#Meanwhile Justice League Dark is freaking out

[sonnyaavce]

DP x DC prompt # 6

There’s a kid crying, a blue skinned white headed kid that was just sitting there crying his eyes out in a panic as he was covered in a very large and dark cloak that was dwarfing him… that was cute to see but, the thing wouldn’t be an issue if there weren’t for the clusterfuck of dead cultist surrounding a green ominous portal under him while the poor kiddo shed luminescent tears nonstop.

“Why is there a kid?” ‘dumb question to ask Captain but sure let’s go with that yeah?’ scoffed annoyed Constantine after eyeing the magic champion while some of the members of the Justice League finished some of the goons that were still alive and resisting, Constantine just watched in dumbfounded stupor the crying baby eldritch abomination still wailing over there.

“I’ll go check on him first” said Wonder Woman, being the first to react after finishing her part, slowly walking forward with gentle steps and humming tunes to make the small baby calm down a bit and refocus on her. Dianna never went too closer to grab the small kid, but she slowly crouched in front of him, palms out and leveling her face in a calm expression, so the kid wouldn’t freak out while she still hummed songs and cooed calming words.

The poor kid wails gradually subsided and ‘oh my god, why are those eyes way too green!’ His eyes were completely black except his irises being a bright neon green shine, his small body trembled when only small hiccups stayed, in his small crying fit the lad had ended up sucking his thumb in a desperate attempt to calm down while looking for any non-frightening competent adult and after only seeing Dianna in front of him he tried to raise his small arms towards her but immediately cried as his arms wouldn’t move at all.

“I think the little boy is injured…” said Wonder Woman, breaking the silence once all suspects were aprehended and tied down “explain what you can see Wonder Woman” chastised Batman as he tried to walk towards her to check on the small boy only to be stopped by Superman, who had his eyes shinning red as he looked at the kid “For what I can see, the small child seems to have some broken bones and some internal bleeding… also there’s seems to be a sphere in the middle of his chest?”

“The demon baby is hurt?” Constantine blurted out incredulous, Zatanna wacked him furiously for that comment “if you haven’t heard what Superman said, he said he saw a sphere so it’s not a demon John! it’s a tuttelagé you idiot!”

“How the fuck would you know that isn’t a démonos, Z?!” cussed the magician as he moved a bit back while Zatanna then moved towards Wonder Woman, with spells already healing the poor baby body “tuttelagés are known to be protective spirits of kids that died wishing to protect their loved ones, their wish is then concentrated in their chest as a sphere so to see a young one hurt like this…” Wonder Woman looks grimm at the implications while Zatanna finish healing the young spirit and allows Dianna to pick him up once he’s done healing and calmed down bit.

“Someone must have hurt his protegué so bad that his body is getting affected by it” sentenced Batman as he glared with concern at the small baby who now is now resting his head in Wonder Woman arms and falling asleep.

MEANWHILE

Danny is soo scared and hurt all around his tiny body, the wounds he had while being subjected to the examine table makes him tear up in pain while also making his chest feels funny once the weird forced summoning spell stops pulling his being into existing; green stops flooding his vision only to be meet by a dark and open space full of dead people dressed in weird costumes, so the only answer he has to this is to wail.

Because thats all he can do now, cry. He cries and cries after all what had occurred to him; he cries for his parents betrayal and rejection of his being, he cries for the cruelty they subjected him into, the torture he had to endure and almost making his core break, he cries for his friends deaths when they tried to free him from all his pain but failed.

He cries and cries until the pain into his core is unbearable because he just lost his fright, his connection to the living, his reason of being here. He’s still crying when his senses tenses the moment something changed in his surroundings, he hears fighting and grunting and something falling down and he cries harder; because he’s scared and tired and he just wants Jazz to carry him and…

There’s someone humming, nice humming, calm humming, steps coming closer and then he looks up, scared and hurt and just tired only to find a beautiful black headed and blue eyes woman dressed in a nice outfit crouching in front of him, she’s humming something to him and just looking at him with calm and such gentleness that it makes him croon at her because he feels his core sing ‘she’s nice and pretty and safeSAFEsafeSAFE’ he tries to reach out to her but his arms fell numb and ouchie and he looks up to her, in a silent plea for her so she would carry him but she’s not moving, just looking at him gently.

Until he sees another woman coming closer to them and he tenses up again, afraid and cautious, still a bit frightened by her aura but her hands are starting to glow and he immediately feels his body swaying and feeling a lot better, so he relaxes his body and let’s the pretty woman carry him so he can rest his head and nuzzle asleep.

His core sings pleased ‘I’m safe… she’s nice and safeSAFEsafeSAFE’

#danny phantom #dpxdc #dp x dc writing prompt #justice league #danny fenton #baby Danny

[g4rg0y1e]

I’ve been thinking about Damian leaving his life in Gotham to become a bookstore owner in Amity Park, Illinois, like he met Danny in the league and they had an arranged marriage that the Batfam did not know about and Damian didn’t want them to know anyway so he just flat out left and made a new life for himself near his beloved.

Damian owns a bookstore/coffee shop (obviously) and they live in this apartment above the building and the Everlasting Trio find out about this new place in town called The Bird’s Nest and they decide to try it out but as soon as they walk in Danny hears Damian, in this customer service voice say, “Welcome to The Bird’s Nest, make yourself at home.” and he runs to the cashier and sees his lover and breaks down. Damian hears his ugly sobs and looks up in concern.

Upon seeing Danny he rushes over to comfort him and Danny immediately latches onto him and saying things like “I thought i’d never see you again” and “please be real, please” and Damian is like “i’m here, it's me, i’m so so sorry, Beloved.” and Tucker and Sam are like freaking out a little but seeing Damian hold Danny like that they decided to just hang back for a little bit while Danny calms down, and once he can breathe without stuttering and can speak without feeling like the world is ending they all sit down in a booth together and they explaining to Tucker and Sam how they know each other.

Tucker and Sam are like a little concerned about it but they’re like “it’s fine we knew each other since we were toddlers and we got to know each other pretty well in the 15 years before our marriage.”  and so Damian and the Everlasting Trio start hanging out together a lot and they all start to fall in love :]

Meanwhile in Gotham

The Batfam are freaking the fuck out.

They’re frantically searching for Damian everywhere. They call Talia and ask her but she says she hasn’t seen him since his wedding which makes the Batfam panic even more because what wedding??  But she doesn’t say anything and they are confused but that’s not their concern so they contact the Justice League and get them involved like Robin is missing and we don’t know where he could be.  

So the JL are like searching and they come up with nothing and they decide to get Justice League Dark involved like Robin’s missing what do we do?  and JLD is like searching until they run out of other options and decide to summon the Ghost King Phantom and his Knight and Consorts

but they don’t know that the king has multiple consorts… Or that one of them is Damian… SO they summon them and the king looms over his knight as he covers his consorts with his cloak and Batman is like “please.. please, Great King Phantom… I need to find my child..” and the JL and JLD (that dont know their identities) are like omg does batsy think of rob as his child  and the King is like “Who are you looking for?” and Batman is like “Robin…Damian Wayne.” and the king tilts his head then opens his cape and Damian walks out slowly like “oh shit I forgot to tell them that I was gonna make a whole new life for myself in an entirely different state.”  and just goes “…heyyy.” and the Batfam starts freaking out like “Where have you been?!?” and Damian just goes “I was with my Beloveds.” 

and the batfam is like

“…”

“BELOVEDS, MULTIPLE???” 

#dp x dc #danny fenton x damian wayne #dead serious #danny fenton x damian wayne x tucker foley x sam manson #i hc that damian and sam are both enby and sam uses they/them pronouns and damian uses he/him and they/them #damian wayne #danny fenton #tucker foley #sam manson #batman #batfam #batpham #? #thats probably it #i might write more later

[ssparklemotion]

superbat reclist i

some favorites, no particular order, short thought in italics

The Farthest Shore by manic_intent

“Peaceful night, sir?” Alfred slid a mug of coffee onto the desk.

“Seems like it. Couple of small-time burglaries. Tipped off the cops.”

“Ah,” Alfred smiled faintly. “Gone were the days when you’d go haring off after the smallest lawbreaker, I see.”

“What’s the point,” Bruce yawned, picking up the cup. “There was a cop car close by, and lately the police are more likely to shoot at me than at a perp.”

“That might perhaps have something to do with your preferred modus operandi of terrifying even your allies, Master Bruce.”

Words: 9.530

bruce cynicism wayne. accurate af. brilliant. post bvs.

Nothing You Can’t Do by linndechir

Bruce excels at an incredible number of things, from foreign languages to escape artistry, from engineering to gymnastics. Clark is more than a little intrigued.

Words: 14.664

a getting together, 5+1 fic. competence kink, god bless. post bvs.

Whoever Falls First by liodain

"There's more kryptonite out there. When the Superman returns, there's going to be an all-star battle royale in the criminal underworld. Every megalomaniacal freak will want a piece of it so they can get a piece of you. And some of them will manage. They'll weaponize it and won't hesitate to use it against you, and when that happens I will not have you flailing around like an idiot."

aka: Bruce teaches Clark how to fight.

Words: 34.410

slow burn, cohabitation, no angst. still a niiiice characterization? hell yes. post bvs.

Love, Changing Tenses by susiecarter

Bruce goes to the funeral as himself for a reason. Not so he can make friends with Mrs. Kent; that part's an accident. And definitely not so he can posthumously fall for Clark Kent, which is an even bigger accident. But it's fine. He can handle it.

Until Clark rises from the grave, that is.

Words: 17.183

there’s something very luring about this writing and plot. yes! post bvs.

Leap of Faith by Mithen

When Clark Kent arrives in Gotham after the events of The Dark Knight, he is determined to uncover the truth about the events of those dark days--and prove Batman's innocence. However, certain pieces of the puzzle remain baffling to him, like one playboy billionaire.

Words: 33.918

this is very, very complete. detective work, journalist work, identity issues. agh! nolan verse.

Embracing Destiny by Mithen

As a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st century, a teenaged Clark learns a stunning secret about his own future:  he and someone called "Batman" will be legendary lovers.

Words: 8.108

young clark and bruce, some time travel. sometimes you gotta take a break from the bats angst, man. comicverse.

Solitude by lacemonster

A retelling of Clark's early days in the Justice League and discovering the Fortress of Solitude with a Clark/Bruce twist.

When Clark was a baby, he arrived in a spaceship on a farm in Smallville. Now an adult, Clark wonders about his origins, uncovering a fortress in the arctic that may contain the key information about his past. But as Clark discovers more about the wonders of Krypton, he finds himself disenchanted with his adopted planet. Meanwhile, as Clark struggles to balance his role as Superman, he finds himself scrutinized by Batman, who doesn't trust his alien powers.

Words: 48.459

this one has a LOT of character study about Clark and it’s perfect. comicverse.

If-Then-Else by architeuthis

 Bruce is all hopped up on painkillers and not at all ready for action.

Words: 1.118

pwp ;) enjoy ;)

Movement by the_charm_caster

Clark gets obsessed with the way Bruce's body moves. Will he realise that he is also obsessed with Bruce himself?

Words: 7.552

matches malone makes an appearence. and also a stripper called superbabe. it’s great. comicverse.

Clark Kent vs. The Wayne Family Values by quidhitch

Life as Bruce Wayne’s paramour is hardly the glamorous, erotic grope-fest the tabloids made it out to be. They mostly do normal things like nag each other about work, eat takeout, make love, and put forth semi-respectable efforts at communication.

Life as Batman’s paramour, on the other hand, promises a slightly less conventional set of experiences

Words: 12.524

there’s batfamily, pining while in a relationship!!!!!! and fluff. they’re still very much in character. amazing. comicverse.

#superbat #reclist #batman #superman #clark kent #bruce wayne #batfamily #superbat reclist #superbat reclist i #fanfiction #fanfic

[codenamed-queenie]

Spooky Scary Shenanigans

Ah, Halloween. Of all the holidays Bruce’s small army of a family loves, this one takes the cake. 

Coincidentally, Halloween is also the holiday every member of the Justice League dreads most ardently. This is in part due to the fact that Barry always eats a little too much of Wally and Bart’s candy and spends the next week complaining about his subsequent stomachache, but mostly because Bruce’s d**n munchkins make it their personal mission to--for a good, solid 24 hours--make their lives a living hell. 

Bruce’s merry band of miscreants play a new prank every year, each more elaborate than the last. So far, their pranks include--

Getting Nightwing to Fold Himself Into a Contortionist Pose in the Middle of the Hall of Justice.

He screamed for a solid hour. 

Said that he fell and got all twisted up, and couldn’t un-twist himself without extreme pain.

He was totally fine, for the record.

But the tourists were freaking out. 

The other Bats were hamming it up, screaming in six-part harmony with their brother for help and running back and forth.

While the League collectively Lost Their S**t.

Simulating a ‘Disaster Scenario’ Where ‘Brainiac’ Took Over The Watchtower. 

In reality, Oracle was busy behind the scenes making the lights flicker with a few keystrokes, messing with the anti-gravity settings, and cackling like a madwoman the whole way through. 

Brainiac, coincidentally, had been about to invade. 

But decided he was both far too entertained by the chaos 

And far too scared (quite s**tless, in fact) of Oracle to interrupt

Convincing the Entire Justice League That Bruce Had ‘Died’ on an Ill-Fated Mission Gone Wrong (”Alas, we always knew it would be Condiment King who overthrew the mighty Dark Knight. Goodbye, father, you shall be missed.”)...and Was Now Haunting Them. 

They paid Martian Manhunter off with 513 oreos (Tim counted them out individually with precise determination) to shape-shift into Batman and float through walls, floors, ceilings, and male bathroom stalls at inopportune times. 

The Leaguers caught on pretty quickly 

(J’ohnn stands out like a green thumb, and his absence was notable)

But not before being sufficiently traumatized.

Even to this day, Barry still claps Batman on the shoulder in greeting every time they meet. He says he’s ‘just trying to be friendly’.

But Bruce knows better.

The Time Tim, Cass, and Stephanie Convinced the Members of the Teen Titans That They Had All ‘Disappeared’ By Ignoring Said Members and ‘Freaking Out’. (”Has anyone seen Bart?? Cassie? Cassie! Holy smokes, they just vanished! We’ve gotta call somebody! Who do we call? Steph, if you say ‘Ghostbusters’, I swear to--”)

It devolved quickly, as--

Steph kept cracking up, 

Bart dissolved into tears when Tim threatened to eat his jalapeño poppers, because it’s ‘what he would have wanted’ and ‘we’ve gotta keep his memory alive!’ 

Kon threw a futon through the top floor window in a fit of rage. As far as anyone knows, it’s still soaking at the bottom of the bay. 

Cassie smacked Tim upside the head so hard he flew through a wall, and Steph couldn’t stop laughing long enough to come up with another ‘it must have been the wind!’ excuse.

Programming the Boom tubes on the Watchtower to Teleport Unsuspecting Leaguers Straight to Random Doorsteps.

Unsuspecting civilians would then open their doors with bowls of assorted candy 

Only to be greeted by equally confused superheroes.

“Don’t you think you’re a little old to be out trick-or-treating?”

“Nice Hawkman costume, where’d you get the wings? Party City?”

“Loving that Green-Lantern vibe, but Ryan Reynolds wore it better.”

(Hal had to be physically restrained)

The only one not ticked the hell off was Barry, who pocketed all of his sugary winnings with smug satisfaction.

The Year They Formally Introduced Duke Thomas to the Rest of the Heroes by Plunging the Entire HQ Into Blackness and Having Him Sneak Up On People. 

“Well, the backup generators haven’t kicked in, yet. We’re gonna be here a while. So...just for the sake of conversation, I heard your dad got a new kid?”

“Oh yeah. And between you and me, he’s actually a demon from an alternate universe.”

“...beg pardon?”

“Oh, you will, trust me. But yeah, he sees better in the dark. He can even see the future!”

A hand landed on the Leaguer’s shoulder. 

Duke’s voice whispered from the darkness--

“You’re about to wet yourself.”

The Leaguer screamed.

And the Kicker?

The Year They Actually Weren’t Joking Like At All.

The League almost missed an entire freaking alien invasion because they thought it was just another d**n prank.

“Dang, those kids really went all out this year, huh? These news reports look so real...”

“Yeah. Probably blew Papa Brucie’s bank wide open to pay for *that* kinda CGI.”

“Oh, helLO ‘Mr. President’. Why, yes, as a matter of fact we ARE aware of the situation. I suppose you’re going to ask us if our refrigerator’s running too?”

Meanwhile the Bats are out fighting the alien fleet tooth and nail

And screaming over the comms for the League to get their butts in gear. 

After that last fiasco, all Halloween pranks were officially banned. 

The operative word, however, being...’officially’. 

#batfam #dc #batfamily #justice league #teen titans #titans #batman #nightwing #red hood #oracle #red robin #batgirl #spoiler #signal #robin #batkids #batfamily headcanons #i refuse #if you cant tell #halloween is my fav #this turned out kinda long #kinda rambly #but hey #why not?

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 246: Plot Whiplash

Previously on BnHA: Hawks handed Endeavor a copy of Re-Destro’s NYT bestseller and was all “ಠ_ಠ READ THIS!!” He then flew off back to the PLF and was all “hey guys just got back from handing out free copies of Destro’s book to everyone in a 1000-mile radius, which absolutely nobody asked me to do, well anyways you can thank me later” and they were all “SWEET.” Back at the Endeavor HQ, Bakugou got all fired up to BUST SOME HEADS but Endeavor’s sidekicks were all “WAIT FOR THE PLOT YOUNG MAN.” Meanwhile in his office, Endeavor discovered a secret code in the book Hawks gave him, which basically read “HEY WHAT’S UP THE LEAGUE HAS TAKEN OVER THE MLA AND HAS AN ARMY OF 100,000 PEOPLE” and Endeavor was like “!!!!” And then we cut to the League and Toga was all “IN FOUR MONTHS TOMURA IS BLOWING THIS SHIT TO KINGDOM COME” and then the chapter just ended. Sometimes it be like that.

Today on BnHA: Tomura sits down with Ujiko who monologues a bit about Quirk Singularity and then starts some sort of quirk-upgrading process which will apparently take four months to fully set in. And also he’s like “oh btw let me tell you about One for All” so THAT’S A THING NOW, GREAT. We then cut back and forth between Endeavor and Hawks, who both somehow come to the weird conclusion that THE INTERNS ARE OUR ONLY HOPE NOW using logic that is hard to explain on account of THERE ACTUALLY ISN’T ANY LOGIC BEHIND IT, SHHH. But anyway, so Endeavor figures out the rest of Hawks’s message and he knows that Hawks is trying to figure out what the League is up to, and something something that’s why the internships are so important. Like, I get that the Terrible Trio are future legends in the making, but these guys are seriously like “well okay let’s just go ahead and rest all our hopes on them” out of the blue, and Hawks has this big monologue about how “THINGS WON’T GO ACCORDING TO YOUR PLAN, VILLAINS” and okay then!! And then the last two pages are basically just DID SOMEBODY ORDER SOME HYPE with more shit going on than I can possibly sum up so I won’t even try lol. But damn.

(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity afterward, and added a few ETAs in the process, but aside from that there are no changes.) 

okay guys, I’m feeling kinda under the weather today, but I know this chapter’s gonna be good so lesssssss gooooooo. bring me back to life Horikoshi

(ETA: lol well there sure was a lot happening in this chapter, that’s for sure. my head hurts.)

oooooh it’s a sexy Jump cover celebrating season 4!

