#how artists who love creating are forced to take up swords against the people connecting with their art

[harfblarf]

Circling back to this post to talk to myself abt this subject, because it's genuinely very interesting even from what little I know/have experienced.

I think it's important to keep in mind that no small part of this division, the lines that mark where copyright is and isn't real, is a matter of enforcement. Enforcement, under capitalism, springs from Perceived Profitability; as with any law in a capitalist society, it is only enforced as much as the parties with power think it can benefit them. Free access is allowed only when capitalism doesn't think it will profit from metering it; if it can profit from it, it will claim control over that access, and call you a thief.

Case study: anime. In the U.S. in the 80s-00s (at minimum; I would need to do more detailed research to set a specific timeline), anime was almost entirely community-procured, community-curated; in those circumstances, copyright was similarly treated as either fake or irrelevant. Access under the restrictions of copyright was usually nonexistent, and fansubs, illegal VHS copies, and eventually fansites were the dominant mode of access for anyone in the U.S. who wanted to watch it. Quality of copies and translations varied wildly, and the shows U.S. anime fans had access to tended to be very limited-- but that pool continued to grow as anime fans remained passionate and interested. No one expected their bootleg copy to be "legitimate" or pay the original artists, and no one really thought about it.

But that passion and interest tipped anime (and manga) into the Profitable category, and companies swooped in. It was exciting! Real companies were handling real deals with anime studios. Professional translators were being paid. More shows were getting dubs, and dubbing anime was becoming a viable, specific career. Manga hit bookstore shelves. USAmerican interest in anime was being solidified and spread via advertising. No longer was it a niche hobby quietly traded in the corners. How cool!

This is the trick of capitalism. You are legitimized and recognized when you are profitable, and people tend to crave recognition and legitimacy. This is the underlying logic of rainbow capitalism, and why-- even for many who know better-- it has an undeniable pull, a deeply personal sense of relief and security. The only people who have authority under capitalism are those who can be sold to. The only people who are desired are those who can be sold. Both desirability and authority are things people crave; that's how people are convinced to play both customer and product.

When anime became 'legitimate', piracy and fansubs became a threat to profit, and they were reshaped into a moral negative. Genuine love and passion for the art was weaponized against fans: "if you love it, you should respect the artists who made it. The only way to respect the artists is to pay them. Do you really want to be a thief?" Some established fans didn't buy in to the false dichotomies, but things like crunchyroll and netflix had money and power and authority, and fan spaces were reshaped as new fans outnumbered the old. The changes came gradually; many community spaces still taught each other to dodge ads or passed around old files and YouTube links, bitched about low-quality dubs and translations that changed the meanings. But gradually, failure to use "legitimate" channels to access anime became a source of shame, a sign of selfishness, to seek it without paying the toll, to prioritize your own enjoyment over honoring the artists. Once-loving jokes about janky fan translations and sketchy fansites slowly became more mean-spirited and disdainful.

Crackdowns on and legal threats against fansites, fan translations, and illegal copies chased the people involved into the shadows, took away their tools, and scared some out of the work entirely. Communities fell apart. Jokes about sketchy fansites were replaced with serious warnings about the dangers of piracy sites, and not without reason-- the crackdowns discouraged many, both those who wanted access and those who supplied it, so the sites offering it had every motive to drag as much profit and use out of their users as possible before getting shut down, and users did not have better alternatives. Support for community teams dropped, and interest and engagement in their projects plummeted. Translating and subtitling was intensive and fairly technical work, working within limited software and often with limited experience and linguistic skills. For most manga translators, it also required connections overseas, to get clean digital copies of the works they wanted to translate. Studios and artists alike began directly expressing distaste for rips and fan translations when they partnered with companies for translations. Artists are told they are being stolen from when someone loves their work enough to translate and share it with a wider audience, even when no official translation exists or is even planned.

Curiosity and love of stories is seen as a crime, if you aren't paying a middleman for your access. Challenging that narrative is treated as a betrayal of your community and the art itself. That goes for more than just the anime and manga communities.

Copyright is a legal cudgel wielded to protect a corporate entity's "interests"-- that is, their profits. Conflating copyright with the Artist, with protecting, preserving, or respecting their work-- it's a scam. It's marketing. Corporations and companies will do everything in their power to utilize copyright law against artists and take every penny they possibly can. This is undeniable. It's why Disney lobbied for copyright extension.

But it's also the sole legal tool artists are allowed in places where copyright law is taken seriously. They need its limitations if they want to have any shot at making a living creating their work. It's the only thing that can inflict any consequences on someone claiming credit or ownership of their work. It's the only shield small artists have against companies stealing and using their work without pay. For many artists, big and small, this sole, crappy legal protection is the difference between surviving as an artist and being forced out of the field. So they uphold the system, even though the true beneficiaries would just as soon see them starve.

When I said "I want that" about a copyright-less world, I meant it. Copyright sucks diddlydick, it crushes creative freedom, it hurts artists far more than it helps them, and it only has any decent function under the assumptions of a capitalist society. But it is also crucial to acknowledge why it exists, why it is held up as a golden rule in some places but not others, and how that happened.

If we want to be rid of copyright, we have to change how the entire system treats artists, how it treats people at large, because the few protections copyright provides are the ONLY protections most small and independent artists have. Blowing up a wall only to crush people under the rubble isn't good either!!

What's funny to me is that nobody cares about copyright outside the US and maybe, I dunno, Canada and Europe? For the entire third world, it's something we politely pretend is real so we don't hurt their feelings, but it's probably the fakest and less upheld concept here, absolutely nobody cares.

Some yanqui says something deranged like "um, uh, yeah, you should pay for every time you play a song otherwise you're stealing" and we just pat their head and say "claro que sí tesoro" while we download 15 GBs of movies and the local pizzeria has a mural of like Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny to promote it.

[lipstickbisous]

the lion and her sun. (6)

WARMTH GIVES ITS BEAUTY.

notes: soooo we’re at the first year of marriage!! this might be going really fast but there are at least nine more chapters until we enter when the show starts.

you have to remember, aurane doesn’t know ANYTHING about her mother or that part of her family, she’s only been raised in the lannister part of her.

also i REALLY hate time skips but i didn’t know what else to do.

i feel like i use the word ‘kiss’/’kisses’ a lot so if yall got better ideas pls send some

i’m SORRY for skipping the smut tehe that just wasn’t the general idea for this chapter 

pairing: oberyn x oc!reader, ellaria x oc!reader

summary: in the first year of marriage, aurane reminisces her childhood decides to delve into who her family is and their history.

warnings: not much in this one, just fluff, insinuated sexy times. this one’s short, i’m super sorry. the next will be better i promise (fluff wise) ;)

word count: 3.4k (next one is better so)

masterlist

dear sister,

king’s landing is not the same. your vibrance and happiness was always cherished in the castle hallways and now, all they are is drab. even father misses your presence, but we both know he would never admit it. jamie remains in his battling sessions, he’s becoming quite skilled with a sword, but you should know, aurane, he feels awful about when you left. he seeks your forgiveness. tyrion hasn’t changed a bit. he drinks wine and fucks whores in his chambers, just as before, but now, there’s no one to stand on his side when arguing with father. 

i heard of the wedding and that it was glorious. things in dorne are always perfect, as much as i hate to say it. i do want to tell you that all of us regret deeply for not being able to attend. i would’ve loved to watch my sister at her wedding. i bet you looked so beautiful--my lovely sister dressed in her white dress in the dornish sun. i can only imagine how lucky that prince is.

while on the topic of oberyn, i am praying to the gods that they don’t mistreat you there. such loveliness does not deserve to be destroyed. 

joffrey and myrcella miss you very much. despite the fact you were their only aunt, you were the favorite. i’ve tried to play games with joffrey. he always loved the one where he hid and you would find him. i failed at this because when he hid himself in the library, i spent hours looking for him. i’ve tried to draw with myrcella, but as i hope you can remember from your childhood, i was never the artist. tommen is a strange case. so young and so innocent, he doesn’t understand why you had to leave. as his mother, i feel shameful to say that his nagging and asking of ‘where is auntie aury?’ has become incessant. 

perhaps one day, we can visit you in dorne, although i don’t believe we’ll ever be quite fully welcome there. if you would like, i could gladly arrange a ship so you can visit us back at home. it is terribly quiet here.

with love,

cersei.

―

aurane had not replied to any of her sister’s letter. tyrion had sent a few and she’d even received one from her father, but jamie was silent. of course, she missed her family, she was connected to them by blood, they would always be in her heart, but aurane had found her home was no longer king’s landing or casterly rock. she had no urge to leave dorne, and over the course of the past year, she’d even traveled to other cities in the sandy biome. lemonwood was even hotter than sunspear but the warmth didn’t seem to bother her. 

finally, she had been treated with the utmost respect. she had never been truly hated by sunspear, but there were few citizens who had not approved of a lannister third in line for the throne. now, her and oberyn would take sunday walks throughout the city and they had no need for doran’s soldiers trailing behind them. aurane had proved herself trustworthy. 

it was growing close to the end of the year and at the moment, aurane was sitting curled up with the silk sheets she’d grown so in love with, feeling the morning sun almost burning into the room. her and her husband had just dismissed their last guest while ellaria lied at the end of the bed, soaking her body in the dornish sunlight.

oberyn, who had poured two cups of wine for his lovers, looked to his wife and how her gaze was no longer focused on him or ellaria but the parchment in her hand. “what is it, lion?” he climbed onto the bed as his first lover crawled between aurane’s legs. 

“my sister,” she smiled, reading the end of the letter. “she wants me to visit king’s landing.”

ellaria combed a hand through aurane’s hair, which had been softer than normal since they had shared a bath the night before. she kissed the princess’ forehead and grasped one of the cups oberyn held. “do you want to go?” she whispered and oberyn turned his attention to who he saw as the most beautiful women in the world.

aurane shrugged as oberyn handed her the second cup of wine. “i have no urge to,” she spoke shamefully and looked to her husband. ellaria’s fingers were trailing across the inside of her thigh and up to her hips. “they’re my family and i don’t feel the need to see them like i should.”

“nonsense, lion,” oberyn pulled himself closer to his lovers and inhaled the scent of peaches and citrus. a kiss was pressed against aurane’s collar bone and one on ellaria’s cheek. “it’s however you feel. you haven’t replied to any of their letters so they could be growing nervous.”

“and as much as we hate to admit it,” ellaria whispered, meeting eyes with her first lover. there was nothing aurane loved to see more than the two heavenly people before her showing their love. “they are your family. and it would be good to see them.”

the princess shook her head and threw the parchment onto the marble floor before embracing ellaria in her arms. the older woman placed a solid, open-mouthed kiss on aurane’s lips, fully aware of how oberyn watched. his hands combed themselves through aurane’s hair and he pecked his lips on her cheek. “it does give me an idea, though,” she whispered as ellaria’s lips trailed down her throat to her sternum. 

oberyn chuckled from the depths of his chest and rubbed aurane’s temple with the pad of his thumb. “what is that, my sun?”

she pulled his head up to hers for a kiss before touching foreheads. ellaria wrapped her arms around aurane’s torso and pressed her cheek against aurane’s lower stomach. “i never knew anything about my mother,” aurane sighed into the pillow and arched her back. “i only heard short stories from father. and then there were the whispers. ‘is the bastard born of rape?’ how my mother was supposedly captured and forced into another birth.”

