#Seeing Stories in Stars: DC

[bluerosefox]

Her Astrophel and Sterling

hmmm

Hmmmmmmmm

You know what.

You know those AU's where the Batfam finds or learns about either hidden or thought to be dead Al Ghul Danny! with a deaged/daughter Dani (Ellie) (I should know, I created a few of those storylines) but what if, now hear me out, what if instead of them finding Danny first its Talia.

Do I want Talia discovering her thought to be dead son to be alive? Yes. Do I want her to find him while investigating Amity Park when the League gets reports of 'Lazarus creatures/water'? Yes.

DO I WANT HER TO KNOCK ON THE FENTON'S DOOR, fully ready to pretend/honey talk her way into the house to uncover what the Fenton's know, ONLY TO MEET A LITTLE ELLIE?!

YES.

Ellie whose eyes and hair look like a copy of her Beloved but she can see bits and pieces of herself as well. Talia knows the child in front of her was not fully her's though but everything makes sense when she hears a voice, a voice she hasn't heard in ages but as a mother just knows, speak out.

"Ellie! I thought I said do not answer the door my Sterling."

"But Daddy, yous was busy fighting the hotdoggys!"

Talia's eyes widen when she finally catches sight of familiar black hair and blue eyes.

and she could only lightly whisper a old nickname she hasn't dared uttered in ages, a name she secretly gave her son due to his love of the stars "Astrophel..."

[wandixx]

I'm not much for naming things but: Danny's associated with green and M'gann's a White Martian, so... Spearmint (like the green and white mint candies)? Just a thought.

Prompt: Magic removed Amity Park from the map. JL didn't notice, but in an Alderaan type moment (Star Wars ref. yay!) The martian on Watchtower monitoring duty heard the residents get silent unanimously.

Of course they need to be investigated! So M'gann gets her watch partner to take over and flies there, discovering an odd green rift of death energy doing a black hole effect and it sucks her in. Danny gets landed on/ flown into when she tumbles through the rift. She tried getting a message through to JL when she felt herself getting sucked in, but the message was not received due to ectoplasmic interference.

So Danny has to figure out how to get her AND Amity Park back home!

(Just a thought. I'm curious how you flesh it out if you do!)

This is such an interesting idea, and it definitely deserves much more story than I can write in single prompt, so this here is just a beginning and I will continue. I hope it's up to your expectations

Also, I really love the Spearmint idea

*****

M’gann understood the importance of monitor duty in Watchtower, she really did. She also understood why they were taught it while still in this gray area between fully dependent sidekicks and fully independent heroes, that was the main reason the Young Justice Team even existed.

It didn’t make it any less boring. Even when she had a decent duty partner. Don't get her wrong, Green Arrow was a much better option than Batman or Superman, it was just awkward. At least he seemed equally done with it and didn't scold her for jumping between satellite cameras just a bit too fast to actually ‘monitor’ anything.

And it was only twenty minutes into the two hour shift.

One of the sixty (or so) screens, the one directly in front of her, blinked to the view of the American Midwest. She was about to skip further, when a sudden movement caught her attention. She clicked a few keys to review the footage and asked, still unsure if her eyes weren't deceiving her.

“Did the entire city… just disappear?“

Green Arrow nodded, equally stunned.

“I'm going to check this out” she spluttered, already flying out of the room and doing her best to get Zeta to send her as close as possible. It was a bit tricky when she couldn't see the keyboard. She managed though, so before the adult hero even finished yelling that it was above her skill level, she was out.

From there, getting to the disappeared city was a piece of cake.

She stopped right in tracks when the thing came in view. M'gann had no idea how to describe it. It was a green and white and black storm but not, glass, see-through dome but not, deep space but also decidedly not. It made her want to run away but also come closer, almost like it was tugging at her. Like some pseudo, mental in nature, gravitation.

Oh, wait, no. It was an actual, physical force that after a quick test turned out to be inescapable for her.

Green Arrow, perhaps, maybe probably was kinda right. It was so high above her skill level that a balled napkin from this height would cause serious damage. Thank Batman for comms that she could use to call a backup!

The comms, that, of course, didn't work the one time she needed them.

She sent the message anyway, describing everything to the best of her ability, even though it was only a tip of the iceberg. Just in case, if the magical storm thing just made her comm one way communication only. It was highly unlikely, but who was she, if not an optimist.

She barely closed her mouth, when she was jerked sideways before the whole world became blurred.

She later would have a hard time telling anyone how it felt, to be inside the thing. She was basically powerless, thrown around randomly despite clearly keeping all of her abilities. She couldn't see, couldn't tell which way was up and down, couldn't change direction even a little bit. The rumble of the thing was so loud she couldn't hear her thoughts, throwing her brain so off the loop she forgot what her name was. She was crying probably, almost puking, her limbs hitting any and every part of her body.

At first, she didn't even realize she was out, so dazed from the ride. She didn't even see the flying boy until a while after she crashed into him, throwing them both off the sky. Neither of them caught them before they slammed into the ground. Somehow she ended up cushioning the boy's fall. M’gann couldn’t breathe for a moment. She kinda deserved it for ramming into him in the first place though.

By the time she could use her lungs and behave like a social creature again, the boy scrambled off her and just crouched, intensely staring, anxious and awestruck at the same time. She sat up and gave him once over herself.

He was around her physical age, but much skinnier than her or anybofnher teammates, build like a twig. He had fluffy, white, almost glowing hair, caucasian complexion, and wore a black and white jumpsuit with a tool belt. Big ‘P’ on his chest indicated he was someone from a hero/villain scene, and from general vibes she got, M’gann was leaning towards a hero. He was kinda cute. She coughed awkwardly when she realized how long they just sat in silence.

“Hi?”

Apparently it was enough to release an incoherent babbling from the boy.

“Hi, um… Miss Martian, ma'am? I'm Phantom. What are you doing here? Is the rest of your Team going to fall off the sky too? Justice League?”

“Not right now probably”

She was ignored. Phantom just kept panicking.

“Is this some of your villain's schemes? Are you alright? You crashed pretty hard, sorry I landed on top of you by the way, do you–?”

“I'm fine, don't worry I got worse”

“Sure…”

“Sorry I threw you off the sky”

“Not your fault, really, it's fi–”

“You asked what I'm doing here. I went on my own to investigate when I saw the city blink out of existence and got sucked in. I'm not sure if my report from site made it through, but they know where I went, so they'll soon come to help, don't worry”

Phantom did not stop worrying.

“Alright, cool, cool” he ran his hand through his hair, tugging at them “The Justice League knows you mysteriously disappeared along with an entire city. This is fine, totally fine, absolutely–”

“You're panicking”

“No shit Sherlock. Someone kidnapped my city again and I have no idea how to fix it because my usual tactic is ‘punch the cause of the problem into submission’ and this time I can't punch the storm. Now you're here so if something happens, I’ll have pissed of Justice League to worry about because, of course, it will be my fault. You could be overshadowed and I have no clue what's going on but I have to fix it as soon as–”

“Breathe Phantom“ she interrupted again, projecting what the Team called ‘calming vibes’. Since it didn't involve outright entering someone's brain and humans almost didn't react to it, it was an okay thing to do without asking even on non-villains. “Remember, I'm a hero, not a damsel in the distress you have to protect non stop”

“Of course, you're not. You're Miss Martian. You're amazing, but it doesn't give me any more of an idea on what's going on nor what to do with Justice League when they come, obviously furious because everyone in Amity and their mother will testify that it was somehow my fault, especially if–”

“Hey, hey, none of that. I know you're a good guy and they’ll too. I will vouch for you if for some reason they get misled”

Phantom looked her in the eyes as if he was trying to read her mind himself without even an ounce of psychic powers. She could tell if he used it.

“I could be a bad guy,” he said seriously after a moment of silence.

“I know you're not”

“You don't know me”

“You spent almost all of our interaction agonizing over how to save your city. It's not typical bad guy behavior”

“I could be acting”

M’gann didn't even dignify it with her response other than an incredulous stare.

“ Alright, if I've been acting, I would be a lot cooler but still… I could be acting!”

“I'm a literal psychic, remember? I didn't read your thoughts, don't worry, I know it's invasive for humans. But I got a general overview of who you are, and your vibes matched pretty well with the vibes of good guys”

“Sure, of course, why not,” he muttered, taking a moment to reboot “Why is this my life now?”