I really need the anime team to step up and give Ochako and Tsuyu some more screentime in the Basement Arc since the manga did not do them justice. there’s only like a 20% chance of that happening, which is depressing, but it’s 2019 and the winds are slowly changing, albeit at a geriatric pace. so I’ll allow myself to have some hope. you never know

YEAH SON LOOK AT THIS COLOR SPREAD Y’ALL THIS IS RAD

hello I love everything about this. the colors, the focus on our best girls, Deku’s bizarre-yet-awesome assorted sci-fi accessories (Deku do those headphones let you communicate with space or what), and of course, the five million TVs in the background which for some reason all appear to be from the 70s. all of this to remind us to TUNE IN TOMORROW FOR THE LONG-AWAITED SEASON 4 DEBUT. I will definitely tune in! the first episode is just gonna be the usual half filler/half clip show, but honestly season 3 was so good that I could sit through a whole hour of nothing but highlights and still be thoroughly entertained

anyway let’s move on because there are GAMES AFOOT, and we’re hopefully about to learn which direction this arc will be headed in!

OH SHIT OH FUCK

yep, that’s him. Shigaraki “destruction incarnate” Tomura. I see we’re getting our weekly dose of “just a reminder that WE ARE SCREWED” even earlier than usual this chapter, huh

so does anyone else get a chill up their spine every time Ujiko makes an appearance, or is that just me? like, god. he may honestly be even creepier than AFO. he’s just completely soulless, this guy. he’s got like this Mengele vibe to him (though that may be kinda dicey to compare horrific real-life atrocities to fictional ones in a shounen manga, but I’m just trying to explain why I find him so disturbing) and it really freaks me the hell out, ngl. anyways so him wearing a surgical mask and standing in front of this weird examination chair is pretty much the last thing I need right now. go away Ujiko

so Tomura is all “I want it cuz you promised, so pay up jackass”, and like. fair, though

I really like this new art style Horikoshi’s been using for him since his Awakening. kinda curious how it’s going to translate to the anime, or even to a color spread. but at the very least in black and white it looks siiiiick

smh look at this little punk trying to downplay how insanely freaking overpowered his quirk currently is

okay first of all, “President Baldy” is only alive because you left him alive. and he also had to chop off his own legs to stay that way. like, what kind of argument is this, Tomura? “this power is far from invincible, all my enemies have to do is amputate their own limbs and then they’ll have me right where they want me.” you know what, just go on and destroy the world right now kid. you’re getting greedy now and it could be your undoing

that is a nice parallel between him and Deku there, though. now I’m craving some Symbolic Artwork of them standing back to back each holding out their scarred right arms. maybe with their respective mentors in the background. here at BnHA we prefer our parallels nice and dramatic

sdskfjlaskdj

son of a bitch. I really wish he wouldn’t say that with such utter certainty. “the next conflict will be our last.” cue me flipping through the BnHA table of contents and trying to determine just how far along we actually are here, because this is veering dangerously close to Final Battle signaling, and like, ALREADY?? TOMURA ARE YOU JUST BEING THEATRICAL OR ARE YOU FOR REAL OMG. motherfucking DARK LORD’S LIPS curling into the WICKEDEST FUCKING CRESCENT I’VE EVER SEEN, fuck me

(ETA: it occurs to me on readthrough #2 that “the next conflict will be our last” could be interpreted to mean him and All Might specifically. like, the last conflict between the two of them. and that might very well be true, and would not surprise me at all. shit.)

fjsgk now Ujiko’s talking about research. and quirks!! glkjlkl

fully expecting the camera to cut to some NOUMUS any second now oh my god. also trying not to think about how crazy ominous that fucking chair looks. and how many people this maniac has probably strapped down to it and done god knows what to them. hey Horikoshi you know what, I’ve had just about enough of this dark shit, can we please cut back to my kids now I’m feeling too unsettled. goddammit

anyhow of course we are NOT cutting away, and Ujiko is continuing to talk about quirk evolution, and now segueing into a speech about that quirk singularity thing. -- which he apparently named?? wow

is he actually going to do something to Tomura? holy shit?? this whole time that they’ve been talking about this “power” I’ve just been assuming it was something external, like some other handy dandy villain resource that AFO’s just been sitting on or something. this is not where I expected things to go. didn’t he just get an upgrade??

anyway so here’s a brief summary I just wrote up of The Past Six Months of BnHA:

Deku: [gets a new quirk]

everyone: bruh. Horikoshi really out here giving Deku AFO Powers while Tomura just sits around starving to death on a couch. what the heck

Horikoshi: [powers up Tomura to the point where he can destroy anything just by it being in contact with something that Tomura happens to be touching] [has Tomura use this power to level an entire city]

everyone: -- oh. okay, you know what, never mind --

Horikoshi: [gives Tomura an army of 100,000 people] [also gives him command of 11 extremely lethal and nigh-unstoppable killing machines, just one of which was almost enough to take out the number one hero, LITERALLY THE STRONGEST GUY THE GOOD GUYS CURRENTLY HAVE IN RESERVE]

everyone: okay we’re sorry we get it you can sto --

Horikoshi: APOCALYPSE IN FOUR MONTHS!!!

everyone: WE GET IT WE’RE SORRY PLEASE

Horikoshi: [GIVES TOMURA ANOTHER POWER-UP]

everyone: [curled up in fetal position sobbing]

starting to think the mangaka might be the actual final villain here. hmm

anyway. so I guess we have four months until Tomura ascends to Actual Godhood and proceeds to rain hellfire down upon the world. what are you all gonna do with your four months. I personally have a lot of stuff to binge, but knowing me I’ll probably just waste all my time reading fanfic while youtube videos play in the background which I’m not paying any attention to. what am I doing with my life

oh were we not done hyping him up? there’s more??

(ETA: I got so caught up in the OFA comment I didn’t pay attention to Tomura becoming a beautiful decayed butterfly in this exquisitely creepy panel here. but damn.)

-- HOLD THE FUCK UP. does Tomura know about One for All??? because I was under the impression that AFO hadn’t told him? this would change a lot if he knew this entire time, holy shit?!

aaaaaaaaand exactly one panel later Horikoshi is all “no he didn’t know calm the fuck down” lol

okay then. so he didn’t know, and he’s only just finding out now. well tbh that’s still worthy of a smiling crying emoji face though :’) this is fineeee

shit here we go oh shit

-- WAIT, SO WE’RE JUST CUTTING AWAY FROM THEM? NOW YOU CUT AWAY? YOU GET WITHIN INCHES OF CONFIRMING THE FUCKING ALL FOR ONE FOR ALL THEORY AND THEN IT’S JUST “ANYWAYS HERE’S ENDEAVOR” YOU KNOW WHAT, HORIKOSHI, I --

just. come on dude. AFOFA 2019! let’s make it happen! dammit

sigh, so looks like it’s back to the admittedly-still-epic “Hawks passes down secret information about the villains to Endeavor” plot. I guess we’re not exactly hurting for good plots all around. I may complain but honestly we are spoiled

so Hawks is saying that he actually doesn’t know the specifics of the villains’ plans yet. well shit

apparently his feathers can only pick up sounds from short range, and the villains keep escorting him away whenever they get to talking about the good stuff. well at least that explains that potential plot hole from last week. Hawks’s feathers may have a short range, but Horikoshi’s plot hole caulking gun can fill in leaky plot holes from fucking miles away. amazing

ffffffff

don’t mind me I’m just sitting here fretting about Hawks continuing to be in mortal danger and risking his life to gather information in a race against time against the end of the world. Horikoshi out here piling up stakes like a freaking vampire hunter

but in the meantime, everyone please stop what you’re doing for a moment to look at this absolute unit of a bellhop slash security guard

apologies Lord Vader he was just trying to get to the dining hall. my bad. as you were

and holy shit I hope you enjoyed that light comedic break because two seconds later Re-Destro has dropped in to fixate Hawks with one of those Lightly Menacing Smiles he’s so infamous for. so that’s just fucking great!

HAWKS WATCH OUT FOR YOUR FINGERS

omg. imagine, a showdown between the two stealth murder MVPs of the series, Yotsubashi “Sleeper Hold” Rikiya (yes I did have to look up his real name just now) and Takami “Tag Em And Bag Em” Keigo. true, RD may no longer have legs, but he didn’t need them to choke out our little mouse buddy now did he? anyways speaking of which I just remembered that I fucking hate Re-Destro and I honestly hope Hawks does kill him. it’d be pretty easy to fit him into a bag too. he’s basically just a torso and arms now

oh sure Horikoshi go ahead and spring this on me after all of that ranting why don’t you

by the way does Re-Destro have Robot Legs now, or

looool he does

I will say this for Horikoshi, he knows my weaknesses. more robot limbs please. either badass or memeable ones, either is fine

meanwhile I skipped over this panel of Hawks and Twice being buddies in order to get to the legs, and shame on me for that. let’s go back

Twice is a genuinely good guy and I hope Hawks can tell. I wonder how fake this smile is. I feel like it’d be easy to relax around Twice regardless of how tense you are about your secret spy mission which could go south at any time. anyways this is wholesome

and now we’re cutting back to Endeavor who is taking his sweet time reacting to this whole thing. Endeavor can you fucking chill with the poker face already geez

okay wait, what

are you serious?! I fucking can’t with this lady. “now make sure to throw these children directly into the line of fire! it’s good for them and builds character!” I’m sorry, I thought this was the Hero Public Safety Commission, not the Putting Juveniles Directly Into Harm’s Way Commission?? at least change the acronym to something more appropriate then. Heinous Pathetic Soulless Cowards. just a suggestion. jesus

anyway so for a moment I got confused as to whether this was implying that she’d told Endeavor about Hawks’s undercover mission. but it seems like he’s still unaware. shouldn’t be too long before he puts the pieces together though at this rate

lol in the very next panel, even

meanwhile you’re just sitting on your ass reading a book! FUCKING DO SOMETHING ALREADY, ENDEAVOR

so he’s thinking that the “preparation” part of Hawks’s message is referring to the interns. let me back up a sec and write down the entire message as he’s read it thus far

“four months from now / rising to action / until then / will send / signals / in case / of failure / preparation / numbers”

...read like that, it really does sound like Hawks is advocating to get as many soldiers ready as possible. even if that includes actual children. including Endeavor��s own son. shit. I mean, I get that they don’t have much of a choice, but that’s still so fucked up. sure, we as omniscient readers know that Deku is their one and only hope, but they don’t know that. as far as they know these are just a bunch of teenagers with less than a year’s worth of experience that they’re propping up on the front lines. and the plan is then... what? hope they don’t die too quickly?? fuck

Hawks is out here having an argument with me in his thoughts. you wanna play it like that, Hawks? fine

I don’t know what kind of “but” you can tag on to the end of that paragraph that could possibly win me over, dude, but go for it I guess

and we’re finally cutting back to the kids in question now! with Burnin’ casually trying to crush Kacchan’s hopes and dreams

okay but I love how both Deku and Shouto are like “easy there buddy, we got you” and trying to keep Kacchan from having a fucking aneurysm sob. JUST TRY AND HOIST HIM ONTO SOME DUMB SIDEKICKS, LADY. YOU’VE MADE A POWERFUL ENEMY HERE TODAY

oh shit

oh my god. are we going to get our first actual interaction between the three of them that doesn’t consist of them grumbling annoyed introductions at each other and then running off to fight an old fortune teller omggggg

I love how Deku and Bakugou look weirdly intimidated by him lol. Bakugou where did all that “YOU’RE KIND OF A JERK” confidence go all of a sudden

YESSSSSSS

GODDAMMIT, I’M STILL SO MAD AT YOU GUYS FOR BEING ALL “LET’S JUST MAKE THE CHILDREN DO IT,” BUT DAMMIT THEY KICK ASS THOUGH SO I CAN KINDA SEE YOUR POINT

NOW HAWKS IS METAING ABOUT THEM AHHHHHHH

DAMN STRAIGHT THEY WOULD HAVE. BRING ON TOMURA AND ALL OF HIS STUPID POWER-UPS. WOW I’M WEIRDLY HYPED UP ALL OF A SUDDEN WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME

AND FUCKING LOOK AT THIS TWO-PAGE SPREAD AHHHHHHHHHHH

MOTHERFUCKER [WHIPS OUT PEN AND NOTEBOOK] TIME TO ANALYZE THIS BITCH

so Ochako and Tsuyu did indeed go back to intern with Ryuukyuu again! makes sense, she is a top ten hero after all. who’s that with them, though? almost looks like Yanagi from the hair and the mask, but the costume looks different? hmm

I CAN’T BELIEVE IIDA WENT BACK TO INTERN WITH FUCKING MANUAL AGAIN. THIS GUY IS THE BRAN CEREAL OF HEROES. though I fucking love him though so yeah it’s fine

JIROU AND SHOUJI TEAMING UP WITH GANG FUCKING ORCA AW YISS BOYS THIS IS THE GOOD SHIT LET’S GOOOO

KOUDA AND MANGA TEAMING UP WITH WASH OMG. MANGA IS THE ONLY ONE ON THAT TEAM WHO ACTUALLY FUCKING SPEAKS. IS WASH’S SIDEKICK SOME SORT OF BROOM PERSON OMG

A WHOLE FUCKING ACRE OF KIDS HAVE ALL GANGED UP ON THIS CAVEMAN-LOOKING FELLA I DON’T EVEN RECOGNIZE. WHO ARE YOU. DID YOU CROSS OVER FROM THE FANTASY AU

KIRI BACK WITH FG AND BROUGHT TETSUTETSU ALONG FOR THE RIDE HELLS YEAHHHH

KAMINARI AND SERO WITH KAMUI WOODS AND EDGESHOT I’M HYPERVENTILATING AHHH. AND SHIOZAKI TOO!! I’LL JUST PRETEND I DON’T SEE MINETA THERE IN THE CORNER. MIGHT BE TIME TO DUST OFF THE OLD “CANCELLED” STAMP AGAIN BUT WE’LL SEE HOW THINGS GO

WHO ARE MOMO AND TOKAGE AND MINA AND AOYAMA (WHICH BTW IS THE GREATEST HERO TEAMUP OF ALL TIME HOLY SHIT) TEAMING UP WITH!? TELL US. AND PONY AND MONOMA. GODDAMMIT HORIKOSHI

whew! anyway. they’re all still screwed, but by golly that was nice to have that little invigorating breather of life and hope

LOL OH SHIT THERE’S ANOTHER ONE

okay, SOMEONE TELL ME RIGHT THE FUCK NOW WHAT ALL MIGHT IS LOOKING AT OR I’M GONNA LOSE IT. holy shit. he was researching the past users of OFA, wasn’t he? WHAT DID YOU FIND OH GOD. he’s not just upset, he looks one step shy of fucking crying?? did he learn about what happened to Nana’s son and his family, maybe? shit shit shit

so Yanagi is interning with Kendou then? so who was that with Hadou and Ryuukyuu and the rest. one of Ryuukyuu’s sidekicks?

IS THAT FUYUMI (SPOILERS FUCKING YEAH IT IS) AND WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE SHE’S FUCKING PRAYING OMG. it looks like she’s kneeling at a family altar?? like saying a prayer for someone who is PRESUMED DEAD, maybe?? LIKE MAYBE A LONG LOST TWIN BROTHER OH SHIT OUT OF NOWHERE THE HYPE DON’T STOP!!

AND WHY DOES NAO HAVE HIS HAT OFF AND CLUTCHED TO HIS CHEST LIKE HE’S TELLING SOMEONE BAD NEWS. GOD WHAT THE HELL EVEN ARE ALL OF THESE PLOT THINGS HAPPENING ALL OF A SUDDEN. LIKE I DON’T KNOW WHERE TO LOOK NEXT

KUROGIRI AHHHHHHHH

WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING TO ERI’S HORN!? DOES ANYONE ELSE SEE THIS?? AIZAWA??? HELLO!?!?

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, TEAM OT3. TIME TO FUCKING SUIT UP. APPARENTLY. WELL ALL RIGHT THEN. [JACKET ZIP] [GUN COCKING SOUND EFFECT] LET’S GO PUNCH ‘EM IN THE MOUTH

y’all. this chapter was like plot whiplash. this went in so many different directions and hinted at so many different things that I’m at a complete fucking loss as to what to process first. but I guess the interns are gonna save us all, somehow. lol okay then

#bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha 246 #shigaraki tomura #hawks #endeavor #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #makeste reads bnha #horikoshi: [makes tomura sexy] #everyone: okay that part is fine I guess #horikoshi: [tells tomura about one for all] #me: :') :') :') :') :') :') :') :') :') welp

[thecomicsnexus]

JUSTICE LEAGUE #1-6 NOVEMBER 2011 - APRIL 2012 BY GEOFF JOHNS, JIM LEE, SCOTT WILLIAMS, ALEX SINCLAIR, HI-FI DESIGN, GABE ELTAEB, SANDRA HOPE, MARK IRWIN, JOE WEEMS, TONY AVIÑA AND MATT BANNING

SYNOPSIS (FROM DC DATABASE)

Batman is pursuing one of Darkseid's Parademons across the rooftops of Gotham, while the Gotham police pursue and fire upon both of them from helicopters. Batman blinds the police in the helicopters with smoke bombs, then stops the Parademon and is attempting to interrogate it when it lets out a burst of flame, forcing Batman to release it. As Batman and the Parademon face off again, Green Lantern interrupts the fight by slamming a fire-engine construct into the Parademon. The Gotham police continue firing on Batman, Green Lantern, and the Parademon, but their fire is blocked by Green Lantern's shield constructs. As Batman and Green Lantern talk, the Parademon recovers and destroys the police helicopters, but Green Lantern creates bat constructs which hold up the helicopters and prevent the heroes from getting injured. As they follow the Parademon into the streets of Gotham, Batman suggests that Green Lantern return to Coast City, since "Gotham's mine. Coast City is yours." Green Lantern responds by saying that the entire space sector is his and he was alerted to an "unauthorized extraterrestrial presence" in Gotham.

Batman and Green Lantern move underground in pursuit of the Parademon. Green Lantern asks Batman whether he has any powers. Batman replies "No.", to which Green Lantern replies, "Hold on a second, you're not just some guy in a bat costume, are you? Are you freaking kidding me?!". Batman then holds up Green Lantern's power ring and asks him how it works, upsetting Green Lantern who asks if Batman would really want to pick a fight with someone who can create anything he can think of. Batman says that he'd be worried if he thought Green Lantern could think.

Batman then points out the Parademon attaching a Mother Box to a sewer wall. With a shout of "For Darkseid!", the Parademon blows itself up, attempting to kill Batman and Green Lantern in the blast, but Green Lantern creates a (literal) safe construct to save them. When Green Lantern attempts to scan the box, the ring can't identify it, which Green Lantern says is impossible since the Guardians know everything. Batman says the box looks like some kind of "alien computer", and the two agree to go to Metropolis to ask the known extra-terrestrial Superman about it.

Meanwhile, at a high school football game, wide receiver Vic Stone impresses several college recruits. After the game, the scouts all want to talk to Vic. In the meantime, a despondent Vic is on the phone telling his father (or his father's voicemail) that his coach won't let the scouts talk to him without his dad there, and that they won the game (not that his dad would ask). After he hangs up, Vic, along with most of the team, runs outside to excited shouts as Batman and Green Lantern fly overhead in a jet construct. One of his teammates asks Vic if his dad studies super-humans, and he says that while he does, he never talks to him about them.

After landing in Metropolis, Batman criticizes the jet construct as being too visible while he and Green Lantern look for Superman. Green Lantern's ring leads them right to him, at which point Green Lantern encases Batman in a cage construct and tells him that he can also handle it. A moment later, Superman, using super-speed, knocks Green Lantern through the cage construct and into a pair of parked cars, apparently knocking him unconscious. As Batman begins to rise up from the ground, Superman looks at him and says "I don't handle easy. So...what can you do?"

