, France. After one too many run ins with the authorities, Mei was removed from her grandfather, who was deemed too unfit to support her. It was a miracle he wasn’t deported. 

Mei was put into protective custody where she resided until she was 13. Recently adopted, and thoroughly done with the plebeians of her daily encounters, Mei Fu became Marinette Dupain-Cheng, daughter of the best bakers in Paris. All was well and good for the new Dupain-Cheng until the start of the new school year. 

She met her grandfather again. And apparently he had a job for her and her soon to be new partner.

Hawkmoth, that bitch, had somehow acquired the two last surviving miraculouses and the only surviving grimoire and thought domestic terrorism was on the agenda for the next few years. Why? Because investing in a family therapist was too much of an inconvenience for local recluse, Gabriel McFucking Agreste, Marinette would shortly learn. 

After dealing with all of that and juggling between her reignited guardian training, and ‘normal’ girl life—because her parents don’t know that she’s a magical girl in the making—, Marinette was ready to sleep for a thousand years. Or commit murder. Whichever gave her enough serotonin to complete her current passion project. But, alas, no rest for the totally-over-it or however that saying goes. Because after declaring Paris safe once again, sending off her brother-in-arms, Adrien Agreste, to family in London (marginally decent but anything beats the abusive prick of a sperm donor), in waltz one drunken John Constantine.

Ah yes. Him. That absolute bastard who doesn’t deserve nice things in life. That guy.

This unpleasantry approached Master Fu and Marinette, who has been regulated to errand-girl in lieu of training, with a job that he proclaimed that only one blessed with magic, and specifically NOT connected to the Justice League could accomplish. Apparently, a group called the Cult of the Kobra resided on Santa Prisca and was in possession of a dangerous magical artifact that had been the backbone of their organization for years. Constantine came to them asking them for assistance in retrieving it as the Justice League could not interfere in the Caribbean due to new UN legislation. It was a mission of utmost urgency for he feared the cult leader, Kobra himself, was planning on enacting a ritual that could bring calamity to Earth. Which is just what the doctor ordered. Not. In exchange, he agreed to add to her magical training as while master Fu was good, he was still young when he ran away from his problems the first time and thus was limited in his magical knowledge.

That was three months ago. Three months of planning, training, and convincing her parents that letting her go on an extended retreat for an undetermined amount of time with her mostly absent biological grandfather was totally reasonable for the seventeen year old to do. Like, come on. She’s almost old enough to drink, almost ready for university and has been praised for her independence and self-sufficiency for years. She’ll be fine is what she told her parents and she was almost able to convince herself of that too. She would be perfectly fine. Right?

Wrong.

Marinette was anything but fine. She was stressed, she was tired and she was abso-fucking-lutely pissed at anything that even breathed in her direction. Why? Well that brings us back to the beginning of the story when everything on this mission did not go according to plan. So here she was along what was once upon a time the eastern coastline of Santa Prisca. Oh and look. The Junior Justice League has arrived.

Purrrrfect. 

Some one asked for a taglist. Ask and ye shall receive

@deathwishy @neakco  @ virtualreading  @f-rget-lt @your-resident-chicken-nugget

[marireadshellblazer]

Constantine TV Series Episode 4 “A Feast of Friends”

Aight, I feel the need to express some feelings about this episode. I’m not sure this is going to be terribly articulate, but I’ll do my best. Let’s do this.

First off, it’s obvious to anyone who has read Hellblazer that this episode is based off of the first two issues of the comic book series. As I wrote in my post about my experience reading it, these issues were the perfect way to start off the series. It’s like “BOOM! This is how it is! Get ready for some serious shit! This is your only warning; this is what you’re in for.” Even though they did change the story for the episode, I still absolutely loved it. The storyline from the comics is a favorite of mine, but even with the changes made in order to adapt it for TV, this was an awesome episode. In fact, it’s my favorite episode of the TV series. Here’s why!  

   Why is it episode 4?

  Unlike the comics this story was adapted to be episode 4, meaning it doesn’t start the TV series. So, why wouldn’t it start the TV series? I think that you have to look at it from a few different perspectives.

  Let’s start with the comic: Issues 1 and 2, titled Hunger and A Feast of Friends respectively, make up the first arc of the Hellblazer series. Most fans know, however, that Hellblazer is not John’s first appearance in comics; he got his own series after appearing throughout the American Gothic story arc of Swamp Thing. Consequently, many people came into Hellblazer at the time having some familiarity with the character. While this chapter does expand on John’s character some, this doesn’t serve as a major introduction to him. They just drop the reader into one of his nightmare-inducing everyday situations with little to no preparation. Those who are familiar with his role in Swamp Thing will, odds are, not find these issues to be terribly weird or particularly jarring considering it’s in a series about John; they have a good idea what they are in for.

   Here is a quick run-down: John returns to his apartment in Paddington after dealing with the horror show that is the Brujeria in the Swamp Thing comics. Exhausted, he comes back to an unwelcome guest; Gary Lester. Gary is one of the friends who was involved in the Newcastle incident (which is fully explained in issue #11), which left each of them scarred in their own way. Gary dealt with the aftermath via drugs, which have left him wide open for other issues. After foolishly releasing a demon from a sacrificial victim, Gary runs to John for help dealing with the destruction said demon is causing. In this case it’s a hunger demon that causes people to feast upon whatever they greatly desire; food, a crucifix, and even an athlete committing autocannibalism. With help from club owner and Voodoo practitioner Papa Midnight, John betrays his vulnerable and trusting friend in order to stop the demon by instead making him the new sacrifice. Trapping the demon inside of Gary, the literal and figurative ghosts of John’s past haunt and torment him mentally as his friend dies slowly and in agony, ending this arc with a melancholy feeling. John stopped a demon, but at the cost of a friend who truly trusted and cared for him.

Using this story to begin the TV series as is, however, would have been more than a little strange. In the minds of most people outside of the comic book world, John Constantine was first introduced to them via the horrifyingly inaccurate Keanu Reeves film. (I love Keanu, I really do, but that film give me agita). Or, if they were introduced to the show after it had already aired, they are introduced via Matt Ryan’s masterful work portraying him in Legends of Tomorrow. While he does an incredible job in both Constantine and Legends (to the point where I find that I may simply be unable to accept anyone else taking on the role in live action) it depresses me terribly that Legends toned down John’s character so much with all the goofiness. It did not suit John at all! If anything, I find myself feeling sorry for Matt Ryan, who tried so hard to do John’s character justice. Uhg.

   Anyway…Already, a lot of the audience is going to be more than a little taken aback by the Constantine series’ portrayal of the character, however comic book accurate he may be. This show is tailored to as wide of an audience as possible, meaning they expect that pretty much no one has read Hellblazer or Swamp Thing before. Consequently, having the series start by just dropping the audience into his crazy world, especially with this particular story arc, might not be the best idea. I’m not saying that his introduction is done super well with the first episode (it’s not a total wreak, but there are issues) but it would have been much harder to start with A Feast of Friends.

