#Lazarus of the Mace

[liberumalas]

Avarage conversation between the Mace and Kelsie.

[charlietheepicwriter7]

"Grandfather."

Ra's knew who the boy was the moment he'd snuck into the room. He'd allowed the child--more man than child now, but everyone was a child compared to him--moments to steel himself while Ra's refrained from acknowledging his presence. The boy's breath was barely audible but unsteady, and a drop of something fell to the floor.

His grandson was injured. "Danyal," he greeted and finally gazed upon him for the first time in seven years.

Danyal had grown into his father's height, yet stayed lean in regards to his musculature. His black hair had grown out of the League-regulation haircut, held back in a messy braid. He held himself as strong as he could, but kept an arm wrapped around his stomach. His shirt--standard American teenage garb, he dismissed--was spotted with blood and he could see bandages poking out from under the cloth.

With great care, Danyal knelt before the Demon Head and recited the Oath of Loyalty.

Ra's watched.

The boy's tongue, fat with English, spoke the League's variant of Arabic with the grace of a mace to the head, yet his words were clear. He took his time speaking the oath, carefully sounding out words, working hard to avoid mispronunciation. The Oath in question was the older version, from before Deathstroke's insurrection, but Danyal spoke it with a calm certainty that it would be accepted.

And without a doubt, it would be accepted.

Talia's eldest son had been born from her body instead of through science, a mistake that nearly cost her the child and damaged him upon birth. While the best doctors in the world saved his life, Danyal Al Ghul would always be weak in a fight, always prone to illness, always struggling to excel. When it became clear that the boy couldn't become the next Demon Head, Ra's sent Talia to create a replacement while arrangements were made for her first child to be taught business and science, for the betterment of the League. Danyal, very much his father's child, thrived in his intellectual pursuits while Damian grew and developed into a budding assassin.

But Danyal was more like his father than he'd ever knew. Ra's couldn't miss the signs of one of his family turning away from the League. Not the mission--Danyal had written several university level papers defending the environment by the time the boy was 10--but Ra's methods...

Ra's had a conundrum. Danyal was a dedicated conservationist; once the boy was an adult, Ra's was certain he'd take the world by storm and bring the League to new heights. But if he forced his methods onto Danyal, he could create an enemy of him, just as his father was.

Ra's gave Danyal an offer; Danyal would be allowed to leave the League and live a normal life if and only if he faked his own death in such a way that reinforced Damian's loyalty to the League of Assassins.

Danyal had been hesitant at first, but past his test with flying colors. Instigating one of the more unstable assassins into organizing a coup, cutting the insurgents off near immediately, but "dying" protecting both his younger brother and mother. It was a masterful performance. Even Talia hadn't known about the deceit.

And yet, here he was, on his knees, pledging loyalty. Danyal knew what that meant, knew what he was returning to, which morals he would be allowed to keep.

"And what do you bring with you, child of no one?" Why should the League accept the return of this child, who left once before?

Danyal met his eyes. "I bring with me, my team, who are loyal to me and me alone. I bring with me, research surrounding the Lazarus Pits, in origins and further uses for the waters." Ra's raised an eyebrow, and Danyal smirked. "I bring with me, my knowledge, nurtured within this very home and sharpened in the world outside. I bring with me, my weapons, built with my own hands. I bring with me... my body, finally healthy and whole." He brought his head down to the floor, trembling with pain. "I bring my whole self to the Demon's Head, for Him to accept or reject."

Ra's smiled. "By the shadows that guard our order and the blood that binds us, I accept this oath. From this day forward, you are an instrument of the League, a harbinger of justice, and a weapon in the hand of Ra's Al Ghul."

Danyal returned to his feet, swaying percariously. He needed immediate medical attention. Despite this, he continued, "Long live the League of Assassins. Long live Ra's Al Ghul."

And he collapsed onto the floor.

[probablybadrpgideas]

OCtober day 31

Ok! While we wait for the weird habit poll to cook (though it looks like "shapeshifting and then asking people what they think about the dragon" is going to win, let's name our OC! Here's what we know about them.

Our OC is a silver dragon with purple eyes, who works as a weaver, does giant bonsai for fun which will one day become a forest-sized art piece, and has a good relationship with their parents. They can breath capsaicin solution, as well as shapeshifting, though in other forms their hair is silver and they remain short, fat, and muscly, just as they are in dragon form (an average dragon being over 200 feet long), with a mascy-femme presentation. They are aroace, and don’t think much about gods, despite being a (secretly) tax-fraud-commiting of the remnants of a fallen fantasy steppe civilisation that once ruled the world, alongside their pet mimic, Zoloft Jr. Their archenemy is their former roommate, a wizard named Zoloft, who used to share their cave. They’re scared of lizards and their fear response is fight.

[acecasinova]

LAZ IS HAVING SUCH A BAD TIME

It's sort of fallen to the back burner in the story though bc the party escaped Ravenloft and managed to bring Laz! That means it's fine!! (Our wizard knows SOMETHING is up because Laz tried to warn Milivoj, the other oldest boy at the orphanage [I say as if he's not like 20 or something], and he immediately told her, but she hasn't pried)

The worst of it was DEFINITELY when the party was still trying to escape the castle and a Valkyrie spotted us,,,, All the Valkyries (and maybe the Iron Nails too) know what Strahd did, so this one just IGNORED Laz' goading, grabbed his adopted mom, the paladin, and spider climbed up the wall to stare at him while she bit Dissy

We did end up killing her and Laz did a lil diablerie before she fully dusted~ And THEN everyone (including Laz) got to see Laz physically age and grow on the spot while his bite sprouted blood red kudzu vines from the ex-valkyrie,,,, Surely doing that in what looked like Strahd's throne room won't come back to bite us!

Hi there!! :D fear, secret and wound for the ask meme for Lazarus + another OC who you want to talk about? :D

My scrungy boy!!! I'll also answer some for Fion, another scrungy boy currently in my head lol~

fear: What is your OC's greatest fear? What do they do when confronted with it? Are they open with their fear, or do they hide it away?

Lazarus: His greatest fear is being weak and powerless- feeling small and ineffectual (Like when Strahd forced him to turn into a newborn kitten, or when he couldn't hurt Kindness at all, even when he knew he landed a blow). It freaks him the F-CK out when it happens but his base instinct is always survival, so he'll bend to whatever force seems to be on top. (It's very fun when the loud, abrasive, and aggressive guy goes still and quiet~ but laying low and NOT fighting back when the odds are garbage have gotten him a lot farther than insulting someone much stronger to their face) ....And on that note it's not THAT hard to see when he's afraid- he's a terrible liar and you can definitely see the deference in his posture.

Fion: His biggest fear is rejection! Fion wants to please and be accepted sooooo so bad and he definitely ends up fawning when faced with people who are mad at him. He'll test the waters a little, but if he gets pushback, he'll retreat and agree and probably walk on eggshells around that person for a while. He doesn't openly talk about it, but it's behavioral so it's not impossible to pick up on.

secret: What's one secret your OC never wants anyone to know about them?

