#we've all seen helena

[bring-mxre-knives]

breaking news: local gerard way gender dealer lip manegio is fundraising for top surgery! if u've ever enjoyed my gerard poems, maybe consider giving a little (fun fact, if everyone who's reblogged one of my poems that's gotten posted on here gave just like. $5, i'd be fully funded and then some)

[catgirl-vampireboy]

im never gonna be normal again (read all of we've all seen helena in one sitting)

[milfygerard]

the lucky one, the song that only gets more insane as time passes

[prettyrecklesschemicalromance]

unironically the white knuckle grip i had on my phone during helena??

[userautumn]

this fandom is annoying me so i'm going to say this once and then fuck off back to my shows.

on the topic of eddie's parents: helena has always treated eddie like he is an unfit parent. both of his parents have, but helena especially has led that charge. yes, his parents love him. i do not doubt that. but i said some weeks ago that i think helena/ramon would have been much happier raising eddie and chris as siblings rather than letting eddie be a father, and i stand by that. throughout the narrative, they have indicated time and time again that they think his choices are wrong—from their unwillingness to accept shannon fully, to coming outright and saying they think eddie is on a downward spiral and that he's going to crash and burn and take christopher with him. this is not an "Evil Parents" buddie conspiracy theory, this is a canon fact.

at every opportunity, helena especially has been trying to pry christopher away from his father. this is also a canon fact. in 2x18, after shannon's funeral, she tried to get eddie to bring chris (and himself, but eddie was most definitely the afterthought in that conversation) back to texas. in 4x14, eddie says to buck that his parents will fight for custody. and while eddie's relationship with his father has changed since the early seasons, this is still very much so a recurring theme in their dynamic.

so it stands to reason that helena would feel gleeful, or satisfied, or maybe even triumphant over the fact that she's finally gotten what she wanted. again, this isn't a headcanon, this is just common sense. she's been wanting chris back in texas for years, and now she's finally gotten her wish. i mentioned earlier that eddie himself is an afterthought in the conversation of the diaz boys' return to texas, and this remains true. helena favors christopher over her own son. this is also a canon fact. in 8x1, she sees her son sitting on camera at the saddest looking birthday party anyone's ever seen, and her response is "oh well! better luck next time! bye!" she doesn't offer to call him back later. she doesn't even look sad that he's sad. she simply continues about her day like her child is not suffering.

now, i still firmly believe that helena diaz loves her son. but if she has empathy for her him and the struggles he's facing—and has faced—she has yet to express it. this is also, unfortunately, canon.

having said that.

christopher is a teenager. he is not a little boy anymore. it was cute when he took an uber to buck's house because his dad made him mad, but this is quite a different situation. we've talked ad nauseam about the kim/shannon of it all because the trauma and betrayal of that is significant. but there are layers here. because it's not just that christopher thought his mom was back from the dead, it's also that eddie did what he (in christopher's mind) does best—he messed up a good thing right as christopher was getting to enjoy it.

9-1-1 is designed so that we, the viewers, are able to empathize with eddie's struggles. we're adults so, on average, we know why he makes the choices he makes and we can, on some levels, relate to them. even if we don't agree, we can understand the logic behind these choices. but christopher does not have the luxury of adulthood. and, if you put yourself in his shoes, his entire life since coming to los angeles has been extraordinarily unstable. some of these things were obviously outside of eddie's control, such as the tsunami and his dad getting shot. but they still happened.

so now, he is this fourteen year old kid who has lived through trauma after trauma, all the while witnessing his dad try to put himself back together after a lifetime of pain. and one of those ways eddie tries to put himself back together is by dating again. first, he dates ana and, objectively, ana was the perfect choice. she was smart. she was beautiful. she was good with kids. she was latina, which his parents/dad would have approved of, and christopher liked her very much. but then, just as it's getting good and looking real, eddie breaks up with her. again, we, the viewers, know why he did what he did. he was having panic attacks at the mere thought of being with her. but if you're christopher it looks like dad is pulling the plug on a good thing for no reason.

