#i like jaime reyes. he is very important to me. i got really into him at the same time that i started actually getting opportunities

[stackthedeck]

Do you know of any good booster gold reading lists for a beginner to his comics? You're converting me

I've made a few videos about with reading lists for him on tiktok they're in my comic recommendations playlist but also like I fully understand not wanting to open that app

there's this thread on twitter that gives specific issues so you don't have to read decades of comics this is a good way to get an idea of the character quickly. It's a fast way of reading but I find the skipping between books tedious and not as much fun

there's also this very helpful very exhaustive spreadsheet of every appearance of Ted and Booster! Very helpful, but you don't have to read everything for sure

And then I'm going to put my own personal reading list under the cut and it's a lot so remember you don't have to read everything and there's no shame in skipping around!

Must reads

Booster Gold 1986— This is the first appearance of Booster Gold, obviously you've gotta read it. It's only 25 issues and is legitimately such a fun and interesting read. The way information about him is slowly revealed is good I wish I could have been there when these were releasing

Justice League International/America— some people read this as they read Booster Gold (refer to the twitter thread I linked if you want to do that) I didn't and I wasn't confused when reading it. I kinda like reading it all without switching to the other book. This is a huge stretch of comics and I'm not saying you should read it all... but I'm also saying it's a very good era of comics and I enjoyed it a lot. If you only want Booster related issue refer to the spreadsheet.

Countdown to Infinite Crisis— woah big skip in time! Let's just say after JLA ends Booster and the team have a... controversial stretch of appearances. Countdown is just one big long single issue and it's beautiful, gotta read it.

The OMAC Project— this is the fallout of countdown and I really enjoy Booster being angry and it helps set up Infinite Crisis which I guess you should also read but I'm really take it or leave it with that event.

52 weeks— (not to be confused with new 52 I made that mistake) This book works surprising well for having four authors and so many characters to juggle. Booster is a huge player in this event and it's very enjoyable to read as a fan of him. This event also leads directly to his second solo

Booster Gold 2007—this shit fucks so hard!! I love Booster as "the greatest hero you've never heard of" he has so much character growth, fun stories, and an amazing supporting cast! The numbers can be weird if you're read it on a certain pirating website so start with 1 through 6 then go to 0 back to 7 through 10 then issue one million then back to 11

Justice League Generation Lost—this is basically the new JLI but with Jaime Reyes as the Blue Beetle because Ted is gone. It's a very fun dynamic with this new old team and it works so so well especially Booster and Jaime's friendship. This one I do recommend reading with the Booster Gold solo so after issue 32 of Booster Gold, start Generation Lost and basically switch back and further every issue

Please Read Them For Me

Extreme Justice— this is an aggressively 90s run and is largely ignored by the comic community and canon BUT I SWEAR IT'S GOOD! Booster is essentially in an iron lung and he is not handling it well. Booster got flattened by JLI quite a bit and I really do think this run added some depth back to him

Time Masters 1990—Booster is barely in this, but trust me Rip Hunter is important and it's a very fun and interesting time travel adventure with a really cool group of characters

Time Masters: Vanishing Point—No connection to Time Masters 90 except that Rip is here. But Booster has a lot of really good moments in this. Ignore the Batman bits this is truly just a story about Rip and Booster

Origin Story revisited

(Both BG 86 and BG 07 establish and revisit the origin story so you'll get to them as you're reading)

Secret Origins 1986 #35—honestly a pretty standard origin story but I really like how this story highlights Booster's relationship to his mom and sister

Justice League Quarterly #10—I hope you're reading the quarterly and annual issues when reading JLI because they are some of the best stories but this one in particular is just beautiful

Action Comics 2016 #993-998 (Booster Shot)— Really this is more of a funny action packed and surprisingly heartfelt team-up time travel adventure with Superman and Booster, but this does provide additional context to Booster's origin story and I like it a lot. This story is really really so good

Just Plain Fun

Martian Manhunter #24— Booster and Ted steal all of J'onn's. oreos. this is an incredibly iconic issue, it's hilarious and just the kinda hijinks you want from the boys

Blue and Gold— I personally think this run is deeply out of character and a little too "lol memes" for me, but it does have some good like Trixie coming back and seeing Ted and Booster together again

Blue Beetle 2023—issue 7 is the main Booster story but he has other appearances in this run read the whole thing it's short and so good actually just read every blue beetle solo. It's a really visually beautiful time travel story and I love Booster and Jaime being friends even now that Ted is back

Batman Brave and the Bold #13-15— it's a fun time shenanigans story with the Jurassic Justice League what's not to love

DC's 'Twas the 'Mite Before Christmas— a cute christmas story with Booster and Rip and what I cling to in hopes that Rip will return to DC comics soone

Harley Quinn 2016 #70-74— this is a controversial take but I like Booster and Harley together, as a temporary couple at least and definitely as friends and partners in being silly. This story gives Booster an unexpected amount of emotional intelligence and it's nice

[davidmariottecomics]

Week 86 - 8/28/23 - A BLUE BEETLE MOVIE???

Hi there, 

It probably isn't news as it's a pretty popular film in theaters right now, but there's a Blue Beetle movie out! And it's a lot of fun! 

If you didn't know, Ted Kord, the second Blue Beetle, is my favorite superhero. There's a pretty good joke in the new movie about the difference between Ted and Batman, and not to step on the punchline, but it boils down to Ted knows how to laugh. He's a character frequently written to have a sense of humor, to know a good joke, and to be the dramatic superheroic straightman when it counts. He is not exactly an everyman--he's a genius, he dresses up in a silly costume, and he's rich--but in a lot of ways, he's just a guy trying to do the right thing because he can. 

And he casts a long shadow over the new movie, which is about Jaime Reyes--fantastically played by the dreamy Xolo Maridueña--who I don't love quite as much as Ted, but who I think is himself a great and important character. He's a very different hero. He's got a sense of humor, he's got a good heart, but his relationship with his family, with his friends, with the scarab, and with the Blue Beetle legacy allows him to be something totally apart from Ted. The movie takes a lot of liberties--it's part Spider-Man, part Ant-Man, part Green Lantern (though... honestly probably better than the past few recent film adaptations of those characters)--but it doesn't run from the truth of who Jaime is as a character, which I think makes it all the better. The best superhero movie projects don't try to be just an adaptation, but to take what makes the hero great, understand it, and share it in a way that makes them more accessible and loom larger as a hero. 

I don't want to spoil anything, but there was one extremely stupid part that made me tear up (out of just finally getting to see a thing on-screen and knowing there's some practical version of it out there and honestly, a little bit jealousy). If you see me, or want to reach out and ask about it, I'll gladly tell you. 

But there's a Blue Beetle movie. And even though I saw it and really quite liked it... I kinda still can't believe it. 

Next week: No blog on the website/newsletter! There is a Patreon post scheduled if you need your fix, going out to all backers at $5 or more a month! But I'm outta town and will see you when I return. 

What I enjoyed this week: Blank Check (Podcast), Yu-Gi-Oh: Duel Links (Video Game), Craig of the Creek (Cartoon), Honkai Star Rail (Video game), My Adventures with Superman (Cartoon), The Broken Room by Peter Clines (Book), Dumbing of Age (Webcomic), Solve This Murder (Podcast), The Venture Bros: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart (Movie--which my pal Phil Murphy worked on!), Kaiju No. 8 (Manga), Kaguya-Sama: Love is War (Manga), Blue Beetle (Movie--duh), Oldboy (Movie), Witch Watch (Manga), Becca playing a little more Persona 5, Tangled (Movie), Jurassic Park (Movie), D.E.B.S. (Movie) 

New Releases this week (8/23/2023): Godzilla Monsters & Protectors: All Hail the King TPB (Editor--on the latter half)

Final Order Cut-Off next week (8/28/2023--last day to get your preorders in): Sonic the Hedgehog #65

New Releases next week (8/30/2023): Godzilla Rivals: Vs. SpaceGodzilla (Supervising Editor) Sonic the Hedgehog: Endless Summer (A very silly credit) Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island TPB (Editor) 

Announcements: Becca is at Cartoon-a Palooza in Temecula on 9/15 & 9/16. It's a cool free all-ages little con, so come on out and see them!

Wanna support me? Consider joining my Patreon! I've got a bunch of cool stuff coming up and already on there. As well as some silly stuff like a tour of my desk, so you can see where the comics magic happens! I've got a bunch of stuff scheduled for September already and there'll always be more! 

I have a webstore! It does look like I'm going to get a small supplement to my Beast Wars Vol. 3 stock, which is nice, but most everything else, I am not going to have more of anytime soon! Maybe give it a look! 

I've still got a few things on my eBay, if you're looking for stuff! But obviously, anything that would get shipped out won't until I'm back!  Pic of the Week: It was National Cinema Day yesterday, which is why Becca and I went to Blue Beetle ($4 tickets to the movies!). But they had to work, so I went and saw a second film, the 20th anniversary screening of Park Chan-wook's Oldboy. And the theater that was showing Oldboy had a special Cinema Day deal on the Blue Beetle backback popcorn bucket, so I did pick it up because that with a popcorn and a drink was still significantly cheaper than the bucket usually is by itself. So here's a photo of Becca modeling it. 

[lonniemachin]

bart my friend bart for the ask thing?

Sexuality Headcanon: gay 💪 he’s 1/4 people who have taken up the flash mantle who like men to me. except for maybe jay garrick.

Gender Headcanon: cis+ in that i think he’s fine being a guy and presenting as such but he was also raised in VR and sent to the past and had to adjust to an unfamiliar world with unfamiliar social rules and is also neurodivergent so the way he approaches gender is a little inherently different.

A ship I have with said character: konbart is my favorite for him. other people have said why way better than i could at the moment, but its the most interesting to me aside from being sweet :) them being the only two characters to have memories from prior to the reboot among their friend group for a while and that leading bart to tear through time and space to find kon + their similar experiences when it comes to the ways they grew up + i mean… have you read superboy. etc.

A BROTP I have with said character: tim & bart, bart & cissie, and bart & carol & preston from the impulse solo! tim and bart is self explanatory, i think their characters compliment each other and tim understands bart’s strengths well. his friendship with cissie is classic (introduced cissie into continuity, even) and i like how they have each other’s backs. i miss bart’s civilian friends every single day of my life, and while i’m not a fan of the direction they took carol, they were all so important to him and his story and really served to add heart to what Impulse was all about.

A NOTP I have with said character: hmm… bluepulse. very little precedent for it aside from the yj animated show and even then. bart has little to no significance to jaime reyes at all and vice versa and it’s annoying in tags. i think it’d be neat if they were friends though. also not a fan of requited bart/rose but i think him having a crush on her in the titans era was cute.

A random headcanon: rehabilitating “Bart sparks bits of the speed force when experiencing strong or unexpected emotions” from F*stest M*n Al*ve.

General Opinion over said character: Bart Allen is such a special character to me as someone who saw my experiences as an undiagnosed kid in him to the point that i genuinely cried reading Impulse, but even aside from that. At his best he refuses to slow down for a world that refuses to keep up with him and his comics tell you that isn’t such a bad thing. He marches to the beat of his own drum but cares about his family and friends, he’s angry and silly and fun and serious and everything to me. I wish fans would stop treating him as Tim and Kon’s Wacky Sidekick based on that one joke from YJ that got ran into the ground. I genuinely think he is ADHD coded in the most traditional sense of the word. i think everybody should read Impulse, of course, but his appearances in Flash comics leading up to his solo, too, which paint such a good picture of his inherent defiance and early relationship with the Flash family. him being kid flash was a dumbass idea that went against what made him so great and geoff johns owes me specifically money. Bart World No Mercy. Goodnight.

[jinxedpanda4life]

Criminal Investigator AU HC

I would first like to start off by saying thank you to everyone. 

I honestly did not expect the response I got to my Damirae Hospital AU HC list. 

When I first woke up and checked tumblr ~13 hours after posting I had a holy shit moment. 

I felt powerful, should I? Probably not. 

But! Since I am noticing a lack of AUs in the fandom, whether on Tumblr, AO3 or FanFiction.net, whatever AU comes to my mind I shall jot down some hcs for! 

Thank you all once again!

(Also trying format changes for easy reading)

(Also Also, I am thinking the story is less fluid but more episodic)

Let’s get started:

- So I’m thinking this is some FBI, SVU, and FBI BAU mixture or whatever. Basically all the great shows we know in love shoved together. From Bones to Criminal Minds and everything in between.

- Special Agent (Dr.) Raven Roth is a lead interrogator and is the resident psych consult. 

She’s been educated in interrogation, behavioral science, psychology, forensic pathology, and criminology. 

She has combat training (hand to hand), she carries (for her job) a gun and at all times has a knife/dagger on her person (people have stopped trying to figure out where she keeps them). 

Her father was/is crime boss T. Trigon who is currently imprisoned. 

Was born in the states but fled with her mother to Romania when she was a newborn.

When Trigon found them he killed Arella and took Raven, she was abut 9 - 10 years old.

She took her mother’s last name when she turned 18. 

Knows two languages besides English; French, Romanian, Romani (various dialects but knows multiple), Greek and Latin

On more than one occasion some goon of her father’s tries to recruit her, every time she kicks their ass. (Damian was there for the most recent (he was still green though))

Lives by herself in a decent sized apartment, has a gun safe (gun safety is important!), a cat (Nevermore), and is a regular at a 24/7 bookstore &/ cafe

Can usually be found wearing some kind of jacket, sweater, cardigan

She once helped save some kids (Melvin, Tommy & Teether) and is now their surrogate aunt, she has photos of them at her desk @ work. (Damian assumes/ed that they were her kids)

She also, when she can, hangs out and babysits them on occasion.

Raven is part of a team consisting of Dick Grayson (unit leader), Kori Anders, Garfield Logan, Jaime Reyes, and very recently Damian Wayne 

- Special Agent Damian Wayne is a lead investigator (he is still a bit fresh to the unit), translator, sniper and combat coordinator

He’s been educated in martial arts, explosives, hand to hand combat, close range combat, and combat (basically he knows how to kill you 9 ways to Sunday), also, behavioral science, computer science, criminology, linguistics and language. 

He can easily translate (into English): Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Hindi, Bengali, French, Polish, German, Spanish, Portuguese, he can also learn any language you put in front of him and know the basics within a day

(Having lived in many places around the world he needed to be able to speak and understand in order to survive) (wow dramatic much?)

His father is currently the director (or deputy director, whatever floats ya boat) of the FBI.

His mother was essentially a secret agent who worked for various agencies around the globe. (deceased)

His grandfather was the leader of a, um, well to be honest, terrorist agency. (deceased)

Was sent to live with his father when he was 15 (when his mother died) and has been in the states ever since

Lives alone, he has an upscale apartment that he truthfully spends little time in, has multiple locations in the home where various weapons are stored, his place has a very cold atmosphere

Is either in proper work attire or in work out clothing, there is no in between

Tries and fails not to take work home with him

He sees a therapist (who says he should probably try investing in relationships with the people at his job)

His only “friend” (he hates calling him that, more like close acquaintance) is Jonathan Kent who was in his class at the FBI Academy, Jon works in a white collar crime department in Metropolis

The only person he actually kind of sort of doesn’t dislike is in fact Raven Roth, she’s a no bull shit person, he likes that

He may know Grayson because of how he’s Bruce’s kind of son but it does not mean he likes him

He finds Logan annoying as all hell, even if he is somewhat useful

He picked a fight with Reyes first day and regretted it (he will never admit that), he respects him

Anders is overly friendly in his opinion, kind of acts like a secretary with all that positivity and grates his nerves, he tolerates her

(Unlike last time I am not going in detail about the rest of the team, this will be brief)

- Supervisory Special Agent Dick Grayson (Unit Chief) is basically Dick Grayson with a big fancy title but all the same skills

He is also obsessed with Slade Wilson and Red X (who is Jason in this)

- Supervisory Special Agent Kori Anders is a lead investigator and is also a go to for undercover work

- Special Agent Garfield Logan is a lead interrogator, is head of the unit’s K-9 unit and kind of has a thing for Roth (which she does not reciprocate) 

- Special Agent Jaime Reyes is a tactical analyst, tech analyst and is head of the unit’s SWAT team, he does not do well with talking with people, or change

The Scarab is a computing program that Jaime created himself

STORY START:

- When Damian first joins the team there is another member, Special Agent Terra Markov, she is revealed as a sleeper agent but she aligns herself with the team and sadly is shot and killed in a fire fight

- A couple weeks after Agent Markov’s death everyone is talking about what they are doing for an upcoming holiday, Damian says probably nothing, Raven invites him to spend it with her and her “niece” and “nephews,” he declines

- About a day after the holiday Damian is home looking through case files when someone knocks on his door

-- It is Raven. He asks how she knew where he lived, she says she asked Dick, she also says that she knows how it feels to be alone and that he may be insufferable but it doesn’t mean he can’t have a friend

-- His response is saying he isn’t the kind to make friends with co workers

-- “I’m not asking to be your friend Damian, I am asking you to be his,” She reveals a small black great dane puppy “I know that other people aren’t really your thing, but having someone in your corner and waiting for you is always nice, even if it isn’t human.”

