#the guy who plays hawk on titans is also there

[ferrouswheel11]

So I was on brenton thwaites' (guy who plays nightwing on titans) imdb page a while ago and I finally realized that the synopsis of a movie he did in 2018 sounded so familiar because it's literally the plot of nightwing vol 2 78-79

[whatohitsonfirewelp]

Something I really wish fanon would get rid of is Tim being CEO of WE (he’s not in canon)

Now, there’s a lot about fanon I dislike. There’s also a lot about fanon that I adore.

But I genuinely think it’s the funniest thing that Timothy Jackson Drake is a high school drop out, and thats it.

Sure he’s a vigilante, but it’s not like he’s doing that 24/7.

You have this seventeen year old who doesn’t have a job, he also doesn’t need one, who isn’t in school, he’s just…he’s just vibing?

Like what the fuck is he doing???

Everyone else has something, school, a job, managing some other team, but Tim???

He’s not the leader of YJ or the Titans anymore. So what’s he doing?

And he can’t really always hang out with his friends either, because unlike him they do go to school or work or manage a team (sometimes even all the above???)

So, may I present to you, the shenanigans of Timothy Jackson Drake.

Stalking everyone he knows

Skateboarding (I like to imagine he’s the Tony Hawk of dc in the sense that no one knows he’s Tim Drake Wayne unless he’s with another Wayne. So he’s constantly chilling at the park and making friends and they genuinely only know him as Tim, the little weirdo who doesn’t do much else)

PICTURES LET MY BOY HAVE HIS CAMERA BACK

That Guy (as in, everyone knows him. But not as Tim Drake Wayne, sometimes not even as Tim. They just know his face. He’s just always around. Everywhere you look you go ‘oh there’s That Guy again’ ‘who???’ ‘Idk man he’s just around he’s chill tho’)

What I’m saying is, let Tim be this dumbass teenager who has no life yet also lives the most of our everyone??? He always has something and nothing going on. He’s always randomly making friends but he also won’t talk to them for months???

Like, guys, he’s a TEENAGER, with no job and clearly has zero interest in continuing his education. Do you understand the POTENTIAL here. He’s gone all day and no one knows what the fuck he’s doing and everyone assumes Tim is just, idk, doing something important? But he’s not. He’s chilling. He’s probably taking a nap outside or playing video games on his laptop. He’s literally the most relaxed he’s ever been.

[sunsetwaltz]

Thinking about how out of all my canon DA protagonists, Rook is the only one to get a straightforward romance (with a hint of HEA).

Mahariel/Alistair: She dodged a bullet by never finding out that Anora would throw her under the bus without a second thought. So she crowned Anora, didn't encourage Alistair to become king because he never seemed interested, and took the "easy" way out by (reluctantly) agreeing to Morrigan's ritual. If she had submitted to Cauthrien, well, King Alistair definitely would've left her heartbroken.

There's also the whole "Creators, do I really have feelings for a shem human?" crisis, y'know feeling like a traitor to her people for daring to love a human. And later on feeling immense (survivor's) guilt for not performing the ultimate sacrifice and irrationally believing she robbed Alistair of a better, more stable future. Which is why Alistair's romanced dialogue in DAI had me giddy, swooning and relieved:

"Happier than I ever dreamed possible. She's more than I deserve... And I hope I make her days easier as well."

Oh and let's not forget the Calling. That kind of puts a damper on the future.

Hawke/no one/the fade: RIP my Hawke. She had a fling with Isabela but the game bugged and didn't properly register their breakup... She couldn't romance anyone else or experience the full Isabela romance. If I had known that bug would happen I would've committed to Isabela lol.

In the Keep, I had her in a relationship with Sebastian for funsies. Except she's a mage and I personally don't believe a Sebastian/mage Hawke romance would end happily. Not unless he gives up the throne to Starkhaven, which I doubt either of them would want. Even by 9:52 Dragon I'm not sure Starkhaven or the rest of Thedas would realistically accept a mage as their Princess (he'd probably give the same speech as Alistair heh). So off to the Fade she went during Here Lies the Abyss.

Lavellan/Solas: It's Solas. He makes things complicated just by existing lol. Y'know as a quiet, not-humble, tea-hating, fade-obsessed dreamer apostate scholar. Not a god but still an absurdly powerful immortal elven mage straight out of Dalish legend. Maker of the veil. Sunderer of the titans and the Elvhenan of old. Leader of the elven rebellion against the Evanuris, liberator of elven slaves. The guy who played a hand in creating both the breach AND the blight. Who is "kind and wise and sad" and terrible at loving someone and being loved in return.

"The course of true love never did run smooth" is THEM. Ten years, man.

Rook/Davrin: Felt straight up like a Disney or Pixar romance - lighthearted and cute. I appreciated how level headed, grounded and confident he seemed. How he had a sense of humour but knew when to be serious. How he didn't have any overwhelming angst or drama in his life (after ten years with Solas yk...a girl needs a break!). It felt like Davrin truly understood what was important during all those round table discussions, like he and my (humorous) Rook were on the same page, that they definitely had inside jokes of their own. In a way, it felt like Davrin became a "rock for Rook".

Also ASSAN. My absolute favourite, my adopted baby griffin! While I would've liked to learn more about Davrin (which clan is he from? Does he have any siblings or surviving family? How'd he get his scars?), I was fairly pleased by this romance and all the cute family moments. Except for y'know that barely anyone in the game acknowledges it - it's only Emmrich, Davrin himself and Ghilan'nain of all characters lol afaik.

(Neve absolutely does not count! Watch/read the banter again. Only Rook responds to Davrin's comment about their future; Neve doesn't even offer anything like "I'm happy for you two" FKSDLAFJ;LSAKD;LKF)

When it came to the scene where they discuss their future together(!), it felt only appropriate to allow at least one of my DA protags to have a happy ending. (At that time I had no idea about Solas/Lavellan.) I liked how the game followed up on the "settling down and raising our half-bird, half-cat kid" later in Act 3. Plus Davrin referencing an earlier cutscene, coming around and suggesting they "go flying one day"... That really warmed my heart <3

[soulshield39]

A compilation of things I have said while playing the Thousand Year Door Remake and talking to myself:

Spoilers ahead

Prologue and Chapter 1:

“THE THOUSAND YEAR DOOOOR! THE THOUSAND YEAR DOOR IS REEEEAAAAAAL

“Koopas are people too.”

“Gay. Gay. Homosexual. Gay.”

“I found the peach fankoopa and my mind’s eye gave him comic book guy’s voice”

“How does Koops’ hoodie work with his shell?”

“NAKED GRANDMA!” (During the thwomp quiz)

*doodlebob noises*

“I can defend Goombas having hair. Mushrooms can have hairlike features (see Lion’s Mane mushrooms). Mushrooms also have mycelium which is threadlike and can be compared to hair. Goombas are also mushrooms and therefore more related to animals than plants. Conclusion; goombas are mammalian. How koopa hair?”

“I don’t like Ms Mowz height compared to Mario especially during the kiss”

“YOU EAT PEOPLE”

“MY HEAAAAAARRRRT”

“What is my purpose” “You simp for a human” “Oh my god.”

“Oh my god I just remembered the most lovely animated game grumps moment”

“To egg or not to egg. That is the question.”

“A thought has occurred to me that the hair on koopas is probably more like thin spines that resemble hair, possibly being like quills on a porcupine (used to administer poison to something that tries to grab it). Or potentially because reptiles and birds are so similar (this is also true of Koopas given some can be born with wings) their hair is more like feathers that are thin enough to resemble hair”

“I just think baby yoshi with down feathers to keep warm is adorable “

Chapter 2

“Also met Flurry and my mind’s eye gave her Rarity’s voice”

“This tree is NOT osha regulated”

“…who’s gonna tell bowser that this isn’t princess peach-“

“That’s not very cash money of you, Kammy.”

Chapter 3

“…I hate gambling.”

“Who do ya need me to kill?”

Flurry expresses uncertainty. “I’m liking the sound of this, who do we have to kill?”

“This is the ugliest room I have ever seen, my eyes are bleeding”

“I just realized that this is Rock Hawk’s locker room. thERE IS CARPET IN IT! NOOOO”

“Have to pick between Kringus or Child Soldier for Yoshi Name”

“I went with C.S. Short for Child Soldier”

“I smell a coverup.”

“I don’t trust this fedora wearing goon. I know his secret already it’s a matter of the characters learn it”

“…is rawkhawk stupid?”

“He just blatantly admitted to cheating in front of a massive audience, cameras and probably the entire world.”

Chapter 4 (favorite so far)

“I barely started and the people being turned into pigs is genuinely freaking me out”

And I’m also sad because I gave a mother a peach item so she can feed her children because she can’t afford food. And then she turned into a pig. I’m freaked out.”

“That Doopliss bastard is going to pay for his mass mutilation.”

“Doopliss your prank idea sucks and you don’t know what irony means. Irony would be them being constantly gloomy but then being horrifyingly happy to an unnerving degree”

“Thanks goombella. I saved your mycelium skin from creeps. Thanks, Koops, I literally saved your dad. Thanks, Flurrie, I returned your prized necklace. Thanks, Child Soldier, I RAISED YOU!”

“I do love how his thumbs up could just be a weird middle finger”

The game letting me name Doopliss “BASTARD” and “Cunt”

“But god crow conversation is dull.”

“I know the smart idea is to just leave but I can never pass up the chance to call Doopliss a plank”

Side note, I am American, I just think Plank is a funny insult.

Chapter 5

“Professor Frankly you’re not supposed to break the fourth wall.”

“‘By default! My favorite way to win!’ -Luigi Mario, 2004, probably”

*whisper* “i know who you aaaare.”

“My wife died while I was on a voyage.” “That’s rough, buddy.”

“Flavio… bro. S.S. means Steam Ship.”

*me doing my best peter griffin impression* “ghosts”

*titanic recorder music*

“Mario like ‘mama fucker. I forgot my extensive duct tape and cling wrap collection. If we’re hungry enough we eat Flavio first.’”

“I told you lot to kill and butcher flavio for when we’re starving. Now he’s picking fights?!”

“Pussies.”

“That was the plan, Moinseur Deficit!”

“I hit the whacka and I’m wondering if I killed him-“

“…Bobbery has a mouth?”

“Hey, you, you’re finally awake”

“We hate you too, Flavio.”

“We’re piratin’ boys!”

“I gotta eat the science dude that’s a bad”

“Oh no, Hayzee what did Mr. Bottom Bunk’s clumsiness do to you?”

“Honestly Luigi, I think Grass was the role safest for everyone involved-“

Chapter 6 so far:

“boy I love getting caught up with the mafia in my family friendly mario games”

“When did you become british??”

“Have you ALWAYS been British??”

“That’s a terrible name. How about ‘Soup’s Fucked?’”

“Now back to my hunch! Hmmmmmmm”

“More like ace defective.”

“At the risk of immodesty you look quite ‘kick the baby’ shaped”

“Alright, Shuichi Saiharain’t”

“…that’s sexist.”

Expect a reblod with more statements of varying degrees of humor.

[disniq]

Season 1, Episode 2, “Hawk and Dove”.

Joy.

We are introduced to Hawk, AKA Hank Hall, who is already captured and being tortured! Listen, I don’t often side with torturers, but he probably deserved it.

Dove, AKA Dawn Granger, saves his ass and then we get a gratuitous bathroom shot because Alan Ritchson is hot, and also to show that the superhero life fucks you up, kids.

I’ll be honest, I don’t really understand what their plan is here? They’re taking out arms dealers and stealing the money for themselves until they have enough to “retire”. Dude, you’re both in your 30s, just get a normal fucking job that isn’t destroying your body and mind, maybe?

(This is a recurring theme with these two. They talk about quitting, one of them goes back on it, they fight, they make up, they talk about quitting… It’s a whole thing.)

Dawn is so pretty, fuck me.

She rescued him and plays nurse afterwards? Dawn, honey, he does not deserve you. He can't even fuck.

Flashback time, and Dickie-boy is hanging out with the Bad Kids against Batman’s orders. (I say “Kids”. All of these people are in their twenties at least. And, also. This is four years ago, but in s2 they say the og Deathstroke stuff is four years ago. Don't think to hard about the Titans timeline, good lord.)

DO LIKE; the fight choreography here! Dick is all flippy acrobat but Hawk and Dove are like pro fucking wrestling lol.

DO NOT LIKE; this weird fucking love triangle, and I use the term “love” extremely loosely. Poly supremacy man, you all have bird names and a shit ton of fucking issues, you could all be each others problems instead of inflicting yourselves on others <3

(oh my god, I’ve only just hit the titlecard. This episode is *so* long)

(Or maybe it's just that I find it incredibly boring.)

I'm sure that's not relevent

Dick is taking Rachel to Hank and Dawn, so he calls Alfred for some money to… pay them to keep her?

(on a related note, there is such a frustrating interesting dissonance between what we are told and what we are shown in this show. We are told Dick has a rep for being great with kids, but he doesn’t really know what Rachel should be eating or watching at her age, and he tries to get rid of her the second he can. Rachel says she’s not a kid, and then the very next scene is her sprawled out on the bed surrounded by snacks. Rachel says she can tell when people are lying, but her "Mom" was lying to her her whole life?)

I’m trying really hard not to get too bitter too quickly here, but god the difference between how Dick treats an upset Rachel to how he later treats an upset Jason makes my heart hurt :(((

Oh, The Family are fucking creepy okay. It’s the heteronormativity.

Dick is a terrible fucking liar, omg.

Rachel: You’re gonna leave me too, aren’t you? Dick: Dick: Dick: Dick: No.

Dick introduces Rachel to Dawn, Rachel gets a little sneak peak of their former sex life as a treat. Awkward.

Ahaaaa

“I’m outta the life,” Dick says, like he didn’t put the Robin suit back on like. A day ago. (another tell vs show)

I do love when people say Dick’s name like the insult.

(Unfortunately, it’s Hank being an insecure macho fuck over Dawn “Sure, I cheated on you with him before, but it’s not like I’d do it again how dare you not believe me” Granger. They’re so unhealthy, fuck. And the manufactured melodrama is so bleugh.)

The Family ambush and torture Amy, and she somehow tells them where Dick is despite him literally never telling her. Because plot.

Astute readers may have noticed I'm not a big fan of Hank but idk folks, I just think maybe it’s a little tasteless to make a “pants off” joke (TWICE) about a character that has long term trauma from repeated childhood sexual assault :/

Okay, fuck, Dick is already making me work for that body count list.