“no one here believes that,” oberyn repeated the words he found himself saying almost every other day for the past year. he brought her knuckles to his lips before littering them with kisses.

aurane shook her head. “you don’t need to say that,” she dismissed him and tore her hand from his hold to cup his cheek. “it’s a lie. and i don’t care what people think.”

with her head on aurane’s stomach and her eyes closed, ellaria, in some state of bliss whispered, “then what is it you want?”

―

dinners between the lannister family were not normally peaceful. there was always some sort of bickering or boasting at the table and it was the chaotic life aurane grew up with. jamie would either fling food into cersei’s hair or tywin would grew frustrated with tyrion simply just by the way he ate. there were only certain moments that aurane had where it seemed like all was well with her family.

aurane had always been the most perfect of the them all and lord tywin lannister made sure his children knew it.

she was only at the age of seven when her sister had been braiding her hair in the gardens. they would be moving to king’s landing in the near future, and although the younger lannister would see even greater ones later in her life, there was nothing like the gardens of casterly rock in this moment. the sky was clear and the sunlight was just barely peeking through the heavy leaves of the trees above aurane and her sister. 

“you’ve always had the prettiest hair,” cersei admired as her fingers wove their way through each strand of the three sections she’d created. sometimes, she would spend hours braiding and unbraiding aurane’s hair just to feel it’s unusual softness. “and the prettiest eyes. and gods, your skin. unlike any other really.”

the younger princess twiddled with her thumbs and listened as thousands of miles below them sat the vast ocean crashing against the cliff of land. “a maiden said i shouldn’t have skin like mine,” aurane fretted. the feeling of hands running through her hair had always been so soothing. “she said only laborers should have skin this dark.”

cersei’s fingers immediately stopped their movements as she froze. she bent over on her left side to look her sister in the eye. “and which one said this?”

“she didn’t mean it like that, cersei,” aurane replied and stood to pick a flower from the bed of roses and daisies in front of her, thus unwinding the braid. she sat herself back on her cersei’s lap as the older sister began to braid again. “it’s like when papa talks to himself sometimes. she was brushing my hair and it just came out.”

there was a slight tug on a strand of hair that stung aurane’s scalp. she gasped harshly and dropped the flower so her hand flew to the sore area. “sorry, aury, but if you hadn’t gotten up, it wouldn’t have happened,” such excuses bothered aurane as she sulked. the day would be ending soon and they would be called to the dining hall for dinner. “no maiden--absolutely no maiden--has any right to say such things to a pretty princess,” cersei popped her finger on the tip of aurane’s nose, resulting in a loud giggle. “gods, you’re going to be beautiful.”

―

“i still don’t think i understand,” doran looked to the ceiling of the throne room, hoping that an answer would be found but instead, his eyes could only entrance themselves on the sculpting. 

oberyn sat back on the lounge chair with his legs crossed and ellaria standing behind him. doran had always been respectful to her, and perhaps it was because she’d given oberyn three children. “doran,” he dragged out his brother’s name with a cocked head. 

beside oberyn sat aurane, who unlike her husband, sat with her back straight and her hands neatly set in her lap. “i wanted to know her,” aurane imparted. she leaned her elbow on the arm of the love seat and tightened her jaw. “i was never given a chance. i couldn’t even see what she looked like. if she really did have dark hair and eyes. the least i can do now is learn what i can about her.”

a shake of his head, doran leaned on his knees. “we already know her name,” he sounded exasperated. why did he seem so against this idea? aurane had every right to know as much about her maternal side of the family, and even if he did forbid her from discovering it, she would still go. “she lived in salt shore and everybody there believes she was captured by lannister armies.”

“well, then they should know it’s not true,” aurane disputed. 

doran looked to the ground and squeezed his eyes shut. “they don’t like you there,” aurane arched a brow and parted her lips, careful not to show that her brother-in-law had definitely taken her by surprise. oberyn and ellaria listened carefully as the latter sat forward in the conversation. “they hate every lannister, including you. if you go there, you’ll be disrespected. you’ll threatened, there’ll be attempts. you- you could die.”

“she is not a lannister anymore, brother,” oberyn placed himself in the middle of the feud. “she is a martell, and anyone who would try to threaten or hurt her would...well...” he looked up at ellaria who only smirked in return. “for lack of better words, would have to deal with us.” such comment set a spark in aurane while she bit her bottom lip, feeling a gaze upon her as she did so.

the eldest in the room finally glanced through the opening of the throne room, leading to a balcony that overlooked all of the gardens in their beauty of the golden sun. the day would be ending soon and doran could only (not that he really wanted to) guess how oberyn would invite more maidens and suitors to his chambers as ellaria and aurane awaited. “it’s too dangerous,” he whispered inaudibly. the conversation was making his head hurt. once oberyn and ellaria escorted the youngest of the throne room, each with a protective hand on her lower back as she  doran murmured, “fuck.”

―

a boy, who could be no older than twenty-eight name days exited the chambers along with several maidens aurane had recognized from the kitchens. they all excitedly giggled as the moonlight took its setting. aurane sat at the edge of her bed, naked with that silver lining oberyn savored so much. her feminine lover traced several fingers down her spine. for once, even if it had been a long time, oberyn wanted only to rest.

“a beauty,” ellaria whispered, intoxicated off of too many glasses of wine. she smelled of honey and lemon and silk. “a gift, really, given to us by the gods,” a kiss to aurane’s shoulder but it did nothing to relieve her mind of precarious thoughts. a drunken smile descended over ellaria as she pressed a kiss to the princess’ neck, ellaria’s lips trailing higher and higher. “such beauty seems too good to be real. it shouldn’t exist,” a kiss to aurane’s cheek. “but yet, here it sits, before me.”

aurane squeezed her shoulder blades together as a reaction from the sudden touch of ellaria’s fingers against her inner thigh. oberyn sat up when he detected his wife’s discomfort. “and we should be so honored to have this beauty,” he pulled ellaria’s hands away from aurane, but the princess remained still. “perhaps our lion has had enough for the night.” 

the older woman threw herself on the sheets and immediately fell into a slumber when pressing her face against the pillow. oberyn sat himself behind aurane, a blanket wrapped around his waist as he wrapped his arms around her figure, pointing to the night sky before them. “do you see that star?” he breathed. aurane didn’t do much but nod. oberyn tucked his head in the corner of her collar bone and neck. “it is the brightest one, but only during the summer. in the winter, the coldness dims its light so that it appears as any normal star. the warmth gives its beauty and the cold takes it away.”

aurane turned to him and pressed her forehead against his. her eyes were patiently closed as her lips parted, “your point is, oberyn?”

“you belong here, my sun, in sunspear,” he hated himself for saying so, but doran was the leader of his city and it didn’t matter how much oberyn wanted to defy him. aurane’s eyes popped open in disbelief. “not in king’s landing, or casterly rock. you’re simply glowing, lion. you’re home here, in dorne.”

she looked down to his lips like they would give her some sort of comfort when they were the source of her frustration. “so, you agree with doran?” she inquired, arching an eyebrow. her hands reached his wrists as she began to push him off of her, but he stilled. 

“i definitely do not,” he muttered, careful to leave his first lover in her sleep. aurane felt a fingertip on her stomach, tracing what she felt were small stars on her skin. “but i understand he says. and i have to listen to him, lion.”

the princess shook her head and set oberyn’s hands away from her stomach and at her hips instead. “no, you don’t,” she whispered before crawling from his grasp and resting next to ellaria, setting her touch on ellaria’s waist.

her dreams were wildfire in her head that night. one came after the other, and they seemed like an endless show of unnecessary acts and music numbers. a certain one even left her with a glimpse of robb stark, but soon faded into the king’s landing setting. another was aurane on a beach, alone, and despite her terrible fears of abandonment, she felt content. it might’ve been the phantom feeling of saltwater and sand getting familiarly stuck in between her toes, the breeze creating long courses and traveling through them in her hair, or the sun plastering a darker shade onto her skin. 

when she woke the next morning, her and ellaria were alone. any normal night, oberyn would insert himself either at aurane’s back or in between his lovers, but there was more space for aurane to sprawl out in her conscious state. 

ellaria then rose with a loud yawn straight into aurane’s year, stretching her arms so that they accidentally hit the headboard, creating an ever louder noise. that same drunken smile had now sobered only a tad bit. ellaria was still in her haze. “good morning, sweet girl,” she grinned, looking around the room to see if there had been any more wine left over. “how did you sleep?”

“like a baby,” aurane’s voice was raspy, as it normally was. ellaria planted a kiss on her nose.

“good,” she laughed and threw the light covers off of her body. with not a morsel of shame, she strutted about the bedroom in her nude form, only to notice that there was no more alcohol and she now desperately craved the silk sheets again.

aurane laughed when she distinguished what exactly it was that ellaria had been searching for. “yes, i believe we finished all of the wine,” she lied on her back and tried her best to find solace in the linens above her head. aurane could remember how her and ellaria had pinned them to the ceiling during one cool afternoon. ellaria frowned at aurane’s truth. “i don’t believe you need any more.”

still in a drunken haze, because no matter how much alcohol ellaria drank over a night she could always handle herself in the mornings, the older woman’s hands flew up to aurane’s face. she hesitated for a second, seeming that she had forgotten what she wanted to say before her eyes lit up. “where is our prince?” her grin widened. “where is our lovely prince?” aurane mocked ellaria and grabbed her cheeks.

“i don’t know,” she kissed ellaria’s lips. over the past year, aurane had been given countless experiences she’d never had before. one of them was entangling herself with ellaria and showing everything to her. women’s lips were better than a man’s--not to say she didn’t like kissing oberyn, if anything, she enjoyed connecting herself with him--but women’s lips held such treasures she’d never even seen glitter before. they were laced with a certain poison, that was not fatal but lured aurane in so she could never escape. 

ellaria furrowed her eyebrows and frowned, returning the light gesture to the princess. “it’s been a long time since we’ve enjoyed a morning without him,” her words were lustful and practically dripping with that poison.

“it has,” aurane giggled once ellaria lowered herself that her lips touched the center of aurane’s belly. her fingers danced over the skin of aurane’s hips until they trailed to stopped at her mound, her lips soon meeting her touch. “you haven’t had enough?” ellaria shook her head as she kissed aurane’s pink pearl, but only earned a small and staggered sigh. 

