#because yj has too many characters

[vinelark]

do you have comic recs for someone who wants to get into tim and timkon? I read superman comics but your fic made me wanna know more about this character who makes me want to eat metal with how weird and scary he is (affectionate)

hello! and welcome to the “weird scary little guy who makes you want to eat metal” (or perhaps put him in a salad spinner) club

tim has many, many comics, so for the purposes of this i’ll go with some big arcs/series and then some random personal favs

a lonely place of dying (1989): aka tim’s intro, in which 13 y/o tim engages in his favorite pastime (stalking dick grayson), tries to be a family therapist, and somehow ends up in a cape and pointy boots at the end of it.

robin (1993): so much content spanning so many batman plotlines; this is just issue after issue of tim being the most 90s kid to ever 90s kid (and then 00s kid to ever 00s kid). also much of it is written by chuck dixon, who is good at being so homophobic that the characters loop right back around to being queer.

young justice (1998): for both tim and kon (and bart and cassie and the whole yj crew)! also featuring tim and kon both wearing gloves that are way too big for them. no idea what's going on there but it's kind of like when puppies have giant paws they haven't grown into yet.

red robin (2009): THE tim comic to me, partially because marcus to draws most of it (issue 6 on i believe) and the way he draws tim here is peak tim to me, and partially because tim is just balls to the wall bonkers in fucking yonkers the whole series. this spans his brucequest and damian becoming robin (and damian in this is so!! and dick is so!!) while tim takes his shaky next steps. he’s in his messy bitch era but also stuck at 17(?) so that just means he’s randomly making out with sort-of-adversaries on rooftops and thinking longingly of kon and getting fake engaged(??) to a girl he can barely ask on a first date. (it has scant few but still some good timkon moments here and there.) (and speaking of marcus to: this and this.)

a lonely place of living (detective comics) (2017): an arc in which everyone thought tim was dead but surprise! he was just stuck in a pocket dimension prison and now he has to come back and stop gun batman (again). feat. tim being wildly competent from page one. kon is, iirc, currently erased from the timeline but never fear, tim still manages to find a way to think about him.

random/short comics:

WF3: superboy & robin (1996): tim & kon solve a case together in a two-parter that is, as described by a reviewer on its league of comic geeks entry, "…a pretty fun meet cute, I mean team-up…" (basically: see above re: chuck dixon.)

knight terrors: robin (2023): a two-parter in which tim and jason are trapped in a sentient nightmare together. if you like those vibes definitely check out this fic.

nightwing (1996) #25: tim being an annoying little brother is something that can be so personal—

[donnatroyyyy]

A (very long) list of my (semi) unpopular DC opinions

The Batfam shouldn’t work together as a whole big group as vigilantes. Whenever that does happen it ends up being character suicide for AT LEAST two of them and also usually ends up minimizing all of them to one of the skills/traits they’re good at (or the archetypes the writer wants them to be). The only exception to this is if it’s a long arc covering an actual catastrophe where each issue covers a duo or trio within the big group. Otherwise they should stick to no more than 4 ppl at a time in a team up. Also, this obviously doesn’t apply to them as civilians, they’re literally family obviously they’re gonna hang out as a group.

The Teen Titans (2003) is the best writing but (one of the) worst teams. On the other hand the original Teen Titans run and NTT run are the best teams (imo) but have either really bad or really mediocre writing. We as a society need an OG TT or NTT run written well.

Roy struggling with a heroin addiction has so many more layers and nuances to it than struggling with alcohol because as a non-meta hero most of his fights were against something drug-related. As opposed to alcohol which is now seen as a normal thing for soldiers/heroes/warriors to fall on as a crutch, this medium uses alcohol addiction with every other character. Roy’s addiction to heroin would literally be an opposition to all that he’s ever stood and fought for, all that his family and friends ever fought and stood for, and way more interesting because of that.

Garth (like Donna) is one of the most powerful and interesting characters but is never given enough panel time. However, unlike Donna, writers would rather write him out of the teen titans before they actually write a good interpretation of him. And I don’t know why but his role in the Aquafam too has been dwindling with time.

Garth’s openness about his inferiority complex and his inferiority complex in general need more panel time, it’s one of the most interesting thing to come out of the OG TT run

This is a complicated take because it’s literally two opposites in one take, but the main difference in characters as seen in old comics vs. now is two things. One, the writing of characters was much better, much more realistic, and much more nuanced in old comics. Two, when there is a well-written character in modern comics its usually a more show not tell character so everything is shown to us through actions and stuff rather than straight up words or them psychoanalyzing themselves in their speech bubbles and that just doesn’t work with modern audiences because media literacy is a dying art. Also, there’s the variable of the influence of fanon over how characters are written in comics but that’s a whole other post.

Roy and Donna are literally THE OTP like I don’t even want to hear it, they’re literally DC’s percabeth.

Every single Teen Titan had an inferiority complex, some were just easier to see.

Selina and Bruce and Talia and Bruce are two very different relationships that can’t be compared. Also they will always live side by side till the end of comics, this love triangle was one meant to last, and it will.

Jason Todd as we know him right now should get the YJ Roy Harper treatment, we need to find out that he’s a clone and the real JT is somewhere in Africa working for UNICEF or something, that’s the only way to fix his character.

Also, ignoring the top one, if DC doesn’t want to commit to that because they’re cowards, they should at least not make him a part of the Batfam yet, it’s too soon for either side.

Kara Zor El is the perfect character to be a white lantern, her arc literally matches up perfectly with each of the rings, and she’d wield it incredibly

Kyle Rayner is top 3 GLs

In my opinion, Diana is best written when the most important thing to her in the world is the world itself. Like, usually I hate the whole “hero would sacrifice u, villain would sacrifice the world” thing cuz it mostly doesn’t really apply, but to her it absolutely does. Diana would sacrifice the closest person to her for the world in an instant if it was for the sake of the world. And this isn’t like an angst thing because they all know it and are all ok with it.

Also, Diana is one of the most if not the most powerful characters in all of DC, if DC did a Deadpool kills the marvel universe kind of thing they should totally use her because she is sooo powerful. (Afterthought: that’s why I hate most of her appearances in anything JL because they underpower her soooo bad)

I say this as a batfamily Stan, the batfamily is the worst family in all of DC and sadly the one that gets the most attention.

The OG TT are the epitome of superheroes in the sense that each and every one of them defines every part of a superhero spectacularly and always has.

Kory needs an arc where she leaves everyone and everything for a while because as of right now, not only do the writers only ever see her in relation to others, but she sees herself that way. She needs an arc where she finds herself in relation to herself, who SHE is. Away from the love triangle, and the titans, and the Titans, etc.

Babs is a better character outside of the love triangle than she is when she’s in it. (Also a better character as Oracle but that only really unpopular amongst writers)

Every single woman character in DC is written in relation to the men in the comics, even WW. The only exception is Oracle, not Babs, but Oracle, which is actually so twisted considering that the creation of Oracle as a character came hand in hand with an event that literally inspired the cloning of the phrase “fridging”

BOP is one of the best teams

Harley Quinn shouldn’t be a hero yet, she was abused for over a decade, we need to see more of her struggle to undo all of the manipulation and heal from the abuse as well as try to undo all the damage she’s done. The Animated Series is the best version of her arc but it’s still not good either.

We as a fandom(s) need to normalize the ability to consume and enjoy things we don’t necessarily agree with. For example, as I’ve stated before multiple times, I absolutely hate any kind of abusive Bruce, however, I still read those long posts about it and I still read fics where dck punches him cuz he’s an abusive asshole, it’s okay to consume media that you don’t necessarily agree with. And same with fanon versions of characters, I HATE coffee-addict Tim, I’ve still enjoyed hundreds of fics with him in them though.