At the crime lab of the Central City Police Department, Barry Allen is arguing with Director Singh because the latter ordered him to leave a case. The reason is because their chief wants them all working on the "Flash case": They must find out everything about the vigilante named "the Flash", including his secret identity. Of course, the CCPD is unaware that Barry Allen is the Flash.

Back at the fight between Superman and Batman, the Man of Steel points out that Batman's utility belt is empty, leaving him without any means of defense against him, as nothing Batman used so far on him has worked. Superman charges against Batman and crushes him against a wall. He then starts interrogating the Dark Knight, demanding to know where the mysterious boxes that have been appearing over the last few days come from and what are they for. Green Lantern gets up while people run away from him and gets ready for a second chance against Superman. While the latter is choking Batman, Green Lantern attacks Superman, while Batman tries to stop them both. Lantern captures Superman in chains made by his ring, but Superman points out the absurdity of doing so and easily frees himself by breaking them. He then starts attacking both Green Lantern and Batman, constantly punching Green Lantern's constructs. After Lantern creates a shield construct to protect himself and Batman, he gets the idea of calling a friend who may be faster than Superman: Barry Allen, the Flash. Barry gets surprised by the fact that Hal is with Batman and is fighting Superman. At first Barry refuses to help Hal, since the last time Green Lantern and the Flash were seen together they destroyed the Museum of Natural History while stopping Gorilla Grodd. Since the situation against Superman is getting critical with Lantern's shield giving way, Barry is convinced to help Hal, gets on his Flash costume and starts attacking Superman. At first he only teases him by easily avoiding his attacks, until Superman manages to hit him.

Batman quickly intervenes and stops the fight, explaining to Superman that they had nothing to do with the invading Parademons, and Green Lantern and him were also attacked by them. While Batman explains that the reason why they looked for him was because he was also an alien and could better explain the nature of the boxes and the Parademons, the Flash starts cleaning up and repairing the site of the fight, but they get interrupted by the forces of the government, so they quickly go into hiding in the sewers, convincing Superman to go with them.

Meanwhile, in Detroit, at the S.T.A.R. Labs Super-Human study center, Silas Stone and his team are studying the mysterious box from Superman's battle earlier that morning. While doing so, Silas gets informed of the arrival of his son Victor, to which he reacts frustratingly annoyed. Victor explains to his annoyed father that he has great chances of lots of full scholarships. His father answers that he is already paying him his school, so he doesn't need a scholarship. While Victor tries to explain to his father how important sports are to him, Silas points out how pointless is to take interest in sports in a world full of super-humans that have abilities over the finest of regular humans, thus rendering any effort to be a great sportsman obsolete. Victor then wants to confirm whether his father really isn't going to come to one of his games, to which his father confirms. Meanwhile, the four heroes have hidden themselves at an abandoned printing press, the only safe place Superman knows at Metropolis. Green Lantern suggests to Flash that they better get rid of Batman and Superman, because they would only be a burden. Flash refuses because they need someone to help them figure out the nature of the boxes. While they are examining the box, both their own and the box at S.T.A.R. Labs start reacting strangely, opening a Boom Tube that teleports a swarm of Parademons in both places and start tearing Victor apart.

In Washington D.C., military personnel, including Colonel Steve Trevor, are observing TV reports of crowds protesting against Wonder Woman because she is a pagan, and because she, like the other super-powered humans, is perceived as dangerous. Apparently, Diana had previously been with them at their office in the Pentagon, and Trevor asks where she has gone. He is told that she was watching the TV news; and when she spotted a report about a winged monster terrorizing people in downtown D.C., she took off. Efforts to detain her were futile because of her raw power.

Wonder Woman is walking in D.C. as a crowd gathers and gapes at her. The crowd remains silent out of fear, until a young girl seems unafraid and introduces herself. Wonder Woman and her new friend enjoy an ice-cream break together. Steve Trevor arrives and tries to talk Diana into returning with him to the Pentagon. Diana resists, saying that she wants to fight the forces of darkness that are lurking nearby.

Suddenly they are startled to see one of Darkseid's minions, making the same pinging sound as before. Several of the aliens swoop down to attack Wonder Woman. Diana is pleased that the battle has come to her, and beams with excitement.

At S.T.A.R. Labs in Detroit, the winged monsters are terrorizing the workers. One of the monsters snatches and abducts Professor Ivo. Dr. Silas Stone is cradling his son Vic, who was seriously hurt in the explosion last issue and appears to be near death. Dr. Stone defiantly says that he once watched his wife die, and will not let his son die too.

In Metropolis, at the site of the abandoned Daily Planet printing press, we see lots and lots of the winged monsters causing more terror. We are told that portals are opening up across the world; and that the armies of demons are pouring out through the portals. Someone exclaims that this is "judgment day". Superman, Batman, Flash, and Green Lantern are fighting the monsters; but there are now so many of them. Flash, listening to radio broadcasts in his earpiece as he battles, indicates that the attacks are happening all over the world, and that the populace is blaming the super-heroes.

The heroes talk as they fight. Batman and Green Lantern continue to bicker. Flash is surprised to hear that Batman has no powers. Batman wants to step back and regroup because there are just too many of the monsters. He prefers having a strategy instead of just using brute force. Superman is having good success fighting many of the baddies at once, using a nearby 18-wheeler truck as a weapon to pulverize the monsters.

Back in Detroit, we follow Dr. Stone and his co-workers as they enter a secure medical room at S.T.A.R. Labs, carrying Victor as they go. Dr. Stone implores his son to hang on.

Green Lantern is amazed to see Superman swing an 18-wheeler "like a baseball bat". Superman and Batman observe that the winged monsters are abducting many people now; carrying them away rather than hurting them. Batman wonders what their motive is. Several of the monsters chant "For Darkseid" like before. As the nascent Justice League continues to battle the creatures, Wonder Woman joins the battle. She shouts "Back to Hades" as she barrels into the swarm of monsters, swinging her sword. The other heroes are impressed with her display of strength and fighting prowess. They seem to be impressed by her beauty as well.

In Detroit, Vic Stone, barely alive, goes into cardiac arrest as his father works feverishly to save him using experimental technology. As they activate nanites to help with the integration of the new bio-technology, Vic starts spouting binary code. Subsequently, we hear a message from Vic's machinery indicating that he is now online.

Wonder Woman explains that she followed the winged monsters, which led her to the other super-heroes. She saw their battle in progress, and decided to help. The winged monsters are circling above a body of water, and then start again making the pinging sounds, which usually indicates that an explosion or other dramatic event is imminent. A waterspout appears rather explosively, and then a large and mysterious object emerges from the ocean. The object appears to be a conveyance of some kind, like a spaceship or watercraft. But it may be something else entirely. The heroes wonder aloud what it is.

Suddenly Aquaman rises from the water, saying the monsters and their giant mysterious object were visible in the water as well. Aquaman wants to know which one of the heroes is in charge; and suggests that he would be a good choice.

Victor finally comes to in the red room of S.T.A.R. Labs and notices his now cyborg body and is confused. All of a sudden a group of Parademons bursts in and attacks the group, and Victor uses his newly discovered sonic cannon to destroy them, and then see's himself in a mirror, to which he is taken aback. He then jumps out of a hole in the roof, blaming his father for his new body. Meanwhile the Justice League examines Aquaman's intentions and skills. After getting a demonstration they hold off the Parademons while also fighting the military who have been told to engage all non-humans including superheroes. After debating how to handle the men shooting at them they find themselves in front of a delirious Vic Stone who tries to warn them of an already approaching Darkseid who has now appeared in front of them.

The heroes are recovering from the violent explosion caused by Darkseid upon his arrival in the last issue. Flash is the first to regain consciousness, and is horrified to see Darkseid destroy a military jet and its passenger with his Omega Beam. Superman awakes next, and Darkseid targets the two of them with another Omega Beam. Flash grabs Superman and begins to carry him to safety at super-speed, urging him to move it. When the heroes split up, the twin beams split up also, each beam targeting one of the heroes. As an evasive maneuver, Flash vibrates and passes through one of the demon-bots, causing the beam to destroy that robot instead of the Scarlet Speedster. As Flash catches his breath after this exhausting but successful maneuver, he looks up to see that Superman is not quite so lucky. Taking the full brunt of the Omega Beam, Superman is knocked out, although not destroyed; and is seen being carried away by one of the winged demon-bots. The other heroes are regaining consciousness now, as Flash shares the horrible news that Superman has been abducted. The heroes discuss interrogating Darkseid to find out why Superman was taken. Green Lantern springs into action and attacks Darkseid. His constructs are not effective against the god of Apokolips; but GL courageously keeps trying even while being on the receiving end of several vicious blows from Darkseid. When Green Lantern shows his determination to continue the battle, Darkseid lifts Hal by his right forearm and applies crushing force, causing the arm to break in a couple of places. Darkseid sends him flying with another punch, and then walks away as Hal struggles to recover and persist against all odds.

Batman attempts to deter Green Lantern from going up against Darkseid in his badly injured condition. Batman wants to gather the rest of the team and form a strategy. He criticizes Green Lantern for wanting to carry on the fight with a broken arm. In response, GL fashions a moveable cast with his ring, and says he is prepared to die if necessary.

Batman continues to ask Green Lantern why he is driven to press on in this futile attack. Batman implies that he understands Green Lantern well because they are very much alike. After Green Lantern rejects this notion, Batman pulls a very surprising maneuver. He removes his mask, introduces himself as Bruce Wayne, and tells a short version of his origin; explaining that he was driven to train for a life of fighting crime after witnessing the brutal death of his parents at the hand of a mugger when Bruce was ten years old.

Bruce asks Hal to regroup with the other heroes, keep them alive, and keep Darkseid busy until Batman returns. When Green Lantern asks where he is going, Batman responds that he is going to rescue Superman.

Batman stands in the open in plain sight with his arms outstretched in an apparently submissive gesture. It does not take long for one of the flying demon-bots to swoop down and carry Batman away.

Green Lantern does regroup with the other heroes, and helps pull them out of the rubble. He shares his plan, that they should go as a group and follow Darkseid, who was last seen heading into the city on foot. GL explains that the heroes should stay out of sight for the moment. When they find Darkseid, Green Lantern will act as a distraction to lure him out, so that the other heroes can attack. This was precisely the plan proposed by Aquaman last issue. Green Lantern gives Cyborg the option to stay behind, since he has not yet officially declared himself as a superhero, but Vic is eager to join the battle. The heroes head towards the heart of Metropolis, to meet up with Darkseid.

We follow Batman as he is carried to another portal created by a Boom Tube. As Batman steps through, he finds himself in an unlikely place; peering out over a hellish landscape. It appears that Batman has been transported to Darkseid's home world, Apokolips.

In the middle of the parademon assault, a writer named David is trying to save his family, wishing for some help. His prayer is seemingly answered by a set of green fireworks on the horizon. The fireworks are part of the Justice League's plan to fight Darkseid.

On Apokolips, Bruce Wayne sneaks through the building he is in, finding a pair of superbeings discussing the invasion of the Multiverse in search of Darkseid's daughter, who was apparently kidnapped. The superbeings have Superman tied down before them, and they plan to clone him as part of the next generation of parademons.

On Earth, Cyborg uses his new machinery to tap into he Mother Box network. By saying the word, he is able to suddenly overload the system, causing teleport holes to appear all over the area - and on Apokolips. This shocks the two beings torturing Superman, and Batman uses the moment to free Superman, before the two escape back to Earth through the Boom Tubes. They try to trap Darkseid on the other side of a Boom Tube, but he grabs Superman. With seconds to spare, Cyborg works out how to shut down the network, seemingly killing Darkseid. The world is saved.

In the immediate aftermath, a crowd gathers around. The group thinks they are to be stoned, but instead they are cheered, hailed as the world's greatest superhumans. Writing after the fact, Graves acknowledges the wording was off. The group were the world's greatest super heroes. At a subsequent awards ceremony, the U.S. President gives a speech about how this team of heroes saved the world. Green Lantern is about to break ranks and say it was a one-time deal, but Batman stops him, pointing out that official sanction will get the GCPD off his back, the Air Force off Green Lantern's and the Army off Superman's. The President receives a message from an aide, to say there has been a disaster, and the group is needed. The Flash announces that they have a name, and tells the President to call them the "Super Seven." The rest of the team hates this.

A writer named David Graves writes a book about them later, coining the term "super heroes." In his book, Graves calls this team the "Justice League." The book is titled "Gods Among Us" and the cover depicts them fighting a starfish-monster (Starro).

In London, a man with the shadow of a devil meets a man with glowing blue eyes. They discuss the fact that since the Justice League started, similar beings have become active: Green Arrow, Hawkman, Zatanna. The second man muses that if these are super heroes, then people like himself would be called super villains. As he lights a cigarette, we see he has a monstrous-looking lapel pin.

On a street in the rain, a man has been murdered. The Woman in Purple is there, trying to investigate. As she walks away, she is accosted by the Phantom Stranger, who tells her that she was wrong to alter the timeline as she did, and that he is to take her in. The Woman in Purple says that she is done being passive, and shoots the Phantom Stranger in the head. He recovers instantly, and the Woman in Purple says it was a warning shot. She will do what she will do.

REVIEW

I usually tag some reviews as “Post modern age”. There is no such thing. But to me, the era of the relaunches needed to be separated from the common Modern Age of comics. And while the New 52 is the clear beginning of it... I also put Spider-man post “one more day” under the same tag.

The New 52 had a purpose that is very clear in this story. Tell new stories with these characters and do not be afraid of changing them to make those stories work. Love it or hate it, you have to respect the determination of blending three universes. This worked pretty well during the first six month of publishing, but “creative differences” became a major problem for DC that still plagues them until these days. It’s a mess.

But the initial idea is great. When you read this story, you have to remember this is a fresh start. So it doesn’t really matter if Superman is more violent and talks aggressive, or if Aquaman is too cocky (well, maybe that didn’t change so much). This is the first time you are meeting these characters, and this story sets up a few other arcs (that we feel even after Rebirth).

This story inspired two movies: Justice League and Justice League: War. Scenes from this story can also be seen in Wonder Woman. This is no coincidence, as Geoff Johns was also involved at some point in those projects.

Perhaps the biggest difference is Wonder Woman here against the one on her own title. There is something missing from this Wonder Woman, that compassion that makes her different.

As a result of the approach, these characters are way more violent than they used to be a month before.

The art starts very well and then begins to change in terms of quality. If you look at the credits, several inkers and color separators were involved in half back of the arc, so I guess that explains it. It still looks amazing... but it could be better.

Darkseid barely speaks in this story, but we learn his motivations thanks to that scene with Desaad and Steppenwolf, mentioning Darkseid’s daughter. This arc will bookend this title (will be explored during “Darkseid War”).

Cyborg debuts as the 7th member with this story (displacing Martian Manhunter to Stormwatch). To be honest, the logic for this is still an enigma to me. I understand why Martian Manhunter wasn’t popular, but Cyborg wasn’t that great either. My guess is that he gained popularity through the titans animated shows, but this created a hole into the Titans history after the New 52. The Titans are the real losers of this relaunch, in general. If diversity was the concern, I would have gone for another woman (as Diana is the only female hero), or perhaps someone with a different color (like Vixen, Doctor Light II, etc). Ultimately, the usefulness of Cyborg in the context of the group is that he can teleport them. That’s his main asset. I respect it, but I am still not convinced.

I give this story a technical score of 10

#new 52 #jim lee #scott williams #alex sinclair #justice league #dc comics #comics #review #2011 #post modern age #jla #justice league of america #green lantern #superman #wonder woman #batman #aquaman #cyborg #the flash #darkseid #pandora #phantom stranger

[bigskydreaming]

Do you have any opinions on Jason’s current Dark Trinity Outlaws team? What do you think about people wanting to turn it into an “Antihero League” by adding characters like Godspeed, Rankorr, Ocean Master (Or Koryak) and Thomas Merlyn?

Not really - I don’t keep current with Jason’s comics, more just keep up with issue summaries because I just….I hate how Lobdell writes him so so so so so much. LMAO.

I’m gonna ramble about Jason and his writing now, so apologies if that’s not what you were looking for with this question, lol.

As much as I love him, Jason, more than most characters, is plagued by the problem of being extremely attractive to gritty edgelord writers with zero capacity for any kind of emotional or moral complexity, and I hate it lots and lots, lol. Like, I’ve said before that I agree with a lot of Jason’s stances more than I do say, Bruce’s, but there’s all kinds of layers to them that just NEVER get so much as glanced at, when people like Lobdell are the ones doing all the scripting.

Like, so many of Jason’s writers are so busy emphasizing that he’s RIGHT and his take on killing criminals and villains is GOOD, that nobody has ever stopped to ask….why does it have to be JASON, specifically, a traumatized twenty year old who’s already been through more than anyone should ever have to….that has to do the actual killing, in order to validate that particular position?

What I mean is….these characters are supposed to be more than just their basic premise, the ideologies they espouse or embody. They’re supposed to be CHARACTERS too, with lives, dreams, emotions…and everybody’s so busy pitting Jason against his father in a war of ideological attrition that nobody in the comics ever just stops and says to him….hey, you can be 100% right about all of this, and still not need to be the one who takes on the burden of proving it. You don’t exist just to be a criminal killing machine simply because you happen to have this viewpoint….there are other ways you can still make a difference and help people.

I’ve said before, I actually think Dick’s moral stance on killing isn’t as cut and dried as people make it. I think he freaks out when he’s pushed to that line himself because he’s got massive abandonment issues and is afraid of disappointing Bruce, but given how easily he’s able to make his peace with working with people with enormous body counts, without any real judgment, I think he honestly believes that killing should never be an ideal first choice, but sometimes its a necessary evil. The thing is though….believing that doesn’t mean that HE, personally….needs to be a killer….and he pushes back against that so heavily not because he so diehard believes that killing is never justified, but because being the master of his own destiny is so hugely important to him, and too many people over the years have spent too much time trying to mold him into a killer for him to ever see himself crossing that line as anything other than letting them win. Hell, if you read the actual issue in Last Laugh where he kills the Joker….his major issue and the source of his freakout isn’t so much that he killed the Joker or crossed that line specifically…its that in doing so, he let the Joker win. He gave the Joker what he wanted out of that whole mess. Like, that’s literally his dialogue.

And the thing I see missing from so many Jason stories is…..writers never give him the opportunity to stop and go, okay, I’ve established what I BELIEVE….but now, what do I WANT? None of the Batfamily ever set out as vigilantes with the belief that they would actually ‘fix’ the world in their lifetime. No matter how long they live, after they die, crime will still exist, there will still be bad guys, people will still murder other people. None of them have ever been under the illusion that there’s some finite endpoint to all of this, that if they reach it, the job is done, the world is better…..and so its not like killing even the worst of the worst, so they never have an opportunity to break out and commit more crimes like…that doesn’t actually whittle down the numbers and in doing so get Jason closer to the magic ‘endpoint’ in which like, they can all rest easy, Gotham is all better now.

My point being, there are lots of ways to make a difference, and the way each vigilante chooses as their way of making a difference is still valid, even if its not ‘the most efficient’ method, you know? They don’t exist, as characters, simply to be the most efficient ways of countering crime. Its more, they exist as characters, and as characters, these are the ways they choose to live their lives, what to do with their time, how to make the most of their existence as PEOPLE. Their purpose is helping people, protecting people….and killing the worst of the worst may be one way to do that, may even in some instances be the most efficient way of doing that….but that doesn’t inherently render all other ways of doing that meaningless.