Lazarus: Ohhhhhh he does NOT want people to find out the extent of what Strahd did to him before leaving him out for the party to find. It wasn't even anything physical, but he's still got the looming threat to the orphanage if anyone gets it out of him. (I'll say a lil more under a readmore so that it doesn't cut off the next one but people in the game don't read it if they're not butts)

Fion: HMMM well his biggest current secret that he'd die if people found out about is very topical to where they are right now story-wise.... Some of the group have found out he uses taboo magics, but no one knows he's a bit of a serial killer. Not that he'd phrase it like that- he goes after people who've been cruel to changelings and other species that are looked down on, and got.... maybe a little idea that the church and wizards might fall under fair game now too...

wound: How does your OC handle being wounded? Are their wounds mostly physical? Mental? Emotional? What's the worst wound your OC has ever experienced? Lazarus: He usually grits his teeth and deals with it- Laz is kinda just an overgrown feral cat, if a cat could turn into vermin or a red wolf lmao~ He'll usually sulk a little, maybe b-tch about it if the party is in a dungeon and he wants to bite somebody but they haven't fought anything alive in a while, but he tends to try and hide emotional or mental wounds and just not talk about them at all ever. (Which has just resulted in Laz being VERY emotionally stunted and bad at verbalizing things) Worst physical wound was probably when he tried to grab a little statuette for our party wizard, and whoops! Uh oh! Turns out evil and/or undead things can't touch it and it nuked him with radiant damage that ALMOST killed him on the spot, but it was just shy of twice his HP total, so he was only knocked out and fried his left arm to a crisp. The mental/emotional wounds really take the cake, though- the three days he spent arrested and chained up in that too-bright room with Kindness coming in just to repeatedly near-crush his windpipe and rip his fear of her wide open again, FOLLOWED by the humiliation of the carriage ride with her to Castle Ravenloft while she just raked what remained of his self worth over the coals was definitely a doozie. He REALLY hasn't recovered from that one yet but he also haven't tALKED about it to anyone because he's a prideful piece of sh-t who can't articulate his feelings.

Fion: His magical training really just put him through the wringer,,,, His mentor believed in "show don't tell" so he has first hand experience with all the spells he knows, like having maggots summoned in his stomach to eat their way out, or having his autonomy taken away. He's pretty accustomed to taking blow after blow, and usually takes them without complaint. His worst wound was probably when he was attacked while selling healing salves. Someone tried to rob him and ended up cutting him up. He lost his left eye in the attack and the shock of it nearly killed him, but he managed to stabilize himself after getting away.

So Laz's secret.....

He's a high enough leveled monk by 5e standards to be able to use "Stillness of Mind" and shake charms and such, and Strahd has underestimated him a few times before after dismissing him as a spawn. BUT Strahd found out Lazarus ISN'T a spawn, and is actually a full vampire in his own right, but he's a weird type that feeds on OTHER vampires and.... Strahd wants that under his thumb.

So after Laz got arrested (Long story of shenanigans but he f-cked up and his prey drive kicked in on a guard while reps from all three towns AND an entourage from Ravenloft were in town) and mentally beat to all sh-t by Kindness, Strahd showed up and offered him a "deal".

Lazarus could accept the charm Strahd was going to place on him. Or, he could try to resist it (historically something Laz has NEVER done successfully) and Strahd would go burn the Valaki orphanage to the ground and kill everyone here. That's Dissy's orphanage. That's where HE 'grew' up. So obviously he accepted the charm and now Strahd has a sleeper agent in the party. He STILL DOES. Lazarus cannot attack any sentient creature FIRST- they must attack him first. If no one has, he has to simply defend himself, but he's gotten to a point where he can assist others or use things like the "Cause Fear" effect on his mace. He can't let anyone try to help get rid of the charm or try to remove it himself. He also is forbidden from SPEAKING about the charm- he can't tell anyone why he can't attack or what Strahd did, and he can't tell them what might happen if he or someone else tries to remove the charm. (What might happen is Strahd burning the orphanage) ...And last but oh so certainly not least: He MUST obey if Strahd gives him a command with the trigger "would you kindly". (He hasn't tested if someone ELSE who isn't Strahd can also force him to do things with that phrase, but it's bad enough that Strahd can, and it isn't like Charm Person where it feels like they're your friend. Laz KNOWS what's happening but he can't do anything to stop himself from obeying and that, quite frankly, is the worst part for him)

[justheretodump]

this is going to be dc x danny phantom x miraculous ladybug x spiderman

pt 1, 2, 3, 4

for those who aren't familiar with every show, here's a lore explanation

---

jazz fenton and constantine had met, of course, on a dreary december night, when rain had poured ominously. with thundering clouds above, constantine had blinked awake from a coma-like nap to the sound of knocking on his apartment door.

a wet and scowling jazz had stood on the other side, orange hair stuck to her skin and shaking hands gripping a leather tome to her chest. despite her shaky appearance, she spoke clearly, southern drawl shaping the vowels uniquely, "john constantine? my name's jazz fenton, may i come in?"

"no."

trying to slam the door shut had no affect, as she had simply shoved the book in the way.

"i really need your help."

"fuck off."

constantine blocked the open slit with his body as she shimmied her knee in for more leverage.

"i'm a history student at gotham u." another mini scuffle as both pushed against the door. "i'm looking for information on an old myth." constantine tried using his hip to push the tome out of the way. "do you know about lazarus pits?"

constantine rebooted his brain to shake away the shock. clearing his throat, he backed away, the door squeaking on its hinges to show the smirking girl. "may i come in?"

the australian man scoffed and drifted away to the kitchen table. the student surveyed the crappy apartment as she followed, sitting down across from him with a relieved grunt. she put the book on the table.

he eyed the girl warily, "what's this about lazarus pits? where'd you hear it?"

she cleared her throat, back straight and hands crossed on her lap. if it wasn't for her sorry state, she would be the image of professional.

"i'm not in a position to discuss my sources. however, from what i've heard, there's one underneath this city." her eyes glinted a steely aquamarine. "i need to see it."

constantine barked a gruff laugh. "you're crazy. there isn't a chance in hell ranga." he jerked his head at the book on the table. "what's with that then?"

her hands flipped its pages, stopping at a detailed drawing of a bubbling pit. upside down, it was hard for constantine to decipher. "it says in here that long ago, bubbling pits of green water were used by witches to speak with the dead. they could only be found in places with a strong lack of godly devotion, invoking satan's forces." she huffed, a sad smile lifting her face. "if i can confirm gotham's lazarus pit and what it consists of, i can further argue the existence of gotham's own witch coven in the 1600s before the salem trials. for my thesis, of course."

"for your thesis," constantine echoed, a bit mockingly.

"of course." repeated jazz pleasantly. "if you're so unwilling to come along, a few directions would suffice."

the man snarled, "no dice kiddo, scram."

jazz seemed unfazed, gathering herself up with the grace of a dancer. sweeping the book back into her hands, she walked towards the doorway. under the frame, she turned to tutt at him, "i'd spray some air freshner in here. cigarrette smoke attracts unfavorable forces."

---

jazz fenton did not disappear nor fade into obscurity. constantine had the pleasure of her company the following wednesday, where both had escaped certain death at the hands of a cursed portrait pulling unassuming tourists into its french landscape.

sat in the ruins of a crumbling mansion, constantine lit his cigarrette and studied the girl across from him. "so, how did your research lead you here?"

jazz snorted, decorative mace still in hand even after the fight had ended, "property records were transferred to the gotham government after the trials. just had to figure out what victim it was connected to and, voila, witch mansion."

---

after much persuasion and conversation, constantine decided that this girl, with the smarts for battle and a deep intuision for the magical, would be his prodigy. and if her company included good banter, fatherly worries and emotional attachment, that was neither here nor there.

---

two years later, jazz fenton was a doctor in historical studies of gotham folklore, a museum consultator and a justice league dark probationary member.

batman and zatanna, both well aware of the orphan constantine had taken under his wing, had not been surprised to greet her at the door of the australian's apartment.

"sorry for the mess guys, we've been drawing all night." they shimmied across the paper covered floor into the kitchen where the blonde was eating a bowl of cereal. "we've narrowed down the source of the problem somewhat. last thursday, what you saw on that hill, we think it might be an old gaelic deity, cailleach."

zatanna frowned at the idea, "a gaelic deity? deities don't leave their countries."

constantine spoke through a garble of cheerios, "yes but what if they weren't this earth's deity?"

batman remained silent and jazz spoke to him, "when a deity is borne from worship or belief, they tend to only exist there."