Damian Wayne is the most compassionate member of the batfam and one of the Keats likely ones to willingly kill

Blue devil and kid devil have arguably the most interesting story and tragedy in all of DC and the only reason they’re not given a lot of attention is because their tragedies have to do with something we don’t like to see: the wrongdoings and flaws of heroes, especially ones we like.

Speed Saunders should’ve continued as a character

Hal Jordan should’ve stayed evil for a while, the end of the parallax arc sucks and is a stupid cop out because they weren’t ready for a fully new GL. I don’t think he should’ve stayed the villain forever, but maybe for a few years, especially if that meant they would’ve ended the arc better.

Mera is more powerful than Arthur, always has been and always will be.

Wally West does see Barry Allen as a father figure and vice versa, it’s okay to see someone as a parental figure when you still have parents, especially when your parents are (canonically) borderline emotionally abusive and/or neglectful.

Any iteration of ANY hero being abusive is the worst writing ever because what the actual fuck, I’m sorry, but what happened to the whole they’re literally fucking heroes part??

There are so many characters that deserve solo series (or even mini series) but don’t get them because all the series are already being taken up by bigger characters (looking at you batfam)

So many characters get mischaracterized for the sake of other character’s stories (again, looking at you batfam)

Anyone who thinks Superman is boring either doesn’t understand him as a character or hasn’t read enough stuff with him in it (I recommend All-Star Superman and/or American Alien)

Anyone who relates to the Joker needs to turn themselves in at the nearest police station. (Unless it’s LEGO Joker, we like him)

The LEGO Batman movie is unironically some of the best DC media to ever exist

Atlantis and Paradise Island should be allies (especially once Diana, Arthur, and Mera come into the picture), I don’t know why they’re not

Lex Luthor is one of the most despicable villains because he’s a realistic villain, which is much scarier

Kon should be the next Superman

Connor Hawke should’ve stayed Tim’s age and Tim’s friend, it makes the most sense timeline-wise plus I think their dynamic was super cute.

Comic writers not making Roy openly refer to Ollie as his dad even though they’ve been father and son since they’ve debuted basically is actually so crazy to me

These next few are about Talia Al-Ghul because I love that woman:

Talia Al-Ghul Pre-Morrison was one of the best and most interesting characters in all of DC and that isn’t just my opinion, she was really popular amongst fans and writers for that exact reason

However, Morrison’s damage to her is near irreparable

BUT, if DC did want to repair it, I genuinely believe she’d be the best character they’d have character-wise and it would probably pull in a bunch of new fans

But even if they don’t, Talia Al-Ghul is one of the most important characters in all of DC and comics in general because she’s literally the documented history of WOC in media (especially Arab and Asian women) as well as their relation to white men in media. Her character and how it changes is directly tied to mainstream views on WOC at the time.

Talia Al-Ghul is literally of “I Bet On Losing Dogs” by Mitski, personified

Dinah Lance is the perfect example of a complex character done right and interpreted wrong/not interpreted enough.

If anyone should be the therapist within the hero community it should be J’onn or Red tornado, those are the two that make the most sense.

Helena Bertinelli is more important to the batfam than Jason Todd is.

Cassandra Cain shouldn’t be portrayed as mute anymore, it doesn’t make sense for her character or her arc.

The worst thing to happen to Poison Ivy’s character is Harley Quinn.

Mera is made to be a mother, whether to her own kids (Garth included) or as a mother figure to other kids.

On the other hand, Stephanie Brown wasn’t ready and doesn’t/didn’t want to be a mother, she gave up her baby willingly and will almost 100% not go out to look for her.

Lady Shiva’s appearances 99% of the time are out of character for her, the whole “training with Shiva” thing is also OOC for her, and Cass even existing is OOC for her. The reason that this continues though is because she’s been transformed from an actual character into a character tool.

Stephanie Brown and Cassanadra Cain are a good duo and anyone who hates on one but likes the other misunderstood both of their characters.

Dick hating Jason for what he did to Tim IS in character of him, and, in my opinion, correct of him

The rise in people who don’t like heroes’s pacifism is concerning. People calling Bruce a bad person because he doesn’t kill is concerning. People viewing Clark as boring because he’s a good person is concerning. People liking straight up villains more than they do heroes is concerning.

Anyone who recommends mister miracle should also tell them about the TW in the first few pages

Kingdom come isn’t that good, especially to non-Christians

Big Barda needs her own run. We need a Bug Barda run that covers everything from her origins to where she is now, and we need it done by a female writer who’s good at complex and heavy stories

Some of the most hated comic writers are some of the best at what they do

Chuck Dixon is just as much a blessing to any character he writes as he is a curse

Marvel’s comic writers and artists 80% of the town do a better job with their characters and their arcs than DC writers and artists.

DC should have sensitivity readers because the amount of racism in these comics is insane

It’s okay to put down a comic/run because you don’t like the art, it’s your time no one’s gonna judge you

Alex Ross’s art is actually nice, people just like hating

The Trinity should never be shipped with one another

Steve isn’t important to Diana at all, he’s barely in any of her comics actually, he’s less important to her (or at least to her character) than fucking swamp thing

Batfam is better smaller

It’s better to read the first appearances of characters, it helps you understand them better.

Lois Lane is the DC version of Susan Storm, aka the blueprint of women in that company’s comics, but also one of the most forgotten women in that company’s comics

Comics aren’t going to go anywhere arcwise for the characters long term, that’s the whole point. Batman will always have a robin. Love triangles will always be love triangles. They will all always stay young.

Old campy comics were better than modern comics.

Cheshire isn’t a redeemable character and shouldn’t be one. Women in comics should be allowed to be straight up villains and stay that way.

Cheshire having Lian is OOC. Cheshire leaving Lian is a racist trope.

Asian and Arabs are treated horribly by DC.

The New 52 is actually a good place to start for new readers, it was a good idea, but it should’ve just been an alternate universe (like mcu is to 616 kind of) or something (and it should’ve been down with the supervision of anyone who isn’t Dan didio)

DC has some of the best world building in the history of modern day media/literature especially considering how many facets of this world there were/are to build

Team rosters that are constantly changing are better than stationary ones unless they change too much/too fast

Canon is hypocritical 90% of the time, most times canon clashes and crashes and doesn’t make sense, so don’t worry about it, read a comic, count what you want to be canon as canon, throw the rest into to the “never existed” pile

I’m sorry to tell you guys this, but it isn’t an opinion, it’s an unpopular canon fact, one that even I don’t like: Dick Grayson likes pineapple one pizza

Something that I hate that been on the rise a lot lately is the fact that the fandom is so okay with character being sexualized just because they like how the characters look, I feel like we should keep our stances on this as they are with all over-sexualized characters.

Villains of the week are actually so fun, even more then the big villains sometimes.

JSA needs a comeback please and thank you (I’m begging atp)

Cassandra Cain shouldn’t be Orphan, ever, it makes no sense for her to take the name of her abused. The same way it doesn’t make sense for Jason to become red hood.

Complex characters who are dumbed down once can be dumbed down and mischaracterized every time after that, and this has been done A LOT.

The YJ shows is very much overhyped

The fact that DC overpowers their characters makes them more interesting, not less

Selina was right and in character when she left Bruce at the alter. She was not right and in character when she hid Helena from him, she wouldn’t do that.