Like, Batman or Nightwing or Red Robin might save someone from a murderer, and put that murderer in jail…and that murderer might then get released and escape and go on to murder someone else…..but that doesn’t mean that the life they saved initially doesn’t matter, just because the way they did it didn’t ultimately put a definitive stop to the murderer’s crimes. And no, it doesn’t mean that the later life or lives he takes don’t matter either, or that they couldn’t have been saved if Batman or the others had killed him at their earlier opportunity….but just because they’ve chosen to dedicate themselves to saving and protecting people, doesn’t by extension mean they OWE it to anyone to become killers in the process, if that’s not something they want for themselves. Its not a zero sum game. A life saved versus a life taken at a later point do not cancel each other out, because no lives are interchangeable, you can’t treat them as math where its a matter of balancing equations and making the numbers all line up. Innocent lives saved are still innocent lives saved….no matter what happens elsewhere or later….and the responsibility for a criminal’s later crimes will still always be more that criminal’s.

Now, like when Jason argues when its someone like the Joker, who they all know will always get free again and will never stop, and its an inevitability, all but a certainty? I agree with him, completely. I think the only way to truly stop the Joker is to kill him, and not doing so at least means an awareness that at some later point, he will end up taking more lives that could have been saved if someone had killed him sooner.

But I don’t personally view Bruce as a hypocrite because he refuses to kill the Joker personally. Like I said, I don’t view killing as a NECESSITY because you choose to be a hero and try and help people. If he’s afraid of what it would do to him, what it would turn him into….he’s allowed to be. No, I view Bruce’s hypocrisy there as being more about him trying to put that personal boundary on EVERYONE….to try and make everyone’s behavior and choices line up in accordance with the choice he was only justified in making for HIMSELF. I don’t think people the Joker killed are more on Bruce because he has refused to ever kill the Joker, personally….but I do think that say, once Bruce proactively stepped forward to resuscitate the Joker after Dick killed him, like….that’s where it definitively in my book gets to be like, yo dude, nobody asked you to do that, not even Dick, you BROUGHT HIM BACK so yeah, later acts of Jokerism are kinda on you too.

Meanwhile I don’t view Dick as a hypocrite for not killing people even if I think he believes some people deserve it….because all the things he does to save or help people aren’t rendered invalid or obsolete just because there’s feasibly a more ‘efficient’ way of helping or saving people that he refuses to do….because he understandably doesn’t want to pay the personal toll or price that’s required.

But you see what I mean? There’s SO much more to Jason’s philosophy than any of his writers really ever let there be….because it shouldn’t JUST be about his philosophy and his ideas, it should be equally about his wants, his desires, who he is as a character and how he wants to spend his life. It shouldn’t just be about making killing people, and all the issues that come along with it and cause strife between him and his family, like….just his default setting because its the most efficient way of fighting crime, according to his personal beliefs, and he only exists to be the most efficient crime fighter he can be.

If Jason has those scenes, if he thinks about all this stuff and we’re shown him deciding yes, even with all of that, this is what he WANTS to do, like….I don’t have a problem with that, because I get it. I agree with those choices. But I WANT THOSE SCENES, is the thing that none of these writers give me. I want his personhood to be just as acknowledged as his vigilante philosophy.

And that’s the kind of complexity and nuance and THOUGHT that his writers seem to have no interest in giving him and his stories, and that’s where I’m like…..ugh. Writers like Lobdell just want to write him because he’s the bad-ass black sheep of the Batfamily and he’s their excuse to be all ‘anything goes’ with their stories, rather than centering them around….who is Jason Todd, why is he that way, does he WANT to be that way, and if not, what’s he going to do about that?

LOL. So on a similar note, and back to your question….I don’t really have any interest in reading his Dark Trinity team expanded to be a full Antihero Justice League because I have no faith in any of these writers to introduce anymore complexity to their ‘antihero’ status just because they’ve introduced more characters into the lineup. Just likely to be more of the same, IMO.

DC, and media in general, tbh, have a big problem with prioritizing spectacle over substance. They go for the flashiest choice, the most visibly ‘iconic,’ such as pairing the ‘rogue Batman’ with the ‘anti Superman’ and the ‘rogue Amazon’ and being like well that’s all we need, that’s a winning recipe right there, like, cool if you can make a good story out of that combination but that’s just a bonus, like that’s not really a requirement. We can sell based just on having that formula. And to me, that’s all a full Antihero Justice League would be. Just another way for them to just use a splashy tagline and ad copy as a shortcut for like…writing actual stories that prioritize actual characterization and examining what brings all these characters together and how do they organically interact with each other and what do they have to say with all of that….rather than just ‘morally grey good guys shoot people, blow things up, much blood and cussing, the real heroes make scowly faces at them, middle fingers and yelling WE DO WHAT WE WANT, everyone goes home til next time.’

[slurpingsoba]

Game Over

Relationship: Shigaraki x Spinner

Word Count: about 1.9k

Notes: What started out as me trying to connect back to my childhood gamer days quickly became more Spinaraki propaganda. I think I wrote this a month ago, but I never finished it, mainly because I thought it was trash. I still think it's trash, but I slapped an ending on it so hopefully, it sounds better than it did before!

Also, this picture is the setting of the story. Sometime after Kamino

“Shigaraki”

Spinner called out his leader’s name quietly, not wanting to startle him. Shigaraki was currently cowering near the far edge of his bedroom, his eyes a bit puffy and his body curled up; the disembodied hands he held were overflowing in his arms.

He looked like he was trying to make himself as small as possible, but that was something hard to achieve with his lanky figure. Even in his own chamber, he stuck out like a sore thumb.

Shigaraki grunted as a response, and he shifted his weight from his right foot to his left foot, to his right foot again. His jittery, uncomfortable energy was seconds away from spreading to Spinner, who picked at his scales. 

“Shigaraki,” he called out again, a little louder this time. Shigaraki grimaced and dropped one of his hands to the floor.

Spinner cringed as well when the hand hit the ground. It was hard to watch Shigaraki with his face on display. You could see the intense anger and hopelessness oozing out of every expression he made. With saturated features, Shigaraki bent down to grab the hand on the floor but dropped the ones he was holding in the process. He fell to the floor along with his prized possessions. 

“Stop sulking in the corner like a fucking loser and get over here, for fuck’s sake!” Spinner’s voice cracked a bit. 

He caught a glimpse of Shigaraki’s eyes, and for a second, Spinner was scared for his life. Nobody else was in the room except for them, so Shigaraki could get away with murdering him if he wanted to. But Shigaraki was above killing his own allies, right? Right?!

Shigaraki, as lethargic and languid as he could be, got off the floor at a snail’s pace. He left the hands where they were. Spinner thought he heard some of Shigaraki’s bones crack as he inched himself up.

“Christ, it hurts to see you like this.”

“Then why don’t you leave? Everyone else did.”

Shigaraki’s tone made it seem as though everyone’s departure was a form of betrayal. He was aware that they had lives outside of the League, but he hoped that they would at least stay and comfort him in his time of need. 

Spinner’s heart felt heavier, aching in his chest as he sympathized with Shigaraki. Honestly, Spinner didn’t have any place better to be, but in order to spare Shigaraki’s feelings, he fabricated a white lie.

“I didn’t think it would be a good idea to leave you when you’re… like this.” Spinner motioned to the pile of hands on the ground, and the mess of a man standing among them.

Spinner changed the subject. “I assume you play video games, right? With all the gaming terminology you use.”

“I do.”

“Okay, so let’s play one.” Spinner pivoted on his feet and made his way towards Shigaraki’s monitors. Part of him didn’t want to know what dark and bizarre things lurked on Shigaraki’s computer, but the other part was curious. He pressed the power button on one of the monitors to boot it up as Shigaraki slithered over like a shadow.

Spinner rubbed his eyes, unaccustomed to the brightness emitting from the computer screen. It was the only source of light in the room, and he wasn’t used to using electronics in such poor conditions. 

Shigaraki, appreciating the juxtaposition between dark and light, stretched before taking a seat in front of the screens. After typing in his password, he clicked on an application on his desktop. One resembling a dirt block.

“Minecraft? Seriously?” Spinner was expecting Shigaraki to pick a horror game or at least something more on-brand. But Minecraft...

“Yeah? And what about it?” The only reason Shigaraki was playing it was because All For One bought it for him. He said the game would help him think creatively and collaborate with others in a controlled environment. Not like Shigaraki used the game constructively, anyway.

From the loading screen, Shigaraki clicked on multiplayer and went through his saved servers. After some contemplation, he selected Mineplex.

“Have you ever played?” 

“Yeah, of course. You can’t call yourself a gamer unless you’ve played Minecraft.” Spinner spoke without an ounce of sarcasm in his voice.

“I hope you’re not serious about that.”

“And what if I a- oh shit, look at that Gamertag!” Spinner interrupted himself, crowding Shigaraki’s personal space in order to get a better look at the screen.  

“‘I_Sucked_Stains_Nuts’? The Hero Killer’s groupies are fucking horny, aren’t they?” 

“With a tongue as godlike as Stain’s, why wouldn’t they be?” Spinner licked his lips. With wide eyes, Shigaraki gave Spinner a judgemental look.

“You know he stabbed me.” Shigaraki navigated his way into a mini-game. Survival games, to be specific. He entered a lobby.

“You probably deserved it.”

An exasperated expression settled on Shigaraki’s face. With a huff, he took his hand off his mouse and folded his hands. Spinner took the opportunity to seize control of the game.

“‘HeroKillerLover <3’, ‘xx_DaddyStain_xx’... would you look at that?! Stain’s quite popular in the gaming community.”

“One Minecraft server does not equate to the entirety of the gaming community. Now, give me back my mouse.” Shigaraki right hand reached towards the mouse but got swatted away.

“You know what? Fuck it. You control the mouse and I’ll control the keyboard.”

“Sounds good to me. Queue up the chat log.” Spinner said, ogling over the game like he’s never played it before. 

Oh, Shigaraki thought, a lightbulb going off in his head. Perhaps Spinner never played Minecraft before, and his earlier statement was just him trying to seem cool. 

Shigaraki found this amusing, and for the first time in a while, he cracked a smile. 

Meanwhile, Spinner read over the chat log, soaking in the nonsensical lingo that made the log incomprehensible to him. He was too old to understand the slang that tweens used. However, one thing on the log caught his attention.

A girl with rainbow hair and the Gamertag ‘Detroit_smash_me_69’ was crouching and un-crouching rapidly in the middle of the screen. She was typing in the chat.

“‘Yo, yo, Minus_U1tra_4, answer me. I like your skin,’” Spinner read out loud to himself. “What’s your Gamertag, Shigaraki?”

“Minus_U1tra_4.”

“Huh. I was expecting it to be ‘I_Hate_All_Might_’ or something.”

“That’s a bit too self-incriminating, don’t you think? My name is perfectly edgy.”

Spinner screwed up his face and raised an eyebrow. “Sure it is. Anyway, the rainbow-haired girl is trying to talk to you. She said she liked your skin.”

“I’m using the default skin.”

“Okay well still, reply back to her.” Spinner had a goofy grin on his face. He had a feeling this would be a funny encounter.

“Alright, if you say so.”

Hovering his fingers over the keys before typing, Shigaraki decided to type ‘i like urs to’ into the chat.

“That’s the wrong ‘to’. And you spelled ‘yours’ wrong.”

“I’m typing a message, not a fucking essay,” Shigaraki responded.

“Doesn’t mean you can’t use proper grammar.”

Shigaraki ignored him and read ‘Detroit_smash_me_69’s new reply. “‘Thx. Wanna smash?’”

“Whoaaa, wait a minute. Hold on a second.” Spinner backed away from the monitor in disbelief, pacing in the space behind Shigaraki’s computer setup.

“Dude, I think she’s just referencing her username. Calm down and get back over here.”

Spinner, after taking a few deep breaths, returned to his former position. “What are you gonna say now?”

Shigaraki typed into the chat window, chuckling to himself. Satisfied with his message, he pressed enter. 

‘I’ll Detroit smash you any day darling.’, showed up in the chat log under Shigaraki’s Gamertag. 

“You don’t realize how creepy that sounds-“

“Shush, I’m ~flirting.”

“She could be twelve.” Spinner attempted to reason with Shigaraki. It’s as if he’s never talked to a girl before, real or virtual. 

“‘She’ might not even be a she. Besides, what twelve year old has a Gamertag like that?”

“You know this is public? Like, everyone in this waiting room can see this right now.”

“I don’t give a shit, I’m enjoying myself. I don’t even remember the last time I’ve been able to sit down and play a game like this.”

Shigaraki’s comment caught Spinner off guard, but it reminded him that Shigaraki has been a villain for most of his life. Spinner didn’t quite grasp the twistedness of Shigaraki’s relationship with his master until now, and Spinner felt sad knowing Shigaraki never got to experience a normal life. 

“Well, I’m enjoying this as well. Even if you’re being a freak online.”

“I’m a freak offline too, you know.” Shigaraki turned around in his chair to look at Spinner. He was smirking and seemed to completely forget about the game he was playing. 

“Oh?” Spinner wasn’t sure where this conversation was going, but he would be deceiving himself if he said he didn’t want to find out. He and Spinner were kindred spirits, gamers starving for justice and murder, so he didn’t dismiss the prospects of growing closer to Shigaraki in a more than platonic way. 

“Especially in bed.”

“Oh?” Maybe the Hero Killer fanatics on Minecraft weren’t the horniest people after all. 

Shigaraki stood up and advanced towards Spinner.  “To think I was moping around earlier, when I could have been doing this.”

Spinner had no choice except to walk backward. He continued until his legs hit the side of Shigaraki’s bed and he was forced to fall onto the worn comforter. With Spinner’s back pressed against the blanket, Shigaraki bent over him, trapping him between his arms.

“...doing me?” Spinner squeaked, his cheeks heating up. Spinner was an avid gamer, and therefore a virgin, so he didn’t know how to react to the predicament he was in. Sexual intimacy was new territory for him, but he wouldn’t mind exploring it with-

“Kurogiri said you guys can’t use the WiFi. With All For One gone, nobody’s here to pay for the internet anymore.” Dabi interrupted Spinner’s train of thought. 

Dabi’s voice made chills run down Spinner’s spine. He left Shigaraki’s room about an hour ago, so Spinner was surprised he was back so soon. Why was he here? Why did he have to be such a cockblocker??

“Shit,” Shigaraki exclaimed, not moving from over Spinner. 

“Why don’t you nerds try going outside for once? I heard the graphics out there are incredible!”

“Why don’t you try minding your own damn business for once? I’m about to get some.” Shigaraki barked back at Dabi.

“Yeah! I’m about to get some!” Spinner echoed from under Shigaraki, his every word dripping with excitement. Somehow, Spinner felt breathless already, although Shigaraki hadn't even touched him yet. 

“Gross,” Dabi muttered before walking out of Shigaraki’s room and closing the door behind him, leaving Spinner and Shigaraki alone again. 

Faint sounds from Shigaraki’s computer provided a distraction for Spinner, who was too overwhelmed to function. He looked into Shigaraki’s ruby eyes and found himself starstruck by the man he called a loser just a while ago. Reality was so much better than fictional worlds at times, and this was one of those times.

“Guess I wasn’t that bad of a flirt after all,” Shigaraki said, before leaning down over Spinner’s trembling form.  

Stain’s nuts weren’t the only thing getting sucked tonight.

#shigaraki tomura #shuichi iguchi #spinaraki #bnha #mha #midnight madness #my fanfics are getting weirder and weirder #also I'm gonna be gone for the next week so don't expect much activity from me

[jewishlensnart]

So it’s the holiday season, which in a lot of households means presents. You know who has more merch than almost any other Flash villain (1. being Reverse Flash as of my last count)? Captain Cold!

Have a Len lover in your life? Need to give your family gift ideas? Peep this list, y’all!

I used to own...basically everything with Len on it. I had the largest Flash collection in the southern US until about 3 years ago, when I sold the vast majority of it, and gave away even more. These reviews come from in-hand experience. Let’s start with the Original Lad:

DC Direct Captain Cold

Holy macaroni, was this figure terrible. Yes it was comic-accurate at the time, but you could not pose it, you could not keep it standing, and the face when you removed the glasses? Nightmare fuel. Still, it was a figure from 2001, and they really were doing their best, so I’d have to rate this guy a 2 out of 5.

These next two came out around roughly the same time, but could not be more different in quality. First up, DC Direct Justice Captain Cold

Strictly speaking, this figure was beautiful. Yeah it was in the hyper-realistic style of Alex Ross, who I’ve never been a fan of, but it was toned down in a way that made it less uncanny valley. The figure had stubble painted on, and if you removed the hood (which you technically could but shouldn’t), he had hair under there! But still, this was a DC Direct figure from 2008, so it had all the same flaws that a figure from that time period tended to have: absolutely a bitch to pose, hard to keep upright without the base (I let mine lean against the wall whenever I needed the base for even more precarious figures), joints prone to snapping if you worked him too hard. Still, by far my favorite of the DC Direct/Collectibles Len figures, if not my favorite full-size figure. 4.5 of 5.

Meanwhile in big box stores across the nation, DC Universe Classics was releasing their best wave yet, wave 7. Man, I had that whole thing aside from Aquaman; Big Barda, Flash, Kid Flash, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, and of course, Captain Cold

This is the ugliest Len figure. Hands down, the least visually appealing. Which is a shame, because it’s also one of the best! Completely comic accurate until you hit the upper torso/head area, a ridiculous amount of articulation, with the single best cold gun of any of these figures...but jfc that expression. The weird poncho/hood always bothered me too, because while it was almost comic accurate, something just threw it off the track and made it look more ridiculous than cool. 3.5 out of 5.

After the New 52 hit, DC Collectibles released 2 Captain Cold figures in rapid succession, one that was packaged alone, and one that came as part of a 7-figure set

Can you spot the differences? There’s just one: the Len from the 7-figure set is in a dark blue suit, and doesn’t come with the ice mace and ice dagger. Like all DC Direct figures before them, these DC Collectibles figures are pretty to look at, but offer very little in the way of articulation. They could be hard to keep upright, which was annoying, as neither came with a stand, and do not try to take off the hood. Nothing under there. Still, they were very pretty depictions of a popular redesign, so I feel alright giving these guys a 3 of 5.

DC Collectibles spat out a final Len figure for the CWverse line back in 2015

As a big fan of Wentworth Miller and his face, I feel this figure could have been better. I mean, I’ve seen Arrowverse figures that are spot on, and this one just is not. Maybe it’s because the goggles obscure a good portion of the face, I don’t know. That being said, I love this figure, and it’s actually one I re-bought at a convention recently, along with the Heatwave figure from the same line, that hadn’t been released when I’d started selling off all of my toys. The costume is show-accurate, the figure comes with an extra set of hands, and the gun is just really cool. This is a solid 4 of 5 figure.

These next toys aren’t action figures per say, as they don’t do much in the way of action, but they’re cute and I like them, for the most part.

Funko took over the market and the world back in 2010 when it first introduced the Pop Vinyl figures, but it took a hit TV show to get Flash villains other than the Reverse Flash into production. There are 3 Captain Cold Funko products currently out, the two Pop Vinyls and a Re-Action figure

Now, I love the first Pop Vinyl. The round, lifeless black eyes of the Pops have freaked me out for a long time, but with Len in his sweet goggles, this Pop is perfect for me. I actually have him on a shelf in my closet. The variant...look, I like how they included the actual real-life hairline Wentworth Miller has, but those creepy eyes just kill it for me. The Re-Action figure, by the way, is garbage. They’re supposed to be based on the lines of toys that came out back in the 80s, but all that means to me is little to no articulation, weird molds that look nothing like the character they’re supposed to be, and few if any accessories. Why is he wearing a tie??? Just. The worst. 5 of 5 for Pop 1, 3 of 5 for Pop 2, and 1 of 5 for the Re-Action figure.