"something only exists if it is observed." the bat mused.

jazz brightened, "yes! deities only exist in the countries that they're observed in. however, we believe this cailleach is not our scotland's deity but rather doesn't exist tied to a reality at all."

"but a deity can't exist without a belief well," zatanna replied.

"well, yes," constantine stood up and dragged over a vintage drawing of an old woman in a cloak, her hand wielding a hammer, "but what if someone could die and leave their reality's vibrations? go neither to their hell or heaven or hades' underworld or valhalla or whatever else, and take their beliefs with them?"

"you're talking about the infinite realms."

"the infinite realms?" intoned batman.

jazz showed the caped man a note, this time a depiction of a vast land with floating islands and starry skies. "the infinite realms is a different dimension. it exists on another plane, like icthultu's realm. when we talk about the afterlife, bad or good, every reality has their own. however, the infinite realms can sometimes bleed into every reality. because of this, souls touched by its essence can slip the afterlife and go on to exist in the infinite realms."

"if you were to die bats," constantine leaned back, "there would only be one batman wherever we go after death. but in the infinite realms, you could have 2 or 5 or 10, all dead and from different worlds."

zatanna hummed at all this and looked closer at the runes they'd compiled, "so if a hardcore cailleach believer passed on to the infinite realms, cailleach could come to life there."

constantine snapped his finger, "exactly! that's the theory, but really, it only works if the ghost monster that attacked the park next to the hill is the belief well. not really human-like but a possibiliy. the infinite realms has a bad habit of creating weird shit."

"can we expect more creatures to come from the infinite realms?" asked batman.

"no." "maybe."

jazz and constantine whipped their heads to exchange irritated stares. the australian man got up roughly, chair scraping the floor, and took his bowl to the sink, the faucet water breaking the silence.

jazz sat down, gesturing for their two guests to finally sit. she reached underneath the table towards a purple backbag, and pulled out her old book tome. flipping it open, she showed the pit drawing to the other two heroes.

"what if the lazarus pits were connected to the infinite realms?"

zatanna leaned in, intrigued, batman remained stone faced, and constantine scoffed loudly. the blonde began muttering but jazz continued on. "i believe ra's tried to erase all records of the pits, but mentions of reviving waters can be found all across cult scripts and witch coven writings. waters that could bring back the dead, that whispered with human voices, that sometimes held goulish creatures underneath its waters. a material thick and glowing green penetrating the soil around it. the only evidence of the infinite realms is a page from doctor fate, and he mentioned a green, jelly-like substance!"

constantine huffed again, like an angry boar, and turned, hands covered in soap suds. "i swear to god, you're making connections where they don't exist! if the pits had anything to do with the infinite realms, that would've been the first thing doctor fate told us!"

jazz stood, hands planted on the table, "if you would just trust me, we could go check and rule it out, but ancients forbid i'm right! you're just scared about wha-"

constantine got close to her and pointed in her face, "you've been obsessed with those pits since you stepped into my goddamn apartment two years ago, let it go jazz or i swear i'll pull you off this case."

a thousand emotions flickered across jazz's face before, with teary eyes and a thunderous scowl, she stomped away, figure disappearing into the living room. faintly, the sound of the balcony doors sliding open echoed before a soft click followed.

zatanna, who had witnissed many of jazz and constantine's fights before, and knew how deeply the man cared for the girl, heaved a sigh. both were stubborn and it would take a bit before things settled. she decided to keep quiet, reaching for jazz's tome to keep occupied. as she reached across, a soapy hand impeded her. looking at constantine, he wore a frown, "she doesn't like others touching it. go look at the runes, see if you recognize anything."

zatanna smiled a small thing at the man she was so fond of, and got up to do so.

batman, who had watched everything with mixed feelings, watched the australian go back to the sink. faced with his back, he spoke lowly, "the pit's too far away from the park."

constantine sighed, shoulders drooping, "no, it wouldn't work like that. if it did, anyone revived by the pit would have to stay close to it. and if you destroy some of them, the undead might go back to being dead."

batman mulled this over in silence. he was undecided on the matter, too concerned about what it meant that the pits might be doors to another dimension. he conveyed his worries then, "if the pits are connected to the realms, how were we able to destroy them before?"

"if, and that's a big fucking if, they are connected to the realms, the essence can't be destroyed. it's all around us, all the time. the important bit is stacking it in one place to create a way through. like a stone bridge. when you destroy the pits, all you're doing is breaking up the stone, but the stone crumbles to the bottom, and you could, hypothetically, pick up each stone and put it together again. i guess the only things that works as a glue for it in our world is water."

"you're pretty calm discussing it now."

"one of these days that girl's gonna end up digging a hole she'll die in."

"kids are like that."

---

later on, when the apartment meeting had ended with no new leads and batman had debriefed the other bats, it was decided, unknown to constantine, that red robin and batman would look into the current state of the gotham lazarus pit. zatanna and martian manhunter would visit arabia to check the other naturally formed pit.

constantine and jazz were still on the fritz, but one evening, to constantine's concern, the girl had called to say she would be in illinois for a few days, "visiting the orphanage". the redhead had never done so before, but who was the australian to interrogate her? he wished her a good trip and that was that.

---

jazz had been missing for two weeks, calls unanswered, phone untrackable. gotham had witnessed two more ghost-like monster attacks, and all three of them had been untouchable, disappearing on their own in 30 minutes. the bats were too concerned with uncovering the source, justice league dark had been put on the case and too was scrambling for clues, and constantine was ready to rip his hair out in concern for his prodigy.

on his way to the airport, in the backseat of a taxi, ready to fly to springfield, his phone rang, lighting up with a smiling graduation picture of jazz fenton.

he rushed to answer it, "hello?! ranga?! jazz!"

crackling came through, the mic rustling before a breathless voice called back, "cons---tine! we ne--- help! i'm outs--- f amity park, th--- a sig---al blo---. you n---d to come! the hou--- a portal! --- stantine?! hello?!"

the line cut off. constantine told the taxi driver to floor it.

[pin-crusher2000]

Injustice: SuperMoves

Here’s the supermoves that I have come up with for the characters of Earth-66.

FireWing (Jake Grayson)

StarBolt Fist: does a short range StarBolt “shockwave blast” stunning the opponent to start it. Jake then throws a smoke bomb in their face to distract them & then does the spilts & punches them in the crotch, causing the opponent to hold that area. Jake does a backwards roll back onto his feet, charges up a StarBolt & runs & punches the opponent causing a green explosion.

NightStar (Mar’i Grayson)

StarBolt Fury: Mar’i flys at the opponent with a double fist punch. She then uppercuts the opponent, sending them to space & mar’i unleashes some starbolts at them. After that, she quickly fly past the opponent & charges up a StarBolt in her hand & presses the energy ball into her opponent sending them back down to earth.

ThunderHeart (Irey West)

Better than the West: Irey shoulder charges her opponent. She then strikes her opponent multiple times with her super speed, & the camera gets real close to the opponent’s face, & on the side shows Irey’s. Irey then gives the opponent a wedgie, & she giggles.

Surge (Jai West)

Here comes the Boom: Jai unleashes lighting onto the ground to hit the opponent. He then rubs his hands together really fast to create electricity & starts thunderclapping at the opponent saying: you’ll get a thunderclap!

WonderBoy (Robert Long)

Bring the Thunder: Robert does a dashing slash at the opponent. Robert then gains blue electric hair & eyes & tackles the opponent (raiden’s move from MK) & flys them into the air. He quickly moves above his opponent & says: “Thunder!” A lightning strike hits the opponent & sends them back to the ground.

Red Cat (Lian Harper)

Bow-and-Baton: Lian does a baton spin at the opponent. Lian shoots a boxing glove arrow at the opponent’s face, sending them onto their back, & Lian gets on top of them & starts hitting them with her baton. (Yup that’s it XD)

Kid Tempest (Cerdian)

Purple Pain: Cerdian launches a water ball at the opponent. Cerdian shoots fire at the opponent, knocking them on their back, he then jumps up into the air & shoots purple laser beams causing an explosion.