-- Damian invites her in, names the dog Titus and thanks her

-- “Just make sure no one tries to kidnap and kill you, we don’t need you to go full blown John Wick.” Damian has no idea who that is. Raven tells him it is an action movie series that he should watch. She leaves. He does watch them that night with Titus on his lap. (after having gone to the local pet supply store to get everything he needs) The action is inaccurate but he enjoyed the movies none the less, and decides that he probably would go into John Wick mode if someone hurt Titus.

- SA Roth and SA Wayne are sent to a high security federal prison to interrogate a prisoner, who refuses to speak

-- When they get into the interview room the prisoner does start to speak, but not in English and not in a language Damian is fluent in

-- Raven on the other hand immediately responds to the prisoner (shocking the prisoner and Damian) “He is speaking Romani though not the dialect of those overseas, he learned it here.” 

-- Damian is fascinated by it and they are essentially switching roles the entire time

-- They leave having successfully interviewing the prisoner, and Raven leaves behind a written list of common words in Romani so that they can possibly communicate with the prisoner better

-- As soon as they are on the plane back Damian asks her a myriad of questions from “How many languages do you know?” to “When did you learn that?” and even “Are you a spy? Sleeper agent? Part of a terrorist cell?”

-- “Not as many as you, when I was a child, if I was part of any of that you wouldn’t be asking.” The rest of the trip is spent with her teaching him Romani and even some Romanian

- Dick & Kori eventually get together and after a while they break up. Kori takes some vacation time. At the same Dick has been temporarily reassigned to another unit.

-- Chaos ensues

-- Garfield thinks he should be the interim unit chief, Jaime thinks the same, as does, you guessed it, Damian (Raven doesn’t want to she is comfortable with her role on the team)

-- In the end they are assigned an interim unit chief, SSA Jason Todd, who usually works overseas on covert op missions (not gonna lie this could easily flow into a Jayrae thing)

-- Everyone kind of falls into line, except Damian, Damian doesn’t like him for two reasons

1) He doesn’t act serious about the job 24/7

2) He has been flirting and hitting on Raven the moment he stepped into their sector 

-- Damian hates the names he gives her; “Little Bird,” “Sunshine,” “Princess,” “Rae,” (no one calls her Rae, not even Garfield, at least not after the incident) etc.

-- (Little does Damian know, Jason and Raven have worked together before and are actually friends)

-- This all comes to a head when Damian and Jason are the only ones still in the office after a tiring case.

          “You shouldn’t do that you know.”

           “Do what? All I am doing right now is contemplating where Grayson                    keeps the liquor.”

           “Call Raven all those names, she doesn’t like it.”

           “Really? Because if you haven’t noticed she hasn’t exactly asked me to                stop.”

           “She gets uncomfortable, maybe not to the extent of asking you to stop,              but she tenses up and her body language becomes slightly more                        agitated.”

          “You seem to pay a lot of attention in how she reacts to thinks baby brat.             Seems to me that you like her.”

           “Of course I like her, she is a good friend and reliable teammate.”

           “No, you like like her.”

           “That presumption is juvenile.”

           “But you don’t deny it.”

           “Tch.”

-- If anything after that conversation Jason seems to doubled his advances. Which confuses both Damian and Raven. Damian because it is inappropriate and HR will be hearing about this. Raven because she was under the assumption that she and Jason were just friends. (Jason actually does have genuine intentions but is like 60% just egging Damian on)

-- Eventually (far too long for Damian’s tastes), both Dick and Kori return. At first it is sooooooo awkward. Like mom and dad divorced have shared custody but don’t hate each other but also cannot look each other in the eye. ((Was that a mouthful? Good)) No one can really look at each other the same? Though they do have a meeting to sort it out, get everything out in the open.

- Raven’s annual kidnapping/attempt to convert her/torture comes almost exactly one year after Damian joined the team (this is his 2nd time dealing with this)

-- This time Damian is prepared. By prepared I mean Raven doesn’t even leave her apartment before she is taken to safety. 

    “Damian what is going on?”

    “Christmas came early this year that’s what.”

    “Christmas? What in gods name are you talking about.”

    “God has no dealings in this matter.”

    “You do realize you are sounding like a bad action movie? It is not even 6 am and I am in your car going somewhere, I have had little to no sleep and I am barely dressed. What is going on?” Damian hadn’t payed attention to what clothing Raven was wearing. His mind was on one goal. Find Raven, keep Raven safe. His eyes glanced off the road enough to realize she was indeed not properly dressed. Her body was merely adorned with an oversized tee-shirt, tiny barely there shorts and a pair of fluffy socks.

    “I apologize, it appears in my haste I did not leave you time to properly clothe yourself. As to why you are here, it seems your father and his people have shortened their waiting time this year from one year to a little more than ten months.” Ravens hands fisted her shirt. “This time I was prepared,” last time he was still new to everything, last time he made mistakes, this time there will be no mistakes. “Since our last encounter with your demon, so to speak, I have been setting in place precautions and safety measures to ensure Nevermore and yours’ safety. I have also been tracking the movements of his big players. If any came close I would mark it down. Multiple are entering the city at this moment. Seeing as you we taken last time I have made plans to ensure that will not happen again.” The car made a snap turn down an unfamiliar street pulling Raven from her clouded gaze.

    “So I am going to be okay this time?” Her voice was faint and restraining against hope.

    “You’re going to be okay.” His hand lightly held hers. Only to stop the shaking, they told themselves, only to make everything better. “Nevermore is with Titus at my place being watched by a friend of mine. I have already walked Grayson through everything we will not be expected at work this week, but we can work remotely.”

     “We?”

     “I’m not going to leave you. Ever.”

-- ((Sorry for the blocks of text))

-- As Raven finds out they are at one of Damian’s safe houses. The one least likely to be tied to her. It is fully stocked with food, has security cameras and if needed weapons. The only problem is that the only clothes there are Damians.

    “Thought of everything huh?”

     “I was following their pattern, I expected to have more time to acquire clothing for you.” (he was looking away and blushing, you cannot tell me he wasn’t)

-- Raven just resigns herself to wearing Damian’s clothes, yes his brain does stop working for a hot second when he sees her in only his clothes.

-- All attempts to try and retrieve codename: Gem of Scath are foiled (like some good math)

-- So many bonding moments happen. Cuddling (pure accident *rolls eyes*), eating together, inside jokes, etc. At one point Damian answers her phone (he disabled and disconnected the tracer) to one of the mob guys after them.

    “Hello?”

     “You can hide the gem but we will find her.”

     “I’m sorry, is there a jewel you are looking for? I don’t think I have and any jewels that I am coveting.”

     “We know you are with her! It is but a matter of time until we collect her.”

     “I hope you do eventually find whatever you are looking for sir, but I haven’t the slightest idea the gem you speak of. If you could give me a physical description? Is it a ruby, diamond, onyx? Is it round or more of a pear shape?”

    “...”

    “Well, I will look for it here, but I do not believe I possess what you speak of. Will you give me your number so I can call you back?” (The line cuts dead, and Raven can be seen laughing in the background, the phone was on speaker)

-- Once the team tracks down, arrests and interrogates all of the parties working for Trigon; Raven and Nevermore can go home. Though both are reluctant in their own way. Nevermore has grown attached to Titus, and Raven well Raven has feelings. Sadly, as Raven knows, feelings are dangerous to have in their line of work. 

-- Look at Dick and Kori they were together and then they fell apart and the team almost imploded.

-- What about Trigon if he finds out about Damian and how she feels towards him? What kind of danger will he be in then?

-- Like all of her feelings Raven puts them in a box and locks the box away. Not just figuratively, in her safe there is a box with: post its, torn papers, journals, etc. That box has a lock on it. Whenever she has a new feeling that she cannot ignore, like her feelings towards Special Agent Wayne, she takes out the box and writes her feelings down. They can range from a single sentence to pages worth. (Her feelings towards Damian fill a small notebook she has on hand). Once she has written all of her feelings out she places them in the box, locks said box and then places the locked box in her safe, which she then locks.

-- Is this a healthy way to cope with her feelings? Maybe not. But, it is way better than how Damian deals with his. Violence. Also art but violence comes first.

- At this point both Damian and Raven have caught the feelings (highly contagious I hear), which makes this a little awkward and a little not awkward. For one everyone but Raven knows how Damian feels towards her. He does things for her and with her that no one else gets the privilege to.

-- To list a few:

--- He brings her tea whenever he gets himself coffee or tea

--- He talks to her about what he does outside of work, even about his kind of friend definitely not enemy, Jon.

--- They socialize outside of work. Watching bad movies (some of them are not that bad), going to the park with Titus (they once got Nevermore in a leash and walked her), meeting each other before and after work to get breakfast or dinner.

--- He doesn’t glare at her

--- He allows physical contact between the two

--- He worries about her (hello he created an entire plan so that she wouldn’t get kidnapped, with contingencies and everything, garfield would be lucky to get a plan)

--- His eyes light up when she talks, or enters a room, or you know exists in his vicinity

--- He actually smiles around her (Dick caught him smiling once at Raven and he though Damian was having a stroke)

-- Even though everyone knows Damian likes Raven, very few know that Raven likes Damian back. (this only includes; Kori, Dick, Jason, Titus, Nevermore, and Melvin) She does do certain things that give herself away just like Damian.

--The list:

--- When Damian gets frustrated or angry she puts a hand on his arm, or holds his hand

--- She laughs at things he does (light chuckles, or little giggles)

--- She will talk to him about his interests and actively tries to have conversations with him about things unrelated to work.

--- She blushes when he does something unexpected (like a compliment)((Mostly she tries to hide it until he isn’t looking at her))(((Kori has caught the blush before)))

-- Luckily for them it does not take some cliche ‘One suddenly becomes in danger and the other one saves them only to be close to death and then they admit their love for one another and promise to go on a date when the other is healed’ situation. 

-- Damian actually asks Raven out after being tipped of by Jason and Dick that she may like him back. Damian finds out when they have days off at the same time and asks her while leaving work.

   “Raven, you have this weekend off correct?”

   “Yeah I do. I wasn’t planning on doing anything though. Did you have something in mind?”

    “Um, yeah, heh, I was wondering if you would do me the pleasure of going to dinner with me tomorrow.” *Awkwardly rubs back of neck*

    “Like a date or two friends going to dinner?” *Thinks she sounds harsh* “I am honestly fine with either since we are friends.” *nervous smile*

     “Like a date if that is okay with you of course.”

     “Yeah, yeah totally that is totally okay with me.” *Starts sounding like a teenage girl who only knows about 10 words, because she’s nervous*

      “Good, I’ll be by your place around 1830, if that is okay?” *nerve central, the central nervous system could never*

       “Yup that is totally fine with me.”

       “Great.”

       “Good.” The elevator opens in the knick of time.

       “See you tomorrow evening Agent Roth. Have a good night.”

        “You too, Agent Wayne, you too.”

-- When Damian does pick her up he feels like his brain is going to explode. She looks absolutely breathtaking. This is just like all the other times they’ve gone to dinner, except this restaurant is slightly fancier and they are on a date.

-- Raven feels as though all her emotions are leaking out at once, she has no idea what she is doing.

-- In the end they have a good time and decide to do it again. Damian does bring up that all of the breakfasts and dinners they regularly do could now be considered dates. Raven does not oppose that switch at all.

- Fast forward a handful of years (like 3?), Damian and Raven are moved in together (Nevermore and Titus are happy about this, they even allow the humans to adopt another pet, a cat named Alfred). Damian is now Supervisory Special Agent Wayne and is in charge of their unit. Raven has retired from field work and now works at the FBI academy and at Virginia State University. In about 6 months Damian is going to propose and Raven will say yes. Their wedding will be small but happy and full of life.

Once again I would like to thank everyone and all the support the previous post got.

Like last time if anything is disjointed, out of place or seems wrong, please go ahead and tell me. I have been working on this since the last one, but have finally had the time to finish it.

I hope the new year will bring us all some good. Possibly more head canons to come.

[spacesuitsforemergency]

Everyone Loves Jaime Reyes

Word Count: 2.2k

Requested by @lina-lovebug: Jaime Reyes x Bucky Barnes daughter! Reader? And when they finally meet, Scarab is like, "Jaime Reyes, your heart rate has increased" "Jaime Reyes, he wants to kill you"

A/N: loved this prompt so I made this a short oneshot! Bucky is literally my favorite person to write as a dad (Music Meister is a close second tho)

“Jaime, you have got to chillax, dude.” Tye watched as his friend paced back and forth in front of the tv. “And move, I’m trying to watch the game.”

“This is a little more important than football, Tye!” Jaime snapped, running a hand through his hair.

You were on your way to his house, along with your father. And your father was the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes. The man with a huge metal arm that could probably kill someone with his thumb. Jaime’s parents were cooking in the kitchen, his sister was over at her friends house, and he called up Tye for moral support. And oh how helpful he was being, as usual.

“Okay, but stop pacing, you’re driving me nuts.” Tye rolled his eyes. “You need to calm yourself. It’s just the Winter Soldier. It’s not like it’s...I don’t know, Doctor Doom.”

“But it’s the Winter Soldier! He used to be an assassin! His best friend is Captain America! He’s an Avenger, hermano! What do you mean ‘it’s just the Winter Soldier’?!” Jaime grabbed Tye’s shoulders and shook him.

“Jaime, let’s not give Tye whiplash, please?” Jaime’s mother calls from the kitchen. “I’m off the clock, I will not be setting any broken bones tonight.”

“Sorry, mami.” Jaime sighed, smoothing out Tye’s shirt.

“Anyways...just act like you always do, everyone loves you.” Tye motioned for Jaime to get out of the way of the tv. “And maybe take a deep breath before you pass out.”

Jaime nods but doesn’t take the deep breath.

‘Jaime Reyes, your heart rate is dangerously high. I suggest following the Tye Longshadow’s instructions.’ Khaji Da piped up.

“I told you no side commentary today! What part of that do you not understand?” Jaime hissed at the Scarab.

Tye raised an eyebrow at Jaime, honestly worried about his friends sanity. He knew Khaji Da was probably talking Jaime’s ear off right now, but the dude needed to calm down. Meeting girlfriends parents was always nerve wracking, so it was reasonable for Jaime to be slightly panicked about meeting an Avenger.

Jaime jumped when his phone buzzed, and quickly dove for it. He picked it up, reading a text from you.

