#i may be overexaggerating but this is what i got from the comics and most of the panels shown to me soooo.

[salvatoreren]

i cannot actually get over how scrumptious and delightful bbrae is in the 2003 comics like they're so obviously in love with each other but they just don't know it till they're in the morgue and they kiss each other in the middle of the apocalypse because it might be the last time they see each other and might die trying to save the world and garfield constantly grapples with the idea of raven loving him or the kiss being real, like look, i have not read the whole thing so i'm quite unsure about the terra incident within the comics but i have read blackest night which is a crossover to the comics and you can see just how much terra has made an impact on gar, and how she'll always haunt him and he'll always love her even though it wasn't real, gar is so obviously scared to fall in love again because of that and loses the meaning of what's real in front of him because of terra, he loves raven but he's scared to get hurt again and i think that there's this frustration that runs through within, of him wanting it to be real and asking her if any of it was, as a means of validation of their love and their relationship because he's scared that things may not seem as it is.

and raven, of course, actually, again, i'm not really sure what's going on because i've barely scratched the surface but i'm sure we get the gist when raven feels emotions and how it is for her to handle them, especially the intense ones and love is obviously one of those and like falling in love, being subjected to such a powerful thing like romantic love is incredibly overwhelming but also exciting? to the point where everything you feel for that person is somehow always heightened than the usual and it's bound to make you lose control, raven, as we can see is scared to fully indulge in loving garfield in fear that she might lose control and puts herself at risk if not the world but the thing is, she cannot bring herself to not love gar because he's essentially part of her, in issue#88 she mentions how his love for her has changed but her love for him still persists.

and speaking of gar being part of raven now, it goes the same for gar because he mentions in issue#100 that he tried to date other girls, he tried to move on from raven but all he could think about was her the whole time.

like they constantly overlap and linger within each other's lives and i absolutely adored their buildup and what i got from it, their love borders on unconditional where they continue to love another even if it meant they won't receive back that love or where they just love and accept each other for who they are, their relationship revolves around as just being more than humans but also being a person bigger than the pain that has molded you as who you are in the given and has thus removed your ability to be able to indulge in little things in life as well as giving love a chance, whether it be the first or second time and growing back together with that person you chose to give a chance.

they're so absolutely precious in the comics and i sincerely wish that this kind of writing comes through to any adaptations of them because it's so deliciously complicated and profound and just...the miscommunication, the slow burn, the yearning is there and god, i love them so bad :((((.

[thattimdrakeguy]

Frankly if you asked me, all of that unnecessary misdirection and twists that left poor Tim at the ‘make him angsty and edgier’ block for later writers to force upon him was the result of the whole darker and edgier train that permeated not just the Batbooks but the whole industry throughout the decade he was in.

Basically short, in my honest opinion, Tim Drake was the perfect character at the absolutely wrong time.

The 90s edgier nonsense (as foreshadowed by the marvelous competition’s hefty promotion of Venom, Cable and other like minded antiheroes, Early Image having a foundation built on that) made possible with the Batmania (since he’s naturally the perfect candidate for darker and edgier due to both his gothic aesthetic and his insane popularity) unfortunately gave the writers of that era and the 2000s the impression that since it’s Gotham, things in universe are just miserable and sucky

And since Tim lives in Gotham, despite meant to be the counter to that misery that permeates the city he helps defend, it was only a matter of time before that wrong impression got to him too

It’s why to this day, my preferred Tim Drake is that original Fanboy we saw in A Lonely Place of Dying since in the end, that’s what he’s meant to be, beginner or not and why I am still reluctant to get anything Dixon related on both him and Nightwing since those runs are built on that train of thought that says ‘misery in setting and edgier characters means compelling and mature storytelling, especially in Gotham’

I know, long winded, I just needed to vent. You may ignore this if you wish to

Bro, I just asked #cats what a raw potato tasted like, I don't feel like ignoring much.