There are a bunch of figures that came out before Funko’s reign that have little to no articulation, and here they are:

Action League Citizen Cold, from the Batman: The Brave and the Bold line

I love a good boy??? 5 of 5, absolutely perfect. No you can’t pose him, but he already comes in a dynamic, interesting pose. This is my absolute favorite of all the non-poseable figures, and I miss mine all the time.

Imaginext, a line of toys for very young superhero fans, made a New 52 Captain Cold a few years back

Honestly, Imaginext toys are ridiculous, and I love every single one of them. They’re great toys for little kids, and yeah, Len is completely bald underneath that hoodie and ice gun backpack, but he has a snowball cannon to compensate with, so who’s the real loser?! 5 of 5, beautiful.

Did you kno w that back in 2011, McDonalds put out a line of Happy Meal Young Justice toys featuring Captain Cold??? Did you want to know? Too bad, you know now.

My dad’s dog chewed up his ice projectile, rendering the actual immobile figure completely useless...but I still really like it??? Like, it’s a toy that came with food that I sweet-talked the counter guy into giving me. It’s a worthless little nothing of a toy...but I still like it. 3 of 5.

Pocket Heroes were a weird little line of 3-inch figures that came in two-packs. One of those packs contained Flash and Captain Cold

You can basically only move their arms and legs, and while this figure comes with a cold gun and a remarkably ripped set of abs and pecs, the design never really appealed to me. 2.5 out of 5.

I collected MiniMates once upon a time. 2.5 inch figures that were basically fancy LEGOs? Deal me in! ViniMates are uh. Not that.

ViniMates are 6-inch figures and I Do Not Like Them. Being made of vinyl makes them almost completely free of articulation, so the post you get them in is the one they stay in. Also, this one is based on the show-interpretation of Len and it seems to be smoldering at me. Don’t like that. 1 out of 5.

On the other end of the vinyl spectrum, the Mini-Mezitz line from Mezco is simply delightful.

Mini-Mezitz were 2-inch figures with articulation in their arms, legs, and neck joints. I love mine, and they have been hanging out on the top of my bookcase for like 7 years now. 4 out of 5, absolutely weird-dorable.

Eaglemoss once put my blog on the front page of their website without telling me, back when I was actively snapping pictures of my Flash collection. The Eaglemoss lead figures, once you get past the fact that yes, these dudes are made of painted lead so maybe handle with care, are a good staple in any collection. Captain Cold got two

Both Eaglemoss figures came with information booklets about Captain Cold, though the chess piece New 52 version focused almost solely on his New 52 history. They’re both very detailed, and I really like them. 3.5 out of 5.

I never watched Thomas the Tank Engine as a kid...but I saw this weirdass thing in a HomeGoods one day and just kinda. Stopped and stared.

He’s a train. Len is a train now. Don’t like it. 1 out of 5.

So there’s this company called Kotobukiya. They’re most famous for their bishoujo statues, but they make guys too. I had the Flash Kotobukiya statue, back in the day. I was not collecting Flash stuff when they made a Captain Cold one.

I’m actually apparently getting this as a gift from my boyfriend for Hanukkah. He finally got access to my wishlist. This statue is based on the Francis Manapul New 52 redesign, and it is what we call Big Sexy. Frankly, I give it a 5 out of 5.

No offense to Wentworth Miller, but my favorite Captain Cold TV appearance is always going to be his role in the JLU episode, Flash and Substance.

The JLU figures were all godawful, but hell if we as a fandom didn’t gobble them up back in the day. I had all the available Rogues, Len, Heatwave, Captain Boomerang, Weather Wizard, “Justice Lords Flash” (who was really just Reverse Flash, let’s be real), Mirror Master...it’s the most complete set of Rogues you can get, actually. But they were terrible figures; the Dorito-like shape of the shoulder to waist ratio combined with the narrow feet of the figure guaranteed that these toys would not stay upright without a stand. They had no articulation, and most came without weapons. But you could get three-packs of them in Target for like $12, and they were designed with children in mind, so. 3.5 out of 5, because frankly, the Timmverse designs will always tug at my nostalgia strings.

Captain Cold is available in two official LEGO forms

The first is from the Mighty Macros line, and features Len vs the Flash in a racecar vs snowmobile race. It’s very cute and easy to build. The second is the more challenging Gorilla Grodd Goes Bananas set, which also includes Flash, Grodd, and strangely enough, Batman and Wonder Woman. I never owned that set, and it’s pretty hard to find these days, regularly running $80 and up. Both sets are a 5 out of 5, though, because LEGO does not mess around when it comes to quality fun.

I saved my favorites for last. In the 70s, there was a line of toys called MEGOs, which were plastic-bodied toys with cloth suits. Mattel, and later the Figures Toy Company, would both do their own versions of Captain Cold

The first version, by Mattel, is amazing. Mine is literally sitting next to me as I type this. I took him to Universal with me when I won a trip to Halloween Horror Nights back in 2015, I take him to the movies with me when I don’t have anyone else to go with, he’s my little buddy. My dad’s dog, again, chewed his left arm completely off at one point, but I don’t care. I love him. As for the Figures Toys version, I actually won a fairly cheap auction for him earlier this week, so we shall see! I don’t know if I like how he has the whole “Super Friends hypothermia Len” look going on, but I do like how his costume isn’t just cheap, tearable vinyl. We shall see what’s under that hood soon. I give the Mattel one a 5 out of 5 for the years of joy he’s given me. The Figures Toys one is pending, but I’m gonna give a tentative 4 out of 5, because it really does look nice.

You could get Len in other forms, like as a game piece in the Heroclix and Dice Masters games, as a paintable figure for a Batman tabletop roleplaying game, as trading cards, as a set of guitar picks, as a card holder, as a very hard to find but still lovely statue from DC Direct, in official pin form from Funko and Fansets, on an old 7-Eleven cup, and of course, in the pages of the comics...but I’ve always liked toys, so that’s what I decided to go over. Hope y’all enjoyed this, and maybe got some ideas for your own collections.

#Len Snart #Captain Cold #Flash Rogues #toys #long post #image heavy

[listdepot]

Top 5 Superhero Teams

5. The Marvel Family

A team of particularly do-goody do-gooders, the Marvel Family are the offshoot of Captain Marvel, the alter ego of child reporter Billy Batson. A team of people mainly granted the power of the amoral yet morally convicted wizard Shazam (he needs an avatar to fight the forces of evil and puts the onus of it all onto a 7 year old), the Marvel Family includes Billy’s sister Mary Batson as Mary Marvel and his friend Freddy Freeman, who sheds his disabilities when he becomes Captain Marvel Jr.

There’s also the Lieutenant Marvels (Tall Billy, Fat Billy and Hill Billy, three men who share Billy Batson’s name) and Uncle Dudley, a dumpy old man without powers who believes he’s the Uncle Marvel, who the Marvels took a liking to. There’s also Tawky Tawny who is quite literally a talking tiger who often wears a tweed suit. Its great. He’s great.

The Marvel Family, similar to Superman’s family, is part of that general “idea” of ideal superheroes. Just... weirder. That’s what makes them great. Its what makes Captain Marvel wonderful. “Superman but a little weirder” works wonders for this character and his team.

4. Justice League Dark

When Metallo is rampaging through Metropolis, you call Superman. When Sinestro or Atrocitus are attacking planets, you call the Green Lantern Corps. These basic villains are often easy solutions when matched with their respective heroes. But what do you do when eldritch creatures from dimensions in between space and time invisibly swarm the planet? Will the Justice League stop that? Or do you need a Darker Justice League?

That’s where Justice League Dark (get it) comes into play. DC’s supernatural side is, I believe, their greatest strength overall. And with a team staffed by, among others, magician Zatanna, magician/conman John Constantine, actual ghost Deadman, avatar of nature and protector from horrors Swamp Thing, and chimp detective Detective Chimp, these creatures certainly have a reason to shake in their boots.

The forces of Heaven and Hell, the occult, the reemergence of Vertigo characters into the main DC canon. Justice League Dark deals in all of these themes, creating a heavy, interesting series of constant world-threatening events within the pages of their comics.

3. Agents of Atlas

A spy, a spaceman, a siren, a mermaid, a robot, a gorilla. One of Marvel’s oddest teams have nothing in common except for a single IRL connection: all six of them first appeared (and then mostly disappeared) in Marvel’s early years during the 40s and 50s, back when the company was known as Atlas.

In the canon, ATLAS was formed by the FBI to rescue President Eisenhower from the forces of the Yellow Claw. Claw’s archenemy Agent Jimmy Woo recruited the Venusian Marvel Boy and siren Venus, before also fixing the mute “Human Robot” M-11 and gaining the aid of Gorilla-Man, a soldier of fortune CURSED TO LIVE FOREVER IN THE BODY OF A GORILLA UNTIL SOMEONE KILLS HIM which is an idea that is incredibly stupid and part of the reason I love this garbage. Also not soon after, the Atlantean Namora (who had refused to help Woo initially) joins the team as well.

Inheriting the Claw’s Atlas Foundation front, the team works mostly in the dark, fighting the forces of evil. Most recently, (2009, they don’t get used often enough, basically) this espionage team has opted to take on the identity of “supervillains” as resistance against Norman Osborn’s regime as head of SHIELD. Again, this was 2009. They need to get out more.

2. X-Statix

Marvel, for some reason beyond my understanding but that I won’t question for reasons you’ll soon find out, decided to hand over the X-Force title to Peter Milligan and Mike Allred. X-Force was a comic known for both portraying a gritty. more aggressive form of X-Men and for being the most Rob Liefeld thing prior to him creating characters with names like DEATHSTRYKE and KILLBLOOD or whatever for his own comics label. Peter Milligan, meanwhile, was known for his mind-bending postmodernist works like Shade the Changing Man and Mike Allred’s pop art sensibilities seemed like the furthest possible artistic style from Liefeld’s grimacing over muscled footless monsters.

And when X-Force #116 premiered, it was not only incredibly different, but it introduced a whole new team of vapid, self-obsessed superheroes. An early 00s take on celebrity through a superhero vein, the original issue takes a turn when the last page features the collective death of all but 3 of the new team, immediately setting up a whole OTHER new team to remember after being introduced to the interpersonal relationships of this ego-driven team of mutants.

Its smart and pretty sharp and the constant retooling in the book itself by scummy mentor and amoral super rich investor creates an odd reality TV aspect of these strange heroes with their constantly shifting, often dying team (even Dead Girl, a mutant whose power is she’s already a ghost/zombie and can return to near-life after dying), all ready to be filmed, in moments of heroism or tragedy by their cameraman, Doop, a character I refuse to go into any more detail for because you should experience Doop for yourself. Just Google Image Search Doop thanks.

There’s a LOT to say about X-Force, who eventually changed their name to X-Statix due to the negative reaction from the 00s comics crowd, which sorta proves they were totally before their time, and, truthfully, its the best to just check it out on your own. There aren’t a lot of runs that I’d tell you to just hey look it up but hey

Look up X-Statix. Its really good.

1. Doom Patrol

The Doom Patrol can, perhaps, best be described by their classic original tagline: “THE WORLD’S STRANGEST HEROES” and hoo boy does that apply. Founded by Niles Caulder, the Doom Patrol features actress Rita Farr aka the size changing Elastigirl (eat it, Pixar), test pilot Larry Trainor aka the radioactive Negative Man, and race car driver Cliff Steele aka Robotman, a robot man.

And things were fairly odd for a while for the Patrol, up to and including the Doom Patrol’s presumed deaths at the hands of General Zahl while saving the small town of Codsville, Maine.

Then Grant Morrison happened.

Grant Morrison never met a comic book convention he didn’t love to openly embrace while also flipping it into some metatextual nonsense (and I can’t help but love it every time). Morrison took the Doom Patrol and created a comic based around Dadaist art and literature, William S Burroughs-esque cut and paste writing and just general absurdity. Negative Man Trainor merges his Negative Spirit with Dr. Eleanor Poole, becoming a multiracial, divine intersex radioactive being who refers to themself as Rebis. New characters were introduced like Kay Challis aka Crazy Jane, a woman with multiple personalities, each of which have different superpowers, and Danny the Street, a street. An actual sentient street. Who is also a drag queen. Its better than it sounds I swear.

The Doom Patrol soon became well... strange. Stranger than the strange they used to be. Their only recurring enemy was a 2 dimensional supervillain named Mr. Nobody who founded the Brotherhood of Dada, a team less about world domination or getting rich, and more about just like... idk? They don’t really recognize good or evil as simplistic concepts and prefer to just mess around like a bunch of dickheads, really.

Soon came Rachel Pollack’s Doom Patrol. Pollack, a trans woman, used the Doom Patrol’s debut in the Vertigo imprint. to discuss issues like identity, bisexuality, Judaism, creating an equally intelligent and mature comic, just on a separate level than Morrison’s. And a decade later, after a few changes in guards all around, Keith Giffen had a Doom Patrol run, letting the team go through a more humorous bent, notably featuring the inclusion of the fouth wall-adjacent comedy hero Ambush Bug. Most recently, Gerard Way (yeah, the dude from My Chemical Romance) has been creating his own Doom Patrol for DC’s Young Animal imprint, a mix of his own ideas and the classic Dadaist Doom Patrol that Morrison created.

Doom Patrol is a team of the strange, the outsiderest outsiders of DC, a team initially brought together by tragedies (unknown to them caused by their sociopathic leader), and who soon grew into an ersatz family of freaks. A loving museum of the weird who defend Earth from just the craziest nonsense imaginable,even if the rest of the superhero community don’t respect them. They do what they do because they have to, and because no one else can even wrap their mind around what they do. They’re the Doom Patrol, The World’s Strangest Heroes.

[carib0us]

The Eyes of Rin 01: Hanayo, she’s gone.

Story 2 of The Neglected Shrine

She's gone, Hanayo.

"Nico.."

"Hanayo."

"Being a school idol, it's tough."

"It is tough, honey."

"But it doesn't KILL YOU, Nico! It doesn't .. doesn't ... O-OBLITERATE you."

Summary:

New couple Nico and Hanayo, and Rin's girlfriend Maki, struggle to cope when tragedy strikes at the heart of µ's.

For some reason, part-time shrine maiden Tojou Nozomi suddenly thought of the old, neglected shrine when the first long rays of sunset appeared at her feet as she swept the steps.

She had long known there was another, older shrine behind and a little to the north of the one she helped maintain. Over the years, it had been neglected and started to fall apart. Undoubtedly, the presence of the more popular shrine had eclipsed it. Nozomi knew that the bonze who had this shrine built a coupole of generations ago had written that the other shrine wasn't spiritually upright anymore. She also knew the one time she'd gone to look at it, it had filled her with unease. But saying so to other people would just look like reiigious competition, she assumed.

She tried to tell those close to her that it would be a bad idea to visit it. It did not seem to be maintained, and perhaps not even any priests lived there anymore. It was a wonder that someone in Tokyo hadn't reclaimed and used the real estate it represented, but often shrines had a preservation clause which the city had to honor. If it weren't so close to her shrine, Nozomi would have almost felt a little sad about it.

The building of this shrine had been seen as an aggressive move at the time and had engendered ill will. Especially so as people neglected the older shrine in favor of the new one. But that was many decades ago now; no one cared about shrine squabbles of the past nowadays.

One of Nozomi's friends who had not listened to her - because she'd been too excited about her upcoming skateboarding exhibition to pay attention - was Hoshizora Rin. In fact, Rin had been headed to the shrine Nozomi worked at while the shrine maiden was pondering it.

On seeing Nozomi, Rin was embarrassed about praying to show off in a skateboard competition on video.

"I'll do this another time," she thought, although the exhibition was soon.

Rin made her way away from the shrine, and by coincidence, she made out another shrine not far from the bigger, newer one Nozomi was at.

"Maybe this is a spiritual place just for me?" Rin wondered. She noticed a couple of blank wishes lying near the collection box. She pulled out the marker she'd brought to use at Nozomi's shrine and wrote a wish on it, then hung it on one of the pins still sticking out of the eaves.

Unhesitatingly, she dropped a coin into the mossy contribution box and rang the bell. It had a deep but muffled tone.

Placing her hands in front of her in prayer, she wished:

"I wish Rin can make a great impact in the skateboarding, and even get on the news nation-wide. Rin wants to do something unforgettable."

Rin somehow felt like her wish had been heard, and even granted. Satisfied, she turned around and walked home. On the way out she saw a couple of weathered hand-painted signs. One designated this as "Zankoku asobi jinja." And another, leaning towards the ground, said "Zangyaku akugi jinja." Well, Rin was never cruel, though she was often mischievous and playful. Maybe she had met the shrine half-way. So maybe it would grant her half a wish. Who could say.

Hoshizora had proven the most athletic of all the Otonokizaka "school idols."

Now in her senior year, she had enthusiastically agreed with some new kouhais that skateboarding should be a club there. The headmistress, Minami-sensei, did not agree and so Rin and the others had to practice away from school. Amazingly, Rin took to skateboarding more than anything before it. A natural, she even won a contest after only five months of skateboarding. She also looked dashing in her tomboy way. Boys thought she looked young and vigorous. Even some girls saw her as a "prince." At any rate, Rin got sponsors and started to skate at competitions and exhibitions that were televised. But the upcoming event was specail: only the best skateboarder girls in the Kanto area would be there. It was Rin's first time in the big leagues, so naturally she was dancing with excitement.

The exhibition and competition had gone well, and Rin had been a standout. Afterwards, some of the "extreme" skateboarders had gone on to do dangerous individual stunts. One of the sponsors had suggested someone skateboard down the railing of steps that ran a full two blocks, and had some curves and bends on the way down. Even the veteran skateboarders had refused. The railing was rickety and smooth and the conditions were terrible.

Rin eyed it curiously. "No way, Hoshizora!" said one of the best skateboarders. "If your curiosity gets you up on that rail, you will lose all nine lives, kitty!"

"Rin is pretty light and agile, nyan." Rin wanted to do it. It was just as she'd wished, something that would really stand out, and make an impact.

Some of the boarders turned away, others said angry words to the sponsor whose idea it was. The cameras, of course, all swung to Rin. She buckled on her helmet and squared her shoulders. With a nimble flip, she'd settled herself and her board on the flat part of the rail. Then with a cry of "Nyan!" she pushed forward, on to the down slope.

It was already on the news everywhere by the time Nico woke up and went online. "No!" she shouted. Hanayo was woken up, and looked at Nico, bleary-eyed. Nico was flipping from story to story, clearly upset. When Hanayo asked "What's going on, Nico-chan? Was there an attack?" Nico looked back at her. She knew she had tears in her eyes. She wondered somewhat frantically if there was any way she could delay this, keep Hanayo in the dark just a little longer. And really, there wasn't. How did Nico want Hanayo to learn about the awful truth?

She came back over to the bed. "Hanayo, pumpkin, something really awful has happened and I don't know how to tell you. It's Rin."

Hanayo got a really cold feeling.

"Is she - is she hurt, Nico?"

"She's gone, Hanayo. Some crazy skateboarding contest had her do something she wasn't able to and they killed her."

"Ki-killed her? Rin is dead? Rin is dead?"

"I'm so sorry, baby."

"No," said Hanayo. "You're lying. I know you are. Why would you say that?"

Nico opened up Hanayo's travel bag and packed some of her clothes and her toothbrush in it.

"What are you doing, Nico?" Hanayo demanded, angrily.