M’gann decided it wasn't to her and well… Phantom wasn't wrong, she didn't know him, so however she'd try to answer it was pretty much hit or miss. But from what she'd seen of him, she was curious to learn more.

“Nevermind, let's get you a Specter Deflector before anyone tries to use you as a meatsuit” he said, catching her wrist to drag her somewhere.

She let him lead her. He still didn’t have any nefarious reasoning, and hey! Maybe she'll finish this adventure with a new teammate!

[Sure M’gann. Just a teammate. Don't worry, Danny won't be a panicked mess all of the time here]

[ballinandcantgetup452]

Something that I love about the DCAU is just how flawed that version of Superman is.

I'm not saying DCAU Superman is evil. I'm just saying that he's not perfect. While Superman is my favorite superhero of all time, sometimes when he's not in a starring role he can be written as perfect. Which is fine if you do it right. Superman should always do the right thing. But JLU is one of the rare pieces of media that sees Clark struggle to do the right thing.

If I had to critique All Star Superman, it would be that Morrison's Superman comes first. In JLU, Superman is Clark Kent first and foremost. Clark Kent is a human being. JLU somehow finds the balance of the John Byrne "I'm a human" without going so far as to make it so that Clark is erasing his own heritage.

DCAU Superman has the deeply simple human trait of being happy to be here. He likes the people around him. He invites J'onn over for Christmas, it's implied that he, Bruce, and Diana go out to eat every once and a while. DCAU Superman loves humanity, and he loves being human.

On the other side of the coin, he also feels the deeply simple human trait of anger. When he finds out that he's an alien, he punches the barn and runs off, he chokes Professor Hamilton upon finding out what he did to Kara, Clark openly admits that he wants to storm Cadmus after what happens to The Question.

Honestly, there's a part of me that believes that his "world of cardboard" speech had a little bit of resentment to it. Almost like he wishes that he could go all out. That it would be easier. I'd argue that it's the antithesis to Superman Vs. The Elite's "dude just get creative" speech.

DCAU Clark Kent is a flawed human being. He still has the appropriate heart that you're supposed to give the character, but it's a human heart. I think it's why it's one of my favorite interpretations of the character

[kanerallels]

The Kanan as a Lunar Guard au as requested by @seleneisrising for my 501st follower celebration!

Quick warning: This au is a little darker than most of mine. Most of it is fine, but there is some violence and blood, and some death.(caused by someone under mind control, so they're being forced to kill someone. It's not that graphic, but I felt I should add a warning.) If you've read TLC, you should be fine, though!

He had to make things right.

Kanan knew that much. It was the one thing he was actually sure of right now, as he checked around a dark corner, hand hovering near the gun he’d stolen. It wasn’t his favorite idea, but it was a good back up.

He took one more glance around the hall before looking back at his companion. “The coast’s clear,” he said quietly.

The small, dark haired kid who popped out from the doorway he’d been hiding in didn’t look like much at first glance. But Kanan knew better. Because this boy was a shell— a Lunar born not only without the ability to manipulate bioelectricity, but who was unable to be controlled by anyone with that ability.

There were no shells— none that lived among society. They were taken at birth, ripped away from their families. But this boy had escaped that. Until now. Kanan felt a shudder tear through him at the memory of what he’d witnessed only hours before.

“Let him GO!”

The woman’s screams ripped through the streets, and Kanan saw one of the guards standing next to him shift uncomfortably at the sound. Kanan couldn’t blame him— the sound of agony made his stomach roil.

Stepping forward, he caught the woman by the arms as she lunged for the guard who was dragging away her son, who was staring with huge blue eyes. “Step back, ma’am,” he said firmly, keeping his voice stern.

“Let him go,” she begged him, finally tearing her gaze away from her son and latching onto Kanan. “Please— he’s not going to hurt anyone.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Kanan said. “He’s a shell— these are the rules. He should never have been here this long.” 

Even saying the words hurt, like he was plunging a knife into a part of himself that was barely living. It’s wrong, his mind whispered. It’s wrong and you know it.

The woman’s husband stepped forward, gently pulling her away from Kanan and into his arms. His gaze was locked on Kanan, however, as he said, “Please— you’re a thaumaturge. There has to be something you can do, some exception you can make.”

Never in his life had Kanan wanted to do something more, to fight back. He opened his mouth, not quite sure what would come out—

“He certainly can,” came an accented and horribly familiar voice. Thaumaturge Isaacs stepped forward, hands clasped behind his back. “He can remove this aberration, as should have been done in the first place. And you two shall be disciplined for committing a crime such as this. You two should be ashamed.”

Pulling away from her husband, the woman glared at Thaumaturge Isaacs. She didn’t have a shred of fear on her face, and Kanan found himself admiring her as she said, “Discipline us all you want. I will never be ashamed of raising our son.”

“How noble of you,” Isaacs said, a thin, unpleasant smile crossing his face. “Unfortunately, Her Majesty does not accept such excuses. I’m sure your executions will be quite pleasant.”

To Kanan’s surprise, there was no real fear, no panic on the couple’s face. But the woman bowed her head, looking shaken. After a moment, she stepped closer to Isaacs, and looked up with a pleading expression on her face.

“Please,” she said. “Please, keep Ezra safe.” She took a deep breath, and then her gaze moved to Kanan, and he realized with a jolt she was talking to him.

“Please,” she repeated, and then moved, faster than Kanan would have expected. There was a flash of metal, and Isaacs let out a roar of shock and pain as a knife plunged into his chest.

It missed anything vital, instead slashing open the area between his collarbone and his shoulder. The woman pulled it out and went for another blow— and then froze. From the way her eyes widened, panicked, Kanan knew it wasn’t voluntary.

Judging by the snarl of rage on Isaacs’ face, he knew what was coming next. And he couldn’t watch. So as the woman turned to her husband, raising the knife, Kanan slipped past Isaacs and headed towards the guard who held the boy in place. “I’ll take care of him,” he said brusquely, pushing the boy forward before the guard could protest.

“Wait,” the boy stammered, trying to twist out of Kanan’s grasp. “No— Mom! Dad!”

“Ezra!” called the man, his voice shaking. “Stay strong! We love you!”

“Don’t look back,” Kanan told him, pushing him forward. “Trust me.”

The boy tried to anyway, but Kanan kept him moving, even as they heard a scream of pain and a cry of agonized sorrow from the woman. Even as there was a final cry that Kanan knew meant they were both gone.

He could hear the boy sobbing, shoulders shaking. He tried at least once to escape, to pull away, but Kanan kept him moving until finally, they reached the transport. Bundling him into the passenger seat, Kanan slid into the driver’s seat.

Starting the engine, he started them moving forward, slipping down the streets. He didn’t bother waiting for the guards or Isaacs. 

“What are you gonna do to me?”

The boy’s voice was shaky and full of tears, but defiant. Like his parents. Swallowing hard, Kanan wished— not for the first time— that he hadn’t been born with such a strong gift. That the queen hadn’t taken notice of him. That they hadn’t been able to use his family against him when he tried to decline the offer to become a thaumaturge. That he’d been able to stand up to them.

I’ve sat by long enough. I can’t let this one slide, too.

“I’m gonna get you out of here,” he told him, his voice steady. “I promise.”

That had been a full week ago. Kanan had managed to cover for the two of them, sneaking Ezra food as he hid in Kanan’s quarters, but only just barely. Luckily, he’d come up with an escape plan. He just really, really hoped it worked.

“Remember the rules?” he asked Ezra quietly.

Nodding, Ezra said, “Stay quiet, don’t move, and only get out when you say it’s safe. And if you give me the signal—” his voice wavered. “Run. But I don’t like that part.”

“Neither do I,” Kanan said. “But we don’t have much of a choice right now. We’re close, though.” Putting a hand on the boy’s shoulder, he said, “You ready?”

Taking a deep breath, Ezra squared his shoulders in a way that reminded Kanan of his last glimpse of the boy’s father. I’m sorry, he thought, not for the first time. “I’m ready.”

“Good.” Bending down, Kanan grabbed the case he’d brought with them— a large crate, set on wheels. Just the right size for a fourteen year old boy to hide in. “Get in.”

Ezra scrambled in, curling up into a ball, and Kanan put the lid down, leaving a tiny crack so the boy could still breathe. And push open the lid and make a run for it if he had to. But Kanan preferred not to think about that.