And, I wouldn't say Tim was in the wrong time. He has his great successes in the 90s. The main reason he's talked about past people's obsession with one story in Red Robin, that has slowly lost popularity 'cause of people realizing it wasn't the best Tim--is 'cause of the 90s.

There was plenty of people who were sick of the big overexaggerated 90s crap even if it did infest Tim a bit when they'd draw him way buffer than he was clearly meant to be.

It's all just a matter of writers with the ability to do better either not advancing to the right places in comics, or throwing their talents down the toilet to be there.

It's all about good writing. That's it, really, that's the big secret.

Why is Dick a massive joke of a character now? 'Cause the writing got bad.

Why did Batman look like a total maniac more like usual for a while? 'Cause the writing got bad.

Why is Damian totally unrecognizable a lot of the time on nearly every single level for over a decade now(Though I have heard some aspects like art have been getting better, or so I've seen thankfully, but I'm still not trusting that all the way because now this fucking fucking hell)? 'Cause the work got bad.

Why is Jason just a fan fic edgy woobie fuck a lot of the time now? 'Cause the writing got bad.

How did Steph go from edgy, determined, "vigilante vixen", who was morally kinda questionable at times go to acting like a 12-year-old sometimes? 'Cause the writing got bad.

No matter what in the end. It's all down to the writing, and also art.

There's always been good movies in every decade no matter the taste, because people with true talent and knowledge, and know-how where out there to make so happen.

Comics being a dwindling medium that's how a down-turn in quality going on for a long time? It's just not a business worth getting into anymore. Passion or not, people just aren't good writers. And that can happen in any era.

But back to the main point, Tim was at his most popular in the 90s in an era you wouldn't think he'd fit into with all the Rob Liefeld stuff. Like he got an 80-page-giant in the late 90s over some characters you think would actually get one because he was so naturally popular.

But what made him work then isn't dated. It's timeless. They just haven't had good enough writers to make him work, and it sucks, but it's how it is.

The reason Tim really got changed so much isn't down to tastes in an era. It's down to the taste of a few people in specific positions. Things that made Tim work were still working wonders in other places.

[twistedtummies2]

Count-Down: Number 25

Welcome to Count-Down! All throughout the month of October, I’m counting down my Top 31 favorite portrayals and reimaginings of the King of the Vampires, Count Dracula! This Dracula has faced two slayers for the price of one! Number 25 is…Rudolf Martin.