OKAY.

He castrates the torture guy, stabs another guy in the eye with a birdarang and drops a guy from the ceiling. I’m pretty sure they’d all live, if be permanently disabled. BUT. The last guy, he throat punches and then hits in the head so hard with his own gun that there’s a huge fucking blood splatter on the window, so I am counting that as a half-kill.

I’m OuT oF tHe LiFe - Dick Grayson (definitely not wearing the Robin suit again. Nope.)

Ah, more meledorama.

Rachel finds the money and Dick’s custody arrangement letter. She is not happy about it. She shows Hank, who isn’t ever happy about anything.

And then The Family show up to kidnap Rachel, so problem solved I guess?

[More Titans Rewatch here :D]

[drbtinglecannon]

I think so often about how Darius and Raine were classmates back in the day, so they've known each other for decades, and how the conversation progression from "Welcome to the Castle, nerd, you still dating that criminal, Edalyn?" to "Hey, so, sorry Kikimora did... *hand waves* that to you, but uh. Eber and I are actually rebels too. Yeah, ye-- ok well, you tried to kill us first, so." must've been

Like can you imagine being Darius? You've been at the top of your career as a Coven Head for years, your mentor died suddenly and was replaced with a child, and you've been on track to try to overthrow Belos ever since because you always suspected foul play, then in comes that bard dork you went to high school with who was friends with the resident Weird Delinquent™, but whatever, you have more important things to worry over than them messing up the induction ceremony that was recorded live, until low and below that dork is both a rebel AND going to fucking blow it all by being too noticeable, so now you and your Furry Colleague who's also a rebel have to go catch Dork, only for Dork and Delinquent to almost fucking kill you guys somehow like what even was that??, but you manage to quell the situation only for after you release Dork they get caught again by that annoying Brown Noser Kikimora, so now they're under a tight leash by Evil Old Lady Terra who you've been carefully avoiding the line of sight of for years, and goddamn, Dork, you are so bad at this, like yes, great, more rebels! but also low profile much? Ever heard of it??? Now can we please get your gf to help us? Ugh, fine, your wife, whatever, can she help or not?? Titan, Raine, this is serious we need more help. Oh. Oh, ok you can send her flowers but can't ask her to join our group because 'she needs to stay safe'? Eber are you seeing this shit I have to deal with? Edalyn's been a criminal since I met her but yeah ok, we need her to avoid breaking the law now. ...Stop saying I have a son, all I did was give him a phone and teach him to sew and care about his well being.

But on the flip side

Can you imagine being Raine? You've been quietly toiling away through the coven ranks, giving up your relationship and stomaching loss after loss of promising students all to reach the top with the goal to overthrow Belos, and then the guy who inducts you on crystal ball -- which was horrible btw why did it have to be live?? -- is that rude popular kid from high school who had the mean friends, but ok, it's been decades, not worth compromising your mission over, just let bygones be bygones... until Rude Guy and Furry Colleague show up and trap your crew during one of your raids and, oh Titan, Eda is at risk too, but if you can take them out maybe the Day Of Unity will be delayed, but then you find out the love of your life went and had kids without you and you cannot dwell on that rn cuz you have to get her to safety as Rude Guy captures you, except you slip away easily haha take THAT for underestimating bard magic back at Hexside! Aaand there's Kikimora, and some horrifying sigil stuff happens, and now that annoying Old Evil Lady Terra from HECK is watching you like a hawk and you're 100% certain she's trying to drug you so you have to low-key alter every drink she gives you, and then Rude Guy informs you he and Furry Colleague were rebels all along too. Like, thanks for the heads up, jerk! I almost killed you guys! You don't get to be mad at me over this!! Fine, whatever, let's work together, strength in numbers, and you can't turn down extra help in this fight. ...Eda is not my gf!! She's not my wife!!!!! No, I won't let her get involved again. ...except, I'll just send her these potion ingredients, to save her kid. Yes it has to be in the form of flowers. To get past the house demon! You know what? You don't get to criticize me over this, Mr. 'Thats MY angry blond kid!'

Now imagine being Eberwolf and having to deal with two middle-aged professionals acting like this on top of trying to lead a rebellion.

Anyway I'm so normal about how weird and hilarious this dynamic could be.

[its-all-ineffable]

Jason Todd...and the arrogance of the Titans

So, this will be a LONG POST! When I rant, I rant.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: swearing, lots of. Mentions of suicide and child abuse too.

Rant under here:

Don't get me wrong, I love the Titans show! But omg, the way everyone treats Jason? (Who is my favourite character, btw) Especially the way the ADULTS treat him!

So, Jason comes in as the second Robin. He clearly admires Dick, and Bruce, and is thrilled to be Robin. Dick, understandably, is miffed at seeing this new kid who he feels has replaced him wearing HIS colours and HIS costume. However, Donna and Hank's reactions to meeting Jason are just cruel.

"What is THAT and why is IT wearing Dick's costume?" Okay, first of all, Dick's not special, and it ain't his costume. Not anymore. He walked out on Batman and Robin, so...yeah. Also, that is a 15-19 year old kid (the show wiki says he's 21, but tbh he looks like a fucking baby, so he has to be between those ages), who has come to HELP YOU fix a mess that he has NO PART IN. So fuck you very much Donna.

Hank's whole attitude to EVERYONE pisses me off, Hank in general pisses me off, but his treatment of Jason? Next level bullshit. Can you not grasp that he is a kid that is putting on bravado because his whole life has been full of abuse and terror? Hank of ALL PEOPLE should get that! Also, the bird noises thing? I'm sorry HAWK, who has feathers on their costume again?!🤨😤

This is saying nothing of Dick and his whole "Don't be Robin, Robin screwed me up waaa!" schtick. Okay Dick, you're screwed up. But in a different way to Jason, and the way you used Robin (revenge for his parents) IS NOT the way Jason uses it. So shush. Also, I yearn for good parent Bruce, but unfortunately, we don't get that. So while I totally get Dick's anger at Bruce in the show (because show!Bruce is admittedly a prick & I need all the 'good parent Bruce Wayne' fics to cleanse myself), pushing that onto an impressionable young kid for NO REASON when you screwed yourself up just as much as Bruce did is really fucked up.

And now onto the second season, and the glorious way Jason is treated then...(sarcasm)

Bruce 'gives' Jason to Dick - from what I can gather, Dick ASKED to take Jason with him to Titans Tower and train him, so clearly Dick WANTED Jason around. He then proceeds to fucking ignore Jason in favour for Rachel and Gar, ESPECIALLY RACHEL. Dick plays favourites and seems to forget he has 3 kids to look after and not just one! Like, your brother (and Gar) is right there!!! Also, Rachel's powers almost killing Jason is never bought up and he's made out to be the bad guy for calling her "freak", which is a tame reaction considering she almost choked him to death???? Nope, we'll leave that be.

So, no wonder Jason, who is insecure and emotionally unstable on the best of days, tries to go after Dr Light on his own with only Gar as back-up to prove himself to Dick (and the rest of the adult Titans). This is to say nothing of Dick PHYSICALLY ASSAULTING Jason, in front of his friends too!!!!! Dick and the other's botched a job, and have told Jason, Gar and Rachel exactly NOTHING, so of course Jason, who, as I said above is insecure & unstable, wants in.

Dick doesn't let him in. So Jason goes for the best way he has to get in, which is force. EVERYONE sees that punch coming, Jason makes it VERY clear what he's about to do. And instead of blocking the punch and talking to him, Dick attacks him, literally shoves him to the floor. No wonder Jason is pissed. Now, this is not to say that going out alone and making Gar go too, and then splitting up, wasn't a phenomenally DUMB idea, well done Jason hon, but I can see why his brain thinks that's the best way to go.

Then he gets kidnapped and brutally tortured and it takes the the adults forever to realise cause they're too wrapped up in their own melodrama. Then they take their sweet time saving Jason, don't bother telling Bruce his son is in danger and almost get Jason killed (Dick you arrogant fuck, thinking going in all alone without a weapon would save him, how thick are you?!!).

Cut to Conner (bless him) saving Jason, then being shot. Conner gets medical treatment, and is taken care of. Jason? We see nothing. I presume he got patched up but the Titans legit do NOTHING to help him after what is a very traumatic experience! Rose is the only one who checks on him (though I'm sure Gar probs did too, but he got ignored as much as Jason so we never got to see it), and tries to help in her own weird way. And that gets screwed up because of Dick and his fucking secrets.

Like, nobody notices that this literal child is traumatised from FALLING OFF A FUCKING BUILDING and is clearly struggling. No, they don't care about that. Instead, they blame him for something that's not even his fault!🤬 Rachel, I understand what she's thinking - Jason called her a freak, and he's standoff-ish towards her, and she is a TEENAGE GIRL. What she says is nasty and completely unwarranted considering what she thinks Jason has done, but I get it.

HOWEVER, I draw the line at the ADULT TITAN MEMBERS turning on Jason just because Rachel says so.😡 They blame a fucking kid who is clearly on the verge of a breakdown, they don't listen to him, they don't take the time to listen to both him and Rachel, and immediately blame Jason. Because if golden girl Rachel said it was him, then it was. THEY ARE ADULTS! They have more critical thinking skills than Rachel, and not as many hormones. They could have easily diffused the situation and listened to both kids. And they didn't. And what annoys me most is that Hank and Donna are assholes (they are, imo, don't get mad), so I see why they're blaming Jason, even though I hate them for it. But DAWN????? Sweet, kind, reasonable Dawn? What the fuck is her excuse?!!!!

So then Jason disappears and nobody notices bar Dick, who has to go and talk him down from committing suicide, because Jason has trauma that no one is helping him with and he was just ganged up on in a place he felt safe by people he TRUSTED! And after Dick talks him down? Nothing. Dick reveals his 'big secret' and the Titans (HYPOCRITES, THEY GOT JERICHO KILLED TOO, IT'S NOT JUST DICK'S FAULT) leave, and so do Jason and Rose. But there are NO APOLOGIES to Jason from the adults, or Rachel, and no one mentions his attempted suicide again. Ever. Cause clearly that just goes away like magic (no, it doesn't, I know, I've had suicidal thoughts and tried to kill myself).

(And then Dick abandons Conner and Gar, as well as Jason, Rose and Rachel - he just lets them go off, like, no??? At least call Bruce about Jason - and gets himself arrested, but the way Gar and Conner are treated is a whole other post that I'm too tired to make atm)

But nobody apologises. NO ONE. None of them say sorry to Jason. None of them think to try and involve him in the final show down's either, or check on him. Rose is an utter bitch to him, PHYSICALLY ASSUALTS HIM, and rails on him when she's the one who started stirring the pot and made the Titans turn on Jason, which made him suicidal! So she has NO FUCKING RIGHTS. And the last we see is Jason riding off on a motorbike. Alone.

HE NEEDS SOMEONE, AND ALL THE TITANS ABANDON HIM AND DON'T TALK TO HIM? DON'T APOLOGISE? DICK DOES FUCKING NOTHING TO HELP HIS BABY BROTHER!!!

I'm sorry it's so long, but I love Jason so much and it pains me so much that such a wonderful character is treated so abysmally be the people he calls family/friends. And the way all the adults - Dick, Kory, Donna, Hank & Dawn - act with him? Appalling. The teens I get, I'm still a teen, and I remember how unreasonable I could be (and still can be) just because. They still need to apologise to Jason (especially Rachel. Not Gar though. Or Conner. They were good boys, and kind.), but I get it. But the ADULTS? They care more about a strange flying boy than they do about Dick's little brother who has been there for months, who they bonded with, and then they treat him abysmally on the word of an upset teenage girl.

Fuck them. Fuck them. I want Jason to get an apology, and a hug. In that order. And some therapy too.

God I already know season 3 is gonna be hell.

So, that's it, rant over, sorry it's so long! But I have a lot to say and a lot of feelings about Jason Todd on Titans. More posts may be made, especially when I get season 3.

[blanddcheadcanons]

Titans isn't very good and from the episode reviews I've read (I don't watch it, so I might nont be a reliable source) stopping at s3e3 isn't a bad idea. In s3e5 they kill off the guy who played aquaman in Smallville.

Nah man they killed that dude in episode 3. It sucked so hard. The show has this weird talent of taking characters I do not give a shit about in the comics and mischaracterizing them so badly that I'm offended on behalf of their respective fans. Like why'd they make red hood a shitty Jigsaw from the movie saw. Why did they make me hate the portrayal of Hawk and Dove more then their Justice League Unlimited episode? Why did a falling pole kill Donna Troy? Why did they kill off Aqualad in a flashback? Why does Superboy have his boring personality from YJ but worse? (Sorry bruh but Kon-El thinks he's hot shit and you can pry his punk ass from my cold dead hands) Why did Bruce kill Joker and remove the reason for Jason Todd to become Red Hood and then he becomes Red Hood anyway? Why does beast boy struggle to shapeshift? That's his thing. That's the one thing he can do. It's all so bad. Also having Dick Grayson be a cop and then "struggle with his dark side" while using unnecessary force as a vigilante is pushing it. Like Officer Grayson is "okay" when hes the cheery optimistic to Bruce's grimdark crime fighting. Change that and you just have an angry violent cop. Not really breaking new ground there mi compadre.

[tadpole-san]

okay, its time for me to break down the season three trailer for titans

leading on bruce "using fear to control everyone" - we see parallels to jonathan crane on that one right away, and we know that he will be one of the Big Bads going in to the season, and I’m guessing the guy who’s calling Bruce a psychopath using fear is (ironically) Jonathan crane himself. Dick goes to him for messed up therapy it looks like????

interestingly enough, this also is a call back to Under the Red Hood - "You wanna rule them by fear, but what do you do with the ones who aren't afraid? I'm doing what you won't, I'm taking them out." Sound familiar?

Seems this isn't the only Under the Red Hood reference we'll be getting. In this shot of Jason that we see of him approaching the crime lords of Gotham, this also parallels with a scene of him doing the exact same thing as in Under the Red Hood. It's starting to look like the Red Hood storyline will be more or less the comic and movie getting live-action adapted

JOKER BEATING JASON TO DEATH CONFIRMED?