     Characterization

    Now, let’s look at it from another angle: characterization. As the 4th episode this was, odds are, done assuming that there would be a lot more episodes after this (oh, the painful reality), but really the viewers are still just getting to know John. So, these early episodes are supposed to establish his character. They see him as knowledgeable and ready to handle the weird and scary in the first episode, and in 2 and 3 you see that he is serious about his work, a loner, weirdly well prepared, and how he interacts with others. While in some situations he does come off like a douche, his douche-ness is on full display in this episode. Honestly, this is accurate to how he is in the comics; he’s a nasty piece of work, after all. A world class bastard. He gives Gary shit for his drug addiction pretty much the entire episode as well as his choice to mess with a demon and the chaos it made that he now has to fix. He, like in the comics, tricks Gary into helping him and it results in a slow, painful death for the man. Gary really did trust John, and not only did John betray him, but he was callous about it. Now, that’s not to say that the situation and Gary’s death doesn’t bother him, and this is also seen in both the episode and the comic, but John solders through a lot of it with his mask of stoic indifference; he blatantly a deliberately betrays his friend without much hesitation.

    John’s characterization in the show is really important. While fans of Hellblazer know what they are in for (John being a dick, betraying people, sacrificing friends, etc) the wide audience the show was meant to appeal to might not respond well to that. How is the audience supposed to relate to a character whose major personality trait in this arc is to basically be a douche (even if it is justified in a way)? Generally speaking, TV shows try to have a lot of characters with redeeming traits and very basic bitch personalities so that as much of the audience as possible can relate to them in some capacity. They can describe the main character as “cool, quirky, sweet, loving, etc” because that is what network television strives for. The point is for the audience to relate to and find a lot of reasons to like the character, especially the main character. The audience is supposed to be able to see the qualities of the character in themselves. An example of a douchy character being changed for network television is the titular character in TV series Lucifer. He can be an asshat at times, but his redeeming qualities shine through in pretty much every episode; he’s helpful, has a strong sense of justice, and cares about Chloe. He often goes out of his way to understand others, although he often misses the mark, and tries to fix problems and issues that he accidentally creates in order to keep relationships with others. These are things people can relate to, and although he can be rather uncouth, it’s played for laughs, and he has more redeeming qualities than not. If the Constantine series started off with John coldly betraying a friend after giving him shit for his addiction the entire episode with not a lot of his positive traits coming through, from the perspective of most people, this might not be a good way to try and connect with the audience. I’m not saying there are people who don’t/won’t, but again, this is network television and they tend to play on the safe side.

    Comic book -> TV

    Ok so let’s move onto the meat of this; the changes made to the story. People always complain when something isn’t totally accurate to the book down to every last detail (Harry Potter *cough cough*) and making story and character changes to adaptions of comic books is nothing new. However, to be fair, there are some legitimately good reasons for this. Time, money, limits technology wise, and pacing are good examples. The most important thing to consider, in my opinion, is that we are going from a comic book to television. Literally, that is the most important thing. Essentially, what the writers had to do when adapting this story for the show was carry over the plot from one medium to another, which is tricky.

    What’s a medium? A medium is a platform that allows a message to be shared or presented. So, using the medium of a comic book is how Jamie Delano was able to share his message; the story of John Constantine. The writers of the television series then had to adapt the story from comics, a visual and written medium, into a different kind of visual medium with different features to it; stage craft, voice, music, etc.

    Comic books have features for story telling; the size and placement of the panels, the writing, word bubbles, narration bubbles, colors, art style, etc. The pro’s to this are that you don’t get paragraph after paragraph describing a place or a person; they literally show them to you and the art presents those details. They also allow for the art to take in the reader emotionally through what the images convey; messy art, sudden loss of color, or even a sudden blank page after a tragic event are simple yet effective ways to convey emotion that are, at times, difficult or downright impossible to put into words. And sometimes the writer wants to leave things to interpretation or allude to something without saying it outright. While this can be done in writing, it can be done through the art as well, and depending on how skilled the artist or creative a set up can be just as effective if not more.

     In television storytelling can be done with another wide array of features. Close-ups on the actors, the actors and their performance in general, music, background narration, changes in location, lighting, ect. This allows for emotions to come across in different ways; the quality of the acting can make or break the effectiveness of the scene, and music and lighting can alter the message or feel of scene in order to change or heighten the point, pacing, the use of CGI or practical effects, etc. So, keeping this in mind, there are many features that are exclusive to film that are not in comic books, and vice versa. So, as you can imagine, adapting the stories or message from one medium to another is nowhere near as straightforward as people like to think it is. In other words, I tend to give the writers/actors/etc a break when it comes to adaption because, honestly, there is a lot that goes into it and it’s not like I could do better, honestly. I mean, there are piss poor adaptions, I’m not gunna lie, but there are a lot of them that I think don’t get enough credit simply because it’s “different” in some ways.

     Aight, let’s first refer back to what I said earlier concerning the comic; these issues aren’t so much an intro to John as they are literally following him from the end of the American Gothic arc in Swamp Thing and to his apartment where he gets involved with more shit (no rest for the wicked, amirite?). So, again, not a good way to start the TV series. In the TV show, they also have to tie in the changes they set up in the previous episodes. Continuity, my friends.

    So, what is different? Here are a few things: John having a safe house, being in the US, Chaz being American and also not involved, Zed being involved and being Latina, the new angel character Manny, and the absence of Papa Midnight really change a lot about the story. The heart of it is John’s relationship with Gary and the defeat of the demon, which thankfully remains unchanged at it’s core. This is the central idea that drives this story and I think that idea was actually done a bit better in the film medium than in the comic.

   Keeping all of these factors and all of these changes that needed in order to keep things consistent with the TV show’s changes, let’s get into why I think that this episode is good even with the changes, but why I love it.

I love It

      After taking some time to consider things, I realize that what really makes this episode great is the actors; specifically, Matt Ryan and Jonjo O'Neill. The chemistry between them is undeniable. The way they look at each other and how they talk to each other really makes you feel like, at one time at least, they were friends. The scene where Gary swipes the ID badge and says “I learned from the best” is a great example of this. The look on his face and John’s; I don’t have a real eloquent way to say it. I just sort of feel it.

The retcon of Gary’s character really helps with this. Being that Gary is introduced and then killed off in two issues, you don’t really get to know his character in the comics. He’s only in one episode of the TV series, yet he feels more fleshed out. Soul was added to the character. Showing his struggles with addiction, as well as what I suspect to be depression and PTSD, really humanized him. In the episode, he was more than just a desperate, annoying junky; he was a flawed and relatable human being. Who hasn’t made a mistake? How many people have made BIG mistakes with consequences difficult to handle? How many people are haunted by their actions from the past? Addiction and the effects is has on people is devastating. I’m glad that they kept the ending true to the comics, but the way he was portrayed in the episode really made me feel for Gary in this case. It almost made me hope that maybe he really would get better, and have the chance at redemption that he was trying so desperately to find. But it wouldn’t be a John Constantine series without an ending like this one; John loses a friend and slowly digs himself deeper into hell.

Of course, it’s the ending of the episode that people really remember best. It’s the scenes that solidified, at least for me, Matt Ryan as John Constantine. It’s what really helped me have faith in the series. Watching it now, and seeing what really could have been, makes the episode somewhat bitter sweet for me. I felt like this is when the series really found it’s footing; the acting, storytelling, and how well arcs from Hellblazer could be adapted. This is where I think Matt Ryan hit his stride and we could see what he was really capable of as an actor if they let him spread his wings. In the earlier episodes I was honestly unsure. He looked the part, but the soul of the character had not really had a chance to shine through.