Martin played Dracula for the first time in the classic horror/comedy series “Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.” Now, before I get into this take on the Count, I need to state something outright: I’m not really a fan of Buffy. It’s not because I DISLIKE the show, outright, however. The issue is simply that, when I was younger, I never SAW the show: my parents weren’t that interested in it, and they also didn’t let me watch it. So it wasn’t until years later I got to see anything from the series, and by that point…honestly, I just didn’t (and, frankly, still don’t) care enough to go back and try to binge the whole bloody thing from start to finish. To this date, as I write this, I have only seen two episodes of the entire series. One is the famous musical episode, “Once More, With Feeling,” which I rather like. The other is the episode simply entitled “Buffy vs. Dracula.” Now, it’s my understanding that this take on Dracula would later appear in various spin-off media from the show as a major recurring character, including comics and novels. As you can imagine, I’ve read absolutely none of those, so I have no real idea how he holds up there. And as someone who has only the most cursory knowledge of the show, I can’t really rate how the episode in question stands up compared to all the others in the series. All I can really discuss is how Rudolf Martin plays Dracula in his “guest appearance” in the show. And thankfully, the answer to that question is…he plays him pretty well! What I love about this episode, and Martin’s portrayal, is the way it both hails and subverts Dracula as a character. In the story, Dracula is described as a “glory hound”: he’s fully aware of his reputation and legacy, and how well he’s known in the human world. He’s not even ESPECIALLY more powerful than other great vampires. A lot of his unique abilities are described as “nothing but showy gypsy stuff,” and other bloodsuckers actually resent him, seeing his vainglorious attitude and its aftereffects as more harmful to their kind than Van Helsing or any other slayer ever could have been. At the same time, however, its implied that that sense of theatrical façade isn’t ENTIRELY unfounded: while he may be a charlatan in some respects, he’s still Dracula, and taking him on is NOT an easy game. Throughout the episode, tropes and scenes from various Dracula movies, as well as the book, are both revered and poked fun at, and Martin’s take on the character follows suit. His Dracula isn’t particularly comical, per say, but he’s intentionally designed to have a sort of “classical” demeanor. He’s a total narcissist, full of himself and far too proud of his self-image, living off his own name and using that reputation to strike terror and gain respect: his hype is, itself, his greatest weapon. The result is a character who other characters mock, but who takes himself and what he does deathly serious: Dracula isn’t one for jokes and clownish antics, he COMMANDS attention. He’s used to getting what he wants, and he will stop at nothing to have it; his suave charm and menacing demeanor are never merely a matter of him shamming. He doesn’t bluff and he doesn’t overexaggerate. What he DOES do, however, is overestimate himself and underestimate nearly everyone around him: he’s become so enamored with his own reputation that he believes it. In other words – and I hope many of you will get this reference – this Dracula is the living embodiment of the “I AM THE HYPE!” mentality; a person who has been told he’s the best so often, he can’t imagine being anything else. It is Dracula’s self-glorifying arrogance that leads to his undoing; his need to “follow a script” based around his own image is what allows the characters to find his weaknesses and ultimately take him down. But at the same time, he’s never treated as a showboating weakling who ISN’T a threat: when Dracula comes to town, it’s still a big deal, and it takes cunning and skill to beat him. Martin’s darkly enchanting performance, mixing a modern era sense of allure with a more classical panache, has been widely praised. In fact, the actor later got a chance to play Vlad Dracula – the real-life inspiration for the character - in a TV movie about the infamous Romanian prince’s life, largely because of his impressive performance in Buffy. While the character, again, apparently had a great long life in later spin-off works, I’m genuinely sad we never got to see more of the character in the actual show. Perhaps the creators feared that by including the King of the Vampires, the rest of the cast and characters might end up being overruled, and the show would be seen as “just another Dracula series.” That’s just my speculation, since I have no honest clue...if that was the case, however, it would only be fitting. Even in a show where Dracula’s image is as much a point of fun as fear, it’s still made clear that he didn’t earn that image without reason. Tomorrow, the countdown continues! Hint: The Most Romantic Bloodsucker of All.

[reeselowrey]

⌠ROSS LYNCH, 21, CIS MALE, HE/HIM⌡ welcome back to gallagher academy, REESE LOWREY! according to their records, they’re a SECOND year, specializing in COVERT OPS + RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT; and they DID NOT go to a spy prep high school. when i see them walking around in the halls, i usually see a flash of (a half zipped hoodie, unkempt hair, and spy comic books). when it’s the (virgo)’s birthday on 9/17/1999, they always request their CHEESE PIZZA WITH EXTRA CHEESE from the school’s chefs. looks like they’re well on their way to graduation. TLDR: Reese is a mega-dweeb! He’s been obsessed with spyhood since youth, thanks Tom Cruise, and learned as much as he could about it. He taught himself to code and made a virtual “spy mission” app that was pretty damn on the nose - so Gallagher knew they needed him. He’s got some weird obsessive tendencies (he’ll remember most everything you tell him), but overall is a dorky gamer geek that’s a total fish out of water at Gallagher. He’s a sweet kid at heart, just overly excitable.

“It’s just a phase, he’ll grow out of it.” Reese vividly remembered hearing those words from his parents day in and day out. Little did they know, it was anything but a phase, and if anything, he grew into it further rather than out of it. What was this phase, you may ask? An absolute fixation on the world of spies.