Tugging at the hem of the guard’s coat he’d stolen— which was a little too tight around the shoulders, but fit well enough that no one would notice— he took a deep breath. This is it. No turning back.

He wasn’t afraid— not of leaving. The only thing he was terrified of was getting caught. And the best way to avoid that was to move, and fast. So, grabbing the crate, Kanan propelled it forward, pushing it down the hall at a brisk clip.

It was late enough at night that Kanan didn’t see anyone as he made his way to the hanger nearest to his rooms. Choosing one of the ships closest to him, he was wheeling the crate up the open ramp when he heard a voice behind him.

“You there, guard!”

Oh, kriff. Kanan flicked a quick glance over his shoulder as he pushed the crate the rest of the way up the ramp, settling it into a secure position. With a jolt, he recognized the coat of a thaumaturge, standing in the middle of the room.

Things were about to get messy.

“Can I help you, sir?” Kanan asked, moving down the ramp a little ways.

“What exactly are you doing out here so late—” the thaumaturge’s eyes widened as they locked onto Kanan’s face. “Jarrus?”

Kanan moved, before the man across from him could. Diving forward, he slammed bodily into him, knocking him to the ground. The thaumaturge thrashed wildly, and shouted, “Guards! I’m being attacked!”

Slamming a fist into his jaw, Kanan knocked him out, and scrambled to his feet. The sound of footsteps in the corridor caught his attention, and dread swelled in his chest. Time to go.

He’d only just made it up the ramp when the door burst open, and a flood of guards poured into the room.

They took one look at Kanan, who slammed the button to raise the ramp, and immediately pulled their weapons. Drawing his own gun, Kanan shot the first one without hesitating and ducked behind a crate as bullets rattled off the interior of the ship. One ricocheted, and he felt pain blaze through his arm as it bit through his ill-fitting jacket.

As the ramp started to raise, muffling the sound of shouts and gunshots, Kanan got to his feet. Moving to the crate where Ezra was hiding, he flipped open the lid. The boy looked up at him, eyes wide and concerned.

“I need you in the cockpit,” Kanan told him, and Ezra immediately scrambled up and over the edge of the crate. He followed Kanan as he headed into the cockpit, and took the pilot’s seat.

“Buckle up,” he ordered the kid, who obediently strapped himself into the co-pilot’s seat. Kanan focused on the console, switching levers and bringing the engine to life. We need to keep moving. Need to get out.

He didn’t move out of his trance, his focus on the ship, lifting it off and cruising out of the dome where he’d lived for his whole life. It was time to leave it behind. After everything he’d seen, everything he’d done, anywhere was better than here.

And there was really only one anywhere they could make their way to. Earth.

“Kanan?”

Ezra’s hesitant voice cut through Kanan’s thoughts, and he glanced up. “What?”

“You— you’re bleeding.”

His words brought the pain rushing back, and Kanan held back a wince. “Yeah. I’m fine.” Glancing at the console, he frowned. “Better than the ship is, anyways. I think we took some damage back there.”

“Are we gonna make it to Earth safely?” Ezra asked.

Taking a deep breath, Kanan said, “I hope so. Here goes nothing.”

The time slipped by, growing more vague and dizzying. Kanan knew the blood loss was affecting him, and he knew the ship was getting worse. But they couldn’t stop. They couldn’t. Not if there was still a chance that they could make it.

They’d only just made it through the atmosphere when the ship gave out. Kanan tried desperately to help the ship recover, to save it. But it didn’t work.

He heard Ezra scream once, shocked and terrified, as they plowed into a stand of trees he could barely see in the darkness of night. The ship shook, throwing Kanan forward, and his head slammed into the dashboard. Everything went black.

~

Hera jerked away, sitting bolt upright in her bed. For a minute, she wasn’t sure what had woken her, and then it registered. There had been a loud boom, somewhere out in the forest.

Sliding out of bed, she crossed the room to her window, pulling aside the curtains. At first, she saw nothing. And then, a dull glow made itself clear in the distance, beyond the forest that sat not far from her house.

Something’s wrong. It almost looks like… did a ship crash? There hadn’t been many in this area— Lothal was isolated enough that they didn’t get a lot of outsiders. And the ones they did didn’t crash their ships in the middle of the night.

But Hera had a gut feeling about this, and she tended to trust her gut. So, after quickly dressing, she headed out the door, stopping only for her bomber jacket. And then, after a moment’s hesitation, her shotgun.

You couldn’t be too careful, out in the woods in the middle of the night.

She’d made it out of the house, and halfway across the field that separated her house from the woods when she heard someone call her name. Glancing over her shoulder, Hera saw Sabine on the porch, a blanket draped around her shoulders.

“Stay in the house,” she called to the girl. To no one’s surprise, Sabine didn’t listen. Instead, she darted forward, crossing the grass in her bare feet as she caught up to Hera.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“To look into that sound,” Hera said, deciding it was best not to argue. The girl could be incredibly stubborn sometimes, and it was good to have backup. Just in case. “It sounded like a ship crashing.”

“Smells like it, too,” Sabine commented, nose wrinkling. Hera could smell the same thing— the strong odor of something synthetic burning.

Together, they headed into the woods, weaving through the trees and towards the source of the smell. It wasn’t long before they found it.

It was, in fact, a crashed ship. Hera winced at the sight of the torn metal and shattered glass— the ship had barely held together, and had annihilated a couple trees on the way. But that wasn’t what made her pause, brows knitting together. “This design,” she murmured. “It doesn’t look like anything I’ve seen here in the States, let alone in Europe.”

“Maybe we should focus less on that, more on where the passengers went?” Sabine suggested. “Looks like the ship’s empty.”

She was right— the windshield had been shattered, and there was no sign of any occupants. But as Hera moved closer to the ship, she saw the way the glass had been pushed out, and a few smears of blood on the metal. More spatters left dark marks on the grass, tracing a path deeper into the forest.

They can’t have gotten far, whoever they are. Raising her voice, Hera called, “I know you’re out there! And you’re hurt. Let us help you.”

She paused, awaiting a response— but there was none. “Well, it was worth a shot,” Sabine said. “Now what?”

Hera started to answer, but then a rustle in the bushes cut her off. Turning towards it, she saw a dark figure moving towards them, its pace stumbling and unsure. As it drew closer, the shape resolved itself into a man. Most of his features were still obscured by the darkness, but the gun in his hand was clear enough.

Moving swiftly, Hera brought her shotgun up to her shoulder. “Stop right there,” she told the man. “Not another step until you drop the gun.”

He did stop, weaving a little on his feet. The gun slipped from his fingers and he spoke. “Please,” he said, his voice rough and deep. “Please. Help him.”

Before Hera could begin to ask one of the myriad of questions in her mind, the man's knees gave out and he crumpled to the forest floor. Lowering her weapon, Hera handed it to Sabine and stepped forward. Moving into a crouch, she grabbed the man by the shoulders and rolled him onto his back.

Taking one look at his face, she let out a choked gasp. He was covered in blood. Most of his eyes were obscured by it, but Hera could see shards of glass digging into his cheek, and her stomach turned.

“Sabine, go get Zeb,” she ordered. “Tell him to get a transport and get back here, fast. And call the doctor, tell him we're on our way.”

“On it,” Sabine said. Pausing only to set the gun against a nearby tree, she bolted back the way they'd come, her blanket falling to the ground behind her. Hera only sent one look after her before turning her attention back to the man laying on the forest floor in front of her.

“It's going to be okay,” she told him. “Sabine's going to get help, you'll be fine.”

“No.” The word was barely a whisper, and Hera frowned. “Please. Help Ezra.”

Ezra? The way he was talking, it sounded like… There's someone else out here.

Getting to her feet, Hera headed in the direction the man had come from. It wasn't more than a few minutes later that she found what she was looking for. Hiding inside one of the bushes was a boy, not my older than fourteen. He lay on his side, unmoving, but as Hera knelt next to him, she could see the rise and fall of his chest. When she checked, his pulse was steady, and he only had a small gash on his forehead. 

He must have been knocked out in the crash, Hera guessed. But how did they crash? Why? Something here wasn't quite right. 