Okay hear me out i know this seemed like it would obviously happen, but there were a lot of realistic reasons that it seemed like titans would shy away from this approach - for all that it has established itself as a very adult show, the nuances of displaying such a thing so graphicly (I use that term loosely, because this is still a very vague silhouette, albeit with very clear sound effects) especially when it is involving a character who is supposed to be a teenager on the younger side is VERY tricky and if you watched the trailer, the sound of it alone is very harrowing

Looks like Tim is going to be sort of taking on some of Duke’s backstory, maybe we’ll even see the We Are Robin campaign as it is established I believe that they adjusted his story to make him like a kid from the narrows because for some reason we csnt have a black kid who comes from a rich Gotham family (but that’s a rant for another day)

Bruce is also stepping down from the Batman mantle it looks like? So here’s hoping we follow comics canon and Tim pulls him back from that

Hot take though: we probably won’t see Tim as Robin until next season unless Titans does a strange timeskip (which it also looks like they’ll do). My guesses are either a timeskip between episode one or two, or a timeskip in episode one form the get go after about a quarter of it is spent establishing Gotham’s regression when Jason dies. Logistically, I want to say that at least half a year or even a full year (or more) would pass before he becomes the red hood? So the question is how long the Titans will be in Gotham before that

Dick is set to take the Batman mantle??? Which I’m kinda bummed out about because we barely got Nightwing last season and it would be nicer to see him get comfortable in that persona, rather than have him grapple with the cowl and the idea of being Batman. We saw that enough in the season two flashback episodes

Hawk and dove on their same BS again. Not much to say there

Kory???? ARE YOU OKAY????? Because by the looks of it the fear toxin got our queen kind of good, or it could be Blackfire’s influence on her??? Disappointingly, not much was revealed for the blackfire storyline even though she’s legitimately a bigger threat than the Red Hood

ALSO the “red hood is a biblical brother” like could be a reference to how he and scarecrow teamed up in Arkham Knight (if I’m not mistaken), so there’s a chance that rather than actually “dying”, Jason is just presumed dead bc theyre taking things in a more Arkham Knight direction (I hope they don’t, that was even more brutal than his OG death in the comics)

Or “biblical brother” could be crane talking about Jason’s relationship to dick, who he seems to know somewhat personally. With the red hood vs Nightwing snippet we got, it could be a cain vs Abel situation, and this further implies that crane knows their secret IDs

RAVEN WHITE SUIT!!! Very nostalgic for those Teen Titans watchers back in the day, and it looks like it’s some sort of Amazonian armor too? Like in teen Titans, this could be a signifier that she’s coming to terms with her powers and who she is as her father’s daughter

We didn’t get much Gar content, but by the looks of it our boy is once again saddled with the responsibility when all the adults go to play. With the timeskip it’s likely we won’t see his recovery form the aftermath of Cadmus :/ but at least I hope we get his reaction to Jason’s death? Because they were really tight next season and that’s a friendship that should be explored more

Speaking of teen Titans looks - kory’s eyes glowing full green in the trailer? About time we got over her powers being blocked

No scenes of Kory and dick yet in the trailer, which is atrocious. A lot of dick and babe, and I can’t be the only comic book reader that’s sick of the dick and Kory and Babs love triangle. Let him be with Kory. PLEASE.

Interestingly enough, no rose in the trailer. Not sure if she’s confirmed to be in the season, but fingers crossed that the toxic romance from last season is put on hold

Overall the season looks really strong, but I’m still going in skeptical that they’ll sideline a lot of POC characters - kory, blackfire, gar, Tim - but it’s shaping up to be one of the best seasons so far for Titans. There’s definitely a lot more to unpack that I might do in a part two or a later post!

[pleasantanathema]

Top Ten Posts of 2020

I’ve gotten several tags since the New Year to do a post like this, so thank you to everyone who tagged me! I haven’t really had time to sit down and do this until now, so here we go! 

You can look at your top 10 posts from the last year here at this link! This was a very fun retrospective seeing that I joined Tumblr at the tail end of February, 2020.

1. Wet Pleasures [Shinsou x Reader]

I never expected this fic to get so big- it has 6,000 notes now, what the fuck?? I wrote this Shinsou piece as a request very early on in my writing career here on Tumblr. I just kinda...ran with it, and here we are now. I still adore this piece, it’s definitely one of my better examples of my writing, and I’m so glad so many of you have enjoyed it as well! I do love me some good shower smut.

2. Invasive Species [Hawks x Reader]

I love Yandere Hawks, so this one was such a pleasure to write. I spent way too long googling invasive species of birds in Japan for this one hahaha and I also stayed up all fucking night writing it, I still have a vivid memory of taking a pause to go watch the sun rise while writing. All these notes are very validating to time well spent in the early morning hours.

3. Playing Rough [Kirishima x Reader]

I am so surprised this fic is so popular. This another fic I wrote as a request; I don’t really thirst for Kiri all that much, but I did have fun setting this fic into a wrestling ring (I was am a big wrestling fan...). I’m sorry that you’ll probably never seen anymore Kirishima from me, but I’m thrilled this fic has been such a hit! 

4. Smut Pile Fantasy AU Collab Masterlist

I am so, so happy that this fic made it within my top five posts of the year! This was the first collab my server ever created and it has so many talented writers and fics on it. I wrote for All Smite and Ushijima Wakatoshi, but you’ll find all kinds of variety in this fantasy-style masterlist! 

5. Pleasant’s Writer Recs

Wow I am so pleased this post got so much traction! I woke up one morning and just decided I wanted to spread a little positivity and show some love for friends/writers who have inspired me on this platform. This list is mostly filled with my mutuals, and every writer on there is someone I greatly respect and recommend! 

6. Blog Navigation Page 

This little guy got out of hand pretty quickly- this is the link to all my master lists for easier blog navigation. It used to just be for My Hero, but now it’s filled with Haikyuu!!, Attack on Titan, a Chaptered Series (I never thought I would write one but I’m so happy I am), and collab masterlists. 

7. Pray to Me [Shinsou x Reader]

God I love this fic and I’m so glad so many people do too! I’m a sucker for Norse Mythology, so making Shinsou into Loki was a pleasure and a half. I think this fic really shows what I am capable of when it comes to writing, and it was definitely one of the more challenging things for me to write at the time. 

8. Salvation [Enji x Reader]

This fic is one of my pride and joys. I joined the BNHA Fandom wanting to write for Endeavor. He was my first true love in the show and I will always have a soft spot for him. This fic is purely self-indulgent; it’s a fantasy I had and just wanted to put into words, a lot fo those words being religious allusions (because I’m a corrupted preacher’s kid, whoops).

9. Godless All Smite x Reader 

If there is one fic that gets people into my ask box, it’s this one. This is the fic I wrote for the Smut Pile Fantasy Collab, fully expecting that people wouldn’t really read it- I wrote it for me, because @stormcallart had All Smite rotting in my brain thanks to her phenomenal art. So I am beyond thrilled that so many people caught the All Smite bug and loved this little captive fantasy.

10. Possession [Ushijima Wakatoshi x Reader]

And we round the list out with a dash of Haikyuu!! goodness. This is a mafia!au that I wrote with the prompt “I told you to stay still” for the Haikyuu Headquarters Collab! Ushijima is my main love from Haikyuu!! so I am glad to see so many of you enjoyed this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. He’s kind of tough nut to crack, but I love stern, dominate Ushijima to no end. 

Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout the insane year that was 2020. I expect my end of 2021 list to look much different since I have now deviated away from writing for My Hero Academia (for the time being, I know I’ll go back to it one day). 

A gentle reminder that notes don’t really mean anything. It’s like the game show Whose Line is it Anyways- the points don’t matter, all that matters is the fun you have creating and the friends you make along the way! 💕

[weclassybouquetfun]

Season 3. Three episodes. One crazy.

There was a run Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal where Green Arrow’s former sidekick Roy Harper/Arsenal’s daughter Lian is killed and in his grief he hallucinates that a dead cat is his daughter. To combat his grief he goes off to an alley to do heroin and fights off some baddies by using the aforementioned dead cat.   After that issue, someone commented, “Roy Harper making Jason Todd look sane.” Well, I think TITANS is giving Jason back the title of craziest sidekick. 

Call me Stephanie Brown because here be Spoiler(s).

How prescient was “Battle for the Cowl”?

I was late on watching the episodes but I saw some people on Twitter mad at the depiction of Bruce. I thought it was more complaints about the age of Iain Glen.

Kevin Conroy is six years older than Glen and no one complained about him as Bruce in BATWOMAN

Then as I continued watching I thought people were mad because of how quickly Bruce was seeking to replace Jason (which some are upset about).

credit to @dccomicsjokerm1 on Twitter

As if Bruce didn’t pick up wards like Alfred picked up socks.

But to me, it falls in line with how I view Bruce: an emotionally constipated person who has decided to divorce himself from attachments.  There was an issue of Batman pre-New 52 were Bruce called up all of his wards for a meeting where he told them he would no longer be Bruce Wayne, only Batman because he couldn’t have the people in his circle continually being used against him. I wish I could find the panel because everyone’s face was like, “Oh, Bruce’s being cray again - must be a day that ends with “y”.

But when I got to the end of the first (second?) episode I realized what it is that set everyone off.  Bruce finally did it - after Barbara told him he was as crazy as The Joker, and Dick finally co-signing on that, Bruce killed The Joker which was shocking for two reasons. We all know Batman doesn’t kill *directly*. Letting Ra’s al Ghul fall to his death in a careening train in “Batman Begins” is acceptable. Also, how about blaming Gotham’s poor infrastructure for that. Secondly shocking is that we could all surmise Arkham Asylum’s security was lax because The Joker and other inmates were always escaping, but Bruce killed The Joker inside Arkham and was able to stroll home to tell Dick with the weapon in hand like a dog bringing in a dead bird.

Arkham Guards to Bruce happy to be free of The Joker. 

People have decried the act as character assassination but I’m sanguine about it. There is 82 years of Batman stories canon and AUs; all valid. There is a Batman depiction for everyone. But Bruce’s behaviour in TITANS tracks to the depiction I like of Bruce.  Above all else Bruce lives for being Batman and there are stories over the ages where that is in-play.  Like the Superman and Batman story where Silver Banshee zaps Batman and Superman resulting in Bruce having Superman’s abilities and because Bruce is just a non-powered individual, Clark was able to be a civilian....which pissed Bruce off because with Superman’s abilities he was now free to go across the globe kicking people’s a**es like a vengeful Santa and couldn’t understand how Clark could dare want to live a peaceful life as Clark Kent when he could stamp out crime and stomp on people’s heads.   That left the JLA worried about Bruce so Dick volunteered to talk some sense into Bruce.

Didn’t work out so well for Dick.

There is a reason why Tim said this to Ra’s al Ghul.

Jason- Jason is my favourite Robin and while Jason is a killer he’s not in league with villains so this depiction was a bit jarring, but unlike Bruce who is so emotionally repressed, Jason is all emotion. So angry. 

It’s what killed him in the comics and what killed him in the show but unlike in the comics when he returned from the dead and wanted to kill Bruce for not avenging him, he’s killing Bruce’s legacy - his mission - everything he has lived for.  Which is why Jason let Bruce live in the comics - he wanted to be an ever present reminder of Bruce failing: his ward is now a killer. 

-It could just be coincidence but there were many moments that felt like direct homages to the comics and films like:

- Bomb device in Hank’s chest like the one The Joker implanted in that guy in “The Dark Knight”.  Same with the switcheroo with Dawn at the end of episode 3. 

Jason is the master of misdirection. In the comics he kidnapped Speedy/Mia Dearden, leading Bruce and Oliver on a chase to rescue her not realizing that Jason needed them busy while he let two rival gangs kill each other. 

And “Streets Run Red” where Jason, now a red-head for reasons - lets himself get arrested and sent Arkham so that he could kill a bunch of people. 

-Dick who is now more or less Batman, rushing to the building and one of Jason’s lackey’s falling onto his roof reminded me of the story where Jason maybe/probably/almost certainly pushed a pimp off the roof of a building as Batman was trying to reach them.

- Barbara and Dick talking about how Bruce screwed them up, which is something Bruce realized with Jason.

-How much smarter is it that Bruce would have a holographic dinosaur and coin? So much smarter. 

- I see what you did there. 

- As much as I didn’t like Hawk in season one I hate that he had to die.

Jason, you will never get a statue now. I mean, you didn’t get one before, but now you’re *really* not getting one. 

But I can see why they didn’t want to recast the role. 

I’m assuming Hawk is a goner because Ritchson will be too busy with the Jack Reacher series. 

where he reunites with Kristin Kreuk of SMALLVILLE.

Ritchson even reunited with the other cast recently.

[thatasianstereotype]

Damn, You’re Looking Fine.

To my utter delight, my crack writing Fuck. I’m Gay. got a good reception. I was not expecting to write more for this AU/pairing. But why not? I got some ideas and a computer to write them down on.

So this fic is the took-a-while-to-put-together sequel. It’s focused on the downfall of one certain Liar-la, Damian wooing Adrien with all the flair and romantics as his Chaton deserves, and Adrien being a blushing hot gay mess. 

P.S. Damian’s formal way of talking is an utter pain to write but hilarious to read.

P.S.S. Creative liberties were taken. Again. I just feel this needs to be mentioned. 

.

.

.

So Status Update:

Adrien and Damian are definitely dating (It is totally official. Told you ya boi got game).

Adrien still calls him Hot-And-Sexy from time to time much to his utter mortification (He can’t make himself stop. Please send help). And Dami gets amused by it every single time, that arrogant smug jerk.

Marinette still puts the fear of god in Damian and he is wary of her. She feels very proud about that. Adrien wants to facepalm.

Fuck Gabriel Agreste.  

And Lila Rossi is still a bitch.  

Adrien and Marinette were made aware about Damian’s alter ego —well mostly because he is utterly terrified of Marinette’s seemingly sweet (icy) smile she gave him when she politely asked how he obtained the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous and partly because of Adrien’s pouting kitten eyes. 

They truly were a pair to reckon with. 

.

“I am not sure why the Justice League dismissed your concerns and pleas for assistance. So I am taking the initiative. My name is Damian Wayne, the son of Batman and the current Robin and leader of the Teen Titans.”

He’s a superhero too?! And it’s Robin!!! One of his favorites!! Can you hear him internally squealing in excitement?

Adrien bit his lip to keep from fanboying right then and there. But a slight pink hue spread across his face. 

“You’re not lying.” Mari has gotten pretty good at deciphering through people’s bullshit. Whether it’s because she is now a Guardian or because Lila’s bitchiness made her a human lie-detector remains unknown.