"I am going to take you home. You need to be with your family."

Hanayo started to believe this might not be a cruel joke, or a stupid mistake.

"Let me see."

Nico bowed her head and pointed at her computer.

The article that was up said that a young girl skateboarder had been killed doing a suicidal stunt riding a third of a kilometer on a steep, winding rail, at the prompting of an unethical sponsor in a competition that had not had any real oversight. Editorials were already saying there should be no more skateboarding competitions in Tokyo and the Hoshizora family was demanding justice. The picture of Rin was from another competition - she looked brave and very alive.

Hanayo couldn't stay standing. She staggered over to the bed and fell on it. Nico heard her tortured sobs and gave her a pat and kept on packing.

"Hanayo, honey? I'm ready to take you home. You shouldn't be away from your family at a time like this."

"Nico... Ni-Nico?"

"Hanayo, baby."

"Nico, you're my family too, please stay with me tonight at home."

Nico was really touched. Especially since she'd expected Hanayo to withdraw into herself. Without her best friend around, Hanayo lost some of her identity, and Nico was aware.

She knew, too, that Hanayo would be too devastated to be angry, right now. Well, Nico did anger well enough for two. The Rin she knew could be very shrewd when someone was running away from a problem, or giving her a dubious argument, or lying. But when it came to her personal safety, Rin was basically an idiot. Had she even turned 18 yet? Nico didn't think so. So they'd talked a young girl into killing herself on camera. That was murder in Nico's book.

Hanayo, meanwhile, had gotten herself together. The idea, the good, good idea, the only idea she had, she only had room for one idea at a time right now, was to just keep moving. Let doing things you needed to do numb you for a while.

She couldn't help herself - she read more in Nico's article. At the speed Rin had hit the railing at the fastest part, the rickety structure had entirely separated - it was a freak accident that she hit the joint just when a heavy-set group of about ten men had been leaning on it. They were all injured, though none of them had died.

The railing had catapulted Rin away, then fallen on her. For some reason the story used the word "obliterated" to describe what happened to Rin. As if they wanted to hurt Hanayo as much as possible.

Nico dragged Hanayo away and shut down her computer. "Please get in the car, baby."

Hanayo headed to the car, and Nico got in with the keys. Before she started it, she pulled out her phone. "I have to do this now, Hanayo, I promise I won't be long."

"Maki, this is Nico. Hanayo and I just heard the news. I am taking her to her parents' house. We thought of you, Maki. I'm so sorry. Some time soon, we should meet up." From Nico's face she wasn't hearing anything. Then Hanayo heard Maki's voice "I don't want to talk to anyone! Are you an idiot!? Go away!"

"Damn." Nico said as she pushed the off button. "That could have gone better."

Looking at Hanayo's even-more-stricken face she hastened to reassure her.

"Maki will eventually be glad we called right away, Hanayo, I promise. This is just her with her guard down. She needs time to build her armor back up."

Not for the first time, Hanayo thought Nico was a little cynical in her evaluations of people. But compared to Nico, she felt like she'd been spoiled. Oh, and Rin was dead.

Better not to think, she looked at Nico hopefully, and Nico started the car up. Pretty soon, they'd be at her parents house, and Hanayo could be hugged by her parents. And Rin was obliterated.

Wait. "So Rin didn't ..."

"No, I don't think she did. It was very quick."

"Nico.."

"Hanayo."

"Being a school idol, it's tough."

"It is tough, honey."

"But it doesn't KILL YOU, Nico! It doesn't .. doesn't ... O-OBLITERATE you."

"It wasn't my place to tell Rin what to do. You know we weren't talking. And when you told her, she promised to be safe. She started at least protecting herself. And what do you think Maki is thinking? She's going to be a doctor. You think she wanted Rin doing this?"

"Why couldn't Maki talk her out of it?"

"We'll probably never know, honey. I am not going to ask Maki a question like that. It's not like I dislike her."

"When Maki's over it .. when she is ... Nico, she'll be single again."

"And so what, Hanayo? You think I'd leave you for her? I am not secretly harboring an intense and guilty love for that girl."

Hanayo had to smile at that - awfully SPECIFIC denial.

Then she remembered. "Rin's dead, Nico! She's dead! my best friend and we'll never see each other again! What do I do, Nico?" Nico was driving slowly so it didn't matter that Hanayo was clinging to her arm as she drove. "Let's just get you home," Nico said.

When they got there, however, the Hoshizoras were there.

Even though her parents smothered her in a tight hug, Hanayo pushed her hand back. Nico, who had been standing back, took her hand.

Mr. Hoshizora asked who that was. On being introduced to Nico, he asked if that wasn't the girl who got Rin in trouble all the time then stopped speaking to her. The Koizumis said that wasn't true. Nico was polite and respectful, and said "Sometimes, I think I did have ideas that got Rin, Honoka and me in trouble. I regret that. And I haven't been seeing Rin much after high school, I am sorry to say. Ummm" Nico paused. "I talked with Rin on the phone about three days ago, though."

The Hoshizoras were surprised. "What did she say?" As is unfortunately usual, before Rin's exhibition they hadn't had any long conversations, just the normal family talk in passing.

"She said she was on her way to the shrine to pray for success. She seemed very excited and happy. But"

Nico paused again. "But she never made it there. We have a friend who cares for it and she never saw Rin-chan, not all day. I happened to phone her that day, so I asked. Her name is Tojou Nozomi, she's at university now but it's not far. Rin's parents, I think you should talk to her. She told me she had a bad feeling about Rin, she's really spiritual."

If it had been Maki's parents, they would have dismissed Nico right then. As it was, Mr. Hoshizora looked at Hanayo - the girl they knew was Rin's best friend, and trustworthy.

"I .. I thinkyoushouldtalktohertoo!" Hanayo blurted out. Sbe also gave Nico a hurt look. Why hadn't she told Hanayo about those conversations? If Hanayo had known something ominous was coming, she could have pleaded with Rin to be extra careful, after all. But she agreed that talking to Nozomi would benefit Rin's parents. Her graceful and sympathetic personality was a good fit for grieving, angry parents.

Nico responded to what Hanayo was saying with her glance. "Hanayo I didn't mention it to you because I didn't see what you could do about something like Nozomi having a bad feeling. I did say she should talk to Maki about it, and I didn't suggest it in a nasty way."

Mrs. Hoshizora and Mrs. Koizumi had quietly started a conversation in low tones. Mrs. Koizumi turned to them at that and said "where is Maki-chan, and how is she doing."

"Umm she's at the place her parents rented for her near school .. and she's not doing well." Hanayo said. "Nico called her and she basically yelled at her and told her she wants everyone to leave her alone. But I don't think being alone is good."

Mrs. Hoshizora smiled sadly. "As Rin-chan's parents, we know how she feels. And you're right, it's not good. Do you have the address, and her phone number?" She turned to her husband "We should visit her. We'll understand her, and we may all feel a little better. It's what Rin-chan would want us to do, honey."

Mr. Hoshizora still had a hostile and suspicious feeling about the Yazawa girl. "Why are you here with Hanayo if you don't get along with Rin?" he asked her suddenly.

"I wa-wanted her to come, I asked her to come, I really want her here, Mr. Hoshizora."

"I understand that somehow there is the idea out there that Rin-chan and I were enemies, or on the outs or something?" Nico said pensively. "I actually have a history with her, and it's certainly not all bad. And it was often very close."

"Nico-chan, Honoka-sempai and Rin-chan were a kind of trio at Otonokizaka," Hanayo explained. "They did get in a lot of trouble, especially for pulling pranks, but they also had a lot of fun. Rin-chan used to tell me all the stories and she was so filled with enjoyment. And also her and Nico sometimes were closer than other times."

"If we keep hinting around, they are going to lose patience with me, Hanayo," Nico said. "They deserve to know as much about Rin's life as we can tell them, I think." She turned to the Hoshizoras.

"What do you know about Rin's dating life?"

Mr. Hoshizora answered, looking uncomfortable. "She told us she was dating a girl from Otonokizaka. I don't understand how that could be. Otonokizaka is a respectable school, and they are both girls. She said that it was Nishikino, a girl from her year, who was doing that 'school idol' thing with her. I didn't approve of them putting Rin in flashy clothes that showed off her body too much. But then again, maybe if we'd insisted she wear dresses, after she suddenly refused to one day, she would have had a more normal school life."

"Well," said Nico, "I am not ashamed of Rin. Hanayo isn't either."

Hanayo wanted Nico not to say any more but realized she would. So she shook her head. It's not like she could agree with being ashamed of Rin.

"So ..." Nico looked thoughtful. Then she said, decisively: "before Nishikino, was Hanayo here, and before her, was me."

She let that sink in.

"So, right now, you are looking at two of Rin's three girlfriends. And if I had been able to get through to Maki today you would be seeing the third one. We can't know if Rin would have grown up to like boys, too. Or get married. But we do know she liked girls. Some girls have always liked girls and girls have always dated. In the old days, they just had to sneak around and hide shamefully and lie about it. And Rin would never do that. It's not like Rin robbed a bank. I am not telling you to shame you or make you feel sad. Rin was happy with how you treated her, even after she told you she was dating Maki. You have nothing to feel bad about that way. I'm just saying, Rin was successful in her social life as well as her school life and her sports life. She got what she wanted, just not what other people might want for her."

"And there's this ..."

She pulled out a photo. It was Rin looking completely girly - and happy - in a beautiful white dress with a gigantic pink bow. She gave it to Mrs. Hoshizora who showed it to her husband. Nico stepped back, because she knew they wouldn't want her to say anything more. Indeed, they grew quiet and both of them had tears running down their faces.

A little while later Mr. Hoshizora went out with Mr. Koizumi to smoke.

"So, what weren't you two telling us about Rin," Mrs. Hoshizora asked, when the door was closed.

Nico looked at Hanayo, but kept quiet.

"What?" said Hanayo. You could tell she wanted to say "Someone help me!" but - and Nico realized it with a bit of both sadness and disappointment - normally that meant "Rin, help me!" and now Hanayo couldn't say that.

"It's nothing, it's just that when Nico said she and Rin were girlfriends, both of you looked uncomfortable, like she wasn't telling the truth. And you didn't explain why Rin had three girlfriends in a short time. Or why you two are together. I thought over what you said, and I agree: the time to know all about my daughter, so I can remember her properly, as she really was, is now."

Nico still left it up to Hanayo. She was the known quantity, much closer to Rin.

"We-well …. Really? You want to know?"

Mrs. Hoshizora nodded.

"If this is something I shouldn't be hearing about, I can go make more tea," Mrs. Koizumi said.

"We-well … it involves me as well, Mama … so … so I think you should hear, if I can tell Rin's mama."

Then, after quite a pause, where Hanayo looked down at the floor and gathered her courage from somewhere:

"Okay … you … you're right. Nico and Rin .. they weren't exactly girlfriends … umm I always loved Rin .. but .. she had a problem with .. sometimes … knowing what people were feeling or … what she should do … I don't know how to put it … she would just kind of charge forward and … sometimes .. it caused problems."

Mrs. Hoshizora nodded, it wasn't entirely a new element of Rin for her, after all.

"And … and … I know I was considered very innocent, and Maki, too … but Rin was the most innocent … about … such as .. sex and such."

"And Maki got some manga from Honoka … and Maki was reading … girl's love manga … and Rin .. saw it. And she nagged Maki a lot. I saw it. Until .. until Maki let her read one and she liked it but she made me and Maki explain it and it was super, super embarrassing. And I don't know, but she got excited while reading it and she figured .. who could she talk to about it besides me because I was getting so flustered, and Maki was saying 'I don't want to talk about it any more, Rin, show some modesty.' "

"So, ummm her usual gang was Honoka and Nico, right? And somehow she thought Honoka would be embarrassed because it was her manga, and she'd tell Kotori and Umi and Umi would say it was shameful, Rin was sure. So she thought, Nico! Nico will not only talk about this but maybe she'll know about it. And she did wait and drag Nico off to a room to discuss it. Nico was completely embarrassed but she was, umm a little worried about Rin running around school talking about girl's love, so she discussed it. A little less nervously than me and Maki, I guess? She is older. But anyways, umm Rin suggested they try doing what was in the manga and Nico said well you should do that with people you really like, and Rin said she really liked Nico, and Nico was flustered and trying to explain, and while she was explaining, Rin kind of umm pushed Nico against the wall and kissed her. It was Nico's first kiss and she was really shocked."

Mrs. Hoshizora and Mrs. Koizumi were obviously shocked as well.

"And," and by now Hanayo was in the moment, remembering what Rin and Nico had told her about that day, so she wasn't even looking up, just looking down and remembering and talking, "Nico was so shocked she didn't say anything, so Rin kissed her and her neck and kind of nibbled on her ear, and Rin put her hands on Nico's shirt and pushed it up and Nico wasn't wearing any bra, and Rin put her hands on Nico's … br-breasts and kept on kissing her and Nico was so shocked she just stood stark still and couldn't mo-move and Rin even .. she even touched Nico's place and she kept rubbing Nico's breast and kissing her all over and touching her and Nico had her mo-moment even though she was shocked and kind of hu-humiliated and when Rin was done Nico pulled her shirt down and she straightened her clothes and she ran away without a word and went home and I guess she went to her room and didn't talk to anyone and then she phoned me pretty late and she told me all about it and she was crying. So yeah calling that being Rin's girlfriend is pretty much a lie."

Mrs. Hoshizora asked gently, "Is there any more?"

Hanayo looked up with tears in her eyes and nodded.

"So, ummm even though Rin and I are usually inseparable, I was super, super mad at her and Nico couldn't stand to even see her and that's where Rin probably talked about it to you? And that went on for quite a while. We managed to keep doing practice somehow, but after that mostly Nico and I went home and Maki and Rin went home."

Mrs. Koizumi asked, "When did you and Rin get together, then?"

Hanayo looked up again.

"Well, after a few weeks, I decided to try explaining to Rin again. I mean, she looked so sad and she had no idea, really why everyone was mad at her. As hard as that is to believe. She was just so innocent in some ways."

Mrs. Hoshizora said, "You know, that's our fault. We just assumed Rin would figure out everything on her own, and now I see that that was never true. She takes after both her parents, I am afraid."

"I finally got Rin to understand that what she did with Nico was a sacred thing, that she took Nico's first kiss and first time without permission or any cooperation from Nico. That took a while. I told her what Nico meant, that only if you love someone should you do sex with them? Or something. And yes, people had sex just for fun, but Nico wasn't like that, even though normally she was one of the fun-loving trio. So the very next day Rin wanted to go home with me. And she said she thought that she and I liked each other the way Nico said people should to have sex, so we should try what was in Honoka's magazines. I wasn't really ready for that, or even to completely forgive Rin. I wanted to teach her that she should really try to be more aware of the situation and how people felt. But."

Hanayo looked down and didn't lift her head.

"I also thought about … about not just that I was super, super mad at Rin for what she did to Nico, but that it was Nico first, not me. And if Rin was wanting to do sex for fun, then all the girls that thought she was a handsome prince because she was cute and good at sports, she'd probably find a girlfriend right away. So, to keep Rin with me, I said yes. So we did. Even though I really wasn't ready and I didn't want to and I was so insecure. But the way Rin enjoyed my … my body .. was good and … and she said she loved me and only we would be together like that from now on. And I wanted that. So I said to the other girls in Muse that they should keep it a secret from the school but Rin and I were girlfriends now. Nico looked at me like I stabbed her in the back."

"I sent her a text and said, if Rin and I are together, Rin won't bother Nico. She never replied."

"And after that, it was Nico and Maki going home and Rin and me."

Mrs. Hoshizora said, "But how did it end up with Rin and Maki together, then?"

"We-well," Hanayo continued, "It wasn't for quite a while. When Rin told you about Maki is when they got together. Before that, it was me and Rin and Nico and Maki. When Rin did that with Nico, Nico was already in love with Maki. And once they went to Maki's house to study, and Maki had noticed how shaky Nico was these days. So it all came out and Nico was crying her eyes out and she stayed over and slept next to Maki, so it came out that Nico loved Maki. Maki liked Nico more than she liked anyone else, already, but she probably wasn't ready to be a girlfriend, just like I wasn't. But she felt sorry for Nico and she was curious as to what having a girlfriend would be like, so she said they should go out. Eventually they even did sex things together, but Nico was always nervous now. But she really clung to Maki. They didn't have their fights anymore, but sometimes if Maki slipped back to the old ways, Nico couldn't always fake a reply … she just got hurt or even teared up. Anyway, some days Maki had a great time with Nico. It was nice being so adored. Honestly, Nico was like a little kid the way she looked up to Maki, just worshipped her. But she was very clingy and jealous, I guess."

"Anyway, after a while .. months … Maki was under pressure from her family to cut out music .. under pressure from her teacher to work even harder at piano … under pressure from Muse to write more songs … and she started to think of her being with Nico as just more pressure. Everything was so serious. Nico was all she would love Maki forever. And in the meantime, Rin was becoming curious about what it would be like to .. umm to do sex things with other girls besides me … and because she's Rin … she told me … and I wouldn't go home with her and I almost stopped talking to her. And I guess Maki was complaining about the stress she was under to Rin … and complaining about how clingy Nico was … and finally I think she even said Nico was very shaky when they had sex and she even cried sometimes. Although she was very loving when they cuddled afterward. I hate saying all this, Nico!"

Nico just squeezed Hanayo's hand.

"Hanayo, you are my brave girl, and I give you permission to talk about anything. This is a once-in-a-lifetime conversation. Everyone here is taking this seriously. I am not worried a bit that what happened with me in the past is going to come out, except to people who are involved."

Hanayo looked Nico in the eye for a while, then hugged her. She turned around to the two older women. But she was looking at the floor again.

"Anyway, that's about it. When I was ignoring Rin and Nico was busy doing something with her siblings, Rin and Maki had sex. Then Rin told me, and I phoned Nico. Nico phoned Maki and they had a screaming fight over the phone that Nico's siblings heard. They'd never heard anything like it, and Nico couldn't forgive Maki for making her get like that. Maki knew she was doing something hurtful and wrong, but Rin, I think, only got it a little bit. If Rin felt guilty at all, she probably thought me avoiding her for a while was like breaking up, maybe?"

She looked up again ..

"It's amazing we were all able to still do our practices and performances. Nico and I both sent texts to Rin and Maki. We basically said we wouldn't drag our fight into Muse, and we wouldn't see each other outside of Muse, and please honor that. We were so heart-broken, and only each other understood each other. Eventually, we got together. Not in a fast-moving sexy way, but in a slow, careful way. I like how Nico always - always - pays attention to me and my feelings. It's how Rin was as a friend, but not as a girlfriend."

"The same is true for me," Nico said. It was her first time adding to the story. "I love how Hanayo knows how much things can break your heart and hurt you. And it was the same with Maki. When we were friends, even though we fought, she always had a sixth sense about how I felt, and that went away once we were girlfriends."

"And then we all sort of reconciled, eventually," Hanayo continued. "So that's why Nico's a little upset people would talk about it like she was Rin's enemy. I mean, Nico never, ever did one thing wrong dealing with Rin. She was a victim and she forgave Rin and tried to patch things up and let us be like before. It wasn't, quite, but we started to be able to be in the same place outside of school and outside of Muse. Things happened fast, it's true, but that was due to Rin and Maki. That's why Nico called Rin. It's not like it's super uncommon. And Rin and I started doing friend things again. It took longer for Nico and Maki and Nico wouldn't go somewhere where Maki was if she started to feel bad. But anyway, the truth is Rin and Maki cheated on us and broke our hearts, I guess."