How John treats Gary at the end really made a difference, too. Holding him while he was in pain, and sitting with him as he died in agony; these simple yet effective changes really drove home John’s humanity in the face of evil and the tough decisions he has to make. The look he gives many at the very end, the anger and sorrow he seems to be struggling to hold back, is haunting.

In this episode, Matt Ryan’s love and dedication to John’s character shine. Seeing the story in live action gave this story a stronger impact. Even without a lot of the social commentary that was present in the comic, the live action element is what really helps drive the story home. I think it’s because it’s real people showing these very real emotions that can be hard to translate into art. Not to say that John Ridgway did a bad job, but it’s different in live action.

I hope I was able to get these thoughts across. I wasn’t sure if I should share this or not, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. I know this is sort of jumbled, but hopefully it’s not a total mess to read.

[bumblebeug]

So this is a continuation of my own post.

--

Danny knew he messed up when he felt himself overbalancing.

With his luck, he just knew this enforced "community service" would bite him squarely in the ass.

He could do nothing but brace for impact.

--

Batman was having a bad day for a number of reasons.

1. John Constantine was in town.

2. John Constantine insisted on checking in on the Lazarus pit that had formed underneath his city.

3. John Constantine also insisted that he, accompany him even though he knew the man could defend himself quite well.

...Honestly the list could go on for a while in this manner. So, instead of doing literally anything else that didn't involve babysitting one J. Constantine, he found himself walking along the edge of the glowing green waters taking his own measurements and listening to the man drone on about this supposed disturbance.

Normally, hearing this from one of the more cautious members of the JL Dark would spur him into a greater sense of urgency. However, after contacting the rest of the available members, he concluded that thus was another one of Constantine's bouts of paranoia.

"It's like listening to a symphony, yeah?" John said while staring intently at the center of the pool, "Where, you know, you can just *feel* that one of the players is a hair of a note off. Not enough to be immediately noticeable, mind you, but enough that it grates on your nerves the longer you listen."

"Hn." Bruce grunted, half paying attention to Constantine's word and half paying attention to his readings. So far, the general activity of the pool was within the normal ranges he had first measured when the pool had first formed.

"So, what," A modulated voice said a couple of feet away, "This disturbance of yours is based on a gut feeling?"

Bruce did not startle. But spun to face Jason who casually leaned against the stone wall.

Constantine, unperturbed, nodded and snapped his fingers, "Yes, my red helmeted friend- exactly!"

Constantine briskly walked a few feet ahead and resumed his staring.

"What are you doing here?" Bruce asked sharper than he intended, but uncharacteristically, Jason didn't snap back.

"Oracle mentioned you were going on a little field trip. So, B- as much fun as it is watching a man stare at the center of this godforsaken pit- what exactly is he going on about?"

Bruce fought the urge to exasperatedly throw up his hands, "That's the same answer hes been telling me for the last half hour."

Jason snorted and flexed his hand like he was examining his nails but said nothing.

Likely to annoy him.

Frustratingly, it was working.

Bruce turned his gaze back to his instrument, ready to prompt his errant son because his answer didn't actually address the *why* he was here, but Jason spoke first.

"Are your instruments reading anything?"

Bruce inhaled slowly and sighed deeply.

"Really? Nothing?" Jason asked.

"Nothing outside of normal parameters." Bruce wave his hand flippantly, "The waters are higher, but it's influenced by the tides like other bodies of water, irregardless of its size."

"Mmm, yeah. The tides," Jason nodded, "Except, its not a full or new moon tonight. It's a quarter moon."

Bruce furrowed his brows and asked again, "Why are you here?"

Jason shrugged insouciantly, "Something felt off- my vision was a little greener than usual sooner than usual and I caught the comm chatter about your little field trip with Trench Coat over there. Thought I might ask a question or two."

Bruce didn't realize his brow could furrow father than it had. He opened his mouth and forgot what he wanted to say when a single bubble broke the surface of the pit, echoing loudly.

It was quickly followed by hundreds more.

"Oh bullocks," Constantine swore.

Suddenly the placid pool was roiling.

Bruce hurriedly backed away as small waves lapped along the shore line, hissing as it made contact with the dry ground.

Bruce glared at the magician digging through his pockets. "What." Bruce enunciated clearly, "Did you do?"

"Nothing!" Constantine retorted hotly still a few feet away, "I *told* you that I felt something!"

He swept his arm backward, "Do you perhaps finally believe me?"

What looked like lightening arched from the pit, briefly illuminating everything white before settling back into its ambient green glow.

"Get back from that pool now!" Bruce barked at Constantine who expertly skirted the hissing green waters.

"No can do luv, something big is coming this way its not something that you can handle!"

--

Despite the bravado in his words, Constantine wanted nothing more than to turn and leave. This situation was rapidly shaping up into what he would politely refer to as a "shit storm".

And impolitely as a "total and absolute c-"

Brilliant green lightening arched toward him and he finally dove away from the shoreline. This went far beyond his general idea of saying a few placating chants to the everest of ever-green liquids, because of course, it did.

It always did.

Fate hated him.

...Or loved him.

He was never quite sure because the love and hatred of unknowable things often couldn't be discerned by mortal souls.

And trying to figure out where this situation was borne from wouldn't be anything more than a distraction.

Something big or powerful or big *and* powerful was about to well up from the depths.

He glanced over his shoulder.

Good.

At least those two were far enough away that they could maybe escape. That is, if Batty was able to drag his tank of a son away fast enough.

The pit flared again, more intensely than before.

Constantine grimaced and turned back to the pool. If the flairs were anything like contractions, then whatever was coming was coming soon.

He wasn't disappointed- a shape emerged from the murky depths and rapidly rose.

Constantine tensed and took a steadying breath, ready to fight (or delay, his mind unhelpful supplied) whatever monster would soon burst through the liquid.

Except that moment never came- whatever has risen seemed trapped.

It was like there was a membrane over the Lazarus pit. Or like a bubble whose surface tension refused to give way.

"...huh." Constantine relaxed his shoulder and let his arms drop to the side.

Well.

If the monster/entity couldn't get out...

"Alright then chaps, I suppose I'm out. Cheers." Constantine clapped before fully turning his back on the pit.

He even managed to make it vaguely near the stairs when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"No," Batman growled.

It shouldn't have been intimidating, what with the Batman holding up a semi-conscious man...but Batman looked like this act was a minor inconvenience.

"No?" Constantine squeaked out.

"No." Batman repeated as he spun Constantine back to face the shore and pushed him.

"...Fine, fine, a banishing will likely do the trick," Constantine grumbled.

"Though why-" Constantine slightly raised his voice as he walked back to the shoreline, "-you would want this when its well contained is beyond me."

He squinted against the glare, mulling over the best course of action. Even a simple banishment required a little personality. The entity had stopped its thrashing but the light was still too bright to make out much more than a general humanoid shape.

But that didn't concern him- a great many things had a humanoid shape. Perhaps, a pit that could raise the dead would give anything a shape like that. And, oh, wasn't that a thought?

