#am I in heaven yet

[puppyeared]

good morning sifloop nation

[eveningdawn222]

people who act like batman isn't "judge jury and executioner" because he doesn't kill people are like. genuinely so funny to me because. they're very obviously thinking of "executioner" as like. the stereotypical guy with axe who chops people heads off, and not, yknow, the literal definition of the idiom itself, which is about someone who has the ability to judge and then subsequently punish someone unilaterally. which is quite literally what batman does.

he has the ability to decide what is a "crime" to him, he is the one who decides whether people are guilty of those crimes, and he is the one who executes their punishment. the severity of the punishment doesn't matter - he is unaccountable to anyone else, and indeed is allowed to commit as many crimes as needed to reach his arbitrary ideal of "justice."

the ideal of batman is this: a man who is so fundamentally changed by an act of senseless violence that he takes it upon himself to fight back against the rot and corruption in the world. he does this not through political activism, not through ridding himself of his wealth in favor of a greater good, not through community outreach, but through an individualistic fantasy of being a hero.

and you'll say: charlie, but he does do that !!! he donates his money all the time, he funds social programs, hospitals, orphanages, gets people jobs -

and i will say this: so why don't things get better?

because here's the base of it. gotham, at its core, can't get better. no matter what bruce wayne does, there will always be more crime, more villains, more death, more people for batman to beat up in back alleys. because that's what sells.

reoffending rates don't matter in gotham, prison reform doesn't matter in gotham, what actually causes crime doesn't matter in gotham because that doesn't sell books.

and so here it is; dc has unintentionally created a world where batman can't win, but can't be wrong, and where thousands of nameless, faceless, only-created-to-die civilians must be pushed into the meat grinder that is gotham, to fuel bruce wayne's angst and vindicate his constant, tireless, noble fight against the forces of evil.

and then: a new robin, who is poor and who's parents are dead or gone because of this cycle; who is happy go-lucky and hated by editors and fans for being robin, for not being dick grayson, for being poor.

and this robin is written, unintentionally or not, to be angry at the ways in which batman's (the narrative's) idea of justice is detached from its victims. bruce seems perfectly fine to allow countless unnamed women to be at risk from garzonas in his home country, yet robin is the one who is portrayed as irrational and violent.

this robin is not detached from gotham in the way bruce wayne is: this robin is a product of gotham.

(and here's the thing. you can't punch aids. you can't fight a disease with colorful fights and nifty gadgets. and how would robin dying from aids add to batman's story; it would call into question the systemic changes that haven't been made in gotham. how does a child get aids, in batman's city?)

so robin dies, and then bruce (the narrative) spends the next couple of decades blaming it on him. it is jason's fault; he was reckless, he just ran in, he thought it was all a game. if only bruce had seen what was coming, if only he could have known that jason wasn't rich enough or smart enough or liked enough to be robin.

batman gets a little more violent, a little more self destructive. he hurts people more and almost (!!) kills a couple guys. this is bad because it's self destructive and "not who he is." it is not bad because batman should not be able to just beat people up when he's angry.

and then he gets a shiny new robin - who is all the things jason "wasn't": rich and smart and rational and he doesn't put who batman is into question. batman and robin are partners, and jason is a grave and a cautionary tale, and (crucially here) never right.

the joker kills thousands and it doesn't matter because they were written to be killed.

batman beats up thousands and it doesn't matter because they were written to be criminals.

and then jason comes back, and nothing has changed. there is a batman and a (shiny! rich!) robin and the joker kills thousands. (because it sells)

and jason is angry - he has been left unavenged - his death has meant nothing, just as willis' had, just as catherine's had, just as gloria's had, just as -

thousands. ten of thousands. hundreds of thousands. written to be killed.

but one of them gets to come back.

and he is angry - not only at the joker, but at bruce (the narrative) - because why is the joker still alive (when thousands-)

here is the thing - jason todd is right. not because the death penalty is good, not because criminals deserve to die, not because of everything he says -

but because of what he calls into question. why is the joker alive?

because he sells books.

and dc has written a masterful character, through no fault of their own, because jason knows what is wrong, and he knows who is at fault - batman. (the narrative)

so the argument that bruce can't kill because he's not judge jury and executioner; the argument that jason is a cop or that jason is insane or that jason is in the wrong here; they hold no weight.

batman can't kill the joker because the joker sells comic books.

and jason can't kill the joker because the joker sells comic books.

so he will beg and plead and grovel - he will betray everything that is himself, he will forsake his family and his city and kill himself - just so that bruce (the narrative) will let the joker die.

he was condemned to death by an audience, and after he came back he has spent his whole life looking us in the eyes and screaming, asking, pleading; why is the joker still alive?

why are thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands (the number doesn't matter, see, because they're just a number. not people. not real.) why are we expendable for his story? why did i have to die just for nothing to change?

and the answer is money. and the answer is the batman can never be wrong. and the answer is shitty writing. and the answer is -

nothing jason can ever change.

which is the worst of it all. he is a victim with no power, and no one else in the world can see it. he is raging and crying and screaming at his father and his writers and you - and it doesn't matter. jason doesn't matter. and he knows it.