The hum of an approaching transport caught Hera's attention, and she headed back to where it was just coming to a stop, near the crashed ship. Sabine hopped out, followed closely by Zeb, their neighbor. “Karabast,” he said, staring at the crashed ship. “Someone made it out of there?”

“Two someone’s, actually,” Hera told him. “There's a kid in the bushes. Unconscious, but he's not nearly as bad off as his friend.”

“Tough kid,” Zeb said. “I'll go get him first, then.”

As he headed into the bushes, Hera moved next to the man. He didn't react— odds were good that he's lost consciousness. “He's okay,” Hera told him anyway. “We found Ezra, now hang in there.”

He stirred a little, and for the first time Hera noticed what he was wearing. Under the blood and dirt stains, the tattered jacket looked almost familiar. Like she'd seen it before.

But then Zeb was back, and Hera was helping him get first Ezra, then his companion, into the back of the transport. Minutes later, they were zipping across the grass and towards the small town of Lothal.

When they arrived, Dr. Meridian was waiting for them outside her office. Between Hera, Zeb, Sabine, and the doctor, they managed to get first the man, then Ezra inside.

The doctor looked over the unconscious Ezra first, and proclaimed him possibly concussed but fine. But when she disappeared into the second room with the man, Hera knew it would be a while before she came back. The image of the blood-soaked wounds on his face came back to her, and she winced.

Sabine had taken up one of the two chairs in the waiting room, with Ezra curled up in the other one. Zeb was pacing back and forth, and Hera leaned against the wall, watching the minutes tick by on the clock across from her.

The room was quiet, so quiet she could hear the second hand on the clock ticking. So quiet that when Ezra stirred, Hera’s gaze moved to him before his eyes opened.

When they did, they widened quickly. “It’s okay,” Hera told him quickly as he shrank back. “We’re friends. Your friend is in the other room— you’re Ezra, right?”

“Y-yeah,” Ezra said slowly, staring at her. “Who are you— and where are we? Why isn’t Kanan here?”

Kanan. So that was the name of the man. “He was hurt in the crash,” Hera said. “That’s where we found you. I’m Hera, by the way.”

“Hi,” Ezra said, looking around the room. His gaze moved from Zeb, to Sabine, who gave him a half-wave, then back to Hera. “Thank you. For helping us. You didn’t have to.”

“Of course we did,” Zeb said. “We’re not monsters.”

“Right, but— well, I know that Earthens don’t really like Lunars.”

The room went quiet. Oh, Hera thought. That explains a few things.

Looking between them, Ezra’s eyes widened. “Oh. You didn’t— um, I promise we’re not gonna hurt you? I can’t even use the gift and Kanan promised he wouldn’t, I swear. Just please, don’t give us back—”

“We’re not going to,” Hera told him firmly. “I promise.”

“R-really?”

“Really,” Hera said firmly. “You’re far from the first Lunar that’s wound up in Lothal. It’s a good place to hide, if you need to. Now, why don’t you tell us what happened? Start from the beginning, and take your time.”

Slowly, falteringly, Ezra began to tell them. About how he’d grown up in hiding, protected by his parents for as long as they could.

But then Queen Levana’s soldiers had found out about him, and they couldn’t protect him anymore. They had both been killed— Hera gathered that much, though Ezra didn’t talk about it much. “But Kanan didn’t let them take me,” he said. “He protected him, snuck me out.”

“That’s a bold move for a guard,” Hera murmured.

“Kanan’s not a guard,” Ezra said. “He’s just wearing the coat so no one would realize it was him. He’s, um. He’s a thaumaturge.”

Zeb cursed, and Sabine’s eyes went wider. “Wait. Don’t thaumaturges work specifically for Queen Levana? And, you know, do terrible things?”

Ezra’s gaze dropped. “Yeah. But he helped me. He saved me. So he can’t be that bad.”

Hera thought of the desperation in the man’s voice when he’d begged her to help Ezra first. Not him, but Ezra. He’s right. Kanan cares about him, and he wants to help him. Hera didn’t know this man, not really. But she trusted her gut, and her gut told her that this man was a good man, even if he was flawed.

As she was thinking, the door to the other room creaked open. Hera looked up as Dr. Meridian stepped through, closing the door behind her.

“Is he okay?” Ezra asked instantly, sitting up.

The doctor glanced at him, smiling warmly. “I see our young friend is awake,” she said, her accented voice soft. “How is your head feeling?”

“Fine. Well, it hurts a little. How’s Kanan?”

“Your friend is stable,” the doctor assured him. “I cleaned and dressed his wounds— a bullet wound to the arm, and multiple wounds to the face and eyes. The glass came out cleanly, but the damage to his right eye is so extensive that I doubt his vision will recover.”

“So— he won’t be able to see?” Ezra’s voice shook, and Hera instinctively reached out and took his hand. He clung to it, his eyes wide and shocked.

“Not out of that eye— and not well out of the other, I’m afraid,” Dr. Meridian said, her voice sympathetic. “But he’s stable, and a lot better off than he could be, considering the circumstances of the crash. I’m so sorry— I did everything I could.”

“We understand,” Hera assured her. “Thank you. Would it be better if we left him with you, or took him to my house?”

“I think it would be best if he had someone familiar there when he woke up,” the doctor said. “So your house may be best.”

“We’ll take him there, then,” Hera said. “Thank you for all your help.”

“Of course.”

With Zeb’s help, it wasn’t long before they had Kanan back in the transport, and made their way back to Hera’s house. Once inside, it took them a while to get everything situated. Finally, Sabine was back in her room, Kanan in the guest room, and Ezra took Hera’s bed, because she knew she wasn’t going to be getting much more rest. Zeb offered to stay, but eventually headed back to his own house, after promising he was only a call away.

And then Hera was alone, in a quiet house after an hour or more of hectic activity. Heading into the kitchen, she made herself a cup of coffee before slipping into the guest room to check on Kanan.

He was still asleep, though as Hera settled in the chair she’d set up next to his bed, he stirred a little. “Ezra?” he mumbled.

Hera felt her heart twinge in sympathy. The man had been through so much, as evidenced by the clean white bandages wrapped around his eyes. But still he worried about Ezra. That spoke of a good man, someone Hera had a feeling she could respect.

“Ezra’s safe,” she promised him. “He’s okay. Just rest— everything is going to be fine.”

The tension twisting Kanan’s face eased a little, and he slipped back into a peaceful slumber.

Tomorrow, they’d have plenty of questions to answer and painful truths to give. But for now, Hera was happy to give this man one more night of peace.

[dudethatsmyundeaduncle]

Not Cannon and Not Fannon, a secret third thing called I desperately misunderstood/misinterpreted this charcter as a child and now everyone else's charcterization is wrong because it doesn't fit my specific decade old hallucinations.

[riftofthestars]

“Fucking philistines.” He mumbles underneath his breath. “We are either given or we make our own claws, both for a reason. I am somehow still surprised of how dense some people are... Or willfully ignorant, perhaps?” He wonders. At the very least the Dove was left alone by a certain.. otherworldy entity tonight - one other than himself.

[roennq]

And that is exactly how this blog came to be...

“i liked it before it was cool” well i liked it AFTER it was cool when everyone abandoned it

[maxwell-grant]

There's a trend people have pointed out in superhero stories over the past 20 or so years that is the death of "regular" supporting casts, an increasing absence of un-powered sidekicks or people involved who aren't in the thick of the action or in the hero's secret. Everyone who interacts with superheroes is a couple issues away from becoming one, every story involves a supervillain encounter or several dozen, every hero's gotta have a lunchbox-ready "superhero family" made from these characters, and every side character that doesn't join them is either going to die or become a supervillain.

The defining example people use for this is Spider-Man's supporting cast, with every Spider-Man cast member short of Aunt May and J Jonah Jameson getting some kind of powered upgrade or symbiote, and I'm gonna say Amanda Waller is an excellent case study of how this kind of thing happens, and I think it helps to explain why Amanda Waller has been, Like That, for the past 30 years.

She’s wearing a grey shirt underneath a blue blazer and it’s tucked into a similarly blue skirt that stops at mid calf. She reminds me of the neighbourhood aunties I used to see leaving for church every Sunday morning.