Human shape in a pool that could raise the dead.

Constantine groped around in his various pockets until his hand closed around a little box.

Perfect.

"This is ethically sourced, mind you!" He called over his shoulder as started an short incantation.

As he finished, he dumped the grave dirt into the waters.

For a moment nothing happened. Then a pop like thunder shook the cave walls.

Constantine winced as the humanoid shape broke through the water.

...Maybe, Constantine allowed in the safety of his own head, maybe grave dirt was the wrong item to have used.

---

So fun fact! A quarter moon gives us neap tides which are low tides caused by the moon being 90 degrees away from the sun. Thought this would be appropriate not just because it hints at the waters acting weirdly more concretely but because a quarter moon is often described as a half-moon which perfectly works with the concept of halfas (in my opinion).

@dannyphantomphan @pheonixdemonqueen

@thegatorsgoose @idontgetpaidenoughforthisshit @dolfay

DPxDC Idea for Lazarus Water/ Prompt

Ok so Extoplasm is thought of as being corrosive right?

What if Walker hated having real world object in the ghost zone was because they would eventually dissolve and contaminate the ectoplasm that touched it? Usually not a problem because the ectoplasm dissolves the object and the ghost zone filters it out naturally by just passing the dissolved real world item back into the living realm somewhere. Its why sometimes people feel the hair on the back of their neck stand up on a hot day like they've passed through a cold spot (because generally when the dissolved real world item comes back to the living world, its gaseous).

The problem is, however, if enough real world objects get dissolved at once, it gathers into a heavy pool (Lazarus water) that will eventually leech into the real world somewhere in a nongaseous form. Which is a huge problem because when those open up, it means that humans can more easily access the ectoplasm because since its now a living/dead substance and can be absorbed and, in most cases, abused by humans. Of course the effects of taking a dip don't last long because it eventually evaporates out through a humans pores and, like,, liver.. which is why repeated dips into the pool are needed. Also the bigger the pool, the more gravity it exerts drawing more dissolving real world items to it.

Which, for Walker, is a paperwork nightmare because its hard to disperse these pools once they occur (in general most sane ghosts don't also want to be contaminated). The solution, in Walkers eyes, is prevention over clean-up which is why he's so ridiculously strict about real world items in the Zone.

But say a big enough pool forms.

SO Walker catches Danny and instead of jailing him decides "Hey this kid is already a dead/alive mix, maybe it'll be easier for him to disperse the stuff" and sentences Danny to community service.

Here's the thing though- Walker was wrong, the pool has more pull on Danny because of his unique biology and essentially sucks him in when Danny approaches it.

Where does Danny end up? Thats right- either in Gotham's Lazarus pit or the Al-Ghul's pit.

I'd like to think the trip through a pool would sorta fry Danny's system (due to his unique) until enough Lazarus water evaporates off of him so he's stuck as, like, a combined form Fenton/Phantom because of the overload to his system. And he can't leave until that happens (sorry Clockwork can't help because he's...busy)

Maybe he has half white hair/half black hair and one blue/ one glowing green eye.

Anyways, I think this would be a really fun concept.

Batfamily would have a field day with this.

[cannotgiveafuck]

HEY SORRY ITS BEEN A FEW MONTHS HAVE A SHORT BBATTOWLB SNIPPET.

I put it up on AO3, though it may not be completely compliant in verse, but hey whatever.

Billy's identity has been revealed and he's dealing with the not quite immediate fallout.

(Spoilers for post BBATTOWLB main story line.)

-

The first time Marvel tried to leave Fawcett City, J'onn was there to stop him.

"I cannot allow you to pass city limits, Captain." He said, and moved to push Marvel back every time.

.

The second time Marvel tried to leave, Green Lantern was there.

Just lounging about in a hammock from his ring, looking at his phone like he was enjoying a relaxing day out.

"Sorry, bud," he said, only glancing up with a shrug. "You know the rules."

.

The third time Marvel was actually able to leave, because there was nobody around to stop him. Because they were all out at Metropolis fighting an army that didn't really exist because, well. Illusion magic.

Marvel really felt they could use a hand from the Champion of Magic himself.

Apparently, the others did not feel the same.

From the moment he showed up, those that noticed told him to stay aside, that they could handle it, that he could get hurt, that he should leave it to them.

"This isn't your fight, kiddo."

"Go back home, champ."

"Watch your back, kid."

Yeah. Well. This kid just saved their collective magic inept butts, so...

Superman did not see it that way. The second the fight was over, he was right there, back straight and shoulders broad and brows furrowed.

"That was reckless, Billy. You were not called in to join the fight, and if you had misstepped in the slightest someone could have seriously been hurt."

But he didn't misstep. This was a magic fight and hello, did they forget what he's good at? They could suspend him all they want, they couldn't keep him away from where he needed to be, they couldn't freaking ground him.

Something hot and uncomfortable unfurled in his chest. He felt his fists curl at his side, involuntary sparks of electricity snapped around them. On the inside, Billy felt like screaming. On the outside, Marvel felt his jaw clench.

"I understand that, but--"

"Do you?" Superman interrupted. He didn't believe him. "Do you really understand how much damage was done? How much more could have been done? This is why you're on suspension, Billy. You can't just go around getting into every fight--"

"Marvel."

"What?"

"My name is Marvel," he ground out with surprising calm. "And every fight that needs me is my fight, Superman."

Superman crossed his arms and stared him down, like Marvel wasn't as tall as him, as broad and muscled and powerful as he was. Like Marvel hadn't just saved their asses.

Marvel kept his chin up and eyes forward. He would not back down. Not even from his hero.

"Go home, Captain."

With the threat neutralized, the team watching, and civilians and news reporters starting to venture back out, Captain Marvel knew there was nothing else left for him there.

A bolt of lightning struck him.

Rather dramatic, as exits went. But like hell he was going home, where he was sure another Leaguer would come patrol, where he was being commanded to stay - so the Rock of Eternity it was.

.

He didn't try to leave Fawcett City for awhile after that. (At least, not in any way that they would notice).

.

There were no missions, no patrols, no monitor duties, no cafeteria hang outs or briefings or alerts. His communicator was forfeited, his access to the Watchtower denied, his place on the Justice League all but officially revoked.

However, with how often one of the other heroes showed up to assist him with his own city's emergencies, Marvel felt like he was seeing the League a lot more than he had before his suspension.

Since they couldn't really stop him, they interfered as much as possible.

The Flash would stop by and want to grab food, always ready to take Billy somewhere to eat, and sometimes he’d drag Hal with to mess around at an arcade, and well, would you look at that, there's a bank robbery taking place, lemme get that for you.

Green Arrow and Black Canary came to town during the week, asking him about his home life and family and schooling and what he wanted to do, as if there was anything besides being Captain Marvel, and they tried very hard to be very nice and very friendly and very nosy.

Kori frequently came blazing by. She would greet him with a hug and be excited to see him. Like she actually wanted to. Every time, she would excuse the lack of Roy and Jason, stating that they wanted to give him space. She would ask him if her presence was a burden, was unwanted. And every time Billy would say no and hold her hand just a bit tighter. There were never questions about his memory loss, about what he came to remember, as if she understood the precipice he was balancing on and only wanted to remind him she was there. Billy appreciated that a lot.