“we’ll never have enough of you,” ellaria spoke lovingly, her touch even more careful. she wanted to taste her princess more than ever--to watch her writhe and whimper until that explosive release took its turn and aurane would return to her sleepy haze. but there was something stopping her. “what is wrong, sweet girl?”

aurane’s hand cupped ellaria’s cheek as she sat up against the wooden headboard. once ellaria rose to her eye level, their lips only inches away, aurane could smell the honey and lemon. “i was raised by such cruel people,” she notes. time had shown aurane how evil her family truly was--that, and oberyn’s stories of elia, which had only made aurane feel even worse though he insisted that none of it was her fault and he loved her even beyond death. “and i feel i somewhat deserve to know more about my mother.”

ellaria’s forehead touched aurane’s as they simultaneously closed their eyes. a single breath was all that could be heard, even the waves and birds outside had quieted down. a voice spoke, but it wasn’t ellaria’s. instead, it was deep and strong, sounding raspy as it always did, like it had been hiding all this time. its source was a tall frame of a man in the doorway. “you deserve the world, my sun.”

tags: @pascalisthepunkest @gummiishark @ohpedromypedro @zeldasayer @ithinkhesgaybutwesavedmufasa @pedropascalonline @pedropascalito @pedropascalitofics @honeychicanawrites @otherthingsinhead @wakalas @pedropascalispapi @heavenbarnes @qveenbvtch @foreverlostindreams @forever-rogue @arianawills @liadamerondjarin @absurdthirst @eternallyvenus @thewaythisis @blushingwueen

[ty-talks-comics]

Best of DC: Week of August 14th, 2019

Best of DC: Week of August 14th, 2019

Best of this Week: Justice League Odyssey #12 - Dan Abnett, Will Conrad, Rain Beredo and Andworld Design

Darkseid is.

The former ruler of Apokalips’ plans have finally come to fruition after the small team of heroes brings together the final few relics to complete Sepulkore, the planet that will release a wave of cosmic energy all over the Ghost Sector and make it immune to the destruction of the Multiverse. Narrated by Darkseid, this issue expands on how far back he’s had these ideas and plans in place, even anticipating the betrayal from Cyborg, Starfire and Azrael from the beginning. He hasn’t been lying to them at all, but rather, omitting a few things so that his plans would proceed as they naturally would.

In the last issue we see Darkseid take control of Cyborg, turning him into a dangerous, Motherbox like being with all of the knowledge of the universe and more at his disposal. Darkseid orders Cyborg to keep Azrael and Jessica Cruz distracted while he fights an enraged Starfire. He sees the spark in her eyes and flings her into the core of Sepulkore, where she was destined to be the flame that lit the fire pits of this new hell. As Sepulkore awakens, Darkseid becomes even more powerful. Azrael is left with no other choice than to call his warriors into the fight as well.Unfortunately for him, as soon as the Azraelites enter Darkseid’s presence, they are turned into a new fodder-force: Para-Angels. Azrael succumbs to Darkseid’s control soon after as well. 

With all of the pieces falling into place, Darkseid smiles. His new Apokalips is lit and it connects with all of the other remaining relics in the Ghost Sector, becoming a reality unto itself. Darkseid monologues to himself that he has always known that the Source Wall would fall and the Multiverse would be destroyed eventually. Since his early years, Darkseid has been lying in wait, creating myths of heroes that would be Gods and those Gods would serve him. The Eternal One - Darkseid.

His new acolytes look upon him, chanting “Darkseid is,” as he returns to his full power. Jessica Cruz stands tall against him, however. I want to take a moment to say how much I love her journey as a character. She started out as this young girl that could barely leave her apartment and she could barely control her fears which allowed Power Ring from Earth 3 take control of her. Since then she has fought to get past her fears, anxieties and PTSD to become one of the most courageous Lanterns in all of the Green Lantern Corps. 

With only about two percent power left in her ring, she tells Darkseid that she will not let him win. His plans will fail if she has anything to do about it and Darkseid is mildly impressed. Darkseid could crush her, without question. She’s barely a fly on his rader, but he’s super into her tenacity. He offers her a place at the table, he cold become as powerful as Cyborg, Starfire or Azrael, a New God of Indomitable Will as Darkseid puts it.

Jessica says “Screw You,” and plants Darkseid with a mean right cross, firmly planting her in the same club as Guy Gardner and Hal Jordan, the “Are You Absolutely Insane? You Really Thought It Was A Good Idea to Punch HIM?” Club

Summarily, he swats her away, crushes her ring hand and Omega Beams her to hell.

*HEAVY SPOILERS ARE HEAVY*

Summarily, he slaps her, crushes her ring hand and Omega Beams her to hell.

*HEAVY SPOILER HOURS ARE OVER*

Will Conrad does the art for this issue and every single page is a wonder to look at. Darkseid is made to look unreasonably imposing as his power increases over time. Cyborg with his advanced mech body looks like a thing of terror as he has a faceguard only over his mouth and his human eye is a milky white. I also appreciate how his metal parts are shaded to give them a sheen. Sepulkore itself is drawn with an immense sense of scale and the architecture of it complex and effective, looking like a huge dodecahedron. Darkseid himself even has a new design that mimics some of his Superman: TAS look with tights added.

Justice League Odyssey might be one of the best ongoing Justice League stories right now because of how different it is to the rest of them. With a team almost as strange as the mid-2000s R.E.B.E.L.S. team and it being centered around an even stranger area of space, everything is so cool. Though there have been a few artists, each have taken different approaches to make all of the different locations and character designs cool.

What should really be applauded is the work when it comes to Beredo’s colors. For the most part, this book is awash in an oppressive red hue as Darkseid become stronger as the book goes on. This color blends well with Starfire’s fiery starbolts and Azrael’s flaming sword. It also worked best with Jessics Cruz being the only contrasting color in the bunch as her green made her the hopeful hero. Beredo makes everything feel dire as hell and it really sells the mood of the book.

I can’t wait for the next issue of the series because Darkseid has effectively won. He has a new Apokalips that he can rule from away from the dangers of the Multiverse and Perpetua. With his new New Gods, the Dark Sector will be another oppressive entity that Darkseid can hatch his schemes from with he regained power. The best question of all, however… who will stop him?

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

Barry Allen is back and better than before.

Runner Up: The Flash #76 - Joshua Williamson, Rafael Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona, Tomeu Morey and Steve Wands

After re-living one of his first adventures as The Flash, Barry sees just how out of touch with things that he has been lately. He realizes that he hasn’t taken the time to slow down since Wally returned and he’s just been throwing himself into adventure after adventure without any regard for his friends and family and it has caused their lives to suffer because of it.

Iris has practically left him. Wallace West distanced himself from Barry as much as possible, even going so far as to briefly join a team with Deathstroke. Avery, the Flash of China, isn’t even that close to Barry, but he also left her and Wallace in the middle of an argument just before he went off on his Force Quest. In an effort to put a stop to the Rogues that have now branched out of Central City, he’s been going through the escapees left and right.

We begin with Kid Flash and Avery fighting with Girder and Tarpit in the middle of Central City. The two young Speedsters are quick, but not all is right as they have a hard time putting any serious damage on either. Just as Tarpit is about to burn them alive, Barry zips in and saves the teens.

Rafa Sandoval is absolutely one of my favorites of DC’s current crop of artists and my favorite Flash artist. His slick lines and shading combined with Morey’s coloring and Tarragona’s inks makes everything look smooth. Costumes look good, bright and vibrant. Flash’s deep red stands out and compliments Wally’s yellow and surprisingly Avery’s dark pink and purples. Shadows are appropriately dark and every blast of lightning and every blur is stunning to see.

Barry gives his young proteges some advice in dealing with Tarpit and Girder, allowing the young speedsters to defeat the villains. After the win, Wallace is less than enthused to see Barry again and begins to walk away before Barry asks them both to run with him, to see how he's trying to make up for his mistakes.

Begrudgingly they agree and we get another amazing shot of Barry running while flanked by Avery and Wallace. I really loved this because it reminded me of the old Flash Family days and because Barry is really trying his best.

He shows them the rebuilt Flash Museum and they're amazed that he managed to rebuild it all by himself. Barry reveals that there's something more and they use their vibration abilities to enter their new headquarters, which I don't have a pun for yet. They're greeted by Commander Cold(?) And Steadfast, the new avatar of the Still Force, and Barry explains what's been going on with their powers.

Wallace had been noticing small things, but he thought it was all in his head. Apparently with the release of all of these new forces, the Speed Force is collapsing under the weight of these new forces that aren't supposed to exist alongside it. This is further backed up as The Black Flash returns for a cliffhanger ending.

As all of this is going on, in another city altogether, Heatwave is causing havoc, seemingly with his own heat powers having returned. The cops show up to confront him, but are suddenly incapacitated by blasts of ice. Captain Cold, Leonard Snart, has begun to gather his Rogues. With updated Cold Gear, to mirror his own New 52 ice powers, he hands Heatwave a Heat Gun and he two OG Rogues reunite to gather the rest of the troops and finally take down The Flash.

With this first part being so affectionately referred to as "The Death of the Speed Force part 1" I can't imagine that any of this will end well. The Speed Force has been in existence for the better part of almost 30+ years now and there's a good chance that we've seen all that we possibly can from it. It's been used to trap people, reset universes and even bring back past Speedsters for big events.

With the Speed Force dying, now's a great opportunity for new stories to be told with the Flashes exploring new ways for their powers to work if the Speed Force does indeed get destroyed in the future. But what will this mean for other speedsters still trapped like Jai and Iris West II, and Jay Garrick? Will they be immediately freed or will Doomsday Clock somehow tie into things? Only time will tell! High recommend!

[meditationadvise]

7 Powerful Books That Will Unleash The Hidden Potential Of Your Mind

" A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to maintain its side."

There it is: your mind -all leashed-up, bored, bookless and chasing its very own tail in the edge. It's time to unleash it. It's time to throw it back into the surprising waters of wonder and admiration. It's time to sidetrack it from the all as well familiar tail (or story, to wit), as well as give it a juicy carrot to chase around rather. Seven juicy carrots, to be exact.

So, shop that leash, open up your mind, snuggle with your ideal close friend, and dive precisely into the complying with mind-unleashing publications. However keep the light on. As Groucho Marx wittily believed, " Beyond a pet dog, a publication is guy's best buddy. Within a pet dog it's too dark to check out."

1.) "The Beginning of Infinity" by David Deutsche

" We never ever recognize any type of information prior to translating it via concepts. All monitorings are, as Popper put it, theory-laden, and thus imperfect, as all our concepts are."

From epistemology and also quantum fungibility to ecological values and societal advancement, David Deutsche takes us on a provocative trip right into addressing a single inquiry: Is there a restriction to exactly what can be comprehended? He comes at a mind-expending solution of “no” by diving deep into the broadening waters of epistemology and also ontology. He profoundly claims that our understanding of anything is constantly at the “beginning of infinity” and also there will certainly constantly be a boundless amount a lot more left for us to recognize. Basically speculating that, with exact and versatile understanding, anything is feasible unless it is restricted by the laws of physics.