same as when eddie leaves the 118. we, adults, know eddie is struggling. hell, even christopher knows eddie is struggling. but we can understand the depths of the layers here. christopher didn't/doesn't. all he knew/knows is that, not only did his dad leave behind his job/his family/his stability, he did all that and cited him as the reason for that decision. which is why christopher said, "i never asked you to [leave the 118]." so now we fast forward to the present and we have eddie and this thing with marisol. they go on family outings, she moves in, and all these things start to feel like permanence. they start to feel like eddie has finally maybe gotten himself on solid ground and can start to enjoy his life again, or maybe for the first time.

and then he goes and cheats on marisol. with christopher's dead mom.

so we can see the multiple layers of this situation.

eddie loves his son, christopher loves his dad, and eddie diaz is a good parent. i will stand by that to the day i die, and all of these things are overwhelmingly evident. but that doesn't change the fact that the most stable home christopher has ever known is the home he lived in with his grandparents. which is sad. it's really sad to say, because we know eddie has tried so hard for that boy in so many ways. as a single parent, raising his kid to the best of his ability was so much more a full-time job than he was prepared for. but he did it. he strapped in and did the work of two people and, in doing so, it became imperative that, above all else, he gave his son a safe place to land and didn't give him reasons not to trust him because, at the end of the day, eddie is the only parent christopher has.

but eddie's broken that trust. and now, he has to live with the consequences. but let's be clear, the consequences in question are christopher's absence. helena's satisfaction over having chris in texas is an enormous insult to painful injury that must be addressed by the narrative if they ever want me to like her or believe she has eddie's best interests at heart. but this situation, in typical 9-1-1 fashion, is one in which multiple things can be, and are, true at the same time.

but relative to the matter of christopher and what he's "allowed" to do? eddie's lucky his son is even taking his calls, and he knows that. so he's going to continue to do the work to earn that trust back because he's never done anything but put in 1000% for his son. and that is also a canon fact.

[itzrafee]

A thing on Uran and Helena in Pluto

Okay a short little thing on Pluto. Uran and Helena are my absolute favourite characters in Pluto. Urasawa has always had amazing side characters, from Mr. Rosso in Monster to Lee Harvey Oswald and Jackie in Billy Bat to God in 20th Century Boys, but very few have tied off the emotional ends of the story like Uran and Helena.

Maybe I'm projecting here but much like myself I feel like Urasawa is absolutely obsessed with Frankenstein. And he recognizes the influence Frankenstein has on Dr. Umataro Tenma. Or at the very least, the similarities between the two. And so when he made the protagonist of one of his most popular works Monster, Dr Kenzo Tenma, he solidified that connection. Kenzo Tenma calls back to Victor Frankenstein needing to end his creation while also calling back to Japan's other famous Tenma, thus making the connection explicit. Another throughline between the three of them is that all three are father figures to their creations and have obligations to their children, though all three have varying levels of success with them.

I've only read what I like to call Urasawa's "Core Four", conspiracy minded thrillers that are essentially road trips featuring usually two main protagonists that we see the world through, Monster, 20th Century Boys, Pluto and Billy Bat. Though I still haven't caught up to Asadora and that could still possibly fit this mold, Urasawa's Core Four share a lot of themes and ideas. One of the most important being the responsibility for one's creations, whether it was Kenji Endo and the Book of Prophecy or Kevin Yamagata and Billy Bat or Dr. Kenzo Tenma and Johan, all of his protagonists could arguably be seen as someone with the need to take up the responsibility of their creations. So where do the protagonists of Pluto fit in there? That's where Uran and Helena come in.

But first, we should take a look at Pluto's themes. While I could be wrong, at a cursory glance, I feel like the general consensus towards it's themes is that it's about hatred. I don't really think that's what it is as I feel like Urasawa is more trying to show us what it is to be human and what it is to be alive. And in that, he has a hidden protagonist in Pluto. Someone who's influence snakes through the plot and isn't seen much, but without who the story's themes would remain incomplete. Pluto tackles what it is to be alive through many things, such as memory, sadness, grief, hatred, love and parenthood. But none of that works without the realization by Tenma of his own mistakes. And Uran and Helena bookend these revelations and are absolutley key to understanding that.