Damian took it in stride. “I am not.”

“Paris is still our city.”

“I am only offering my assistance.” He won’t barge in on their superhero duties to the city. He has more class than that.

Mari didn’t have to look at Adrien to know his decision.

She smiled, a bright genuine smile. “Then we’re allies.” Before her eyes gained a spark of mischief and her smile turned teasing. “Hot-And-Sexy.” 

“Marinette!” Adrien immediately covered his blushing bright red face with both hands, utterly mortified. 

His sister was evil. E. V. I. L. And why is Damian smirking and looking so smug? Fuck! He even makes that look completely hot. Curse his Adonis genes. And curse his teenage hormones. 

He regrets introducing the two of them together. What a pair they make. Truly a couple of fur-midable terrors here. 

.

Back to the matter at hand, Marinette is able to ensure that Hawk Moth and Mayura will never be out again and another akuma won’t be made. She already made sure that the miraculous were better protected. 

Damian has enough evidence to put them behind bars for their crimes but Marinette wanted to go through it and make sure that Adrien won’t suffer the repercussions of having a villain for a dad so they held onto it until they figure out how best to protect their sunshine. 

.

Ah Shit. 

“Duusu? Where are you?” 

Did Gabriel lose the miraculous again? 

But when he looked into the last place he left it, he groaned. Fuck. His brooch was a fake again.

He knew he shouldn’t have made a miraculous fashion line and had replicas of the miraculous jewelries made. It was his most popular items to date. He has gotten lot of praises for getting the details just right and capturing the essence of each miraculous holder. No surprise there. He deals with them on a daily basis. He should get the details fucking right. 

It’s a wonder he only came up with a line because there was talk that he was becoming obsolete with no new ideas coming forth and if there is one thing that Gabriel Agreste isn’t, it is being obsolete. 

The line was just a joke, a parody of the heroes and villains if you will, but apparently people like it. Ladybug and Chat Noir were the most popular obviously (he should’ve seen that coming to be honest). Hardly anyone buys Hawk Moth or Mayura and he is left with boxes of fake brooches. 

It is annoying.

Especially since he keeps fucking misplacing his miraculous. 

.

Adrien felt like he could be a Disney princess and just skip his way to school and sing for the world to hear. 

Now that the Butterfly miraculous were safely with Marinette, he doesn’t have to worry about another akuma. He could just die happy right now. His dad doesn’t have a hold over him anymore. He doesn’t have to put up with Liar-la anymore. But if they put up a fuss? Well, worst case scenario is he becomes a Dupain-Cheng. 

And he doesn’t mind. He’s already an honorary one. 

And if that somehow doesn’t work out (which he highly doubts), Damian offered to make him a Wayne. 

.

Françoise Dupont High School experienced a shock that morning. Specifically Ms. Bustier’s class. 

When they saw Adrien and Marinette walking in class with arms intertwined, laughing and smiling together. 

What the actual fuck?

Did they cross into an alternate universe? Marinette is a nasty bully and Adrien’s a pure sunshine child. Why would they be acting like they were the best of friends? 

Lila glowered darkly when she saw them walking towards the back and sitting at the same table. Didn’t Adrien care about what his father thinks? Doesn’t he want to still be able to go to school? 

She bit her lip and turned on the waterworks, her eyes close to bursting into tears. She made herself be the very picture of a pitiful woe-is-me victim as she cried out in a hurtful and betrayed tone. “Adrien, what are you doing with her? I thought we were close friends.” 

The sheep class instantly catered to Lila, pointing their fingers at the pair. 

Alya, her biggest supporter, led the charge as always. “Adrien! What do you have to say for yourself? How could you cheat on Lila like this? And with her?” 

Adrien narrowed his eyes at his former friend. Bitch, how dare she implies he was in an actual relationship and had feelings for that harlot. 

Wow. 

He has been spending way too much time around Damian. 

"Yeah, bro!” Kim said, raising his voice. “How could you do her dirty?” 

“Okay guys.” Adrien cut in. “I don’t know where you heard that but me and Lila are not dating. Like at all.” 

“Please.”Alya waved him off like he didn’t know what he was talking about (he was highly offended at the notion he didn’t know what his heart yearns for). “We all know you have feelings for Lila. You’re just in denial over them.”

Bitch, what?

Is no one catching onto his chaotic gay vibes here?  

And oh, how his fragile little heart was betrayed yet again when he saw Nino supporting his girlfriend. He still couldn’t believe the first friend he made all by himself was a part of their rabid pack. He deeply mourned the loss of such a great friend in the midst of that deceiving fox’s claws. 

“How many times do I need to say it?” At this point, Adrien was about to throw hands. “I don’t like Lila like that. I feel nothing but pure spite for her. Also, me and Marinette are not dating if anyone’s wondering. We’re just really good friends.”

“But Marinette’s a big bully.” Alix piped up, a hard edge in her voice. “She treats Lila horribly.”

“Marinette didn’t do anything to her. Rossi is lying.” 

“Oh Adrien.” It was Mylene of all people who spoke up. “Did Marinette get to you with her lies?” 

He was done. 

Completely and utterly done. 

He looked over at Marinette who shared his exasperation at the class’ antics. 

Adrien already said it before. But it bears repeating.

Lila Rossi is a bitch.

Luckily (or maybe unluckily), that was the moment Ms. Bustier chose to step in the room and class started. 

When the teacher’s back was turned, Adrien pulled out his phone and proceeded to spend the rest of the time alternating between taking notes and texting with Damian. 

They were currently at the stage of their relationship to be sending animal pics and memes back and forth, with a few puns added from time to time. 

He really does have the perfect boyfriend. 

.

They cornered him after school. 

One: Rude. 

And two: Double rude. 

He was excited to meet Hot-And-Sexy (daMn iT! It’s Damian! Get it right brain) at the bakery and spending time with his two most favorite people in the world (Tom and Sabine don’t count because actual parents don’t have a ranking). 

His former friends were looking all concerned and everything because they somehow collectively came up with the idea that Marinette actually brainwashed him to believe Lila was evil. 

The fucking irony. 

They actually had the audacity to say that Marinette —sweet and honestly badass Marinette— was no good and just wanted to use Adrien to get ahead in the fashion industry (as if Mari actually needed him for that). He shouldn’t be around her. Lila was a much better person to keep as company. 

Adrien laughed in their faces and left. 

.

Onto happier events, Adrien was having a blast hanging out with Mari and Dami. His boyfriend (he still can’t believe he managed to score such a hottie!) fit right in the everything-that-matters siblings’ dynamics. 

They were in Mari’s room. Adrien was cuddling with Damian on her bed. And Mari was at her desk working on fashion designs. 

“So what’s your family like?” He played with Dami’s hair. It was so soft. Like what the fuck. It is so unfair. 

Damian thought about it for a few seconds. “My family is a bit...crazy. We drive each other insane every other day but at the end of the day, I have no doubt they have my back as I have theirs.” 

“You guys sound close.” 

“We were not always. We had an extensive amount of issues to work through before we actually bonded as a true family.” 

It was quiet for a minute until Damian casually said. “I would appreciate it a great deal if you can make time to visit Gotham for the summer.” 

Adrien stopped playing with his hair to look at him with wide incredulous eyes. “Summer’s only two months away.” 

“I am aware.” 

“You really want me to meet them? Isn’t it too early?” 

“I met yours the day we started dating.” 

True but....

Adrien averted his eyes. “Do you think your family will like me? You guys fight criminals and my dad’s a villain.” 

Damian put his hands over Adrien’s and gave them a light squeeze, making his Chaton look back at him. 

“My mother is a villain and I was raised as an assassin. Yet despite of that, my father accepted me. And I am fairly confident he will do the same to you. Mon amour, you have a pure and selfless heart. You are a better person than I am. I have no doubt that my family will love you from the start. 

“Are you being fur real right meow?” Adrien tried to lighten the atmosphere but he could feel his eyes tearing up. 

"I wouldn’t lie to mew.” 

He let out a small laugh, wiping his eyes. How did he ever get so lucky to land such an amazing guy? “You always know the purr-fect thing to say.” 

“We get it you’re in love. It’s amazing. Now stop it with the puns.” Mari rolled her eyes, utterly exasperated at these idiots who just ignored her and pulled out even more cat puns. “You have got to be kitten me.” 

Before she noticed what she said and groaned in faux despair. “Oh you two are so dead.”

Adrien stuck out his tongue playfully. “You can’t catch me. I got a handsome knight in shining armor to protect me.” 

Damian interlaced their fingers. “Always, mon amour. I’ll protect you from everything like your wicked father.”

“Does that make me the dragon here?” Mari joined in. “Cool. I can breathe fire and torch people. Too bad I can’t do that to a certain liar.” 

“Liar-la is totally the witch here.” Adrien said before thinking for a few seconds. “Does this make me the princess?” 

“Well, knights always have to save the damsel in distress.” Mari said. 

He frowned before crossing his arms indignantly. “Dami, I love you more than Plagg loves his stinky cheese, but I’m no damsel in distress.” 

Damian rolled his eyes. “Tt. Of course not. You can destroy things with a single touch. It would be not be in my best interests to downplay your abilities.”

Adrien relaxed and beamed a sunny smile. “Good. Remember that.” 

“Mon amour, I look for an equal as a partner, not some weak spoiled harlot that can not defend their self.” Damian placed a flower crown (that was just sitting on Marinette’s nightstand, must be one of her projects) on Adrien’s head. “Having said that I do believe you are a prince that deserves all the love and care in the world.” 

And oh my. 

Adrien can feel his face burning scarlet and his heart almost bursting at how sweet this incredible, conceited Adonis was. 

He was falling in love with Damian over and over again each time they meet up. 

“You deserve love too, Dami.” 

And sweet, caring Hot-And-Sexy (Ah, fuck it. He will never grow out of that) placed a soft kiss on his cheek. 

Oh dear, he didn’t know his face can burned any redder. 

He could almost hear Mari cooing in the background. 

And in case anyone was wondering, Tom and Sabine adores their everything-that-actually-matters son’s boyfriend. Damian Wayne seems like a responsible young lad. And he makes Adrien really happy which is a major plus. Anything that makes their son happy is good in their books. 

.

Lila was not at all pleased. 

Why was Adrien suddenly hanging out with Marinette? Yeah, he doesn’t buy into her lies but she was confident he will be lured into her charms. Why wouldn’t he be? She was young and way more beautiful than a baker’s daughter. He was supposed to be hers. 

She and Gabriel are going to have a talk about his rebellious son. 

Except when she arrived at the Agreste mansion, Gabriel was apparently too busy to see her. 

He was too occupied with searching through boxes of fake miraculous to find Duusu to bother with her. 

“I don’t have time for you.” 

“Excuse me?!” 

She was aghast. How dare he speak this way to his biggest supporter —well, besides Mayura and Nathalie. 

“You’re excused. Now leave the premises.”

Before the door shut in her face and she was left fuming, her face an unflattering angry red. 

.

Being Damian’s boyfriend, Adrien has come to learn that Damian does nothing by halves. Including asking him out on a date. And the actual dates themselves. 

Today as the sun fell down and night came about, Damian and Adrien were taking a stroll in the park. It was relaxing and it was nice. They talked about everything and anything. 

Adrien did not think Damian planned anything more. 

But he really shouldn’t underestimate the son of Batman. 

Because when the last of the sun’s rays were gone, Damian led him to a gazebo strung up with beautiful lights giving the whole place an ethereal feel. And with the bright moon out tonight, it looked like fairies dancing in the garden. 

He didn’t notice Damian pressed play on his phone and classical music filled the air. 

He definitely noticed Damian bowing with a flourished and holding out his hand with a charming smile. “May I have this dance, Chaton?”

Adrien would have to be a huge fool to say no. 

“I’ll loved to.” He placed his hand in Damian’s and let the Adonis lead him in a simple waltz. 

This was his life. 

His life was one big sappy romance novel. And you know what, he doesn’t care if it is. Between dealing with his shitty father and Liar-la, this kitty deserves some happiness. 

.

It was a scene from one of those Disney fairy tale movies Adrien used to watch as kid. The magic. The love. The romantics. He felt like Cinderella and wished this night will never end, that the clock will never strike midnight. He just wanted to stay in his Prince Charming’s arms forever. 

Under the starry night sky, the lovebirds danced to their heart’s content and when another song ended, Damian tilted his head down to place a tender kiss on Adrien’s lips. 

“I harbor a great deal of non-platonic affections for you, mon amour.”

“I love you too, Hot-And-Sexy.” 

.

What the fuck?!

Seriously. 

What the actual fuck? 

Lila was simply walking home after her disastrous meeting with Gabriel (She was still not over how he simply dismissed her like she was nothing. How dare he). 

When she saw them. 

Adrien and some guy (she’s pretty sure that was a guy) dancing in the park. She can feel that disgusting jealousy just burning in her veins, a cold anger thrumming underneath. 

Things were not at all going her way. 

First, Adrien is back to being friends with that Mari-whore. Then, Gabriel ignores her. Her. And now, she is seeing her Adrien in the arms of someone else. 

Oh this will just not do. 

She took out her phone from her pocket and snapped a couple of pictures, making sure Adrien can clearly be seen. She didn’t care too much about the other guy. He’s probably just another pretty airhead Adrien knew through his father. He’s not important. 

A cruel smirk appeared on her face at the thought of the perfect revenge. Adrien was going to have a rough time at school tomorrow. After all, he should’ve known better than to make a move against her. 

.

“Seriously?!”

“Wow.” 

“I’m sure there’s an explanation for this.”

“Yeah. Adrien is obviously gay. That’s the only explanation.” 

“....Maybe not? There could be another reason.”

Lila had watery eyes and a sad frown on her face but inside, she was fucking smiling like a Cheshire cat. She made sure to be at school early so she can show the class the picture of Adrien’s little date last night. Who —predictably— were shocked at their sunshine child being with a guy and made plans to confront him about his supposed sexuality. 

She glowed at the thought of her plan working. This will teach Adrien to know his place or become a social pariah like his little friend Marinette. 

“I thought Adrien had feelings for me.” Lila wiped the “tears” from her eyes. “How could he lead me on like this when he’s been gay all along?” 

Alya —predictably— comforted her. “I’m pretty sure he’s just confused. He doesn’t know what he’s feeling.”

“I’m sure that’s it.” 