Even Doctor Fate showed up. Suddenly next to him in the middle of the night as he glided through the sky. Not saying much of anything, though Marvel could feel his stare, feel his assessment. There were questions he wanted to ask, answers he wanted known, but still he didn't push. He just floated alongside Marvel until he vanished again. It was creepy, but it could've been worse.

Very rarely, in the corner of his eye, he would spot Batman or Nightwing, just on the edge of a building's shadow. A few times during the day, Billy caught sight of Bruce or one of the other batfamily. They would be strolling through the streets like it was a normal occurrence for them to be in Fawcett, and every time, Billy ran the other way. The thought of meeting them like this, as himself, as street rat Billy Batson made his heart race and head dizzy. He couldn't do it. Not now, not yet.

.

Captain Marvel could hardly go on patrol without another hero showing up at some point, all of them seemingly taking shifts to watch him, to baby sit him in his own city. Like he couldn't be trusted any more. Like he couldn't be the hero he had been this whole time.

Billy couldn't sleep at night. Couldn't lie on his bare mattress in his apartment without jumping at the slightest of sounds. As if the others would barge in and take him as he slept. The wards that were put up awhile ago did not help soothe this fear. Tawny's reassurances that they would not let anyone take him only comforted him in so much that he did not want his Familiar harmed, either. Not for him, not because of him.

He spent a lot of time sleeping at the Rock, where at least he felt safe.

.

Superman never stopped by. Aside from that first confrontation in Metropolis, Marvel hadn't seen him. No lectures, no orders, no commands, not even static silence. Nothing. Word from Hal was he had originally wanted to actually ground Billy. Keep him at the Watchtower where he could be easily monitored and cared for. But the idea was shot down and he'd been a little miffed about it. Still, that didn't stop the spike of paranoia Billy felt upon learning it.

Diana never contacted him, either, surprisingly. And that hurt more than he thought it would. Marvel remembered the look of sadness on her face, the hidden anger in her voice, and the passion she gave as she tried to defend him, as he stood before the League and confessed to his deceit, to his lying. She looked like he betrayed her. Even if she showed up, Billy had no idea what he could possibly say to apologize, to make it better.

Victor's position in the League was on the line, too, and Billy hadn't heard any more from him except that he'd be out of touch for a bit while he was essentially grounded. For him, that meant staying at his Detroit home with supervision whilst on duty at the Watchtower. The curdling feeling of guilt that he had brought this onto his friend sent Billy into such distress he didn't leave the Rock for the whole day.

Constantine thought the whole thing was bollocks. Said they had no right to control him, to stop him. He also said a few curses about them and the Wizard, but Billy let it slide. It felt nice to have someone truly in his corner. When John offered to whisk him on a vacation for awhile, see the other side of the pond, Billy regretfully declined. He felt like that was running away from his problems and he hated that notion most of all. Still, he thanked John for talking to him, even if it was just through the mirror. It helped elevate the ache in his chest.

.

Billy hadn't felt this way - this distant, disconnected, and closed off way - in a very long time.

.

"You keep returning here, young Tháv̱ma."

Don't look at him, don't talk to him, don't listen to him.

"Over and over again, you grace these stone halls."

He's goading you. Don't fall for it. Don't fall for it!

"Tell me, do you miss the cold throne and all the power it holds so much?"

Don't fall for it! Don't listen! Don't--

"Or are you here for something else?"

Don't react! Don't--

"Perhaps you wish to find the echoes of the old Wizard's ghost haunting this Rock?"

Don't cry, don't cry, don't--

"Or perhaps... perhaps you wish to find solace in a familiar presence?"

Don't cry, don't--

"Tell me, how heavy is the burden of being both Wizard and Champion?"

Don't--

"You seem lonely, young Tháv̱ma."

I am.

Billy was so, so lonely.

"I know loneliness, and all its dark corners, very well."

Really?

"Oh, yes. Spent thousands of years trapped and alone."

Of course, Teth Adam would understand.

"I am here."

Please.

"I will listen."

Please.

"Talk to me, young Tháv̱ma."

Billy didn't want to be alone anymore.

[ethelphantom]

Of Swords And Magic Tricks

I. I decided to post my Constagami bullshit over here, too. Please enjoy this beautiful thing with me.

____

Ao3

This work is (technically) Maribat: If you don’t like, don’t read.

_____________

He has been doing it now for quite some time and she knows it.

Every time Kagami retires a rapier and says anything about it to anyone in any possible way, it disappears within the next 48 hours and is never returned to her.

At first, Kagami is baffled, creeped out that someone is stalking her and taking her rapiers because a rapier does not simply disappear like that, but at some point, she decides to stay with the rapier to find out what is going on. As it turns out, it is just her boyfriend taking them. Stealing them, really, but at this point, she is not sure she minds too much.

The reason, as it turns out, was because he is turning them into wands. Not that he really uses them, but he keeps turning them into wands anyway because they remind him of her.

Kagami can’t help but laugh.

“You— Beanpole, do you miss me quite so much you must turn my rapiers into something you are able to carry around with you?” she asks, holding back a smirk and cocks her hips. Kagami probably sounds far too smug about it, but then again, it is not often she gets a chance to tease John even if she knows his answer would be to flirt back.

After all, one simply does not fluster John Constantine. That is a fact of life.

John grins ear to ear, without even trying to hide it and quirks a brow. “Oh Luv, you know it. Much better to have you around all the time and not just when the schedule allows it,” he says, giving her a smirk, and Kagami rolls her eyes fondly. Let him break and enter once, and he would break and enter forever. Of course.

“You could also simply take me with you some time, could you not?” she tells him in return, folding her legs underneath her as she sits on her bed. “Or, at the very least, you could ask for my rapiers instead of stealing them. Breaking and entering isn’t as widely accepted method of expressing love as you may think it is.”

There is a gasp and then John puts a hand over his heart and feigns dramatic shock. “But I’m just following your example, Luv! Are you telling me not to do something like that when you’re the one who stole my heart and still has yet to return it to m—” He is interrupted by a palm over his mouth and Kagami’s groaning.

“Oh goodness, no. Don’t. Do not start. Just take the rapier and go, you idiot,” she tells him, shaking her head exasperatedly despite how much she cares about the man in front of her, all trenchcoat and arrogance.

John laughs, not long and not loud, but it’s still a laugh. And it’s nice. It’s not too often she gets to hear it. It makes her smile as well.

“Take care of yourself, will you?” Kagami says, taking his hands in hers. She has to look up to be able to look into his eyes, he’s rather tall compared to her, but she doesn’t complain about it… most of the time anyway.

Her hands are given a small squeeze and John leans forwards to kiss her on the lips. “Can’t promise anything, but I’ll try for you,” he tells her, whispers the words against her lips, and really, it’s still better than it could be. Being told that he will at least try is a bit more reassuring than only knowing that he cannot promise he’ll stay safe or that he’ll take care of himself. Surely Kagami can trust in him. She’s always been able to.

And just like each time when he steps out of the door, Kagami can feel her smile fall away and her heart break just a little bit more because she knows that each time he does so, it might end with his death and that there’s always a very good chance one day someone will come to her door to tell her John Constantine is dead — that, or he simply never comes back home, and Kagami is certain John wouldn’t just come home again if nothing bad had happened. He has come to her every time and she trusts he will continue doing so.