He remembered when it started. Nine years old, watching Mission Impossible with his cousins. They laughed at how the movie’s special effects hadn’t aged too well and how absolutely ridiculous the plot was. Sure, it was overexaggerated, but Reese was fixated on it. “Are spies real?” he asked one of his cousins. “Yeah, but it’s not like that. They probably just catch people for fraud or something.” “For frogs?” “No, fraud, nevermind kid. It’s real but it’s not like there are people out there dropping from ceilings. It’s just a movie.” “Oh,” the boy sounded downtrodden. “Well… are there other movies?” “Yeah, a fuck ton.” “You’re not supposed to use words like that.” “Right, you’re like two, sorry. Yeah, I’ll find you some buddy.” “I’m nine - thank you very much!” And that was the beginning of a beautifully, moderately unhealthy, obsession. Mission Impossible, James Bond, U.N.C.L.E, hell even that silly cartoon Totally Spies (so what if it was “for girls”). He devoured every bit of media he could, and then went through it again. Every Halloween costume was some iteration of a secret agent. And that was what he stayed close to… until high school.

World War II. Not exactly a topic to take lightly. Reese was decent enough in school, but he got easily distracted, often lost doodling in the corners of his notebooks or trying to keep his eyes open after a late night of gaming. He liked strategy games, even considered himself pretty good at them, they were as close as he’d get to being on a mission. Even if it was chasing after a treasure chest that fell from the sky in Fortnite. “One of the ways that the United States credited their wins was due to acts of espionage.” Reese sat up straighter, furrowing his brows as he stared at his teacher. “Or as some may colloquially know it, spyhood.” Spies were real, and they were better than just tax fraud!

That night Reese spent hours upon hours in the endless internet blackhole learning about notable spies. They were real, and they were cool, and man, they saved people’s lives! Sure, it wasn’t all lasers, smoke, and sex, but it was pretty cool. His parents couldn’t even be mad at him now because it was for school. 

The school year came and went and aced history for the first time in his life. Even when it wasn’t about spyhood, he found himself listening more in class. Call it a conspiracy, but what if more than just the known spies were out there? Imagining that every major historical event had a mission behind it made him tune in more.

“Reese, what are you planning to do all summer?” his mom asked, “You really should get a job.” “Uhm.” The now sixteen year old paused. “I’m gonna learn to code.” “Oh? You are?” “Yeah… Apps and stuff. It’s good for college, I think? It’d be fun.” “That’s very proactive of you. Let me know if you need help finding courses.”  She said with a smile.

“Yeah, yeah.” Well, now he had to do it.

But coding was cool, so he really didn’t mind. It was building things from nothing and making whatever he wanted come to live - just like the spies did, the man behind the chair. He felt even more important when he wore his gaming headphones while he worked, microphone in all. After making replications of basic games like Snake and Pong, he wanted something bigger, something cooler. “What if…, What if I make my own mission?” he whispered to himself. It could be a real world game! Just like that Harry Potter one. Finding clues and pieces in the real world to unlock steps. So that was what he did. If he couldn’t be a spy in real life, he damn well was going to be one online.

It took him a while, but he got the game in full swing. At the urging of his friends, he even posted it to the app store for a couple bucks (he needed pocket change). A few months later, the app kept rising in sales and climbing the download charts… He had created a viral hit.

Senior year was spent finding ways to add to his app, make it more lifelike, more interesting. It was fun, and it made his obsession feel a little more profitable.  

“Ree, mail! Looks like it’s from a college.” “I.. haven’t finished my apps,” he muttered, dashing down to swipe up the envelope and read it up in his room. Congratulations Reese Lowrey, we are pleased to offer you a spot at the exclusive Gallagher Academy…

“I’m going to be a spy?!”