The pair didn’t notice Juleka and Rose glaring at them. 

.

Damian was not at all pleased. 

He was rightfully angry. 

How dare that poor sense of fashion taste trollop tried to shame his mon amour for being gay. How dare she try to say he was simply confused and didn’t know any better. How dare she defame his reputation because he holds nothing but spite for her person. 

How dare she. 

As Adrien’s boyfriend and future husband, it is his duty to correct this travesty and defend his Chaton’s honor. 

.

When the Damian Wayne, youngest son of Bruce Wayne, appeared at Françoise Dupont High School, you know that people are gonna stare and talk. 

When he headed towards the courtyard where Adrien and Marinette were sitting at, boy are things going to get juicy. 

Lila and her followers who were sitting a bit father from the outcast pair were utterly confused. They could possibly get Adrien knowing such a super hot celebrity but for him to be on good terms with Marinette too? How inconceivable. Absolutely flabbergasted. 

“Hey Lila didn’t you tell us you knew him and his family?” Max brought up. 

“Uhhh....” Lila knew she dug herself in a corner here. She never thought that the Damian Wayne would ever visit here. At this second rate school. 

“Well, let’s go, girl!” Alya exclaimed. “I’m sure Damian just hasn’t seen you. That’s why he didn’t walk towards you.”

Before proceeding to practically drag Lila to where Damian was talking with Adrien and Marinette. 

Lila, on the other hand, was cursing out Alya in a bunch of different languages in her mind while trying to come up with something to dig herself out of this mess. If they talk to Wayne, the class will realize she was lying all along. 

She was not going to lose control of her kingdom like this —well, not without putting up a fight. 

But when they and the rest of their classmates walked close to the trio, they were shocked when they saw Marinette playfully punching Damian in the arm. 

“Okay. How the hell are you so close with Damian Wayne?” Straight off the bat, Alya was on the offense as she glared at Marinette as if it was Mari who did something wrong. 

Damian answered before the bluenette could. His face was impassive and his glare cold. “I’m Ms. Dupain-Cheng’s top model for her fashion business.”

What? 

Even Lila was taken aback at the news. She knew that goody two shoes likes designing but she didn’t think anybody would actual buy her stuff. She didn’t think a Wayne would like her stuff. 

She could feel her fists clenched. How dare Marinette steal the spotlight again. 

“I’m also Adrien’s boyfriend.” Damian continued casually as if that wasn’t a huge bombshell. 

Everyone’s minds screeched to a halt. 

They knew about the possibility of Adrien being gay since Lila showed him on going on a date with an unidentified but clearly male person yesterday. But they didn’t think there was actually something there. 

Lila could feel her anger clouding her mind. Adrien was supposed to be hers. He was her ticket to fame and fortune. 

“And what about Lila? Aren’t you guys best friends?” Alya put her hands on her hips. How could Damian just ignore someone he is close friends with but give Marinette all the attention? Lila deserves better than that.  

Damian was unamused. “I don’t know her.”

“Yeah, you do.” Alya ignored Lila’s gestures to stop talking. Lila was too shy about her achievements and she was going to have her amazing best friend’s back. “She’s the one who helped your family out multiple times.”

“She did not. And I am appalled that you believe I would know a harlot like her in the first place.” Damian’s face twisted with disgust as he glanced at Liar-la like she was a mere insect. “Please. I have class and dignity.”

“Take that back!” She screeched. “You are so rude.” 

“Are you honestly going to lecture me on my rudeness when you plebians are being hypocrites?”

“What? I’m not a hyprocrite.” 

“Lila Rossi is a pathetic liar who begs for attention like street dogs beg for scraps. She never once saved Jagged’s cat nor does she help out with green charities. Lastly, she is not on close terms with myself nor with my family.”

“No! You’re lying!”

He raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “Ok then. Look her up on the internet. If she is as grand as you lot seem to think, she should have articles dedicated to her. Show me proof of her actions that isn’t your subpar blog and I will give you an exclusive.” 

Alya’s eyes gleamed at what should be an easy challenge. But when she pulled out her phone and typed Lila’s name and what she did in the search engine, her smile disappeared. 

She spent the next few minutes scouring the net for anything, any mention of a Lila Rossi that wasn’t on the LadyBlog. 

She found nothing. 

Lila Rossi was a fucking liar all along. And Alya and the rest of the class believed her. 

“We tried to warn you.” Marinette said in a soft voice. But anyone who knew her knew she was trying to hold back her laughter. 

“Marinette,” Rose cried out as she realized the class has been total jerks to the one person who always had their backs. “We were horribly wrong. Can you ever forgive us?”

She shrugged. “I forgive you. But this doesn’t mean we’re friends again. Because we’re not. Seeing how easily you drop me for that liar without even looking for any kind of proof hurts and I’m not eager to be friends again. Maybe in the future but not right now.”

“That’s goes ditto for me.” Adrien added his two cents. 

Their former friends classmates wore gloomy expressions, utterly devastated at ruining their friendship with their Everyday Ladybug and Sunshine Child. 

And with that, Adrien and Marinette left the courtyard, with light hearts and heads held high. 

Damian shot the class a razor sharp grin. “Well, it’s been nice to meet you.” 

Everyone knew he meant anything but. 

“I always knew teenagers were prone to be foolish imbeciles. But seeing the collective stupidity of you people today made me realize that the bar can in fact be lowered.” 

.

Adrien was fucking ecstatic. 

Elated. Overjoyed. Jubilant. Drunk on happiness. All the synonyms associated. 

Because Lila was finally exposed. The class realized what utter assholes they have been. His father will receive his due (soon according to Mari and Dami). 

He was happily humming a tune as he swung his and Damian’s intertwined hands back and forth. 

He was entirely grateful that Damian showed up to school today. Although he was a bit mean for Adrien’s taste. 

But oh man. Payback was so sweet. 

He smiled giddily. 

Mister Hot-And-Sexy definitely earned himself a kiss. 

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[chernobog13]

The final DC superhero who garnered three solo cartoons as a “guest star” on The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure (as well as being in all three Justice League of America cartoons) was the Flash.

The animators at Filmation Studios modified the Flash’s costume a bit: the removal of “lightning bolts” around his forearms, replaced instead with yellow gloves; the straightening-out of his belt (which is just another lightning bolt in the comics); and the removal of the wings on the sides of his boots.  These changes were done to make the animation process easier and quicker, as Filmation was working under tight deadlines with a relatively small crew.

Filmation did keep the unique “costume in a ring” gimmick from the comics, but we still did not get any idea how Barry Allen actually got into the Flash costume.  I always assumed that since it was super-stretchy he probably just stuck his feet through the mouth opening in his mask and pulled the thing up and over him.

The Flash also had his sidekick, Kid Flash, co-star with him in two of the three solo cartoons (Kid Flash also appeared in all three Teen Titans cartoons that appeared on the show).  Other than Aquaman, who had Aqualad co-star with him in most of his cartoons (along with occasional appearances from his future-wife Mera), none of the other DC heroes featured on the show had their comic book sidekicks/partners appear with them.  

[Green Lantern’s sidekick, Tom Kalmaku, was replaced with a Venusian mechanic/sidekick named Kairo.  Hawkgirl was replaced with a hawk (who sounded like a seagull) named Skreel in the Hawkman cartoons, which is a darn shame because, other than Wonder Girl and a forgettable villainess in one of the Green Lantern cartoons, there were no female characters in any of these “guest star” stories.]

Like most kid sidekicks in those days, Kid Flash needed to be rescued by the Flash almost as much as he helped.

And the reversed color scheme of Kid Flash’s costume has never been adequately explained to me, unless Filmation had too much red ink around and had to find a way to use it up.  The reversed color scheme is even more glaring in the Teen Titans cartoons where every member’s costume is predominantly red.

Filmation also played up the size difference between the Flash and Kid Flash.  This harks back to when Kid Flash first appeared in 1959; he was depicted as a young, pre-teen boy.

Despite the age and size difference, both heroes appeared to have the same power level, although the Flash was portrayed as being wiser and more experienced.

The Flash was also one of the only “guest stars” to feature an outright super-powered villain (Green Lantern fought Evil Star, an actual villain from his own comic, in one of his cartoons; all the other villains were either aliens or mad scientists or mad alien scientists).  

In the cartoon entitled To Catch a Blue Bolt the Flash and Kid Flash take on this guy:

Yes, he’s a sentient lightning bolt from outer space who favors non-aerodynamic headgear named Blue Bolt (with absolutely no relation to any of the various comic book characters with the same name).  He has the same super-speed powers that the Flashes do, which begs the question: why didn’t Filmation just use Reverse Flash from the comics instead of this guy?

Anyhow, the Flash and Kid Flash end up following this guy around the globe as he causes trouble and destruction.

The Flash finally comes up with a way to remove Blue Bolt from Earth which is...unique.  I won’t spoil it for you, but let’s just say it’s one of those things that would only work in a cartoon.

Filmation had grand plans to expand their DC superheroes omnibus the next year, with new ”guest star” cartoons for Green Arrow, the Metal Men, the Blackhawks, B’Wana Best, and a host of others.  Wonder Woman, Metamorpho, and Plastic Man were being developed to have their own series.  It would have been a DC comics fan’s paradise.

Unfortunately, once CBS acquired the animation rights to Batman in 1968 they ordered Filmation to scrap everything else in favor of an all-new show featuring the first animated adventures of the Caped Crusader.  And the rest is history.

But just of what might’ve been...

[popculturebuffet]

Justice League: In Blackest Night Review: A Case Study in Why John Stewart is  Awesome

Hello my Green Lantern Corps and happy black history month! And happy 40th Anniversary Year to John Stewart. And let’s get this out of the way now not the one replaced by trevor noah who handed Tucker Carlson his ass on television and got his show canceled, please do it again John i’d be greatful, and has a weird obession with how Pizza should be. No i’m of course talking about the Green Lantern, the third from earth and the second to headline the book itself, John Stewart.  But to me.. he was my first Green Lantern and one that gave me a deep and abiding love of the Corps since all thanks to this very episode. It’s thanks to John I’m the green lantern loving nerd I am today and without him I probably wouldn’t of found Guy, Jessica, Simon, Alan, and Kyle not to mention got into the varoius other corps. It’s thanks to this episode I wanted to seek out these wonderful characters eventaully and in part why I got into JLI, one of my faviorite teams, among many ohter great things and books. 

So quite obviously both this episode, which I haven’t seen in probably a decade, and John have a great place in my heart. And thus it warms said heart to FINALLY see John getting the recogntion he deserves: he’s going to be one of the starring roles in the upcoming HBO Max series, he was on Scott Snyder’s justice league, and he’s now going to be headlniing the main Green Lantern book going forward under writer Geoffry Throne, who like me was VERY sick of the Hal Jordan show the Green Lantern franchise could become at times, and also like me gave out about it a LOT. The fact DC hired him despite a very public and easily accesable record of him slagging of their use of Hal instead of him ESPECAILLY in the new 52 reboot aka why Cyborg is in the Justice League movie as Geoff kinda shoved hal in there despite John being a more sensible pick and doing so not only shoving the Martain Manhunter, who this show also gave me a deep lasting love for, out of the team but forcing Cyborg onto the team despite fitting with the titans better and, AGAIN there being a black green lantern and given the New 52 kept the history of there being multiple lanterns, no reason Hal could’ve been SECOND instead other than DanDiDio’s bitchy habit of EVERYTHING WAS BETTER ON MY EARTH that poisoined the company for a good decade before recently. 

And yes I felt the need to rant about that, yes Green Lantern the animated series is still good mind you, I just got tired of bland white guy over “Really awesome, really layred especailly thanks to this series black guy”, “stubborn asshole white guy whose hilarious and has a heart underneath the layers of douchebag”, “creative and imaginative white guy who has as personality and really uses the ring in fun ways”, and more recently “A muslim superhero struggling with his past who’se also really energetic and fun and has an intresting family life” and “Latnix superheroine who struggles with anxiety and actually struggles with constructs and once she gets past that has very unique ones”. In other words, yeah I’m bitter because everyone else was more intresting than Hal, and it’s only in recent years with Jessica gaining promience and John regaining it that DC’s finally broke out of that and is actually using the intresting ones, and again without John I wouldn’t be a fan, so they had no real excuse to barely use him outside of the comics if at at all after a while. 

So yeah as you can tell by that rant and by how specific it got for each lantern, this is one of my faviorite franchises, as said this episode is responsible and so for Black History Month I felt i’d be a huge mistake on my part if I DIDN’T cover my boy John and this episode and see how it held up. The fact it’s his 40th anniversary wasn’t something I was aware of, but now I am, expect more Johncentric episodes from Justice League sprinkled throughout the year to celebrate one of my first and possibly best GL. 

Naturally before we get to the episode we have to get to the series itself. The series was launched as Batman Beyond was winding down. Bruce Timm wanted to keep the crew together, something I could empathize with since Owen Dennis and JG Quintel have ran into that same problem lately, with most of their crews drifting off during the gaps in production and Owen desperate to get the show renewed  before he lost everybody. A good crew isn’t had to find in animation but KEEPING them for multiple shows or seasons can be. And there was one project the fans wanted more than anything: The Justice League. After all BOTH Batman and Superman had had tons of guest stars, especailly the latter, with Batman having Zantana show up and Superman having the Flash (Wally West), Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) and Aquaman all show up. There were seeds there.. but Timm was relcutant as he had trouble ballancing 2 or 3 heroes in a fight scene, wanting to keep them al lin focus so fans didn’t wonder where they were and they didnt’ have to cut back and forth, the idea of juggling 7 was daunting.  So as Beyond was finishing production a few things happened: The first is that they did the episode The Call, focusing on a future version of the League, and while only a two parter, it showed Timm his crew might be able to juggle a team of heroes after all, and second was the pitches Timm made BEFORE justice league. Since Kids WB had been hteir partner for a while now they tried pitching both a batman anime, he did not provide many details, and in his own words a “Kidified” justice league, basically the justice leagued mashed with the titans including a female version of cyborg. It was the latter pitch, which was rejected by Kids WB, that finally convinced Timm they could do this, but if they did it couldn’t be half assed or having compromises. it had to be what it SHOULD be. So they went to somewhere new, if in the same family and asked cartoon network, who said...