In my favourite chapter of the series, Chapter 37, Uran goes from person to person as she finds a way to deal with her grief and eventually comes across Tobio's grave, Tenma having left recently. It's an absolutely beautiful chapter that shows Uran's humanity and Urasawa's love for sharing these kind and soft moments. But it also sheds a light on Tenma as Uran realizes someone who was grieving has just left. Without saying much at all we realize that Tenma has finally realized his mistakes. In the process of grieving one son, he lost the other. While remembering Tobio, he let Atom go. His grief towards Tobio is clear in the following chapter, Chapter 38. All of the things he wanted Atom to be; Tobio come back to life, Tobio's ghost punishing him, Atom rejected. And Tenma could only see that rejection, and not what he had, another son.

Uran shows us very clearly what Pluto, the story, is. It's a chapter in their lives. And we've come into a story nearing the end for Tenma. And it's through the humanity of two absolutely amazing characters in their own right, Uran and Helena, that we are able to so fully understand Tenma. Despite being robots, these two characters are the most alive of everyone. They love fully and freely and are catalysts of change. Uran's vibrant and full of life in a way that really sticks out. And Helena has such depth that it's evident in every scene she's in. She's not pointed out to be made by any famous scientist so all the life she has is her own. These two represent the life of robot's more than any other characters in the series.

So it's that much more poignant when Helena finally breaks down after putting on such a strong front of everybody. Grief intersects and she brings out Tenma's sadness as well. They've both been putting up such strong fronts that it's heartbreaking to see them collapse. It completes Tenma's growth and strikes a heartbreaking contrast between the two. Tenma became the way he is through the loss of his son whereas Helena doesn't even get to remember her own loss. It makes you wonder if the grief for her and Geischt's child compounds her sorrow too.

Without these two and their grief, a large part of Pluto becomes inaccessible. Pluto is largely about death so when two characters come in who've never had a hand in the grim work of taking life, you see the world through a lens that's absolutely crucial in order to fully connect with all of the character's and their situations. Death and Grief has scarred the characters in Pluto. Time and time again they've chosen the worst path. They've chosen revenge and hatred. But Uran and Helena are different. Without them, the story is incomplete. They provide an alternative. They provide the path towards healing.

im sorry for this one:

[littlerosetrove]

In no particular order, things I'd like to see explored with Eddie in season 7 and beyond.

How DOES Eddie feel about Chris quickly becoming a teenager? It was briefly touched on in 1 or 2 episodes, but uhhh yeah I guess we and Eddie learned "Yep. Chris wants more independence." K?? Anything more to add??? Furthermore, beyond giving Chris more independence, how will their dynamic change as Chris gets older?

Be for real, what are some of Eddie's hobbies? I can buy him going on hikes, but playing golf?? Just hanging out at fucking country clubs??? You serious?????????

What is Eddie's relationship with his sisters? I think it was @suavecitodiaz that theorized Eddie probably doesn't have a great relationship with them (despite the fandom largely thinking it's good). In Eddie Begins one of the sisters, while she doesn't talk, seems to be on the side of Helena or Ramon on some matter. Though we barely see the sisters they're never shown, like, supporting Eddie in any way, y'know?

I doubt we'll ever see this, but I'd love for Eddie to realize that Helena sucks as a mom. For the most part Eddie's really only been shown to pin his troubles on Ramon and not Helena. I low key hate that Helena has just gotten away scot free all this time.

I think it was another post I saw from @suavecitodiaz, or some discussion going on in the comments of it, but I'd like for Eddie to actually stop and think about what he wants in a partner. Yes Chris plays a factor, but what Eddie wants and needs is important too. We've seen the show skim the surface of what Eddie and his heart wants, but barely. Let's get deeper into that shall we!! (spoiler: Eddie's heart wants Buck, but only time will tell if the show actually goes there. until then, let Eddie speak on what he wants gdi!!!) Marisol may stick around for a bit, but I really doubt she's going to last. Thus this season would be a perfect time for Eddie to vocalize to SOMEONE, seriously anyone, what his heart even wants, y'know??

What does Eddie see for his future, career wise? Does he want to remain a firefighter, remain where he is, or does he have aspirations to climb the ranks? Does he want to become a fully fledged medic like Hen and Chimney??

I think it would be neat to see Eddie lead a small rescue of some kind. Like yeah I don't think Eddie wants to be a captain, but I believe Eddie is and would still be great at leading people when he needs to.