“They’re five minutes away!” Jaime shouted to nobody in particular, dashing down the hall to the bathroom. He checked his hair for the millionth time that day, wanting to look perfect for you. He took a few deep breaths, finally heeding Tye and Khaji Da’s words. He ignored Tye yelling at the tv and his parents cooking, just trying to remain calm. That didn’t last long, when he heard the doorbell rang.

“Jaime, that’s for you!” His father shouted down the hall.

“Should I get that or can you handle not going into cardiac arrest?” Tye asked from the couch as Jaime rushed to the door.

Jaime took one more breath, before slapping a smile on his face and opening the door.

“Y/N! Hi, mi rey!” He smiled happily, temporarily forgetting about the giant man behind you. He leaned down to kiss you on the cheek, then stepped aside. “Come on in.”

“Hi Mr and Mrs. Reyes!” You wave to them. “Hey Tye!”

“Sup?” Tye nods in acknowledgement, not taking his eyes off the football game.

“Hi Mr. Barnes, I’m Jaime.” He holds out his hand to your dad. He looks him up and down slowly, before finally, and very firmly shaking his hand.

“Nice to meet you, Jaime.” He says quietly. His eyes are narrowed at the boy as if he were suspicious of him, and his mouth was twisted in a frown.

“Dad, be nice.” You say through your teeth. You had told your dad to go easy on Jaime, and to try and not give him a heart attack. Your dad was always kind and gentle with you, but it was a completely different story with any of your boyfriends. You loved Jaime and wanted this relationship to work out, so you warned your dad to not scare him away.

“I am.” He muttered, eyes wandering to the tv. “What’s the score, kid?”

“Cowboys are loosing 13-22!” Tye shouted angrily, crushing an empty soda can in his hand. “And it’s the last 3 minutes!”

“Told you your team sucks.” You snicker, then laugh harder at the glare you receive.

“I’m gonna watch the rest of the game.” Your dad tells you, then glared at Jaime until he’s sitting on the couch.

‘Jaime Reyes, the Bucky Barnes has hostile intentions towards you. I suggest we neutralize him.’ Scarab says.

“We’re not killing anyone, Scarab!” Jaime whispered.

“Ignore him.” You tell Jaime, in deference to your dad. “He’s a big Teddy Bear, he’s just a little...”

“Terrifying?”

“I was going to say overprotective, but that also works.” You giggle. “Don’t let him scare you. I promise by the end of dinner he’s going to love you.” You give him a reassuring smile, along with a kiss on the cheek.

“Jaime, will you come help set the table?” His mom asks from the kitchen.

“Coming, mami!” He rushed over. You follow and help him set down plates and silverware, despite his mom insisting he’s got it.

“Oh come on!” Your dad and Tye both groan at the tv, as the game ends and the team lost.

Your dad introduces himself to Jaime’s parents in the kitchen, while Tye joins you two in the dining room.

“Your dads cool. Even if he’s a Colts fan.” Tye says as he plops down in his seat, not offering to help finish setting the table. “What are you so worried about Jaime? He’s chill.”

“You’re not dating his daughter.” Jaime mumbled as you giggled.

“Got me there, man.” Tye leaned back in his seat.

You all sit down for dinner, your dad easily has a nice conversation with Jaime’s parents. Jaime listens to every word his parents say, signaling to stop if they start to talk about something embarrassing or stupid he’s done.

From your point of view it’s going really well. Your dad and Jaime’s parents easily start chatting about...whatever it is adults like to talk about. You watch as Jaime’s hands shake nervously as he eats, and his eyes are darting between his parents and your dad as they speak. Tye’s not paying attention, digging into his food as if he hadn’t eaten in his life.

“So Jaime, do you play any sports?” Your dad finally turns to him.

“Uh...I’m on the basketball team, yeah.” Jaime nodded, stuttering as he spoke. “Used to play baseball too.”

“Basketball, nice.” Your dad nodded in approval. “You any good?”

“Jaimes on varsity.” You smiled.

“He’s a star point guard.” Mr. Reyes smiled. “We’re very proud of him.”

”And what grades do you get?”

“Straight A’s, sir.”

“Do you have a drivers license?”

“Um...yes.”

“You don’t sound sure about that.”

“I’m sorry, Uh...I have my drivers license sir.”

“Mm hm. Have you had a job yet?”

“Dad!” You hiss at him, giving him The Look™️. Mr and Mrs. Reyes look between the three of you, actually trying not to laugh. They both get that a father can be protective of their daughter, so they understood all the questions directed towards their son.

You and your dad narrow your eyes at one another, as if challenging each other. Jaime makes eye contact with his parents, shrugging. Then Bucky glares down at the kid, making his eyes widen in fear.

“Can somebody pass the pico?”

You all slowly turn to Tye, who apparently didn’t realize the tension in the air between your boyfriend and...everyone. He looks up from his plate expectedly, raising an eyebrow at everyone.

“What?”

“Oh por el amor de Dios.” Jaime shook his head as his mother passed it over, then smacked her sons hand. “Ow! What?”

“Cuidado con lo que dice.” She mumbled to him.

“Am I missing something?” Tye asked.

‘Kill the Tye Longshadow. He is too stupid to allow to live.’ Khaji Da folds Jaime. He bit back his response, but didn’t let the Scarab activate the armor.

Dinners quiet after that, awkward tension now in the air. Jaime got even more anxious, worried that he completely ruined it and that your dad truly hated him.

‘Jaime Reyes, your mate is growing angry. I suggest you calm her.’ Scarab alerts him.

He looks over and noticed you glaring at your dad, both of you raising your eyebrows at each other as if you were telepathically communicating. Your fists are balled up in your lap, and he discreetly places his over yours under the table. You loosen one hand and intertwine your fingers with his, slowly cooling off.

‘Jaime Reyes. We should annihilate the Bucky Barnes. He will get in the way of your companionship with your mate.’

“Stop.” Jaime whispers as quiet as he can, but everyone could hear it in the tense silence.

“So...who’s up for dessert?” Mr. Reyes stands up, taking some of the empty plates.

“Allow me.” Your dad clears his throat, taking the rest of the plates and following him to the kitchen. Mrs. Reyes gives an awkward smile before following them. You look at The expectantly, but he doesn’t take the hint to leave and just pulls out his phone.

“Khaji Da, I told you not today!” Jaime scolds the Scarab. “Man, I’m totally blowing this, aren’t I?”

“No you’re not.” You reassure him. “I’m gonna talk to him again, I told him to knock off interrogation mode.”

“Are you sure?” He asked, still not quite believing that he’s making a good impression on your father.

“Positive. You’re on varsity basketball, I’m surprised he hasn’t asked more about that.” You rubs his shoulder. “Try to bring that up again, he loves sports.”

“Ooh, and tell him about the big win last season.” Tye smacked his arm, not looking up from his phone. “And tell him how you stole the ball from me.”

“For the last time you passed it to me, it’s not my fault I happened to make the wining shot-“

“Hey!” You snap your fingers. “We don’t have time for your saltiness, Tye.”

“I am not salty.” He grumbled, but you both ignore him.

“Just keep up the sports talk, it’ll be fine.” You tell Jaime.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Jaime!”

“I’m just making sure!”

He shuts up when he sees the parents all coming back to the table, setting down plates of chocolate cake for everyone. You thank Mrs. Reyes before beginning to eat, nudging Jaime to tell him to start talking. He shook his head and shrugged, not really knowing how to start up the conversation.

“Hey dad, did you know Jaime scored the winning point for the tournament last season?” You clear your throat.

“Really? That’s impressive.” Bucky perks up. “How’d it go down?”

Jaime excitedly tells him (in much detail) about the last minute of the game and how him and Tye scores the winning points. He’s smiling and motioning around as he answers your dads many questions about it, and you feel better about this dinner now. You think it’s really cute when he talks about something he’s passionate about, so you catch yourself gazing at him.

“Well maybe you two can come down to the Avengers Compound, and Y/N and I can put you punks in your place.” Your dad grins and lightly punches Jaime’s arm. “If that’s okay with you, Mr. and Mrs. Reyes.”

“Jaime’s a superhero, I think some basketball will do him some good.” His mom stands up to take her empty plate to the sink, ruffling Jaime’s hair as she passed.

“Mom!” Jaime swatted her hand away, smoothing our his hair that he fixed for hours.

“Cool, can’t wait to crush you two.” Tye piped up, finally putting away his phone and opting to cross his arms.

“You wish, Cowboys fan.” Your dad scoffed.

“Oh yeah, Colts fan? We’ll see about that.” Tye challenged.

“No more football talk at the table.” You scold them.

“Well, we have to get going.” Your dad announces. “It was so nice to meet you.”

“You as well, Mr. Barnes.” Mr. Reyes smiles and shakes his hand.

You follow your dad as he says his goodbyes, give your boyfriend a kiss, then leave with him.

“So? Do you like him?” You ask your father as you get into the car.

“I actually do like this one. He’s polite and respectful.” He nodded as he started the car. “Sorry for grilling him back there, I didn’t realize I was doing it.”

“It’s alright. You liked him and that’s what matters.” You grinned.

“No, you like him and that’s what matters.” He corrected you.

“I love you, daddy.” You lean over to hug him.

“Love you too, babydoll.” He half hugged you. “Now get off I have to drive.”

You giggle and pull out your phone to text Jaime; He likes you! He says your polite and sweet!

Jaime reads the text and sighs in relief, thankful that the weight was lifted off his shoulders. Him and Tye were in his room now, preparing to play a new video game that just came out.

“Is that her? What’d she say?” Tye asked as he turned on the XBOX.

“He liked me.” Jaime set his phone down and picked up his controller. “Thank god, I thought I was gonna die.”

“Drama queen.” Tye mumbled.

‘Jaime Reyes, the Bucky Barnes still seemed to have hostile intentions towards you. I insist that we kill him.’

“Khaji Da, I am not telling you again!”

[augustheart]

What are your top few comics, could be issues or entire series, to cheer yourself up with?

I’m gonna read this kind of like a recommendation list because these comics are very important to me and I want people to read them, especially ones in bold, which aren’t ones I like more but are ones I think people would benefit from reading.

1. Justice League of America’s Vibe by Sterling Gates. Basically my favorite comic run of all time. Comfort food when everything else fails. Summary: ARGUS recruits Cisco Ramon, one of the world’s most powerful metahumans, by promising justice for the death of his oldest brother, only for him to get way in over his head as he discovers their motives aren’t so clear-cut. (10 issues.)

2. Wonder Twins by Mark Russell. Cure-all for my existential dread. One of my favorite comics ever and one of the best comics of the 2010s, period. My favorite Wonder Comics release (though Dial H, which is also on this list, is a close second). Summary: Jayna and Zan, twin aliens working as interns at the Hall of Justice, try to figure out what it’s like to live as teenagers on Earth while struggling with what justice itself really means. (12 issues.)

3. Dial H for Hero by Sam Humphries. Another cure-all for my existential dread--basically just copy paste what I said about Wonder Twins and apply it to this. Knockout of a comic thanks to Joe Quinones’ ever-adapting art. Summary: a pair of kids named Miguel and Summer run away from their small town after discovering--or being discovered by--a magical dial that can transform its user into a superhero, and accidentally save the world and each other. (12 issues.)

4. Secret Six vol. 4 by Gail Simone. Cozy and warm and deeply special to me. I love the Secret Six, and even though I know it’s not anybody else’s, this is my favorite run of theirs. I know it’s because of my deep attachment to certain characters in it, but it’s just... I really, really love it. Summary: six maybe-strangers wake up together in a coffin, and have to fight their way free or die trying while becoming a family in the process. (14 issues.)

5. Astro City #16 “Wish I May” by Kurt Busiek. Single-issue quick-fix for bad days. Short and sweet. I’ve got some problems with how it handles physical disability specifically, but I love it. Summary: on the anniversary of the death of a superhero, his successor reflects on how he changed her life for the better over the course of a single day. (1 issue.)

6. Doom Patrol: The Teiresias Wars by Rachel Pollack. Issues #75-79 of Doom Patrol vol. 2. Not totally a cheer-up, because it’s very intense and deals with some heavy stuff, but it’s incredibly affirming and beautiful and one of the best comics of the time (and now). Summary: the Doom Patrol find themselves in the middle of a millennia-long battle between the ever-shifting Teiresiae and the rigid Builders, and have to stop both sides from destroying the world. (5 issues.)

7. Blue Beetle vol. 7 by John Rogers. (I think vol. 7, anyway?) Much longer and I haven’t done a full reread in awhile but a beautiful comic about love and family and friendship that hits harder than you’d ever expect it to. Summary: Jaime Reyes crashes back to Earth after the events of Infinite Crisis and has to pick up his life where he left off, all while forging an alliance with the piece of alien technology now fused to his spine. (36 issues. Personal favorite issue is #16, because I am nothing if not predictable.)

I have other comics I’d like and recommend, and some other comics that I find very comforting, but these are definitely my top choices and I really recommend them highly. 

[smokeybrand]

Weak of Heart

I'm a guy who loves a great legacy character. Cassandra Cain, Jaime Reyes, Jessica Cruz, and Helena Wayne, are favorites. Ben Reily, Kate Bishop, Robbie Reyes, and Carol Danvers, are also worth mentioning on the Marvel side of things. Hell, Laura Kinney is top ten all time for me. When you want to extend the mythos and shake up the continuity, bringing in a Legacy character is a great way to do that. If it's done properly. When it's not, you get Riri Williams. I don’t care for Riri Williams. The fact that Ironheart is getting a show chaffs me to no end, man. Now, before you label me ass a self hating black person, i need to be clear; I don’t like Riri because she’s a non-character Mary Sue, not because she’s black or a replacement for Tony Stark. Riri has the dubious honor of being the poster child for lazy, woke, virtue signaling, comics of the early Tens that plagued the industry. Cats, especially at Marvel, were more interested in pushing agenda and forcing diversity rather than writing dope stories. I can;t say that all of those narrative were sh*t because i did enjoy a few. I rather liked the Mockingbird run but i assume i am in the minority on that, considering all of the ridiculous discourse around “Ask me about my feminist agenda.” Admittedly, i didn’t evade the sting of this whole virtue signal renaissance as my darling Carol Danvers became this total b*tch with a dude’s haircut around this time. For me, Ms. Marvel was one of the best things about that Mighty run of the early Aughts but, you know, superheroes can’t be hot anymore because of Patriarchy or some sh*t even though they are, legitimately Olympic level athletes with bodies to match but okay. I’m getting a little off-topic here, my point is that Ironheart is the worst of this super-woke stunt writing and i hate her for it. he most frustrating thing about all of this? It’s worked before.

Kamala Khan is a similar Legacy introduced around the same time as Riri If i remember correctly, she predates Ironheart by a few years and was met with similar resistance from the fandom. Being very much Pakistani and very much Muslim, Kamala got ALL of the xenophobic, racist, and islamaphobic hate. It was very transparent how f*cking dumb that sh*t was but, over time, she’s developed into kind of a bullet proof character. Seriously, she had a great run in her own book and really rounded out as the leader of the Champions. Kamala Khan is one of the most well written, fan friendly, representative charters in comics, and she earned every bit of that shine. I, personally, don’t care for Kamala, i finder her personality grating, but i understand the merit of who she is and why she’s important. More than that, i see how well her implementation and pushes worked for her. Ms. Marvel has seen all sorts of success outside of the books. She’s had a ton of appearances in various cartoons to varying success but got the nod as the POV character for the once lauded, now derided, Avengers game. They did her dirty with that but I've heard that her game play is pretty fun. Kamala is a success story about how you diversify your pantheon organically, successfully, without it coming off as pandering. There is only one character who has had a better rise in the zeitgeist and is arguably the genesis for this brand knew age of representation first in comics, whether that be for better or worse.

