#meanwhile wally is absolutely vibing with home <3

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

oooo it's been a while since the last snippet :]c it's another fantasy au one where I'm! Putting! Barnaby! Through It!

a minor warnings: implied/referenced major character death <3

 No one eats dinner, and Frank won’t stop tapping his spoon against his bowl. Tok tok tok it goes, over and over again.

Poppy made a simple stew from their provisions, but only Eddie and Sally make an attempt at tasting it. Their halfhearted ‘it’s good’s don’t pierce the pressure weighing down on them all. Barnaby swears he can taste it, thick and cloying. 

Already he keeps catching himself looking for Wally. Where is- he starts to think, and then he remembers the moment Wally fell with a spear piercing his chest, and the grief rises so fast it nearly drowns him in a heartbeat. Barnaby can’t bring himself to try and hide it behind anything but a stony mask. In any other situation he might try to put some levity into the group. Cheer up the sad and empty faces staring into their meals. 

He wouldn’t be able to think of a single lighthearted thing even if he wanted to. He doesn’t.

Tok tok tok-

Shuffling from Howdy’s tent has everyone glancing over at it, and Frank’s spoon stills. Howdy briefly woke up while Poppy was cooking. All he did was sit up, look at everyone, then pitch to the side and vomit. They got him into a tent before he passed out again, mumbling something about puppets. Frank made a comment about how Howdy was supposed to be a bit out of it, not at fae-drunk levels of hazy. Eddie had muttered back a dejected apology, and after that the camp was silent until Poppy’s announcement that dinner was ready. The spoon continues tapping when the shuffling stills.

Tok tok tok-

Since Eddie and Sally saying that dinner is good, there hasn’t been a noise beyond the occasional sniffle. It’s a good thing Julie isn’t trying her stew - it must be disgustingly salty from all the tears dripping into it. 

Tok tok tok-

Barnaby sighs through his nose and puts his bowl down, sick of looking at everyone’s misery. He would say that he’s going to go sleep, but he has a feeling that none of them are getting a wink tonight. 

Tok tok-

Before he can stand, Frank blurts, “We shouldn’t have attacked it. It was a mistake.”

“Please don’t,” Julie begs.

“There’s no need to rub salt in the wound,” Sally says firmly, her stew starting to sizzle from the rising heat in her hands.

“Not right now, Frank,” Eddie mutters. 

Frank visibly bristles, and he launches to his feet. “I refuse to pretend not to have seen what I did! The truth is a terrible thing, but someone needs to say it. Wally lied to us.”

“Frank…” Barnaby warns.

“We shouldn’t have attacked the demon,” Frank barrels on, ignoring him, “because there was no need to. It didn’t eat Wally until the end because the demon is his patron. Wally was never a wizard at all, he was a warlock-”

Barnaby lunges with a deep bark that echoes against the trees. The crickets symphony falls silent. Frank trips backwards over his seat, staring up with wide eyes as Barnaby stalks around the fire, growling. Eddie and Sally slowly stand, inching between him and Frank. 

Barnaby stops, snout bunched and canines bared. He jabs a claw at Frank. “Don’t you ever say that again. Ever.”

Frank’s mouth flaps uselessly for a moment. When he speaks, it comes out as a whisper, “I’m-”

“If you end that with right instead of sorry, I’ll make damn sure that you are.”

Frank wisely keeps his mouth shut. The crickets continue chirping.

Barnaby glares at him until Frank looks away. Barnaby straightens his vest with a sharp tug and strides away from the fire, towards his and- his tent. Just his, now. Murmuring breaks out at his back. He yanks the flap open, grabs his pipe and herb pouch, and heads towards the forest. He pauses only to listen by Howdy’s tent, waiting to hear proof of life before continuing on.

Once he can’t see the firelight anymore, Barnaby chooses a random tree and sits heavily in front of it. Rough bark digs into his back through his vest. A night bird hoots overhead. Crickets continue to make their music, but Barnaby wishes they would shut up for good. 

Light from the full moon pours through the branches to provide just enough light to see by. Barnaby holds up his pipe and quickly puts it to the side to take off a grimy glove. The heart-pad and blue fur underneath contrasts vibrantly with the dust-grayed rest of him. After a moment he removes the other glove, wincing as the leather drags over his injured knuckles. He turns his paw over and scowls at the dirty black edges of the red-raw scrapes. He should have punched harder. He hopes it scars, even though he knows it won’t.

The gloves themselves are scuffed up, but not beyond use. Barnaby folds them into his pocket and gets to work lighting his pipe. He packs it and instinctively opens his mouth to ask Wally to light it for him. The words die on his tongue as he turns only to see dark forest. Empty woods save for the tiny blue lights of night wisps floating on the breeze. 