Bruce Wayne is more fun to read when he has a pipe and fun colored robes, please give him back his pipe and his fun colored robes.

[periwinklekryptonite]

hey hi how does travis parallel common feminine tropes? i need to hear from the travis expert

Okay, so the "Problem" is that there's a preface and conclusion that's, like, way longer than just my bit about Travis's funny little parodies and then genuine relationship with femininity. While answering this ask, I realized just how big it is and I don't want to unload all of it here because I am just. Too tired all of the time to have all of it done in one swipe, and my attempt to do so ended up frustrating me more than anything LMAO

I write this with the promise that I'll expand on it and actually get to the meat of your question. I have a lot of it written, already!

The preface is easy: what's up with Travis and his relationship with gender?

Travis is trying to present as a very masculine, powerful character. It's an easy defense mechanism when he's alone in a crowded room. The thing many people fail to consider is that he doesn't know any of these people, and he probably dislikes most (if not all) of them on principal. The girls have a bond that existed in the before times, and Travis doesn't. He's an outsider. He's trying to grasp for some semblance of control by playing a sort of parody of the stoic, macho man... and it doesn't work.

Because of how he does this, a lot of people into the show are not into Travis. He's one of the only characters that are overtly and loudly misogynistic. It makes sense that people don't want to look past that when he acts so nasty. This means many write him off as exactly what Travis wants people to think he is.

Kevin Alves says it best in his Boys by Girls interview. I suggest reading the whole thing, it says a lot of what I'm saying and more.

So, even though he's pushing this masculine agenda when he's in the wreck with all the girls, my assumption in him has always been that he's never been the most big or the most masculine of guys at school. This is him really trying to pretend to be someone that he is not, this is not him.

This dramatized, fictional version of him is how he thinks he'll find a place within the group. The alternative is getting Coach Ben-ed and slowly being ousted from the group. Sitting in the back room and rotting in complete solitude just seems like a downer.

(Here he is looking sad for emphasis)

Travis was never the top dog. The girls do not take him seriously when he acts like this, and he probably wasn't taken very seriously in school. His insecurities lead to a lot of failures in his relationship with Javi and Nat, and no relationship with anyone else. If it continued any further than it did, he would've died for this. Like with Jackie, he'd be frozen out.

What Travis learns, and we learn as well, is that to be part of the in-group, you must also be a part of the dominant culture in the cabin and Wilderness itself. For Travis to be a part of the Yellowjackets, Travis must also be one of the girls.

Travis's story, the link between season 1 and season 2, is one of transition.

Some interpret this as a social transition, but I believe it to be literal.

The surviving group is not "the Yellowjackets and also Travis." By the end of season 2, (actually by the end of Qui,) Travis is indistinguishable from the rest. He's eaten Jackie with them, he's given blood to Shauna, he's taken blood from Lottie, he has led the group in their second act of cannibalism. Travis is a Yellowjacket.

Credit where credit is due:

@monstrousgourmandizingcats really helped me grind out these ideas and has a lot of cool YJ takes in general, and most of the screenies were given to me by @nicothecowboy.

Now, for YJ Fic Writer's Weekend I should hopefully have the part of this that you asked about ready. Until then, I have some interviews, and I cannot recommend the PaleyFest panel more. It has a lot about Travis in S2 and his relationship with Nat and Lottie.

[jayladfanpage]

What would be your ideal Outlaws team + how would you go about writing/constructing it? <3

My ideal team is, maybe a little predictably, Jason Todd Eddie Bloomberg and Rose Wilson.

Gosh uhm!! First of all, little to no Gotham issues. I prefer Jason when he isn't in Gotham, or is at least not interacting with the Bats, so it's just easier to have him be somewhere else. Most likely, I'd start it off in Hollywood, because I see it starting with Freshly Revived Eddie (p sure he like, just got revived in the new Flash?) not really understanding what happened for him to die and plus he's just... alone. So he texts Jason and Rose to come visit him! But then when Jay and Rose get there (already skeptical bc hello, Jason hasn't seen Eddie since they were 15 and Rose is literally Eddie's ex) Eddie gets kidnapped by a demon/magician/brother blood/etc and Jay and Rose have to go after him and that sets up the start of the comic

I'd take a more magical route with it, personally. Obviously to connect it to Eddie's whole thing as a demon hunter but also to try and fix the All-Caste stuff that Lobdell came up with. Lots of potential there if it came from a better writer. I don't think Rose does anything with magic in canon, but I do always enjoy watching characters have to adapt to seriously fucked up shit. (Plus, she has Slade's meta powers. She'll be fine.)

This is also like, you know, THE daddy issues team. So many conversations to be had between Jason and Rose about their dads bc Bruce and Slade are eerily similar in how they cope with their respective issues. Jason and Eddie can also connect over their bio dads being kind of shit (I say kind of because there's nothing I hate more than physically abusive Willis Todd. I am not kidding when I say that's the worst Jason retcon that Lobdell has ever come up with) and how they never felt wanted or loved by their parents. All three of them can relate to how their parents' abandonment (or, in Rose's case, Slade's lack of knowledge) shaped them as people. Lotssss of parallels to be drawn here

Also, obviously, Roy Harper cameo. But get this. He's here because of ROSE. I do enjoy platonic jayroy (and romantic but I don't want it to be canon) but I think the connection Roy has with Rose is a little deeper. I think he'd want to check on her after so many years (he was her foster dad! for fucks sake!) and make sure that she's doing well, considering he knows how Jason can Get.

There would also most likely be a YJ/Tim's TT crossover because duh, Eddie and Rose were in TT03 and Jason has his whole Thing (negative) with Tim, but I'm gonna be so vulnerable here and admit that the only TT03 issues I read are the ones with Mia in them + #42 + the one where Rose lights up her cigarette with Eddie's mouth fire. So, you know, can't give much insight here. Not really a Titans fan regardless of the team itself but if this Outlaws was to ever happen I'd want the author to include them in something.

Also, I think we should get a special issue where Slade repeatedly gets his ass kicked. Rose doesn't even participate but Jason and Eddie do it in her honor. Just for funsies

OH ALSO. I'd want them to bring an artist from the 2000s back. I just don't like the current art styles nearly as much </3 unless it's Ngozi. Ngozi's art is too cute to say no and I would kill to see her draw Rose!! Or or, Jason Fabok, because his art is just everything

[staghunters]

Happy Birthday to her! Vampfic Jackie you will always be famous :3

Alt Version and ramble under the cut haha

Wowza, a whole year!

Wouldn't have thought it to feel so long and short at the same time. If I had to look at all the stuff that happened inbetween posting that first chapter and whatever I'm doing now, there's so much change in there. And definitely all for the better!

I've met so many cool people in the span of this year. Very noteworthy case being @ordinaryhorror, since we started talking because of vampire!jackie, and then werewolf!jackie, and before you know it, you're on a train to Spain hugging the biggest dork in the world (love ya, my buddy, my pal). Oh no now there's a series rewatch, Ah no now a discord server and mutuals and aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa so many nice peeps!

Talking about fandom as something Big in my life feels a bit cringe, but in this case that rings very true. I think I put somewhere before that, ever since I got into YJ, my inspiration for making things has spiked for the first time in over a decade.

AND for the first time it really got me into writing fic. So that's why this is a bit of a special occassion, since the vampfic was the first multi-chapter thing of considerable length that I started with. It really forced me to think about a number of things like: - how the fuck do I outline things - what's good pacing - this could be a fun thing to include, but would it make sense - aaaaa multiple characters interacting and they all have their own personality and likes/dislikes about others aaaaaaa

A great lesson!