Miles Morales is, unquestionably, the reason we have characters like Kamala, America, and Riri. He predates them all and has had the most success as the Spider-Man of 1610 after Pete died. People HATED Miles when he first swung though Brooklyn. It was vitriolic. Incandescent. And i understood why. Spider-Man is Peter Parker. That’s who he is. Miles didn’t even have his own origin story, it was literally the same spider that bit him. A good deal of the hate had to do with Bendis as well. We were knee deep in his whole “Make all the heroes black” situation and it was wearing thin. He had positioned Luke Cage and Spectrum as principal powerhouses of the Marvel Universe and it just wasn’t there for those characters. He didn’t do the work to make those characters compelling, especially Luke Cage. He wrote Cage as a power fantasy for himself, i imagine he wants to be black more than anything, and it was incredibly transparent. Cage went from a D-Lister with roughly Captain America class strength, to a primary Avenger with Hulk class strength, over night. That’s corny. Miles got the same treatment but to a lesser extent. He didn’t get his shine until other people came through and cleaned up the mess Bendis left of the character. A decade on, and Miles has been accepted has the best Spider Jr. out there, earning clout with the best Spider-Flick released to date and a principal role in the best Spider-Game out there. In the books, he’s developed into a solid character, different from Pete in a ton of ways, but familiar in all the ways that count. More than anything their relationship is dope as f*ck. If Kamala was the first, real, success, then Miles was the dry run to get there.

Riri Williams has none of this development. None of it. She was in the Champions book, too, right along with Kamala and Miles, and she still sucks. Hell, Kid Nova, Sam Alexander, also makes an appearance in that book and i forgot he existed until i wrote this sentence, but even he has more of a character than f*cking Ironheart. Sam is f*cking adorable. He’s had a ton of crazy adventures and, for a while, was literally the only Nova around. He was the Kyle Rayner of Marvel and the kid did a great job with that. When Riri Was the only Iron Man, she was indistinguishable from Tony. It was so bad, her AI WAS Tony. That’s how little faith Marvel had in the character after her introduction. Kamala, by this pint, had her own solo and Miles had been Spider-Man in Ultimate comics for, like, four years or some sh*t. Riri couldn’t even be Ironheart without Tony having an intimate role in her “independent” book. Sh*t was whack, son, and that’s my point. Riri Williams, Ironheart, is not a character, she’s a PR move and that sucks because the bones of something really compelling are there to be explored. Riri could have been dope especially if she had the room to grow Kamala and Miles. Riri had every opportunity to be the Marvel version of Ahsoka Tano; A brash, brilliant, reckless apprentice to the seasoned veteran hellbent on training her to reach the potential that only he sees within. Riri could have been written with the most depth, the most growth, of these diverse replacement heroes but none of that happened. Riri is the same f*cking character she was when she was introduced. There’s been o growth, no change, and her armor is ugly as f*ck. It’s a goddamn shame because i adore the idea of Ironheart but that execution leaves a lot to be desired. I hope the writers under Feige do the character justice. I hope they find a way to make Riri compelling, to make her whole because the potential there is staggering. It’s unfortunate that no one at Marvel Comics knows how to properly actualize it.

[olivedoesmagic]

Journal 32: Battle Against a True Hero

So I received a green lanterns ring. A scarab from Jaime Reyes, and learned how to weave a story via the actual african spirit anansi the spider. He was adamant I put that in this journal rather than the other one. Via all this apocalypse junk I’ve been meeting some very important people. On the astral, historical figures from times past, politicians. I’ve even achieved a certain level of omnicians that I can’t quite get into here. Some people in my ask box on tumblr keep getting on me about involving friends of mine in this. I’ve already talked to friends of mine about this. It’s not strangers on the internet’s job to worry about my friends trauma or how my friends and I are involved with the apocalypse. It’s just not. We got this and despite being online personas we are still very private people. 

If you are reading this centuries or years from now and the world hasn’t ended and you find this all facadical and weird good. It means we were successful. Because here’s the thing. It’s not just earth. It’s everything that is ending. The milenia as I call it. And while that might freak a few kids on tumblr out, I got this, the gods got this, my friends got this, and while I may speak openly about this, I have a grasp on what I’m doing. I am panda blood. I am Azia. I know my lore, what I’m doing, how to fix everything. I treat “the game” which is what I call the war of reality, as a toy. Because I have too. I was talking with an old egpytion founder of economics very briefly because I guess we’re fuking doing necromancy now, and he told me that “you are a toymaker. Your job in all of creation is fun. You are a god of toys. If you don’t have fun, then it’s dead. It’s death. So see this war as a game because you have too” and I don’t really want to get into delusions of grandeur about being a god here in my journal or on stupid hellsites like tumblr of all places.

But I am a dual occultist who has made strides where you can not grasp. So call me crazy. Unfollow my blogs and writings. Close the book your reading this from. This all is beyond you. So now we come to the question. “Why pop culture magick?” When I was given the task to save the world from the gods it wasn’t just me chosen, but the big kahoona as I call him and others asked me how to do it and mad as I was at the time chose fiction. There are many stories about why in ancient times fiction and reality were the same thing. They breathed the same air. Were of the same soil. Were crafted of the same spirit. But this bored the gods and scared the people. Burdened the famers, and angered Naftitit, I believe her name was. So she struck up a plan. She took her scythe, or in some instances a stick I imagine it as more a wooden raw, and jammed her hand across the story (sometimes her favorite story) and then some gory and obtuse sometimes sexual stuff happened, and then stories and lies were separate, the people rejoiced and imagination was gifted to people. Theirs varrietations, theirs stories like this in every culture if you go back far enough.

Mayan, Aztec, Egyption, Norse, Hedoin, Acayan, Acriansian, Cayoin, Egotin, and more I could name that aren’t well known beyond their states that a simple google search won’t provide because I know these names via gods and foresight. They really are obscure. The truth is fiction and reality were once the same thing. And in alot of “Revolation” like apocalypse stories they separate but become together again. I chose to dabble in the apocalypse by bleding the two because that way it’s like a cipher! Only the really really smart ones? Will figure out what’s happening (hell even some writers are unaware) and be able to take their guides and messages that the stories give them and be able to do something with that knowledge.

When I said neil gaimens a prophet I didn’t mean that coreline actually happened. Or that American Gods and Good Omens were bible prophecies. I meant something very different. And if you’re not smart enough to figure out what I meant by now just disregard teh whole sentiment. My writing just isn’t for you.

The world and everywhere really is going through a rebirth. That’s why I’m teaching defence against the dark arts, bending, and jeddiism. That’s why I’m dabbling with the stupid grimoures. Cus I have too, not because I want to. Pop Culture magick at least right now is doomed to be seen as a hoax and a fools tool. I’m totally fine with that. I’m fine if my name is dragged through the dirt and I am called a a madman. I will never stop writing. I could loose every goddamed follower on this planet. But my crying? It will never be in vein.

Sorry if this scares you. I’m handling it. Maybe it should. But we’re in good hands. I hope? That that is enough for right now.

-Olive Out.

[bluepulsebluepulse]

Top 5 Reasons Why BluePulse Should Become Canon:

Below I have compiled a list of reasons why the legendary characters both Bart Allen and Jaime Reyes, have the potential to be more than just best friends (which is what most relationships start with 😉). And I don’t even care if it isn’t in YJ but that would be ideal. And with that, let’s get started!

1. They provide for perfect character development:

Here me out, so... both Bart Allen and Jaime Reyes and their characters seem to explore very similar themes, and the great part is, they do this together as best friends, but it could easily continue through the format of a relationship as well which would make it more rewarding. The hypothetical feelings are powerful enough to justify, I mean and understandably so, when two people, are facing something as grande as changing fate itself together! And by that I mean the Reach apocalypse. I mean they can’t truly know if they have succeeded or not, and what better way to be prepared and feel like you can face anything the future can throw at you then having the love of your life by your side? And they are the perfect candidates for one another???

2. They share a lot of dynamics:

The two have the potential to help support one another through their hardships as they share a lot of the same dynamics. For instance, both Bart and Jaime have to deal with facing their fears (the same fear). But they are also the key to each other’s freedom! Because without Bart having coming back to the past, and without Jaime’s cooperation, neither of them could have obtained their own respective freedoms (that’s ignoring the freedom of everybody else in existence too 😂) and how could they not love one another for giving each other one of the greatest gifts of all? Freedom.

3. Their relationship would provide the perfect opportunity to teach life lessons:

Both of their origin stories are fascinating and when written by talented people, can be a really rewarding story that could be made even better by the two of them becoming a couple. Relationships without drama are boring and unrealistic and these two can offer plenty. Take your pick from the vast range of elements these characters have to offer to provide that; hidden truths from their past’s and or future’s or their superpowers and the conflicts that come with living that life. And that’s not even including the great story telling that could come as they navigated their way from friends to lovers! When family and friends are considered for the two, they would likely face a few unsupportive people who were not accepting of their relationship, for instance maybe Jaime’s father? Dealing with parents who don’t accept you for who you are is something A LOT of people face, even when not considering the LGTBQ+ aspect, and this is definitely something I know I, and many others, would appreciate seeing answered through the narrative of story telling. The life lessons that could be further enforced by them becoming official are endless too. If Bart can hypothetically fall in love with Jaime (and be loved back), that sets the example that you can’t judge a book by its cover and that forgiveness is strong enough to overcome anything! Bart could have easily assumed the worst of Jaime coming back to the past, could have never let down his guard with him, never trusted him, but Bart did. And as for forgiveness, Jaime is literally the same person who tortured Bart, and despite being under Reach control at the time, Bart would have likely and understandably so, assigned a lot of blame to Jaime because living in a dystopian future doesn’t exactly endow one with the energy to care about carefully assorting blame to the correct parties.

4. They have truly amazing chemistry (and provide an overwhelming abundance of heartwarming humor):

Do I even need to explain this? Anyone who has watched Seasons 2 and 3 of YJ, will know exactly what I’m talking about. Obviously the pair haven’t featured a lot in what we have currently seen from Season 3 😢, but in Season 2 they were the stars of the show and it was amazing. The chemistry they had alone was enough to warrant an eventual relationship to flourish between the two. The humor between these two is electric (in a good way). The contrast in their personalities makes their friendship an absolute delight to watch and I just think about all the new avenues of humor that could open up if they became an actual item.

5. They can set an important standard in representation and diversity:

Not only is there a severe lack of LGTBQ+ representation in just general media, it is also apparent in the superhero mediums (especially animated). DC is becoming progressively better with live action, as is evident with Legends of Tomorrow, Doom Patrol and now Batwoman. So I am not saying there is none at all, but if we are looking at DC animated properties, well... I don’t think I need to finish that sentence. And Bart and Jaime are perfect candidates. Most people see Jaime as bisexual and Bart as gay and I actually agree with this general consensus. I like it that way too. Anyway, they are both relatively minor characters in the DC Universe so it’s a great place to start. And that isn’t meant as in insult, popularity wise, these two characters are ideal to place in a romantic relationship without upsetting too many people. I could understand people getting upset if DC allowed YJ to make a very popular well established character gay such as Batman or Superman or something. But Bart and Jaime aren’t well established so I ask you... why not them? And not only could these two set a good precedent for representation for the LGTBQ+ community; but also diversity in general due to Jaime’s Latino ethnicity. 

And to summarize, these are basically the top 5 reasons I have but believe me I have more! And yes, this was me trying my best to condense what I had to say. If you got this far, I applaud you. Haven’t Bart and Jaime been through enough in their lives? DC just let them be happy together!

PS: For those of you who are about to jump down my throat over the age gap, please understand that I was hoping for them to be together this season, not last season, they were indeed too young to date back then. And when I say together this season, I mean starting out dating. I am not asking for them to jump into bed right now and then heck, why not elope next season? NO. This season they could literally start out with just hand holding or something. Next season I would expect kissing (amongst other things) though from a hypothetical canon standpoint. They will both be well and truly old enough. The notion that Jaime is taking advantage of Bart (because he is a few years older) is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Firstly, Jaime isn’t that kind of guy and secondly, Bart was mature for his age right from the beginning. They are superheroes for goodness sake, they’re ALL forced to grow up quickly and when you keep that in mind, it makes sense. For anyone who plans on leaving negative or derogatory comments on this post, know I will block you and lose no sleep over it. I rope homophobes and racists into the same category, you’re wrong, so there’s no need for an open and honest discussion on your thoughts and opinions regarding this topic so I just block and move on. Simple. For anyone else who disagrees but for other logical reasons, well then I can respect your viewpoint but know if you dump on this post I am just going to ignore it lol. Also anybody else who has a problem with this ship, just block me so you don't have to see posts from me about it since that's literally all I ever do.

[youngjusticeslut]

Nineteen

Fandom: Young Justice Links: AO3 // FF.net Characters: Victor Stone, Forager, Cassie Sandsmark, Jaime Reyes, Bart Allen, Eduardo Dorado Jr.  Ships: Some light Bartuardo Summary: Victor Stone is a year older, and yet, he doesn't know how to feel about it. Rating: T Word Count: 1,463 words Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters

Congrats to @batsisshadow for winning third prize in my Tumblr giveaway! She requested this piece in honor of Zeno Robinson’s birthday today, and I was more than happy to oblige. Happy birthday Zeno, and I hope everyone enjoys this cute little fluff!

Vic had known about the party for weeks.  

How could he not have? Both the Team and the Outsiders seemed to have forgotten that Vic could read their electronic communications. It’s not like he wanted to read them. At first, he’d tried to stop it, but the messages came up in his vision anyway. When he got bored, he read them for fun. One secret Facebook event, three Whatsapp groups and a plethora of random texts made for plenty of entertainment.

Violet had originally offered to make a cake (with Lian’s help), but Cassie gently shut that down by reminding her of the eggshell incident. Vic appreciated the sentiment, but he knew he would appreciate an eggshell free, store-bought cake even more. Bart, Jaime and Ed were all over decorations, having visited several stores all over the country to find exactly what they needed. Cassie was bringing balloons, and Forager was tasked with distracting him even more than he usually did. Oddly enough, it wasn’t as annoying as Vic had thought it would be; he had a soft spot for the bug.

He perused the final messages upon waking on his nineteenth birthday. Everything was a go; Tara was buying the cake, decorating was well underway on the floor below his bedroom, and Forager would be arriving at precisely 10:56 to engage in the ‘delightful new Earthling habit’ known as brunch. Despite the smile on his face, Vic couldn’t help the dread from seeping into his stomach.

This was his nineteenth birthday. A year ago, Vic had been on the fast-track to a football scholarship. If the accident hadn't happened, he’d probably be in college right now, waking up in a far-too-small dorm room. The longing, the regret were all too familiar to him, and no matter how many therapy sessions he had with Dinah, or Miss M., he couldn’t get rid of them entirely.

Groaning, Vic covered his eyes and vainly tried to press the images out of his brain with calloused fingers. This was supposed to be a good day. He didn’t want the negative thoughts to intrude today, not on his birthday.

Lucky for him, a distraction arrived by way of a phone call. Vic leaned to the side, grabbing his phone from the bedside table and fighting back the instinct to groan; old habits were hard to get rid of.

“Hey, Dad."

“Happy Birthday, Son.” From the whirring and constant clicking on the other end, Vic could tell his father was deep in his work. Still, he’d called, so that was something.

“Thanks. It’s the big one-nine, so that’s… special, right?”

“I suppose.” Frantic clicking followed, and though Vic appreciated the gesture of the phone call, it was obvious that his father was very much distracted. “I took the evening off. Do you want to have dinner together?”

Well, color him surprised. Vic crossed his legs beneath him as he nodded. “There’s that Korean place not too far from the house. Maybe we could go there?” While he very much enjoyed the company of his new friends, a surprising number of them were not adventurous eaters. Forager would eat anything, but there was only so much time he could spend with him. It would be nice to go back home for a few hours, catch up with his dad.  

“Alright. Do your friends have anything planned for you today?”