Highly sensible as well as integrating, The beginning of Infinity releases us into greater thinking on the path towards much better and also far better descriptions. He takes us from parochial, obsolete methods of believing to the idea of universality and upgraded ways of thinking of the cosmos as a thing to be gradually evolved right into making use of ever-expanding modern technologies. Therefore bridging the void from guy to overman. As he explained, "There is just one method of believing that is qualified of making progress, or of enduring over time, as well as that is the means of seeking great descriptions with creativity and also objection."

2.) ' Circulation: The Psychology of Optimal Experience' by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

" The majority of satisfying activities are not all-natural, they demand an effort that initially one is unwilling to make. Once the communication begins to offer feedback to the person's abilities, it typically begins to be intrinsically rewarding."

Thanks to Csikszentmihalyi, the concept of the “flow state” has come to be an essential aspect of our social awakening. The optimum experience is gained through deep self-control in a particular field/art/sport that gives inherent reward, difficulty, and also comments, therefore integrating self-confidence, focus, control, flexibility, and also connectivity. Time stops or decreases. Instabilities go away. We quit respecting what others consider us. A creative unraveling of something bigger shows up. Every little thing flows easily in interconnected unison with us as its synergistic spearhead. In brief: we stop believing and also simply do.

By just asking the concern, " When are people most pleased?" Csikszentmihalyi, with time checked study, identifies flow states as the response. Professional athletes call it "remaining in the area," mystics have actually defined it as “ecstasy,” and artists term it “rapture.” Releasing ideal experience is concerning doing what we enjoy as a pathway toward better meaning, happiness, and also a self of higher intricacy. By doing just what we love in challenging ways, we take advantage of ideal experience right into our lives. This book powerfully discusses the psychology of this important process.

3.) "Phi: A Trip from the Mind to the Soul' by Giulio Tononi

" Dirty ideas, like dirty waters, can serve 2 objectives only: to hide what lies beneath, which is our ignorance, or to earn the shallow appear deep"

Phi takes the viewers on a mind-altering trip through the nature of consciousness. It interweaves scientific research, art, as well as the imagination with golden proportions, Fibonacci series, as well as fractal cosmology. The visitor has the happiness of viewing the world through such masters as Galileo, Alan Turing, Darwin and Francis Crick, amongst others. From neuroscience to pseudoscience, from deep introspection to mindful meditation, Tononi illuminates on exactly how awareness is a progressing, ever-deepening recognition of ourselves as finite, souls in a limitless universe.

We find out just how awareness is integrated information and just how the power of that combination requires miraculous duty and also credulity. It instructs exactly how the brain is the seat of our understandings, as well as is an innovative force par quality, as well as can also create brand-new forms and also brand-new qualia. It shows just how, by growing awareness, deep space comes increasingly more into being, and synthesizes the one and the many, the ego as well as the eco, the individual and the interdependence of all points into a linked force of Nature.

4.) "The Art of Fear" by Kristen Ulmer

"" Every little thing is great" is really a copout, a stuck area, an obstruction to the exploration of who and just what you are broadening right into higher and even more, as well as the advancement of humankind."

The Art of fear has to do with curiously accepting fear rather compared to conquering or repressing it. It has to do with restoring our understanding of fear from scratch. It has to do with realizing that Anxiety is just one of 10,000 employees at You Integrated, as well as how they all require a voice. Yet Fear many of all, lest all voices become quelched darkness. The key to fear, she discusses, is wondering regarding it, consequently utilizing its power rather compared to overcoming it. In between guts and curiosity is whatever we should be fearless.

Ulmer's individual trip with anxiety at some point led her to examine with Zen masters, where she discovered a mindfulness device called "Shift" which moves our perspective of worry from oblivious repression to aggressive curiosity, thus aligning it authentically with our real nature. The standard tenet being this: As opposed to quelching fear, equip it, by being curious as well as examining instead of judgmental and implicating. Honor it with deep respect so it does not operate secretly in twisted means below the surface.

5.) "Endgame: The Problem of Human being' by Derrick Jensen

" Property One: People is not and could never ever be sustainable. This is specifically real for commercial civilization."

Endgame will certainly take every little thing you think you understand about being a social remaining in an apparently useful society as well as turn it on its head. Absolutely except the regular statist, neither the faithful obedient resident. Endgame has to do with the vital demand to right away take apart the unhealthy human being that surrounds us. Endgame is a scathing, surging review against the harmful, unsustainable, and also ecologically unhealthy man-machine that is our contemporary culture.

Breaking guide down right into a series of easy yet increasingly intriguing facilities, Jensen takes us on a psychedelic as well as convincing flight into the undesirable stubborn belly of the fierce, ecocidal beast that is modern human being. His standard property is straightforward: Industrial people is unsustainable. It's not an inquiry of “if” but a question of “when” it's going to fail.

He suggests that the longer it takes people to fall, the worse the tragedy will be. In that light, there are 2 points we must be doing: Causing the autumn sooner rather than later, and preparing to endure it. His attitude is caustic as well as not so serious, however all the better for the shock worth it offers. This book actually squashes the box we're all so desperately attempting to assume beyond. A free (and maybe less hostile) read is Beyond Human being by Daniel Quinn.

6.) Trickster Makes this Globe: Mischief, Myth, and Art by Lewis Hyde

" Better to run with detachment, then, much better to have a method but instill it with a little humor, best, to have no way at all but to have rather the wit constantly making one's method anew from the materials at hand."

Trickster Makes This World is a mythological cornerstone for Spiritual Clowns and also practicing trickster-gods the world over, digging into the intestines of the prehistoric significance of sacred play and also brawler actions. Hyde checks out just how trickster numbers represent the “disruptive imagination” that inverts, reorganizes, and also overturns standard wisdom. From Raven to Coyote, Ape to Crow, Hermes to Loki, Eshu to Legba, Hyde reveals connections in between mythical tricksters that develop a concealed network that links social divides.

The ideal part regarding this publication is its capability to reveal just how mythology ends up being reality. “Trickster consciousness'” is a crucial component of human imagination. It reveals that we are the gods of renewal as well as rebirth, if we decide to be. We are the designers of mischief and also mayhem. We are the trickster gods in training. Charlatan is us, and also we are Charlatan. We are the supreme boundary-crossers. No manmade policies or legislations could have us, unless we let them. Also planetary regulations and also regulations can barely contain us. Charlatan makes this globe by tearing the old world down through high wit, ethical ambiguity, absurdity, and critical transgression and also then dancings in the ashes of its devastation. It is specifically from the dancing, the kicking up of dirt and also ash, where endure new globes emerge.

7.) 'Ethical Tribes: Feeling, Reason, and also the Void Between Us as well as Them' by Joshua Greene

" We need a kind of believing that allows teams with clashing principles to cohabit and flourish. To puts it simply, we require a metamorality. We need a moral system that settles disagreements amongst groups with different moral ideals, equally as common first-order morality solves differences among individuals with various egocentric rate of interests."

Moral Tribes is hands-on moral psychology and a revitalizing brand-new take on utilitarianism. Greene wraps video game theory, evolutionary biology, as well as neuroscience into a wonderful absorbable package to strengthen his concept of cognition, which builds elegantly into a theory of moral psychology. A sweeping synthesis of neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy, Ethical People opens up a container of psychosocial worms that takes the principle of principles to the next level, exposing exactly how we are incredibly well-adept at fixing the problem in between “Me” and “Us,” through the concept of the “tribe,” yet how we are ridiculously less-adept at solving the meta-dilemma between “Us” and “Them.”

Greene's principle of metamorlity squares this psychosocial circle by counterintuitively applying utilitarianism to our base, pavlovian response to morality (advanced morality) by coming to be aware of our apathy in order to end up being a lot more understanding. By enhancing humankind as opposed to nationalism, and life patriotism rather of patriotic nationalism, we turn the tables on both prejudice as well as lethargy and we come to be a lot more caring as well as empathetic toward others. When we celebrate variety rather than trying to pack the square secure of manifest destiny right into the round hole of social association, we turn the tables on the monkey-mind's one-dimensional moral tribalism and we introduce Joshua Greene's multi-dimensional metamorality.

[kainosite]

Les Misérables 2018, Episode 2

Welp, Anthony Perkins is not going to be knocked from his pedestal of “Most Brick-Accurate Interpretation of Javert Despite Being Far Too Attractive for the Role” any time soon.

The Good:

• Finally we get an adaptation that will force both us and Valjean to confront the question “Does Petit Gervais deserve the protection of the French criminal justice system, and if not why not?”  The miniseries kind of had to do this because it made Valjean’s theft of the coin so much more deliberate than in the book, but it has done it, and not before time.  Les Mis fandom has been willfully avoiding this question for years.

• The Thénardiers were superb.  I know Olivia Colman is contractually obliged to appear in every BBC production ever, but her ubiquity is entirely justified here because she may be the best Mme. Thénardier of all time.  Thénardier was good too, and that brief flash of violence against Mme. T when she challenged him was a valuable addition, both because it explains a lot about her character and because it foreshadows what he’ll become in Paris.  So far we’ve only seen him as a corpse looter, a dodgy innkeeper and an extortionist, but he’s more dangerous than that, and we caught a glimpse of that here.  There were some nice subtle touches: the Sergeant of Waterloo sign and the story of Thénardier’s heroism, the fact that the girls only have two good dresses between them (Azelma immediately gets Cosette’s; when they’re showing off Cosette to Victurnien she’s wearing Éponine’s), the inclusion of unloved, adorable baby Gavroche.

• One consequence of Colman’s excellent performance is that Fantine’s choice to leave Cosette at the inn appears quite reasonable, as it should.  Fantine did exactly what a young woman traveling alone is supposed to do: she gravitated towards the mother playing with her children because that’s the person who is supposed to be safe.  Mme. T was welcoming and sympathetic, though still with a bit of a Thénardiery edge, the little girls played together like sisters, and Fantine’s decision to leave Cosette in this stable, apparently happy environment seems entirely natural.  She had no way to know that wholesome surface was wallpaper over an abyss.  The people who can afford the diligence get a recommendation for the other inn, but she had to walk.  (The Vimes theory of Yelp reviews.)

• Having Fantine walk in on Madeleine’s mayoral inauguration was a clever way to handle that exposition in theory, although slightly clunky in practice.

• Madeleine is so awkward.  His speeches are so bad.  His hat and coat are so ugly. <333

• I love every OC in Montreuil.  I love the bourgeois who is super excited about Madeleine becoming the mayor (I hereby dub him “Robert”).  I love Fantine’s factory friends who gossip about their sexy boss and his bedroom grotto and then run to get him to rescue their fallen coworker from  evil cops.  I even love the public letter writer with his creepy but pragmatic advice.  I imagine he’s been witness to a lot of human misery and has developed that cynicism and dark humor you often see in people in frontline emergency services.