Give me interaction with Eddie and Karen, Maddie, and Athena. I genuinely don't think Eddie and Maddie have ever interacted beyond... season 2 when Eddie and Buck are helping move a couch into Maddie's new place. Even then they didn't really talk to each other. What is their relationship even like???

IDK, just give me more Eddie. No one puts Baby in a corner, and season 6 was the biggest offender of this, in my opinion.

[littlespoonevan]

what's the unpopular opinion about the diaz parents?

i'm putting this under a cut because i genuinely do not think anyone agrees with me like i have seen NO ONE share this opinion askdjfh

but basically

when i was watching the ep my main thought was 'wow this is pretty much the first time eddie's parents have been somewhat understanding and supportive' and then i came online and all i saw was 'eVIL HELENA LOOKED GLEEFUL TAKING CHRIS AWAY!!!11!!!1' and that was just.............not how i interpreted it At All?????

like okay. should there have been more of a discussion??? absolutely. should there have been a set time frame for chris' trip to texas instead of it being indefinite? 100%. (though i would honestly put that down to tim leaning into the drama as opposed to it being like, a character decision) do i think a part of helena still believe she knows better than eddie when it comes to chris? yes. i'm not disagreeing with any of those facts!!!

BUT. i do think this was the first time we didn't see helena belittling eddie or criticising his ability as a parent. when ramon repeats what chris told them she literally says 'which obviously isn't true' like she believes eddie!!!! and she only seems sympathetic when eddie shows her the picture of kim rather than angry. when i saw the stills before the ep i expected a huge blowout argument and what we got couldn't have been further from that.

i honestly think their role in this ep was supposed to show that they're trying with eddie. and that while things aren't perfect still, they are improving. it reminded me a lot of the buckleys' during the lightning strike where they were obviously trying to tell us their relationship had improved even if we didn't have much to support that.

but tbh this felt more believable to me just bc of what we've gotten between eddie and ramon since 5x17 and because i have always believed helena and ramon loved eddie beneath all their awfulness (they smothered and stifled him whereas margaret and phillip did the opposite by ignoring and dismissing buck)

overall i just really don't buy that this was some secret evil ploy to take back custody of chris or that they'll fight eddie when chris is ready to come home. i think it was tim minear asking 'what is the most dramatic way eddie could hit rock bottom?' and then taking the idea and running with it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[thebramblewood]

If the Vatores stand united on one thing, it's their absolute disdain for Old Man Vlad.

Previous / Next

(Psst... there's some bonus lore under the cut for those who can't get enough.)

More on the Vatores' complicated relationship with Vlad to come, but for now I will say that settling in Forgotten Hollow despite hating his guts was absolutely a (petty) power move on Lilith's part. Vlad doesn't have any qualms about killing humans. In fact, he has little interest in the affairs of humans at all. But what he doesn't care for is Lilith's ostentatious style. He's very old-fashioned and set in his ways regarding how a "proper" vampire should behave and doesn't like when they draw too much attention to themselves because he believes it puts vampires as a collective at risk. He once hoped to mold Lilith in his image, but that obviously didn't work out, and he now finds her indiscreet, disrespectful, and lacking manners, and he finds Caleb a wimpy annoyance who should have never been turned.

I also wanted to explain a bit more about vampire telepathy in my universe. There's a psychic link between sire vampires and their children that allows them to communicate internally (as we've seen Lilith and Vlad do before - and we'll explore the circumstances of her turning in the future!) and also to probe each other's thoughts/memories (which, for example, is what allows Caleb to track down Helena). Physical distance weakens the link, and stronger vampires can establish barricades against intrusion (like Caleb is trying to do now with Lilith). It's also not a constant thing. It's an active choice to enter another's mind. Caleb is considerate (yes, even with his sister), so he does it sparingly and accesses only the information he needs. Lilith and Vlad couldn't care less, so they'll shamelessly dig for secrets. Most vampires are also able to wield telepathic powers over humans, although obviously this takes skill and practice. Humans' minds are more vulnerable and as such more susceptible to hypnosis. This allows vampires to control humans for feeding and other purposes and also to erase or alter their memories. I don't think any of this greatly deviates from what you would expect, and I've tried to imply most of it through the storytelling, but I just wanted to explain it all in one place.