My mom used to say that you are the company you keep. So what kind of person does it take to keep a variety of bruised, battered, and dangerous personalities in check? - Amanda Waller: DC's Most Terrifying Woman

To those of you who haven't read John Ostrander and Kim Yale's Suicide Squad, there once was a time where Amanda Waller was something more than a powerful antagonistic force able to butt heads with the biggest superheroes, and something other than a heartless establishment face out to make superheroes miserable for ill-defined reasons. Structurally speaking, Suicide Squad is a comic about marginal DCU characters forced to deal with actual real life problems, and it's central character is a marginalized person forced to deal with DCU problems and characters. The members of the Squad are a rolling parade of costumed misfits and maniacs assigned to go around the globe to fight and kill and die on dirty missions to deal with dirty laundry and stop war zones from erupting, while Amanda Waller is forced to shuffle around her cadre of D-list supervillains and disgraced superheroes and get into stand-offs with secret spy societies, living nukes, voodoo cartels, and Batman.

Amanda Waller neither looks nor acts like the kind of character that stars in a superhero comic, and she is the central character throughout the 66 issues of the run and we follow her character arc from beginning to end as she's forced to spin plates to accomplish her goals and prevent bad situations from getting worse. She is the most fully realized character in the run and everything rests on her shoulders. We spend a lot of time inside her head, her team, her associates, she is the center holding together an extremely chaotic book with no two characters on the same page. She is, and has to be, an extremely powerful person, someone who stands her ground no matter what, an unbeatable force of will because that is the only way she's going to survive the situations she's in, the only way she can be "The Wall", the kind of person who can repel Batman, command a platoon of monsters, talk her way out of Deadshot's contract, someone who can stare at Darkseid and credibly threaten the President into letting her live.

That's the part that everyone is more or less familiar. But there is, or at least used to be, much more to Amanda Waller than just being The Wall, not in the least because being The Wall is also hampering her effectiveness as well as straight up killing her.

"Amanda's toughness has taken her a long way" "It's taken her as far as it can. But it can't take her no further. It's actually starting to drag her down. I'm scared for my baby sister, rev - scared that the anger in her is congealing into hate." - Suicide Squad #31

We get to know her backstory, her plans, her points of contention with the system, her relationships with people around her, and how deeply she cares about things and people even as she sends them to the meatgrinder. From the start we learn that Waller staffs her team with people she's prone to getting into disagreements with, like Simon LaGrieve and Rick Flag, specifically so they can cover her moral blind spots and pick up the slack in emotional intelligence she's lacking, be the heroes that she can't afford to be. It is unspeakably crucial that the Squad is led by Rick Flag as well as Bronze Tiger, a fallen hero who owes Waller for his recovery who eventually takes Flag's baton. Waller stands up for her team, gets into fights with her superiors when they decide to terminate them, and takes the fall for them when necessary. Waller is a person who does Bad Things - but she is not a Bad Person.

The book in no uncertain terms frames the Suicide Squad's existence as monstrous in a scale Waller doesn't understand until the very end, and it digs deep into the unethical things Waller has to allow for and perpetrate in order to keep it running no matter how many lives it saves, and she spends the first half of the book on a downward spiral. But then there's the 2nd half of the book:

In the first 39 issues, Amanda’s flaws are her undoing. As she pushes away the people she hired to act as a balance, she grasped tighter and tighter to her uncompromised vision of the Suicide Squad despite the constant changes and derailment. Her choices had consequences: the death of Rick Flag, her demotion, employees quitting, and finally, the disbandment of the team.

The last 27 issues have Amanda rising up from the ashes after a year in jail. She’s less in her own way – she communicates, her anger isn’t driving her, she’s more receptive of alternative perspective and recognizes when she’s wrong in real time – but she’s still just as scary.

Waller rebuilds her relationships with the people she drove away, takes a different tack to how the team works, and starts going out into the frontlines with the Squad. She brings Oracle (who actually made her debut in this comic) into the fold, saves her life and plays a big role in Barbara making progress in overcoming her Joker trauma. She genuinely puts in the work to improve as a person and do things a better way than before, even if there is an inescapable immorality to the very existence of the Squad and what they do. That immorality never goes away, and it only further horrifies her when learning how badly her project has gone. In fact, it's that very inescapable immorality that ends her arc.

She learns that the CIA has started using a new Suicide Squad to support a brutal regime in South America, and when faced with the full extent of her complicity in Western imperialism? She decides right then and there to end the Suicide Squad for good after they liberate the population of said regime from said Squad. She is the only person who gives a shit about the country enough to start the assignment for free once she knows about it, force the Squad along, lead the mission in field, and personally (and even gently) usher the villain to his death at the end, to end what began with her.

She does bad things, and she does good things. She cares about people, and she uses people. Her decisions ruin as well as save the world. She spins a million plates to match wills and wits with the strongest, wickedest, most cunning humans and superhumans alike, and she still has superiors to answer to and people close to her she hires to judge her for what she does. She endured racism and misogyny and poverty for decades and rode whatever she could to attain as much power over her own life as someone like her could possibly attain, and to have it, she must be a willing tool of the state and bend the knee to Ronald Reagan, the man she derides for what he did to her community, hating every minute of it.

She lost her family to sexual and racial violence, and now she wrangles a penal battalion comprised of some of the worst people on the planet to inflict violence on her orders. She has saved and redeemed people, and she's haunted by the corpses she's left in her wake. She is oppressed and oppressor, someone who could only escape the ravages of American imperialism by becoming one of it's chief enforcers, and still she rebuilds herself into a better person from it upon confronting and challenging her role in it. She is not a bad person, she is not a good person either, she is just afforded a degree of agency and complexity unpowered characters in superhero books simply don't get.

Okay cool, now what is she up to these days?

That, I guess. That is what a strong but unpowered person who does not allow themselves to be bossed around by superheroes or supervillains looks like now. Everytime there's a call for a military bad guy, Waller gets tagged in to be DC's Henry Gyrich. There was a point where Waller was made to contrast the likes of Sarge Steel and Wade Eiling, someone who butted heads with them because she was a well-meaning person working for and committing evil as often as she attempted to stop it. These days, the most consistent beat with her is that she is the most dangerous person alive and worse than the villains she wrangles into working for her. She is a thing to be overcome, a hypocrite to be exposed, a challenge to the natural order of the universe, and she is too terrific at it to be shuffled off quietly. She is a Bad Person and so everything she says and does is Bad (and thus can be ignored).

Integral to Suicide Squad's structure was the fact that Waller was the center holding everything together, the ultimate third party: spinning plates working with, for and against all of the others so she can bend rules and be bent by them. Bent, but never broken, because The Wall doesn't break, others break first. Waller was a one-of-a-kind character, and that broke her, because beating Sarge Steel and Wade Eiling at their own game means replacing Sarge Steel and Wade Eiling. Waller doesn't look like them, she doesn't look like the superheroes either, and so she can't be one of them. She can't even look like herself a lot of the time, they try to slim her up everytime they think they can get away with it.

Suicide Squad was preoccupied with exploring a perspective from a world outside the superhero worldview, but we no longer have her perspective or that of people around her, we only know her through the superheroes she inherently defies and has had an adversarial relationship against from day one. She is someone with a viewpoint that is charitable to neither superheroes nor institutions, and thus, the universe is increasingly less sympathetic to her, the less utility she has to the grander narrative where everyone has to pick between one of two options. If she wasn't powerful and assertive, she'd be another Leslie Thompkins, another Jiminy Cricket the heroes passively ignore. But because she is powerful and doing morally compromised things without asking Batman's permission, she must have a personal grudge. She must be a government monster. She must attack the superheroes for no reason, no ideology, no motive.

So now she's just The Wall 24/7, the mean icy establishment boot who is strong and clever and cruel and hates superheroes and wants to destroy superheroes and rule the world from the shadows. Everything she does is a fuck-up she refuses to take responsability for, everyone is right to hate and distrust mean old Waller, and now everyone gets to look good by dunking on her. They couldn't make her a superhero, so they made her a generic supervillain instead. And now that she's a bad guy, she no longer has to believe anything, she doesn't really have to mean anything, they don't have to write stories about something other than superheroes and supervillains, and they don't have to let a fat woman of color take up space and screentime they could be giving to Harley Quinn and Slade Wilson instead.

Even by the time of Waller's debut on the tail end of the 80s, her career opportunities were on their way to extinction

Days Of Future Past marks the triumph of the superhero comic that's pretty much concerned with no-one but superheroes. Where Ditko and Lee's Spider-Man featured a single costumed crimefighter in the context of a commonplace existence, the X-Men of the 80s focused on a huge cast of mutants who had little if any lasting involvement in the everyday world.