I liked working on it, and where the story ended up. I don't really re-read it except for the comments and chapter 7, since of that one i really am proud. On other fronts I feel that if I were to stare at it for too long, the flaws would begin to annoy me and I would want to fix things, which is not something I want to do.

If anything, I want to put the same level of energy into a new project.

Thanks for reading! And if you didn't, still super-duper thankful to have you here. Just knowing that there's people in the world that vibe with what I think of/make really is enough to me

Cheers <3

[bigskydreaming]

#i know youre mostly a Dick guy but your tim. chefs kiss.#i dont even go here anymore and i had to rb @mollyhats

The great tragedy of Tim for me is I actually love 90s Tim and his dynamic with his YJ team and with Dick and many others. Its only post Final Crisis Tim that I don't really have much interest in, in terms of comic book canon, and I don't find anything really compelling about most depictions I see of Tim in fandom. Like I just mean, the vast majority of people don't seem to view Tim the way I do, or emphasize the same aspects of him, and Tim in and of himself isn't enough of a fave that I feel compelled to yell and expound upon my takes on him in spite of that. The way I do with Dick or even Jason when I have vastly different takes on them than other people seem to.

And I admit there definitely is an element of....annoyance, at play - like even though (as you know) I vehemently disagree with presumptions that Dick was an ass to Jason when they were younger, with that being a big part of the basis for why so many Jason stans hate him, I get that there wasn't a ton of material written about Dick and Jason when they were younger, showing a strong relationship that's to the contrary of how the fanon usually characterizes them at that time.

The difference with Tim, and how so much of his fandom seems to view Dick and their dynamic and history.....is that there's well over a decade's worth of material showing Dick constantly dropping everything to prioritize Tim when the latter needed him, no questions asked, and this STILL wasn't enough to keep fandom from characterizing Dick as this terrible, selfish, ungrateful brother who doesn't deserve Tim as of the first instant Dick DIDN'T default to prioritizing Tim above all others. And not even because he didn't want to, but because he had other people who needed him too, with conflicting needs/wants, and no one person can be all things to JUST one other person 24/7. Sometimes other people have to get to come first too. Sharing is caring, lmfao.

But yeah, the way Dick so often gets thrown under the fandom/fanfic bus in the name of propping up Tim, specifically in the form of being characterized as a shitty brother who never cared about Tim or EVER put him first, when there's like......dozens upon dozens of comics characterizing them to the contrary of that.....it grates, in a way that makes me just not want to engage all that much.

So all of that plays into why I'm generally....aloof about Tim other than posts or meta meant as course correction for stuff where fanon has completely overtaken canon and misrepresented huge elements of Dick and Tim's history, like with the Red Robin era. And why I'm not particularly driven to write about him in specific, in fic or meta. But when I do, especially when depicting him in fic or writing snippets, I don't find it hard to write him favorably, because I DO genuinely like him at a lot of points in the comics. Its just *waves hand* a lot of fandom bullshit that gets in the way.

Its not like we're not all aware that sometimes stans of characters can be their faves' own worst enemies. And I say that with full self-awareness and recognition that my own intensity or takes about Dick Grayson have most likely been as off-putting to some fans of other characters as I find them to be, lmao. Round and round and round we go.

But anyway.....my preferred takes on Tim, or default mental view of him, is as a chaotic, irreverent little shit whose sense of humor and tendencies to stir things up are not at all dissimilar to most of his siblings.....he's just more deadpan about it. Which is something many of the others play up at times too, but with them its just one of many angles from which they approach their own respective senses of humor, whereas Tim I see as someone who prides himself on never 'breaking' and keeping up appearances of stern or quiet or detached professionalism even while he's cackling about something on the inside. I see him as a big fan of plausible deniability, but not in any way actually humorless or anything like that.

[are-uwu]

Ok while my computer is getting fixed I decided to write something from the TSQ au to put some lore about it.

The Au relates that Jaime and Jay were part of the second YJ team after the team from the first season of Young justice.

The two of them were very close. They went from teammates to friends quickly because of similarity in age and because they basically had each other literally. Jay being compared to Dick when he made somewhat abrupt decisions on missions. While Jaime has to learn on his own how to be a hero as he has no proper mentor (Here Jaime would have the help of Peacemaker, Guy Gardner and Ted Kord's notes) and those who try to help him don't give him what he needs in regards to Khaji Da.

So when they feel abandoned or overwhelmed, they would go to each other. Thanks to that closeness they became friends outside the team, to the extent of knowing each other's true identities.

This closeness helped them to improve in many cases.

Jaime's calmness helped Jay not to explode many times with Batman or make risky decisions in missions. Alfred is thankful that his grandson's friend keeps him from coming back with more bruises and stitches than usual, besides teaching him how to skateboard.

And Jason's strong character influenced Jai to be more confident in correcting someone when they call him by his old name or refer to him by his wrong gender (Jai is a trans guy and here I want to explore the complications of his transition socially like Blue Beetle and Jaime Reyes. And before you assume, here the reyes and khaji unconditionally support and love Jai throughout his process) and also help him with school homework from time to time.

As time went by, their friendship grew stronger and new feelings arose in both of them. Love.

They knew it, everyone knew they loved each other.....

Too bad they couldn't confess to each other... because Jay after a failed mission to find his biological mother, ended up dying at the hands of the joker.

Jai came back to see the person he loved inside a coffin. In shock and tears, Jaime Reyes whispered "I love you" over and over again during the funeral, while his father held him so he wouldn't collapse from the pain and loss.

Jaime left the team some time later. And the following years he dedicated himself to being a solo hero in palmera city. And in his civilian life he dedicated his time to his family and studies.

On the altar of the reyes family there is a photograph of him and Jay that was taken after their first outing as friends.

That relative calm changed when Nightwing found him and asked for a life-changing favor (and boy, was he not wrong). That's when Blue Beetle met Tim Drake, the third Robin.

The proposal was for Jai to help train the new team and they believe that someone with the experience of having been a fairly young hero the new generation would better understand him.

In short, he would be a nanny in armor.

To begin with, Jai was going to refuse as he was still feeling some negative feelings and mostly homesickness. But when he saw Tim in the uniform, the robin symbol, the excitement of meeting the Blue Beetle and hearing about how Tim discovered the identity of batman and basically took the suit and called himself robin. He couldn't help but agree not only because of that but this time he wanted to make sure that this time no kid like him and...Jay.. go through what they went through.

The new team consists of:

Tim Drake (Robin)

Cassie Sandmark (Wonder girl)

Kon-El (Superboy)

Bart Allen (Impulse)

At the beginning they had their difficulties, but with time they became very close. The team went from seeing Blue Beetle as a babysitter to a mentor and ultimately as a cool older brother who takes the time to be there for them, takes the trouble to listen to their daily routines, memorizes everyone's likes and dislikes, becomes their first defender when a League member berates them after missions, is their shoulder to cry on. Basically he is always there if they need him no matter how far away he is.

This also helped Jaime in his healing journey. After leaving the yj he became more reserved, sullen and only gave tired smiles.

But when he met these children he began to have small noticeable changes in the way he was. He was smiling and laughing more, he started to be more extroverted and to go back to being the Jaime he was before Jason's death and he realized that.

And from then on he promised himself that he would be the hero and person that he and Jason wanted to be when they grew up. He would do it because it would honor the memory of the boy he would still love in spite of everything.

Unfortunately, the crime lord Red Hood would come to bring instability as he came to Gotham to hunt down those with whom he has unfinished business and Jaime is one of those targets.