And here we are. They took their time to work out the characters, apparently taking a lot of delbiration, mostly on which GL to go with, and if they were going to do a hawk wether to go for hawkman or hawkgirl. In the end the roster was the iconic big 7 one, in large part thanks to Grant Morrison taking that concept and reviving it in his run on the team, but shaking it up slightly: Barry was naturally replaced with Wally West flash as he was THE flash in the comics, gave a slightly younger member for the others to play off of, and was more popular.. something Dan DiDio plugged his ears and went LALALALALALAL about for a decade before FINALLY leaving the company so he could stop screwing with a character he hated for reasons that can be summed up as ‘MY FLASH IS BETTER. YOU’LL LIKE MY FLASH.. YOU’LL SEE I JUST HAVE TO MAKE THE OTHER ONE A MASS MURDERER.. THAT’LL SHOW YOU FOR NOT LIKING WHAT I LIKE”... I still have maybe a smidge of lingering issues over how wally was treated the last few years after his return. I do not apologize for htem or for doing a little dance when I found out Didio was gone. 

Point is it wasn’t the only subsitution as Hal Jordan was replaced by John, obviously and rather than use Aquaman, they went with Hawkgirl, though Arthur still got an episode focusing on him fairly early into the series which has the iconic moment of him cutting his hand off to save his son. I dare you to find something more badass. Bruce both liked her deisgn better and felt it helped with the gender ballance. 

So with all that set and with some growing pains to get through they had their show so join me under the cut to see how it turned out. Spoilers: It good. 

We open INNNNNN SPACCCEEEEEEE, as a coaltion of neat looking aliens wants justice and has gone to a space court lead by three weird alien faces, likely inspiried by the kryptoian tribunal in the donnerverse superman movies, with their prosecutor sending a group of mysterious robots known as the Manhunters to go fetch the accused for a trial: John Stewart. Given he’s voiced by Kurtwood “Red Forman” Smith, i’m very surpised he didn’t order them to also put their foots up his ass. Maybe he’s saving it for the trial.

After the titles we cut to John himself whose in shades and trenchant for reasons.. I mean it looks neat, but he’s in his old neighborhood not hunting down his exes killer or trying to hide the fact he’s a ninja turtle. Why is he all disguised. I mean sure WE know people are coming from him and given what he thinks he did he knows.. but he has no intention of running from what he did. It’s just a weird stylistic choice. That said we do get a cool sequence when while casually walking he notices a robbery, and stops it simply by first stopping the wheel then levitating the car.. and while he does get a little showy shaking the guy upside down to return the money.. it’s all very controlled. It shows off how John works. While we’ve seen him at work as Green Lantern before this this small sequence says volumes about john in the span of a few minutes, showing that shilw he HAS immense power, he only uses the amount he needs, knows when to hold back, and only shows off a tiny bit, and even then he’s likely still keeping the theif absolutely safe. It also provides excellent foreshadowing for later as to why the League takes his side even when he refuses to defend himself, as it shows that John really is a professional true and true.

He runs by a basketball court and fails to make a basket when throwing a ball back to a kid before meeting his old gym teacher, who turns out to be the kids uncle or something like that, and invites John to join them as they go to the barber shop. The kid wants John’s haircut, his granpa says the usual and i’m wondering why as John’s haircut isn’t that radical: it’s a miltiary style cut, belying the fact that for this series, while it dosen’t come up in the plot here, John was a former marine instead of an architect. Honestly.. this wasn’t a bad change, giving us the deciated and measured john we know, to the point the comics gladly retconned it in. Not that it’s really a huge deal given it meelrly adds shades to the guy and dosen’t prevent him from being an architect. It just adds lairs by giving a reaosn he’s so focused and driven. He had it drilled into him and carried it with him. 

Meanwhile on the watchtower The Flash clumisly tries to get to know Hawkgirl better and maunver into asking her out, though it’s clear sh’es not intrested. Still even if he can’t help flirting, and it sometimes gets creepily obnoxious, it’s still better than I expected remembering this running subplot, as he DOES try to get to know her and what she does in her off time, even if it’s to set up asking her out, and is trying to ask her out instead of just hitting on her or doing anything far more creeptacular. It’s still not great mind you and hasn’t aged well at all.. but for the time it’s not TERRIBLE and again it goes away pretty quickly in favor of the much more intresting John and Shierya relationship. 

Flash accidently shoots himself in the foot.. conversationally though given how Wally is at this point in the series I wouldn’t be suprised, by asking the Martian Manhunter, who gives Hakwgirl an easy exit if he’s ever felt alone.. you know the guy whose entire race including his wife and child died horribly. He quickly apologizes though and John understands he just stuck his foot in his mouth at lighting speed. And it’s not the MOST insensitive he’s been about Jonn’s dead wife. 

But things are soon interupted as Jonn notes “We have an incursion!” 

But the Avengers are dealing with all of that so they can instead focus on the Manhunters shooting toward earth. I really like this as the primary reason Batman set up this station was to monitor for alien threats, it just because the Leagues base because superman had the idea to stay as a team and it was a good un, and given earth JUST had an invasion, as this likely isn’t too long after that given it’s only the second set of episodes, it’s understandable they’d  be on high alert. 

So our heroes move to intercept. As the first episode after the pilot this one also sets up a recurring part of the show and a necessary one: only a handful of Leaguers would feature in each two-parter, as the episodes for the first two seasons were essentially one hourlong story split into two episodes. The only exceptions were the three part premire, the three part finales for each season, and the sole solo episode comfort and joy which is fucking awesome and my faviorite christmas episode period. But even with the extended run time the crew simply felt i’td be unwiedly to juggle 7 characters eveyr episode, feeling it’d eventually get to original series star trek leevels of having one just manning a console or something. So rather than try and cram them all into every episode, they choose who they needed and gave valid excuses for the rest when necessary. In this case Batman and Wonder Woman have solo missions their busy with , as does Superman whose adressing an earthquake.  Our heroes try talking to the Manhunters.. who refuse to talk to them and then also say their coming for John, and aren’t explaning why. So naturally a brawl breaks out as the League SHOCKINGLY dosen’t want their friend who as far as they know has done nothing wrong taken by a brutish paramilitary force who won’t actual talk to the citzens their policing or try and be coporative. More on this in a second. The fight itself is pretty awesome as our heroes fight as evenly as they can.. but it’s clear their outgunned outplanned outnumbered and outmanned, as while their you know the justice league and do their best and Jonn is in Superman’s weight class the battle makes it VERY clear their barely holding in there and that the blast from the manhunters rods are just too potent for them to stand up against. 

But help and hope arrives and things get a bit less lopsided when Superman shows up! Unfortunately it’s season 1 superman, and something a lot of fans noticed but I as a kid didn’t and the crew themslves did not until it was too late to course correct for the season, was that Superman came off as a bit of a wimp in this series. See they had the good intention of having him struck down to show a threat’s serious, something TV Tropes calls the “The Worf effect” after the fact that Worf on Star Trek TNG would get knocked on his ass a lot for the same reason, but it has the side effect of making a character look like their made of paper mache if done too often. To the crew’s credit they realized this and not only made sure this didn’t happen as much in season 2, but dedicated the first episode of Season 2, twilight, to showing Superman as a badass by having him try and cave Darkseid’s skull in. Granted they overcompensated in places in that episode, but that’s a story for another day. Point is he had a habit of getting knocked around and it varied between really effective and overselling it. Here it works as the manhunters had already knocked Jonn around a bit, knocking him into some poor kid’s apartment whose really wondering what the fuck just happened too much to enjoy meeting the martian manhunter, so him  not being too on top of them simply sells this threat is equal, and possibly past the League. 

Meanwhile John is talking to his former teacher who says the kid reminds him of John... it’s not only a nice bit of depth to show the restrained John used to be a bit of a hellraiser before the Marines.. but also shows John’s guilt as he hopes not.. but before he can unload, he notices the fight and suits up to his old mentors shock and the kids joy, I mean I would too if a guy suddenly because a green lantern in front of me, and dashes off.. to surrender and break up the fight, handing over his ring and going with them and telling the League not to interfere. Their response can be summed up thusly. 

To John, he’s peacefully surrendering for a crime he comitted to a bruitsh and unfair police force but one who is duly deputized and as an officer himself, for the unaware the Green Lanterns are space cops and given the reason rightfuly reconing on the police I will certainly be discussing this as we go, is trying to coparate and prevent any collateral. While LIKELY Bruce pays for any that happens, as beneath his batdick demanour at times he’s a very good man and if he has the pockets for a space station, space craft, commuincators and all the good stuff a superhero team has on hand, he probably has a dedicated fund set up to paying for collateral since insurance might not cover it, and not only that would likely give any impacted extra to do any upgrades they coudln’t before because he’s a philanorphist .. one who dresses up like a bat to punch people in the face, but that itself is still philathophy in a way. 

But to the League? Their friend was taken by a bunch of shady paramilitary robots who didn’t bother talking to them, is trying to keep them out of it and for all they know only surrendered to prevent a fight, and even if he had valid reasons, as his friends-ish and teammates, they have a right to answers. So while John sits in his cell completlating his apparent crimes.. the JL have taken off in the Javelin, the spaceship I mentioned batman funding. And of course Batman has both spaceship money and had a design for one so ready it likely took a month at most for him to get it up and running, if not less, and only didn’t have one in the batcave because he hadn’t neededed it yet and likely didn’t want to embezle more money than he has to from his company. Jonn uses the stars John saw, say that three times fast I dare you, to find a location and our heroes head there.  Our heroes arrive.. and are attacked by the local security despite Superman geninely trying to hail them, the Javelin not firing back and our heros only going out to intercpet personally so they don’t die, and even then making careful certainty not to attack. So we get another thrilling battle, with our three flying heroes all pitching in, and the flash realizing he dosen’t know how to fly the thing and me cursing out bruce in my head for you know, not either forcing flash to learn the stuff, or having the forsight to put a manual on board for any members who forgot something, aka so when Wally inteivibly goofs off and eats candy instead of reading it the first time, he can speed read it and at least retain it long enough to land the thing in a crisis. If it were anyone else i’d be understanding but this is the guy who again, either had spaceship plans lying around or could get one together in the span of a month or so and while not thinking of the ship in terms of a team, still also paid for and likely created the commuincators they used, so he’d know his team well enough to know he needs this. 

My nitpicking aside, our heroes land, make quick work of the locals, and then crash in on John’s trial after he’s escorted in, passing his fellow lanterns who rightfully treat him with disdain.. but for the wrong reasons as we’ll see. John gives  groaning “oh no” , like he’s embarassed. When REALLY..

Seriously John, again you were as far as they knew kidnapped, and the way the manhunters acted, they had no reason to think they were legitamate, and you didn’t take five minutes to tell them, “They have every reason to be takning me” or “I blew up a planet I deserve this” . They still would’ve came mind you, they just might of realized this wasn’t a traditional rescue mission and actually tried to use some subtly. You also COULD have told the manhunters they might show up so the security wouldn’t attack them. They probably woudln’t o LISTEND or attacked themselves, so i’ts a damned if you do damned if you don’t situation, but you still did absolutely nothing. It’s the one mistep with John here and even then it has the justification of his self loathing at the moment being so high, he assumed they’d rightfully write him off without question.. not to mention given the team is mostly white guys, two aliens and a princess who woudln’t know better, he probably assumed like most white dumbasses they’d assume the police were correct and not give him the benifit of a doubt. To their credit, especially since you know one of them’s superman and the other one’s a professional dumbass, they didn’t think that for a second. Some would not be such a good person. 

But Prosecutor Forman and the big giant heads aren’t much better than the manhunters, so Prosecutor Forman sends some orange guys to put foots up their asses.. and since unlike the manhunters their just... some ambigiously gendered aliens with no powers, they go down quick and before the manhunters enter, superman RIGHTFULLY calls them out, as he points out they just wanted to know what the hell was going on, didn’t throw the first punch, and have been under attack since, and the heads admit this IS a public trial, and they kinda overreacted so as long as the superfriends don’t do any other antics and watch like anyone else, their good. Superman has his team play it safe for now as they really don’t know what’s going on and given they could only stalemate the manhunters on even footing, they know they can’t take them on their home turf.  

The trial is soon underway, and Prosecutor Forman calls the witnsees.. Kanjar Ro, also voiced by Smith. This is neat little bit as Ro was one of the first foes the League fought in the comics, a space pirate, and while he originally was just going to be some random asshole, someone brought up the idea of him being Ro and the crew really loved it. It’s a nice nod to the comics and honestly if you have a vast superhero universe with decades of continuity to draw from for your show, why NOT make the secondary villian of the episode be someone from the comics. 

Ro is, like the comics, a pirate and seemingly came forward because what John did was so bad even he can’t stomach it and has to say something. So we FINALLY find out what John did.. well okay the audience as a whole does I remember this from being a kid. He and Ro had a routine cop and robber interaction, Ro was smuggling shit, and John was doing his job as GL of Sector 2814 and stopping him and cut out his engine.. but seemingly said engine drifted off, and destroyed a planet as  result via chain reaction, and thus the debris right outside the planet John’s being tried on are apparently thsoe of the planet he accidently killed. The court takes a break and while the League, understandably, assume that the obviously shady man was lying John ends part one by confirming that no he did it. And this is why I put a pin in things... because the episode being about a space cop being arrested by worse space cops and dealing with his friends in the badge turning on him while some of his other friends try to prove he’s innocent, and the man in question being an african american... tackles some very loaded issues that, givent he writer and most of the staff, Dwayne McDuffie accepted, were very much white, i’m thinking they just kind of fell backward into and it only came out as good as it did either do to McDuffie or just blind luck that it didn’t turn out entirely awful in hindsight.

And if anyone is complaning: “Wait you dont’ need to get political leave politics out of this”.. please leave my fucking blog. For one, the recknoing with the police was long overdue, I feel ashamed for not having it sink in how fundementally broken the police were and not realizing it for my whole fucking life, I knew some cops were bad but I hadn’t realized the institution was inherently racist and bad  and feel so much deep and lasting shame for that, and for another again it’s a story that at it’s core is a black police officer being arrested for doing something wrong, taking full responsiblity for his actions like a police officer SHOULD, and having friends of his try and prove he didn’t really do it, while his fellow officers, rather than find the act itself abohhrent, come out as either being loyal to john no matter what (kilowog) because fellow officer, or assholes who ONLY are upset because it makes them look bad, and are ONLY distancing themselves because of that, and not because you know JOHN MAY OF CAUSED A GENOCIDE BY INCOMPETNECE. So yeah, i’m not ignoring the real world implications, I couldn’t and wouldn’t if I wanted to, and i feel if done right ANY medium, animation, comics, what have you, for kids or not, can tackle such issues and should be able to. 