“They’re throwing me a surprise party.”

Vic fought hard to keep from smiling when he heard a chuckle on the other line. “Son, at some point today, please take some time to look up the meaning of the word ‘surprise’.”

“Will do. See you tonight?"

“Seven PM. I’ll be waiting at home.”

--

“Dude, I said the balloons go on the other side,” Jaime growled, holding his hands out to the correct location for emphasis.

Bart’s eyes followed his hands, nodded a couple of times in thought, and ultimately continued placing the balloons where he saw fit. “Noted, Amigo. But, given that you have no sense of design, I have chosen to ignore you.” Before Jaime could even think of another response, Bart sped through the rest of the balloon setup, admiring his handiwork with his hands resting on his hips.

“Perfect.”

“I’ll say,” Ed balked, returning to the room with an armful of colorful streamer rolls. “You hardly left anything to do.” The pout he wore melted as soon as Bart’s arms were around him and vanished completely when he kissed his cheek.

Out of respect, Jaime averted his eyes, but he couldn’t deny that the two were cute. “We should have put Bart on another task. He’s such a decorating hog.”

“At least he has vision,” Ed said with a shrug, prompting a shit-eating grin from his boyfriend and a groan from Jaime. “Here,” he tossed the streamers to Jaime with a wink. “Go loco.”

“Are you kidding? He’ll totally mess up the balance of the room,” Bart scoffed, glaring at Ed. “The streamers should go around the ceiling in alternating patterns, twisted and not just thrown around all nuts. This is so not crash,” he continued as Ed took his arm and tugged him out of the room, passing both Cassie and Tara who came with the remainder of the supplies.

“Need help?”

“Only if you promise not to criticize. Am I really that bad?”

“Don’t take it personally. Bart is just… passionate,” Cassie waved off, taking a roll of streamers from Jaime and flying up to the ceiling to tape it up.

“Too passionate. It’s just a party. We have parties all the time, for the dumbest reasons.” He wasn’t wrong. Both the Outsiders and the Team really enjoyed celebrating. Any occasion or accomplishment was reason enough to break out the helium tank and order a mountain of pizzas.

Cassie hummed, continuing to put up the streamers. “Yeah… but this is an important occasion. I think we all just want to make sure Vic likes it, you know?”

She had a point. Jaime nodded, tossing her another roll when she extended her hand. “I know. I’m sure he’ll like it, though. Did you see the cake Gar brought?”

“Not yet. Is it in the fridge?”

“Oh yeah. Remember the picture we took of Vic after the mission at the cupcake store?” The mission in question had been a simple one, just stopping a quiet heist, and yet all of them had ended up covered in frosting.

Cassie chuckled. “Don’t tell me. He got it printed on the cake?”

“Hell yeah,” Gar chimed from the kitchen, poking out his head to glance at the decorations. “Nice setup. Bart?”

“Naturally.”

“So crash.”

--

“Forager did not think that he could like pancakes any more than Forager did, but the banana pancakes with caramel and that white powder--”

“Powdered sugar. Not white powder,” Vic sighed. The last thing he needed was Forager going around and telling people he ingested things covered in white powder.

Forager grumbled, clicking his usual noises before nodding in agreement. “Powdered sugar is most excellent.”

“The pancakes were pretty good.” Vic stuck his hands in his pocket as they walked back to the premiere building. He knew everyone would be gathered in the hub, just waiting to surprise him. Would he be bale to act surprised? The last thing he wanted to do was spoil the fun.

“Victor Stone--” Forager paused before correcting himself. “Vic has been quiet. Quieter than Vic usually is. Is something wrong?”

Right. Of course the bug would be able to sense something was up. “No, not really,” Vic sighed, stretching his hands behind his head and waiting until he heard a satisfying ‘pop’ before continuing. “It’s just… my first birthday since becoming this, you know?”

Forager clicked again, making a few thoughtful sounding noises. “Is Vic not happy?”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Vic was happy. Granted, this wasn’t the ideal situation. Some days he still wished that he had his old life back. He missed playing football with his friends, going out on the town without everyone staring at him. Some days, he even missed going to High School. Yet… he wasn’t unhappy. He had new friends now. A team, a cause to fight for. Really cool abilities. All in all, it wasn’t so bad.

“Forager does not understand.”

“To tell you the truth, sometimes Victor doesn’t either,” Vic chuckled, shooting the bug a grin. They paused by the entry to the Premiere building, nodding to the doorman as Vic pulled out his keys. The elevator ride was always long, but today he didn’t mind it. He had a room full of friends waiting for him.

When the elevator opened, he no longer felt frustrated, or annoyed with himself. Instead, he tried his best to muster up the feelings of surprise.

[aion-rsa]

Batman, Superman, and the Secrets of Evil DC Superheroes

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Joshua Williamson tells us why the Batman Who Laughs chose particular DC superheroes to turn evil.

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DC's new Batman/Superman book is more than just a World's Finest team up story. Instead, it's a meditation on what makes Batman and Superman so different from each other, and a celebration of the shared values that make them heroes and friends. But it also explores the nature of heroism in the DC Universe, by exploring the very opposite of that with the villainous Batman Who Laughs, and his quest to "infect" various DC heroes with a toxin that turns them into evil versions of themselves.

Batman/Superman comes from the creative team of Joshua Williamson and David Marquez, and it's one of the most important titles in the DC line at the moment. Of course, what's the point of having evil superheroes running around if you don't have amazing visuals to go with them, right? Fortunately, Williamson has David Marquez in his corner. "He's one of the best artists out there. he's amazing," Williamson says. "There's stuff in the books he's doing that's just beautiful, and I feel like each issue just gets better and better. Him and Alejandro [Sanchez, the Batman/Superman colorist) the stuff they're doing is just so awesome."

Williamson says that Marquez was his first choice for the book, but he didn't think he would be available. It was during a conversation with Brian Michael Bendis that Marquez's name first came up for the title, and things escalated from there. "I went to David's house and I said, 'All right, here's our three-year epic. Let me explain everything. Here is every little step of the way, all the way to 2021. Are you interested in this?'"

Fortunately, Marquez was interested. "Once I pitched him everything we give him all this stuff to read," Williamson says. "Then he got into it, and then we just started talking more and more...[We] had known each other for a while before that, so we were already friends."

Along with Justice League and various Year of the Villain tie-ins, Batman/Superman is laying the foundation for some kind of massive event coming in 2020, one thing being the inevitable confrontation between "Apex" Lex Luthor and The Batman Who Laughs. And those infected DC heroes are one of the keys to The Batman Who Laughs' plans. But taking heroes and turning them into villains requires a lot of planning in the real world, too. Williamson, along with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, and DC editorial made a list of DC heroes they thought would work for the machinations of the Batman Who Laughs. Then they had to warn the various creators responsible for crafting those characters' adventures each month, asking if they could make certain elements work within the larger story. 

"We started building this list out of the ones we thought would be fun, and the ones that we thought would have something to actually say about those characters during the storyline," Williamson tells us. "Then it was like, 'Who's cool?', too."

Here's what went into choosing each member of DC's "infected" heroes.

Shazam!

"I think Shazam was the one that we thought was never going to happen. We really were just like, 'There's no way they're going to let us use Shazam.' He was the biggest get. He was the biggest heavy hitter. Gradually, it seemed like everyone was kind of like, 'Yeah, this makes the most sense. This would be really cool.' Then I wrote issue one and I wrote that scene where he says, 'my name is Billy Batson,' and they were like, 'All right, it has to be him.'"

Blue Beetle

"I wanted a character that had been underestimated. I love Blue Beetle, I love Jaime Reyes. I wanted somebody that I felt had been ignored by characters of the DCU. They underestimated him. I wanted somebody you would look at him and be like, 'Oh, he's just a kid.' But he's smart, he's powerful, he's a good hero, but he also doesn't want to be a hero. You can go back and look at his origins. You can go back and look at the Rebirth special. He was talking about how he didn't want to be a hero and Ted Kord kind of ignored that. I wanted to play with that idea for him."

Jim Gordon

"Gordon was somebody that we knew way ahead of time. Gordon was actually the first one picked. It was about who would The Batman Who Laughs go after if he wanted to actually hurt Bruce in a way that would surprise you."

Hawkman

"Hawkman was one that was built in because of his connections already to Dark Nights: Metal. The stuff that was going on with him during the Metal storyline with him being in the World Forge and all that."

Donna Troy

"I selected Donna Troy because I felt like of all the DC characters, she was one that would be angry. She's pissed off, you know? Everything that's happened to her friends, everything that's happened with the Titans, she's mad about it. The Batman Who Laughs knows that and wants to manipulate that and use it. But then usually when you actually see her in the book, she's not raging. She's not Joker-crazy, she's mad. She's like, 'This is what happened to my friends, and it was your fault.' She's always been able to bury those feelings, and now she's not burying them anymore. [The Infected] are not really bad guys in some instances. Sometimes they're just really pissed off and now they feel like they're going to give in to that anger a little bit."

Supergirl

"I can't really talk about Supergirl too much, because Kara is one of the ones that you'll see as the story goes on what happens with her. She's the only one I can't talk about. You'll see when you get to issue four. There's actually reasons why she was picked that are very tied into the story. So, you'll see."

Mike Cecchini is the Editor in Chief of Den of Geek. You can read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @wayoutstuff.

Read and download the Den of Geek NYCC 2019 Special Edition Magazine right here!

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Feature Mike Cecchini

Oct 15, 2019

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[renaroo]

Some Times (Time and Time Again) (1/8)

Disclaimer: Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, and associated characters are the creative property of DC Comics.  Warnings: Canon shaken not stirred, Heavy canon references to Booster Gold (2009-2011) and Blue Beetle (2016-2018) Pairings: Boostle Rating: T Synopsis: Booster Gold and the rest of the Time Masters are still straightening up things in the wake of the most recent universal Rebirth. But Rip Hunter is still missing in the aftermath, leaving Booster in charge with Skeets, Michelle, and Rani. But there’s a distraction for Booster, one he can’t keep himself from ignoring. 

Ted Kord, miraculously, is still alive. And that makes everything more complicated than Michael could have ever imagined. 

A/N: I’ve been toying around with this idea for what feels like forever, at least since the Rebirth books got launched over at DC, and I finally got time to really sit down and work it out. I’m really excited for this fic and hope it’s decent enough for some of you out there!

Blue Beetle

Life without an assistant, as it turns out, is shockingly compressed on time.

Jaime doesn’t need much help on his progress as the Blue Beetle, but so long as he is the Blue Beetle, Ted has no interest in slacking on the kid’s training. Assistant or no assistant.

With his laptop balancing precariously on his knee, and himself balancing precariously on the sloping hood of the Beetle, Ted is attempting to keep track of company stocks, a slack chat with members of his board, an incoming tech report from some computer analyst he hired out of Jaime’s high school last week, and not waste too much of his bagel in the process.

Despite the distractions, however, Ted’s real concentration is still on Jaime’s blaster as it destroys thousands of dollars and hundreds of man hours of equipment in the simulation fight.

It’s what Ted built it for, but still…

“Seriously, Mister Kord, I have to go meet my mom in, like, fifteen minutes,” Jaime shouts out over the sounds of debris dinging against the lab’s metal floors. He’s not even looking in Ted’s direction as he wastes another AI dummy that is gunning for him.

Feeling himself sliding a bit, Ted kicks back against the Beetle some to get back on his perch, his computer bobbing with the jarring, bagel bits flying. He wonders if an assistant would have helped with the bagel parts. And then he plays back the memory of Jaime’s highly pitched complaints.

“Hey, hey! How many times do I have to tell you, it’s not Mister Kord, kid, it’s Ted,” he argues on the important part.

Jaime’s suit unites his hand blasters into a single canon and blasts through more expensive equipment. He then looks over his shoulder and squints his large, buggy yellow eyes at Ted. “Maybe you should stop calling me kid then, Ted! Also, you’re missing the part where I’m warning you about a very angry Missus Reyes.”

Ted answers an email by holding the remains of his bagel between his teeth. Then he tilts his head back and swallows what he can, choking a bit, and accidentally sending a string of keyboard smashes to his company’s board of executives in response to a question about why so much money is being poured into Extraneous Funding. Bits of extraneous funded superhero training material flies toward Ted and the Beetle and if Ted didn’t know any better, he’d think Jaime was aiming in spite.

“Watch it, Jaime! I just buffed out the last dent in the Bug,” Ted warns, using his not-free-but-freer hand to rub the glistening hood to his side.

There’s a keening noise coming from the scarab on Jaime’s back that is only matched in annoyance by the groaning that Jaime’s doing on top of it. “Mister Kord!”

“Ted!”

“Ted! My mom! Ten minutes!”

Stock prices do dip, there’s another email update from this needy El Paso kid-slash-computer-genius, the board is up in arms at the insufficient response, Ted feels his stomach churning either in response to the million nasty things happening or to his bagel. And it all culminates in a tremor through his lower spine.

Despite or because of everything happening, Ted slips more from his spot, his body shifting and sliding right off the nose of the Bug. He, and all of his things, hit the floor in a clatter that manages to get Jaime to turn away from his training simulation entirely.

“Whoa! Ted, are you okay?” he asks just before getting hit by a blaster from behind.

“See! Never let your guard down!” Ted manages to yell before rolling over onto his back and laying in his mess of a lab and mess of a life. “Not even for your great and mighty mentor.”

He continues to lie on the floor, noting mentally that it’s surprisingly comfortable given that everything exploding in the lab eventually ends up there. It’s only when his vision is obscured by Jaime — no longer in his suit — staring down at him that he centers himself at least enough to be responsible for the teenager that he’s totally responsible for.

“Are you okay, Mister Kord?” Jaime asks, brows knitted in a little bit more genuine concern than what he usually offers Ted.

“I thought about it,” Ted answers with a harrowing breath. He releases the breath and melts into the floor a bit more. “And no. But who, at thirty-six, can truthfully say yes to that question.”

Jaime looks at him like he has three heads.

“Talk to me again in twenty years and we’ll laugh about it,” Ted promises him. “Get out of here, I don’t need a scary-angry Missus Reyes and you deserve a break. What’d’ya say?”

“Okay cool,” Jaime says, immediately walking away.

“You cold offer to help me up!” Ted yells after him.

“Do you want up?” Jaime asks from the doorway.

Ted stares at the ceiling and considers it. “Get out of here kid, I need to find a new assistant.”

“See you later, Mister Kord,” Jaime calls, closing the door behind himself and the last laugh.

“Kids,” Ted huffs to himself. “I need an assistant my age. No. Ten years younger. So I can watch the hope and youthful naivety die. That should sustain me. Think like a corporate CEO. Socioipathy. Hating kittens and… breathable oxygen or something.”

There’s a long silence in the lab, just Ted with himself and his thoughts. And when those turn scary he finally manages to get himself up, gather his things, and to start working on the next project.

Finding his new personal assistant.

There has been a stack of portfolios on his desk for a while, now, a few days at least. And he should be going through them for review but he hasn’t.

They all look the same on paper. Even the one written in German.

There isn’t enough time, and he’s only getting shorter on time the longer he goes without a personal assistant who is literally a speedster.

Time’s a funny thing that way.

Ted finds ways to waste more time without fully committing to any project or any responsibility in a way that matters before giving up in defeat and burying his head into the paperwork on his desk. There aren’t as many pings from his computers and he could probably rewire some of the broken lab equipment sooner than later, but he’s not really doing anything by the time his bagel fullness has subsided into the ache of needing a lunch break.

Which, on a normal day, is when Ted can finally get a hold of everything and pick a direction. He doesn’t really get the opportunity, though.

His head is still on the desk when an unfamiliar, radiant light picks up somewhere in the center of the lab, sending out a subtle heat that dies down with the light itself.