[lottiescutecultt]

top three yj characters and why?

1. jackie taylor or shauna shipman - because they're gay. these two characters are my top one because it's hard to choose among them but also because they're one whole person together. like i love how well both of them are written, even in past and in the present. and all their scenes : the exchanging of the necklace as a symbol of love, the jealousy, the betrayal, shauna putting the necklace in the neck of the girls she hunts so that she could eat jackie over and over again (cannibalism has often been portrayed as a symbol of love in many literatures), their little staring at each other moments, jackie haunting shauna forever, shauna keeping her old diaries and clothes just so she could revisit their time in the wilderness. i will start crying now :(

2. misty quigley - she has to be the greatest fictional character ever created cause omg??? the way she actually CRIED when she killed (accidentally killed) nat. i really like her because how complex her character is. she was willing to help all the other girls in the past (even tho she was the one to destroy the black box lol) and even in the present w/o any second thought. probably is one of the most interesting character of yj

3. laura lee - first of all laura lee my bbg didn't deserve to die like that – in a fucking plane explosion??? like she already survived the plane crash then why ahh. but on the serious note, her character too, like misty's is really interesting. even tho she had a short role, she created quite a few plots for the show and her death was so necessary and important for the show. because you see laura would never let lottie literally start a CANNIBALISTIC cult like never ever!! and even if she didn't die she would never participate in the cult. not willingly, never and then she would either be hunted down by the other girls or she'd have to die starving so yes, her death does make a lot of sense. laura's innocence and willingness to sacrifice herself for others are what made me love her so much.

ty @the-lonelyshepherd for asking such an interesting question <3333

[punkeropercyjackson]

The reduction of Stephanie Brown down to being just a white blonde girl needs to end.That was never all she was,even back in the Robin 1993 days-Did most of her charactet revolve around Tim at first?Yes but he was literally the protagonist and she was the love interest so it was necessary to make them a big part of eachother's lives to make their romance make sense and she gets more and more fleshed out as the run goes on and this extends to her 90s Yj guest starring,her Detective Comics issues and all the Batgirl runs up until to the point where SHE HERSELF became Batgirl because that's how much of her own character she was by then.You cannot seriously call yourself a Stephanie stan if you read all those years of her life and came to the conclusion that the only important part of her character is her having a 'desirable' hair color by white standards

Stephanie Brown has anger issues and violent tendencies and self-worth issues that she tries her best cope with through presenting herself as having unflincing self-confidence that eventually became real to an extent and the reason for all of this is that she grew up with an abusive dad and a drug addict mom yet she was brave and capable enough to stand up to him by becoming a vigilante at 15 without even having powers or special training and ended up being one of the best Gotham's ever seen anyway.She loves all kinds of food,anything and everything purple and girly,weird things,sports,video games,causing chaos and art.She's a shameless flirt but that dosen't mean she goes for just anyone because she has standards for herself and she refuses to give up on anyone but especially herself even if she wants to sometimes and she got murdered as Robin but Gotham ressurected her because it believed in HER too(Idc about the 'was just in Africa' shit DC tried to pull,that's what actually makes sense with the actual lore)and she's so kind to kids that it blurrs the line between big sister figure and pseudo-mom

And yet nonstop,the Batfam fandom can't look past her hair color-It's always 'the blonde Robin' instead of the girl one,making her listen to fucking Taylor Swift as if she's a not huge feminist both in-universe and in a meta sense,calling her an 'It Girl' and 'Preppy' as if she wasn't either a normal student or a troubled kid depending on the writer and sometimes even both and weird as fuck in literally all her incarnations,reducing Tim's pure and well-intended love for her down to her being conventially attractive and even Cass can't escape it because white wlw can't understand that Stephanie and her are canonically equals on every level so they see her as nothing but Stephanie's woc cheerleader gf who has no existense outside of her

Steph's not written like a soulless Barbie doll with no personality or arcs outside of being a girl,she's multilayered and written like a PERSON.You guys are straight up somehow even more misogynistic to her than DC is and i am NOT going to keep my mouth shut while y'all call removing her entire character to make her a cishet gender stereotyped fantasy 'girlbossing' and especially not canon.This is why i give her black hair and brown eyes in my blasian design for her even though it makes her less recognizable because not only do i want her to actually look like me since half the reason i have that hc for her is that i'm black mixed and she's so much like me in so many ways but also because y'all's obsession with acting like blondeness is a personality trait is weird,gross and deeply unserious.Aaaaaand end rant

[vinelark]

With the exciting news of Kon being in MAWS season 3 (!!!!!), do you have an specific recs for him when it comes to comics? (I know Young Justice is good for him, but not much outside of that)

hello! exciting news indeed!!! and hell yeah, here are some kon-centric comics outside of yj that i’ve enjoyed reading:

Reign of the Supermen arc (1993)

this arc has kon’s intro, well before he even had the name kon, and it’s worth a read if you haven’t already because of the way he shows up and is peak annoying immediately (said with love). especially Adventures of Superman #501! (the storyline spans a number of titles, reading order here)

(and for a related rec, the reign of the superman (2019) animated movie blends aspects of the original comic arc with the “kon is made with lex luthor’s dna” reveal/retcon; it’s a fun watch! left me with Much To Think About pang-wise, too.)

Superboy (1994)

the most concentrated amount of og jacket and glasses superboy you’ll find in one series; there’s a lot going on here, most of it so very 90s (both in the plot/world and on a more meta level) and also so many adorable kons. special shoutout to my favorite side character, krypto in his “tiny white terrier with a giant attitude” form. (and for a more specific rec i’ll point to issues #60 - 61, in which kon is hopping through multiple realities and we see, among others, robin!kon and “supergrrrl” kon.)

Batgirl (200) #41

this is the issue where cass goes “hmm, i should try to do A Romance” and shows up outside kon’s window to see what all the fuss is about, and they proceed to have the most lavender date of all lavender dates. i adore kon’s inability to shut up here, and also for obvious reasons need to give it a special shoutout for kon taking a “bat-babe” on a date in the clouds.

Adventure Comics (Vol 2) #1 - 6 (2009)

this arc serves to re-settle kon into the world (and smallville) after the whole [waves hand] dying and coming back to life thing. (technically it’s 12 issues, but you’re asking for specific recs so my specific recs are the first six!) this is about kon starting life in smallville and having a prolonged identity crisis re: the superman + lex luthor of it all. cassie, bart, and tim all show up as significant guest stars (one of my fav tim & kon issues of all time is in here) but it’s very kon-centric! i also really enjoy the art, especially when it does wide/landscape shots.

Superboy (2010)

this is a pretty direct continuation from the adventure comics arc, once again feat. kon’s 21st century black t-shirt (sigh) and also kon wearing the tiniest, goofiest pair of Disguise Glasses. that said, it’s a fun, classic “teen superhero juggles school and crushes and a statistically high number of supervillains for a small town (seriously, what the hell was poison ivy even doing in kansas?)” series. also if there were any justice in the world simon valentine would’ve been one of those crushes, but alas.

Convergence: Superboy (2015) #1 - 2

i’ll be honest, i’m not super familiar with the overarching convergence storyline, but i really enjoyed this two-shot featuring a kon who has been stuck in metropolis without his powers, only to suddenly gain them back and immediately start brawling with alternate versions of heroes he knows. i also like the art in this one, and the character designs overall—leather jacket kon my beloved!