Caleb: [stiffly] Straud.

Vlad: It seems you’re out and about these days more than your sister is. How is Lilith anyway? I can’t imagine she's finally come to her senses and decided to practice moderation for once in her life.

Caleb: Why don’t you rummage around in her thoughts and find out for yourself? She picked up that habit from you, after all.

Vlad: She’s learned how to keep up her guard against me. [pointed look] As I’m sure you’ve learned your own tricks against her. No matter. There are things in that girl's head beyond description. I’d rather not get mired in her depravity. Surely you know what I mean.

Caleb: I never acquired a taste for extracting people’s secrets without their permission.

Vlad: Of course not. You’re a peculiar creature, aren’t you? I warned her you wouldn’t be suited to this life. Well, in this case, you’re likely better off. Maintaining blissful ignorance is undoubtedly more pleasant than holding the eternal knowledge of all she’s done.

Caleb: [impatiently] Is there something else you wanted to discuss?

Vlad: That man - what is it, Benali? - and his charming little book… It’s not going to cause trouble, is it?

Caleb: I haven’t seen any angry hordes yet. This is your town, old man. There’ll be no trouble so long as you don’t let it in.

[andavs]

I want to know about Eddie’s sisters, but it’s been so long without them having any kind of presence in his life that at this point, I assume they aren’t close to him at all. He was pushed into the “man of the house” role so young that they never really got to be siblings, and then before they were old enough to get to know each other as adults or even as equals, Eddie was off in the military and had his own family to worry about. 

And if they weren’t all that close or regularly talking to him or Shannon, everything they heard about them probably came through Helena, who we saw was incapable of not criticizing everything they did. It sounds like at least one of his sisters went to college. Shannon made it sound like they both stayed in Texas. So maybe they did things the “correct” way (according to Helena), while Eddie and Shannon were held up as the example of what not to do. Maybe they even kind of agreed with her, in that young, judgy, “Well I simply won’t screw up,” kind of way. And with at least one of his sisters seemingly backing their parents after Shannon died, wanting him to go back to Texas, that attitude could very well still be there.

I know it's common in fics for Eddie's sisters to burst into his life and drag him out of his misery while they lovingly pester him, but it's been six years of no noticeable contact. The only time we've seen even one of them interact with Eddie (indirectly) was adding on pressure for him to leave LA immediately after his wife's funeral. I wouldn't be surprised if they were more like Helena then anyone would like.

[madlori]

Trying my hand at this Apollo thing

Putting my predictions for 7x07-7x10 here just so I have a record so I can look back later and see if I was right.

We're gonna get a time skip at some point, a couple of months or even more. Possibly before the next episode (Maddie has a new haircut in the trailer and Chim looks all healed up). I think they want the two in-progress relationships (Eddie and Marisol, and Buck and Tommy) to be further along for...reasons.

The character from Bobby's past is either his brother, or the character played by Malcoln-Jamal Warner (Brad, according to IMDB), or both. Brad is someone who suffered because of the apartment fire that killed Bobby's family but he does not let them know that yet because he is there for REVENGE. Bobby thinks he's just dealing with his brother. Family history is drug up.

SOMETHING goes down with the Diaz family. Best bet? Abuela's health. This causes something of a crisis in Eddie's relationship. Another possibility: Chris has a CP-related medical crisis. This causes the will to be brought up (this is supported by reports that Oliver filmed with all the Diaz family members including Helena and Ramon). This might also cause something of a crisis in Eddie's relationship.

The Helicopter Chaos Squad, all five of them, are awarded medals (we've seen BTS of this ceremony and LFJR wearing a medal and a dress uniform, plus Eddie, Hen and Chim also in dress uniform). Bobby is proud and bestows the medals on them.

We see more hints that Buck is considering moving as the loft is getting too expensive. We've already seen a few.

Brad is plotting Revenge when he figures out who Bobby is. He stalks him and sees how close he is to his fire family. He is bitter that Bobby is still a firefighter.

There's a gathering at Buck's place, maybe post-medal ceremony? Most of the fam is there. Brad torches the building and they are all trapped. Bobby is able to, this time, save his family and get closure from the previous fire. But he gets, like, smoke inhalation hence hospital gown.