Barnaby stares into the darkness with yawning dread. He keeps looking. How long will it take him to stop? How long until Wally’s face starts to smudge in his memories, until his voice is gone and Barnaby doesn’t even remember what his smile looked like? How long until Barnaby only thinks of him in passing? 

He doesn’t want to reach that point. He desperately does. 

Will it hurt more or less? Does it matter? He wants it to ache until he dies.

Barnaby frantically fishes his sparkrune out of the herb pouch - only there for emergencies, when Wally or Sally isn’t there to light it for him. It will wear down to a nub within the month. He strikes his thumb claw against it, and sparks fly expertly into the bowl of his pipe. It takes a moment to catch. Barnaby lifts the bit to his lips and takes a drag before enough smoke forms for a lungful. 

Maybe he should have grabbed the stronger stuff. If he breathes enough of it, maybe he’d be able to see Wally. 

But Barnaby doesn’t get up in the end. He sits against the base of a tree and hugs himself, the pipe’s intermittent glow betraying the shine in his eyes.

[aion-rsa]

What Does Future State Mean for the DC Universe?

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It’s somehow almost 2021, which means the DC Universe is about to enter its Future State, the big two month crossover that kicks off the new year by pausing its regular line, and diving deep into the wild, varied timelines and parallel universes for new angles from fresh creators. And we are happy to have your exclusive first look at the February covers and solicitations for the Justice League family of books.

Since half the fun of solicits is trying to piece together what’s happening in the book from the 50 words and a cover, we decided to engage in some wild, semi-informed speculation on what might be coming from DC’s event.

Let’s get right to it: Future State has a very strong Seven Soldiers of Victory vibe.

The original Seven Soldiers were briefly a superteam from the ’40s, brought back sporadically whenever a comic needed a nostalgia boost, until Grant Morrison got his hands on them in the mid-aughts. He and some of the most brilliant artists of the era (Frazer Irving, JH Williams III, Ryan Sook, Doug Mahnke and more) put together a superteam crossover where a group of B and C list heroes stop evil faerie invaders from the future, come to harvest humanity. Also the heroes never meet. The climax is a series of brilliantly planned coincidences where the heroes just barely cross paths, or set up one accident that places the final blow just in time. It’s a superheroic Rube Goldberg machine.

The inciting events of each Future State book are all vastly different on their faces, but point to a more systemic collapse of something within DC’s multiverse/hypertime that could take a series of happy accidents to fix. The Speed Force and the Central Power Battery both go haywire at the same time. Something is different about dimensional barriers in Aquaman and Justice League – we’ve got a mystery Batman, a multiversal Flash, and an interdimensional hole in the ocean in Aquaman. The next generation of heroes are falling apart in Shazam and Teen Titans, and Amanda Waller has gone off the deep end in Suicide Squad. And it looks like magic users are hunted to a dangerous level between the Justice League Dark story and Swamp Thing.

The Black Adam One Million story feels like where something like a 7S conclusion might take place. It got a pretty strong push when we talked to Justice League group editor Alex Carr back in October, and that far in the futue, Adam might have the perspective and the means to nudge a couple of things into place in the past to try and set the multiverse right.

Finally, we’ll talk a bit about variant covers. That Red X cover, if conventions ever come back, is going to make Dustin Nguyen a substantial sum of money. The Future State Green Lantern variant will also likely bring in some cash for Jamal Campbell, but from a very different crowd. The kind of folks who are interested in hot G’Nortt original art. I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to unsee that.

Now, let’s take a look at the goods, including one quietly disturbing variant cover:

FUTURE STATE: AQUAMAN #2 written by BRANDON THOMAS art and cover by DANIEL SAMPERE card stock variant cover by KHARY RANDOLPH ON SALE 2/23/21 $3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 2 OF 2 | FC | DC CARD STOCK COVER $4.99 US

“Andy Curry, daughter of Arthur and Mera, has had a pretty terrible month. Jackson Hyde, a.k.a. Aquaman, won’t stop calling her Aqualass when she’s told him a thousand times it’s Aquawoman. She’s manifested a new power that scares the absolute hell out of her. Oh, and she and Jackson just got ripped apart in the midst of a cosmic space ocean and she can’t find him anywhere! For the first time in her 14 years, Andy’s all alone—and it’s gonna take her wits, her will, and every single lesson Jackson ever taught her to survive.”

FUTURE STATE: THE FLASH #2 written by BRANDON VIETTI art and cover by BRANDON PETERSON card stock variant cover by KAARE ANDREWS ON SALE 2/2/21 $3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 2 OF 2 | FC | DC CARD STOCK COVER $4.99 US

“All hope is lost as Barry Allen races to save his former partner, Wally West. Armed with the  weapons of the Rogues who once tried to destroy the Flash, Barry plots an attack that’ll either free the former Kid Flash from the evil that’s possessed him—or end his threat forever!”