SunSlinger (Jon Kent)

Sun-Noon: Jon does a super/freeze breath at the opponent. Jon whips out his revolvers, twirls them & aims the opponent, (camera shirts to fps) Jon moves the gun & shoots the opponent: foot, knee, & shoulder, knocking them onto their back. Jon then superleap towards them & charges up his gun & launches two shots at them causing an explosion.

Robin V (Damian Wayne)

Lazarus Assassin: pretty much Damian’s super move from injustice 2 but with a green aura around him XD

WonderLad (Hunter Trevor)

Pretty much the same as Robert’s but red/orange; god of war mode. Shouts War & a meteor hits his opponent.

AquaBoy (Arthur Curry Jr.)

Pretty much Aquaman’s super move from injustice 2 but with a megaldon shark instead.

HawkBoy (Hector Hall)

Sky Hawk: Hector does a downward slam with his mace, hitting the opponent. Hector grabs the opponent & takes them to the sky, & starts hitting them with his mace in different directions. (hawk girls super move from injustice)

Green Canary (Connor Lance Queen)

The Green Canary (XD): Connor does a short burst canary cry & hits the opponent. Connor shoots a bomb arrow into the sky & another at the opponent knocking them on their back, connor then uses the canary cry on top of the opponent & then jumps away to safety when the other bomb arrow comes down to hit the opponent causing an explosion.

PhantomWing (Chris Kent)

The Nightwing: Chris does a short burst heat vision that hits the opponent. Chris then wraps his opponent’s legs with his dark powers & slams them on the ground behind him & back in front of him. Chris flys into the air & summons the NightWing entity & it shoots out a giant blue & black ball of “dark flames” at the opponent causing a blue explosion.

StarChild (Otho-Ra)

Star Wrath: Otho-Ra does a flying blue energy “Superman punch” hitting the opponent. Otho then summons a blue energy sword & a shield that’s in an S symbol shape & begins to attack the opponent with them. After shield bashing her opponent, knocking them fall on their back, she jumps up into the air & shoots out blue heat vision at the opponent causing an explosion.

Red Son (Osul-Ra)

Fight Master Fury: Osul-Ra does a flying red energy “Superman punch” hitting the opponent. Osul-Ra summons a red energy battle axe & begins hacking at the opponent. After the final hit, the opponent is laying down on their back & Osul jumped into the air & slammed the battle axe onto the opponent, causing a red explosion.

Valor (Connor Kent)

Brave Rage: connor does a short range telekinetic blast & hits the opponent. Connor then grabs the opponent & flys to the glaciers & slams the opponent into it, & starts rapidly punch the opponent as fast as he can. He then finishes the beat down with a blast of heat vision causing an explosion. (The beat down at the glacier is from the tv series Young Justice where superboy beats down mammoth.)

Animal Girl (Maxine Baker)

Red Rage: just cheetah/vixen’s super move from injustice 2 but with a red energy glow around her.

Animal Boy (Clifford Baker)

Same as his sister’s.

Red Bird (Mara Al Ghul)

Demon Assassin: pretty much just like Damian’s but with a red aura.

Nobody (Maya Ducard)

Nobody Assault: Maya does a short burst Sonic blast at the opponent. Maya takes out a sword & starts slashing the opponent, & then turns invisible. The camera shifts towards the opponent & shows Maya behind them. She then kicks the opponent in the crotch, dropping them to their knees & Sonic blasts between their head. (One hand on one side & another hand on the other side.)

Beacon (Kathy Branden)

Purple-Telekinetic: Kathy does a short range telekinetic blast to hit the opponent. She then lifts & throws the opponent into the air (with the background changing to a farm) & quickly flys above the opponent & blasts them down. Kathy then does a massive shockwave released from her Body.

Crowly (Colin Wilkes)

Pretty much his “punch fatality” from the mortal kombat post of mine except more kid friendly. (He does get big & grabs the opponent & “super-punches” them across the screen to start it.)

FlameBird (Suren Darga)

Flaming FlameBird (XD): Suren does a short range fire blast at the opponent. Suren “summons” the FlameBird & they both grab the opponent & fly up into the air, the FlameBird does a pose in front of the sun & then Suren does a energy wave sending the opponent to the ground with a FlameBird logo. (Think of Liu Kang’s dragon symbol after you preform his fatal blow from MK1)

[kamenstranger]

Batman: Caped Crusader Review.

Well, I didn't expect to be reviewing another cartoon so soon but I forgot this was still happening and here we are. So much like X-men '97 I will be getting into spoilers, even some finale stuff. But it's nothing you probably wouldn't already know. Like is saying something along the lines of "Harvey becomes Two-Face" or "Selina becomes Catwoman" really a spoiler? Still, if you want to go in completely clean then I'll give short spoiler-free summary: It's fine. It's good, even very good. It has enough going on without being overly reliant on nostalgia, though a lot concepts and ideas that never made it into TAS are used; which is obvious in some episodes like 2 and 8 which honest to god feel like lost episodes (sans the obnoxious references in 8.) But even a number of other episodes feel like they could've fit right in.

Likewise, the animation is simply lovely and feels like an appropriate continuation of the DCAU while also working as a throw back to TAS with its use of shadows and art deco design. They even have a film grain effect that looks shockingly good; uplifting the show's late 30s early 40s aesthetic by adding some literal grit. I've seen numerous productions go overboard with adding grain in post, but Caped Crusader keeps it very subtle and is probably the best you're going to do with a modern production. Frederik Wiedmann's score also complements the atmosphere, adding that quintessential gothic noir vibe. The entire soundtrack is on youtube and is well worth listening in isolation.

If I had one compliant... it's that Batman is the weakest and most underwritten part of the show. Regardless, the show has enough quality elements to make it worth a watch.

However, if you're interested in leaning more about my thoughts, hit the jump.

Let's start with some background information. Contrary to how it seems, this isn't nor was it ever intended to be a prequel to TAS-- at least that's what they say. It was originally a sequel to The New Batman Adventures before transmogrifying into another 30s-ish setting and using abandoned episode concepts from TAS along with completely original works. A number of episodes at the very least feel like they were written with a prequel mindset, and the final shot of the series was absolutely conceptualized as lead-in to TAS and is begging for the Walker Theme to kick in. But despite how much this could work as a prequel with just a few tweaks, I think making it disconnected was the right call. For one thing, with Conroy gone I don't think you could ever make something that leads into that very specific version of Batman, it wouldn't feel right. Secondly, it allows the series to stand on it's own and not rely on TAS as a crutch; even if comparisons are inevitable with the period setting and Bruce Timm's designs. Additionally the tone of the series is right in line with The Animated Series, only slightly darker and never going overboard just to be considered "adult." Characters say damn, people die, sometimes there's blood, the occasional gruesome character design, some stories are super pulpy and even have a slower pace than what they would've done on network TV for Y7+. But otherwise this would've fit fine on Toonami back in the day and the option to go darker is there should the story demand it. I will admit I'm a bit of an easy mark for this, particularly the heavy pulp elements that remind of The Shadow and The Spider.

On that note, Cape Crusader is a bit more basic in terms of setting and scope. I'm using "basic" loosely because there are still some eccentricities like Gentleman Ghost showing up, but outside the one supernatural aspect-- and an umbrella cannon-- there's nothing too crazy. No Freeze guns, mutant plant ladies, robots, Lazarus pits, mind controlling cards, airships etc. Clayface might be the one other outlier, but even that's just a guy who can change his appearance, not a big clay monster who can form a mace hand. I'm perfectly fine with all of this. We've already had a vintage Batman series that did all that anyway, so why not do something a little different and keep it simple? In maintaining that simplicity, most of CC is episodic with a larger narrative sprinkled throughout: Ruport Thorne is slowly taking over Gotham and begins trying to leverage Harvey Dent who is running for Mayor. That's it, that's the main plot. The more nitty-gritty parts largely center on relatively self contained adventures around the trio of Lawyer Barbara Gordon, GCPD detective Renee Montoya, and Therapist Harleen Quinzel.