Whoops, Buck has no place to live, good thing he currently has a boyfriend and look at that, he's been established to have a significant house situation (with a lift and a muay thai gym), what a coinkidink. (I know people want him to move in with Eddie but like...where. He's gonna sleep on the couch for months?) He moves in with Tommy (I'd been predicting they'd do some end-of-season gesture of Increased Commitment) they possibly say "I love you" and we are all undone by it.

Eddie and Marisol break up because whatever. He and Buck have some heartfelt best friend scenes and we are all undone by them.

The body bag we've seen is Brad, who died in the fire he set, possibly in a confrontation with Bobby, probably by falling from a height in the best Disney villain tradition.

Abuela dies. We are all...well, you know.

[bring-mxre-knives]

hi this is lip manegio the we've all seen helena guy,,, i don't post here like. ever. but i know some of y'all liked my gay little poems about gerard way and figured you might also like some of the gay little things i'm selling in my new sticker/print shop!! i have some big medical bills coming up so, if you like my work, it would mean the world to me if you picked up a thing or two (or bought my book if you haven't yet! i still get royalties from that guy too)

store here!

[catgirl-vampireboy]

the fact that im at school when my copy of we've all seen helena just got delivered at my house is so evil

[shaunashipman]

Honestly I was thinking about it and I have no idea what the writers are doing with Eddie’s character. I’m not sure if it’s on purpose and will be addressed but man his treatment of the women he dates is awful and doesn’t help to make him likeable. I don’t even dislike him but I think the writers need to address his constant mistreatment of the women (Shannon, Ana, Marisol and Kim) he is involved with and how that affects Chris as well. By constantly bringing women into his life, having them form a bond and then ruining the relationship.

Also it’s not lost on me that his fan base are the first ones to demand big apologies of Tommy for his microaggressions and misogynistic remarks (as a Black women yes saying that Hen has New York bitchiness or whatever the exact quote was is misogynistic and shouldn’t be undermined as that is apart of his character growth, him acknowledging that the things he did in the past did not make him a good person) but continue to excuse and make light of Eddie’s treatment of the women he dates. I think that as well is why I get so annoyed when they chalk it up to the only explanation is just being queer. It’s both misogynistic and homophobic at the same time. It’s distasteful.

I've gotta be honest, I am losing patience with eddie. I don't want to dislike him; while he's not one of my top faves, I don't dislike any the mains, and I actually really like his friendship with buck. but his stans are making me start to actively dislike him, and I don't want them to have influence over my enjoyment of the show in any way. so I'm basically trying not to think about eddie rn, so when the show comes back and we get actual eddie instead of the echo chamber version they're touting, I can just enjoy him.

but the writers definitely do need to acknowledge his treatment of women, and I really hope they don't just go the trauma over shannon dying route. obvs they have to deal with that elephant because they decided to do the kim storyline, but I hope that means we can finally put it to bed in s8, cause I was done with shannon 5 seasons ago.

actually, having chris in Texas with his parents* could be the perfect way to have eddie deal with his treatment of women, because it does clearly stem from how he was raised, and having a good reason already for him to be in more contact with his parents (and hopefully sisters) hopefully means doing a good examination of those relationships.

I do think at least a small part of ppl's insistence that eddie's treatment of women is because he's gay, is that they don't want to admit their fave is misogynistic, cause then he's "a bad person" and they shouldn't like him, rather than seeing it as a character flaw** that he needs to grow from. no, instead it basically boils down to "he's confused", so that makes all his actions okay.

*I do not ascribe to the opinion that the diaz's are evil for taking chris back to texas, nor do I think it was their idea. it could have been something they floated to chris in their talk, but I do believe it was chris' decision. I also don't ascribe to the opinion that the diaz's are evil in general. helena def needs to have a conversation with eddie and apologize for her "dragging you down with him" comment, but we've already seen that ramon has realized his mistakes and is trying to do better, there's no reason helena can't do the same. also, despite many fanon portrayals of them as being ableist and babying towards chris, the little direct interaction we've seen of them with chris does not support that.

**just because I"ve seen this complaint recently: in real life, misogyny, racism, and other forms of bigotry are not character flaws, they are just bigotry. bigotry that people can grow past, but still, not just character flaws. but fiction is used to teach life lessons, sometimes very heavy-handedly, and so in that respect, they are character flaws.