• I don’t love Mme. Victurnien, but that’s her, all right.

• This adaptation is doing an excellent job with Fantine’s illiteracy, and has been since the first episode.  The skin-crawling awfulness of having to conduct your most private, personal business through the public letter writer and have him know and comment on all of it really comes through.

• The police are all in plainclothes and basically look like a gang of thugs.  This adaptation has really grasped the 1820s French police aesthetic.  I also appreciated how hostile and judgey everyone at the Prefecture was towards Javert.

• I don’t know what it says about Davies that the characters he can most consistently write well are the asshole fuckboys, but Bamatabois was great.

Also I don’t think I’ve seen a Fantine beat up a Bamatabois this bad since 1934 when she put his head through a glass window.  As in the 1934 adaptaion, this creates a minor problem with the narrative because it means she really is guilty of a serious assault and Javert is right to arrest her, but you’d have to have a heart of stone not to enjoy seeing Bamatabois punched repeatedly in the face.  I do not have a heart of stone.

• I’m choosing to believe that Javert’s handshake following his resignation is a little nod to readers of the novel, who know as well as he does that a legitimate magistrate has not taken the hand of a spy.

• Nice fake jet manufacturing process in Valjean’s factory: they even included the gum-lac.  The flag at the Prefecture of Police is the white fleur-de-lys, not the tricolor.  They really are putting tremendous effort into getting some of the little details right.

• This adaptation’s sense of place continues to be excellent.  Montreuil-sur-Mer has its steep hill; during Madeleine’s inauguration you can even see the Canche.  The soldiers from the garrison are a ubiquitous background presence. The Prefecture of Police in Paris looks like the old headquarters at the Rue de Jérusalem, which if it wasn’t a happy accident shows a truly remarkable degree of historical research and commitment to accuracy.  (They then proceeded to cover it up with that hideous red font, truly the ‘YELLOW’ of this adaptation.)

The Meh

• If you must go with a “Javert immediately makes a positive identification of Valjean” plot their first meeting wasn’t a disaster, I guess.  There was some decent dramatic tension.  I appreciated Madeleine’s initial cunning plan to stare out the window for the entire rest of his life so that Javert couldn’t look him in the face, before realizing that this probably wasn’t going to work.  The little slip where he called Javert ambitious and betrayed his prior knowledge of him was good.

• Why does every person in this adaptation have a ridiculous and implausible horse?  Why does Javert have a horse to ride to Paris, which is far enough away that you’d need to change horses and you should probably just take the diligence, but not to Arras, which is within riding distance?

The horses are elevated from “bad” to “meh” by the fact that Valjean’s palomino is gorgeous, though very unlikely to exist in northern France in 1823, and if he must ride an implausible horse it might as well be an anachronistically pretty one.  Also by Valjean and Javert’s fraught moonlit horseback encounter, which is obviously what an adaptation should do with its ridiculous horses if it insists on having them.

• The Chief Inspector in Paris was neither Chabouillet nor attractive, nor did he have any fun hierarchical tension with Javert.  Boo.

• This adaptation is sure going hard on the Valjean/Fantine vibes, huh.  I don’t hate it, which probably counts as an enormous accomplishment for the miniseries.  I think it manages not to come off as gross mainly because Madeleine is so incredibly awkward that it’s impossible to imagine it ever progressing to the point of a sexual relationship.  Fantine smiles at Madeleine because she’s so relieved to have found a safe harbor.  After an internal struggle Madeleine manages to smile back because that’s what you’re supposed to do when people smile at you, right??? and she’s so powerless that she’s the only adult in Montreuil he doesn’t find threatening.  In a decade or two they might progress all the way to reciprocal “Good mornings” when she comes in to work.  That’s as far as this is going to go.

• Sadly this vision of social harmony and human connection will never be realized, because Fantine got fired.  Specifically she got fired by Valjean for added drama.  I know people are up in arms about this, but honestly I think it’s fine?  At the end of the day it is Valjean’s sexist policy that costs Fantine her job and his chosen supervisor who implements it.  The franc stops with him.  Having him fire her himself just makes his responsibility a little more apparent. I don’t think it’s necessary to depict it this way, but it’s fine.  Adaptations do this sometimes.  In 2012 something very similar happens, where Valjean is too distracted by Javert to deal with the Fantine Baby Drama and lets a malicious subordinate call the shots.  The Original French Concept Album has Valjean fire her directly without any excuse for his behavior at all, and nobody thinks the musical is a irredeemable character-ruining travesty of an adaptation– well, one guy.

• Shouty Valjean is not doing anything for me but he’s not catastrophic either.  It is unfortunate that most of the people he interacts with in this episode, and therefore most of the people he shouts at, are female, but we know from Episode 1 that he’s equally happy to shout at bishops who have just saved him from a lifetime sentence of forced labor.  Westjean is an equal opportunity shouter.

The decision to portray Valjean’s saintliness as a constant effort that slips whenever he’s stressed is an unusual one, and certainly not Brick-accurate (Brick Valjean’s saintliness is a constant effort that almost never slips), but I don’t think we should dismiss it out of hand.  Television needs to externalize internal conflicts in some way, and I can’t say this is a less artistically valid method than eg. I Miserabili’s tendency to have everyone monologue all the time.  We’ll have to see where they go with it.

• Valjean didn’t refuse Javert’s resignation.  The resignation scene is so weird that I’ve decided I’m actually okay with this, because it’s really very unclear what Javert’s is resigning over.  Is it the “false” denunciation?  Is it the argument over Fantine, which he also apologizes for?  Has all this turmoil just made him reconsider his life choices, and he’s decided to emigrate to America and become a paddleboat pilot on the Mississippi?  Who knows!  Valjean has a moral responsibility to stop Javert falling on his sword over the denunciation, but not to keep him on the police force.  If Javert is going to be this vague, it’s his problem.

• The Burning Coin of Shame was so melodramatic Hugo’s ghost is presumably kicking himself for not making Valjean pick it up in the novel.  I don’t hate it, but when you’ve out-melodrama’d Hugo it may be time to take a step back.

The Bad

• That red font looks worse every time I see it.

• Valjean’s godforsaken ponytail.  WHY.  It’s not even attractive!  Who the fuck decided to lift every aesthetic decision from the 2012 movie except for the period appropriate hair!?

• Speaking of period appropriate hair, your prospective employers might be less likely to assume you’re a slut if you put it up like a respectable woman instead letting it flop all over the place like a prostitute, Fantine.

• I don’t love Fantine’s intake interview.  There are ways they could have depicted the factory’s morality policy without making Madeleine come off like such a nosy sexist asshole, and Davies should have found one.  Being the nosy sexist asshole is Victurnien’s job.  Madeleine is meant to be the paternalistic, well-meaning sexist asshole.

• The Brick glides over Marius’s childhood in a few sentences, so I appreciate there is a difficulty in finding incidents to fill the Pontmercy sections in these early episodes.  TOO BAD.  You decided to merge the timelines, Davies; it was self-evident that this was going to be the major problem with that approach when you did it.  THIS IS THE LIFE YOU HAVE CHOSEN.  Go over the novel with a fine-toothed comb or make some shit up, but it was your responsibility to  fill this gap somehow.

Killing off Georges Pontmercy ten years early is not a solution.

a) You gave us Hot Sad Dad Pontmercy and then tore him away from us two episodes before you needed to.  HOW DARE.

b) The Marius timeline in the Brick makes sense.  His father dies, he finds out Georges loved him from Mabeuf, he starts researching his dad and Napoleon and grows estranged from his grandfather, Gillenormand kicks him out of the house, he meets Bossuet and Courfeyrac.  Marius’s internal growth, the timeline and the plot all work together as a cohesive whole.  Fuck knows how any of that is going to work out now.

c) Marius is still going to be a child next week, so killing off Georges didn’t even solve the problem, it just postponed it for the space of a single episode.

d) The gap wouldn’t even have been that hard to fill!  Georges could have fought with the prosecutor about his decoration and spied on Marius at church or something.  It would have given us a chance to meet Mabeuf properly.  Fuck this bullshit so much.

• This is a minor thing, but there should be women at Gillenormand’s table.  Ancien Régime salon culture was run by women; the exclusion of women from male political and social life in France was a nineteenth century invention.  The Brick is very clear about this – Gillenormand generally hangs around with Baroness T.  History has enough sexism in it already.  There’s no need to invent more.

• I have no objections to Valjean firing Fantine in person, but the toy bird introduces a pretty serious flaw in Victurnien’s “She’s a callous whore who doesn’t care about her child” case, one you’d think Valjean might notice.  There’s no reason for it even to appear in that scene!  Have the Tories cut the BBC’s budget so much they can’t afford script editors?

• Gosh those are some bright, white street lamps they have in Montreuil.  I wonder what sort of oil burns with such a constant flame?

• If Davies wanted to dissociate his adaptation from the musical, a good first step might have been to spend much less time with the campy tooth and wig guy.  Fantine’s plot arc was actually fairly good up until that point, but after that it really did devolve into misery porn.

• Oyelowovert has a very pretty face.  What he does not have is any coherent motivation for his behavior in this episode.

Javert’s plotline was such a fucking disaster in this that I gave it its own post.

• If Davies insists on doing this stupid Arras entrapment plot, the least he could do is give us a Robert and a Genflou to make up for it.  Well, we got a Robert but not a Genflou, and I’m mad.

This episode was a mix of the sublime and the grotesque, and therefore, in a certain sense, truly worthy of Victor Hugo.  But Gavroche is going to have a lot of work to do at the barricade to make up for this mess.

[firefrightfic]

Love all your AU fics with Jason! Have you thought about how Jason and the rest of the Bat family would fit in a "Hunger Games" Scenario? Which district would they hail from? Who would win if they were all to compete in the same tournament and how?

Thank you! I’m a total AU addict, it’s true. And while I haven’t thought about a THG AU as much as some others  it’s definitely something that’s crossed my mind from time to time.

Bruce: Bruce was born in Capitol. That wonderful shining world of light, plenty and luxury at every turn. For the first eight years of his life, it was good, and he was almost as oblivious as any other Capitol child to the truth of the society he lived in. That is until his parents were by ‘rebels’ in front of his eyes, and years of careful investigation afterwards led him to discover they had been District sympathisers, trying to push for reform to stop the games and create a fairer Panem for all. It wasn’t rebels who killed them, but the government itself. It opened his eyes to what Panem really is, and since then he too has worked to stealthily undermine the Capitol’s control, forming a vast network of allies through the city, the districts and their victors.  He is 100% in contact with District 13, and an integral part of their plan for victory.