[eyes-of-nine]

minimum wage coded scrunkly and his very good pupper

[muzsmocsing]

old man jenkins escaped the geriatric ward again

[sentientsky]

i had a vision

[fiberc]

warmups n doodles between comms

[kurikorso]

the deer prince and the golden doe

from chapter 34 of Salt00's fic Chick Magnet

please click for HD tumblr is killing this one

[dimsilver]

y’all know how sometimes toasted whole wheat English muffins with only butter are the best thing you’ve ever tasted? and then in a week or two they’re nothing special - it’s fried eggs; and then penne with pesto, and then gyros and hummus, and then cajun rice?

I think a healthy relationship with God is like that. because those things are all food - vital, necessary, nourishing, giving you life. that’s what knowing God needs to be like. but the same thing won’t always have the same flavor to you, and that’s okay! you can savor symbolism and then doctrine and then service and then fellowship…all of it, delicious.

[sainz100]

Carlos Sainz | F1 London Live in 2017 | x x x x x

[silverquillsideas]

The one with unwavering faith 🕊️

(Ticket to Heaven // Fourth Nattawat)

Ref :

[beastsovrevelation]

If it isn't my beloved celestial harpy, most holy Michael the Archangel herself (meaning, I turned this into proper line-art). ⚔ Good Omens has insulted her, but she will always be Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Host in my mind, and in my fics. I can only try to do her justice.

What do you think, should I colour it? It almost looks like a colouring page, I'm tempted to print it, and colour it with pencils or markers. ✏

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

here’s the thing: i want attention

here’s the other thing: if i am perceived in any way i will violently explode like a poorly maintained home brewery kit

[delintthedarkone]

Well You look like yourself but you're somebody else only it Aint on the surface

Well you talk like yourself no I hear someone else though now you're making me nervous

[eyes-of-nine]

I know it's completely not the point but like wtf was the plan for the xianle throne after xie lian's first ascension??? for a bunch of ppl so sure their crown prince was going to ascend and become a god they didn't really worry about a lack of a second crown prince (you know just in case) yeah sure they didn't last long enough to really have to properly think about it but like who were they going to put on the throne????? FUCKING QI RONG????? bc that would go great??!? HUHH????drought, famine, war and plague aside that kingdom was doomed from the moment xl ascended 💀💀

[marizch]

just have been here imagining a tgcf band au...

in my mind the main point would be the rock band "ghost city", with hua cheng as its lead singer, composer and guitarist; he xuan as bassist; and yin yu as manager and drummer. of course it was hua cheng's idea to start it and the other two were dragged by him. btw, yin yu might be overworked as usual, handling the bureaucratic and financial situations that involve the band, while he xuan also works as an actor (from where he knows shi qingxuan), but he lost a bet to hua cheng and now have to play with them.

on the other hand we have xie lian. he also used to be part of the music industry, maybe playing classical instruments in the same group as mu qing and feng xin. but after a lot of things went down, they’ve decided to quit it and follow their own paths, maintaining little contact. I can imagine him working in a flower shop now, but still enjoying music very passionately, looking for new bands and stuff, which leads him to being a fan of the upcoming success group, “ghost city”. he's also a longtime friend with shi qingxuan, who's an actress. one day she invites him to go to a show of that band he likes, because her work-colleague, who happens to be a member of it, gave her two tickets, and xie lian gladly accepts.

now thinking about the connection between xie lian and hua cheng. in his best days as a musician, xie lian could have founded a project to bring musical education to children and teenagers in need. that’s how he met hua cheng, a shy teenager wearing an eyepatch, who was very interested in his lessons and showed great potential, gaining his teacher's affection. 

xie lian had many students, as well as volunteers helping with the project, so it would be hard for him to recognise someone after all these years, especially when the person in question has changed so much. however, hua cheng never forgot the man who got him into music, gave him his first guitar and has been his inspiration since then. so it's a big surprise to him when,  after a show, xie lian and shi qingxuan meet the band in the back stages due to he xuan’s invitation.

xie lian also gets very surprised when the enchanting leader of the band shows to recognize him from his years as a classical musician, something that hasn't happened in quite a while, demonstrating also great knowledge about music in general. he doesn’t say anything about their past, but they get along well together since the beginning, to a point in which hua cheng insists that xie lian should open an exception for them and help them produce their next album. although being honored by the idea, the former musician asks for some time to think about it, they exchange numbers and decide to keep in touch no matter the decision. anyway, after some reluctance due to past traumas, shi qingxuan excitedly encourages him, and he decides to accept the offer. so he starts working with them almost daily, while keeping working in the flower shop half shift.

(another detail i think might be funny is that qi rong also auditioned to be part of “ghost city” at some point, but was rejected. since then, he has been working as a metal singer, and he consideres himself a rival to the band, although they never really cared about his attacks - and his music isn't even that good.)

[the-random-phan]

Shi Qingxuan~ <3