[gamesception]

Sception Reads Cass Cain #38

Batgirl (2000) #18 - September 2001 Writer: Kelley Puckett Pencils: Damion Scott Inks: Robert Campanella Colors: Jason Wright

Ooh, a guest in Cass's book. Is this the first we've seen that? I think it might be. We get to see whether Tim gets a better showing in Cass's book than she's had in his.

Far more importantly, though, this issue starts with a dream sequence, one that I've referenced a few times already. I misremembered it as happening much earlier on in Cass's run, because it is so fundamental to understanding who (this version of) Cassandra is as a character.

It starts with 8 year old cass in a stealth suit (if there was one thing I think could improve this flashback, it would be if she was wearing the grown up batgirl suit all clearly too big for her, like the cover of issue 4), sneaking around the Batcave, a mischievous smirk on her face like a kid who knows they're getting away with something. She's tiny in a world too big for her as she creeps up onto a computer panel to reach the bat-cookie jar. There an expression of gleeful triumph on her face as she reaches a hand into the jar to snatch...

No, she's caught! Batman, Dick, Alfred (somehow? Has she even met Alfred?), Helena, Tim, Jean-Paul (nice nod there), they've caught her with her hand in the cookie jar neck of the man she killed. She's grown and wearing her batsuit now but she's still so small and they're so big and they're calling her a murderer while Barbara sits dejected, looking up to say 'How could you?' so hurt that Cassandra would betray them all this way, would betray her specifically, sullying the legacy of Batgirl with a murderer's bloody hands, and then the dead man speaks, and it's not the man she killed anymore, now her fingers are buried in the throat of her Father, David Cain, as he admonishes her. "Did you really think you could fool 'em forever?"

...

There's just so much happening here. The cookies - the treat, the prize she's stealing, labeled with the bat symbol? That's being Batgirl. And saving people as Batgirl is the only way she knows how to do to atone for what she did. Except she's a murderer, she deserves to be punished, not redeemed. Worse, being Batgirl is fun! It's exciting and thrilling and the best life she could possibly imagine. It's a reward, not the punishment she deserves, and deep in her traumatized and guilt-ruined inner 8 year old's bones she knows she's getting away with something she doesn't deserve.

Sooner or later her new family will catch her, they'll learn the truth, they'll realize she's not good like them, she's only pretending, really she's a murderer, and when they find out she's sure they'll all turn on her. From this we can infer that her isolation isn't just something imposed on her by Bruce, it's also something she's doing to herself, or willingly allowing Bruce to do to her. After all, the closer she gets to the others, the sooner one of them will realize that she doesn't belong. The more it will hurt when they cast her out.

And there's David Cain calling her out. David, the only one who knows her secret, who knows the real her, the murderer.

....

This is such a good look into Cassandra's character and mental space, into how she sees herself as Batgirl. How dearly she loves it and how badly she wants it and how sure she is that she doesn't deserve it and it's only a matter of time before the others find out and feel the same.

...

I would also say it's fantastic foreshadowing, because this is clearly building to a number of major reveals & confrontations, right? When Bruce finally has to admit the truth and does try to reject her, tearing their family apart in the process as Babs sticks with Cass and the rest are forced to choose sides. Or wondering how Cassandra will react when she finds out that Babs already knows, that she already knew almost the entire time, and that she doesn't care, still loves her, still is proud of her, still wants her to be Batgirl - will she feel relieved, or will she lose respect for Barbara for not holding Cass to the same impossible moral standard that she holds herself to? One could imagine a conflict of Babs vs. Bruce over whether Cassandra is worthy of the costume only with Cassandra taking Bruce's side rather than her own. And David Cain is still out there, potentially throwing the whole thing into an even deeper level of turmoil.

Sadly I can't say this is good foreshadowing, because none of that really happens. Fantastic set up, but not quite landing the follow through. But we're still in the set up part, and the set up part is so, so good, and this dream sequence is maybe the best two pages of it.

...

So yeah there is an actual story in this issue, it's not just a two page dream sequence. I've spent most of my analytical energy already so I'm not going to go in depth, but it's a cool team up story with Tim, where Tim is trying to take down a mob boss while Cass goes after an assassin the boss hired then failed to pay. It's good stuff actually, and well worth a read, but I just want to pick out a couple bits...