[thattimdrakeguy]

I used to like Stephanie Brown very much but honestly lately her fandom ruined the character for me. They want EVERYTHING to be about her, even when we are talking about a mlm ship they are like "pls don't erase Steph" and I am like??? And literally saying character flaws are not hating on a character, or most people just hating on her because seriously she is so different in comics and fandom, they need to chill the fuck out and not say everyone is misogynistic just because they don't like her

+ and everytime someone says "Cissie and Steph are best friends" just because the new cover of YJ... y'all forgetting Bart and Cassie were Cissie's best friends!!! Sorry I just hate when people force her into everything and then blame timkon fans for being misogynistic just because people don't want her to be on the team because she has no good relationships with the team, that's not misogyny everyone!!! I hate this fandom sometimes

I just want to ask why TimSteph stans are hating on Tim but still shipping him with their fav character? Literally every single TimSteph stan on their tag are posting anti Tim Drake posts, and talking shit about him, but when someone says something bad about Stephanie they are getting mad and acting like everyone is hating women because of other ships??? Can someone pls explain this to me I really want to know the reason

That’s the part of the fandom that I see sometimes and really brings my mood down a lot of the time, because they’re so caught up in their own world sometimes that it drives me nuts.

Before I disliked Damian because his writing is just freaking awful, I began to not like him just from the connotation of his fandom being so obsessed trying to make him something he’s not based off of just a few moments that aren’t even in-character.

With the toxic part of Steph’s fanbase they’re just so obsessed with trying to make her seem like more of this astonishing character. Not to even say she’s a bad character. I still think she’s a good character, but it’s just the limit the obsessive part of her fandom goes to, just to convince people she’s so great. Sometimes they just exaggerate stuff or just lie so much because they seem to be under the belief that if she’s not incredible as a person that she’s unlikable, but then, why do they like her.

I think that part of her fandom comes from people projecting on her so much that they begin to become defensive of everything she does to the point it feels obsessive.

“OH SHE HAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH BRUCE BECAUSE *says a very simple thing that they say in way too many words that give the complete wrong connotation of the actual events to make Stephanie seem more impressive*”

“SHE HAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH DAMIAN THAT NEEDS TO BE ADMIRED MORE BECAUSE completely ignores how Damian was a total pervert and a body shamer to ridicule her. Which isn’t a relationship to admire at all. Along with people constantly taking out of context some of the things she did with him, and how it was another case of a writer ignoring Damian’s problem to woobify him. Which makes the issue poorly written. But we must exaggerate it to make Steph seem like a saint apparently.”

This type of fandom stuff bugs me no matter the character.

I remember not that long ago I kept seeing posts that were exaggerating Tim so much, and it bugged the ever-living crap out of me.

Because sorry, but, I don’t care what Red Robin says. Tim could not beat up all those assassins.

I don’t even honestly believe Tim’s a master tactitian. He’s just smart and clever, he isn’t this war general figure.

I don’t care that a comic says that Tim could trick Bruce with a fake Uncle.

Given the way he was built up as a character, that stuff just doesn’t work. That wasn’t anything that was actually developed for his character. It was something they tacked on in what I assume was attempts to make Tim “cool”, because DC doesn’t like relatable characters.

Which is a bit rich because Sideways, a character written by Didio himself, just feels like a knock-off Ultimate Spider-Man with the tone and character-style.

So I don’t want to give the impression that I think everyone in the Stephanie Brown fandom is an obsessive loon, or toxic as could be, because I don’t believe that to be the case. The toxic part of her fandom is just something that has arisen. Something that happens in all fandoms at one point or another. Now is just Stephanie’s go at it I guess. Even if it seems to be from just a few over vocal people, that people gave too much attention because I guess they liked having their fav be overly praised.

The people that say you’re misogynistic if you don’t ship TimSteph are just stupid honestly. At least about that.

If you ship TimKon, it makes no sense to include Steph in posts about it. Unless it’s like, just mentioning how Tim used to date her. Which I don’t feel is a big enough reason to act like people are misogynistic, because, even if say I shipped Tim with another girl. Id be awkward to talk about Steph. We don’t need to shove Steph into everything.

I don’t say the word stupid like I think they’re stupid at everything.

I call myself stupid when it comes to a lot of stuff for an example, but the argument that you’re misogynistic if you think of Tim as gay is stupid, because there’s enough of Tim for so long were it’s easy to interrupt him as gay, and it’s not misogynistic.

You don’t hate women if you’re gay, or anything like that.

That’s homophobic.