It's a decent compromise between how involved modern shows have become sprawling season long stories while still maintaining the appeal of a self contained case in any given episode.

Of the three, Barbara (Krystal Joy Brown) has the most active role throughout the entire run and is arguably the main character of the show. She's compassionate about people, her clients, criminals and their circumstances. She has a strong balance between someone who is optimistic yet not naive, although still young enough to not have the harsher experiences as her father. This allows a contrast between her and Gordon's world weary, almost Black and White POV. In fact, her willingness to hear people out and consider alternatives leads to her establishing a form of contact with Batman before her father.

Renee Montoya (Michelle C. Bonilla) is about on par with Barbara in playing an active role in the series, albeit almost always work related for obvious reasons. She's a consummate professional, brilliant detective and the only trustworthy cop outside Gordon. That last part is particularly note worthy since it actually gives Gordon a reliable subordinate and not just Bullock. She has solid chemistry with Barbara and there's a lot of untapped potential with her and Harley. And hey, nice to get little bit of the two dating and smooching. Speaking of, Harley (Jamie Chung) is surprisingly prominent in the first half and I love how they handle her. She's legit intelligent and even knows there's something up with the public perception of Bruce. She's quirky without rehashing the whole bubbly blonde routine, she's delightfully flirty with Renee and she's also fucking demented. Oh yes, Harley is already cracked, but in a curious way where she's not exactly insane but clearly has a dark side she indulges. Honestly? Really neat to see a version of a character not influenced by Joker. She's still a Harlequin, of course, but much more traditional and I love that we don't waste time going through an origin. She just uses her therapist profession as a means to hash out her idea of justice against clients she can't reach, often mind breaking rich jackasses who refuse to better themselves. Harley assigns them personalities and forces repetitive tasks or absurd tortures. In a cute little meta nod she's responsible for creating the persona of King Tut, a character originally created for the '66 show, just as she was a creation for TAS.

I also have to mention Chung's voice acting, which the VA in the show is great all around, of course. But villain roles always get to stick out, and this is a prime example. The shift between that very intelligent caring quirky woman to… what I can only call an analytical seductive manipulator and abuser, well it's just wonderful. We've had so much of bubbly Quinn and silly crass Quinn that this version is so refreshing and one of the most pleasant surprises out of the show.

There are other characters outside the trio, but I simply don't have much to say about Gordan, Flass, or Bullock. The VA is impeccable, as previously mentioned; I love Eric Morgan's Gordon, Gary Anthony Williams' Flass and John DiMaggio's Bullock. Perfect casting. But character wise they simply serve a role and I don't have much to say about them. Gordon is, well, Gordon trying his best among a corrupt department full of people like Flass and Bullock. Flass himself is brilliantly sly and Bullock is a slob who does all the dirty work. I will say that even if I don't have much to go into with them, I do appreciate how much Flass and Bullock are featured and how effectively they're utilized.

The only major reoccurring character left to go in-depth on, outside Batman, is Harvey Dent; ironically voiced by Brave and the Bold Batman, Diedrich Bader. Harvey is… odd in this series. He's a dick headed "tough on crime" sleazy DA who is self interested in becoming Mayor, no matter who he has to steamroll to get there. On one hand it is an interesting angle; a man of once upstanding morals slowing eroding them to gain political favor with the ultimate goal of proper reform-- assuming he even has any left by the end of it. There is an inkling of a great idea in the political process of Gotham grinding you down, bringing out your worst, makes you compromise too much. The system changes you, not the other way around.

The issue is the tragedy of a good if flawed man giving into his worse impulses doesn't entirely work due to the simple fact we hardly see a good side to Harvey. No signs of a different better person underneath or who he used to be before DA. The show only gives Harvey one very minor scene of empathy and moral upstanding before his disfigurement, so he kinda goes from jaded cynical asshat to homicidal asshat. To give the show credit, that is in part the intent. We don't like Harvey all that much but still feel bad when we see how sad and broken he is, all because he finally did something good and he's punished for it. The episode dealing with the aftermath of the acid attack is really solid at showcasing his slip into insanity and drawing forth pathos. In a bubble it works beautifully; A man who was already breaking, even if they didn't know, now thinks everyone is out to get him. Almost every invasive thought is acted upon. They also don't make Two-Face the default or more common of the personas, it's a lot of back and forth. Harvey is relatively calm one moment but suddenly becomes violent the next. Hell, he even has moments of clarity and great remorse not only for his actions as Two-Face but as DA. The episode is handled very well and Bader is selling the hell out of it. I just wish there was more before that change, a little more to like about Harvey Dent. Bruce was friends with this guy and from an audience perspective it's kinda hard to see why, Harvey is a shit head, an absolute knob. I dunno, Batman is kind of dick in this so maybe there's something to be said there? But even so, his dynamic with Barbara is FAR more engaging and nuanced than with Bruce because Barbara has more impactful scenes and is the direct opposite of the same coin. I kinda wonder if the stuff with Bruce was something shoved in at the last minute because they felt they had to. Which I guess that finally bring me to Batman, who you may have noticed I've talked very little about in this Batman show up until now.

Batman is a boring wet white rice motherfucker with barely a character arc and almost no connections to the main cast.

Oh sure, every episode has Batman doing things that move the plot along, provides some very minor characterization or some plain 'ol detective work which is fun to see. But even when he does investigating, finds a clue, confronts a villain etc. it feels lacking because his interactions with the rest of the cast are severely limited and sporadic.

Batman himself is integral to the show, but he's more like an anchor for the rest of the cast who have far more captivating screen time and better defined relationships. Babs is friends with Harley and Renee, Harley and Renee are dating, Renee works for Gordon, Barbara is of course Gordon's daughter, Harley has a brief stint as a consultant for the GCPD, and Harvey works opposite Barbara. These people flow into each others stories, converse, have opposing or similar ideologies to make stories around. Batman lock picks and punches things. I mean, Christ, he doesn't have a friendship with Gordon because this is long before that, he treats Alfred like a valuable tool rather than family and he has more empathy for Nocturna in a one off episode than Harvey over the entire season. I'm serious when I say I think the friendship was tacked on, because there's a line in ep 6 about Dent's biggest donors pulling out of his campaign, implying Bruce never gave any money. Maybe they could've made an entire subplot about the Batman aspect taking so much priority that he ignored Dent's troubles until it was too late. Have Batman learn a lesson about balancing the personas and how Bruce Wayne can be equally useful in aiding Gotham-- and the consequences of forgetting that. Maybe even intersperse flashbacks to a younger Bruce and more optimistic and likeable Dent to show why and how they became friends. This could've been done in a two-parter just like how Robin was handled in TAS.

For the instances the show does put a spotlight on just Batman it's simply going through the motions. The best we get is Bruce Wayne attending therapy sessions with Quinn, which is a great concept ultimately wasted on flashbacks of Bruce's childhood I've seen a dozen times over and maybe should've been used to explore his relationship with Dent.