We get an explicit limit/exception to Cass's body-reading ability.

Just a bunch of cool art, I like this panel a lot.

We get this moment where Cass opens up a bit to Tim, who starts to connect with her in a way that he hasn't in their previous meet ups.

And it ends on this nice moment of Tim admitting he's been cold to Cassandra and apologizing, extending a hand in friendship. And it's a really nice moment, though the fact that this is coming from Batgirl's creative team makes me wonder Robin's creative team will maintain the better relationship going forward.

As for the question of Whether Tim comes off better in Cass's book than Cass did the last few times she showed up in his, I mean, obviously. What's maybe more noteworthy is that Tim is more likable in this book than even he is in his own, at least as of the last couple issues we looked at. He's thoughtful and intuitive here, self aware, capable of self reflection, capable of recognizing when he's been in the wrong and taking steps to correct himself. All in a story that still emphasizes his detective skills and tech savvy. It makes me sort of wish Tim had his own book... Unfortunately he did.

Of that run of Robin I've only ever read the few issues we've talked about in this project, most notably the two we looked at most recently, and those two especially were were pretty miserable. Not in the sense of being sad and heavy like Cass's book often is, just kind of awkward and unpleasant and mean spirited. Weird choice for a Robin title, imo, you'd figure people would be looking for something a little more light hearted out of that book, with a more likable protagonist. Then again it's really not fair of me to judge an ongoing book when I've read so little of it, so I'm just going to let it go there.

[mystical-blaise]

Let's talk about the Dread Trove a minute.

HOFAS SPOILERS below the line

-contrary to certain stans, regardless if she found The Mask, The Dread Trove doesn't belong wholly to Nesta Archeron. Periodt. She created her own Trove of three weapons and those are hers in theory. She can call upon the Mask more easily most likely due to it being warded with her own blood [ACOSF pg. 575]. But there's nothing in canon directly that says it's all hers.

-The Dread Trove was originally created for The Asteri/Daglan to use as weapons. The starsword and TT were forged by Thurr and imbued in the Cauldron by Oleanna back when the Daglan ruled Prythian. Theia and Fionn took possession after The Daglan were defeated in Prythian.

-The Dread Trove consists of The Mask, The Crown, The Harp and The Horn. The Horn and Starsword stayed back in Midgard with Helena until Pelias took the sword. Silene took TT and The Harp back to Prythian. Currently all items but the Horn are still in Prythian.

People who we've seen wield the Trove on page and why:

-Nesta (Made by the Cauldron)

-Briallyn (Made by the Cauldron)

-Bryce (Starborn, direct descendent of Theia through Helena and Pelias)

-Hunt (had some of Bryce's Starborn power from when they magically boinked. Also he was created from two princes of Hel somehow. Don't ask how. We never got the info.)

So, in theory by those rules, people who also could wield the Trove:

-Rhysand (Starborn, direct descendent of Theia through Silene and HL of NC)

-Nyx (Starborn, direct descendent of Theia through Silene and HL of NC)

-Feyre (Made with all the high lord powers, her own mates as well, which is linked to the Starborn)

- Elain (Made by Cauldron)

-Ruhn Danaan (Starborn, direct descendent of Theia through Helena and Pelias)

-Einar Danaan (Starborn, direct descendent of Theia through Helena and Pelias)

Those still in question who may be able to use but it's too convoluted to determine yet because SJM made this all way too complicated:

-Mor (might be Starborn, direct descendent of Theia through Silene and HL of NC... This is not determined only because we don't know how far back they have a shared ancestor)

-Amren (technically she was remade by the Cauldron)**

-Jurian (technically he was remade by the Cauldron)** ** highly questionable since they were remade and have no powers but still worth noting.

I had theorized that all Solar Courts could have links to the Starborn, which makes me interested in Helion's reaction. Can he use it? And if that's the case, then can Lucien?

Honestly, the way SJM convoluted all this canon now between the two series, it seems like easy too many people can use it. 🤦 The only thing that was different between using it are direct Starborn (or those using that power) have an easier time letting go of the Trove magic than those who are Made.