By the 21st century, the corporate superhero comic would largely - if not exclusively - concern itself with little beyond a large class of superhumans and their fantastical existence. I suspect there's a significant correlation between that and the continuing cultural  peripherilisation of the superhero comic - Colin Smith

Amanda Waller is one of the strongest characters in all of comics, she was as powerful as an non-superpowered character given center stage could possibly be, a perfectly designed character from which an entire corner of a shared universe was developed out of with her as the center making it work, but as the room for civilian casts and unpowered protagonists got smaller and smaller, so did Waller's options. If she was a Spider-Man character and somehow didn't get killed or made into a villain, they would have slimmed her up and given her a symbiote, because you're nobody unless you're web-swinging. Characters didn't look or act like Amanda Waller, and unfortunately, they still don't. It's just instead of making more characters like her, they gutted Waller to be more like the rest. If she couldn't make it, who else even could.

Keep your eyes peeled for this summer when she'll team up with two meaningless robot baddies to burn down the Justice League and I guess the universe for the next reboot or something.

[hello-eden]

Master post 2

Master post 1

Story posts/prompts

The Plan

One or Two Hearts

A Comforting Nightmare

Missing

Seeing is Believing

When will you learn your actions have consequences

The orb

Anchor

Rewind to the end

all grown up

social media timkon clone kids

demon twins social media

In Plan Sight p2 p3 p4 p5

To long of a wait

never hidden

being crazy never stopped me from being right

Awaken the endless

unexpected hope p2

Surprise Reflection

Is it a Comfort or a Curse

Our surprise

is it a enemy or a child

false information

stopped rebirth

safe and sound

the grave secret

unsetting change

Grief filled promise

wish bubble

Interrupted Reunion

safe keeping

moving in

never wish on a star

incorrect Quotes

DC-Favorite

Dead tired #1

Dead tired #2

Demon twins

Surrounded

Stabbed

Skill issue

poisonous

breathe

fire

Danny phantom

Outsider pov Vlad and Danny

Fake human au

Family tree

Vlad is to raise Ellie and Dan

Mom dan

Dan and Danny co parenting

Pitch Pearl misunderstanding with Dani

Pjoxdp

Star wars x DP

[that-weird-thing-in-the-woods]

Oh well damn to be honest I really wasn’t expecting that 🌌🧿Ancient of space🧿🌌 was going to win but you menaces always find away to surprise me but anyway let’s get started on what you voted for

🌌🧿Ancient Of Space + Dani and Dan 🧿🌌

Now for the ✨PLOT✨ so Danny got got by the GIW after being turned over by his parents because…it’s them anyway after a few weeks of being with the GIW Vlad gets him out with the help of Dani and Dan but as they were leaving via the portal some of the GIW catch them they off Vlad (the rest of the way) and destabilized Dani and Dan ( who for this story will be called Dusk for Dani and Dawn for Dan because I feel like it ) and Danny has to take their cores and incubate them until they are able to stabilize enough and it takes around 9 months for that to happen { how convenient}

anyway and Danny heads to the ghost zone but since he has been with the GIW for weeks it would be obvious that Danny injured and he’s been running on adrenaline for the past few weeks and stress so he kinda crash lands in the castle ( with redeemed Pariah Dark let’s go!!) And he nurses him back to health { like with my 🪷Queen Danny🪷 Au} they build a father / son relationship with each other ( more like overprotective father / Hurt and some what traumatized pregnant son) and after some shenanigans and some late night crying from Danny he ends up as 🌌🧿The Ancient Of Space🧿🌌 and now we have for this family dynamic

A redeemed warlord turned King

A pregnant teen traumatized Ancient of space

And a weird uncle/father who has romantic tension with the warlord

And this is Danny’s ‘life’ for a few months ( well he’s a lest 6 months and showing because this is  important for the story line later in) {and you get the pun :)}

And now for the DC part of this Tim drake gets sacrificed by some cultists who wanted to get the “Mother Of Sun rise and Moon rising and Child of War and Time” and wakes up and sees… the stars?? Well not the stars from earth it looks like it comes from deep space where no living thing has ever been and ever well be and as he sits up and looks around it looks like he’s in some dark castle/temple that looks well taken care of and as he gets up and walks around he walks past a pool of water that is so clear that it looks like a bit of the night sky full of stars that it’s reflecting ( it’s not water it’s a bit of the night sky ) and that’s when he sees her…him..? Them, they look gorgeous and that’s all I can think of right now I’ll add more if I feel like it

Now for the details

I’m thinking for dannys outfit

And for his hair I’m thinking

And for the castle/temple

And that’s about it hope this is what you guys wanted byeeee

[glitter-stained]

A fun, happy dc story for a change

Look I can be very critical of Winick's writing because I'm so ambivalent about it but damn if it isn't, on a meta level, a really satisfying spite story.

At the core of this story, there is Jim Starlin. Now Starlin's writing has many flaws, not least of all the blatant racism and sexism. And if there's one thing Jim hates, it's Robin. He wants to kill that little boy so bad, oh how he hates that bright coloured child in tights that's just holding Batman back from reaching his true potential as an absolute badass... And hey, good news! Dc, in trying to bring a second Robin after the first got a new identity, has dropped the ball, and the new boy is unpopular amongst the fans who miss the previous iteration! This is his opportunity to kill Robin, definitely!

But how? People may not have voted him dead yet, but Jim is already planning, setting up plots and trying his damndest to get him killed. And the thing about Jim- the thing that makes him a good writer, you see, the thing that separates him from those losers who fail to see Batman's true potential, is that his writing is gritty. He's not afraid to write a true dark knight facing the grimdark horrors of a town laden with crime, to shy away from the real dark, gritty topic that are mature and dark like rape. And uh, sexual violence against women. And uh, serial raping and killing women. (I'm kidding, of course, I didn't forget the native american cult leader who bathes in blood to prolongate his life. Or about the kgb agent Batman straight-up kills after he tries to kill Reagan. Or about the suicides, god I haven't forgotten about that. Don't worry.) But anyway, sexual abuse in general is a big theme for Jim. It shows how serious and dark and gritty he can be. So he has an idea: why not make Robin a child sexual abuse victim and give him AIDS? That way that's a justification to write Robin unlikeable (by making him emotional when exposed to situations of sexual abuse, unable to restrain his anger when defending a prostitute...) and at the same time it's the perfect way to kill Robin! DC has been considering giving a character AIDS, it's perfect! It will show everyone how dark and gritty Jim's writing is, he can make Robin even more unlikeable on top of how people are upset about the transition between Robins, and then he can finally kill Robin! It's perfect! Jim is a genius!!!

Now, of course, we know that plan failed: first because dc rejected Starlin's idea for Jason to die of AIDS, and second because as soon as Jason (as a character, which is what DC apparently had a problem with) died, they fired Starlin as a Batman writer and introduced a new Robin, making Starlin's vehement campaign against a fictional fifteen years old completely vain.

So that's it, right? Crisis avoided, we almost had some even worst writing that what already was, everyone sigh in relief and go home?

Enter Judd Winick stage left.

Now, remember how DC wanted to give a character AIDS? In 2003, Green Arrow #43 reveals that Mia Dearden, Oliver Queen's ward and a csa survivor of underage prostitution, is HIV positive, and in #45, she takes on the mantle of the second Speedy, becoming, according to Wikipedia, the most prominent HIV-positive superhero to star in an ongoing comic book. (And also one of my favourite comics characters, but that's unrelated.) An important thing about Winick, who wrote those issues, is that he is personally invested in education about AIDS, continuing his friend Pedro Zamora's educational work after his death of AIDS-related progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. (He also wrote a graphic novel about it, called Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss and What I've Learned). So kudos! We finally got someone who has done research and actually holds respect for HIV+ people writing HIV+ characters. And Mia is so cool, man- but not only is she a really interesting character, she is, first and foremost, a survivor. That's how she characterizes herself, sees what happened to her: she did what she had to do to survive, and now she's a fucking superhero and she's here to help others and you know what she's not gonna do? Die "of AIDS."