It hasn’t been that long since lizard people attacked so it doesn’t automatically raise Ted’s hackles the way it probably should, but it does at least get him to look up from his desk and see that the light was from some sort of transportation used to enter his lab.

And the one who used the transportation was none other than his best-friend-then-gone, and oddly out of touch, for years.

Booster Gold stares at him from the center of the room, his goggles resting up on his hairline rather than on his nose, letting Ted see the way Booster’s eyebrows ruffle together. They then raise in almost shock as he continues staring Ted’s way.

Ted blinks a few times. “Mikey?”

There’s a deep breath from Booster before he even blinks. Then he shakes his head, as if trying to parse reality, before finally looking at Ted again. “Beetle!” he blurts out, like it’s something he hasn’t gotten to shout in years.

Which, who knows, maybe he hasn’t.

“Did you just teleport into my office-slash-laboratory?” Ted tries to figure out.

“Of course I did!” Booster shouts again, laughing forcefully. He almost seems hoarse already.

“That’s… weird. Since when could you teleport?” Ted continues to question. “Also why? And. Uh. Hello. Been a while.”

“It has been. It’s been… way too long,” Booster continues, seeming breathless. “Wow. Okay. Cool.”

He seems so incredibly happy and relieved and just all these other emotions that Booster doesn’t wear comfortably.

And Ted, well, he’s growing impatient the more the confusion lingers.

“Yeah, it’s like the last time I saw you was in a car commercial,” Ted says flatly.

“Ha, yeah,” Booster replies without any weight to it.

“Probably because it was,” Ted leans in.

That, at least, seems to bring down the thousand watt smile to something closer to a nine hundred. “Oh.”

The air becomes stale unbelievably quickly.

“Yeah,” is all Ted can manage to say.

Booster continues to stare at him, some of the disbelief finally fading into mild concern. Which, Ted kind of hates because only Booster could make him feel like the bad guy for pointing out the truth.

Well, maybe other people, like a well paid assistant someday in the near future.

“Did we leave off on bad terms?” Booster asks, obviously fishing.

“I don’t know,” Ted answers honestly. “Did we?”

With that, Booster’s brows furrow again and he tilts his chin down, running his hand through the back of his hair nervously. “Hell, I don’t know. I.. There’s been a lot, y’know. Just. A lot. And… I didn’t know I could… if you…”

There is something to Booster’s words and actions that feels disconnected. He’s holding back a lot, which is weird. Because it’s Booster.

But the sentiment, well, Ted knows it all too well.

“Yeah, I get it. Me, too,” Ted huffs. “I guess… I mean. There’s not a whole lot to hang out about when, well, I’m retired and you’re… not? I guess. I don’t know where you even live anymore.”

“I can’t… really retire from the current gig,” Booster announces, again with that veiled subject. But he’s quick to change topic. “And there’s every reason to hang out with you. In fact, I’m glad you’re retired. Fuck, man, you better be retired and…” He stops himself short, pinches the bridge between his eyes, and then comes back to focus. “I came to ask if you… if you wanna get some drinks?”

“You teleported into my office-slash-laboratory to ask if we could get drinks before noon on a Tuesday?” Ted asks incredulously.

Booster blinks, looks around the mess of a lab, and then looks at Ted again. “Uh. Yeah?”

Ted considers it only for a second before sighing and coming to his feet. “Okay, fine, you’ve convinced me.”

“Wow, that took… no work whatsoever,” Booster says in vacant surprise.

“It’s been a hell of a morning and I want to figure out what’s different with you,” Ted announces. “I mean, again, last time I saw you was a car commercial—“

“Did I look good in it?” Booster asks almost mindlessly, his gaze a thousand yards past Ted at the time.

“No, the whole thing was on your bad side. You know. Where your chin looks bad,” Ted responds sarcastically, looking Booster over. “Seriously, what’s up?”

“Just drinks,” Booster promises, holding up his hands.

Ted squints at him. “Drinks and… mole people? Time eating octopus? A heist for J’onn’s Chocos?”

“Do you really think so little of me?” Booster asks, actually looking at Ted again. He seems… strangely earnest about it all. In a raw, painful kind of way.

Ted leans back, worried. “Uh. Did someone die?”

“No,” Booster laughs. Only, it’s not just a laugh, it’s an uproarious joyful kind of noise from the back of Booster’s throat. “Isn’t that the greatest thing you’ve ever heard? Isn’t that the best news I’ve ever given you? No one’s… Everyone’s… Wow. I sound like I’ve lost my mind.”

Booster walks past Ted and all but collapses into Ted’s desk chair, crumbling like a fallen tower, until his head has fallen between his knees.

Ted is stunned. And worried. Mostly stunned.

“Jesus, Michael,” Ted manages to get out as he approaches his friend. He looks around his desk, grabbing for the menus he knows are somewhere among the rubbish. “We’ll just order and have something delivered here for lunch. How’s that sound?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Booster continues hoarsely. “That sounds… Yeah, that’s an amazing idea, Teddy.”

At the sound of his old nickname, Ted has to pause looking through low sodium options and instead really looks at his friend. He’s pale and has bags under his eyes. There’s a certain unkempt nature to his hair and it’s sticking up behind his ears like it hasn’t been trimmed in a while. He’s clean shaven, but there’s the dusting of five o’clock shadow on his left cheek from an uneven shave.

It’s the worst Michael has looked to his knowledge. At least short of any life-or-death situations.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Ted not so much as asks as he demands.

“A lot,” Booster answers.

That’s not good enough and it explains nothing. And normally Ted wouldn’t think twice about saying as much. But for the moment, in that uniquely personal and miserably resigned way, Ted gives a gentler “Okay” instead.

When the air grows stale again, Ted tries a different approach.

“Is there anything you can tell me?”

Booster smiles just enough that his dimples make themselves known. “You’ll never have any idea how happy I am to see you again, Ted.”

Despite his confusion and concern, Ted can’t help the no-doubt dorky smile that comes to his face. “Right back at you,” he says, and it’s so truthful it hangs heavy in his voice. He offers up, in a mousy way, his fist. “Blue and Gold?”

There’s a brittle honesty to the expression of relief and appreciation in Booster’s face as he takes his own fist and bumps his knuckles against Ted’s. “Blue and Gold,” he says back almost reverently.

For a moment, Ted wonders how this is going to end, if it will be too soon or too long. He’s just strangely concerned and glad all at once that it exists at all.

So, of course, predictably, it ends too soon.

There’s a flash in the center of the laboratory, just like before, only this time both Ted and Michael are looking in its direction before it’s even over.

Booster manages to voice his surprise before Ted even has the chance.

“Skeets?” Booster’s voice strains.

“Michael, you’re needed for…” Skeets’ synthesized voice hesitates, if such a thing is possible for an AI, and the shiny robotic body shifts into Ted’s direction for a moment. “Hello, Blue Beetle.”

“Hey, I have a secret identity,” Ted jokes, waving to his Blue Beetle themed tee and the Bug.

Skeets, ever the comedic one, does not even acknowledge the detectable sarcasm in Ted’s voice before turning back to Booster. “Sir, you have an… appointment. With Rani.”

Ted can’t help his eyebrow raising and he looks toward Booster for clarification. He’s never heard the name Rani before, at least that he can think of. And he definitely hasn’t heard the name in connection to Booster.

But there is immediate recognition in Booster’s eyes. His body tenses up and he seems immediately more put together than he has appeared since teleporting right back into Ted’s life. He doesn’t even seem to realize that Ted is looking directly at him.

“Is she okay? I mean, does it have to be right now or…” Booster trails off, looking to Ted.

“I have been sent after you, Michael,” Skeets deadpans.

“Can’t you reschedule?” Ted asks, a little put off by all of this rather sudden and unexpected developments.

“It’s not that kind of date,” Booster says, getting to his feet and then flinching at his own words. “It’s… not a date at all it’s…” He seems uncomfortable in his own skin for a moment, scratching at his chin. “You…uh… I guess we should catch up. Soon. Like, really soon. You don’t know Rani? Really? Damn. I mean…”

“No,” Ted says flatly, crossing his arms as he sits back on his desk. “I guess we should catch up soon. Like over a lunch or something.”

“Okay, great,” Booster says, walking forward.

“I’d say pop in any time, but that seems to be the assumption—“ Ted begins to snark, but he’s cut off almost immediately by the tight embrace of Booster. It’s so tight it nearly knocks the air out of him.

Booster’s been working out since they last got into shenanigans together, it feels like he’s cutting off Ted’s circulation almost just through the hug. It’s warm, though, and it feels like the sort of emotional explosion that Ted would expect after years. Without the random teleportations and promises of lunch left thus far unfulfilled.

After a moment of the hug, Ted is finally able to gather himself enough to hug back, too, patting Booster’s shoulder as he does so.

“I miss you, too, buddy,” Ted says.

“It won’t be long, I’ll… I can promise that,” Booster says, finally letting go, holding Ted’s shoulders at arms length. “There’s just… some really hard stuff to explain going on right now.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Ted jokes as Booster lets him go. “It’s… uh. Well it’s good to see you again. And will be again. Soon. Ish? Right?”

“Definitely,” Booster promises, getting close to where Skeets is in the center of the lab. “I’m… It’s great to see you again, Ted.”

“Uh, yeah,” Ted responds, waving just as the flash of light from before happens again, disappearing along with his best friend and his best friend’s robot from the future.

He remains where he is, leaned back on his desk, and tilts his head to the side.

“So how do I explain any of this in my log today,” he wonders out loud. After a long moment, he shrugs and runs a hand through his hair. “Blue and Gold Nonsense it is then.”

[hellyeahheroes]

Bendis is moving to DC y’all

DC has Marvel’s highest seller writer, Brian Michael Bendis, the mind behind Marvel hits like Modern day Spider-man and Peter Parker, Jessica Jones, and the revival of Luke Cage. Miles Morales, and Riri Williams.The man that weave interpersonal and intense storylines such as Peter’s first and failed attempt at tacking the Kingpin and Avengers spending most of their time playing poker.Love him, hate him, or wish he would stop dragging on arcs, this is undoubtedly big news in comic circles.

Now, I have been a big follower of Bendis. I have read all 160 issues of Ultimate Spider-man and the 40 plus issues of Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-man. I read Daredevil, Moon Knight,Guardians of the Galaxy and stopped reading Guardians of the Galaxy, regrettably Civil War II, Age of Ultron, Alias, and so much more. So I know Bendis’s strengths and weaknesses as a writer. I know his quirks and tendencies.Like how random characters who have up to a point have been depicted as protestant or non-religious just randomly start using Yiddish slang(Peter Parker and fucking Mary Jane randomly say tuchas a lot). 

With that said, the question on everyone’s mind is what is he going to write?  As a connoisseur of Bendis’s bullshit, I can say that Bendis specializes in grounded characters. “A super hero that is grounded? What sense does that make?” I know right, but he has been kicking DC’s ass for nearly two decades so it is something of a speciality of his that people are willing to consume in bunches. And quite frankly, it is a good hire because DC, in general, when it comes to heroes, they write heroes as symbols and not heroes as ordinary people. Marvel writes heroes as people and because they are people, they become symbolic if that makes sense. 

What I mean by grounded, I mean characters with daily middle to low class lives. People on their grind trying to work a 9-5 in the day and put on costumes and beat up thugs during the night. He is also great a noir and crime fiction, gritty or not so gritty. So the type of Superheroes that fight crime on a relatively low level. Street crime fighters.

We did some discussion and agreed Jaime Reyes would thrive under Bendis’s pen because he is pretty much Peter Parker except instead of Spider-bite, dude gets a hostile alien implant. It has been said that the character has been struggling and sales so Bendis’s name recognition would work.

Batman? Sure. Bendis did make a great Daredevil run, some would say it was his magnum opus, and Batman is Daredevil without the idealism and riches. Honestly, the only Batman I accept is DCAU and has nothing to do with Kevin Conroy as it does have to do with people writing the character as this infallible borderline sociopath that just does not kill. The problem with this is that Bruce Wayne is rich and you can just glance at Bendis’s Invincible Iron Man run and see how quickly he ditched the character in favor of a more down to Earth Riri Williams.

Now honestly, I think Superman is a bad idea. Bendis likes personable characters and Superman is a symbolic character. A symbol whose significance worn thin because he was supposed to be emblematic of American immigration in that even with his homeworld destroyed and essentially being an alien, he is still American as anyone. Yes, Bendis being Jewish and Superman being derived from Hebrew mythology would make you think it’s a match made for heaven, but the issue is that in spite of Clark’s mundane life, Clark Kent’s life is modeled after trying to be Clark Kent, a normal person, and less like Superman. If Superman gets pissed and has a bad day, we got Injustice like totalitarian rule. Superman’s entire struggle is that he has so much power that in everything he does, he has to walk around eggshells. It’s a world of cardboard for him. And that is okay. I am not knacking him, but in terms of superheroes, Bendis is out of his element. or would be.

Bendis is not great with narratively busy comics. I know this because if there are too many plots going on at once, he starts making characters talk in his voice, and so they are out of character. He does not explain things and just wants to get to the next moment. Read Civil War II and Age of Ultron for examples of this. These events are emblematic to why you should not give this man very complicated and heavy stories. Do not give him Justice League. It is a bad idea. 

So we have narratively condensed, everyman characters with an aspect of crime noir. These are what brought Bendis to the dance.

@ubernegro

While I’m not as much a Bendis connoisseur, he’s been always around at Marvel, shaping it whenever he went, around the same time I came back to comics as a teenager. In fact, he’s been such a stable of Marvel for so long the sudden news he is jumping ships sounds so bizarre to me I’m half expecting to find out somebody spiced my coffee with drugs and this is all a hallucination. This is not the first time a writer unexpectedly jumped ships but might be the largest one since Grant Morrison had enough of being treated like shit by X-Men editorial and that one even Joe Quesada didn’t see coming before they announced it. It makes me worried how bad exactly are things at Marvel that even a company powerhouse like Bendis is leaving. 

I’ve been checking out other sites and aside 4chan tearing itself over like they always do, it’s also trending on Twitter, with people like Tom King openly welcoming him with warm arms while others, like Gail Simone, are making their own guesses what he will get. In fact, here is hers:

Which is as far away from everything said above as possible. I mean, nothing speaks “grounded” like a team of aliens in far future.... buuuut apparently Bendis once admitted he would want to write a Legion book one day. I’m almost hoping DC really got Hickman, with whom they were apparently in talks, to do a Legion book instead and I’m not a fan of Hickman.

Back to the predictions, I agree that Batman might not be the best fit for Bendis. But I also think that one of his strengths is how rich the setting and supporting cast he provides. I could totally see him on a book about one of more grounded Batfamily members, like Red Hood and the Outlaws or maybe someone who don’t have a book right now (Azrael or Batwing?) or maybe even one of the villains. I could actually see him try Nightwing at some point, if given good editor it could be a midpoint between his Spider-Man and Daredevil books.

Gotham also proved it can be a solid backdrop for a series about normal humans in an absolutely batshit, no pun intended, setting. Gotham Central and Gotham Academy, with solid, beloved runs, really prove it. And while I wouldn’t trust Bendis with Renee Montoya or Maggie Sawyer, I could see him taking over Rebirth of Gotham Central, especially as he always got along with Ed Brubaker, one of its original co-creators. On the other hand, they might try to give him some street-level character like the Question, whom they messed up in New 52, to Rebirth.

Jaime is also a possible choice, as his book has been struggling to have good sales and seems to be sadly heading the way of Superwoman, with a writer change that in the latter’s case was followed by cancellation announcement. Bendis is the kind of writer who could bring to Jaime numbers Dan DiDio would want right now.

Which brings me to I think an important question - who managed to catch him? If Dan DiDio, then Bendis might join crew working on his pet project, Dark Matter imprint. And considering how much people compare Teriffics to Fantastic Four, Damage to Hulk and Sideways to Spider-Man already, this would be a whole new level of sticking it to Marvel. ESPECIALLY if he gets on Sideways, whom DiDio is co-writing with different writer every arc - first being Justin Jordan, second the abovementioned Morrison.