Nico said then, "Well, I am now awfully glad Rin and I started to get along, now. I would hate to add guilt over not being reconciled to the sadness. And I can get mad along with you, Mrs. Hoshizora. And Maki. Maki and I are better at getting mad than Hanayo and Rin were. It's almost our specialty."

Mrs. Hoshizora took a very deep breath.

"Okay, I think I get the picture. I had no idea a girls' high school academy could be such a soap opera. So part of Nico's grievance with my daughter is that because Rin molested her and humiliated her, Nico was anxious about sex, and that's one of the complaints her girlfriend had, which led to her leaving Nico for Rin. I love my daughter, but I can't blame Nico."

"Well," Nico said, "I wouldn't wish away my relationship with Hanayo. Maybe Hanayo and I were meant to be - we have so much in common - and Rin and Hanayo and Maki and I were meant to be best friends. Although my friendship with Maki never really recovered. I am going to push it. She needs someone. You and your husband visiting her is a great idea. But I can't get too close to Maki right now because that would make Hanayo feel more insecure. Eventually I can, but now is too early. And without Rin and Maki getting together, I wouldn't be with Hanayo."

Mrs. Hoshizora smiled a little. "Yes, life can be strange like that. So as far as I understand Nico, she buried her quarrel with Rin and was back on good terms. Did you and Rin and Honoka return to your old ways?"

"Yes," Nico said. "We did go out, just the three of us, a couple of times sort of recently, and have fun. We visited an arcade and a ramen place and even put on a performance for a bunch of school kids at a playground when they asked us to. It was a lot of fun."

"And what about you, Hanayo?" Mrs. Hoshizora asked.

"Me-me?" Hanayo said. She touched her nose.

"Were you able to reconcile with Rin, too? And Maki?"

"With Rin, of course! I mean even when I was super, super mad at her I missed her. I'm so used to showing everything to her, discussing everything with her. Without her it's like missing an arm or something. And Maki is Nico's business, mostly. If it hadn't been her, if I am honest, it would have been someone. I still look up to her in a lot of ways. The one thing, though, is I don't want her trying to win Nico back now that she doesn't have Rin. If that makes me a bad person, so be it."

Mrs. Hoshizora smiled again. "I don't think you have it in you to be a bad person, or a bad friend, Hanayo-chan. Alright, the men went out to give us this time, and I think we're nearly done. You telling me all that was, of course, quite a shock, but Nico-chan is right, you are a brave girl. I thank you, I really do, for telling me the truth. We will definitely visit Maki as soon as we can. Perhaps even tonight. And the other girl - Tojou-san?"

"Tojou Nozomi," Hanayo said, nodding.

"You want us to talk with her for various reasons, correct?"

"Ye-yes." Hanayo couldn't explain why, exactly. Nico wrote down Nozomi's address and phone number and handed it to Mrs. Hoshizora. Below it, she wrote Maki's details.

"Very well, but would you two do me a favor, then?"

Hanayo and Nico looked at her expectantly.

"Would you go and talk to her about all this, first, and ask her if she's up for a visit from Rin's parents? It seems like simple courtesy to do that."

Nico and Hanayo looked at each other, then both nodded.

"Hanayo, it surprises me you never talked about any of this with us. We could have helped you, baby," Mrs. Koizumi said, "but then, you take after your parents, too."

Meanwhile Nico sent Maki a text: "We are at Hanayo's and we met the Hoshizoras. They want to visit you. Put up with it. You can't say they don't understand. They do. They won't be disapproving. Hanayo and I are going to talk to Nozomi. The offer to meet up is open forever."

"It was good to meet both of you, Hanayo, Nico." Mrs. Hoshizora paused. "Nico, I will mention getting angry together to Nishikino-san. I feel no mother should go through this, and to suffer for the foolishness and greed of another, it is not to be tolerated. I wish now I had kept Rin more controlled, but a great deal of the blame rests with the exhibitors and the sponsors. Rin would not have wanted to end skateboard contests in Tokyo. But if these people are punished so strongly they can no longer do this, that will be a lesson to the rest."

"Umm," Hanayo interrupted. "I wanted to say .. I wanted to say I will miss her every day, forever."

Mrs. Hoshizora teared up again. "Thank you, Hanayo, it's good someone else feels that way, too. And thank you both for telling me that before she was lost to us, Rin had happiness and romance and accomplishment in her life. I think she was better off when eight others were watching over her, so thank you for that. Hanayo, you are always welcome at our house, we have always felt like you were part of our family."

And with that, she left.

Mrs. Koizumi saw her to her car then came back in.

"Hanayo, Nico, I think you should get ready for bed. If you go to bed later, you will still probably talk much of the night and you won't get any sleep. I will come in in a bit with some tea and I will sit by the bed and we can talk a bit more."

With Nico and Hanayo sitting up and clinging to each other, they talked out their feelings with Mrs. Koizumi. Hanayo cried herself out, and after her mother went to bed, Nico and Hanayo still talked quietly for another couple of hours. They did manage to sleep, finally, and with Nico holding her, Hanayo didn't have nightmares.

They woke up at a normal time, and it was time to visit Nozomi.

Next Chapter »

AO3

Fanfiction.net

#love live #rin hoshizora #nico yazawa #hanayo koizyumi #rinpana #nicomaki #makirin #nicorin #death #supernatural #nozomi tojo #drama #romance #love triangle #molesting

[aimtoothpaste]

a random assortment of fic recs (part 4 has been a long time coming)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

I’ll Be Home For Christmas (With My Fake Girlfriend) by nakedrednailpolish

Summary:  When her girlfriend dumps her the week before Christmas, Regina Mills needs a date to placate her mother’s insistent badgering. Emma Swan, who’s never really spent Christmas with an actual family, steps up to the plate. Throw in a very pregnant woman, her two children, and a Christmas Eve party? Emma and Regina experience a Christmas weekend they won’t soon forget.  WARNING: The tropiest of tropes, clichést of clichés, this fic will make your teeth rot with the most saccharine of fluff. If you’re not a fan of cheese, then this fic is not for you. (But I hope you read it anyway!) Based heavily off of the movie A Holiday Engagement.

Me: Perfect for the upcoming season. I love the fake relationship trope more than I like breathing, and this is done so well and is so much fun!

***

fate, the ultimate matchmaker by terribledorkness

Summary: Regina is determined to ignore all the signs- because there is no way that she is Emma Swan’s soulmate. Just because her phone number appeared on her skin after she wrote it on Emma’s does not in anyway mean they are soulmates.Because this is Emma Swan, and Regina Mills hates Emma Swan, and always will. That’s what’s written in the stars, not their supposed love. The universe has obviously made a mistake.Another soulmate AU where Emma’s oblivious and Regina is quietly freaking out, all the time.

Me: This weaves canon and a soulmate trope together just beautifully. It’s funny and well-written and exquisitely in character. I should stop saying I hate soulmate AUs because they always manage to get me. 

***

Right Here by starvinglunatic

Summary: Regina’s been sick and Emma has a theory. Regina’s pregnant. Regina thinks that’s ridiculous, but Emma turns out to be right. From then on, Emma and Henry try to help Regina make it through a pregnancy that she doesn’t seem very thrilled about. SwanQueen. Swan-Mills family moments. Reminders of OutlawQueen.

Me: This manages to deal with that complex horrible time of 3B and pregnancy in a really fun way. The pining is great and it does right by Marian, which is all I ask for in a fic.

***

grape-dark clouds and brittle frost by @coalitiongirl 

Summary: Written for Swan Queen Week, Mommy in Love. 

What I know about the day I was born, a list by Henry Daniel Mills: 1) I was born in Storybrooke General Hospital. 2) Mom adopted me right away. 3) It must have been a closed adoption. 4) Did the agency in Boston ever exist? 5) My birth mother is in Storybrooke somewhere.

Me: I mean, obviously I love everything Mari has ever written but also I am a sucker for Henry’s point of view and a nuanced approach to Henry and his mom making their way back to each other. This is such a stunningly good and beautiful narrative that reminds me of the best of ‘Someone Somewhere Must Know The Ending’, as well as being so very very coalitiongirl.

***

in search of silver linings (we discovered gold) by swansaloft

Summary: Sometimes, it’s not about the destination; it’s about how you get there. And in this case, their journey is going to take a turn through blind dates, Ferris wheels, and a really big boat. (Or, The One Where Regina and Emma go on a couples’ cruise as Totally Platonic Friends.)

Me: delightfully tropey in all the best possible ways, and just such light fun. Swansaloft has such a deft touch for friendship-to-love and light, sweet comedy.

***

Oh My God, They Were Roommates by @grevgrev

Summary: Listen, you know how sometimes you kind of want to push your roommate out a window, but sometimes you really want to kiss her and maybe live with her forever with like fourteen dogs and a baby or something? Yeah. Emma knows how you feel.

Me: Roommates is a good trope. This is cute and funny and manages to cram a whole lot of pining into a very short space of time.

***

you’ll never walk alone by @swatkat

Summary: Emma Swan’s Quidditch career, despite her brief and remarkable stint with the US national team, went nowhere. Hired as the coach of the hapless Storybrooke Sirens by none other than the Regina Mills (also known as the Evil Queen in certain quarters), Emma is expected to perform a miracle – or at least, ensure that the Sirens don’t end up at the bottom of the league yet again. It doesn’t help that she and Regina really don’t see eye to eye on most things, or that Regina Mills is really attractive.

The story of a ragtag team of underdogs, two women with pasts to atone for, and a fairytale.

Me: This is just so fun and the characters mold perfectly into their roles in professional quidditch and I love the way canon is mixed with the Harry Potter universe in such interesting, thoughtful ways. 

***

You, Me, We, Us by @zelena

Summary: “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she asked as she approached the Queen.

“Picking apples?” the Queen replied, a faux innocent smile on her lips. “Want a taste?” Emma groaned. She couldn’t believe she was experiencing this kind of role reversal years after she and Regina had buried the hatchet. “Seriously? My house? Couldn’t you just have cut down one of my trees like a normal person?”

“But where’s the fun in that?” The Queen smiled and moved closer to Emma. “I think you’ll have a lot of fun after moving in with Regina. It should resolve a lot of… tensions.” A Split Swan Queen fic written for Swan Queen Supernova Protostar challenge!

Me: Emmi manages to navigate a complex situation with grace and write something that does justice to all the characters, as well as being really hot.

***

free as the birds that fly by @insanetwin

Summary: emma gets herself into more trouble than she thinks is deserved. meanwhile, regina adopts a parrot and regrets it.

Me: This is the cutest, funniest, sweetest story about Emma the asshole parrot. I am Fond.

#swan queen #swan queen fanfiction #fanfiction #please read review make people happy with your thoughts #fic rec

[fly-pow-bye]

What’s Airing On Cartoon Network? (October 2019)

Animation Magazine has posted Cartoon Network’s October schedule. Teen Titans Go, Mao Mao, a halloween episode of Craig of the Creek, a lot of Victor and Valentino, and more! See all the shows after the break.

Bakugan: Battle Planet

October 6th:

Bakugan Breakers/ The Awful Ones - Magnus’s new team of Bakugan Brawlers overhear Lightning’s warnings of a sick Core Cell and decide to capture the dog to find its location. Then, Magnus heads into the Labyrinth to claim the Fortus Core Cell for his own. (7 AM)

October 13th:

Mask of Pride/The Graveyard of Courage - Driven by revenge, Magnus decides to go back into the labyrinth, face the AO and claim the Fortus Core Cell energy for himself. Then, super charged by the Fortus Core Cell, Magnus wages war on the AO. (7 AM)

October 20th:

Vestroia - Part 1: The AO discover the only way to stop Magnus, and possibly save him, involves shutting down the infected Fortus Core Cell. Part 2: The AO must decide whether or not to help Benton Dusk destroy the infected Fortus Core Cell, risking the destruction of their own Bakugan. (7 AM)

October 27th:

Too Much/Who Are You? - The Hide Matrix goes crazy and a simple AO training mission turns into a complicated rampage. Then, after the loss of their HQ, the AO is a little off, but in talking to Benton Dusk, they learn a new sense of purpose for their team. (7 AM)

Ben 10 (2016)

October 5th:

The Bentathlon - After stuffing their faces with gyros, Team Tennyson makes their way to the real Greece in the Omni-Copter, but when they are suddenly captured by the Forever Knight mid-flight, Ben ends up in a coliseum, where he is pit against old foes: Iron Kyle, Queen Bee, and the Ground Hawgs! (12 PM)

Prey Or Play - After receiving a super-exclusive ticket to Adrenaland, Ben leaves behind Grandpa Max and Gwen to enjoy the perks of being the parks only attendant, but when he learns he’s not alone, our hero must now contend with the only kid who could afford the price of admission: Billy Billions! (12:15 PM)

October 12th:

Beware of the Scare-Crow - During a visit to the farm of Penny Bennyson’s grandfather, Team Tennyson is constantly haunted by a Scare-Crow that’s come to life, but when Ben discovers that Aristocrow is behind it all, our hero must defeat Aristocrow’s master, the steam-powered Steam Smythe, if he is to save his cousin’s farm! (12 PM)

The Night Ben Tennyson Came to Town - Team Tennyson travels to Wheeler, “the liveliest mining town on Route 66”, but when Ben becomes paranoid that the Forever Knight is out to get him, he must try to convince his fam while also stopping his new foe from destroying the town. (12:15 PM)

October 19th:

And Xingo Was His Name-O - When a new Xingo app mysteriously appears on Gwen’s tablet, Ben can’t help himself and activates it despite his cousin’s disapproval, springing a trap that transports Ben in the animated world and Xingo back in the real world. It’s the ol’ switcheroo! (12 PM)

Fear in the Family - Ben and Gwen can’t wait for the Omni-Copter to arrive at the Great Pyramids, but when bad weather disrupts their flight, they soon come face-to-face with The Fogg and its spawn: The Fogg Family! (12:15 PM)

October 26th:

Xingo Nation - Kevin 11 gives Xingo a power up – setting him loose to wreak havoc on other TV shows – and it is up to Ben to stop them both. (12 PM)

Heads of the Family - Team Tennyson stops in at a fringe family reunion, and Ben encounters a whole lot more than kooky cousins— namely, Kevin 11 and the Bugg Brothers, whose latest crackpot invention sparks a series of hilarious head-swaps between all parties. (12:15 PM)

Craig of the Creek

October 26th:

The Haunted Dollhouse - Craig and his friends find themselves being followed by a creepy doll and its haunted dollhouse. (10 AM)

DC Super Hero Girls

October 11th:

Frenemies - Batgirl’s worlds collide when her best friend from Gotham City moves to Metropolis. Meanwhile, Catwoman is making some new friends of her own. (8 PM)

October 25th:

Soul Sisters - The girls must track down Katana, a mysterious warrior who’s stealing the souls of Metropolis’s villains. Meanwhile, Diana’s new friend Tatsu is a perfect match for her in every way, but may have a connection to Katana. (7:30 PM)

Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart

October 5th:

Flyaway - When Adorabat’s spirit transcends her body during a meditation exercise, Mao Mao and Badgerclops have to figure out a way to return her to the real world. (10 AM)

Baost in Show - When Bao Bao returns, and the King makes him his pet, Mao Mao must rescue his ex-partner. (10:15 AM)

October 12th:

Fright Wig - When the King cannot overcome his fears, he abuses having the Sheriff’s Dept. on call.

Sleeper Sofia - When the Sky Pirates infiltrate Sheriff HQ, they put our heroes in danger!

Power Players

October 5th:

Access Denied - When Axel and the team try to figure out what Sarge Charge’s secret weapon is, they get ejected from the house by his newly upgraded security system and must fight their way back inside before Madcap does. (12:30 PM)

Swing Set Jet Set - Axel and the team battle Princess SugarSalt for possession of Bearbarian’s hammer, traded to her by one of their own – Galileo! (12:45 PM)

October 12th:

Side Kicked - Zoe builds her own battle suit in hopes of joining Axel’s team. The only problem? She can’t shrink! Hijinks ensue as a full-sized Zoe tries to assist Axel & co. in a battle against Pyrant and his army of mind-control drones. (12:30 PM)

Porcupunk Rock - Madcap turns to Axel and his team for help after a sonic upgrade to Porcupunk threatens to bring down the house. (12:45 PM)

October 19th:

All Trick No Treat - On Halloween, Axel gets too caught up in the scares and loses track of the fun – just in time for an infiltration by the worst trick ‘r’ treater of all, Madcap! (12:30 PM)

Iced Out - Madcap’s latest creation, the Ice Crusher, puts the whole city in a deep freeze, forcing Axel and the team to face him in a game of high-stakes hockey or risk slip-sliding into another ice age! (12:45 PM)

October 26th:

Gathering Dark - Axel must help Bearbarian overcome his secret fear of the dark to stop Dynamo from stealing his ride. (12:30 PM)

Bobbie Not Blobby - Axel discovers that the culprit behind Bobbie Blobby’s missing mech-suit is Masko, who only wanted to clean out its clogged clay cannons, but lets the suit fall into the hands (or tentacles) of Dr. Nautilus – intent on flooding the sewers! (12:45 PM)

Teen Titans Go!

October 4th:

Cartoon Feud - Control Freak forces the Titans and the Scooby Gang to compete on Family Feud. (6 PM)

Curse of the Booty Scooty - When Robin “Booty Scooty’s” his booty off, the Titans must go on an adventure to recover it. (6:15 PM)

Collect Them All - After the other Titans are turned into collectibles and disappear, Robin must search yard sales and stores to find them. (6:30 PM)

Butt Atoms - Despite Robin’s warning, the Titans mess around with atomic toots and end up causing a worldwide plague. (6:45 PM)

October 15th:

TV Knight 5 - Batman pretends to be sick to avoid work so he and Commissioner Gordon can run around town watching their favorite shows. (6 PM)

October 25th:

Witches Brew - The Titans throw a Halloween party and invite the Justice League but the witches brew Robin creates has side effects. (6 PM)

Transformers Cyberverse

October 5th:

Trials - Optimus and Megatron finally discover the Allspark. (6:30 AM)

October 12th:

Dark Birth - While Starscream acquires new power through the Allspark, the Autobots mistakenly assume Starscream is still under Megatron’s command. (6:30 AM)

October 19th:

Parley - The Autobots and Decepticons attempt to forge an alliance in the face of the threat posed by Starscream. (6:30 AM)

October 26th:

Starscream’s Children - Optimus Prime leads a rescue mission onto the Nemesis, saving the Decepticons from Starscream. (6:30 AM)

Victor and Valentino

October 5th:

The Great Bongo Heist - The boys forget to get Chata a gift for Abuela Day and in a panicked move, they pretend that the bongo drums they borrowed from Xochi are for her. Knowing they have to return the drums, Victor & Valentino pretend to be burglars to steal the bongos back. (9 AM)

Escape from Bebe Bay - When Vic & Val accidentally turn themselves and Don into babies, they must escape a daycare center in order to change back to their normal ages. (9:15 AM)

Band for Life - When Vic and Val tag along with Xochi to a punk concert, they want to prove that they’re cool enough to hang out with her. But in a desperate attempt to be cool, they wind up destroying the concert. (9:30 AM)

Tez Says - Vic & Val are in awe of the new magician in town, but things go awry when they agree to help him out with a new trick – despite Chata’s wishes. (9:45 AM)

October 12th:

Forever Ever - When Vic and Val do a sloppy job cleaning up in Maria Theresa’s attic, they accidentally set off a time loop, trapping them in an endless series of chores forever! They must figure out how to stop the loop and return time back to normal. (9 AM)

Dance Reynaldo Dance - Vic is desperate to win the cash prize for the dance contest in Monte Macabre and is frustrated that his partner Val won’t let him call all the shots. Instead he chooses a different partner: Reynaldo. But Vic pushes Reynaldo too hard to execute his artistic vision. Eventually, he learns that in order to be a success, you have to be equal partners. (9:15 AM)

October 19th:

Tree Buds - Vic and Val build a treehouse and Val dismisses Vic with a frivolous task so he can build the treehouse exactly how he wants. But when Vic returns unknowingly with a branch from El Arbol Vampiro, Val’s perfect treehouse turns into a nightmare! (9 AM)

October 26th:

Lonely Haunts Club 2: Doll Island - In order to prove their bravery, V&V head to a haunted island to retrieve a special doll, but Charlene and Pineapple are intent on getting it first. (9 AM)

Cat-Pocalypse - When Vic gets sick and is stuck in his room, he spies on Pineapple and becomes convinced that Pineapple is creating an army of zombie cats. Val agrees and the two become obsessed with stopping Pineapple before it’s too late! (9:15 AM)

El Silbon - Victor sets up a haunted corn maze, but the town kids think it’s lame. Vic decides to make the maze scarier by enlisting the help of El Silbon (The Whistler) to really scare the kids, but El Silbon has plans of his own. (9:30 AM)

On Nagual Hill - Vic & Val take over a forest hill and build an epic waterslide, disturbing the plants and animals that normally inhabit it. But when a Nagual (a human with the power to transform into animals) transforms Vic into a chicken and Val into a donkey, they learn to sympathize with the animals and understand the world a bit more. (9:45 AM)

#teen titans go #transformers cyberverse #transformers #cartoon network #fpb news #victor and valentino #ben 10 2016 #ben 10 #teen titans #dc super hero girls #power players #bakugan battle planet #craig of the creek #mao mao heroes of pure heart

[rebuildhq]

Every television simultaneously flicked on. Three hooded figures appeared on every screen across the city.