Yeah, I haven't forgotten Starlin's terrible writing. And, if Winick's writing is any identification, it seems like he hasn't either. The idea of making the second Speedy a parallel with the second Robin isn't groundbreaking, but it's cool that it's there (and also, incidentally, a reminder that parallels are interesting and fun and backstories are not a finite resource characters can run out of or steal from eachother.) Anyway, this includes Winick altering Mia's backstory and making her a street kid to make it more similar to Jason's, as well as Mia's on-screen murder offering a nice parallel to Jason's ambiguous murder in Starlin's Diplomat Son (a parallel I can't help but regard with vindicative snark, because that's how you handle a teenager who has just caused, directly or not, a man's death out of hopelessness in a situation that felt impossible. A little snark of See? Now this is how it's done. Yeah, Starlin's Bruce isn't winning any parenting against Winick's Ollie, that's for sure.) So there it is! Our fun spite story, Winick taking on Starlin's terrible ideas, a teen vigilante and survivor taking on a hero identity to mirror a teen vigilant's loss and death, a good old fashioned schooling. Cool? Cool!

And then, in 2005, Winick buries Starlin's last remaining impact on DC by bringing back Jason Todd, in a move so audacious in the back-then landscape it would be kinda akin to bringing Ben Parker back to life in Spiderman's life as a villain (please don't tell me this happens in the comics I don't read Marvel and if someone wrote that I would honestly prefer not to know). Now, of course, the impact of Jason's death on the narrative can't and shouldn't be undone by that move, but that's not important, because that's not what Starlin wanted when killing Jason - he wanted to kill Jason/Robin, not give everyone grief-induced hallucinations where Jason/Robin had an incredibly salient place in the narrative, so he didn't get what he wanted anyway.

Personally, my view on Winick's writing of Jason is contrasted (and the fact that there are some elements of Starlin's characterization of Jason that I prefer to Winick's deeply amazes me, incredibly ironic situation. Which only serves to point that even Starlin' goal of making us hate his version of robin failed drastically, as me and my jaybin fan mutuals can attest. Sucks to suck!). But as much as some of the decisions frustrate me, do you understand how much of a power move it is to take this child, this victim who has been victim-blamed for years, and bring him back to life with a vengeance and a demand that his life mattered, that his death was a bad thing that shouldn't be tolerated? Do you know how good that story feels, especially to victims when reading it and see that indignation validated, that rebellion against the status quo and victim-blaming, how good it feels to see a "bad victim" that refuses to stay down ? And in the context of Starlin's intent to write Jason a CSA victim, Winick writing Mia, the HIV+ plot for them both- do you understand the genuine and violent glee I feel, that it's Winick that wrote Jason coming back to life and hunting down the narrative with a machine gun?

So yeah. This is the context in which I talk about acknowledging the csa subtext in Green Arrow: Seeing Red, but this post isn't about lecturing you to accept it as canon or imply that you're bad for not sharing that interpretation. It's about spite -towards Jim Starlin specifically. And it's about that interpretation, but the context in which it was written in general, is not just a victory against Starlin, that guy lost long ago, but the narrative equivalent of that Green Arrow meme about taking a funny selfie over a gravestone. In Seeing Red (specifically in the line that's discussed when questioning the csa headcanon), Jason tells Mia they are similar because of what they had to do to survive, framing the sexual trauma on Mia's part (and thus allegedly also on Jason's) again firmly on the side of survival rather than victimhood. Whether it's by becoming a villain or a hero, there's this rebellion against being an object to the violence, which is at the core of Starlin's treatment of sexual violence. This is fun. We're having fun. I'm repeating myself, but do you understand how satisfying, electrifying it is? I'm filled with unreasonable amounts of glee. You don't always need the context in which a story was written to enjoy it but in this case, doesn't this make it so much more enjoyable? (And on top of that, kudos to Winick for killing Captain Nazi, I hope it was as satisfying to write as it looked.) Anyway, Mia Dearden and Jason Todd, the characters that you are. I love them so much.

[kurishiri]

10 things you should know before you read alfons route (no major spoilers)

its probably one of the, if not the most smutty route we have so far.

theres dub con. a lot of it. basically all of it initiated by al against kate.

a lot of questions you may have had abt al in elbies route may be answered in this route. they also hint quite a bit at roger and als relationship, but they only go a lot more into detail abt this in rogers route release event. but its no exaggeration to say elbie and als routes go hand in hand together! so if you enjoyed elbies route, and youre ok with the aforementioned themes ↑ then i would definitely try alfons route.

most premium stories contain the dc. if youre uncomfy with such themes, i would say chptr 19, 24 for both ends have the least.

that said, the biggest main theme i would say deals with isolation (mental, emotional, social) and depression, things of that nature.

i feel the dc you may see here is more like a narrative device to elevate said themes ↑

not every single plot line that is introduced in his route has a definite closure. in fact one of them is blatantly left pretty “open” even in the end.

there is romance, but the route itself may not feel as romantic as maybe some others bc he doesnt express love as openly in general as some of the other suitors.

choose mad love if: you like drama, more sexy cgs, the shōjo anime style comedy. choose blind love if: you enjoy “quiet” stories, you prefer your heart to twinge rather than race. more on this here!

i would personally recommend his route if you enjoy angst and star-crossed lovers sort of trope. there are funny moments (al has a lot of that dramatic or theatric humor), but at his core he is a very broken soul.

sincerely,

a silly fan tler

[lovelytsunoda]

thunderstruck // mick schumacher

summary: the breakout stunt stars behind hollywoods biggest movies are about to get the recognition they deserve with the release of ‘the fall guy’. one stunt woman, however, is about to become a little more well known than the rest

pairing: mick schumacher x stuntwoman!reader

faceclaim: april rose pengilly

liked by ryangosling, emilyblunt and 1,246 others

yourusername hey google, play 'i was made for loving you' by kiss! i can't wait for you guys to see the film, i'm so proud of the work that everybody on set has done.

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vogueaustralia 😍😍

yourbestie slay the house down bestie

-> yourusername consider it done!

60 Minutes Interview with Stuntwoman Y/N Y/L/N on all things "Fall Guy"!

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TEXTS BETWEEN Y/N Y/L/N AND HER BEST FRIEND!

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liked by madisonlintz, mickschumacher, yourbestie and 987 others

yourusername not a swiftie but damn, fuck me up florida!

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yourbestie that is not the view from our room....DID YOU GO HOME WITH THE HOT LAP GUY

-> yourusername no comment

-> yourbestie YOURE DATING HOT LAP GUY! THATS THE BACK OF HIS HEAD IN THE LAST PIC

user shes so real

madisonlintz come home i miss my favourite stunt double

-> yourusername im trying but nobody from the studio will tell me if we got a third season (and i need to visit my *real* home)

user guys i might be delulu but is that mick in her last picture? and in the likes?

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yourusername so i might have gone home with the hot lap guy (and my show might have gotten renewed for a season three)

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yourbestie I FUCKING KNEW IT

-> yourusername hehehehehe

yourbestie I EXPECT TO BE GIVING A SPEECH AT YOUR WEDDING

ryangosling you guys are so cute! oh to be young and in love again

-> yourusername you're happily married and hopelessly smitten with your wife????

mimirogers bring mick to the set when we start filming again! i want to meet him!

user its so on brand for mick to date such a badass...have you seen her stunt reels?

mickschumacher i love you! stay safe when you do the car roll!

-> yourusername stay safe on track this weekend! i love you more!

mickshumacher 😍😍 i love my hot girlfriend

[eleventeeny]

Joker: Folie à Deux -- A Misunderstood Movie About a Misunderstood Man

What is Folie à Deux?

Folie à Deux, also known as shared psychosis, is a disorder in which delusions are shared between people. The term is French for "madness of two" but can involve more than two people. In this movies case, the delusions are shared by Arthur and Lee.

This movie brought something new to the story, a musical. The Joker sees himself as a star and believes that he is a spectacle, kind of like he has Truman Syndrome. In this movie, I believe the musical aspects play a part in the shared delusion of the two characters.

Before I get into the music and its role in the delusions, I want to talk about when we first see Arthur at the start of the movie.

After the animated introduction, we see the asylum that plays as a main setting for the movie. When Arthur is walking around, his surroundings reminded me a lot of the 1967 documentary, Titicut Follies, which shows the treatment of patients in Bridgewater State Hospital. The patients running around naked or in their underwear, being taunted by the guards, and just the atmosphere feels very reminiscent of the footage in Titicut Follies.