Year after year, the cycle continues; John leaves to fight beings she has never seen to protect and help people, and each time he comes back more or less injured. But he comes back, and she’s happy.

It isn’t until she asks to come with him that things start going awry.

John doesn’t want Kagami to come because it would be dangerous and she doesn't have magic or any special abilities to protect her if he isn’t able to save her in time, and Kagami is just as stubborn as John is.

He leaves, slamming the door behind him.

He doesn’t promise to even try to take care of himself.

Kagami goes after him, follows him to Arizona, just like she knows she would follow him to the ends of the Earth. This is nothing.

“Don’t you dare!” Those are the last three words John tells Kagami. That sentence should have, in reality, been ‘Don’t you dare die on me, I love you,’ but that isn’t what John says, and he regrets it for the rest of his life.

“I love you.” These three are the very last words Kagami says in her life, and they are directed at one John Constantine who watches yet another person he cares about die in front of his eyes.

The light blinds him as the magic hits her. The next thing he knows is that there is blood on the ground, on him, and everything is burning. John curses and exorcises the demon, knowing he could not have done that if not for Kagami’s sacrifice.

There is no corpse to bury.

Nothing left of her that he could lay to rest.

It is hardly surprising — everyone he considers a friend, everyone he cares about, all their lives end up stolen sooner or later. It was stupid of him to ever think Kagami would be an exception. They both always knew he would outlive her, but neither had expected it to be quite like this. They had merely thought he’d live longer than she would, but that she would still get to die a natural death.

There is nothing natural about demons murdering humans.

John has never really liked the gods anyway, they’re all assholes and dicks, and he’s hardly afraid of pissing all of them off, but this time he curses them to kingdom come because they let the only good thing in his life die. Sure, John was never worth living, and sure, John never deserved to get a happy life, but Kagami, Kagami was worth every second of her life and should have gotten to see more of it.

So, truly, he has been doing it for quite some time and she knew it. Has been doing it since before she dies; for multiple years, really.

As John steps into the remains of her house burnt to the ground, he can see her rapier in what used to be their — no, her, he walked out on her and told her he wasn’t coming back because maybe it would discourage her from following and she would not die — room, in a better condition than he had been expecting.

This one is going to be the last one.

John takes it with him and puts it on display, taking care of it and making sure it would not be ruined at any point.

There is no other rapier left, and it is the one John has been keeping safe since she died, hoping that maybe she would come back and he could return it to her. He knows it is nothing but wishful thinking, but she had brought the Sun back into his life, had brought him more happiness, shown him how to hope once more, and he is certain he owes her that much, owes her to have faith in her to come back. At least for a little while.

And so John forges Kagami’s favourite — and last — rapier into a wand, knowing he will never use it in his life, and it is all because he wants to keep the last piece of her he’s got near and safe.

After all, it is one of the only things she left behind, one of the only things he can keep remembering her by.

John Constantine lives on.

Tsurugi Kagami stays dead, but…

...the memory of her ultimate sacrifice will never disappear from the mind of him who bore witness to those sorrowful events.

___________ Tags:  

All Maribat: @kris-pines04 @thethirdwheelfriend @maribat-is-lifeblood @abrx2002 @rebecarojas07 @corabeth11 @kadmeread @fsketchart @moonystars14 @souleateralicestein @dreamykitty25 @verraa

Do you want to be tagged to my future works? Just send me an ask or comment! Also, for your information, if you enjoyed this, I’ll be doing Constagami/DamiGami December with @pl-panda, so if you wish to get tagged to the works I’ll create that month, remember to tell me! 

[serendipitouscontaminant]

Tagged by @theyarnmaidstale

Thank you so much!!!

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favourite opening line, then tag 10 of your favourite authors!

1. (i can imagine) a world without you [629 words, 911, the tiny Bobby/Athena relationship study] — “It’s not a fairytale, but it starts with once upon a time.”

2. Have a Good One [2,817 words, 911, the post-4x13 one where Eddie thinks Buck got shot and then some other stuff happens, not a deathfic] — “Everything is dark, an endless desert night.”

3. I’ll Be Fine (I Just Need to Rest) [1,765 words, 911, the post-4x13 one that is absolutely a deathfic] — “Something warm and wet splatters across Buck’s face. His eyes close reflexively, just for a moment, as a jolt goes through his whole body, the recoil of a gun he didn't shoot.”

4. I Know That I Don’t Wanna Be Out to Drift [5,283 words, 911, the post-Eddie Begins Buck/Eddie fic where Eddie has a breakdown, yes I like it very much] — “Eddie’s in the kitchen at his parents’ house, standing in front of the fridge.”

The rest is under a cut because this is so long lol

5. Over Trap and Snare [2,706 words, the Maddie & Albert s4b timeskip fic that was made retroactively sad by later in the season] — “Maddie’s washing her hands.”

6. Life, Changing [1,619 words, the missing scene ‘Chim tells Albert he’s going to live with the Lees’ fic] — “Albert’s sitting on the bed when Chimney walks into what’s soon going to be his and Maddie's room again.”

7. Baby Girl Han [1,813 words, the immediately post-Blindsided fic, TBI] — “Howard and Maddie are coming to visit today.”

8. Drive You Home Tonight [3,761 words, s3 Eddie’s feeling pretty messed up, man, and Buck is supportive but he’s kinda bummed tbh] — “It’s dark out, and Eddie’s sitting on a bench.”

9. the truth is on the table [5,642 words, Legends of Tomorrow, a very special episode of telm_393’s fic] — “John’s at one of the tables in the galley with a half-smoked cigarette in his mouth, flanked by an empty whiskey bottle and a half-full one, when Sara finds him.”

10. Don’t Worry, I Was Only Dying [10,392 words, Constantine, really hardcore Chas whump] — “Chas is on his way back to Georgia when he spots a path right off the side of the road.”

11. Blue Sky Country [3,338 words, like a disaster movie, but it’s fanfiction for The Good Place] — “It’s finally gotten cold enough for Eleanor to notice, so she wraps a scarf around her neck.”

12. Kamilah Al-Jamil’s Sister’s Funeral [1,244 words, Good Place grief fic] — “Kamilah’s face is splashed over every magazine she sees, which is par for the course.”

13. (because) of course (they did) [1,241, Original Works, this fic is literally a joke but I’m ngl, I think it’s funny] — “The One With a Lot of Issues sat at the kitchen table in a mansion situated in Handwaveland, which he had recently moved into with his teammates after disturbing canon events that necessitated some unrealistic time off to explore the emotional aftereffects of the previously mentioned disturbing canon events, and brooded.”

14. Now That the Magic’s Gone [55,384 words, LoT, the John noncon recovery fic, it has 12 chapters, idek] — “It starts, as many shit things that are John’s fault do, with a demon.”

15. This Is an Autopsy [2,816 words, the Behrad post-coming back from the dead darkfic] — “Behrad told Zari to run.”

16. Go This Way [2,653 words, The Umbrella Academy, the Five Alzheimer’s fic] — “This is not me, Five says. This is not me.”