FUTURE STATE: GREEN LANTERN #2 “The Last Lanterns” written by GEOFFREY THORNE “The Last Lanterns” art by TOM RANEY “Teen Lantern” written by JOSIE CAMPBELL “Teen Lantern” art by ANDIE TONG “Hal Jordan” written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST “Hal Jordan” art by DEXTER SOY cover by CLAYTON HENRY card stock variant cover by JAMAL CAMPBELL ON SALE 2/9/21 $5.99 US | 48 PAGES | 2 OF 2 | FC | DC CARD STOCK COVER $6.99 US

“Outnumbered but never outwitted or outfought, John Stewart leads the last of the Green Lanterns against insurmountable odds. Facing a bloodthirsty Khund cult dedicated to the “God in Red,” the onetime Green Lantern shows that even without a ring or the Corps to back him up, he’s still a force to be reckoned with! Plus, from the pages of Young Justice, Teen Lantern teams up with Mogo, and Hal Jordan reconnects with Oliver Queen after the power battery goes down!”

FUTURE STATE: JUSTICE LEAGUE #2 “Justice League” written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON “Justice League” art by ROBSON ROCHA and DANIEL HENRIQUES “Justice League Dark” written by RAM V “Justice League Dark” art by MARCIO TAKARA cover by DAN MORA card stock variant cover by KAEL NGU ON SALE 2/9/21 $5.99 US | 48 PAGES | 2 of 2 | FC | DC CARD STOCK VARIANT COVER $6.99 US

“Exiled to a distant planet, the Justice League suspects an impostor in their midst, but not even the next Batman or Green Lantern can find the clues they’re looking for. Meanwhile on Earth, the terrifying return of a classic Justice League villain may spell doom for the planet! Doppelgängers abound, paranoia runs rampant, and only the Justice League can save humanity—if they can ever find their way home.”

“Plus, all the world’s terrible truths are revealed as the Justice League Dark make their last stand. Hunted, beaten, and harvested for their magic, Zatanna, John Constantine, Detective Chimp, Ragman, Madame Xanadu, and Etrigan all unleash a desperate plan that could destroy them—but is it worth the cost to finish Mad Merlin and his mysterious Knights? Only Doctor Fate knows, and the truth may spell hope or doom!”

FUTURE STATE: SHAZAM! #2 written by TIM SHERIDAN art by EDUARDO PANSICA cover by BERNARD CHANG card stock variant cover by GERALD PAREL ON SALE 2/16/21 $3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 2 OF 2 | FC | DC CARD STOCK COVER $4.99 US

“Shazam’s soul is laid bare as he’s confronted by one of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe! Revealing shocking secrets and the final fate of Billy Batson, the boy who was Earth’s Mightiest Mortal, this issue introduces a deadly new threat born from the ashes of the Teen Titans Academy: Raven!”

FUTURE STATE: SUICIDE SQUAD #2 “Suicide Squad” written by ROBBIE THOMPSON “Suicide Squad” art by JAVI FERNANDEZ “Black Adam” written by JEREMY ADAMS “Black Adam” art by FERNANDO PASARIN cover by JAVI FERNANDEZ card stock variant cover by DERRICK CHEW ON SALE 2/23/21 $5.99 US | 48 PAGES | 2 OF 2 | FC | DC CARD STOCK COVER $6.99 US

“Peacemaker attacks! Assigned to bring Amanda Waller back to Earth-1 at all costs, the Suicide Squad battles Waller’s private Justice League on Earth-3. As lives are lost and blood is spilled, the fate of the Multiverse will be decided by Superman! Also in this issue, the 853rd Century is burning, and only Black Adam can save reality from the onslaught of murderous rage from a new threat spawned from a former hero.”

FUTURE STATE: SWAMP THING #2 written by RAM V art and cover by MIKE PERKINS card stock variant cover by DIMA IVANOV ON SALE 2/2/21 $3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 2 OF 2 | FC | DC CARD STOCK COVER $4.99 US

Humanity strikes back! The shadow of Swamp Thing Supreme stretches across the globe as it has for centuries. The world is at peace, until a rebellious faction of humanity ignites their terrible plan, fueled by Woodrue Wilson’s appetite for power. But Swamp Thing, too, harbors a secret—one he must reveal in order to restore peace to the planet once again. But it will cost him everything he has.

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FUTURE STATE: TEEN TITANS #2 written by TIM SHERIDAN art and cover by RAFA SANDOVAL card stock variant cover by DUSTIN NGUYEN ON SALE 2/9/21 $3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 2 OF 2 | FC | DC CARD STOCK COVER $4.99 US

“Red X returns to the Teen Titans! The mysterious former Teen Titans Academy student joins the surviving Titans in a final fight to stop the threat unleashed by one of the school’s students. Nightwing, Raven, Crush, Shazam, Starfire, Cybeast, and Red Arrow face their demons as one of these heroes must make the ultimate sacrifice to save their world!”

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