Dick: Hailing from District 1 (which to my mind would provide not only luxury goods to the Capitol, but also entertainers), Dick was raised as trapeze artist like his parents. He was barely 12 when his name was drawn in the Reaping, small and not at all physically intimidating in appearance. He was lucky in that the arena he was sent into was a jungle biome, with huge towering trees connected by sturdy vines. His acrobatic skills enabled him to easily outmanoeuvre the other tributes and survive to the end. His victory is a constant matter of debate still amongst the Capitol enthusiasts on whether it was an accident or intentional; his last opponent fell from a branch to the jungle floor, where his neck was snapped by the vines that had been looped around him. Either way, unfortunately for Dick his good looks as he’s grown older and his natural charisma have kept him very much in the public eye as a victor, and he is often forced to entertain Capitolites under threat of what will be done to those he cares about if he doesn’t.

Jason: District 6. After losing his parents at an early age (his father executed over some minor misdemeanour and his mother to her morphling addiction) he survived by scavenging engine parts for recycling along with many of the other orphans of the district until he was old enough to work in the vehicle manufacturing plants (though he still opted for tesserae each year as soon as he was 12). At age 15 when he was reaped in what would be one of the bloodiest and shortest games in Hunger Games history where the arena was a mockery of a bombed out city. After hiding out for the majority of the two days it lasted, he was almost beaten to death with a crowbar by the other surviving tribute. Jason managed to survive however by running and luring them to a trap he’d set with siphoned off petrol from one of the stripped out cars in the arena, then lighting it on fire thanks to a sponsorship gift of a lighter organised by his mentor. Unlike Dick, he’s not terribly popular with Capitolites after the end of his games, and the only regular he’s forced to see is Bruce (who only buys his time as a means to talk rebellion and also check on his wellbeing, the same as he does the rest of the victors he’s formed connections with). 

Tim: This is probably terrible predictable, but District 3. His mother was the district mayor, which made his family about as well off as any could be in the districts besides 1 or 2. His reaping came as a total shock to both himself and his family when he was 13. Realising he wouldn’t stand a chance in a straight up fight against of most of his opponents, Tim spent the entire training period in the Capitol sizing them up and planning as best he could without knowing what sort of arena he would land in. Once the games began – in the expanse of a great maze filled with puzzles and traps – the seemingly shy and harmless boy showed his ruthless side, playing the other tributes like pawns on a chessboard as he made allies and broke them just as quickly. His display of intelligence earned him the favour of a particular sponsor, Ra’s al Ghul, who provided Tim with numerous tools with which to earn his victory. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a double-edged sword, as Ra’s’ admiration for Tim has carried on past the end of the games and he’s almost exclusively paid for Tim’s time in the Capitol since.

Damian: Bruce’s son, Damian was raised by his mother’s family for most of his life the same as he was in the comics, before at the age of 10 Talia decided he should spend more time with his father. Damian was raised to believe in the Capitol and the necessity of the Hunger Games, as well as to look down on the districts who provided the tributes for them. Since taking custody, Bruce has tried his best to subtly and safely turn that attitude around, particularly by having Damian meet some of the victors he’s taken in under his wing. The chiefest among whom is Dick, who was the first to break through and make Damian realise that those in the districts are real people too, and how terribly cruel the games really are.

I haven’t thought as much about the girls I’m sorry, I’m terrible but I think I would say that Barbara is from District 2 (Peacekeeper father), Steph from District 12 and Cass… District 4 perhaps? Kate is also a Capitolite as Bruce’s cousin.

The second part of your question… oof, I don’t know. In a world where they have no prior knowledge or attachment to each other that would be brutal, and honestly a little more angsty than I want to think about XD;; Shocking, I know.

[starryburglar-archive]

Anna Info

Full name: Anna Berg

Species: Human

Age: 19

Sexuality: Pansexual

FC(s): Elizabeth Lail

Bio: Princess Anna Berg, first of her name, is the youngest daughter of the previous king and queen of Arendelle ( may they rest in peace ), and the younger sister of Elsa, the current queen of the land.

Their relationship had its ups and downs, as well as confusing moments, but thankfully they were able to resolve their problems. It wasn't easy, though. It's a long story involving ice magic, trolls and memory wiping, all culminating in years of isolation and solace, wanting nothing but to spend time with her sister. So, how did Anna learn the truth, if her memories were erased? Well, she never got them back but was the catalyst of an accident, a small burst of anger which made Elsa blow up and display her powers on the day of her coronation.

This made Elsa run away, which prompted Anna to immediately go after her. The guilt and regret over what happened were growing by the second -- she didn't regret feeling how she felt ( a combination of sadness and frustration, above else ) but did not want to ruin things with her only family member left. It took all of her might and bravery to go after her, all while joining forces with some colourful characters: an ice harvester named Kristoff, his reindeer companion Sven, and a talking snowman who was alive thanks to Elsa's magic.

There was chaos at the climax of their tale. Anna was sure she wouldn't survive by the end, not with a frozen heart making her colder and weaker by the second, much less with a two-faced prince playing pretend. In the moment of truth, she sacrificed her life for Elsa's, stopping Hans from killing her while turning into ice in the process. turns out, that was the act of true love the trolls were talking about, and such act was rewarded with her life.

Nowadays, both sisters are on much better terms after years of being kept apart by their parents. There isn't a single moment where they don't take advantage of it to create new memories, revive old ones and rebuild their sisterhood.

Note: Follows canon from the movie, short specials, the book "A Frozen Heart" and bits of KH3

[ MAIN || INBOX || HEADCANONS || VISAGE || MUSINGS ]

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

V001: For the First Time in Forever

Default main verse. Post the original film and before Frozen 2. Any KH related interactions will also occur in this verse due to the world in kh3 being very similar to the movie so there is no point in making a separate verse for it.

V002: The Next Right Thing

Standard Frozen 2 verse. Nothing much changes from the events of the sequel so Anna is the new queen and relationships with the Northuldra are going slow but steady.

V003: Modern Naïvete

Modern verse. Anna has recently graduated from high school and is on much better terms with her older sister. As of now, she isn’t quite sure ( yet ) what to go for in college – one thing was for certain, though, Anna definitely wants to practice fencing for reals now.

V004: Strength in Rebellion

Persona 5 verse. Anna Berg always had a close and strong relationship with her family. Her parents and kind but stern, and has one of the cooler older sisters in all earth. even after they moved to Japan, the routine didn’t change much. It was simply… perfect. However, neither Anna nor Elsa expected for life to take such a turn.

The death of their parents took them both by surprise, especially to Elsa who quickly had to take on new responsibilities as the oldest sister and despite not being older than 18, as Anna was 15 at the time. The sisters, who once had been so close and united, started to drift apart. Elsa began to both work and attend university, draining most of her energy and making her stay away from home most of the time; whenever they did cross paths, she would always remind Anna to focus on her studies, to not waste time on other things.

It broke her heart. anna missed her parents, but especially her sister after what happened. It’s like everything they’d gone through together never happened. She felt almost like a stranger to her than her younger sister. The worst part is, anna had nowhere to turn to. With the lack of any real friends outside of classmate acquaintances at Shujin Academy, no one paid much attention to Anna. She was only “The pretty transfer student from across the sea”.

For two years, Anna thought there wouldn’t be any way for things to change. For her and Elsa to talk and start things over. But then, the Phantom Thieves appeared. 

First with the volleyball coach, Kamoshida; then with that famous artist, -Madarame; soon enough, this strange group of misfits had done the impossible. it was around the time of the Okumura incident ( his change of heart and tragic death ) that Anna left a message… or several… at the Phansite, asking for a change of heart. Part of her thought it would be useless, but another side wanted to believe… two days later, she was contacted by a second year, Mishima, who ran the site – he came along one of his classmates, the famous student with a criminal record. They only asked for one thing: who needs the change of heart. Anna didn’t explain the whole story but did clarify that it was for her sister and what she was doing most of the time nowadays.

That kid seemed suspicious to her for some reason. The Mishima kid seemed fine, a regular fan who runs the site, but the other was so calm and collected, he wouldn’t leave her mind. Maybe it was silly from her part but decided to follow him for a couple of days. She was about to give up after the third day until he saw him reuniting with another group of kids; most were from Shujin Academy, which should be normal, but then, as Anna moved closer while trying to be inconspicuous, bits and pieces of their conversation are what almost made her freeze. They were talking about her request, about Elsa, something about code words and having to do this in a limited time frame. What happened afterwards it’s still hazy in her mind: Anna remembers seeing the kid’s phone out, a black cat meowing loudly, words were spoken and then, everything around them ( and herself ) began to shift and spin. When her blue eyes opened, they weren’t at her house ( where the group gathered after meeting at the train station ), but what should be out of a wild and fantastical dream. A large and very tall ice palace; it was beautiful, cold and lonely.

She lost sight of the group due to being in awe at the new location but was determined to find answers of her own. Anna went inside the ice palace against better judgment, without any weapons but her fists and her history book. It didn’t take long, however, for her to be discovered by some strange shadowy creatures and a man who she had seen once or twice: Elsa’s university classmate, Hans Westergard. the man, instead of looking friendly and welcoming, had a look as cold and distant as the palace.

He took her to a large ice chamber, where the kids from before, now wearing ridiculous leather outfits and masks, stood beside a strange-looking woman. A woman with skin as blue and transparent as ice, with hair as white as snow, with a dress made out of the snow and ice around them, and with distant yet very familiar-looking eyes. Elsa. Anna couldn’t believe her eyes, what was her sister doing there? Why did she look like this? Why did she seem colder than usual? It took a lot of yelling to get some sort of explanation, which she didn’t even understand until much later. Her heart was beating fast, Elsa wouldn’t look at her and Hans was pinning her to the ground with a sword. She had to do something, she had to save her sister—

And then… Anna heard a voice, both warm and fierce echoing in her head. It was telling her to woman up, to stand up and fight for her only relative alive, for the person she cares about the most, to not let this sad excuse of a man subdue her. It asked her to forge a contract, which she gladly accepted. Ripping off the mask that had formed out of thin air hurt like a bitch, but was so liberating at the same time. Anna felt like she could fly as if the sky was hers to sore and explore… what was this power? It didn’t matter now. with a confident smile and determined spirit, Anna, soon to be called Valkyrie, raised her sword and stood next to her persona, Freya, and began the attack to Cognition!Hans.

OUTFIT // ARCANA: LOVERS

V005: A New Era

Alternate Frozen 2 verse. The main difference with the other one is that Arendelle, the physical kingdom, was not saved at the last minute by Elsa and instead was destroyed by the river waters after Anna made the rock giants destroy the dam. The Arendellians were lost, confused and in panic, of course, but Anna’s leadership, kindness, courage and determination were enough to bring new hope to everyone. To Anna, Arendelle isn’t a place but its people.

The Arendellians moved to begin the construction of the new kingdom neat the enchanted forest, just close enough to the elemental rocks so they’re near the Northuldra and can work together. This is a new era for Arendelle and she is their queen.

V006: Princesses Unite

Wreck-it Ralph 2 verse. Nuff said.