17. All Legends on Deck [3,952 words, LoT, yes I wrote a groupchat fic] — Group: ALL LEGENDS ON DECK

18. John Can’t Come to the Phone Right Now [2,954 words, LoT, the John/Zari fic where John is at the tail-end of a prolonged psychotic break] — “It’s dark in Zari’s room and John doesn’t know how long he’s been awake.”

19. Right There With You [3,991 words, LoT, the John/Zari fic where Zari and John commiserate about terrible past boyfriends] — “Zari’s at a vanity products expo in 2028, QBing on the ground--which is basically just doing nothing at an expo for useless trendy things instead of doing nothing on the ship--when she sees someone she knows in the crowd.”

20. A Team Player [5,623 words, LoT, the John food poisoning fic] — “John’s been brewing a lot of potions lately.”

So a lot of my first lines aren’t very long, and I really like telling my readers where exactly the characters are. I think my favorite is probably the first line of “Now That the Magic’s Gone,” because it feels very him. I do like how “I Know That I Don’t Wanna Be Out to Drift” takes a sharp turn into the weird, though.

I, uh, don’t know that many people and I think some people I’d tag have already been tagged, so I’m gonna tag @withinadream27 and @intearsaboutrobots

[wildglitch]

I volunteered as tribute. So this is a quick draft of that ideas with a few more HC's thrown in. I might come back, fix this up and post a better one-shot on ao3, but for now @purplearchivist this is for you . (Hope you like it, cause with most of the things I post im doing this on the spot)

It was early in the day at the WatchTower. Not many people were in the tower and the few that were, were milling in and out of the cafeteria for an early 5 a.m breakfast.

He could see Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter chatting over coffee. Captain Marvel was staring daggers at Constantine who was smoking right across from him, all the while Cyborg sat next to them with the most dead eyed stare that told anyone he was not present at the moment. The trinity was having breakfast at their own table and probably planning out the meeting they would have later. People are just trying to get a few minutes of peace before having to face the day.

"Dude! Someone made Pancakes!" Wally or better known as The Flash yelled from the other side of the room.

Then there were people like him, who were bribed and manipulated with pity to accompany his friend on his night time monitor duty shift. Nightwing should probably apologize to Cyborg, poor guy not only lives on the tower, but also had to deal with their dumbasses all night.

"Thanks" Nightwing yawned receiving the plate his friend offered him

All in all, it seemed like nothing that interesting was going to happen, just a regular morning in a room filled with people that were probably sleep deprived and had nothing better to do than come to the watchtower for breakfast. That was until a sparking glowing portal appeared in the middle of the room.

"Oh god damn it" He heard Flash say next to him, and honestly, Nightwing couldn't help but agree.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you talk me into eating breakfast and just gone home. '' He sighed to his friend, already getting into a fighting stance along with the few others present at the moment, preparing for the worst.

What came out of the portal was a battered yet elegant looking man with a very serious face. Before any of them could do anything, the man lifted his hands in a show of peace with the words "I need a favor '' stumbling out of his mouth.

The heros were confused, who was this man? How did this man get onto the tower? And what was the light show he just did?

The answer came for 2 of the more unlikely people

"Dr. Strange?" Captain Marvel asked as Constantin sat back down with a mutter about "Not this fucking guy". Not a good sign.

"John, Captain" The man quickly made his way towards them, ignoring the other people in the room. "I need your help, fast" The man said seriously, he seemed stressed.

"With?" The Captain wearly, and that's coming from the guy who never seemed to be worried about anything. next to him he sees John let out a deep sigh.

"What did you do this time Strange?" The man said more resigned then anything

"Lets, let's just say that through a series of very unfortunate events, things got messy and now my reality is imploding on itself." Oh Shit.

"Oh Shit" Cap said numbly alongside a gawking John

"How much time do we have to save your universe? '' Superman said, starling the three out of their conversation. they seemed to have forgotten about the other people in the room. and honestly he can't blame them considering he also forgot.

Looking around, he can see that everyone is no longer in a battle stance, and inside look ready to help this man in whatever way they can. And Honestly he can help but agree, this man came here asking for help. What kind of heros would they be if they turned him away?

"None" The man said, recomposing himself a bit, turning to talk to the room at large. "But that's not what I came asking for help with"

"Then what is?"Wonder Woman asked confused

The man sighed, as if the weight of what he was about to ask was fully hitting him. How bad would this favor be?

"There's this boy. I need you guys to look after him."

...Huh?

And theres that. Im not writing the whole thing rn. I'll safe that for ao3 lol. But I hope this can help feed that idea you had. I imagien that a lot of really powerful magic users are awear of eachother and have possible meet before, and that big magic events are things that bring peoples attention to certin users. And I think the "Sorcer Suprem who helped wipe half of life", "Youngest Champion of Magic" And "Some Brit that keeps selling his soul and getting away with it" have meet if not are awear of eachother.

Fanfic Prompt

I'm not really a fic writer but I had an idea after reading a lot of crossover fics where Peter Parker gets dumped in the DC universe by Dr. Strange after the multiverse fiasco. 

However, I think it would be really cool if someone made a fic where Strange dumped Peter in front of the Justice League explained what was going on and why, and asked them to take Peter, and then the League or Batman proceeded to ream out Strange for destroying Peter's life. 

I would love it if someone would write this if they do or if there is already a story like this please link it is that possible on Tumblr?

Links to current Fics:

Dark Matter by mysterycyclone

Make it out Just to fall by derryhawkins

Peter the Pizza Guy by Irisen

Dumpster Diving for Treasure by Clovrtree

Along Came A Spider by RagsnBones (Complete)

[akimmito]

Heroes are made by the path they choose

Previous | AO3 | Next

--------------

Chapter 8

Marinette is sitting on a bench, phone in hand, dark glasses and a black coat; she remembers several years ago when she was in this same place meeting with Marianne. Now she's back, but not to recall memories of her embarrassing adolescence. No, she's in that place for business, the place is solitary enough for a meeting without attracting too much attention, especially if it's information that she doesn't want anyone to hear.

"What's so important?" She speaks when a person sits next to her, she doesn't need to see him to know who he's, after all, there is only someone who should be there at that moment and in that place. She made sure that it was, a little magic to persuade people not to pass.

"I heard that a demon wants to get one of your jewels in Turkey, I'm not sure of his motives, but an angel was bothering me to do something. You should talk more to them. "

"Yeah, because it's very normal to befriend angels. The casual Friday of every human. "

"You would be surprised, they're a lot of fun… until they harass you relentlessly, they can be very annoying when they want. "

"That's my point." She smiles and takes off her dark glasses at the same time as he does. "What else do you know? You wouldn't ask for a meeting just to tell me that, knowing how much you run away from relationships and human interaction in general. "

"Well, darling, it's always a pleasure to see you. Any gathering is worth enjoying your figure. ”Marinette laughs and prepares for whatever she will say next. "The Shadow League searches for their heir. They called hell and found out that the boy was not there, Ra’s was willing to make a deal to retrieve his body and bring him back to the Lazarus Pits. It's only a matter of time for they to locate him, you must be careful. "

"Ra’s doesn't like to be betrayed." she murmurs. "How did you get the information?"