They were holding knives. Bloody knives. “Let’s dispense with pleasantries,” said the middle figure, her voice a cool, collected whisper. “We are the Syndicate. And we are responsible for the death of Trish Walker.”

The entire city seemed to gasp, and the woman paused as if she could hear it. Her gloved fingers ran along the blade. “We had hoped our message would not need to be so blatantly stated. But you, dear citizens, are so good at ignoring what is right in front of you. The deaths of a few Inhumans and freaks are so easily covered up. The body of a ‘hero’ left in Times Square so quickly forgotten.” She spoke the word hero with a heavy disdain.

The figure straightened up, the hooded men behind her stock-still, standing like vanguards. “But our pain is not forgotten. For too long have we allowed these unnatural creatures to exist among us. To threaten our lives, our homes, our families. No more. No more will we cower in fear and mourn quietly while all around us, those things reign down hell in the name of ‘saving us.’”

It was impossible to see her face, but her sneer was clearly audible. “The Panel sought to control them. But it is clear that these animals cannot be controlled. They are wild, feral, and dangerous. And dangerous animals must be put down, for the greater good of society. For a normal society to once again be free to flourish. Sacrifice is necessary, and we of the Syndicate are willing to give our lives to see our goals become reality. Every hero, every ‘gifted’ person, every freak who wears a mask and leaves destruction in their wake, will be eliminated. Only then can we reclaim our city, our world from the blight of so-called superheroes.”

She held up the knife now, the blade glinting as if the blood was still fresh. Perhaps it still was -- there was no way to tell if this was a recording or a live broadcast. “Trish Walker defended heroes, and look at what it brought her. She claimed to be one of them, but we believe the ‘most honest voice in New York’ was nothing more than a liar. If you stand against us, your blood shall be the sacrifice paid to open the door to a new world, a safe and normal world. A sane world, cleansed of insanity by any means necessary.”

She passed the blade to one of them behind her. Folded her hands together beneath her long, dark robes as if she were a monk, praying. “But if you feel as we feel. If you see what we see, if you too long for the terror to cease, then we invite you to join us. We will find you, and we will welcome you with open arms. Consider this our last invitation -- and our last warning.” And the screen went black.

Half an hour later, The Panel announced a special broadcast. Karl Orse once again appeared at his stark desk, though no papers were in front of him this time.

“Greetings, citizens,” he said in a serious voice. His face, usually so stoic, was twisted in a deep frown. “We all know the fate of Ms. Walker. She was not only a beloved child-star, a trusted voice in these troubled times, and a person of upstanding moral character and judgment -- she was also a valued member of our team. Despite her comments in her final broadcast, we on the Accords and Accountability Panel deeply regret losing her.”

A heavy sigh left his lips. It seemed stiff and awkward, not quite human. His pale eyes fixed on the screen, and though they were watery, they were as fierce as ever. “Ms. Walker believed in the Accords. Whatever else you may take from this tragedy, please remember that. She believed that being a hero was a privilege, and not a right. That it was a responsibility that should not be taken lightly. Accountability is one and only goal, protecting each and every citizen by holding heroes to a higher standard, to face the weight of the role they choose to take on. It is no easy task, being a hero, or being one of those who watches them. Who watches over them, and over every citizen of this city.”

He paused, hands folded lightly in front of him. “We have failed Ms. Walker. In the name of Accountability, we admit that. Just as we failed the unregistered hero who met his untimely fate in Times Square, and the countless more before him. But my fellow citizens, we are not the enemy. We never have been.”

His face grew stern now, eyes colder than ever before. “The so-called Syndicate has stepped forward and told you themselves the horrors they committed. Their ‘safe world’ comes at too high a cost, and we on the Panel do not believe in paying for peace with bloodshed. We renounce these people, see them for what they truly are -- a cult, preying on fear and weakness. Do not be swayed by them. We must stand strong if we are to face this new threat. We must stand together. A wise king once said, ‘United we stand, divided we fall.’ And though he was nothing more than literary character, his words ring with truth.”

Orse leaned forward, towards the camera. “It is time we put aside our differences, and choose security over secrecy. We once again implore all unreigstered heroes to come forward, to stand with us, to fight against this cult and bring them to justice. A humane justice, a responsible justice. A true justice. We cannot do it alone. And thus we have made a difficult, but unanimous decision. We hereby waive all criminal charges that may arise from those who would seek to register. Whatever you may have done in the past, it is the present that matters now. If we wish to protect the future, time is of the essence. And as Ms. Walker has shown us, time is a luxury we do not have.”

He let the words sink in for a moment, as he sat back in his chair. His hands fell to his lap, hidden by the plain, empty desk. “The choice is yours, citizen and hero alike. We can allow our city to bow to terrorism, or we can stand tall and stand for justice. Goodnight, citizens. May tomorrow bring a brighter future, in spite of all that we have lost.”

“Five minutes of airtime,” the hacker promised, a bracing smile on her lips. “Then you’re on your own, Cap.”

Steve nodded. He could work with that. An hour ago, he was worrying over what to do next. How to help. Now, it was what to say. That was easier. Saying the right thing wasn’t as easy as doing the right thing, but it could be done. Sam once wondered if Steve pulled the words out of thin air, or memorized a script. The truth was, it was something in between.

Agent Johnson motioned to him. “And live, from Saturday Night,” she murmured.

Steve set his gaze on the camera. Attention, he thought, but changed his mind. This wasn’t a call to arms to the agents of SHIELD. This was a message to everyone in Times Square, a plea to keep going to the everyday people. “Hello,” he began, “this is Steve Rogers. In the words of this ‘Syndicate’, I’ll dispense with the pleasantries.” He paused, seeing Johnson’s smirk of amusement in the corner of his eye. “I’m here to talk to you about the Accords.” Steve would bet every cent to his name that some expected this to be the end of it. He could easily throw in the towel now—raise the white flag. He could, but he wouldn’t. Not ever. “Some of you out there have been hunting me down. Some of you stand with me, after all this time. I’m here to talk to both of you, and everyone in the middle, still not sure what’s right. What’s best. Listen to me, now, like you listened to the Syndicate and Orse. The right thing to do is to keep fighting,” Steve continued, looking down for a moment at the shield lying on the table in front of him. He could see Howard’s handiwork in the grooves, Peggy’s bullets near the center, Bucky’s catch as the Winter Soldier, Clint’s hand off against Ultron, and Natasha’s own volley—always picking up after you boys. The shield has always been held by heroes, heroes just as brave as Hellcat.

He lifted his gaze back to the camera. “The Syndicate wants you to stop. The Panel wants you to stop. Stop fighting this ridiculous, losing battle against them. A fight they started,” Steve reminded them, sternly as he dared. “They aren’t against action, though. They’re against you. Us. The ‘gifted’ and the ‘freaks’. They want to reclaim the city and the world from the people who make it better. I quote Trish Walker—I’m sick of this bullshit, aren’t you?” He demanded, leaning forward a little. “They both want to steal your freedom. They both want to steal the world from you. Trish Walker died for it. Trish Walker and that masked boy were murdered for upsetting the status quo.” Steve felt a flush of anger rising on his neck. That, at least, hadn’t been washed away by the serum. “Orse, meanwhile, calls this a tragedy. ‘United we stand’, he says. He’s got it wrong. He wants you to forget about the sword hanging over your heads when you blame the Syndicate for Miss Walker’s death, for that boy’s death. He’s wrong. Hear me? The Panel and the Syndicate are both responsible, and it’s up to us—up to you—to unite against them. See them for what they are: the common enemy. Orse wants security over secrecy,” Steve went on, coldly. “At a price. The price of your identity. I’m not willing to pay that price. Not this time, and neither should you. Stand for the right thing. Stand together. Stand as bravely as Miss Walker did, when she held the line until the end.” Steve paused again, letting it sink in. “I won’t speak for the Avengers, but I am speaking for myself, and for the Justice League. We’ve set aside our differences for the greater good, you see. For you.

“Compromise where you can, a friend of mine once said. Where you can’t, don’t. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye, and say ‘No, you move’. I know I’m asking for a lot,” Steve said, acknowledging Johnson’s wrap-it-up gesture. He’d given them enough to chew on. “But I’m willing to do whatever it takes to give you the right to choose. The right to freedom. The right to privacy. The right to do what’s right, to the best of your ability. Goodnight, and thanks for listening.”

WHAT’S HAPPENED:

Trish Walker was brutally murdered in a live broadcast at 9pm last night.

The Syndicate have stepped forward out of the shadows. In a pre-recorded message, they claim responsibility for killing Trish Walker, the boy in Times Square, and the other brutal murders of Inhumans and heroes that have occurred over the last few months. Their message is clear: they want a world free of ‘freaks,’ and will kill to make it a reality. They warn those against them to stand aside, and those who agree to join them as quickly as possible.

The Accords and Accountability Panel gave a broadcast after the Syndicate’s message. Mr. Orse spoke of the Panel’s grief over losing Trish, their spokesperson, and once again implored all unreigstered individuals to come forward. The Panel has decided to waive all criminal charges that might arise against them, a blankest amnesty for any and all who choose to register now and help them track down the Syndicate.

Captain America gave the broadcast as seen above calling the heroes and citizens to arms.

PROMPTS:

REGISTERED HEROES:

A team of the registered heroes hunting down the Syndicate, this can be done either in pairs or as a group. We suggest that they find a lead, but no specific location of the Syndicate. (If you’d like them to discover something bigger, please message the main!) We’d expect this to be action packed and tense! The government is scrambling.

The registered heroes discussing what to do, whether they still support their cause, and together, rethink their position with the Accords. This can be a member of the Strike Force, a member of their heroes who have joined, or a registered hero with a citizen! This can also be done SOLO.

Registered heroes may also leave the government to ally themselves with the Alliance! We suggest you plot this further with the current members, which include Bruce Wayne, Diana Prince, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff. We’ll keep you updated as people join in the ooc blog!

UNREGISTERED HEROES:

Unregistered heroes banding together with the Justice League/Avengers alliance. They can seek them out at various locations to be plotted in the future. Current members include Bruce Wayne, Diana Prince, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff. We’ll keep you updated as people join in the ooc blog!

Like the registered heroes, the unregistered will likely take it upon themselves to hunt down the Syndicate. Like above, we suggest they find leads, but nothing concrete. This would be an action packed thread, and tensions would be running high.

GENERAL:

Shows of support for those that have not registered can also be seen through protests, blog posts, and simple discussions between characters. We’d love to see people participate through whatever means possible! Write up an open starter at a protest, write up a blog post your character did, we’re flexible.

#rebuildplotdrop #big shout outs to cris for helping us come up with this and to ry for writing steve's brilliant part!

[iharrup]

Thoughts on “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”

It’s the opening weekend of the biggest DC event since 2013’s “Man of Steel,” a spectacle in the making since Frank Miller first pitted America’s most legendary heroes against each other in a 1986 comic book. It’s something we’ve been hyping over since 2014’s first reveals, receiving trailer after trailer ever since then. It opens this weekend with no secrets left, and yet after all the hype and Internet debate it still remains a mystery: just what was this film trying to be? And what do films like this say about the people who make them as well as the people who receive them? Without giving away too many spoilers (an effort worthy of Superman himself), “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” is one of the most convoluted tentpole films this viewer has seen since 2007’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” and this wasn’t even a threequel. Storyline after plot thread after sequel hint after dream sequence after twist after reveal after “gotcha!” moment are thrown together in a manner that is difficult to follow or make sense of. A story that includes Batman and Superman is ponderous enough, but including Lex Luthor, Wonder Woman, Doomsday, and the future Justice League is enough to make the 2 1/2 hour running time feel thin and stretched, butter scraped across too much bread… wrong movie, but the metaphor applies. As far as technical aspects go, this film is as top-notch as they get; the camerawork is stylistic (whether you like or not, it is a style of its own), the acting is good considering the material, and the visual effects are top-notch (I was happy to notice Weta Digital in the credits). However, the writing and direction suffer in this film; plot takes precedence over story in this film, and the muddied nature of the end product is enough to show that Zack Snyder probably couldn’t make much sense of the script either. The concept of pitting favorite heroes against one another is so childish it’s practically banal; Lex Luthor is right to call this match a gladiator fight because it’s all about the spectacle, about which hero the children admire would emerge on top of the other. To watch this film is to forget about everything that these heroes truly stand for; their scowls in the trailers are enough to let us know this is a grudge match, not about who stands for justice. However, this film sabotages itself by serving the contestants up as loose cannons manipulated into aiming at each other. While it’s no secret that the women in Superman’s life are his true Achilles’ Heel (and therefore his ultimate motivation), Batman is motivated by vendetta and an unlikely force in the form of a character reveal. The film begins on the concept of Superman’s collateral damage, and that since he is a supreme being he cannot be trusted to have humanity’s ultimate interests in mind (it would divide his loyalty to do so). The world wants him to answer for what he is done; however, one conniving boy-billionaire is more interested in toppling his image as a savior. It’s never really explained; Lex Luthor’s vitriol against Superman is shaky since they have no personal history together, but given Lex’s constant dialogue equating Superman with God it seems more that his effort is to shake his fist at the heavens. If heroes are defined by their villains, this film suffers for lack of lack of a well-defined, clearly purposeful one; his actions seem more like mania than mission. Never mind Jesse Eisenberg’s neurotic portrayal, the fault lies with the weak concept of the character; the inclusion of Doomsday (forced and awkward enough) goes to show that from a fundamental level Lex couldn’t carry this film on his own. Batman has a good reason to be mistrustful of Superman’s goodness simply because he was caught in the middle of the Metropolis battle in “Man of Steel” (that’s no secret, it was in the trailer); he has spent his life fighting freaks dressed like clowns, and now in his eyes the greatest freak of them all is held up as a savior of the world. To him, this is true injustice, for since he is unaware of Superman’s motives he can only assume that Murphy’s Law applies to him. However, it is his dream about a world dominated by Superman, as well as the guess-who character reveal, that ultimately sets him in motion. In a way, this mirrors every governmental preemptive strike policy, to defeat the enemy before he gets a chance to misbehave; however, Batman’s motivation ultimately has no strength because it melts away in the space of a minute when our heroes find they need to work together (again, not a spoiler). Superman, meanwhile, gets this fixation on exposing Batman as a fraud vigilante; Clark Kent pursues this as a news story, even though there is honestly no reason for it. Perhaps he wants to throw dust on his own trail? This motivation is unclear throughout; the better storyline is that of his dilemma over his own goodness, because he is perfectly aware that people die when he intervenes. He wants to do good and yet people still hate him for it. This is a time-honored challenge for anyone burdened with awesome power, but instead of receiving a true revelation about power and responsibility the film offers a disappointing answer: he will basically act any time Lois Lane is in trouble, and therefore he is not only predictable but is not truly responsible with his godlike power. This film is troubling from a Christian perspective because it functions without any baseline of faith; gods and religions are nothing more than human constructs, and since the fallible Superman is presented as a parable of the Messiah it really only goes to say that faith in a supreme being is not only groundless but foolish since he can’t be trusted with humanity’s safety. After all, when applied to faith the same question facing Superman is brought up concerning God: why does he allow evil to happen when he is capable of stopping it? For all its philosophical questions, however, it is not true goodness that wins the day but merely a combination of roller coaster fighting and the unlikely (and nearly pointless) intervention of Wonder Woman. The film dodges making any specific statements about the fallibility of faith by resorting to mindless combat before anyone might notice; it asks cynical questions but remains too scared to answer them. After all, it needs the box office. Reliance on popcorn villains, incomprehensible CGI fights, and endless sequel hints are not a good recipe for a film, much less ill-defined characters fulfilling every immature fanboy’s dream to see heroes knock each other about for no real reason. We will see this same  concept in a couple of months with “Captain America: Civil War,” in which the concept will likely be more intelligent but no less an insult to the foundation of the characters. The whole idea of superheroes, and our trust in them as characters to look up to, is that they are able to recognize good from evil and act on good’s behalf; films that throw heroes against each other for fanservice offer the notion that the heroes have lost sight of their judgment since they see each other as villains. As much as twenty-first century filmmaking seeks to reduce good and evil to yin and yang, the concept of heroes and villains has always been black and white; to reduce them to shades of gray is to betray their foundation and make them no better than the villains they take down. All we have now to tell us who to root for in these films is who is played by good-looking, bankable A-list actors; we can no longer enter the theater counting on good to vanquish evil, all we come to see now is one gladiator spilling his opponent’s blood. It no longer matters to be on good’s side, it’s now a flip of the coin. The DC Cinematic Universe will likely have a prosperous future thanks to this film, even though so far its offerings are honestly dumb films in the end. Marvel managed to craft its best films into sociopolitical commentaries; perhaps one day a DC film will come along that recaptures the excellence Christopher Nolan gave us with his Dark Knight films. In further honesty, the ill-conceived inclusion of Wonder Woman is no knock against her as a character; she fascinates with what little screen time she receives, and this viewer walked out of the theater looking forward to her impending film with interest and hope. The mystery of what this film set out to be is disappointing in the end because it’s ultimately convoluted fanservice, lazy screenwriting and shoddy directing capitalizing on the 21st century mass market of virtual blood sport. It’s insulting that Hollywood thinks this is what the people want; it’s terrifying to discover that their conceit is true. Hundreds of millions of dollars will pump into this film, despite what the dissatisfied reviewers say; a year from now it will fade into obscurity, the doom of all inconsequential films such as this. The zeitgeist of the moment, the event that captures the attention of the film-going world, will die like a gladiator: cheered on until glorious death, then forgotten because he didn’t truly matter to the spectators. This should be a call to arms for those of us who want to tell meaningful stories that capture the imagination and leave a lasting impression; films like “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” do nothing of the sort, so the time has come for those films to step aside and make room for something better.

#batman vs superman dawn of justice #movie #reviews #movie reviews