So i’m not ignoring the elephant in the room, and as we get into part 2 we get the good and bad of this in full: Superman feels something’s off about this whole thing, a hunch admitely but given an engine falling in a crater seems a bit too convinent, he has a right to investigate and takes MM to do so, while he leaves Flash and Hakwgirl to stall. Both take diffrent approaches: Flash signs on as GL’s lawyer.. and it’s an awesome scene as we find out, in your standard evil lawyer joke, that the tribunal of faces solved this by simply having the lawyer share the punishment.. but it also shows Flash’s loyalty and faith that his friend did not do this and something worse is at work, as he still agrees after learning he’ll probably die if his other friends don’t fix this. 

And now we have full context i can get into where this episode really does the issue justice for the most part: John is presented as the model of both what the GL Corps and what police should be: He’s professional, uses minimal force despite having a weapon that can do anything, and when he THINKS he did something horrible, he dosen’t run from his crime: the most he does is go back home to see it once last time, simply waiting for someone to come and get him for what it did wether it be his own brothers in arms or as we saw the manhunters and he doesn’t defend himself because he dosen’t feel he should as he screwed up, got an entire planet killed, and rightly thinks he should pay for it. He’s likely, as a black man in the early 2000′s, been falsely accused, pulueld over and fucked over by police and seen people in his community he knewe and care about die because of shit like this so when given the chance to take responsibility, even from a clearly broken system, he does. Because in the same situation a lot of officers back at home would not and would walk away clean and that’s not who John Stewart is, how he was raised, or what he or the corps stands for. 

But the episode gets to have it’s cake and eat it too, as the League does belivie John didn’t do this on purpose.. and the blind faith they especially superman did come off as wince inducing.. until I realized it’s not because of some “brotherhood of the badge” bullshit.. but because it’s Superman. He belivies in the good of most people. In this very series despite Lex Luthor having tried to kill him dozens of times at this point, he STILL shows the guy empathy when he finds out Lex is dying of cancer. Lex spits at the notion of course and dosen’t take it seroiusly.. but Superman is just that good a person, so if he has a hunch somethings’ wrong.. it probably is. And even if he and Jonn found nothing... it’s the right thing to do. A crime should ALWAYS be properly investigated to make sure someone dosen’t hang for something they did not do. This is what I meant by have it’s cake and eat it too: the episode tackles police brutality.. but the accused is also the victim, and it thus tackles the unfairness in the us courts, how black people are often assumed guilty when that’s horribly racist and biased as fuck and how Police are assumed correct. Our heroes are assuming john is right based on optisim but are not wrong for wanting him to at LEAST get a fair trial and full investigation that clearly was not done. It also covers, again probably intetioanlly, how some are often not able to get proper representatin, with this court outright getting rid of it, which is wrong and bad, and the flash being the best John can do and not very good at it, mostly stalling for time. It shows the system’s brokena nd soemtimes you have to directly fight iht and can’t just take it , and even if your convinced your guilty and want to rightfuly take the blame for something your sure you did... you still deserve a fair trial and a compitent one. 

It’s not all good: as said the gl’s are portrayed as bad for not wanting anything to do with john, and in order to make them unsympathetic they care more about their rep than the fact a friend may of comited genocide and kilowog showing up and providing character witness is seen as a good thing, even if he provides no actual character evidence other than “Johnny’s a good guy” and that’s not ideal. It’s not perfect and again it was writtne by an old white guy so of course it isn’t but the fact it gets so much right the more you dig in despitei t’s awwkardness and being written and aired 20 years ago... that is nothing to sneeze at. 

We have more to dig into here too with the manhunters but first moreof the plot: While the other stuff mentioned happens, Superman and Jonn investigate as said.. and we find out WHY superman was supscious: while it was part hunch.. he did in fact have valid reason to suspect something was off, and as we saw actually heard the case against his friend first, and only went against it because the evidence was off.. in that the MOON of the planet is still there and should’ve flown off. He and Jonn soon find a MASSIVE device that John identifies as a bigger version of a toy he had as a kid, something that created images... and again shows whya  PROPER investigation was needed. Had the court actually looked into it instead of presuming John guilty, they would’ve found this thing too. Naturally though Kanjar Ro has followed them and wants to kill them.. but with her subplot wrapped up Hawkgirl went to seei f they needed backup, stealing one of the guard ships which given they attacked people on ap lanet iwth a PUBLIC TRIAL going on without haling them yeah don’t blame her, and kicks his ass. Our heroes find out the truth as I mentioned earlier: Ro was paid to lie and be in on things for an assload of money.. byt he Manhutners.. who at the moment are plotting to strike while Oa, the home of the green lanterns is weak, as the Guardians who created them and monitor them mostly left to go to the trial.

As we catch up with them, THe guardians speak on each lantern being trusted with the ring and given little oversight.. because they pick wisely. The prosecutor just wants John to hang, calls for a sentence, which is death and John and Flash nearly die, in case you thought I was pulling those parallels out of my ass. But Superman rushes in, and in a small, subtle gag he and Jonn do so thorugh a small pain of glass put over where they enterted last time, fight off security and save them, and before prosecutor foot in the ass can harumph about it more.. Superman claims jonn’s innocent..a nd has Shiera smash the generator, showing he indeed is, getting John aquitted. John also attacks Ro, who they brought along as a witness, rightfully so, but the League get him to stop as they don’t have time for that: the Guardians are strangely leaving after that, the manhunters are clearly doing something given their asbent, so John retakes his ring, restored to who he was now knowing he truly WAS innocent and was simply set up.. and he wants to find out why. 

We soon get the why as the Guardians explain the manhunters after the League won’t let them just.. brush by after they aburbtly tried to leave. They AREN’T behind the current attack.. but did create them, feeling robots would be better policeman. They were wrong, with the manhunters lacking empathy, being far too military in their job, and generally not being up for it so they simply gave them smaller jobs as bounty hunters, court balifs that sort of thing ans assumed they were fine because they didn’t say anything. As John puts it perfectly “Not outloud. “ And this itself is the other thing that makes the episode work as an allegory, if a very unteitonal one: The Manhunters are the police as they are now, violent brutes with way too much power, no restraint in using it and no ounce of mercy or sympathy for those they protect. And the Guardians rightfully removed this system, and replaced it with the corps. And while the Corps STILL have a lot of leway and power, being free to investigate on their own provided OA dosen’t call them to do someting specific, and given a ring that can do anything within corps guidelines, which basically means “don’t kill” and “don’t be a dick with it”, the guardians still watch them, do not interfere in trials and choose very wisely. not only that ther’es only one officer per sector, each sector being galaxies wide.. but that’s because that’s only what’s NEEDED. One Lantern with the power to take on entire fleets if needed, which is a fair amount of power given the scope of the job, and come in as requested by the people themselves, honestly isn’t a bad system. Granted the corps is wonky from time to time in the comics as are the guaridans depending on the writer, but at it’s core the corps really sounds like a more responsible versoin of the police: given just the gear necessary, the men necessary, and only called in when truly needed or if they spot a crime in process. THat’s what the people protecting us should be like and that’s why this episode still works. 

Obviously though I was aware of none of this as a kid, and the real reason I loved this episode is this climax. The League arrives on Oa just in time to provide backup. Presumibly the guardians there and incoming with the league simply dont have the power to spare to call for reinforcments. Which is weird but fair enough drama wise and our heroes storm the planet , with the corpsmen from before all showing up to pitch in. But John gets there too late as the head manhunter drains the central power battery, the source of the lantern’s powers, and declares I AM THE POWER, refusing to accept he’s out of date.

 And this, folks is the moment that made me love the lanterns for life. John is outgunned, the wise old wrinkled blue men who gave him his powers drained of there, starring down a massive monster planning to subjigate the universe... and he does not blink. See lanterns are picked for their willpower, their abliity to stare down things like this, and fight anyway, their very rings controlled by this, by their own force of personhood. It’s another reason besides logistics why theires only one per sector: it’s that hard to find one. Earth is so remarkable because , even if it’s simply so we could have more stars in the books over time in real world, we produced not ONE person capable of this.. but 7.. Alan Scott whose not in the corps but whose powers stll work on will and could probably use a regular corps ring very much included. John was chosen because he simply won’t give up. He gave up before.. but it was the right thing to do and ultimately biding his timea nd accepting his trial.. gave his friends time to aquit him and prove he was framed. 

But now is not the time to back down.. now’s the time to stand.. so how does John win? By USING his will, by using the reason he was chosen coupled with ihs own personal dedication and concentration, he grabs his ring as it floats toward the guy, takes it back.. and starts reciting the lantern oath. And since the Manhunter is indeed “The power”.. it means he too can be controlled like any lantern energy. and thus with every bit of willpower he has, struggling all the while but not moving a damn inch, John recites his oath and shoves the monster that framed him, and the power he stole, back into the battery, all while saying an oath so badass it has been etched into my head since thanks to this episode. Say it with me now..

In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night No Evil Shall Escape My Sight Let Those Who Worship Evil’s Might BEWARE MY POWER, GREEN LANTERN’S LIGHT!

And the credit goes to phil lamarr, who delivers the oath with all the gravitas and awesomeness it’s first delivery in this continuty it deserves. It was this that made me a lifelong fan: one man with the power of anytihng using PURE MENTAL STRENGTH AND DETERMiINATION TO SHOVE AN EVIL ENERGY BEING IN A GIANT LANTERN WHILE RECITING A BADASS AND AWE INSPIRING OATH. And if that dosen’t sell you on the Green Lantern’s being awesome I can’t help you and don’t know why your here. 

So wrapup time: The Guardians genuinely thank john, saying they choose well, and John brushes off his fellows corpspersons as they should’ve belivied him and thanks the League for having faith in him even when he didn’t. And while the former part has some.. bad implications we’ve gotten into already, I also can’t entirely blame him given they did it not because he might’ve killed someone but again, because 

Precisley. So our heroes prepare to head home, cue the credits. 

Final Thoughts:

So how does this episode hold up 20 years later? As should be obvious, damn well. It’s a good introduction for the corps, if showing them to be kinda assholes in places, and a good spotlight episdoe for John showing who he is what he stands for and again how TRULY MONUMENTALLY BADASS the man is. And lest you think the comics versoin is any LESS badass, he once got into a sniper duel in with Bedovian, a member of the Sinestro Corps and a crab person.. who was as I forgot till looking it up, THREE SECTORS, which i’ll remind you can comprise entire galaxies, away, with a ring made sniper rifle. In one shot no less. Point is even with some.. wonkier aspects, and ones that aren’t intetnional, it still works and is a shockingly relevant episode 19 years later and the fight scenes, as are standard for the series, are overwhelmingly awesome. Check this one out, and the series as a whole. With its great animation, character work and general badassery this one’s worth a few watches. And obviously given my love of this seires, and it’s 20th anniversay next year, and my love of John, check back here for more John-centric episodes throughout the year as we celebrate the guy. And I will also celebrate the green lantern NAMED guy eventually too, and jessica.. and all of them ebcause I love them all. Yes.. even Hal.  As for which John episode i’m doing next? Easy, one that intorduces me to a character I love who dosen’t get used near enough, Metamorphisis. The when I can’t say QUITE yet as my March schedule is full and most of my ongoing projects are on the backburner so I can tackle two arcs of ducktales, which coincidentally happened to be in time for the finale. That wasn’t planned AT ALL mind you, it just ended up working out really well that way.  For now though tommorow I begin my coverage of the final 4 episodes of ducktales with “Beaks in the Shell” and later this week finish up black history month with blacksad, continue my Lena retrospective with a money shark and some pr work, cover the second season of close enough, celebrate Tex Avery’s birthday and also celebrate the new Tom and Jerry movie.. with the OLD tom and jerry movie. Until then, see you next rainbow. 

[felassan]

Thoughts on Dark Fortress #2

(This post is under a cut due to spoilers.)

So late with this one! some stuff irl was keeping me really busy and hyper-distracting me lately, but it’s finally over now so I’m back on my bioware bullshit. :D

Overall there were a lot of beautiful or awe-inspiring scenes in this issue, and a lot of great, meaningful / poignant character interactions and moments between characters. It’s pretty impressive actually how much was able to be packed in. I posted some of my favorite panels here. also omg! the action sequences! the big reveal! the ending!! woww

cool scene-setting, panned out shot of Neromenian and behind it, the Dark Fortress, to immediately pull you back into the world and ‘where we left off’. the combination of ruined dead trees, red lights, lightning and fire/smoke is very atmospheric and hints at what’s ahead

“From this... city, if we can call it that” is a sick burn and reminds you that the Qunari are technologically more advanced than most of the rest of Thedas, from their cannons to their aqueducts

more individually distinct Qunari soldiers, sth I again appreciate

! last issue there were big ‘You haven’t seen the last of Tractus!’ vibes, naturally, but I didn’t expect him to escape by stabbing and killing the Qunari using a chair-leg..!!

the last panel on the first page of Karasten is really good. the way it’s colored, the way it’s lit, the light and shadow, the fiery backdrop, cinders floating, the details of his expression.. 👌 it also makes me think to the possible future, to DA4 when mainland Thedas may be continuing to face the entirety of the Antaam

in Vaea’s acrobatics scene on the bridge, I know rationally that she’ll be fine but couldn’t help but worry for her. again I like how they don’t shy away from showcasing Vaea’s specific abilities. also the attention to detail - you’d think some rocks are just some rocks, but it highlights the risk she’s undertaking that if she falls it’s into rough seas which could dash her against the jagged rocks :’S. Vaea, gooooo!