If you still think Tim is straight, congrats, I’m not upset. I’m not upset people ship TimSteph. One of my best friends ships TimSteph and she’s writing a wonderful fic.

I’m not even against TimSteph at all.

Just that stupid part of that fandom.

Like Stephanie Brown has flaws right? She flirted with Tim when she knew he had a girlfriend, even kissing him. Reckless as could be. Took things the wrong way. Made Tim straight up uncomfortable with her flirting sometimes. Had a problem with listening even when it was beneficial to her safety. She also had a trust problem when her and Tim’s relationship got into it.

Some of you are probably thinking “Well Tim has flaws too. She had her reasons.”

And you know what?

I agree.

Because that’s how freaking characters work.

Tim’s sheltered childhood made him insensitive to certain situations. He was immature to the point of detriment to his relationship with Ariana in some situations. Too naive to understand some things. Even too bossy because he’s a cruddy leader and didn’t know how to communicate enough for that job.

He’s not a perfect human.

Characters can have flaws, and it’s okay, because that’s how we get interesting stories and dynamics between stuff. Just because Tim has flaws, doesn’t mean he’s not a good person. He’s kind, caring, heroic, despite his immaturity. Just because Tim couldn’t handle the topic of cheating and became immature doesn’t mean he didn’t step up to the plate and try to help Ariana when she was close to being sexually assaulted and she was a bit mentally unstable (that might be strong wordage, but I use those words for myself when a situation hits. So it’s not me talking down about her situation) for a bit.

When you were raised in a mad house, it’s understandable she’d grow up to be reckless. She grew up so independent at a young age, because her parents certainly weren’t taking care of her. It’s also understandable that she has trust issues, because if you’re dating someone with a second life, you would worry that they’re cheating on you.

This is just how characters work

So these posts that wanna pretend she doesn’t have flaws, bugs me, because they want to deny her character sometimes.

Then acting like she’d just be best friends with everyone is freaking delusional. It’s the kind of stuff where it’s done in the vein of “peppy fangirl”, but it just becomes a bit obsessive. I think that’s stuff were my theory on some of those types of fans projecting on her for their own good come in.

I can get, being like “I wonder if these characters would get along”, but getting so hyper and exaggatory is just wack.

I think Tim and Jon would get along and could be good friends now that Jon’s older, but if they were in a comic together I’m not gonna get myself worked up and pretend things are were they clearly aren’t.

Even in the case of Cissie and Steph, I actually feel like they would be pretty good friends together. I can easily see that. But just cuz they’re on a cover together doesn’t mean they’re best friends

And if somehow Steph brought Cissie out to be Arrowette, that’d just be stupid. I don’t know how Steph would even know who Cissie is, because I don’t know if she even knows Arrowettes name is Cissie, let alone in this timeline. Plus Cissie last seen wasn’t a hero. So that’d just be some super cheap and forced writing.

But given the write circumstances, that actually work and make sense, I wouldn’t be against that. If they became friends, I’d be totally cool with it.

It’s that weird obsessive “THEY’RE BEST FRIENDS OH MY GOSH” that’s just a bit unnerving. Like settle down.

Write some fan fics, I really don’t care, but it gives me the vibes of those boyband fandoms that wanna act like their fav is dating some hot chick cuz he looked at her.

It’s less worse than that, cuz those are real people, but it’s that obsessive vibe that I get from it.

I don’t like it.

As for TimSteph shippers that hate Tim. I think it’s because it’s for a similar reason some people make all those posts overexaggerating or lying about so much stuff about Steph.

It’s to get her attention.

They know that Steph’s almost always only gonna show up because writers attach her with Tim almost exclusively, and that may be the only way she’ll show up. So I think they’re doing that, to get some kind of attention so Steph will show up at least with Tim, cuz something is better than nothing.

Although personally, I root for Steph finally hanging out with other characters, because seeing her relegated to just “Tim’s girlfriend” is very annoying, cuz even in the 90s she was more than that. She wasn’t created just to date Tim. She was created to be her own dang character.