Action Comics (2016) #1020 - 1028 (“House of Kent” arc)

this sequence brings kon back into the kent family fold after the timeline fuckery (and i think follows from the young justice (2019) gemworld arc where they re-find kon?)—so basically it’s kon’s re-introduction to clark, and to lois and jon (who’s visiting from his own future adventure) and kara and martha and jonathan. despite spelling conner’s name two different ways in the span of a few issues, it’s a neat speedrun of different kon+superfam interactions, and also a fun time for anyone who’s a fan of kon being solidly part of the kent family. also: jacket kon is back 🙏

this is not at all an exhaustive list, just some of my favs--happy reading!

[dangermousie]

W Two Worlds is a rare drama that is even better on rewatch because now you know where it's going, you catch so much additional stuff.

Knowing YJ is the original creator of Kang Chul doesn't just answer the question of how she can be transported into that world but turns the narrative, as I mentioned, into a fight between two creators (YJ and Dad) about the direction of the story.

And in a way, it has a lot to say about fandoms and creators' interactions with it and attitudes in general - it is not insignificant that it's the middle-aged man who wants this story to be all bleak existential despair and end in "there is no meaning" and it's coooool for there to be an unexpected ending even if said ending makes no narrative sense - he wants to go art house!!!! And it's a young woman who wants this to be a story about justice triumphant and love found and hope and happy ending.

It's very much reflecting reality where the latter is often looked down on as inferior (and resented for being more popular) and just "nonsense young women like" (think of the degree of vitriol at worst and contemptuous disdain at best genres and works and things hugely popular with women get.)

And how much do I love that it's the young woman's vision that ultimately triumphs? Heck, one can view YJ as a self-insert/Mary Sue character and the fact that she ends up with the protagonist she created is honestly such a delightful nod to so many fandom things - and also that is perhaps why she triumphs. Because she loves the character she created, not resents him the way Dad does, and an author who loves the character (and by that I mean enjoys that world, that story, the characters - not necessarily like YJ fancies them) will always win over one for whom the act of creation is a resentful chore with no joy. (Side note - by choosing to live on that bridge, KC actually did a good deed for the Dad too - Dad himself admits this gave him hope in a really dark time; maybe that is why W universe rebels when he tries to kill KC - because repaying that with death is unjust.)

Also, as @aysekira and I talked about, it's really a religious parable too - because Kang Chul's mortal sins, sins his creator thinks he should die for are disobedience (ever since that moment on the bridge, he goes his own way more than once) and self-awareness - think of the expulsion from Paradise in the Book of Genesis - the sins worthy of that weren't murder or maiming or anything in modern society viewed as horrible but disobedience and desire to know things. You don't listen to God is n1 sin in that world and so it is in the world of W. The God of Genesis would probably experience some degree of sympathy for the Dad and his decision.

Ultimately, how much do I love this drama? It's a take on creative process, death of the author, and relationships with media we consume. It's a religious parable about free will and a discussion of parental relationships. And it's also a damn good story with chases and make-outs. It's basically a perfect rebuke to Dad's belief that a story cannot be deep unless it's dreary. W has so many interesting things to say but it's also a mad amount of fun!

[the-lonelyshepherd]

whst r your top 3 fav and least fav yellowjackets characters shep

im gonna do LONG answers bc i want to talk about my sillies

for faves…. i love them all so much it’s actually not funny but for my top #1 yellowjackets character of all time it HAS TO go to my girl Lottie

1. Lottie

she’s insane she’s a cult leader she’s a champion soccer player she has big brown eyes she’s been in multiple odd relationships with various blonde girls she’s a prophet and above all she’s just a girl. 

i’m literally just gonna TOUCH on many topics and not go in depth bc i will actually write a full ass essay. if i haven’t already. 

Shes actually one of my fav characters of all time, not even just yellowjackets. deadass she is SO fascinating, both adult and teen version. unloved by rich parents. schizophrenic (or is it really the wilderness speaking to her??? we don’t know!!!) but hides it until it’s too late. her transformation from sarcastic a little odd but generally kind and cheerful soccer player to borderline mute haunted prophet to years later mysterious but successful wellness center (…cult) leader??? INSANE!!!!! 

her whole religion arc with laura lee??? actually one of the DRIVING forces of EVERYTHIBG i could write an ESSAY on this. insane. her weird one sided rivalry with nat??? INSANE!!! (and lwk homoerotic). her obsession with wilderness baby??? this could be its entire own post

also she like… just wants the best for everyone. she’s been put on a pedestal, marked as an enemy, had her words twisted to excuse HUNTING and EATING someone and then told it was her fault. she also couldn’t stop this because she let someone beat her up to let their anger out. she’s so self sacrificial she’s so overly caring and it ends up hurting herself and everyone and all she’s trying to do is understand things. she can’t be a god but she can be a martyr if they kill her quick enough. she’s MY tragic queen no one gets her like i do. i love her so much. also courtney eaton is really fine. irrelevant.

2. Nat

next up is nat. nat is also like. ohmygoodness. 

first of all the most interesting thing about me for nat HAS to be her dynamics with the group. you could put her with anyone and learn so much about both characters. travis? jackie? misty? lottie? shauna? ben? all of them. it’s a combination of nats insanely interesting character and sophie thatcher’s (sorry juliette lewis but it just wasn’t as impressive for me) INSANE screen presence. she shows so much emotion with just facial expressions and fucking steals every scene she’s in. def a huge contributor in making nat the character she is.

also unlike a lot of the other yjs, nat already has a history with this sort of tragedy. we see in her flashbacks with her dad (i think s1.4?)

this stuff sets her up as immediately apart from the group - not only is she a bit of a social outcast, labeled as an alcoholic, a druggie, a whore etc, but she also already came from a dark place and physically spent a lot of time seperate from the other girls. she spends a lot of time w coach Ben and travis, expanding a lot of their characters and making javis death even more horrible for her. the trauma she has surrounding guns and her father also leads to another really interesting thing - above all, no matter how much she pretends she doesn’t, nat does really fucking care. she cares a lot.

i LOVE this kind of character so much, the kind that pretends to be rlly apathetic but is almost more genuine in their kindness than anyone else. nat just genuinely fuckung cares and she’s been through so much and i rghhhhh. her apology to jackie???? hell even her moments with travis. cutting off his dads finger to get the ring when he couldn’t do it himself. i’m losing it. anyways i have to cut this off bc i need to get to my next girl and i WILL write an essay if i keep going. 

3. Shauna

Shauna fucking shipmannnnnnnn (and by an extent jackie because let’s be frl they are kind of one) let’s go crazy girls. Shauna is honestly terrifying. starting strong!!! but it’s kinda true. she has this like weird underlying sense of something violent about her. she’s always wanted more, she’s always kind of lived in jackie’s shadow wether jackie meant to or not. she had this kind of mindset that’s just SO like obsessive??? i kinda sound like a shauna hater rn this is NOT TRUE 🙅‍♀️🙅‍♀️ she is so compelling it’s insane. 

first off sophie nelisse is incredible. actually incredible. like from the BEGINNING she had me FASCINATED with shauna just with her expressions and rghhhh everythibg. the talent is INSANE. 

and shauna herself is just. so tragic. now you can’t really talk about shauna without talking about jackie. and it’s okay bc i love jackie as well she is my favorite girlloser, resident coldgirl, mislabeled, misjudged queen. et cetera.

and having jackie is such a core part of shauna’s character. when she comes to the wilderness she starts to slip apart a little. rifts form, promises broken and secrets start to slip out. but she still CARES about jackie. she tries so hard to help her do something useful so the other girls don’t turn on her. 