Fenris’ “Enterprising girl” line has big “Clever girl” meme energy :D

my heart can’t take Fran and Autumn leaning over the edge after Vaea in worry ;; or Aaron looking back in concern over his shoulder ;; or Fran’s tender reassurance ;; or Autumn’s Worried expression ;; the care and bonds which have grown between this group of characters ;;

notice Aaron starts drinking when Vaea’s away from them and they’re beginning to grow worried about her safety. the poor man’s nerves and stress levels

Fran touching the vegetation while she’s considering if she could use her magic to open the entrance from the outside is a nice touch

did Marius leap in front of Fenris and Fran there when the entrance opened?? damn, he’s quick. and the three of them look all scary and formidable here ready for combat. notice how the curve of the door and the spikes that go into the ground, and the composition of this panel, make it look like they’re standing in front of an opened dragon’s maw? ‘teeth’, a rumbling ‘roar’.. some nice foreshadowing here.

the reunion panels are so cute. Autumn’s lil tum as she jumps and Fran and Fenris’ lil smiles of relief and at Autumn’s reaction to seeing Vaea, then a rare happy beam from Aaron.. feel.. the love ;__;

red lighting in the tunnel sets a dangerous, dramatic build-up mood

👀 more info on Fenris’ past, on the specifics of the process which gave him his markings. in the panel where he says that it took a long time, his shadow on the wall behind him reminds me of the shadow of his past that has dogged him for so long :(

Fenris and Marius height difference

discussion of the process shows the power difference between blue and red lyrium. blue lyrium took a long time, red lyrium is almost instant

Autumn is such an intrepid little explorer and alert scout, tail and ears up, head forward. good girl!

“I just... worry about you, my girl”  ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚  I’ll be so sad if these are death flags for Aaron and he doesn’t make it out of here. also note Fran in this panel, who recently had to kill her own father and is still dealing with that, watching the strongly paternal moment between Aaron and Vaea :(

love Vaea’s faith in Aaron and her sense of humor. also I don’t know why, maybe it’s because Vaea met Sebastian, but her “Maker, no!”, although in a completely different and light-hearted context, reminds me of Sebastian’s “Maker nooo!” at the end of DA2 hh

the reference again to Hawke, who Fenris saw haunted by what they tried to do - save their mother - and couldn’t :’(. also with the shadow in this panel, here’s another person struggling with the shadow of his past qq. this is later emphasized again in Aaron when he continues to talk about his past and in the panel is a chain and manacle. smart visual metaphors, a must in the comic medium with limited space

mushroom skull 💀🍄

“It isn’t about what I’ve done. It isn’t about my failures. Or my choices. It’s about their impact” - he’s misty-eyed here as he thinks back to Ostagar.. does this line btw seem almost meta to anyone else btw? :D it feels like a meta reference to the experience of DA players and PCs, who are always having to deal with the impacts of their choices

I wanna point out that I was right on reading issue #1, when I said “I’m positive that in panel 2 here, it’s the exact moment when he sees Cailan die” ;;

So Aaron is also a veteran of the Battle of Denerim

reference to the Hero of Ferelden - “Those were someone else’s battles”. I’m being captain obvious here but I can’t help but [heart pitter-patter] at any and all references to the HoF

I like the.. parallel? is that the word? Aaron’s stories were him trying to inspire people to make a change, or him trying to convince himself of that. and now here’s Vaea, inspiring Aaron with her words in these panels. the little guys can make a difference! in the world of Thedas, you don’t need to be a big bombastic hero or a Player Character to have an impact 

lmao Fenris right on cue. the moments of humor/light-heartedness are nice because they break up the tension and are sprinkled throughout without derailing build-up or taking away from dramatic story impact. yknow?

yeah Aaron!! leave it behind. leave it to rot with mr mushroom skull (and hey the mushroom skull was there for a reason). again tho if this is a death flag i 

Fenris straight down to business with the tactics

its cute how close Autumn has been sticking to Fran

Tessa checking in on Fran again, as she did in issue 1

Could Vaea’s “Well, shit” be an homage to Varric? :D they have met

I also wanna point out that I was right on reading issue #1, when I said “My guess is that the thing Tractus shows Marquette and Nenealeus is probably a chained up dragon or similar”

the poor dragon :’( big dragon the Qunari had in Trespasser vibes

the sword has a really cool design, kind of reminds me of something a samurai might be depicted wielding

👀 lore-drop! so ancient elven arcane warriors used lyrium-infused swords. this seems to confirm the sarcophagus is an ancient elven artifact, no? makes sense, wasn’t it said that the sarcophagus’ design was based on the architecture/outfit-design type elements of a specific faction, and that this was done intentionally? it looks kinda ancient elfy in make, right? also about the lyrium-infused swords of the arcane warriors, well well well.. remember that the Evanuris and the ancient elves mined the bodies of Titans for lyrium, for power and to use as a resource. here’s an example of that use

as I read through this portion I became increasingly concerned for my boy Shirallas.. we really are in it now aren’t we 😭

the Qunari are launching STRAIGHT-UP ROCKETS ohhhh

pretty ‘lightshow’ over the wall in the “Let’s hope the fortress is as secure as Danarius boasted” panel hh

protective older brother Fenris, impish younger sister Vaea. love that dynamic, we love to see it. sheepish and exasperated Fenris is so cute

the Bone Pit dragon fight with Hawke and co reference!

I wonder how long the dragon has been captive here, and how Danarius/Tractus was able to capture it

lore-wise what are the implications here? when Fenris’ ritual was being undertaken, the sword and the sarcophagus were bombarded with magic, fire spells. in this one they aim to have the dragon bombard it with fire-breathing. is it just fire that makes it work/powers it, or is there magic in dragonfire, in dragons? it reminds me of “Your heart beats with the old blood, as well. Where do you think it comes from? It sings of a time when dragons ruled the skies. A time before the Veil, before the mysteries were forgotten. Can you hear it?”

purple color for the dragon’s growling sounds/typeset is a great idea

lets.. goooo!!!!

Marquette is such a nerd. later on when he activates the sarcophagus he has mad scientist vibes

the dramatic reunion face-offs begin!! as the prophecy foretold!!!!1

true to form, Marius DOES have nothing to say ahahaha, even at this, his personal climax. maybe Marius dies in the next issue, but Tessa lives and gets to go back to Charter

these Venatori look almost Star Wars

Shirallas my boyy.. nooo... don’t do it 😭

ah ah ah! try casting magic with no ARMS

Francesca a beacon of blue light and goodness

the splash combat page is masterful. everyone playing a part, so much going on, everything happening at once. a thing that sticks out to me about it is Aaron’s outstretched hand and alarm as he watches Fran fall 

Autumn with her lil hackles raised

“The Venatori have returned” dun dun dunn

goodbye Shirallas 😭😭😭

the composition of the second to last page with triangle/diamond-shaped panels and the framing of dragon wings is awesome

the Dread Wolf rises, “the Tevinter Imperium will rise again”.. on-point on-point cohesion

there he is, the red wraith

Super Saiyan Shirallas

what a note to end an issue on

wow wow wow!!

and separate to the above, some speculation based on the cover of Issue 3: the piece of metal looks like a broken collar coming off Shirallas, like the one there was on the cover of Issue 2 coming off the dragon. also he’s all bulky now with draconic talons/claws (reminds me of in-world legends of Reavers who dug too deep of their own power after drinking dragon blood and whose bodies consequently began to manifest subtle reptilian traits actually). I’ll be interested to see what results of this allusion between Shirallas and the dragon!!

[mywitchcultblr]

CALM DOWN INQUISITOR WILL BE BACK

okay there's people who are worried that Inquisitor wouldn't be in the next da, but Inquisitor definitely will be back, here's why (edited, I add another point about the red lyrium idol and my arguments against ALBEISM within the fandom)

1.Solas

Solas , Solas is a very very personal person for The Inquisitor, don't know about you guys but Francois is Solas Bff and he seen Solas like a brother he never had and he promised that he doesn't want to kill Solas ,hell and it would be disrespectful for people who are still stuck in Solavellan hell if they didn't get Answers!!!

Based on information from Tevinter nights, INQUISITION AND INQUISITOR IS STILL VERY MUCH IN ACTION

Solas literally gave message to charter to send his sorry to the Inquisitor , and Inquisition and Inquisitor have business in nevarra

2. Remember Josephine personal quest? Of somewhat a fallen fortune

Josephine literally said that when Inquisitor visited Antiva, the Montiliyet family would literally throw the biggest party as a thanks to The Inquisitor for helped The Montiliyet, and I'm sure antiva would be one of many northern country we will see, and based on Tevinter Nights (seems like qunari have a plan to fucking invade Antiva) and new DA4 tease of the female antiva crow, Antiva would be one of northern countries that would play a big role

3. Dorian Romance

Yeah no shit Dorian, you wanted to be with Inquisitor and Inquisitor also wanted to be with you, y'all better be get married ASAP, Tevinter would be one of major countries that definitely will play a hugeee role in whatever Solas doing right now.... And Inquisitor also stabbed Tevinter map with the war table knife at the event of exalted council , the next mission would be in tevinter everybody know that, if anything it's confirmed that Inquisition will move it's operation HQ to Tevinter, 'Some claimed to have seen The Inquisitor on the street of Minrathous on rare occasions, sneaking into the heart of Tevinter to aid his Amatus" It's fine to ask help from your lover Dorian....It's fiiinneeeeeee..... Hell I think Inquisition and Inquisitor moved to Tevinter, so Inquisitor can be closer with Dorian and for their missions........

Well hello there Magister Pavus *wink*

Seems like Isabella, Dorian, that skeleton boi and that woman jumped into the sea to avoid arrows? Are they on a quest?

Besides The Inquisitor status as 'The Inquisitor's and Dorian Pavus lover ,a Magister of great influence and power definitely would tremendously help Inquisition and the new hero.

4. Song about Inquisitor

Maryden song is not just a song about Inquisitor glory, it's about fear and uncertainty of what's to come NEXT, and people who rely on The Inquisitor as their leader,people who place hope on the Inquisitor to guard them from darkness to come, this isn't a song about 'yaaayy the world is saved y'all can be happy and go back home's

Inquisitor is still the hero people rely on and needed to lead them against the future threats that definitely will threaten Thedas.....Again and....Solas (whhyyy T.T )

Inquisitor....Lyrics

A soldier, a savior 

A hero, a leader

Inquisitor fought for our souls

A battle, a breach

The one we beseeched

To protect our lives and our homes

Now how do we follow

The battle is all but won

Peace can't last forever

Guard us from what's to come

Inquisitor, take your breath

A soldier, a savior 

A hero, a leader

Inquisitor fought for our souls

A battle, a breach

The one we beseeched

To protect our lives and our homes

Now you all shall follow

The breach is all but closed

Light can't last forever

Guard us from darkness to come

A soldier, a savior 

A hero, a leader

Inquisitor fought for our souls

5. The ragtag people in DA teaser we have seen lacked resources power and support.

Hell even they are described as a bunch of people who wanted to change things but lacked the power to do so....Sounds familiar with Inquisitor and companions at the beginning isn't? Now Inquisition and The Inquisitor is a forces to be reckoned with, Inquisition is not actually disbanded, The Inquisitor and Inquisition simply refused to be collared by chantry and Orlais (ewww besides tf want to be collared by chantry and Orlais) and they went rogue, and Inquisitor once again will save the world, and need an agent that Solas doesn't know.....

Who can give those groups of people resources and chance to be something more? If anything Sutherland and company group of adventures is a foreshadow of the new ragtag bunch of groups, and who gave Sutherland and Co resources and chance? Inquisitor who believe in them. The Inquisition and Inquisitor is the only group that can give these people chance and resources they needed, and as foreshadowed and basically confirmed by The Inquisitor song, Inquisitor is the leader and boss of Inquisition and that new group.

Come on who's gonna trust them and give them resources if not Inquisitor and Inquisition? Even on the brink of destruction, state leaders always preferred to fights against each other rather than save the world and fix shits!!!! People like Gaspard and other state leader would prefer to perish on their throne rather than fixing problems they have.

6. Have you seen the red lyrium idol?

Link for proof that the red lyrium idol have three figures, and much more clearer picture of the red lyrium idol:

The red lyrium idol actually have three figures, Solas who's hugging mythal and Mythal who hugging him back (that figure dragon tail and crown? Come one that's Mythal) and hugging the third person behind them, and then there's the third person behind Solas and Mythal, a figure who lost their LEFT ARM! And we knew one person who have close ties with Mythal and Solas who also lost their left arm:

Inquisitor.

7.Stop ALBEISM within the fandom

I don't want to hear another person who think.... and absolutely believe that disabled people are helpless or cannot be relied on, stop that shit okay? It's just rude, and let me tell ya ladies and gentlemen and people of any other identities and genders , The Inquisitor is a badass hero, I have wrote in point 4 and 5 that The Inquisitor is the leader and hero people relied on and needed, and Inquisitor still kicking ass after the event of exalted council, Inquisitor is a seasoned hero and veteran, Inquisitor feats:

• killed Ten high Dragons

•killed Corypheus

• leading Inquisition Armies to fight against legions of red templar and many other Corypheus followers

• literally murdering demons here and there as if it's just a walk in the park

•sealing rifts all across Thedas

• survived time travel and psychically entered the fade

• Successfully ended Orlesian civil war , so The Inquisitor do have great talents in politics

• Darkspawn? Darkspawn is just another noob enemies The Inquistor eradicated with companions

• have seen Titan's heart and defeated it's guardian, survived deep roads

• defeated a mother fucking avvar god aka Hakkon Winterbreath

•probably surpassed Ameridan as Inquisitor

There's nothing that stop The Inquisitor to fight like a badass and to be in action, losing one arm can be solved with prosthetic ( there's Dagna) and I have said that in the red Jenny tresspasser slide, The Inquisitor have crossbow/hook arm,I don't know man Francois is one of the most powerful mage in Thedas? He's a mage. So the arm problem also definitely can be solved with magic!

Besides Inquisitor definitely would be boss of the new hero, Inquisitor is a capable and seasoned leader and veteran,who has been proven time and again as a legendary fighter (just like HoF and Hawke) and a great leader both in politics and military, I will make second post about my theory and covering Thedas newest political leaders and state also the continuity of this post.

And in conclusion

8. Double hero/ protagonist?

Duo/double heroes (Inquisitor and new hero) is the best way, the new hero need sponsor and resources , The Inquisition and Inquisitor need new agents, besides it's confirmed by the red Jenny slides (Inquisitor have prosthetic ) , tevinter nights, the song and romance with Dorian that The Inquisitor is still the hero and leader and still kick ass like a badass, it would be so great to see them disagreeing and agreeing about stuff, come on it would be so interesting to see dynamic of their approval, to see them interact with each other, and fight together.

They'll work so well together!!!!!

Seriously guys....Pavelyan romancer....Dorianmancer....It's all fine calm down....Inquisitor is back........

Sorry for grammatical mistakes.... I am south East Asian so English is like my third language and I try to fix typo here and there....

I am so excited.....I'm too excited