V007: tba FFXV verse

tba FFXV verse. to be written in detail at a later point but some tips to keep in mind:

arendelle is a small kingdom allied with lucis

elsa is the current queen and has been for a couple of years since the death of their parents

anna does a lot of travelling to speak in her sister’s name, but also because she enjoys it.

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

CONNECTIONS

Queen Elsa :: [ Tammy ] [ Queen ] [ Wyz ]

:: Anna ♣ One and only sister ( Elsa ) ::

Ryuji :: [ Josie ]

:: Anna ♥ Adorable enabler [ Ryuji ( galaxyveind ) ] ::

[aaasashi]

How the music technology impact the music industry ?

INTRODUCTION

There is no denying that technology continues to significantly influence the music industry these days.  People have grown comfortable integrating modern technology into their daily lives and the ways they listen to music are not immune to these advancements. One of the biggest changes the music industry has seen is that for the first time ever, music’s elements such as the visual and the acoustic have been separated and are no longer necessary as a duo.  It used to be that music was only seen live, hence the visual and audio aspects.  But, with the advancement of audio engineering, now, music lovers are often left with just what they hear.  And while this has spurred some of the best audio and sound engineering schools in the country to burst with students excited about the technological changes in this evolving industry, many musicians are left worrying that technology will essentially replace them. However, as we take a deeper look at how technology has intertwined into the music industry, you will see that while some things are still working themselves out, the truth is that digital technology is actually being hailed as the saviour of the music industry, rather than the destroyer. 

Over the last fifty years, the use of computers to generate sound has evolved into what is today’s popular mainstream music.  Format, mediums, performance, and distribution of music has forced those in the music industry to follow this rising trend and either adapt or die out. These new developments in how audio is manipulated are not the only ones the music industry has seen.  In fact, the changes that come with digital technology reach far beyond audio recording. Everything has changed. Audio production has evolved, independent artists not bound to major record labels are on a more level playing field, and even the way the consumer listens to and purchases music have changed with the times.  

 For me, my music expertise was in technology music based on what i like to do with all the technology music instruments such as the synthesizer, interface and more. Even my major instrument is Trumpet but I think we can bring the classical instruments into the technology music. Maybe this day we just hear that the technology just bring something like electro and modern with the pop elements but I don’t think that we can’t bring the classic elements into the technology music industry. The truth is, though technology has seemingly “taken over” the music industry, a lot of things still remain the same.  Artists still record in traditional recording studios using real live instruments and backup singers.  Audio and sound engineers are still needed to set up, record, and edit the final product to meet the demands of the consumer.

The only difference is that computers are enhancing the music to make it sound more like what consumers want these days.  Expert audio engineers are taking old pieces of music and making them new.  They are blurring the line between what is real and what is digital and customers love it.  That is probably why digital technology is being hailed a hero to what was a slowly dying industry.

THE IMPACT OF MUSIC TECHNOLOGY IN MUSIC INDUSTRY

Music has always been a fundamental aspect of human life way before civilisation took its grip on the human race. There is literally no culture on earth that exists or has existed before that does not dance to a certain tune of music. It is rightly said of music that it is one of man’s greatest and ever-present companions. Whether it is laughter, pain, sorrow, love or hate, music has a rare ability to speak to man in a way that resonates with his deepest emotions. The powerful influence of music on man has made it to stand against the test of time. Just as man is extremely adaptive and has changed over time, so has music adapted and changed regardless of changes in culture. Man’s ingenuity has brought with it a powerful force that has affected the music industry in a substantial way. The past two centuries have witnessed advancements in technology that were not thought of before. These have affected the way music is produced, distributed and accessed in both positive and negative ways. Numerous technological advancements in music have taken place since the 18th century but the most influential technology that has taken the music world by storm is the digitization of music. Since the time music became readable by computers, the dynamics and economics of the music industry have transformed drastically. So let us take a few moments and look at how technology has been both a blessing and a curse to the music world.

So from the positive side that the music technology can bless to the music world is it can improved the production of music.Music production has never been better from the instruments right to the recording process. The past two centuries has seen both the improvement and emergence of new musical instruments that have fascinated everyone with a discerning ear to musical sounds. For example, the 1920s witnessed the emergence of one of the most influential music instruments in popular culture, the Electric Guitar. The Electric Guitar is a product of innovative efforts from a number of inventors and musicians who thought outside the box in trying to come up with louder string sounds by using electricity. From then it has made it to the big stage and graced some of the greatest songs that influence millions of people around the world. Electronic music instruments are increasingly dominating music production and performances that some new genres such as electronic dance music are almost entirely built on electronic music instruments. The studio itself has evolved from being analogue to digital based. New technologies have made the process of producing a piece of music less daunting and efficient. Computers have made the process easier to undertake unlike the good old days when producers had to spend hour’s fine-tuning sounds on a complicated analogue device. Next, the more Easier Promotion. The emergence of the internet has made musicians’self-promotion more of a walk in the park. Nowdays, the touch of a button or a click has the power to transform any good musician into a worldwide superstar. File sharing websites and social networks have made it cheaper and efficient for musicians to promote themselves and create prospects for growth.  The internet has completely transformed the musical landscape that gone are the days when we had to wait for tapes, radios and CDs or some rare concerts to experience the latest trends in the music industry. The third one is Better distribution.Back in the days, it was a difficult task to produce quality music and it was a momentous task to make sure the music got heard by the world. Breaking on the world scene was never a matter for the faint hearted as it required enormous resources and effort. The logistical problems associated with distributing hard copies of songs made sure it took years if not decades to get worldwide recognition as a musician. These days it’s a far much different story. Thanks to the internet, musicians are able to get their music world-wide without having to transfer huge amounts of hard copies to other parts of the world. Websites like iTunes have helped a lot of musicians to sell digital copies of their music to a worldwide audience by the click of a button on the computer. Those whose primary purpose is not to make huge sales initially have the opportunity of sharing music for free to anyone and anywhere in the world. Information websites take a further step advancing knowledge on the most recent trends in the music world we don’t have to buy an expensive magazine to know our favourite artists are up to a new album. There has never been a more exciting time in the history of music. The human race is indeed being brought together through music and technology. Others, The accessibility.Gone are the days when one had to take a long walk to a music shop to look for the latest or favorite song. It has never been easier for the consumers to access music right at the fingertips. File sharing sites, some illegal and others legal in nature, have transformed the way music is accessed. One is able to download the most recent song in less than 5 minutes, provided you have a good internet connection. This of course has proven to be a single-edged sword as it has opened a loophole for the consumers while it is a menacing blow to the musician. And the last one for the positive side of music technology is the advancement and emergence of new musical genres through cross cultural interaction. Technology has also had a big hand in transforming the way music is created. Hybrid genres such as crank, afro-pop and a myriad others have made waves on the musical landscape during the past few decades. Technology has simplified cross cultural interactions exposing musicians to new forms of music. The result has been the mixing of elements of different genres in order to create new and more exciting hybrid forms. A few decades ago, hip hop was foreign and unacceptable in most African countries. It was usually considered the music for the rebellious and perverse but we all know it is making its way into most countries of the continent through hybrid forms like afro hip-hop and other genres with even more funny names. 

Even as you can see music technology have a lot of benefits in music industry but it doesn’t mean that it don’t have the negatives side on it. So this is a few negatives side that you can see based on music technology to the music industry.

First, The Piracy.Piracy is a nightmare to any serious musician who wants to make any meaningful sales from his or her talent. In layman’s terms, it is any form of music theft, the illegal use of the hard-earned musical talent. In white-collar terms, it is defined as any form of duplication along with distribution of music without the formal permission from the entity holding the copyrights to that particular music. The practice has been there since the 1920s but it was minimal until the 80s where the mp3 was invented. The mp3 was basically the digitisation of music. Music could now be read, copied and transferred between computers and the result was a disastrous loophole that made music too accessible to anyone with a basic computer and an internet connection. Piracy is the main culprit in economic losses incurred by the music industry over the past decades amounting up to 12.5 billion dollars every year according to the Recording Rights Association of America. Several measures Have been put in place but with technology evolving every day, the musical world still awaits a miracle. Those who still make it to the top are usually those who have established enough recognition to outplay the damage done by today’s modern and sophisticated musical pirates. Next, over-reliance on technology. Much has technology has significantly simplified a lot of hustles associated with producing quality music. However, over reliance on its benefits affects the quality of the music produced. Sometimes it is hard to come by a musician with pure originality and the finesse that makes music such a powerful force. The good old days used to have musicians who looked at music as a calling and though the resources were limited, there musical masterpieces still echo in our ears today. The lack of fancy equipment to let them make up music while half asleep taught them to appreciate music in its purest form. The simplicity of today’s music production and distribution has come with its own breed of musicians who do not have any genuine purpose apart from money and fame and the musical world has suffered a degradation of quality and character. Last but not least is Undermining cultural heritage. Technology has made it possible for cultures to share values including music but to be realistic, the more powerful cultures dominate the scene and this results in other cultures adopting the values of the dominant ones. Some music genres are essentially dying as the younger and millennial generation starts adopting the more ‘exciting and cool’ ones. This is a genuine threat to the diversity on the musical landscape. It would be a much better musical world if new forms of music were emerging while the older ones were still appreciated and given a place.

To sum up, technology has changed the world and made it better in countless ways and so has music done for thousands of years. The human race needs to find a way to let the two important factors which are very dear to us to coexist. Piracy has to be conquered for us to fully embrace the value of music and the musicians who work so hard to produce the treasured songs.

So here is my final thought, In the end, if music dies as an industry, it will be because the musicians let it.  Once people realise that change is inevitable, and that progress is optional, everything will move forward a lot smoother. Music isn’t dying, and neither is the art of sound and audio engineering.  It is simply evolving and allowing for the creation of music in new and exciting ways. The sooner everyone in the music industry embraces this, the more empowered they will feel to create something that has never been heard before and that will be something to be proud of.

[totesmccoats]

Batman: Lost #1

A 78 year old Bruce Wayne reads his granddaughter a story from his adventures as Batman, the very first story: The Case of the Chemical Syndicate.

Except, this isn’t Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne was sent into prehistory, where he drew a bat on a wall in a cave, inspiring a tribe of followers.

But that’s not Bruce Wayne either. Bruce Wayne is Batman, and he is trapped in the Dark Multiverse, shown visions of the past, future, and alternate dimensions by the dark god Barbatos to break his psyche. Barbatos taunts Batman through these visions, telling of how Batman had summoned him from the Dark Multiverse, and how he had molded Bruce Wayne from the dawn of history to one day take up the mantle of the Bat and swing open the door for his conquering of the multiverse.

If you have the prerequisite knowledge to understand all the places in from the Batman mythos that this issue plays with and connects, then you will love this issue. Barbatos presents his unified theory of Batman as he drags Bruce deeper in deeper into his own stories, trapping him in inevitability. He breaks Batman by taking away his agency, his ability to prepare, his confidence in his own experience and memory. He confronts Batman with futility. And as readers, Snyder, Tynion, and Williamson take us on a whirlwind tour of Batman, from his beginnings to multiple possible ends.