but in the end she was always going to be the one holding the knife. she was always living in jackie’s shadow (at least in her mind) and she had this weird relationship with her where she both villainized and obsessed over her. standard homoerotic highschool girl bestfriendship. i don’t even know where i’m going with this there’s so much i could say. before i end let me rq touch on

wilderness baby and callie. this is also one of the most compelling things to do with shauna. after jackie’s death, shauna is technically on her own. after being so long on begat she perceived as jackie’s shadow, she has, in her mind, autonomy. and things really start to go downhill. first, she’s carrying the baby of her dead best friends boyfriend. which is a situation. but jackie isn’t ever really gone - she’s in shauna she’s in the baby she’s in the meat shed she’s a ghost and eventually she’s a full on fucking meal. so even though she’s dead, she NEVER leaves shauna and shauna is haunted by her forever. normal best friend stuff. but anyways shauna carries wilderness baby to term and loves him so so much and then it turns out he was stillborn. let me emphasize she loved this baby SO FUCKING MUCH. then later as an adult we see her with callie. „i don’t even like my daughter”. the switch up is crazy???? i think i’m running out of room to type fuck but anyways shauna shipman you will always be famous i love you i would write essays on you

okay least faves is actually harder.  beacuse i love them all. i’m gonna say that annoying mustache groomer cop. and like idk who else tbh. nats dad? jackie’s mom??? oooghhh jackie’s mom and dad scene is a whole mother tangent

anyways i hoped you enjoyed me exhibiting symptoms!! thank you for your question idk if you can tell but i love talking about yellowjackets

[finniestoncrane]

Here's the second one! 5 with Yj riddler! Congrats again!

🎀 No. 5: Close To Me 🎀

give me a character and i'll write some headcanons on what a first date with them would be like a/n: oh this is a good one, thank you for letting me be cute with him 💚 1k milestone info! 🔞minors dni🔞 • kofi • tag: finnie1k

this soft bag of bones is FINALLY getting to put all of his planning and daydreaming to use

so you better believe it's going to be the best and most organised first date ever

first of all, he's planned it during the day, when most people are at work (crowds scare him) and kids are at school (children scare him and have been known to beat him senseless for his villainy)

and both of them were likely to be at the various places you're going today, first of which is, dun-da-da-dun

the arcade!

gives him a chance to show off how using his intellect, even the physical games can be beaten

he'll hold your hand the whole way round, share a slushie with two straws, and he'll have enough tickets by the end to win you whatever you want from the prize wall

yeah, that's right baby, anything you want, he's got game

then after that, the cinema to see a movie that's cute and fun

probably something animated, NOT a superhero movie under any circumstances

he'll maybe even choose something dramatic or romantic, or even a horror

whatever he chooses, it's something he's researched profusely to make sure he won't cry or jump or laugh too hard at

the last thing he wants is to embarrass himself in front of you

especially because the movie theatre is part of his plan for physical contact

he booked the back seats specifically

yeah he'll tell you it's for the acoustics or for the privacy of not being disturbed by noisy eaters

but it's very obvious what the plan was when he does the old "yawn-and-stretch" routine, putting his arm around you and pulling you in

and yet he'll still freak out if you snuggle up to him or put your hand on him anywhere

such a dork

for food, he's picked somewhere that serves standard meals

nothing too fancy or experimental

he likes straightforward options and not too many of them, otherwise he gets confused and stressed

he likes to order for you, but not in a "i'll choose what you have" way, more of a "tell him what you want and he'll be a very brave boy and try not to stutter when he asks the wait staff for it" kind of way

and please, let him feed you dessert with a spoon, he's been looking forward to it all day

he'll insist you walk home, or if you're too tired, take a cab and then walk you to your door

he won't push for a kiss, you'll have to make that move

but once he has his lips on yours, he'll find it hard to let go

maybe, if he's feeling brave enough, a hand at the back of your head, or on your waist

just so you know he's definitely into this

which you could tell by the little mewling noises and the sweat that has formed on his forehead and palms when he pulls away

[ivysangel]

wally’s death was the first character death that i ever experienced from a character that i LOVED. like i was crushed and i cried so hard my mom thought someone actually died so i understand your pain!! and when they did the kind of flashback thing in season 3 where dick was hallucinating about being robin with the team and wally was back while fighting on granny goodness’s ship??? the writers were SICK for that!!

also dinah mentioning the sanctuary part at the end of season 4 is supposed to be how wally comes back but i don’t see how cause in the comics he’s stuck in the speedforce but the writers say there is no speedforce?? which why not??

the time jump was the dumbest thing i’ve ever seen cause why??? we missed tula joining the team and then dying, we missed kaldur discovering who his real father is and going to the light’s side (even if it was just undercover), we missed dick becoming nightwing, and we missed ALL of jason. don’t get me wrong cause i love tim and i wanted to see him as robin too but jason is such an important part of tim and dick’s stories so what gives??

and the writers are especially sick for how they did wally and artemis!! cause why tease us with them for the whole season, finally give us spitfire in the last episode of season 1, then have their ENTIRE relationship off screen, and then they kill wally?? we really got no time with them!! like spitfire is arguably the best couple on the show even if the writers clearly do favor connor and m’gann. especially m’gann and i love her but why was dick barely in season 4???

i don't think i cried when wally died bc i'm p sure i spoiled it for myself but i was still GUTTED. me and one of my friends who also watched yj have talked about it so many times. she actually stopped after he died and said she wouldn't continue the show unless they brought him back. i think dc knows what young justice fans want i just don't think they gaf bc that have quite literally not implemented a single thing that fans have REALLY asked for. you'll say "we want wally back!!" and they'll be like "ohhh okay let's remind everyone that he's dead and literally nobodies truly recovered!!!"

also, once again, FUCK that five year time jump. the young justice writers' room utilized the FUCK out of time jumps like every season has at least one or two??? mid-season they'll be like "1 year later" WHAT??? but like i said, nothing is worse than that five year time jump between s1 and s2 because five years is such a long time, especially because the team were practically babies at the beginning. they had so much potential and then the show just jumped to them as adults and a whole new team.

i also fully hate that they introduced rocket in the second to last episode or smth and pretty much benched her as a superhero for the entire rest of the show, i do not understand that decision AT ALL.

and yes, the fourth season being advertised as a season about the og team only for it to be so heavily m'gann and conner centric was so…i did enjoy that we finally got some real zatanna screen time but ugh god i wish it was with the team. like i don't really know how to explain it or if this even makes sense, but even though the show is about a team i feel like we barely get to see the team do actual team stuff like they used to. it feels like a lot of solo plotlines that happen to be going on in the same show with coincidental correlation.

also i think it might've been season 4? maybe 3? but WAY TOO MANY CUTS TO VANDAL SAVAGE'S LIFE STORY. I DON'T GIVE A FUCK.

[poorlittlegreenie13]

Since you asked people to send you asks for Wretched Things. Here you go:

1) Regarding Misty as the supposed traitor, was it always the intended direction? Also, is Misty inspired by Caesar Flickerman and Beetee?

2) Also, I think Nat’s the youngest victor in the fic? Which reminds me of Finnick, did you draw inspiration from that? Also, how did you decide how Nat would win her games?

3) This isnt a question but more of an observation I think? Regarding how Lottie won her games, she gives off major Lucy Gray vibes.

4) How did you decide whether Jackie would live or die? Like, in what point of the story did you decide that she was going to be doomed by the narrative or was it the intended direction of the story all along?

5) This isn’t a question but a remark. I love how you tied Van with the wolves and making Tai the President at the end of the story.