Another reason why this Batman is so bland is because there are almost no sympathetic villains, which you've probably gathered by now. Harvey in the last episode and Nocturna in ep. 8 are the only two that fit the criteria (And frankly Barbara does more to help Harvey.) But everyone else? No tragic backstory, no victim of circumstance, no injustice, and no chance to showcase Batman's greatest attribute. On paper I understand what they were going for; this is an early Batman attempting (and sometimes failing) to be emotionally walled off. He's in the background, he needs to learn to open up and temper his anger. Midway into the season have something drastic happen to shake his resolve (endangering Alfred, of course)

By the end of the series he begins casually referring to him as Alfred rather than "Pennyworth" and he's established connections with Barbara, Jim and Renee. I don't dislike this slow burn, I enjoy seeing Batman's humanity slowly seep through. The series has a lot of great little moments where we see that happening, like Batman chastising Barbara for being reckless right after she saved his ass and a friend of hers is assumed dead. She's going through a lot and Batman clearly doesn't know how to processes the situation, he doesn't know how to be comforting.

There's also a great scene in the finale that I'm pretty sure was a giant middle finger to a certain director. The problem is the entire season is doing things like that. Sure we get growth for the character, but that's grueling for a 10 episode season. Maybe it's just me, but I'd kinda like to be more invested in the title character before the season finale. But as is so often the case with streaming we're limited to just 10 episodes per season. It's... so tiresome spending an entire run getting Batman to a state where we can actually tie him in with the rest of the ensemble cast and show some goddamn empathy. I realize rushing through this could result in the opposite problem, but this once again leads to me pointing out, as always, the stories writers want to tell are too big for these gimped 6-10 episode season the modern streaming has pushed on all of us. You know the first season of The Animated Series was a whopping 65 episodes? I probably wouldn't be talking about this problem if we even had a quarter of that.

I do want to stress this is no fault of the performance, which I know is going to be on everyone's mind. This is a problem with writing, the limited episode count, and possibly Zaslav not seeing enough blood in his stool before dumping this production onto Amazon. Conroy alone wouldn't have been enough to elevate the more shallow aspects of Batman's character, it just wouldn't. The writing for Batman specifically is very by the numbers at best. If this was material that fell flat because of Conroy's absence that would be one thing, but it's just bland characterization from the get go and no amount of nostalgia, art style, or iconic voice work will cover that up. It's kind of funny because the show is enjoyable by in large, but the title character is the weakest part. I wouldn't be surprised if a great deal of the mixed reception was because of that. "Batman is the worst part of a Batman show" is a perfectly valid and damning criticism.

That said, I do want to praise Hamish Linklater, the poor guy's got his work cut out for him, being in the Shadow of the Bat, as it were, and he does a fine job. I can tell it's not Conroy, obviously, and sometimes it sounds like a mix of Brave and the Bold with New Frontier Batman where I'm not sure if he's trying to do an impression or not. But midway through the series it starts to get really close, there are even moments that remind me of Conroy's performance in TAS' Two-Face two parter, glimpses where Linklater almost has the softer tones down pat. And his Bruce is damn near spot on. I hope he stays on as a voice for Batman and gets more opportunities as the character, he could potentially become to Conroy's Batman what Matthew Lillard is to Casey Kasem's Shaggy; It's not the same, but goddamn do they do a fine job capturing the tone and vibe while being a fine performer in their own right.

But they have GOT to give him better material because this Batman is sorely lacking in the things I love most about the character.

Speaking of, I don't want to spend too long discussing the second season (Which it is getting) but I have concerns there. The big one for me is foreshadowing that Alfred is keeping a secret about the night the Waynes were shot. I HATE when they over complicate the murder and try to make it something more like a targeted hit, or the court of owls or some other stupid shit. That's the one major thing I hate in The Batman movie is them muddying the waters with a perfectly good victim of circumstance story-- although it's kinda worse there because they wouldn't even fully commit. But I digress. I do not want the shit with the Waynes more complicated than it needs to be. If Alfred suggested a shortcut and he feels responsible for their deaths, sure, whatever. That's simple enough to add some character drama without going overboard. But it's probably gonna be the big overarching story next season with secret twists and- blegh. Honestly, I think I'd rather just have stand alone episodes without a running narrative thread; just have the characters and their dynamics developing and that be it. The show is clearly better when it's just that. But alas, modern streaming.

But with all that said, I still liked the season well enough. As I said at the beginning, the series is good to very good. I love the atmosphere, I enjoy most of the character and the cast, the self contained stories are solid and there's plenty of potential. But next season I need Batman and the villains to be more interesting, let Linklater give a sympathetic performance for fucks sake. If Season 2 is just more of the same, I'll clock out.

Still, I guess anything is better than say Harley assaulting Nightwing... Or the Killing Joke. You know what, there's a blurb of recommendation for Caped Crusader: "No weirdo awkwardly shoved their fetishes into the story." So check it out.

[watchingspnagain]

Rewatching Lazarus Rising

Welcome to “CAAAAAS!: A Supernatural Rewatch Blog” with Lor and Mace!

 Up today, s4e1: Lazarus Rising.

  “Dean pulls a Buffy and has to dig his way out of his own grave, gets splashed with holy water by Bobby, and mistaken for Sam’s boyfriend by Ruby. And that’s all great and all, but…CAS!!! CAAAASSSSS!!! ahem Um, also Castiel makes his first appearance on the show, claiming responsibility for Dean’s Easter parade.”

 Below is a log of our real-time reactions as we watched. Remember that there may be spoilers for any part of SPN’s 15-season run here. Note also that the nature of our conversation is adult and thus it may contain adult language and themes.

 [and we begin:]

 Lor:

 bounce bounce bounce

 Mace:

 YAS

 Lor:

omg pause

 Lor:

i have no sound

 Mace:

 omg compy, look here

 Lor:

okay fixed.

 Lor:

41:20 left

  Mace:

 okay i’m there

 Lor:

copper boom

 Mace:

 copper boom

 Lor:

jeez. okay, cas, come soothe my furrowed brow

 Mace:

 HAHAHA

 Lor:

omg the eye stuff

 Lor:

I FORGOT

 Mace:

 yeah

 Lor:

and his chokey breathing

 Mace:

yep

 Mace:

 they buried him with his lighter

 Lor:

crawls in coffin with him, absolutely not making the situation worse

 Mace:

 SNORK

 Lor:

OF COURSE THEY DID

 Lor:

can't go to the underworld without your lighter

 Mace:

 he and Buffy could TALK about STUFF

 Lor:

YAAAAAAS

 Lor:

the haaaaaaaaaands

 Mace:

 and give dirty looks to Willow and Cas from across the room

 Lor:

LOL

 Lor:

they have an EXCEPTIONAL dental plan in hell

 Mace:

 SNORK!!!

 Lor:

GAAAAAAH THIS SHOT

 Mace:

 Dean will not AT ALL be bitter about Buffy spending her time in heaven/nirvana

 Lor:

NOPE

 Lor:

not even a little

 Mace:

 omg those BOWED LEGS I CANNOT

 Lor:

YAAAAAAS

 Lor:

I love that the sign says keep the cooler door closed and he leaves it open

 Mace:

 SNORK!!

 Lor:

don't turn on only the hot water, you dope

 Lor:

mmmmmm HAND PRINT

 Lor:

HI CAS

 Mace:

give him some slack, he’s readjusting,

 Mace:

 YAS

 Lor:

LOL

 Mace:

 ah, only the essentials then, eh? Dean?

 Lor:

SNORK

 Lor:

he needs reading material

 Mace:

 yes because he just reads the articles

 Lor:

correct

 Mace:

 yes, Dean, run from one set of windows to the other

 Lor:

yeah, he's a little disoriented, the muffin

 Mace:

i suppose so

 Mace:

 oh BOBBY

 Lor:

YES

 Lor:

he is NOT amused

 Mace:

 poor Dean

 Lor:

omg their faces

 Mace:

YES

 Mace:

 aw, this is adorable. the first time Dean has come back from the dead and Bobby isn’t experienced at it yet

 Lor:

"you're about the closest thing I have to a father"

 Mace:

 OOOF

 Lor:

YES

 Mace:

 simpler times

 Lor:

yeah

 Lor:

I love that he winces a little before he makes the cut

 Mace:

DUDE WHY CUT THERE?!