The team of artists, Mahnke, Paquette, and Jimenez on pencils; Mendoza, Paquette, and Jimenez on inks; and Quintana, Fairbairn, and Sanchez on colors, give each iteration of this Batman story it’s own distinct look and feel, from the golden-age pulp noir throwback of the Case of the Chemical Syndicate, to the hyper digitally-effected detail of a possible future where Damien leads an army against his father. This book is gorgeous from cover to cover, as rewarding just to look at as it is to read.

  Mister Miracle #4

Orion decides to hold a trial for Scott, and appoints himself judge, jury, and executioner, to find out if he is an agent of Darkseid, possessed by the anti-life equation. It’s as much a kangaroo court as it seems, with Orion forcing Scott to answer only in “true” or “false,” but nevertheless, Orion may be onto something. As his questioning becomes more and more leading, he probes into Scott’s serious depression, including his suicide attempt, and posits that he may be feeling as he does because of the anti-life equation.

Honestly, part of me would hate it for a comic that seems to be so sympathetic to the mental plight of those affected with depression to explain it away as a side effect of an evil god armed with an magic equation that makes you hate yourself; but also, Darkseid and the anti-life equation have always been a metaphor for our darkest impulses and weaknesses. “Darkseid is” the part of you that hates yourself and others. “Darkseid is” what causes antisocial behavior. And that’s why the heroes can’t let him win. At the least, you can’t argue that making depression a dictator god who hates the concept of freedom itself is undercutting what it actually feels like to live with depression.

King continues his streak of making comics feel surreally domestic, this time with the simple addition of a veggie platter that Scott and Orion pick from during the trial; and the image of the new gods, in full costume, squeezed together on a couch in Scott and Barda’s living room. And Gerad’s use of repetitive panels in a rigid 9-panel grid masterfully builds suspense, and smart use of distortion effects to emphasize moments where things get particularly tense or revealing, is a masterclass in doing more with less. Despite taking place almost entirely within a living room, this issue of Mister Miracle may be the biggest turning-point in the story yet.

  Ragman #2

The demons – who call themselves the Ruah Tum’ah, Hebrew for “impure soul,” – capture Rory, and try to psychologically break him by pressing into his survivor’s guilt, so that they can claim the rags. But, with some help from the souls of his company, who are trapped in rags and who are the people that Rory feels guilty over surviving; he’s able to see past the ruah tum’ah’s illusions, and absorb them into the rags before they can hurt anymore people.

With the demons contained in his rags, Rory tries to interrogate them for information, but is told that doing so drains the power of the other souls trapped in the rags, which would mean losing his friends a second time – so he plans to get to the bottom of things using other methods.

This issue gives us a bit more explanation to what the rags are and how they work, and I always appreciate a story with some jewish mysticism in it; but the book’s biggest weakness continues to be a failure to tie in Rory’s PTSD with the rest of the story in any meaningful way, and also failing to give Rory much of a character outside of his trauma. Rory’s fighting outer demons, but so far his inner ones remain underdeveloped.

Miranda and De La Cruz are illustrating the heck outta this book, giving Ragman himself an interesting and creepy figure and ways of movement and fighting, but again, without a firm anchor for Rory as a character, none of it really coalesces.

  Wonder Woman #34

Wonder Woman finally meets her long-lost brother, Jason; who was raised in secret by Glaucus (who, wasn’t an Argonaut. Don’t know why this issue insists he was.) to protect him from Hera’s jealousy. He reveals to her that he also has powers, including flight; and the two fly off his boat to a small abandoned island for some sibling bonding time.

When discussing family resemblance, Wonder Woman mentions how she wishes she were taller, which, given that she’s supposed to be a like, over 6-foot Amazon, doesn’t exactly track. Also, I really hope I’m not the only one who thought their discussing seemed to be a little too flirty for brother and sister, because I really don’t want that sorta thing to be projection.

Regardless, at sundown, Jason reveals that he was just keeping Diana busy so that Grail could set up an ambush! Because surprise, Jason’s evil! He and Grail manage to overpower Wonder Woman, Grail pinning her with her sword, and Jason promising to kill her himself.

Feels like this issue spent way too much time spinning its wheels before it’s Jason’s heel-turn reveal. Like, this is the first time we’re meeting Jason; there’s no way that we can learn to care for him enough in the space of 2/3rds of an issue where him being evil would feel like a huge betrayal. Either spend more time building a relationship between him and Diana, or reveal that sooner, you know? Really not the sorta thing you can half-ass.

  The Flash #34

Meena is back, and Barry and Wally are happy to have her, even if Wally is still having a hard time trusting people. But Meena’s return isn’t all good news; she tells Barry that the negative-speedforce is killing him from inside, but adds that if she can study it, she may be able to find a cure.

The three speedsters go to the demolition derby so Barry can let loose and create data about the negative-speedforce for Meena to collect; but quickly loses control over his powers and becomes to scared of the repercussions to continue. But despite Meena telling him that sometimes losing control is helpful, she did get all of the data she needs; and promptly reveals that she’s been working with Black Hole the entire time by ambushing the Flashes with a small army. And then she steals the negative-speedforce from Barry…which, despite giving her more power, might have also saved Barry, so…yay?

Meanwhile, the rest of the CCPD inform Kristen of the mysterious new crime boss moving in on Copperhead’s territory.

There’s honestly just not that much going on in this issue. I’m not even sure if Meena revealing that she’s with Black Hole is even a twist, because I’m pretty sure we knew that a few months ago. Same goes for the negative-speedforce negatively affecting Barry. And the Copperhead turf war. Really, the only thing of consequence this issue happens in the last couple of pages, and even then, it’s more a return to status quo than anything else. And yeah, now Barry considers Meena an enemy, but before this issue, he thought she was dead so…I mean, alive is still technically better, right? After how much I’ve enjoyed this series, this issue is really disappointing.

  Moon Knight #188

The new Moon Knight is off to an amazing start, and its first issue doesn’t even have Moon Knight in it. Instead, we follow Dr. Emmett, a psychologist at Ravencroft Asylum working on the case of a nameless man, Patient 86, a pyromaniac who burned his fellow army officers to death after they bullied and tortured him.

Emmett also has a preoccupation with Marc Spector, and believes that just as he was able to focus his multiple personalities through the symbol of Khonshu to become Moon Knight; 86 may benefit from a symbol to focus on, and chooses the Egyptian sun god, Amon-Ra. But she may have succeeded too much in duplicating Marc Spector’s circumstances.

This is one of the most novel approaches I’ve ever read for a first issue, but one that works incredibly; introducing new readers to the idea of Moon Knight by having his origin told by-proxy through the creation of a foil. Dr. Emmett doesn’t succeed in curing 86, only in creating a second Marc Spector. And by showing us what 86 becomes capable of, it hints as to the abilities and mindset of the Moon Knight that Bemis has yet to introduce.

It also helps that Bemis’ dialogue and narrative monologue are electric, lending Emmett an edge to her professionalism, and giving 86 a personality that gets colder as he identifies more with Ra.

Burrows’ art with Lopes’ colors reminds me a lot of Davis-Hunt’s work on Clean Room and Wild Storm, especially the way they illustrate burned skin, and red-haired women doctors. Sorry, too glib. The comparison is a compliment, and the issue looks great.

  Ms. Marvel #24

Ms. Marvel is able to push the runaway train onto a different track at the last second to prevent a collision, but she and Red Dagger remain unable to stop it on it’s briskly paced run through Jersey. And while they think of what to do about this slow emergency, Dagger notices that Ms. Marvel seems exhausted, and not just because she just lifted a train. He suggests that she take some time to take of herself instead of everyone else.

Ms. Marvel checks in on the engineer, who lets her know that they’ve made the news, which reminds Kamala that she’s no longer Jersey’s favorite hero. But, looking at the railroad map of Jersey also inspires her with an idea to stop the train; guiding it to a hill-heavy corridor and let gravity do all the work.

It’s a great plan, or it would be if Ms. Marvel had factored in the speed gained by the train going downhill before going back up. But she’s prepared for that – mostly.

Ms. Marvel, the character and the series, continues to feel a little lethargic this arc, with the high point of the issue being when she’s forced into reacting by the train accelerating as it goes downhill.

The other bright-side to the issue is Olortegui and Herring’s art. Dagger describes Jersey as magical, and though Ms. Marvel is hesitant to agree with him, the art in the book; which illustrates America’s armpit with a golden-hour glow, and at a scale both intimate in terms of showing small towns, and sublime as the train joggs through open expanses of forest.

  Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #26

I can’t believe that Ryan North and Erica Henderson have made me purchase a Jim Davis product of my own volition, with my own money. You monsters. And the first strip he illustrates is just the first Garfield strip, but with Galactus and Silver Surfer instead of Jon and Garfield! Vile.

Despite that, this is still a very fun issue, and I honestly hope becomes an annual thing. A bunch of bad-guys recently destroyed a library, so Squirrel Girl rounded up a bunch of her friends to contribute short comics to a zine she’s selling to fundraise for repairs. All but one of this issue’s ten stories are written by North; the other is written by Henderson, and each is illustrated by a different artist, ranging from, yes, Jim Davis, to Chip Zdarsky, Michael Cho, Anders Nilsen, and Rahzzah.

Each mini-comic is a burst of the same humor found in a typical issue, but from the perspective of this series’ unique take of characters from Spider-Man, Wolverine, Howard the Duck, and Galactus. There’s even a fake letter’s column, where Tony Stark and J. Jonah Jameson write in. It really is a treat, and a not completely cynical take on the resurgence of zine culture and small-press comics and stuff.

  Injection #15

The Spriggans have opened the Cold House wide open, using it as a portal to this world to slaughter as many people as possible, but Brigid has a plan to stop them. It’s not the smartest plan, but effective: drive back to the Cold House, hoping the car continues to act as a faraday cage protecting them from spriggan attacks, and then slap a construction vehicle into one of the Cold House stones to break it.

Unfortunately, once that problem is taken care of, another one emerges. Maria tells Brigid that Morel has cut off FPI, making everything she just did illegal, and making her an enemy of the state. She and Emma decide to run to Ireland together, but surely that won’t be the end of their adventures.

Barring the opening pages of the spriggans indiscriminately slaughtering people, this really could be the last ten minutes of a Doctor Who episode, with the final pages especially tipping Ellis’ hand. It’s an issue long mad dash implementation of a plan that was made up as the heroes go.

Bellaire owns this issue, coloring the climax of the book entirely in three colors: black, white, and a light blue that make it one of the most bold and striking comics of the week.

Comic Reviews 11/8/17 Batman: Lost #1 A 78 year old Bruce Wayne reads his granddaughter a story from his adventures as Batman, the very first story: The Case of the Chemical Syndicate.