On the other hand, Bendis is friends with Geoff Johns, who, according to rumors I heard, is apparently in a bit of a power struggle with DiDio and had gotten an upper hand thanks to Rebirth. And when you consider what project Johns is working on right now. And what characters will it likely introduce to DC Universe. And who in comics inevitably come to mind when you think of terms like “grounded”, “narratively condensed”, “flawed”, “everyman” and “crime noir”.

- Admin

[puddingmcmuffin]

For the minific ask: B'arzz and the green scarab, and your pick between D or N. n.n

Not only is this really, really late, but it’s also probably a lot longer than it should be. Also I couldn’t decide to go with D or N for the theme, so it ended up being a bit of both?

D: Subtle kindnesses/ N: The color green

“Whydo we not return to Mars, B'arzz O'oomm?”

Thescarab’s question made B'arzz blink in surprise. ‘Even with the Reachgone, the planet Earth is not as safe as it should be,’ he answeredthrough their private mind link. 'Our abilities can be put to gooduse in assisting the Justice League and defending Earth.’

B'arzzshifted to camouflage as a car passed by on the street below. Despitethe several months since the Reach had been defeated and subsequentlybanished from Earth, there were still many among the population whowere against the idea of both him and Jaime being allowed to stay. Infact, more and more seemed to be swayed by G. Gordon Godfrey’s wordsevery day, and more and more people wanted both beetles Blue andGreen to be removed as well.

B'arzzglanced behind as the car turned a corner and left his sight. Eventhough it was very late at night (or perhaps very early in themorning) and B'arzz was crouched on the roof of a small building, thegreen scarab armor was flashier than B'arzz would have liked, and nowwas not the time to be sporting anything related to Reach. B'arzzturned his attention back to the office building he and Superboy’steam were staking out.

“Ithas been five Earth months since the Reach were exiled, and evenlonger still since you were brought here, B'arzz O'oomm. Surely noone would object if you told them you wished to leave,”said the scarab.

'Ihave no pressing matters that need attending to,’ said B'arzz. 'Andafter all, staying on Earth makes it easier for the Green Lanterns tokeep an eye on us.’

“TheGreen Lanterns have had sufficient proof of this scarab’sindependence from the Reach. This scarab does not appreciate beingconstantly monitored.”

'Doit to ease their minds. They will eventually have more trust in us.’

“'Eventually’is an unsatisfactory estimate of time.”

B'arzzsighed, looking over the building again. Although he did understandthe reasoning for the lanterns’ caution, a part of him did agree withthe scarab: the proof of their loyalties should have been obvious bynow.

Achill breeze blew past him. It had been raining earlier, and now thetemperature was dropping drastically. The puddles on the pavementthat shimmered in the green of the traffic light were slowly turningsolid. If it continued this way, it would likely be dangerous on theroads in the morning.

'Headsup, team,’ said Superboy’s voice through the telepathic link. 'We’vegot two heading in on the north side.’

B'arzzbrought his attention back to the building, and saw that there wereindeed two figures making their way over. They were dressed in fullbody suits that covered them completely. The suits were black withwhat looked to be white smiles on the masks where the mouths were,and stripes that crossed in an X shape over their chests, the samepattern on each but alternating with the colors, one wearing morepurple and the other wearing more yellow. The two swiftly made theirway to the back of the building, beyond B'arzz’s view.

'WonderGirl, they’re headed towards you,’ said Superboy. 'Beast Boy, GreenBeetle, move in and block off that alleyway. I’ll come in from abovewith Sphere. Be ready when I give the word.’

—–

“Wellthatwas easier than expected,” said Wonder Girl, hands on her hips asshe looked down at the two men tied in her lasso. She looked over toSuperboy. “Why did we need to take care of this again?”

“Intergangis still having trouble getting back on their feet since they losttheir leaders; it’s in our best interest to keep them fromregrouping,” said Superboy.

“What’swrong, wonder brat?” one of the men asked.

“Arewe not good enough to for you to fight?” asked the other.

“Whatfight?” asked Wonder Girl. “You guys didn’t even last fiveminutes against us.”

“That’swhat you think, girl!” said the one wearing more yellow thanpurple. “But Rank and Riot’s criminal careers have only just begun!Trust me when I say that you will live to regret this night!”

“Rankand Riot?” asked Beast Boy. “Thoseare the names you’re gonna go with?”

“Isthere a problem with that?” asked the one wearing more purple thanyellow.

“It’sstupid,” said Beast Boy.

“You’restupid!”yelled the other man.

“Yeahokay,” said Wonder Girl, who looked back to Superboy. “So whatare we doing with these guys?”

“There’sa police station nearby,” said Superboy. “We’ll drop them offthere.”

“Isthat wise?” B'arzz asked. “Despite the little difficulty we hadin apprehending them, they do possess strength superior to an averagehuman. We may risk them running lose once more.”

“Yeah,cricket boy is right,” said Rank (or perhaps it was Riot). “We’renot to be underestimated; you should take this more seriously,kiddies.”

“I’llkeep that in mind,” Superboy answered as he looked back to B'arzz.“It’ll be fine; we’ll just need to make a call beforehand to makesure they have some inhibitor collars ready.”

“I’mnot into that,” said Riot (or maybe it was Rank).

“Willyou two be quiet already?” said Wonder Girl, exasperated.

“Indeed,”said B'arzz, his eyes suddenly glowing red. Rank and Riot went stifffor a moment as they stared at B'arzz, before they both slumped overin their restraints.

“Thisscarab would have done that earlier.”

“Theyare only unconscious, and should stay that way for a while,” B'arzzsaid to the team. “There should be plenty of time to get theinhibitor collars before they wake.”

“Soundsgood,” said Superboy, climbing on to Sphere. “Let’s go, team.”

WonderGirl hoisted Rank and Riot up, throwing them into the back seat ofthe super cycle before she jumped up and sat on the back edge.

B'arzzlooked back to the street as Beast Boy joined the others. Therainwater had fully solidified, and the roads were now covered insheets of ice. From the look of it, nothing had been done to preventit. The light at the intersection reflected off the ice, the normallyblack pavement now shining with green. It would definitely bedangerous by morning.

“Hey,Green!” called Beast Boy. “You coming?”

B'arzzlooked at him and shook his head. “My apologies,” he said. “Butthere is something I must attend to. I will meet you back atheadquarters.”

“Doingwhat?” Beast Boy asked. The question was an innocent one, and histone was not accusatory, unlike certain members of the team andleague who were monitoring him at every turn.

B'arzzopened his mouth to speak, but Superboy cut him off. “It’s fine,”he said. “Do what you need to and then get back.”

“Ofcourse,” said B'arzz, smiling. Superboy nodded in response, revvingthe super cycle and taking off, its sounds growing fainter as theyvanished into the dark sky.

—–

“Thereis no good in earning favor with this action when there is no one toobserve you doing it, B'arzz O'oomm,”said his scarab.

B'arzztsked. 'You have been too influenced by the Ambassador. Sometimespeople are willing to do things without the thought of personal gain.Or perhaps you feel that this is not a task worthy of our powers?’

B'arzzflew over the streets slowly, one arm stretched out as he used histelekinesis to break apart the ice that covered the majority of theroads, moving the pieces to the sides as he went past.

“Thatis not what this scarab meant.”

'Thenwhat did you mean?’

“Wehave gone above and beyond what was owed for our actions during theReach’s attempted invasion,”said the scarab. “Yougo too far for nothing in return.”

'Idon’t mind-’

“Pleasedo not try to lie to me, B'arzz O'oomm. You should know better thanthat.”

B'arzzhuffed. 'I realize that the situation is not ideal, but I wish tomake the best of it. I’ve told you; Mars is not in danger, and Earthhas use of our powers.’

“Doyou not miss the life you had before the Reach?”

B'arzzstopped. It had been some time since he had thought about his 'oldlife’, as it were. When he had been under the influence of the Reach,every other thought was dedicated to yearning for the life he hadonce had on Mars, but since his liberation, all of his time had beenconsumed by helping the team.

Thinkingon it now: yes, he did miss it. It had been a simple enough life,with his work as an 'archaeologist’, as the Earthlings would havecalled him. It was work that gave him little reward, as the majorityof the Martians cared little for the relics of the past, while therest only had a mild interest in his finds.

Andyet, it made him happy. It had given him a sense of purpose. Despitethe little influence he had in any aspect on his community, at timesalmost being a hermit while he dug in the caves, spending hours onend alone, he was happy to do it. And surely that was the mostimportant thing in life, was it not?

Thescarab stayed silent as he contemplated, then asked “areyou happy, B'arzz O'oomm?”The question sounded a bit harsher than the scarab had likelyintended, but it was to be expected; they were still learning, andteaching something like delicacy to one who had once been little morethan a machine was difficult.

B'arzzsighed. 'No,’ he said. 'I would be much happier if I could return toMars.’

“Andyou do not voice this because you fear the reaction of Earth’sheroes?”the scarab asked. “Youshould not feel this way; you saw tonight that there are those whotrust you. The Superboy, the Wonder Girl and the Beast Boy were notafraid to be around you or leave you to your own devices. The JaimeReyes and his scarab also understand the position we are in, as theyhave been under control of the Reach. Not everyone distrusts you.”

'TheGreen Lanterns would likely see it as suspicious,’ said B'arzz.'After going so long without mentioning it once, and then suddenlyrequesting to return home.’

B'arzzcould feel the irritation coming from the scarab when he mentionedthe lanterns. “TheGreen Lanterns have had sufficient proof of our loyalty. And surelyeven the Guy Gardner would understand the need to return to one’shome planet.”

'Ido not wish to cause unnecessary alarm, particularly when we have noidea what the Light is up to,’ said B'arzz. 'Until the situation onEarth is at a place that it is safe, I will not leave.’

“Thisplanet will never be truly 'safe’.”

'Thenwhen it is safe enough that I am not needed,’ B'arzz stated. He movedforward again, picking up where he left off with moving the ice fromthe road.

—–

Thescarab remained quiet for the rest of the time, leaving B'arzz toclear the rest of the roads in peace. If the temperature remained thesame or worsened, it was likely that the ice would solidify where hehad moved it. In that case, it could be a hazard for anyone who onlyneeded to cross the street.

'Perhapsthis was a mistake,’ B'arzz said, more to himself than the scarab.Maybe instead of just moving it, he should have gotten rid of the icealtogether. He mulled over what to do: perhaps he could use thescarab’s plasma cannon to destroy it. But then he might do damage tothe street and sidewalk below it, which would be difficult for humansto repair because of the cold weather. Maybe he should just gather itall, and simply move it to a place where people were not likely to bebothered by it. He began to fly higher, looking around for any sortof empty space that met that specification. Finding a place like thatmight be difficult; he’d likely need to travel a bit before-

“B'arzzO'oomm,”said the scarab. “Youhave done enough. Let us return.”

'ButI haven’t finished-’

“Itis enough,”said the scarab. “Yourdedication is admirable, but you have done more than enough to assistin this situation. We should leave now so that you may rest.”

'Thatwas not enough to wear me out, scarab,’ said B'arzz, scoffingslightly.

“Youwill wear yourself out if you do any more. What you have done isenough,” thescarab repeated. “Letit be.”

B'arzzlooked at the streets below him. With how high he was now, he hadn’trealized just how much he had done. There seemed to be more streetsthan he remembered clearing, and if he were to do any more, he mightvery well tire out, which would not do any good for him or the teamif there was any sort of emergency.

'Isuppose you’re right,’ B'arzz said finally. 'I should stop.’

Thescarab only hummed in agreement, and B'arzz flew higher, back towardsthe nearest Zeta-Tube.

'Thankyou, scarab,’ said B'arzz.

“Youare welcome, B'arzz O'oomm,”said the scarab. “Butthis scarab will admit that they still do not understand why youinsist on performing such actions.”

'Isee. And I assume you only stopped complaining because you wouldn’tbe able to change my mind?’ B'arzz asked, chuckling a bit.

“Inpart,”the scarab said. “Butit also seemed to make you happy.”

Itwas the second time the scarab surprised him that night. In a raremoment, B'arzz found himself not sure how to respond. But as he flewaway, he couldn’t keep himself from smiling.

[crashtacular-blog]

boys are boys are boys (it’s whatever)

FANDOM: Young Justice: Invasion PAIRING: Jaime Reyes/Bart Allen/Khaji Da (Bluepulse OT3) RATING: Teen

Bart’s always been a boy.

Bart doesn’t have a dramatic backstory on when he found out and how he told his family and how his reassignment went. He didn’t have a family, and he didn’t have a reassignment. Because being trans didn’t matter where he was from. He didn’t even know that there was a word for what he was-- he was a boy, always had been. That was that. That was all. It didn’t matter. Other things mattered much more.

He didn’t have a birthname, because he was ripped from his mother’s arms and put into slavery with nothing to him but a heartbeat, an inhibitor collar, and a number all before he could get a name. M-304, that was him. M for meta. Just the Reach’s way of further stripping them from any sense of humanity, of individuality that they could possibly grasp to.

He never knew what happened to his parents, assumed they were dead. It was sad, but it was just how it was.

M-304 was three when he met Nathaniel, who kept him safe through his childhood and told him stories of how the Earth used to be. When M-304 was five, he named himself Bart-- Bartholomew, after the Flash. His grandfather.

“I wish I could have known him,” Bart had said, once, when he was seven. “I know,” Nathaniel had said, gently ruffling his hair, a sad smile playing on his lips as he said, “He would have loved you, Bart. I’m sorry things turned out like they did.”

In that time, Bart couldn’t name a time when he wasn’t hungry. The hunger-- that was one thing he wouldn’t forget. That aching, clawing, painful hunger, that growing up starving, given only enough to keep you alive and working. Bart had always been small, skinny, too skinny. Puberty didn’t happen like it should have, lacking the proper fuel. His breasts never grew to be more than just little bug bites on his chest. He never got his period, at least not in his original time.

Nathaniel kept him as fed as he possibly could, and never told him by what means. Never.

Bart was ten when he figured out time travel physics from nothing but conviction and the rubble of the world in hell, from what was left. Nathaniel didn’t have the heart to tell him it would never work. Nathaniel was astonished, absolutely short-circuited when Bart came rushing in, as fast as he could with that inhibitor collar and with his too-small frame, too small for eleven. His green eyes bright, wild, an absolutely childishly ecstatic look on his freckled face when he said, “I did it.”

From then on, it was all they worked on. Getting Bart back to the past, perfecting time travel. Quizzing Bart on how things worked in the past. Stitching the Impulse suit. Hacking his inhibitor collar. Keeping each other safe and uncaught. Developing his backstory-- tourist from the future. Feeding him more, trying to make it look like he hadn’t been starved his whole life.

Of course, it didn’t work spectacularly, and Bart still didn’t look like the poster-boy for eating enough when he was fourteen and it was time to go. Still incredibly lithe, still small for his age, fourteen and only 5’4. But it would do.

“You’re leaving tomorrow,” Nathaniel had said, and Bart met his eyes. He was an old, so forlorn. Empty. It was a common sight. Bart’s mouth quirked in a smile, a reassuring one.

“That’s a good thing, Nathaniel,” He reminded him softly, “Remember? I’m gonna crash the mode, and it’ll all be better. Don’t look so sad.”

Nathaniel caught Bart’s smile a little, at that, which only made Bart’s own smile grow.

“Bart,” Nathaniel started, “There’s something I haven’t told you.”

Nathaniel knew Bart was trans. He’d always known. He’d made sure Bart was aware of how his body worked, of how puberty would go for him, given their conditions. But he’d never told him what being trans entailed in the past.

That night, however, he had.