(This may be a little off topic, but while I was researching Todd Phillips projects other than the Joker films, I discovered he also directed a documentary on GG Allin in 1993. Just thought it'd be cool to share.)

So, when the story begins, Arthur is very quiet. He doesn't talk and even the guards of the asylum point out his uncharacteristic behavior. I think it would be safe to assume his life behind bars was getting the best of him.

But when Arthur sees Lee for the first time, he's suddenly back in shape and willing to be his normal, everyday self again. When they meet officially at the singing group, that's when the musical portion of the movie starts. That's part of the reason why I believe the music represents their delusions, after they first talk, the delusions are passing through them both and then they begin to sing with each other. Arthur also seems hesitant to join her, which I'll get into my interpretation of the reason later.

I've seen all the poor reviews for this film, seemingly only because of the fact the movie is a musical. I think the musical theme fits well with the story, but maybe the fans just weren't ready for it. I think the people who disliked the movie for the musical aspects just think musicals are goofy or childish and don't fit in such a mature movie.

I found all the songs to fit perfectly with the scenes they were placed in, and it made the movie so much more interesting to me, it was a unique change from what you would usually see.

Whenever Lee and/or Arthur sing, it's always when they're with each other or when one of them is mentioned.

Toward the end of the movie, after Arthur tells the court that there is no Joker, he sees Lee again and when he tries to talk to her, she starts singing. He tells her to stop singing and just talk to him. This is another reason why I believe the music represents their delusions. After he breaks his delusions and comes back to reality, he doesn't want to sing anymore. He's not telling her to stop singing, he's telling her to stop believing the delusions.

When Arthur was committed, he finally began to stop believing in himself as the Joker, that's why he stopped making jokes and being all Joker-ish. But when he met Lee, she convinced him to enter that delusion once again because it's what she wanted of him. She didn't want Arthur, she wanted Joker. And when he stopped giving into it and told the world the Joker doesn't exist, she left him.

I think this movie is amazing and I enjoyed it despite my lack of knowledge on the DC universe. I hope whoever may read this can use my writing to find better understanding of the thought process behind the choice to make it a musical.

[riftofthestars]

“I might just need to hire that dragon as well... But first I must know what I could use as a coin to bargain with him.”

[fishfooddude]

Last Updated: 12/16/2024

Teasing

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Carmy is a tease, and you love it. MDNI 18+

Elementary School

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Carmy comes to pick you up from work while Richie teases the two of you

What Happens In Vegas Doesn't Always Stay In Vegas

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x OC A four-part series about a past mistake both Carmy and Ellie had long forgotten about. Part 1: Those are Legal? Part 2: The Bear, Abuse of Power, and a Dick Measuring Contest Part 3: The Fight Part 4: DC in October

Family Ties

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Carmy butts heads with his 17-year-old daughter

Father's Day

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Father's day cards covered in glitter and a surprise, what more could Carmy ask for?

High School

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Carmy didn't like high school, but he did like you, so when you asked him to come speak to this year's graduating class, how could he say no?

Food is Love

~Requested~ (forgot to give it a title) Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader After the passing of your father, you have a hankering for "Daddy Soup." You can't figure out the recipe, so you enlist the help of your Michelin star boyfriend to figure it out

Slumber Party

~Requested~ Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader You didn't take Carmy as a 3-in-1 guy but I guess sleeping over at his place for the first time gives you a good amount of insight on your boyfriend.

Feral

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader After work fun ~ MDNI 18+

Our Future (2 Parts)

Richard "Richie" Jerimovich x Reader Age gaps can be difficult. Being at two different times in your life makes the idea of the future seem impossible. Part 1: Our Future Part 2: Our Present

Social Media Manager: The Series

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Marcus's friend Rusty is intriguing, and Carmy wants to get to know her better. Why not hire her to revamp The Bear's social media pages? Part 1: Introductions and Donuts Part 2: Meetings, Meetings, Meetings Part 3: Drinks? Part 4: Bars and Miscommunication

The Carmy Blurb Playlist

A collection of Carmy blurbs inspired by songs I dig that give me Carmy vibes

A Different Point of View

Natalie Berzatto's POV on the events of Season 1

Cigarettes Multiverse (3 Parts)

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader MDNI 18+ Friends with benefits worked for you and Carmy until it didn't. Part 1: Cigarettes - Rozei Part 2: Girlfriend Treatment Part 3: Boyfriend Treatment

Six Months (5 parts)

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Six months postpartum and six months of celibacy, is a sexually frustrated Carmy going to risk his marriage and future relationship with his daughter for a woman who smells like artificial vanilla? Part 1: Six Months Part 2: The Night It Went Wrong Part 3: The Aftermath Part 4: Two Months Part 5: Healing

Three-Three-Three

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Based on the fridge scene of the S2 finale; you help Carmy calm down when he's having a panic attack

You're un-beet-liveable

Sydney "Syd" Aduam x Male Reader (actually, it's Paul Mescal) A cute delivery guy makes Syd a little less annoyed that Carmy asked her to come in early.

Is this what you were looking for?

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Carmy has a habit of misplacing his wedding ring, so he came up with a better alternative.

The Playdate

Richard "Richie" Jerimovich x Reader Tiffany asks if Richie can pick Eva up from a playdate.

Lockdowns & Ladyfingers

Chef Luca x Reader Luca is the hot neighbor, after getting the 411 from the grannies in the building; you make your move.

Our Life

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader You see Carmy's sketchbook and can't help but fall more in love with him.

Love Story

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Just a sweet lil narrative of Carmy fallin' for you

Sorry?

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader The story of the time you don't get off MDNI 18+

Cooking Class

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader "Six Months" universe spin-off sorta... Sugar actions off a cooking class hosted by our favorite little chef,. Carmy is a sexy man here's his response to some unwanted flirtation.

That Poster Trend

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader With Carmy's 30th birthday fast approaching, you were struggling to figure out the perfect gift for him—at least until you were reminded of that TikTok beer poster trend.

Fatherhood: Carmy Berzatto

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto's adventures in single fatherhood.

Proposal Gone Wrong

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Carmy wants nothing more than to marry you; unfortunately, with his luck, Murphy's Law took over.

How do you do it?

Richard "Richie" Jerimovich x Reader Richie's at his wits end with Carmy. Some advice may make it a little better.

To Chicago and Beyond

Carmen "Carmy" Beratto x Reader Long distance becomes short distance- so short you're within arm's reach of each other.

The Joy Of Cooking

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader You and Carmy are moving in together; nothing bad could happen, right?

Gimme a Minute

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Just something I threw together while I was waiting for my individual supervision session to start.

Drunken Escapades

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader It turns out you met Mikey before he passed; you just didn't know it. Part 1: Drunken Escapades Part 2 : Drunken Escapades Brought Us Here(MDNI 18+)

No Phone Policy

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader I'm in an angsty mood; I'm sorry, everyone. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 The Prequel Part 5 Part 6

Allergic to Sunshine

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Request!

Double Trouble

Richard "Richie" Jerimovich x Reader MDNI 18+ Double the trouble but twice the joy. Thank you, God, for giving me a twin. Do you ever have one of those stupid ideas that sticks in your brain even though it feels kinda stupid? Yea... that's what this was. Part 1: Double Trouble Part 2: I'll Raise You One Better Part 3: Wedding of the Year

Coffee Run

Sydney "Syd" Adamu x Reader Someone requested a Syd x fem reader story a few months ago, and here it is!

Hot Stuff

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Request! Carmy with a plus size reader and him comforting her while she’s not feeling pretty.

Written Romance

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Request! Carmy finds love in an indie book shop.

Non-Casual Dominance

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader MDNI 18+ Carmy gets a little dominant on you.

Worm Universe

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader MDNI 18+ Carmy got you pregnant, and boy, oh boy, was it a wild ride. Part 1: Would you still love me if I was a worm? Part 2: Yes I Would

Mr. Berzatto

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Carmy's Dad left the family when he was a kid. Everyone assumed he was dead or in jail or fled the country, who knows. Turns out he never left Chicago, when he turns up in your vintage shop, you're none the wiser.

Verified Lover

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x OC The chef and the popstar's iconic love story Track 1: Blue Check Heart