"A lovely encounter with a demon and one of those assassins, the poor man I was trying to protect, all wanted him very dead. The demon didn't kill him, but there was nothing I could do against a murderer like that, I barely made it out alive and now I have a new beautiful scar on my leg. "

"One day like any other, you're a lucky man."

"Since that night it only increased, I must thank you." He leans toward her with a smile.

"Do you want to go for a drink? To thanks for the information. ”She smiles back. The two get up immediately and begin to walk the streets of Paris, Marinette makes sure that a glamor covers them both to avoid being bothered. She grabs his left arm and he leans into her to whisper in her ear, tickling her skin where his breath hits.She laughs "Now, what has become of your life, John Constantine?"

----------------

Cooper @ KCoopL98

It is a wonderful day, nothing can ruin it. Not even you, damn butterfly!

Alix @LostHeroBunnix

The more mysterious you are @MariLenoir, the more curiosity you generate in us.

Chloe B. @BourgeoisQueen

@LostHeroBunnix, right?!

Adrien A. @AdrienAgreste

@LostHeroBunnix @BourgeoisQueen I saw her walking to the Sena, wearing a black coat and putting on sunglasses. Very suspicious.

Epic Kim @Epic_OrginalChampions

@LostHeroBunnix @BourgeoisQueen @AdrienAgtreste What if she has a secret lover? With the demon boy she has for a son, I would sneak out too.

Damian @DamianLenoir

@LostHeroBunnix @BourgeoisQueen @AdrienAgreste @Epic_OriginalChampions Mother has no secret boyfriend or lover. Imagination must be a nice place, but get out of there.

Epic Kim @Epic_OriginalChampions

@LostHeroBunnix @BourgeoisQueen @AdrienAgreste @DamianLenoir Look at him, poor baby, he's in denial.

Damian @DamianLenoir

@LostHeroBunnix @BourgeoisQueen @AdrienAgreste @Epic_OriginalChampions Denial is what you'll feel when they tell you that you'll not be able to swim in a year.

Alix @LostHeroBunnix

@BourgeoisQueen @AdrienAgreste @Epic_OriginalChampions @DamianLenoir How much violence, please, I want to be present when it happens

Felix @GarahamV_Felix

@LostHeroBunnix @BourgeoisQueen @AdrienAgreste @Epic_OriginalChampions Why do we need tabloid newspapers? You do a great job, guys. If you're going to speculate nonsense, do it via text message. Uselesses.

----------

Marinette returns to the country house when dinner is over, only to be greeted by Damian as soon as she opens the door. The boy looks incredibly threatening with his arms crossed and a suspicious look, she has returned too late.

"Where did you go, mother? I can smell the smell of alcohol and it's barely 9 pm, you must have left Paris two hours ago, too early to be drinking. ”He frowns more, looking her up and down, noting the differences in her outfit since he saw her leave, realizing that the black stockings are missing.

"I just went for a walk and stopped at a bar." All right, she shouldn't be so intimidated by her son, but Damian does it very successfully. In her defense, he was trained to be a killing machine, he knows very well how to stand and look to achieve that effect.

"Alone?"

"Uh, well..."Marinette is just a little drunk, so that helps the questioning go so well for the boy.

"Because you don't bring your stockings, I can also smell a cigar aroma and I know that you don't like nicotine, you are disheveled and you have a mark on your neck. "Damian is hurt to list everything he can notice, he didn't even try to further hide the evidence. He really hates Kim, especially because he was right.

"He's a... friend..." She doubts, actually, she doesn't have the slightest idea of her relationship with him. Adventure of one... two, no, three... yes, three nights, maybe?

Is he so bad that his mother must hide her partner from him? He's not going to bite him, just a subtle threat with a knife, nothing too so bad.

"Mother, you don't have to while. If he hurts you, I will mutilate it, but if you agree… ”The rest is not understood because he's said in grunts and, for less understanding, in Arabic.

"He's a friend, Damian. I met him four years ago while investigating a series of murders that ended up being the victims of sacrifice for a cult that spread to various regions of Europe. "The boy heeds his words, he did not think she was going to tell him about his friend, like if I really believed it was just that. When she passes him, the smell of cigarettes is much stronger, reinforcing the idea that it was not quality time for friends. "We started investigating it and he took us to Liverpool, where I met him. I was investigating the case with Felix, but seeing the circles and rituals performed, I diverted it in another direction while I followed the correct leads, I had the feeling that I would end up facing something darker than just a cult."

"And you met him." He sits down on the couch across from her, Marinette takes off her slippers and sets them aside. She thinks for a moment before continuing.

"Yeah, he was also investigating. These people seemed to want to carry out a demonic summoning ritual, I didn't know their real motives for this, but I wasn't going to wait for them to succeed… unfortunately they were successful the night we faced them, Azrael, nice meeting. "Damian barely flinches at his sarcasm. "You can't imagine the problems we had in sending him back to hell, all while Plagg was laughing at us. "

"In my defense, I knew you would win." The little god comes out of Marinette's coat. "And next time you meet the alcoholic guy, don't take me. Unless you want to face another demon or angel, you are fun when you do. "

Marinette sighs, of course the Kwami of Destruction would love the amount of chaos those beings generate.

"Whatever, we met several times later. He seemed intrigued by Plagg and the fact of my magic is very different from anything he had seen."

"Tell him when a possessed woman attacked you in a bar! It was fun. ”Plagg laughs as he remembers it, all the chaos it caused in the few minutes she was there. He loved it, it was a great day.

"I didn't know you were involved in that kind of thing." He admits, it's something he never thought would be related to his mother, as kind as she's, no one would ever imagine.

"Sometimes, but they are only favors for him. I prefer not to get into such situations, they are always prone to end in a real disaster. "She sighs looking at his hands.

"It's so much fun." Plagg laughs as Marinette shakes her head.

"Yeah, we know chaos amuses you." She smiles wearily and gets up. "I'll go to sleep... Damian, I love you so much."

Damian just watches her go after saying those words to him, he didn't expect her to say that to him. He knows that she loves him and he wants her back, that's why he tries so hard to always look presentable when they go out and not cause any problems, he doesn't want his reputation to be ruined because of him and for that reason she'll no longer wants him by his side. It would be terrible.

And that's why he doesn't like the people who approach her, what if they don't like him? What if they demand that his mother get rid of him? What if she gets a partner who doesn't want him around? He will couldn't accept it.

Seeing Talia three nights ago still haunts him, even though it was just an illusion created by the Akuma. When he thinks about the League he only feels two things, fear that he will be taken away from his mother and fury at what they did to him.

If he ever returns to the League of Assassins, it will be to exterminate them all.

-----------

Tim Drake @TimDrakeW_

The only good thing about going to Paris is that I already have an appointment with Marie Lenoir for a suit. Thanks @OliverQueen!

Roy @RoyHarperQ

@TimDrakeW_ You failed to thank me? I was the one who felt sorry for you because Dick is dragging you to Paris with him.

Jason @IAmYisus_XD

@TimDrakeW_ @RoyHarperQ He turns off notifications for his posts, he won't tell you anything.

Dick Grayson @TheFlyingGrayson

Tomorrow we arrived in Paris, the last time I visited the city I was six years old and still in the Circus. I have a whole tourist route to follow!