People in the past cared about that kind of thing, Nathaniel told him. Boys were supposed to be male, and girls were supposed to be female, and according to the past that was simply how it worked. Bart, being a boy with female biology, was considered taboo. He was ‘transgender’, Nathaniel told him. People from the past were ignorant at best, intolerant at worst.

“Just-- Bart, be careful,” Nathaniel had urged him, while Bart’s veins flooded with ice, while panic settled in his chest, “Don’t draw attention to it. All you have to do is pretend you’re not trans. That’s all. Just pretend, Bart. Can you do that for me?”

Bart had told him yes, of course, yes. Why wouldn’t he? Why wouldn’t he want to keep it a secret, if it could get him hurt? A kind of hurt settled in his stomach, a kind of confusion and a kind of anger, simply not understanding how that could be a thing. People were people. Boys were boys. Why did what he had between his legs matter? Why did it have to be difficult?

When Impulse came back to the past, he was a boy. Just as he’d always been. But he was a boy with a different, very new kind of fear settled into his bones, a fear that came with being in severely uncharted waters, of having to hide something important out of fear that it could make people want to hurt you.

“You’re babbling again.”

Bart stopped in the middle of his sentence, his eyes flickering to meet the gentle dark brown of his friend’s, of Jaime’s. The statement wasn’t spoken contemptuously, or with any flicker of annoyance, Jaime’s lips quirked in amusement as he watched Bart, fondly. Bart huffed, maybe childishly, felt his face heat up.

“You could pretend to listen,” He teased back, unable to help the smile that appeared as Jaime laughed.

“That would be lying, and I’m genuinely interested in what you’re saying-- I just can’t understand you when your words blur together like that.”

In two years Bart had been in the past, Jaime had become his best friend at an alarming rate. He couldn’t ask for better.

Bart couldn’t read. He’d never learned-- The Reach intentionally prohibited it, made absolutely certain that nobody could. Stripping their humanity.

Bart learned a lot about other trans people through videos, through text-to-speech of articles. He found that the consensus, even if someone was supportive, was that trans people were certainly taboo. He was more than a little unsettled by the widely accepted notion that if you were born trans, there was something wrong with you-- you were born in the wrong body.

Even some trans people seemed to believe this. Bart found it, quite frankly, disgusting. What left him horrified was the idea that if you were trans, your goal was to become the least degree of trans you possibly could.

The values of trans people were based on how cis they could be. It was status quo that trans people all collectively hate themselves. That was just the way it was. Trans people weren’t on equal playing grounds, and it seemed that all of them were convinced that they only mattered if they could become as cis as possible. They weren’t right, otherwise.

Bart panicked upon learning this. Should he feel this way about himself? Hours of standing in the mirror, of staring at his reflection and trying to find it repulsive, of poking at his small chest, of examining the dip in his waist, of inspecting his soft features and his long lashes and his big eyes. Touching himself and trying to feel wrong, like his body was not his own if it had this biology.

But he never could. His body was his own, and as hard as he tried he couldn’t think otherwise. He thought he was kind of cute. He liked how he looked. He didn’t hate his possibly more feminine features, didn’t feel as though the pink between his legs mismatched with who he was. His body was his.

He couldn’t bring himself to feel like he owned girl parts. He didn’t. They were his parts, and he was a boy-- boy parts.

Just because he was trans didn’t mean he was exempt from being okay with himself. He’d heard that trans people sometimes felt uncomfortable doing anything sexual, and he understood that mindset-- he would probably be uncomfortable too, if he was raised believing his body didn’t match him, that it was wrong.

There was a quote Bart had heard once. That if you judged a fish on it’s ability to climb a tree, it will go it’s whole life believing it is stupid. That was how the world treated trans people, he decided. Like they needed to change to have any value.

It was ridiculous. It was appalling.

Bart stared into the mirror, in boyshorts and his binder, Impulse costume in hand. His eyes ran over his features, and he decided he felt right. He was himself. He was not a girl-- that was ridiculous. His body was absolutely irrelevant in determining how he was.

He was fine exactly the way he was.

“Hey Jaime?” “Yeah?”

Bart played with the zipper of his hoodie, feeling his friend’s gaze on him and not meeting it. Even after learning how people viewed trans people and deciding that he was okay with himself, exactly how he was, and that being trans was something he should be unashamed of… Still. He’d been terrified ever since he came back.

What if Jaime thought differently of him? What if everyone did? It really didn’t matter if he was okay with himself if the whole world thought differently. Maybe he’d start to hate himself, after all.

“--Trans people,” He said, finally meeting Jaime’s eyes. He looked confused, maybe a little shocked. “Um,” He said, blinking, “...What about them?”

“Well, what do you think of them?”

“I-- I mean? I don’t, really,” Jaime replied. He didn’t look uncomfortable, just confused, put on the spot and off-guard, “They exist, and it’s whatever. You know? Like, them existing doesn’t affect me. I think they exist. That’s all.”

“You don’t have an opinion?” Bart reiterated.

“I guess not. I mean, I definitely have an opinion on how they should be treated. With human decency. But I don’t think people existing should be controversial.”

Bart was grinning. Absolutely beaming, and Jaime looked more confused than ever when he met Bart’s eyes.

“Um,” His friend started, “...Why?”

“Jaime,” Bart couldn’t help the laugh coming from his chest, because that was perfect, that was wonderful, that was everything Bart could ask for. His biology didn’t make him strange. He existed. He just existed. He loved that.

“Bart?” “Jaime, I’m trans.”

He was beaming, and Jaime’s eyes widened for only a second before he returned the smile, with exasperated fondness.

“Um, okay,” he said, nudging Bart’s shoulder, “Like I said, whatever. You’re still just you. It doesn’t matter.” “I know.”

“Okay,” Jaime said, maybe a little more gently than before, a little more fondly, knowing now that he was talking to Bart about something that mattered to him, something important, “As long as you know.”

Bart came out to everyone not long after that. He was terrified, absolutely paralyzed, not sure if he was ready for the struggles that came with being openly transgender. Jaime was behind him when he told everyone, and when he’d frozen up, he felt Jaime’s hand slip into his. He took a breath, he started again.

Jaime and Bart’s transition from friends to lovers wasn’t unexpected. The addition of Khaji Da was, but a welcome surprise. A nice twist. A perfect one.

They’d talked about sex before. Jaime was worried that Bart would be uncomfortable, even scared, that maybe he’d feel like having sex was wrong because of how he was.

“Jaime,” Bart said, trying not to sound too frustrated, “It doesn’t matter. It’s whatever.” “--So, you’re not uncomfortable with…?”

“No,” He didn’t even hesitate, “When it’s time, when we feel like we want to, it won’t be a problem. It’s whatever.”

“I heard trans people get squeamish about vocabulary, too,” Jaime said gently, a note of panic in his voice, his fingers carding in Bart’s hair, “I-- I just really want to make sure you’re comfortable, amorcito.”

Bart smiled at the pet name, shaking his head lightly, “I know. But it’s fine. Call it what it is. It’s my pussy, it’s my cunt, it’s whatever. I’m a boy, and just because my biology is different than what people think it should be doesn’t mean I have to hate it. I’m all crash, Jaime.”

He meant it, as he pressed a kiss to his cheekbone, feeling his eyes flutter as Jaime switched for Khaji.

“Bart,” Khaji said, his hands moving to Bart’s hips, pulling back slightly to look at him, “You’d tell us if you were uncomfortable?”

“‘Course, lovebug,” Bart cooed, kissing Khaji’s forehead, relishing in the satisfaction his little flustered breath brought him, “I’d tell you. But it isn’t a problem. Honestly, my only complaint is that you two aren’t currently fucking me.”

Khaji’s lips quirked up a little, “You and I are on the same page, then.”

“Khaji,” Jaime chided, visibly flustered as he switched out, avoiding Bart’s delighted expression as he threw a scolding look over his shoulder, “Honestly.”

“If Bart says we should not be worrying,” Khaji continued, the brown of Jaime’s eyes quickly turning to Khaji’s gold, “Then I see no reason to worry. Smothering him over something he doesn’t wish to be an issue would be incredibly counterproductive. Wouldn’t it?

 When Jaime came back, he was quiet for a moment before simply kissing Bart, softly, gently, slowly, his hands never moving from his hips. Bart smiled against his mouth, taking that as agreement and silently thanking Khaji, running his fingertips gently over the scarab itself, listening to it chitter with his boyfriend’s apparent appreciation.

[fire-fira]

Tagged by the fantastic @puddingmcmuffin​

PICK YOUR TOP 10 SHIPS WITHOUT READING THE QUESTIONS

No real order to these tbh:

Bluepulse OT3 (Jaime Reyes/Khaji Da/Bart Allen - Young Justice)

Devilfish (Lagoon Boy/Kid Devil - crackship from YJ and DC more in general)

TimKon (DC comics and pretty much any iteration thereof)

HarleyIvy (DC comics)

VRichie (Static/Gear- Static Shock)

Shatt (<<<I hate this ship name, Shiro/Matt- Voltron)

Silvergifting (Tyelperinquar/Mairon - Tolkien)

Koy (Roy/Kaldur- Young Justice)

Fem!Shepllura (Fem!Shepard/Allura- crack ship from Mass Effect and Voltron)

FenHawke (Fenris/Hawke- Dragon Age II)

DO YOU REMEMBER THE EPI/SCENE/CHAPTER THAT YOU FIRST STARTED SHIPPING 6?

Tbh it wasn’t until after I’d seen all of season 1 and was RPing with @dizsasqua​ that it just sort of fell into place and made sense. And what’s more, it makes so much sense to me that now it’s pretty much impossible for me to ship Shiro with anyone else.

YOU EVER READ A FIC ABOUT 2?

roflmao Are you kidding? I thought up the ship in the first place. Seven of the 8 fics that currently exist I wrote alone (and yes, have read multiple times), and the 8th one I co-wrote with @onyxdragonx​. I have even more in the works (two currently in progress), and if anyone else ever writes fics for the Devilfish ship I will probably be shrieking for days and re-read them 500 times and more.

HAVE A PICTURE OF 4 EVER BEEN YOUR SCREENSAVER/PROFILE PICTURE?

Noooope. I don’t tend to have ship pics as my profile pic, screensaver, or even background. I usually prefer more nature-y stuff for things like that. Though I do tend to go for having a single character I like as my profile pic, but I’ve never had one with Harley or Ivy (mostly out of maintaining a certain amount of distance so I’m less likely to get ‘she’d XP).

IF 7 WERE TO SUDDENLY BREAK UP TODAY, WHAT WOULD YOUR REACTION BE?

Silvergifting - Considering that in canon Mairon killed Tyelpe and used him as his banner that would probably be an improvement. In the best iterations though, I would have to wonder what happened just because they’re one of those unbreakable couples. (Needless to say, I only really go with the best iterations.)

WHY IS 1 SO IMPORTANT?

Bluepulse OT3- OMFG. They are adorable, they are wonderful, and they are a perfect example of a healthy poly relationship where everyone has a say and boundaries are respected across the board. They know how to play around and goof off, they’re always there for each other, and they’re wonderfully supportive of each other without any bullshit jealousy creeping in. And OMFG they are so good about communicating with each other so that none of them end up feeling neglected and just- fffffrrrrraaaaaaaaa I can’t even put it into words! I LOVE THESE THREE.

WHICH ONE HAS THE STRONGEST BOND?

Uh... All of them? I kind of have a thing for ships with REALLY strong bonds to the point where they’re unbreakable.

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU READ/WATCHED 10’S FANDOM?

FenHawke - I’ve seen a playthrough of the game once (thanks to my fiance @radioactive-earthshine​) and we’re going through for the second time. I’m still relatively new to the Dragon Age fandom, so I haven’t gotten all that in-depth yet (though thank you fanfiction and all of the various fantastic authors).

WHICH SHIP HAS LASTED THE LONGEST?

I’m tempted to say HarleyIvy or TimKon, but if we go by how long a relationship lasted in canon, it would definitely have to be Silvergifting (definitely not going to argue with a relationship lasting a couple hundred years at least).

HOW MANY TIMES IF EVER HAS 6 BROKEN UP?

Shatt- They kind of weren’t even together when they got abducted by the Galra Empire, so unless they kind of got together while they were captured, not really ever. If they did get together, then once, when Shiro escaped.

IF THE WORLD WAS SUDDENLY THRUST INTO A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE WHICH SHIP WOULD MAKE IT OUT ALIVE, 2 OR 8?

Devilfish vs Koy - lol What are the chances it’d be the two ships with atlanteans? Seriously though, while I think both ships would stand a good chance of surviving, I think the thing that would give Eddie and La’gaan the edge over Roy and Kaldur is the fact that Eddie is a pyrokinetic and could set fire to any zombies before they got anywhere close to him or La’gaan (and for La’gaan and Kaldur it doesn’t hurt that they have really durable skin that’s comparatively hard to cut or break). Where Kaldur and Roy would have the disadvantage is the fact that if Roy got bitten (being that for the most part he’s a normal human) they would be screwed.

DID 7 EVER HAVE TO HIDE THEIR RELATIONSHIP FOR ANY REASON?

Silvergifting - rofl OMFG YES. Most of Tyelpe’s remaining family were absolutely convinced that Mairon was evil and didn’t trust him even before Tyelpe met him. So yeah, you can bet that their relationship initially was pretty freaking quiet.

IS 4 STILL TOGETHER?

HarleyIvy- YES. AND THEY’RE CANON! *insert maniacal laughter here*

IS 10 CANON?

FenHawke- If you play the game through that way, then absolutely hell yes.

IF ALL 10 SHIPS WERE PUT INTO A COUPLE’S HUNGER GAMES WHICH COUPLE WOULD WIN?

It would be between TimKon and Silvergifting, with VRichie and Bluepulse OT3 coming in second. TimKon because holy fucking shit TIM (he would assess everyone’s weaknesses and have contingency plans from hell in very short order), and Silvergifting because Mairon and Tyelpe working together are damn near a force of nature and terrifyingly intelligent. Both Virgil and Richie are pretty freaking smart, but they both lack the sort of laser-precision Tim and Mairon have. Khaji Da has that sort of laser-precision, but he’s got some blind spots that would cost him, Jaime, and Bart if they went up against Tim and Kon or Mairon and Tyelpe-- otherwise the three of them would have it in the bag.

HAS ANYBODY EVER TRIED TO SABOTAGE 5’S SHIP?

VRichie- Both of them to a certain degree; mainly due to Virgil being oblivious and chasing after his minor crushes (at least three girls-- Frieda, Daisy, and Shanice/Shebang) like a goober and not realizing that Richie had it bad for him, and due to Richie feeling like he initially couldn’t be open about the fact he was gay and assuming that there was no way in hell Virgil would be interested in him. So they more sabotaged themselves than anybody else sabotaging them.

WHICH SHIP WOULD YOU DEFEND UNTIL DEATH AND BEYOND?

I will ride or die for all of them.

DO YOU SPEND HOURS A DAY GOING THROUGH 3’S TUMBLR PAGES?

TimKon - I haven’t gone through their tag on tumblr all that much, but I have combed through what’s available on Ao3. Several times. Even spent time looking through fics on Ao3 while I was in a class that I eventually dropped because there was just too much work for me to keep up with.

IF AN EVIL WITCH DESCENDED FROM THE SKY AND TOLD YOU THAT YOU HAD TO PICK 1 OF THE 10 SHIPS TO BREAK UP FOREVER OR ELSE SHE’D BREAK THEM ALL UP FOREVER WHICH SHIP WOULD YOU SINK?

I’m echoing pudding on this-- that witch is dead.

Tagging: @radioactive-earthshine, @dizsasqua, @weirdnonsensefandomstuff, @angrylittlerainbow, @onyxdragonx, @insuffera6le6itch, and anyone else who cares to do this. n.n