 Mace:

 YES

 Lor:

the palm of your LEFT hand, Dean, come on

 Lor:

lololololol the holy water

 Mace:

 or, like the other side of the arm

 Lor:

yep

 Mace:

 oh Dean, your pants are on fire

 Lor:

YEP

 Lor:

Dean is sus

 Mace:

YEP

 Mace:

“dammit Sammy"

 Mace:

 “this force, this presence” that’s your boyfriend, DeanDean

 Lor:

YEP

 Lor:

you'll recognize him soon, hon

 Mace:

 “what don’t I know about that kid"

 Lor:

ooooof Dean calling out someone else about their drinking

 Lor:

YES

 Mace:

 yeah, read the room, Dean, he lost his SON

 Lor:

HE DID

 Lor:

"heya, Sammy"

 Mace:

BOYS

 Mace:

 Ruby looks pretty good in those undies

 Lor:

she DOES

 Mace:

 “I look fantastic” HAHAHAHA

 Lor:

SUPER stoked we're finally to Ruby 2.0

 Lor:

LOLOLOLOL

 Mace:

YAS

 Mace:

 it’d be great if she could take over for Laurel, too [Ed. On Arrow.]

 Lor:

LOL

 Lor:

it WOULD

 Mace:

 “are you two, like, together?” “what?” this doesn’t fit.

 Lor:

well, they're pretending she's not Ruby, right?

 Mace:

if she’s Ruby and Sammy knows she’s Ruby, then that doesn’t work

 Mace:

yes but Sam’s reaction just doesn’t seem right

 Mace:

 i just don’t like the writing there

 Lor:

yeah, it should be more like "ooooh riiiight I'll play along"

 Mace:

 yep

 Lor:

bc it's not like they thought he was gonna show up

 Lor:

it was a nugget of the lord, dean!

 Mace:

 HAHAHAHA

 Lor:

I really like that shirt of Sammy's

 Mace:

yeah, this would have been a huge shock and they wouldn’t have had the presence of mind to pretend that smoothly

 Mace:

 YAS

 Lor:

yeah

 Lor:

SAMULET

 Mace:

THE NECKLACE

 Mace:

 YAS

 Lor:

YAAAS

 Lor:

LYING

 Mace:

 too soon, Sammy

 Lor:

RIGHT?

 Lor:

like let the man have a burger first

 Mace:

 Is this the first time we get Dean looking in a mirror like this?

 Lor:

oooo MAYBE

 Mace:

 (his eyes are SO GREEN)

 Lor:

although.... I think I already have a mirror tag going, so maybe not?

 Mace:

ooooh

 Mace:

 DOUCHE HER UP

 Lor:

(YAAAAAAAAS)

 Mace:

HAHAHAHAHA

 Mace:

 omg the LOOK he gives Sammy

 Lor:

I LUFF HIM

 Mace:

“really?”

 Mace:

 HAHAHAHAHA

 Lor:

YAAAAAS

 Lor:

it almost makes up for him saying "I almost forgot" about Baby. HE DID NOT

 Mace:

(I would SO get him into things like Tori Amos through sheer stubborn determination)

 Mace:

 right?!

 Lor:

(YAAAAS)

 Mace:

 well, it has been forty years, though

 Lor:

(sit down, Dean, it's time for some Ani DiFranco)

 Lor:

PFFFT

 Mace:

(SNORK)

 Mace:

she is gorgeous

 Mace:

 and saucy

 Lor:

she IS

 Lor:

the look Bobby gives her

 Mace:

too bad Cas gets jealous and burns her eyes out

 Mace:

 YES

 Lor:

LOLOLOL

 Lor:

he knows she groped him under the table

 Mace:

of course he does

 Mace:

 Dean, you shouldn’t assume it was a him

 Lor:

"she's gonna eat you alive"

 Mace:

 “YOU ARE NOT INVITED”

 Lor:

RIGHT? Jesse was definitely a girl

 Mace:

 DEFINITELY

 Lor:

LOLOLOL

 Mace:

 “he didn’t touch me there” not yet, at least

 Lor:

LOLOLOLOLOL

 Lor:

he would never. not without taking him to dinner first

 Mace:

 SNORK

 Lor:

he DID SAY, Pamela

 Mace:

 and she DID ask. several times.

 Lor:

"castiel or whatever"

 Mace:

 oh Dean

 Lor:

his perky nipples lolololol

 Mace:

HAHAHAHA

 Mace:

 self objectification as defense

 Lor:

YEP

 Mace:

 I smell Fault of John here

 Lor:

YYYYYEP

 Mace:

 “the smarter brother’s back in town” HAHAHA

 Lor:

I love that Dean is obsessed with Cas in relation to Sam before he even knows who he is

 Lor:

LOLOLOLOLOL

 Mace:

 YES

 Lor:

tsk Sammy, sneaking off in Baby

 Mace:

 yeeeah

 Lor:

lookit him sleepy

 Mace:

 YES little muffin

 Lor:

oooooof

 Mace:

 yeah

 Lor:

that scene always gets me

 Mace:

 yeah

 Lor:

poor Dean all on the floor with the glass falling on him

 Mace:

 yeah

 Lor:

"we could choose life"

 Lor:

BOBBY

 Mace:

 YES

 Lor:

oooof Sammy

 Mace:

yeah

 Mace:

 bounces

 Lor:

YAAAAAAAAS

 Mace:

 (I think the title of this one should just be CAAAAAASSSSS)

 Lor:

(YEP. I was thinking that too)

 Lor:

oh Sammy

 Mace:

 right?

 Lor:

Bobby swinging his legs!

 Mace:

 YAS

 Lor:

Dean fiddling with the knife

 Mace:

 YES

 Lor:

EEEEEEEEEEEEEE

 Mace:

 YAAAASSSSS

 Lor:

AAAAAAAH LOOKIT HIM

 Mace:

CAAAAASSSSSSS

 Mace:

 ADORABLE LIL NUGGET

 Lor:

he enters the room and SPARKS FLY

 Mace:

 YAAASSS

 Lor:

"GRIPPED YOU TIGHT AND RAISED YOU FROM PERDITION"

 Mace:

 THERE IT IS!!!

 Lor:

aw, stab at first sight

 Mace:

SNORK

 Mace:

 FIRST FINGER-TO-FOREHEAD

 Lor:

HIS EYES ARE SO BLUE

 Mace:

 THEY ARE

 Lor:

YAAAAAAS

 Mace:

 that’s what Dean’s thinking

 Lor:

YEP

 Lor:

he comes in and starts flipping through their books I LOVE HIM

 Mace:

 YAS

 Lor:

"you have no faith" aaaaaaaaaah

 Lor:

WINGS

 Mace:

OOOOOOF

 Mace:

WINGSS

 Mace:

YASSS

 Mace:

 BOUNCES MORE

 Lor:

LOL YES

 Lor:

"buddy, next time lower the volume"

 Lor:

try whispering in his ear, Cas

 Mace:

HAHAHA

 Mace:

 Cas, do NOT tell Dean he isn’t special

 Lor:

HEAD TILT

 Mace:

he already has issues in that area

 Mace:

 YAS

 Lor:

he does

 Mace:

“good things do happen, Dean” “Not in my experience"

 Mace:

 aaaaand that’s the relationship

 Lor:

"you don't think you deserve to be saved"

 Lor:

"we have work for you"

 Mace:

 YEP

 Lor:

YES

 [after the episode ended:]

 Mace:

 OOOF SOOO GOOOD

 Lor:

BOUNCEBOUNCEBOUNCE

 Lor:

YES

 Mace:

 bounces and sings “CAS IS HERE CAS IS HERE”

 Lor:

like, I'm supposed to believe that entrance WASN'T tailor made for everyone AND DEAN to fall in love with Cas?