6) Regarding Travis, was it always the case for him to sacrifice himself? Because to be honest, I thought he’d commit suicide.

7) Lastly, how did you come up with the story for James? I liked his story and I was wondering how you created him and his arc with Callie.

Sorry for the interview questions, I just have a lot to ask.

Omg this is thrilling. Do not apologize I love talking about my own writing 😭.

1. Do you mean Misty being the traitor underground when they think there’s a spy? I briefly considered having her actually be leaking information when I was writing the outline, but I didn’t go that direction bc I don’t believe at her core that she would ever hurt her friends. Walter was more inspired by Caesar Flickerman than she was, she is definitely more Beetee & also a little bit of Plutarch. She supports the greater good, but she also isn’t afraid to sacrifice things & she knows sometimes people have to suffer/die for ultimate victory.

2. Yeah, Nat is the youngest victor! She was definitely based on my aspects of Finnick’s story, though none of the characters are totally based off of one THG character or another, I also just based them on what I thought those YJ characters would do in the games. So, to your next point, I decided how Nat would win her games because I think while her character is desperate not to let herself be killed, and has a strong survival instinct, she also is one of the least violent Yellowjackets. She really shows an unwillingness to be cruel/violent in many circumstances. & she also feels a lot of guilt about letting people die in her place. So, hence the story of how she won her games.

3. lol Lottie & Jackie are both very Lucy Grey in this fic I think.

4. Jackie was always going to die tbh. It’s kind of baked into the story. Like I think in the first line or first paragraph she tells the story of Achilles & Patroclus? & basically describes the exact circumstances of her death lol. I feel like the point of the hunger games is that there was never anything Katniss could do to save Prim, & I wanted to keep that spirit in this story. & I also wanted to stay faithful to the major points of YJ & I’m not sure I ever see Jackie and Shauna getting a happy ending tbh. I like MCD when it’s done well, hopefully it’s done well here. The only other characters I briefly thought of killing were Misty & Van. Misty died in the original outline but I changed it. & I did think about killing Van in the way finnick died, I mean, she’d just gotten her happy ending wedding she’d been wanting the whole book, & she’s so brave she would’ve sacrificed herself to sewer mutts if needed. It also would’ve been a narrative parallel to Tai sacrificing herself to the wolves earlier in the story & pushing Van off the cliff to save her. But, I obviously didn’t wind up doing this because I love Van wayyy too much to kill her for basically no reason.

5. Thank you!! I was extremely proud of my wolf-taming scene lolll. & I think Taissa is actually a good choice for president during peacetime. Even though she’s kind of a bad senator in the show, I think she has legitimately good political ideas & she’s definitely the smartest of the group (maybe tied with Shauna, but she was in no shape to be president atm).

6. No, I kind of killed Travis off randomly ngl 😭. He kind of did kill himself, he was definitely acting reckless on purpose. I just knew I didn’t have room for him in the final war chapters bc I just didn’t want him moping around & taking away time from the main characters. So at basically the first opportunity for him to die with narrative meaning I was like… okay time to go. It furthered Jackie’s story though so yk. I feel good about it.

7. I came up with James bc there are two great epilogues I’m fond of with the children who survived the ordeal of their stories growing up & falling in love. So I wanted to do the same thing. They kind of represent elements of all three main couples, & show how things could’ve been for them if it weren’t for the games. & it gave Shauna and Callie an opportunity to bond. I also just thought it would be funny if they were in like a toxic situationship hooking up & not talking about it, canon high school event I fear. But mostly I just wanted to give everybody a happy ending & I thought the two of them falling in love tied the story together nicely & showed how much better things were for the new generation!

How it started:

How it’s going:

[cosmicmordecai]

I’ve said this before but just to expand what I was saying earlier regarding Zatanna’s not necessarily being “de-aged” to be with Dick Grayson in YJ. In comics, Zatanna was moreover aged up to be closer to Batman.

Dependening on the stories, Zee starts off her heroism at 18-21. Sometimes she joins the JL after years of searching for her father or around the same time.

[Secret Origins v2 #27 - Recounted through Dr. Mist, who reveals being the mastermind behind her father & her upheavals in life by force via Felix Faust. In the story, he does realize how fucking creepy and patronizing his actions were.]

[ Justice League of America #51 - This story places her at 20 years old when she finally reunited with her father and joins the JL a short time later. But this story makes it seem like she was an orphan rather than raised by her father for a chunk of her childhood.]

[ DCU Heroes Secret Files & Origins #1 - This timeline would imply that she joined the JL first at 21.]

All these sources came prior to her history with Batman, which would naturally move her timeline to make her adjacent with him prior.

[Compared that to Dick, whom she met alongside the Titans in Tales of the Teen Titans #4 in the 1980s. By then, Dick was already college bound with high school graduation [Batman #217]or a teenager depending on your context, placing him roughly 16-18 give or take. This same series in which the picture above has him retire the Robin name in #39, which modern stories typically have that done at 18 years old.]

I think it’s very important to note that Zatanna’s character has changed overtime and that there’s no definite “Justice League generation” vs other generations of heroes. There’s not this neat little box where every DCU character conveniently fits in.

The Titans might fit in the “heroes in their 20s” box and the Teen Titans feature heroes younger than 18 but even then, some TT reached 18+ [Red Devil] and there’s been a plethora of heroes in their 20s in the JL [Kyle Rayner, Khalid Nassour, Ronnie Raymond/Jason Rusch]. Just like the JSA has younger members & successors who join, the JL features membership of varying ages.

[I literally forgot the source of this.]

I understand the basis makes it seem like Zatanna is infantalized but that’s not necessarily true. The character wasn’t always Bruce’s childhood friend and at one point, only met significantly in the JL to Batman’s own recollection. & one other time where she was disguised as a witch unknown to Bruce himself long before the retcon that made them childhood friends came to be.

It’s also hard to say “Zatanna has to be around this age bc she hangs out with so-and-so” because characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman has had their histories altered in many ways. Barry Allen’s age has never been stated so using his interest in her as an age gauge is iffy and honestly, in real life, people have relationships, flirtations, and friendships with people older and younger than them. Part of adulthood is meshing with people & it’s not always convenient that you’ll be friends with people your own age. Interpersonal relationships are also multi-faceted and complex.

I also think it’s sets a bad precedent to not examine the character’s history and go off of the “idea” of where characters are instead of their history. Various DC characters already get this:

Billy Batson is always like 10 or 12 when people think of him but like he’s been 15 & 16 too. His relationship with Courtney Whitmore for example happened when he’s in high school himself. He is also chronologically older than Jon Kent regardless of space bullshit.

Raven & Beast Boy’s character get de-aged to the point they’ve been in Dick, Tim, and Damian’s version of the Teen Titans in media & comics.

Jaime Reyes remained eternally in high school until recently and it took a movie to budge him from that.

Stephanie Brown & Cassandra Caín are out here having Damian be closer to them in age because editorials, writers, and fanon completely forget both characters have been 18 far longer than anybody thinks.

Khalid Nassour debuted in 2015 already 23 years old & a year older than DICK GRAYSON IN THE SAME YEARS. Nowadays, he’s drawn as a teen/college age guy and his timeline either implies he’s in his 30s now or in 2023, all his 100+ appearances took place in ONE YEAR so therefore, everyone he interacted with also progressed one year overtime?

Long story short, it’s really important in my opinion to consider a character’s history and not just go off of whose their friend is, what you think their idealized version is like, and do not use the characters whose timeline DC & Didio has outright played Russian Roulette with accommodate their idealized version of the characters as a placeholder.