 Lor:

pfffft

 Mace:

 RIGHT?!

 Lor:

joins in singing CAS CAS CAS like a baseline

 Mace:

HAHAHAHA

 Mace:

 I remember the first time through the show I was hot for DeanDean until this episode, and then it was like, Oh. OH. HOLD UP. I THINK I HAVE ANGEL FEVER.

 Lor:

LOL

 Mace:

 my love for Sammy was slow to emerge, but it’s no less true for that

 Lor:

nothing could ever diminish my love for Dean. I made him scooch on the couch a little so there was room for one more

 Mace:

 see, that’s why you deserve him more than I do. I’ll just sit over here on Sammy’s lap while secretly oogling the members of the couch

 Lor:

in a sliiiiightly more serious take, I think Dean and Cas are almost a unit for me at this point? like, you can't fully understand either of them without the other, so

 Lor:

SNORKLE

 Mace:

 agreed. (although for me, in my mind, it’s a trio)

 Lor:

(that works too)

[void-writing]

One of the problems of DCU writing: Too many different things that glow green. XD

Now I'm curious if the DP kids would confuse green kryptonite for ectoplasm at first. (Maybe try to lick it. They're teenagers.) Meanwhile, the Justice League is confused why Sam's mace was glowing green. Bruce has added potential superspeed to Danny's powers.

Generally, I imagine that ectoplasm or things that have been contaminated with ectoplasm have a very specific Vibe to them that makes them distinct from other Suspicious Green Things.

Like, those would probably feel like static, like when your limb is asleep and just starting to wake up.

Lazarus Pits, to the Trio, would feel like someone putting something sticky on your fingernails and taking it off (a very specific feeling, but one that I hate personally, which is why I'm attributing it to the Pit's Vibe).

Kryptonite doesn't really have a vibe so much as a pull. I imagine that it works by sucking solar energy out of things that store it (like Kryptonians). Ectoplasm is energy, but it's not the kind that Kryptonite siphons, so it really only pulls at ectoplasmic energy rather than stealing it.

And I know that people like to joke that Danny has super speed with how he teleported away from Superman, and it's funny, but a few things: Supes wasn't going full speed when he made a grab for Danny (that probably would have hurt, maimed, or even killed Danny and co, to say nothing of the other people in the room), there were several people between Supes and Danny at the time which also hindered his movement speed, and personally I thought of it as like...a DnD style contested reflex save and Danny just eked out Supes.

[wondereads]

Personal Review (12/11/22)

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Summary

After being raised away from her home, Princess Kelsea of The Tearling is called home. For years, The Tearling has struggled under the rule of a corrupt regent and threat of a bloodthirsty, foreign queen. Now, as Kelsea returns to take her rightful place, she must set to rights all the wrongs within her kingdom.

Plot 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

This was a very good political fantasy. As is expected on the political side of things, this book moves a little slower than I'd want, but it was never boring. There are multiple problems the characters have to face, and they intertwine with each other and interesting ways. Fantasy can't be wholly realistic (it's fantasy), but there is a lot of realism in this story that makes it much more tense—the stakes seem higher. Kelsea has to deal with problems that would definitely affect a queen; it isn't just magical discoveries and fighting evil, she's also dealing with corrupt government agencies, a lack of natural resources, and regular crime on top of the malicious rival queen.

The worldbuilding is so intriguing. This world actually exists in the future. Something happened many years ago that forced the people of today's world to migrate to this new land; The Tearling is the result of American and English settlements. I have a feeling the origins of this world are going to come into play in the rest of trilogy, and I'll be very upset if they don't because I'd keep reading this series just for the backstory.

Characters 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

I love the main character, Kelsea. She's a good balance between the naivety that comes from her upbringing and the brains and leadership required to be the queen of a country. She makes some hasty and impulsive decisions, but it's so easy to tell that she genuinely cares for The Tearling and its people, and by the end of this first book I have no doubt she'll be putting her utmost effort into protecting her charges. Kelsea also thinks progressively without falling into a weird situation where her views don't line up with the world she was raised in. Thanks to her upbringing, which we get a few glimpses of, Kelsea's willingness to challenge the norm makes sense.

The side characters were absolutely amazing. Probably the most prevalent is Lazarus, or the Mace, the head of Kelsea's guard and her mother's before her. Lazarus is incredibly interesting because although he is arguably Kelsea's closest ally, there is no end to the conflict between them. He has secrets he won't tell her, he doesn't trust her with information, and it grates on Kelsea to follow his orders. However, there's a lot of development between them, and I can't wait to see more. Other side characters, such as Kelsea's other guards, a woman who ends up as basically her lady-in-waiting, and a renowned thief known as the Fetch are also great; they each have very distinct personalities, so it was rare that I got people mixed up.

The main antagonist is the Red Queen, the nameless, all-powerful queen of the neighboring realm of Mortmesne, which has been steadily colonizing all the countries around it. At first it seems like she's a typical, utterly evil antagonist, but the chapters from her point of view were so intriguing; I definitely want to know more about her. The minor antagonists could be one-dimensional, but they also caught my attention, particularly the regent, Kelsea's uncle. He definitely wasn't what I expected, and his chapters were very well written.

The only issue I can think of is Kelsea's odd infatuation with the Fetch. Normally I would have no issue with it—a 19-year-old with a crush on a mysterious, playful thief? Seen it—except it is implied that the Fetch was grown and stealing when Kelsea was born? I have a certain tolerance for age gaps as a fantasy reader, but really?

Writing Style 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

I think the overall writing of this book was very good. The descriptions are well done, and I loved how Johansen did Kelsea's emotions and the different perspectives. There are multiple points of view in this book, many of which are from antagonists, and Johansen did a fantastic job garnering sympathy or at least interest for these characters.

As previously stated, the pacing is a bit slow. This book is over 400 pages, but there are only 14 chapters, which occasionally makes it feel as though the story is dragging. There were some points at which I was like, ok, let's move on, but for the most part, I was hooked.

Overall 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

I wasn't anticipating enjoying this book so much! This is the first high fantasy I've read in a while that managed to grab my interest like this. It wasn't perfect—the pacing is my big gripe—but it was pretty amazing. The plot is complicated but not confusing, the worldbuilding is unique, Kelsea is a great main character, and the side characters definitely don't fall behind. I liked the regular POV-switching, and I'm definitely going to read the rest of this series. One note: I've seen people promoting this as a Hunger Games-Game of Thrones successor, but please don't go into this with that mindset. There is nothing Hunger Games-like about this book, and it's one similarity with Game of Thrones is being a political fantasy. This is its own story, and it stands well on its own.

The Author

Erika Johansen: American, The Queen of the Tearling is her debut novel

The Reviewer

My name is Wonderose; I try to post a review every week, and I do themed recommendations every once in a while. I take suggestions! Check out my about me post for more!

[winterysoldaty]

Can somebody, somewhere, please read The Queen of the Tearling trilogy and come talk to me. I can’t find the fandom and I need this

[liberumalas]

Lazarus the Mace character design from The Queen of the Tearling trilogy (full gear and more casual outfits). I want to do other characters as well, next will propably be Kelsie.

[delphyc]

this is a cry for help I just read the fate of the tearling and it wrecked me WAY more than anticipated and I need an OUTLET, PLEASE message me if you’ve read it!!!!!!!!

[booksinfact]

Just finished Queen of the Tearling. We need more scenes of Mace being a bada**

[acecasinova]

Time lapse of the last piece I've finished~

Last time we played in Curse of Strahd, my vampire Lazarus touched a holy relic he shouldn't have and got nuked by radiant damage.

Bad news: he went down for the count

Good news: it snapped Eurydice's soul back to consciousness so the Divine Tether that was piloting her body went away!

All it took was, uh, briefing losing her adopted son??

[tearlingtrilogy]

I am screaming here !!!

Preorder: